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tv   Key Capitol Hill Hearings  CSPAN  June 6, 2016 5:30pm-7:31pm EDT

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in terms of policy. it's very difficult for him to win any states but he could mostinly, if he holds onto of what he is getting now, he could deny somebody. johnson have a home in the republican party before donald trump? was there a place for his views? guest: yes, he's a fiscal conservative and liberal on social issues and i used to be called a liberal republican. about who feel strongly those for gary johnson, legalization of drugs is his top issue, the party does not stand for that. he was governor of new mexico as a republican but has been a libertarian pretty much ever since. host: we are taking your calls.
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matt is up first from florida, a democrat. caller: good morning. i am calling about donald trump and the gop. i believe the gop is coming out their closet and showing true face about racism. and stuff like that. race as a topic and the concerns about racism in this primary? guest: it's very much a concern among mainstream republicans that donald trump says things that are construed as racist. i interviewed pat buchanan which was a who was a precursor to trump 20 years ago. i asked him about the racism issue. -- he is a big supporter of donald trump and is
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very proud and believes everything he has predicted has come through. trumpism godfather of is the headline. guest: he said some of his rhetoric is problematic. some of the racially charged stuff he has said. donald trump does not instantly disavow the support of david duke, the white supremacist is a big problem. does he think it's something other republicans need to push donald trump on? is it something democrats are trying to push to take down that nominee? guest: for the republicans, whenever something comes up that strikes them as a kind of bias or anti-minority sentiment like his comments about the mexican american judge or the governor of new mexico, for sure, we saw
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a huge push back. saidaul ryan who finally he would vote for donald trump, for donald trump to come back was a hard on ethnicity kick in the teeth, frankly. host: from the washington times -- we are talking with linda feldman from the christian science monitor. good morning from the independent line. caller: good morning. engages inald trump interviews where he would like to talk about thinking and figuring things out and the interviewer wants to trap him so that it contradicts what he says.
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donald trump should not get involved in those conversations. everyone of these interviews that seem to indicate he is a racist, he is not a racist at all. what they are doing is trying to make him look stupid. himself by getting involved in that kind of conversation. there are several kinds of conversations. i can tell you that i think i would like to do this or that. other conversation say i will deftly do this and he is getting guest: trapped. guest:i think he is being trapped with his own words. he says things in the next day he will say the exact opposite. he might claim he never said it. you can call it a trap or you can call it a fact that when you present him with a clip of him saying what he has said before, he is caught but he will at never admit he is wrong. people who are sympathetic toward him are frustrated. by that.
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a political consultant would tell him not to talk so much and be more strategic in the way he talks to the press. i don't think he listens to anybody but himself. he has been winging it from the beginning and will continue as for as we can tell. succeeding in so far as he will get the republican nomination and he has a shot at winning the presidency. host: here is the former white house spokesman ari fleischer talking about this moment for the republican party. ask charles in charlotte, north carolina, would you agree? is it a hinge moment for the party? caller: i think it is. i think the democrats are having the same issue.
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bernie sanders is driving them to the left and the democrats are standing for essentially , thereligion, pro-abortion transgender issue where 11 states are suing president obama's justice department as they try to force men into women's restrooms. we have a crisis in the democratic side. calls interesting that you hillary hillary but donald trump trump. you call her by her first name and him by his last name and it partly because the northeastern and west coast side of the political and media machine has always loved the democratic party. if donald trump has all these warts, h tells it like it is.
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hillary is trying to hide her true intent but hillary clinton -- but donald trump never does. for callinglogize hillary clinton by her first name and donald trump by his last name. with hillary clinton, to say clinton, i still think of will clinton. host: maybe because you have been covering presidential campaigns since 1996. guest: i think both parties have a problem. you see the rise of donald trump and bernie sanders tells us there's something afoot among the electorate with a populist wave and it has affected both party nomination battles. i would argue that the republican schism is bigger than the democratic schism. donald trump stands for positions that are completely anathema to republican orthodoxy. he does not believe in free trade. an isolationist on foreign policy but he says he would crush isis and you cannot
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the an isolationist to do that. stancean anti-immigrant and that is anathema to what the party had recommended including ari fleischer who took part in a in 2013 after they lost the presidential race in 2012 more outreach to women and more outreach to voters in the party has not done that under donald trump. host: let's go to herndon, virginia, a democrat. caller: good morning. i am listening to these republican politicians who say we were support donald trump. when you ask if they support if he is building a wall, they say no. if you asked them if they support barring muslims, they say no. at the same time, they will tell
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you that we support him. this is the policy he is running. how do you support something you don't support? confused about someone like paul ryan or mitch mcconnell. if they are saying all the things he is saying they don't support, why are you supporting him? party leaders, their support for donald trump is in the name of party unity and an effort to defeat hillary clinton. it's not about endorsing his policies. you are correct that they say they will disagree with him. even voters will say they disagree with some major point likely muslim than and they don't think he will build a wall. they may like the idea but they see that as more symbolic, a symbol of how eager he is to help illegal -- to halt illegal
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immigration. when you hear from average republican voters, they hate the system and they hate washington and they say the system is corrupt and they hate the establishment and it's time for a change. they say donald trump represents change and they like his business background and his ability to get things done. this election in some ways is not about the specific issues. i think the trade issue is huge for both bernie sanders supporters and the donald trump supporters. it's about an economy that is not firing on all summers -- left a lot ofis people behind and donald trump and bernie sanders are answering those concerns. a lot of republicans do not love everything donald trump says but they love that his rash persona and the fact he has come in and completely disrupted the system. host: the cover of the christian
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science monitor that has your story in it has an elephant looking in the mirror. in new york, a republican, do you think the republican party is having an identity crisis? caller: quite the opposite. out butver figure him i'm in marketing and he is an incredible marketer. just when i don't think i don't understand what he is doing, he teaches me something. if you told me there would be pundits that would cite newt sanity, as a source of no one would have ever believed it. he is making the other republicans actually look human. thing how heng spins the press. guest: it's incredible what
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donald trump has done. it's been a fascinating election cycle. he has pulled the curtain back on the process in many ways and look at how we come up with our nominees. for loyal activist republicans, it is immensely frustrating and they feel like a party -- like their party has gotten away from them and many people are voting and open primaries with no allegiance to the republican party and they are selecting a nominee who they don't agree with. you can argue that donald trump himself is not really a republican. i can imagine a scenario in which he ran as a democrat and would have done the same thing to the democratic party. in a way, i view him as renting the party. willns it right now and he own it if he wins the presidency. if he loses in november, i don't see him sticking with the party and trying to reshape its
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platform. he says he does not really care about the platform. we will see that before the convention in july when they have a platform meeting. jostling goingle on there to get the message right. if you have a platform that says one thing and a nominee that says something else, that leaves us scratching our heads. host: to the question of how lasting the impact will be, here is another quotation from your story -- -- i wroteve not this piece over a month ago.
