>> let's talk about tax reform. let's talk about investment. let's get back to that. so that is my first passionate appeal. what can we do? this is not about litigation. we did not win the civil rights battle on litigation. i think it is very simple. we have to restore faith in government. bills have to pass. look, when you knock on a door and tell people they have to vote, they want to say why. it is time to step up and deliver on the promise of

democracy. when we can look our brothers and sisters in the eyes, black, latino, young, women, so same-day registration, getting out there and thinking about what we're passing legislatively , racial inequality. we must be on the forefront. really being there on the ground. the black lives matter movement is a movement afoot, a climate change movement afoot. they can register. they are registering people to vote, but we have to commit to them that we are going to deliver for them, not just take that vote. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. [laughter] [applause]

robert weissman has led public citizen since 2009. as well as anate expert on a wide variety of issues. the floor is yours. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for the opportunity to speak today. thank you to the committee for your leadership, and thank you for your stamina. solve itsll not greatest problems if we don't rescue our democracy, severe inequality, catastrophic climate get there ifll not we don't deal with the democratic deficit. americans agree on progressive agenda, raise the minimum wage, stop trade deals, get tougher on wall street, break up the big banks, close tax loopholes

come make sure medicare to negotiate drug prices, deal with the environmental problems of tougher support much enforcement against corporate wrongdoers. thosedon't move on things, we will excludes the voters from the democratic process. i want to talk about the ,emocratic agenda today focusing on the money and politics issues. goes into testimony some detail explaining our current campaign finance system and powers of the corporate class to determine who wins an election, and what kind of policies this country ends up with. i want to elaborate on what was said earlier. the dominance of the super rich in the political process is insufficiently appreciated. it's not just a few people, it

is a tiny number of people. is responsible for 40% of campaign contributions. the top 100 individuals responsible for 60% of the money that goes to super pac's year-over-year. are responsible for half of the money that went into the presidential election. were not talking about guatemala. were talking about an oligarchy emerging in the united states of america. are furious people at the situation and are demanding change. in fact, there is unanimity on this question. , thenew york times poll debate is over whether the system needs fundamental change or whether it has to be completely rebuilt that ceiling thing that people differ about. the good news is also however that by overwhelming margins americans are upset. they agree on the need for change. it turns out to be not just

politically smart but politically necessary to deal with both campaign finance and voter suppression issues. what stan greenberg and other pollsters are telling us is that americans have so much distrust of government and believe the system is so corrupt that unless politicians lead with a reform agenda, they won't listen to the rest of the aggressive agenda put forward. it has to be front and center and the democratic party platform. mentioned, there is consensus money and politics, fighting big money agenda, test of my testimonial and is a product of all the leading national reform groups as well as reform of voting rights amendment, voter empowerment act , and automatic voter registration. important to think about what characteristics are important of a democracy agenda. first, it has to be comprehensive.

americans will not be satisfied with piecemeal reform. second, the democracy agenda has to elevate again bold ideas starting with a constitutional amendment to overturn citizens united and including public financing, small donor empowerment. , however, the democracy platform has to include measures that are winnable and deliverable without congressional action. americans have to see that actual progress is possible on these issues. view, the my democratic party should consider unilaterally adopting measures to at least govern how it conducts its own primaries, not unilaterally disarming against republicans, but looking at measures to deal with some of the worst abuses of the post citizens united era. fifth and crucially, the platform must illustrate a sense specificy and have commitments that telegraph to the american people that we, that you, that we are serious

about this issue and serious about taking steps to deal with it. that it is a priority and it is not just talk, that the party must say we are making specific promises to take rapid action in areas in our power to advance the democracy agenda. i list a bunch of things that would evidence that, but most important is a commitment to introduce within the first 100 days of a new administration package that is a priority and the first term of the new democratic president. thank you very much. [applause] couldn't help but think about some questions that came up yesterday with some of our young people. it is clear that our young people get it. and are getting it more more. if we are not careful, they will outdistance off a lot of people -- outdistance a lot of people.

that is refreshing to know that they are there and making a difference. as i listen to you, a number of things you were talking about are the same thing they were talking about. i was intrigued. one of the perennial problems here is we say the right thing and then people run for office using the old methods. that is one of the things that causes the cynicism. foryou expand on the idea what a beast in the primaries democrats might do that would allow them to differentiate and demonstrate what proper campaign conduct might look like? that strikes me as one way to square that circle. >> there are a number of possible measures. one would be the people's

pledge, initiated by elizabeth warren and scott brown in the massachusetts tenant race, where to offset charitable contributions, and it worked. the outside group stayed out on advertising. as a result, that was an expensive race, that it was a less negative race and a more engaged race. it had a good outcome for us. that's one example. i think there are a lot of things that might be done. another thing would be refusing lobbyist contributions in the primary election season. >> two more questions. thank you so much. i cannot agree more about the priorities that the set of issues should be. i want to ask your factual question.

impact onned the 1% percentage of elections this cycle, percentage of fundraising this cycle, do you have a breakdown between democrats and republicans on that number and does it include, obviously i assume include super pac donations as well? >> i can get back to you with a firm number. it is inclusive of the super pac's. it excludes the dark money organizations where we don't know who the donors are. it is characteristic of both parties. the dark money is being spent on behalf of republicans, but super super pac spending is equal among democrats and republicans. this cycle might be a bit of an outlier. >> thank you for your testimony. very powerful stuff.