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i should talk to him again and i am curious what he would say to the prospect that of donald trump is elected the republican party literally split in half and you would have the donald trump wing dominating and then you have the people who believe in a truly conservative program go off and form their own party. this party is habitually a thisarty country -- country is a two-party country and i'm not sure that would work. it is certainly a live prospect to see the party possibly splitting and have if donald trump wins. haley barbour was the rnc chair? guest: and governor of mississippi. host: up next, fitchburg, massachusetts, independent. caller: good morning. i wish i could run for president.
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i don't have to talk for half an hour and people would see the truth for once. the republicans will bring up gays and stuff like that but they never bring up adultery. poverty andmore more problems in this country than anything. they never talk about that. when the democrats run, they don't say anything either. they are told what to say. there are certain things they cannot say. he says he will build a wall and that will only stop the animals from getting a drink. they will just walk around it like they do in california. double walling californian california and half the population in california is illegal. they let 50 million people in the country on temporary visas in the last x years. -- in the last six years. there is no work for the poor coal miners.
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if they did not have 50 million uneducated workers in the country, manufacturers would build manufacturing companies where the workers are like coal miners. host: robert is an washington, d.c., a democrat. are you with us? go ahead. i had one real important question. i am a republican and an african-american. i want to state that the real there hashat somehow been ignited racial fear. i have not seen more fear between the races than is now presently continuing. trump as ald television personality and as an entrepreneur. that hehis fantasy
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would be able to go to the republican convention and talk about the civil war and the confederate flag and say there is honor with the people who fought but they may have fought for the wrong cause. they still need honor and he may be able to bring the country together. likee may say they don't black people in my neighborhood or spanish or mexican people and i don't like half breeds but we have to work together some way to cooperate and make each other economically enriched3 d. i wish he would say he is donald trump and he can do that. host: you explored african-americans support for donald trump in your story. guest: i had a chance conversation with an african-american gentleman
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standing behind me in line at the bank. there was a long line and only one teller and we were both complaining that the banks are not hiring enough workers to serve the people who had to deal with a live teller. that automation is taking over and that's what's wrong with the country and there are not enough jobs. this guy is a bus driver. he says there are not enough jobs for people in the black community. if he minded telling me who he was going to vote for and he said donald trump. i asked if you have ever voted republican? he said we really need a change. there is a lot to criticize about donald trump. there is some positive there. there is a way to reach people and deliver a message that resonates. nobody else except for bernie sanders has managed to do that in this cycle and he is being rewarded for that.
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in andald trump to come wipe out a field of 16 of the republican candidates is quite a feat. host: the first time republican voters, do they stick with the republican party after donald trump? guest: that's a huge question. will sayn activists he's bringing new voters into the party, bringing in millions but that's not proven. it's possible they stay with the party or its possible that of donald trump loses in november, they feel they have been shafted and they have lost their voice and they will just go back and give up again. i should also say that in terms of this idea that the republican party could literally split, another possibility which pat buchanan raised is that the donald trump wing of the party is another category of voter that those into a vague republican tent.
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you have the donald trump wing, the ted cruz wing which are the conservatives and the tea party, and then you have the moderate establishment conservative republicans, the old-style -- i'm thinking of rob michael, former republican house minority leader who was open to compromise and working with democrats. party can holdan up together with those three wings, that's a formidable coalition and to make the democrats nervous. host: texas is up next, republican line. caller: good morning. trump is a strategist and his strategy is working. about regulation, if there wasn't regulation on the highway, i could not drive my little car against those mack trucks. host: on the issue of
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regulation, is it an issue for you in the presidential race? caller: well, yes. i am kind of antiestablishment. did you want to pick up on any of that? guest: no. host: next is a democrat from pennsylvania. caller: thank you for taking my call. good morning. thank you for taking my call. i'm not sure if this question is really related to mr. trump's influence on the gop. regarding the controversial entry ofban on the muslims into the united states, how would you identify someone as a muslim? isn't that a religion? isn't a muslim someone who practices as long as opposed to as opposed toam someone who comes from a part of the world? how would you identify that? guest: very central question about that proposal.
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it is simply not doable if he is elected and tries to implement that. i would agree with you. host: if you look to the history of the republican party, what are the other moments where this has happened where the party has looked itself in the mirror? guest: there have been plenty of examples. star with the beginning of the party with abraham lincoln. had dissipated over the issue of slavery. abraham lincoln rises, becomes president. the first republican president obviously against slavery, freed the slaves. move forward into other -- in johnson you had lyndon who brought about the civil rights act. republicans against that. that was sort of the turning point for the party on that issue. there have another -- we had
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robert taft, the senate majority leader back in the 40's and 50's. he was isolationist and very prominently so. that was subsumed by dwight eisenhower was very much -- who was very much internationalist and believed in keeping the country involved in the world. the republican party used to be arriff party and tw they are for free rade but donald trump is trying to bring that back. host: is there a tradition of evolution? guest: yes. the parties are constantly changing. they are absorbing strains of thought that are out there. we had the pat buchanan moment 20 years ago. moment whoross perot
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was all about deficit reduction and that became a major goal of the republican party. these independent movements rise up and then the parties absorb them. this is what we are seeing now. we are seeing the republican party try to figure out what to beliefs of trump supporters. you have the same with the democrats. the more left-wing bernie sanders trying to pull hillary clinton to the left and succeeding in some ways. can the party absorb donald trump or will donald trump absorb the party? guest: that's a huge question. the party leadership will hope to go back to business as usual. while learning those lessons. i think it is safe to say we will see another report on the way forward for the party after the trump experience. and the democrats the same. host: about 10 or 15 minutes left. na is in delaware on the
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republican line. good morning. i am just so sick of all the free programs that the obama administration has.
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no changing the formula on social security, no cuts to medicare, no nothing. pointed out to donald trump that the entire federal budget is about to be subsumed by the automatic spending programs, that it would bankrupt the country and take the entire deflect.d he doesn't really have an answer to that question. host: we will show our viewers, the u.s. debt clock. almost $19.3 trillion. joseph is in houston, texas, independent. caller: good morning. yes, to follow up on the previous caller, here is the
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problem, people are misinformed. of thethe annual budget united states has been going to the 1%. 10% of theow of the annual income in the united states goes to 10%. 1% and the 10%, they get all the money. they have got the pie being fought over by working for an-- workign poor and middle-class families. the rich take more social programs than anybody else. the bailout is nothing but a big social program. social programs is on the top. the rich 1% of the social programs. host: who are you supporting in this election cycle? caller: right now bernie sanders actually is the one that is dealing with that 1% issue. there's a real problem. society, be in our
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it social programs like social security, that came about through roosevelt, the new deal. that new deal lifted middle-class america. those benefits. they are talking about taking away those benefits? those are the very things that got america the first middle-class in history that no other nation has ever achieved. host: joseph in texas. donald trump wasn't running this election cycle, do you think you might have written a story about the democrats now between bernie sanders and hillary clinton? guest: absolutely. the democrats should thank donald trump from asking the big problems they are having, split between the bernie sanders movement and the regular democrats who like hillary and seaver is more qualified and were prepared through -- more prepared through her resume to be president. you know can the democrats are
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-- another element of their crisis is that they don't have much of a bench. republicans have a majority of the governorships, they control by a narrow margin, they control the house by a very wide margin. eight president obama's years in office, the democrats have lost over 900 state legislative seats. the democrats need their own autopsy to figure out how they can rebuild their bench and look ahead. if hillary clinton loses in november, who runs in four years? even if she wins, who runs in eight years? you know there are republicans already getting ready to run in four or eight years. host: are there republicans saying that benches don't matter much? donald trump walked in unannounced. guest: donald trump is highly, highly unusual.
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he has pulled off something that, frankly, almost nobody saw coming, that he could come in as having never run for office before and march all the way to the republican nomination. we may see that next time. we we may see all kinds of people who have never run for office say well, i can do i. mark cuban, the owner of the dallas mavericks. on "shark tank." he's kind of cut from the same cloth. kanye west talks about running. host: a caller for the republicans, norman, oklahoma. karen, good morning. caller: yes, good morning. the lady that said to be food stamps and stuff a while ago is right on. trump supporters don't believe they need to be completely cut. we need to get in there, have a businessman find the waste and
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fraud, quit playing for -- paying for illegal people. democrats, wake up. there's not going to be anything left for anybody. then what's everybody going do? you get people like dianne feinstein saying on hillary clinton, oh, there's nothing to see here. everybody go home. she didn't do nothing other than -- call condoleezza rice. and that's not true. neither of them had a private server in their home and yet she brings up to black ones, condoleezza rice and colin powell, very accomplished americans. and she brings them up every time and either diane finestein doesn't do what she's supposed to be doing for the money we're paying orr she things -- thinks we're stupid. host: yawn nita is up on the
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republican line. caller: mccain was up and he lost. mitt romney was up and he lost. i'm black and i'm going to vote for donald trump. he isn't a racist. host: falling into the same topic we talked about earlier. african-americans supporting donald trump. guest: i don't think donald trump is personally racist. he just says things that sound terrible. in a way it's hard to know what donald trump thinks about anything other than he loves his children and his wife. i think he says things for effect. he says things without thinking. he is an inexperienced politician and hasn't thought through all the issues and all answers. nobody can look in his heart and see how he thinks about something like race. but he's hired plenty of
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minorities in his businesses and people who know him say he isn't a racist so i'll take them at their world. host: an independent in new york, margaret. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm shuddering at the thought of donald trump but i believe he did not come out of a vacuum. i think what's happened in america, i'm 54 years old. we've gotten so low in the gutter when our president -- bill clinton, that awful, awful lewinsky, the ca awful things that were on the news. i would refer that barack obama referred to americans clinging to their bibeles and guns clinging to their racism. i think democratic barack obama is simply a result of the dumbing down of america. he has some good points.
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he's talking look what people think about, which is reigning in the government and immigration. i am married to an immigrant. we got married in 1986. you had to follow the law. my husband spoke english, learned english and assimilated. i don't believe he's a racist. i believe he doesn't articulate well and i don't want him as president. but this idea that he is the cesspool while democrats say great things and drag us in the mud. hillary clinton. we have a candidate who could be indicted, who talks out of both side of her mouth. who refuses to let us read or hear what she said to the wall street bankers but you have an electorate that they just hear three or four thingsing and that's where they go. nobody listens. i have three children and i'm constantly telling them they have to dig, reeled, and know what's going on. that's why we are where we are.
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it's like a bunch of sheep walking to the election polls and i'll hang up and listen to your response. thank you very much. guest: this caller very clearly articulated the issue with this election. this is an historical election in many ways. a novice politician like trump getting the republican nomination. first woman nominee for a major party, both with very high negatives. she's laid out the problems with both candidates have and i wonder who she'll vote for because she doesn't very much sound like she likes either one of them but this is going to be an election where you have a lot of negative voting, people voting against the candidate for the other party. more than for the candidate of their party. as for hillary and the emails, this is the huge, big cloud waiting for the final judgment to have f.b.i.
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investigation and -- host: we hear a lot of hand wringing on capitol hill over the policy positions of donald trump. have policy positions mattered much in this election psychle? guest: they don't seem to have. i think donald trump's strength is his style and his brashness and bravado and his ability to capture attention and to say things -- some of the policy does resonate. his position on immigrants for sure is important and his railing against free trade agreements is absolutely central and this was central to pat buchanan's popularity. central to ross perot's popularity this might be the most important issue of this election, this issue of trade and jobs and just the future of the economy, a very evolving economy in terms of the jobs that are available for people and the wages that go with those
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jocks. i would say that is a central issue but trump is, through the overarching aspect of trump is his style. somebody delivering donald trump's message with zero personality-week-old would get nowhere. host: a democrat, kay, good morning. caller: i've been fascinated since last fall following trump and like your guest said, how he can capture the electorate with these outrageous statements. i think he's a smart guy but there's no way i'd vote for him in a million years because he's too unpredictable. you have no record to go on, or any kind of voting record or where he's had to take real stances. but i am fascinated with the media, how they've promoted him and now they're digging into him, going over every ridiculous
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thing he's said. but i'm taken with how the media, for instance with hillary's foreign policy speech. no one hammered her on her own foreign policy speech. recell mado and chris matthews, who off and on over everything she says but not question is her over benghazi and the emails. i think the media is doing the public an injustice but -- by not digging in on the real issues and i think the california electorate has a hance to show the world -- bernie won't win but we have the opportunity tell to world we have a conscious, and morals. because i question both hillary clinton and donald trump's motives, quite frankly.
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host: priscilla, good morning. caller: good morning. i just called in i couldn't help but call in because i hear so many people talking about donald trump being a racist. i'm a person of color, black. i'm not african-american. i'm just an american who happens to be black and i trust donald trump. i don't think he's a racist at all. i will be vote for him. i don't understand why anytime he says something the whole world seems to be against him. he's not a racist person. he just wants to get this country back again. in fact, this is a demotion for him. i don't understand why he's going to leave all of what he's got going for himself and to do this, it takes a person who really loves this country and i look at what happened in san jose and the way people where are -- were burning the american flag that. angers me. and waving the mexican flags and
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a lot of the people were saying that they don't believe in our laws. they don't have to obey our laws. it's not right and it's not racist because donald trump wants to fix that. it's just wrong to -- host: i want to get linda to talk a little bit about this what you're seeing at these rallies, at the protests outside these rallies. is there a comparison to previous election cycles? guest: this is my sixth presidential cycle and i've not seen anything like this. some people are raising the specter of 196 . who knows, we could have mass unrest outside of both conventions and i think police in philadelphia and cleveland are preparing for that possibility. your point about trump not being a racist is an interesting one in that i think a lot of black americans have felt taken for granted by the democratic party, that there's an assumption that
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black voters will automatically vote democratic and i know people who aren't willing to play along in that way and feel even under an african-american president, black americans continue to struggle in all categories and it's been tricky nor -- for president obama to address issues. he's not wanting to be seen as the president of black america but the president of all america so he's taken some knocks for not being more aggressive in not addressing problems in the black community but in terms of how the democratic party addresses minority americans, they may know this, that they need to really show that they have ideas for addressing the issues and i can't take any -- and can't take any vote for granted. host: molly in miami, florida. a democrat.
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molly, good morning. caller: good morning. i was a little bit aggravated by the person who called before and said we should cut out social security, well fear. she were just -- welfare. they were just going down the line saying cut it out. is there a solution that could fall in between both parties where the democrats could be happy and not have things taken away? i know that kind of false toward the republican party but is there any kind of solution where you just don't go hacking and chopping away at things that benefit millions of americans? host: linda feldmann ending with a question about the two participants working together, a doesn't -- subject you've been covering a long time. gloip is the holy grail. can this city work together again? there are think tanks who think
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about this. the bipartisan party centers. the labor movement that puts out a thick volume of proposals. there was a moment president obama had his commission, -- i'm blanking on their names -- the senator from wyoming and the former senator -- host: the bipartisan commission to come up with a solution to the budget -- guest: they made their proposals and president obama said thank you very much and put their report on the shelf and didn't proceed on any kind of bipartisan e. to solve the issue of entitlements so this is now up to the next president to address this. donald trump says he will not cut anything. but we don't know what donald trump would really do as president. he's a bit of a sifer in some ways. suzz one thing one day and at the next day. we know he's a deal maker so maybe that would bode well for
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the ability to get everyone to sit down and come up with something. host: we'll see. guest: we'll see. we may not ever find out what a trump presidency looks like but there's that possibility. indsay: linda feldmann, thanks so much for your time this morning on "the wall street journal." guest: thank you. coverage earlier today on c-span but -- c-span 3 but up next we plan to hear from president obama's national security advisor susan rice. she'll be joined by the european . ion foreign policy chief it's expected to get under way shortly. our live road to the white house coverage, at 9:00 tonight, a hillary clinton rally in long beach ahead of tomorrow's primary in california.
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we'll have live road to the white house coverage with results and comments and speeches tomorrow night and that gets under way at 9:00 eastern so hillary clinton tonight, a rally in long beach and our coverage tomorrow night as well, :00 to 5:00 eastern.
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-- adies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. my name is howard yobert. as some of you may know, i've been associated with a.j.c. both home in chicago and nationally for a little over 50 years.
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a long time. [applause] what you may not know is that 75 a u.s. army as first lieutenant stationed in aaly as a bomb ba dear flying -- bomb dear flying in be-24's and on my second mission, which was to bomb a refinery in czechoslovakia. my plane was hit by flak and i was forced to bail out. we got as far back before i bailed out and bailed out over a small town in yugoslavia. fortunately, i was picked up by group of tito's paurns
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partisans, rather than nazis and they were able to escort me and we walked south and eventually picked up by a c-3, which flew me to my base in italy. i subsequently flew another 22 missions. [applause] it was a lot of years ago. i stand before you this evening because today, june 6 is the anniversary of d-day. a pivotal turning point in the history of the second world war. i stand before you as one of a shrinking number of world war i veterans. the last word war ii veterans. i have to watch that. [laughter]
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oh,, no not too many veterans of world war i. in fact, it's my understanding that approximately over a thousand world war ii veterans die every day. soon there won't be too many of us left, but tonight we're lucky. we're blessed by another veteran who is with us this evening. jerry wolf of springfield, virginia. jerry was a technical sergeant in the u.s. army air corps -- [applause] jerry -- listen to this. jerry was a flight engineer and a gunner but he, too, was shot down. unfortunately, he had to spend a year as a prisoner of war in a prisoner of war camp in germany. jerry, please stand and be recognized. applause play -- [applause]
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>> i would guess there may be other veterans in the group. if there are, let's stand so you can be recognized. [applause] ver there. all of us -- all of us this the service fought for freedom and in world war ii we were determined to prove that adolf hitler was wrong in his quest for a 1,000-year reich. we're proud of what was accomplished but it was at such a great human cost. so many died. young men around me died.
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they died defending our nation and our allies and our shared commitment to the protection of human dignity. we honor them tonight on this special anniversary. perhaps the greatest honor we can confer upon those who fought and particularly those we lost is to ensure that we remain steadfast in our defense of those same democratic values and the same transatlantic partnership that defind us 70 and 75 years ago. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, every time i see the american flag, i sick -- or sing our national anthem, it gives me a special thrill. so please, let's everybody stand and sing the national anthem for this great country that we love so much. lease.
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>> ♪ o say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there o say does that star spangled banner yet wave
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o'er the land of the free ♪d the home of the brave [applause] > thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a.j.c.c.e.o. david harris. [applause] >> thank goodness no one asked me to solo the national anthem. good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the best attended a.j.c. global forum in our 110-year history. [applause]
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we are more than 2,700 people here tonight. we represent more than 70 countries. we have diplomats here tonight, and i'd like quickly to read the countries so that we all know who's here as an exception of friendship with a.j.c. we have diplomats from albania, angola, argentina, armenia, australia, austria. aber za january. barbados, belgium, brazil, bulgaria. brunaldy. costa rica, cyprus. equatorial guinea. ethiopia, georgia, ghana. greece, hungary, israel and italy. kurdistan, lithuania. macedonia, mauricious and mexico
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-- [applause] let's hear it for micronesia. [applause] mongolia, morocco, paraguay, the philippines, romania, serbia, slovaka. slovenia, south korea, spain, sri lanka, swaws land, sweden, in dad and tobago and -- inidad and to bago and uruguay. have i missed any countries? france? bonjour. i'm so sorry. the u.k.
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[applause] we also have here tonight the speaker of the parliament of albania, speaker, thank you for being here tonight. you honor us by your presence. [applause] in addition, we have hundreds of members of a.j.c.'s access young leadership program. please stand up and be recognized. access, from the u.s., from israel, from all over. [applause] we have 130 students from american universities across the country. students, please stand up and be recognized. [applause] and though you heard their
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enthusiasm, this is a diplomatic first for us. we have representatives from the consulates mexican across the united states. [applause] and they are joined by our mexican-american friends and partners and leaders of the mexican jewish community who came here, please stand up. [applause] the president of crete, the umbrella french jewish body recently elected could not be here this evening but sends a
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very warm letter to a.j.c. and asked to be remembered to everyone. so we thank you. and the last thing i want to point -- say before asking you to turn your attention to the video is a reminder -- you've heard it before, you'll hear it again. we are a 501-c-3 organization so nothing we say or do should be interpreted in any way, shape, or form as endorsement or opposition to candidates but thank you all for being here tonight. you honor us by your presence. please have a look at the screen. ♪ >> danny bergman is an inspiration. >> a role model. a leader. >> a paradigm of a good citizen. a magnificent jew who really gets what jude schism all about, which is to make the world a better place.
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>> if there were a nobel prize for -- dan bergman one the -- would be the first recipients. >> there's something very special about stan. first of all, he has genuine compassion. he cares about the people with whom we works, he cares about the world. he cares about the mission of a.j.c. he cares about the jewish people. >> he's on a unique mission. it's a journey of home, a journey of possibility. it's a journey of inclusion. he inspires people to be more than they thought was ever possible for them to be and that, i think, is the gift of stan bergman. >> he cares about human beings, about the state of israel -- israel, about the future of the jewish people and everything that he does is about creating a better world. >> to understand dan and to understand his legacy, one has
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to understand where stan comes from. >> stan is the son of german jewish parents who had the foresight to leave germany in the 1930's, bringing both sets of their parents along. they found themselves in south africa. starting a new life with nothing, stan's parents worked hard to business, support their two sons -- support their two sons as well as four elderly parents. not wanting to bring children in apartheid south africa, stan and i moved to the united states as soon as we graduated college. >> we are so grateful to have stanley as a role model, someone who has shown us how to do such meaningful, important, impactful work with respect, with vision, and with passion. >> his parents would be proud of their stanley. i'm sure on this special day, they are looking down with great pride. >> he has always supported and
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believed in me, guiding and mentoring me to prove myself. >> everything he's done in his life, he has always appreciated and accredited those who have helped him along the way. and all his success and the success of the organizations and people with whom he has worked have been the result of teamwork with other people. >> stanley is a very decisive person, likes to act quickly. lane -- ifn the fast i'm driving in the fast lane, stanley is buzzing overhead, urging everyone to move on. ♪ bergman is a cosmopolitan leader of the cosmopolitan organization in a cosmopolitan age, and i think that's what makes him so perfect. >> i think he feels that the ajc is a means by which he can give voice to his own desires to repair the world. >> he is about as effective a lay leader as i have ever met in my life. >> he embodies the synergy of
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the deeply rooted commitment to the jewish people. >> an ongoing, energetic quest to bring people of different backgrounds together for the betterment of everybody. >> it has been for me a great pleasure to get to know stan. he has been a worthy president. indeed, i think he has promoted the cause of all of us, of israel, of america, and of south africa. >> our most memorable visit was the meeting with pope francis. >> we all come here with a deep feeling that you are our true friend. to pope francis, he's very passionate words about what has been achieved in catholic-jewish relations for half a century -- that left an indelible impact on all of us who were grateful to be witnesses to it. ♪ -- bergey bergmann is a
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man is a very successful businessman who has built a ampany from nowhere to being $10.5 billion or $11 billion a s and adustry -- busines leader in this industry and has still engaged in effective philanthropic thry -- philanthropy on a regular basis. >> my dad likes to talk about the fourth key to success, which is people. >> one of stanley's great leadership traits is his ability to build a team, to collect talent that is very diverse, different skill sets that are all bound together by a value system. ♪ "what will our great great grandchildren" -- maybe his great-grandchildren,
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i ain't going to have any. "but what will our next generation say about us?" this is the obligation we have to the generation that comes after us. >> my dad has been such a strong believer in the work that agency does and instilled in all of us -- that ajc does and instilled in all of us the work of standing up for democracy, human rights. in my ajc today, estimation, is at its greatest height. it's never been more together, more effective, more respected worldwide. >> he would be a hard person to follow. i'm glad i preceded him. [applause] >> a very inappropriate --
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appropriate expression in french -- i want to apologize to the represents of: -- representatives of poland and south sudan for not having included you in the original list of diplomats here. we welcome you here. [applause] david: we pay tribute to stand because tomorrow will be his last official day -- to stan because tomorrow will be his last official day as president of this organization. there is no high her verbally -- no hyperbole in this film. if anything, it is an understatement. we have been blessed to have stan's inspiring leadership. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the -- please join me in welcoming stan bergman onstage as we give him a gift and say thank you. [applause]
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[applause] stan: wow, david, everyone, thank you. i don't know what to say. embarrassing. i'm speechless, david. it doesn't happen very often. thank you for that moving tribute. , to me, when i'm out of words, i think of president as i was sitting in the back there, i chatted to
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myself quotes from the late president. "after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more to climb." and the work of ajc has been tremendous the last 110 years, but there is more to go. and thank you all for being here tonight. [applause] stan: when president obama appointed ambassador susan rice is not additional -- his national security secretary advisor just three years ago, ajc praised the president's inspired choice. andng consulted with her provided platforms for her in the course of her 4 1/2 years as america's ambassador to the united nations amalie -- natio a s, we hail the ambassador's powerful defense of our nation's vital security and humanitarian
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interests and the noble ideals of u.n. charter. and we pointed out that she had, on so many occasions, publicly and privately, stood up for israel whenever needed, which, in united nations, regrettably, is too often. just a month after her appointment, david harris had conferred on ambassador rice ajc's distinguished public service award at a special luncheon in the u.n. delegations lounge. in our presentation, we hailed ambassador rice as a staunch defender of human dignity and democratic values. than aears ago and more few foreign-policy crises later, our respect and affection for ambassador susan
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rice are at the same high level and really have grown. ajc's steadfast commitment to american global leadership, to the protection of human dignity, to the unique link between united states and , inel, and to confronting president obama's words, "the of anti-semitism." at a time when america's engagement and leadership in world affairs is being tested globe,stioned across the as well as on the campaign trail here in the united states, it is indeed an honor for ajc to be addressed this evening by principal architect of our nation's foreign policy.
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privilege,is my great privilege and pleasure to introduce the united states national security advisor, ambassador susan rice. [applause] susan: good evening, everyone. stan, thank you so much for that incredibly generous introduction and for your extraordinary leadership of ajc. can we give stan yet another round of applause? [applause] susan: it's not easy being president. i'm reminded of the time shortly
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after the establishment of israel, when president truman and president weitzman were comparing their respective burdens of their office. truman said, "mr. president, you're lucky to have such a little country. how'd you like to be the president of 140 million people," which was then the population of the u.s. "yes, but howed, would you like to be the president of one million presidents?" [laughter] [applause] susan: so, muzzle tov -- mazel t ov to ajc's incoming president, schapiroj l -- john oh, and good luck. hn shapiro, and good
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luck. i also want to pay my respects to david harris, a deeply thoughtful and tenacious advocate, that so and sounding board, and a true friend who has stood by me during some -- an excellent sounding board, and a true friend who has stood by me during some difficult moments. it's great to be here with high representative federica mogherini of the european union and foreign secretary claudia ruiz massieu of mexico. [applause] susan: as stan mentioned, the last time i spoke to ajc was at the women's leadership board luncheon in new york, may, 2013. i was finishing up at the u.n. as our ambassador. in those days, i spent a good deal of time at ajc's headquarters ont 56th street.
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i had the privilege to join you several times. and that that lunch, i was deeply moved to receive ajc's distinguished service award in recognition of the obama administration costs staunch support -- obama administration's staunch support for israel. me for- david thanked standing tall, which i'm pretty sure he meant metaphorically. [laughter] >susan: so, being here feels a little bit like being with family. [speaking yiddish] [applause] susan: now, i don't know how many people know this, but i grew up in shepherd park, a neighborhood in washington, d.c., which was then a predominantly jewish neighborhood, not very far from here. i watched worshipers walking to synagogue every week.
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ar house had a misuse of -- mezuzah on the doorway. i attended many a seder. we told the story of a people liberated from bondage. at a time when bat mitzvahs were still rare, i went to more than most girls at the national cathedral school. [laughter] life, i have been inspired by the deep morality of the jewish faith, by the centricity and the urgency of the command in deuteronomy, shallstice, justice, ye pursue." [applause] for 110 years now, ajc
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has answered that call. you have been america's conscience, fighting for civil rights, reaching out to other faith communities, comforting .he stranger new to our shores more and more, as we recognize tonight, you have become the world's conscience as well, from battling apartheid in stan's native south africa to aiding refugees in europe. i have been truly fortunate, as i have said, to work closely with you at the u.n. and now as the president's national security advisor. i echo the assessment of my dear friend, madeleine albright, who remainsd i quote, "ajc indispensable. no one understands more clearly the need for vigilance and the danger of silence." so, on behalf of president
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obama, thank you for more than a century of doing the sacred work olam, of building a better world for us all. stan, where a person like it would be the biggest mensch in the world. [applause] like ajc were a person stan, it would be the biggest mensch in the world. next week is the festival of some old -- of sabbaoth. they will read from the book of ruth as ruth pledges herself to her mother-in-law and the nation of israel, "wherever you go, i will go. wherever you stay, i will stay. your people will be my people, and your god, my god." that profound expression of family and faith, that joining
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together of faiths is the spirit animating the relationship between the people of the united states and the people of israel. it's an ironclad bond. it's a solemn promise that endures. generation."ion to [applause] ever since president , just recognized israel 11 minutes after it declared independence -- that doesn't mean we always agree on every issue. like all of us, i'm sure the biblical ruth sometimes did not see eye to eye with her in laws. [laughter] susan: but, as president obama told the people of israel when he visited jerusalem, "so long
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as there is a united states of america, you are not alone." [applause] susan: for those of us who care deeply about israel, this is a time of some concern and sometimes of sorrow. i know our hearts ache for the victims of recent violence, including ezra schwartz, an american yeshiva student and a veteran and vanderbilt student, whose tragic losses we mourn deeply. digsknow this, when hamas tunnels so they can kidnap and kill israelis, israel is not alone. when one country is singled out time and time again on the floor of the united nations, israel is not alone.
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[applause] when angry voices attacked israel's right -- attack israel's right to exist, israel is not alone. [applause] token,and, by the same when palestinians are attacked by mobs shouting "death to arab s" and palestinian homes or mosques and churches are vandalized, the palestinian people are not alone. [applause] susan: president obama is deeply and fiercely devoted to israel and to the well-being of the jewish people. i know it because i see it every day. i watched him as he slipped a folded prayer into the cracks of
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the western wall. i stood with him as we ran our hands over the charred remnants of rockets. president obama has met with prime minister netanyahu 16 times, more than almost any other leader. last december, president obama hosted president rivlin as he lit chanukah candles at the white house, the first time an israeli president has done so at the white house. just a few months ago, vice president biden visited israel again for a series of high-level meetings, which prime minister netanyahu rightly called "proof that our relationship is strong in all areas." our commitment to israel, as always, transcends partisanship. when israel was barraged by rocket fire in 2014, the vote in the house of representatives to support israel was unanimous.
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the vote in the senate was unanimous. now, that doesn't happen very much these days. [laughter] susan: but as the members of congress here tonight could tell you, israel's security is not a democratic interest or a republican interest. it's an american interest. [applause] so, when president obama calls america's commitment to israel's that'sy "unshakable," not talk. it's the nearly $24 billion the united states has provided since president obama took office to help israel maintain its qualitative military edge. it's the f-35's israel will receive later this year, the only nation in the middle east with this advanced aircraft. it's the billions of dollars we are investing jointly in
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developing and procuring iron dome and other missile-defense technologies. when hamas was raining down 100 rockets a day on israel, those systems saved untold lives. so, we are doing even more. a few weeks ago, israel successfully tested iron dome aboard ships. as we speak, israel and our department of defense are developing anti-tunneling technology, the so-called underground -- "underground iron dome." [applause] so, israel's enemies are on notice. if you come at israel by land, by sea, by air, or even under the earth, you will lose. [applause]
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the security cooperation between the united states and israel does not stop there. just ask israel's past two defense ministers, who have each raised the closeness -- praised the closeness of our military ties. our special forces training together. drillr forces and navies together. our american national guard is traveling to israel for a joint exercise. as the person who briefs the president every day on the threats to be faced around the world, including in the middle east, i can attest that our intelligence cooperation is at an all-time high. [applause] president obama is committed to ensuring israel's security, not just to the remainder of his term in office, but for years to
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come. israel currently receives more than half of the united states' entire foreign military assistance budget. [applause] and we are discussing the new agreement with israel that would guide our military assistance until the year 2029. even in these days of belt-tightening, we are prepared to sign the single-largest military assistance package with any country in american history. [applause] it would constitute a significant increase in support and provide a israel -- provide israel the funding to update much of its fighter aircraft fleet, substantially enhance the mobility of its ground forces,
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and continue to strengthen its missile-defense capabilities. that is what we mean when we say "israel is not alone." [applause] this brings me to another critical piece of our support for israel's long-term security -- the iran deal. we had a vigorous debate over this agreement. nuclear physicists, military officials, experts, and over 100 countries ultimately supported it. others, including many in israel, opposed it. but whether or not you supported this deal, the results are undeniable. 2/3 of -- has dismantled its installed centrifuges. [applause] 98% ofve shipped out
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their and reached uranium stockpile -- their enriched uranium stockpile out of their country, enough for about 10 new year bonds -- 10 nuclear bombs. the plutonium reactor core is now filled with concrete, never .o be used again before this deal, iran's breakout time to gain enough material to build a nuclear weapon was two months to three months. today, it would take about a year. and if they cheat, we will know. deal, we -- with this have closed off every possible path to building a nuclear weapon, every single one, and subjected a run to the most comprehensive nuclear -- subjected iran to the most conference of nuclear regime ever implement it.
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yet, we are under no illusions. as we've said all along, our guiding principle is distressed verify.-- distrust and as the president has repeatedly emphasized, this deal was never intended to resolve all of our different this -- our differences with iran. that's why nonnuclear sanctions on iran remain in place. hundreds of iran-linked firms and individuals remain sanctioned on nonnuclear ground. we have all the authority we need to combat iran's destabilizing activities, and we are. that includes new sanction designations that target iran's ballistic missile program and support for terrorism. we will not let iran off the hook. [applause] our commitment to israel's security is also why we continue
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to urge israelis and palestinians to resolve what president rivlin calls "the tragedy that envelops us all." as president obama has said, "peace is necessary, just, and possible." indeed, the only path to sustainable security for israel and to dignity and self-determination for the palestinians is two states for two peoples, living side-by-side in peace and security. [applause] that is why, as we mark the 49th anniversary this week of the six-day war, we continue to strongly oppose israeli settlement activity. just like every administration since 1967, republican and
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democratic. just as we oppose counterproductive palestinian actions and strongly condemn incitement and violence. settlement activity corrodes the prospects for two states. it moves us towards a one-state reality. israel's future as a jewish, democratic state is at stake. insist that has just returned from a gathering of foreign ministers in paris, where the united states and all other participants underscored that a negotiated two-state solution is the only way to achieve an enduring peace. a solution cannot be imposed on the parties. [applause] but we continue to urge them to undertake meaningful actions on
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the ground that are consistent with their rhetorical commitment to two states. and gaza,n -- children who are just like yours and mine deserve a future that is not consumed by this conflict. as my cherished friend and israel's national treasurer shimon peres says, "there are two things in life you cannot achieve unless you close your eyes a little bit -- love and peace." so, we will continue as the psal m says to "speak peace and pursue it." at the same time, we will stand up not just for israel's security, but for israel's very legitimacy. i want to be very clear. no country is immune from
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criticism. no country should be immune from criticism. the united states certainly isn't. but when one nation is targeted relentlessly, obsessively, bitterly, as israel is time and again, that is just wrong. it is ugly. [applause] it is bullying in the guise of diplomacy, and it has to stop. [applause] 1/2 years at the united nations, i had the privilege of doing battle every day to defend israel from a drumbeat of hostility. i was proud to lead that fight. the united states fought tooth and nail against the deeply flawed goldstone report. we vigorously opposed the human
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rights' council's unbalanced and counterproductive focus on israel. when the palestinians tried to short-circuit the path to statehood, president obama stood before the general assembly and said, "peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the united nations. ultimately, it is the israelis and the palestinians who must live side-by-side." and when the security council pushed a divisive resolution targeting settlements, even as the united states was pursuing a more constructive path forward, at president obama's direction, i raised my hand and cast the first and only veto of this administration. power,essor, ambassador continues to show that israel has no better friend at the united nations than the united states. [applause]
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including by pushing to integrate israel more fully into the international system. when israel's adversaries seek to isolate and boycott israel economically, we forcefully combat these efforts. we strengthen our economic ties more than ever. the united states stands firmly against these attempts to delegitimize israel. [applause] and when iran holds an abhorrent holocaust cartoon contest, when violence and vile words lead jews to take down europe, when more
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than half of american college students say they have witnessed or experienced anti-summit is an on-campus, we must call out and confront that -- mi -- anti-semitism on campus, we must call out and confront that ancient hatred for what it is -- an absolute outrage. [applause] as president obama said earlier this year when he became the first sitting american president to speak at the israeli embassy, "an attack on any faith is an attack on all faiths. we are all jews." [applause] and that is why we applaud and work closely with groups like ajc. your mayors united against anti-semitism advertisement in today's "wall street journal"
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made a powerful statement against hate. that's why, last year, the united states helped organize the first ever united nations general assembly meeting on anti-semitism. that's why we have appointed a special envoy to monitor anti-semitism, ira foreman, and are urging other countries to appoint their own. we won't let up. the ugly hatred has to end. [applause] that is our records. these are our principles. this is president obama's steadfast commitment. [applause] for me, the warmth and strength
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of his relationship between the united states -- of this relationship between united states and israel will always be rooted in my very first trip to israel. i was 14 years old. my beloved late father was on the board of twa. some of you may remember that once great airline. and he took me and my younger brother to israel. we arrived on one of the first ever flights from egypt to israel. it was just after the camp david accords were signed. and on that trip, without our ours in sorrow -- we bowed heads in sorrow, we walked in the old city, climbed, floated in the dead sea, and picked fr uit at a kibbutz. i learned in my heart the words of the -- like so many americans who visited israel, those memories are etched in my soul.
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there's another, more recent memory that i will also never forget. it's actually a highlight in my time in this current job. it took place a few years ago, when i had the chance to play basketball on the white house court with some young israelis and palestinians. they are a group you may know called the peace players, and they use sports to bridge communities. we were out on the south lawn, not far from where -- made peace and where rabin and arafat shook hands. everyone was wearing shorts and t-shirts, boys and girls, israelis and palestinians, observant and less observant, and we played. israelis and palestinians on the same coed team, sweating,
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bumping each other, going for the ball, hustling across the lines of the court, as if they had never been divided by lines on a map. they were very good players, by the way. much better than us, though that is not saying a great deal. but on that basketball court, i saw what is possible. i saw what the future might hold, if only we have the courage to reach for it. days. these are difficult at times like these, it is easy to get into doubt and cynicism -- to give into doubt and cynicism and despair. it's easy to be overcome by fear, to turn inward and to turn against one another. but as those young people remind as the anthem we will sing later reminds us, even in our
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darkest moments, there is hope. hope for peace. hope for progress. hope for justice. matter how distant these goals may seem, we can never forget the truth of those magnificent words, "if you will it, it is no dream." so, with god's blessing and god's help, let us keep willing it. let us keep working for it. let us keep mending our broken world, together. thank you very, very much. [applause]
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>> ajc's institute for latina irs astino american affa for 10 years build bridges between the latino and jewish community. it has strengthened ties between the united states, latin america, spain, portugal, and israel, and it has ensure the well-being of -- >> they bring together four constituencies, american jews, latin american jews, u.s. latinos and latin americans. those come-- four of together to find out how we can connect, build a stronger bridge, achieve a week -- connection in the western hemisphere. >> the mandate rings true.
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we have been able to build connections among the many spheres of the latino universe, domestic, hemispheric, and global, and to build bridges amongst these constituencies in israel. >> i think its best and we approach reducing our barriers together. they have done a terrific job of facilitating the dialogue, and i think we are better for it. >> in my one week that i was in israel, through progress interchange, i learned more than i did in 20 years, and it gave me a whole new understanding of the challenges and intensities that are happening in israel. -- complexities that are happening in israel. haso, over the years, dls done a terrific job in fasting the relationship between spain, the united states -- in fostering the relationship between spain, the united states, latin america, and israel.
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>> when there was the situation in venezuela, a few days passed. i was part of the delegation traveling to caracas. in thewith people government. provides anersary unparalleled opportunity to celebrate our key accomplishments. among them, helping create the latino jewish congressional caucus, sponsoring landmark studies, and ponder -- and pioneering outreach initiatives, expanding project interchange for hundreds of latino american leaders, and leading delegations of latinos, u.s. latinos, and jews to latin america. >> we live in a very challenging world today. a lot of threats -- they affect not only israel, but all of the
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jewish people. and i think the success of ajc filled a mantle. >> ajc gives me a chance and opportunity to be part of this mission to keep safe are people. that's the mission of ajc. i'm happy to be part of it. >> i think the sky is the limit. i think the opportunities are greater than ever. as the latino community grows, as our ties between jews and latinos grow even closer, i think there will be even more chances for us to do this great work. >> we invite you to embrace our mission. [applause] >> good evening, and thank you,
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ambassador rice, for your important and moving remarks. it has once again been ajc's great honor to host you. i'm the incoming chair of the international relations commission. it is my great honor to introduce our next speaker this evening, secretary of foreign affairs of mexico clottey claudia ruiz-- massieu. let me describe the unprecedented participation she has inspired. secretary has invited all 50 mexican consuls from around the united states -- the secretary has invited all 50 mexican consuls from around the united states together with us at the ajc global forum, and they have been with us since yesterday. we are also joined by delegations of mexican-americans and mexican jewish leaders, all close friends of ajc.
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one more time, i would like to ask all three groups, the mexican diplomats, mexican jewish leaders, mexican-american partners, as well as israel's ambassador to mexico to please rise and be recognized. [applause] kim: it is this mexican-u.s.-israeli triangle that ajc celebrated in mexico city. last november -- last november. we mark the 10th anniversary of our own belfer institute for latino and letting -- latin america with a gala dinner for
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our partners. tonight, we recognize the past, but we are focused on the future, and our message is loud and clear. we value the relationship between mexico, the united states, and israel. we salute the hard work and contributions of mexican-americans in this country. [applause] and we intend to help build steeper ties and stronger links between our communities. the foreign secretary embodies these shared values and commitments, and we are thrilled and honored that she has made a special trip from mexico city to join us here this evening. please join me in welcoming our friend, secretary ruiz massieu.
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[applause] claudia: thank you, thank you, kim, for your kind introduction. it is a true privilege to be here today, and i really want to thank the ajc for its hospitality and its kind invitation. stanley, david, thank you for having me here tonight. and i would also like to thank, cially, the mexican jewish community delegation that that travelede, from mexico.
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thank you very much for your support here and at home. honored toularly share this forum with two very distinguished, intelligent, and tough women. national security advisor susan rice and the high representative of the european union for foreign affairs and security policy federica mogherini. [applause] a, you are truly global leaders. your work is widely recognized. you are living proof of how every country and every society grows stronger when women get empowered and have access to positions of influence. applause]d
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friends,dear ajc just a few months ago, we met in mexico city. we were there to celebrate the first decade of the bill for -- the belfer institute. here we meet again. on that occasion, we talked about how this would be a great opportunity for us as mexicans to share with you the many things and projects we have together and the many things we have accomplished together. thank you again for having us everyone that we are friends with whom we share values and interests. you know, friendship is a gift that you cannot promise with words, but that you demonstrate with action. and i am proud to say that the mexican and the jewish people's have -- people have forged an enduring friendship waste on --
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friendship based on mutual prosperity and times of need. between 1939 and 1942, our consul in paris was one of the few diplomats who, facing tremendous personal risks, sheltered and issued humanitarian visas for hundreds of jews who were wanted by the gestapo. thanks to his efforts, they found safe haven in mexico and became a part of our national family. [applause] but our common story begins much earlier. for the first jews who arrived in mexico came in 1519 with the spaniards. and ever since, particularly in the 19 century and 20th century -- 19th century and 20th
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century, different waves of immigrants have enriched mexico's cultural landscape. let me tell you, this has been no exception. hundreds of chileans, argentinians, and other people from south america found refuge in our country when military juntas ruled in many capitals in the region. mexico also received thousands of spaniards fleeing from france's fascist regime. this open your system is something we have in common -- open door system is something we have in common with the united states. in the 21st century, thousands of people of different nationalities, japanese, armenian, lebanese, chinese, and many others, arrived to mexican ports, just like they arrived to ellis island in the 19th century, reaching a land of peace where they could prosper with their families.
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this position cemented solidarity, as shown in 1985, when the most dreadful earthquake hit mexico city. in those days, many lives were alliesecause friends and from all over the world, such as israel, were steadfast in sending humanitarian missions and aid. mere examples are not tocdotes, but serve as a -- build a better future together. part of our shared future is being built right here in the united states, home to both the largest jewish and mexican diasporas in the world. [applause] states is the land of the free and the home of the brave, but it is also the land of the pioneers and the home of
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the immigrants. [applause] like any other neighbors, we have had to learn to work together, understand each other better, and respect each other more. that a permanent journey often poses challenges, but also one in which our common values and shared interests have given us the strength to overcome fear and suspicion. in the 19th century, the relation with our northern neighbor was so full of suspicion that someone coined the phrase, "oh, poor mexico, so far from god and so close to the united states." incidentally, a jewish friend once told me he would phrase it rael,r differently, "oh, is so close to god, but so far from
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the united states." [laughter] well, those days are so long gone that we can joke about it now. today, our border with the a source ofs is prosperity for both our countries. [applause] data, youook at the reached the conclusion that you will not hear often these days, so i will say it here, loud and clear, because it is important. the united states benefits greatly from the economic relation with mexico. [applause] and the american people benefit immensely from the presence of mexicans in this country. [applause]
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and this is natural, because we are allies and we are friends. we live in a world where no country can face alone the major economic challenges of the 21st century. competition is fierce, so the region that proves to be more competitive will trade more goods and export more services. it will attract more investment and create more jobs. convincedy we are that one of the best ways for the united states to maintain and increase its global competitiveness is to ,onsolidate and expand trade investment, cooperation, and integrated chains of value with mexico. [applause]
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mexico's network of 12 free-trade agreements with 46 countries worldwide means that u .s. companies manufacturing in mexico have preferential access to 60% of the world's markets. also, in recent years, due to an increase in productivity, manufacturing costs in mexico have dropped below those of china. the naked truth is that, today, over six million u.s. jobs depend on the commercial relation with mexico. that is more than the entire population of norway. [applause] so, allow me to debunk one of the greatest myths. we do not steal jobs from the united states. [cheers and applause]
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on the contrary, we are vital for millions of women and men providing for their families on this side of the border. as production chains continue to integrate, we are witnessing the --rgence of the new paradigm mexico and the united states do not just trade amongst themselves. frombuild things together, automobiles that cross eight times our borders in the process n toeduction -- productio smart phones, computers, beers, to state-of-the-art learjets. youally, by buying mexican are helping the u.s. economy. on average, 40% of the content in mexican exports is made in the united states. that's right.
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you spend in $1 mexican products supports u.s. jobs. [applause] and, just as our stores are filled with american products, you will only see more mexican products in your local stores. by 2018, the united states will import more from mexico than from any other country, so that made in mexico will oust in china. [applause] this is remarkable, but not surprising, if you consider that every minute of every hour of every day, mexico and the united states trade over $1 million. to give you an idea of the importance of our commercial relation, in 2014, we reached a
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historic record of $534 billion. 3.1 timesxico exports more to the united states than brazil, russia, india, and south africa combined. american consumers value and rely on the quality and taste of our products. u.s. economyhe also benefits from our already vast and growing mexican internal market. mexican9% of the population is in the middle class. this represents about 44 million people more -- people, more than the total population of canada. and, believe me, this is good for the united states. exports from the u.s. to mexico
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are larger than those to china and japan together. parity too brings this great nation as we invest. today, mexican investment in the united states totals $17.6 billion and has grown over 35% people were most definitely not the problem. we are part of the solution. the president of mexican investment products, and services is larger than most people imagine, spanning all sectors. i know everyone here would expect mexico's mission foods to be go world's