i think we have a lot of work in front of us to restore democracy and to reform our broken campaign finance system. i just wanted to talk to you , a report you did a few years ago on the amount of lobbying and campaign contributions that wall street made from 1998 to 2009. i think they had spent over $5 billion in lobbying and campaign contributions to deregulate wall street, which of course led to crisis, whichcial cost millions of americans to lose their jobs, their homes, their life savings. think it ist do you if we are going to prevent another financial crisis to regulate wall street and how

much do you believe that if we do not reform our campaign-finance system we could have another financial crisis like we had a few years ago? >> we looked at the tenures prior to the crisis and found spentall street firms five billion dollars on campaign contributions and lobbying and connected that to a series of directing the tour he measures responsible -- deregulatory measures responsible for the crash. that preceded citizens united. in the post citizens united area, their spending about $500 million a year on lobbying or campaigns ending, so at least double the amount we saw in the 10 years prior. there is no way to understand this issue or climate change or any other issue if you don't look at the money. american people in this area

appreciate. franken want to do more. dodd frank--. and want to do more. it is supremely important for the big take sure there is a very bad synergy between concentration of wealth and concentration of political power, and it centers on wall street. the extreme wealth on wall street gets translated into political power for wall street that is spent to ensure that wall street will have perpetual and intensifying and increasing control over more and more share of the national income and wealth. >> thank you very much. our next speaker will be -- [applause] >> reverend dr. william barber. we had given dr. barber, reverend dr., an opportunity to but he decided he

wanted to be here. i know that physically it is quite painful for you, sir, saidcally, but i physically -- i see you looking at me like that -- and reverend barber is the pastor of a church and member ofina a movement that gain national acclaim for moral monday protests. these weekly actions drew tens of thousands of north carolinians and more witnesses to the state legislature. we thank you for your leadership and thank you for being here. >> thank you so much, mr. chairman. not as painful as some of the things we have seen in voter suppression. i am glad be here. moral monday has spread to other states as well.

to all the members of the committee, i think both campaigns in the season when we need to come together for calling me to present today. i present on the urgency of including voting rights reform in the d&c platform, expanding the voting rights advanced than act along with legislation to curtail the power of citizens united must he part of the platform to save our democracy from a hostile corporate takeover and build a progressive moral agenda. born august 30, 1963, the voting rights act was passed. it was the bloodshed in selma that proved and provided the ink in the pen of history that signed the voting rights law .

because of the actions of a republican congressional theership in five justices, march of history has regressed. much of the ink has been erased and the attorney general has less power today to enforce voting rights and voting protection than the attorney general had in 1965, the day after the signing of the voting rights act. i would be willing to say that the blood on the streets of outha and across the se was in vain. repression acts are being passed, especially in the south. they no longer worry about the accountability structures in place. they are trying to prevent a third reconstruction from growing into full adulthood. number two bank, next saturday, the congress willing gauge in a 1095 day filibuster voting

rights reform and a sustained refusal to fix the voting rights act. this will be 1094 days longer than strom thurmond's filibuster. the voting rights act should not be a partisan issue. it should be a common cause. it wasinception, republican democrat together that introduced into congress. voting is at the heart of our democracy, and if we cannot fix with the decision did to nullify the freak clearance enforcement protections of section five, we must all again question america and the state of our democracy. number three, this will be the first presidential election without the full protections of the voting rights act. there is no greater example of the impact of new regressive voting rules on voters of color than in north carolina, which passed the nations most

expensive voter suppression laws following the evisceration of the preclearance protection. the day that shelby was passed, the leader of voter suppression in our state said this, open boat now that the headache has been removed, we can move forward." north carolina is not alone. actions haveion been implemented across the south. we could for the first time in 50 years break open the solid south. decision, 40shelby counties in north carolina were covered under the voting rights act, and we still had the fight then, even democrats. after shelby, north carolina passed to some of the most restricted in regressive voting repressions in the country, now

under litigation in the fourth circuit. six, its breath and effect is striking, targeting nearly aspect of the voting process. it decreases the early voting by four weeks, eliminates same-day voter registration, eliminates out of precinct provisional ballots, expands voter challenges of the polls, eliminates preregistration for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds, then a straight party ticket voting, illuminates the mandate for voter registration in high schools among other provisions. it eliminates virtually all of the measures that responsible for expanding voter access over the past two decades. this would not have been possible if we had preclearance. we went to trial. our case included 50 witnesses and one main pages of evidence. data demonstrating the impact on voters of color. during the 2012 presidential

election, 70% of african-americans who voted did so through early voting. latinos are registered at lower rates but disproportionate use same-day registration. 41% used to same-day registration. among registered voters, african-americans are more than twice likely as whites to issue state voter ids. more than 218,000 voters issue state ids. number seven, the lack of courage of this congress affects the whole nation, but its effects are equally just in the form of confederate states. in the states, you make up 162 22 u.s.l votes, senators, 13 governors, and 31% of the u.s. house. it is still true that if you can control the south, you can go a long ways to control the nation. number eight, let me also note another disturbing fact about this political season. an entired

presidential primary campaign asking citizens of these united states to cast their vote, and yet not one presidential debate, democrat or republican, has been dedicated to aggressive voter suppression, systemic racism as a relates to voting, and calling for full restoration of the voting rights act. not one on either side. [applause] >> not one candidate has been a major speech on the voting rights advancement act. , freedomn a democracy of speech and the right to protest, equal protection under the law, the right to vote and the establishment of justice forides the cornerstones a society for the people, much less if any is moved, the moral integrity of our democracy must be called into action.

finally, in north carolina, more than 1000 citizens have been arrested, black and white, republican, democrat, gay, straight, young, old, hispanic, protesting voter suppression. they understand the connection between voter suppression and suppressing a progressive agenda. more than 80,000 people marched on one day in the dead of winter. the largest margin since selma, because they understood that voter suppression is a threat to the heart of our democracy and to every progressive ideal and policy we care about. it is a threat to the legacy and the future of our children and grandchildren. let me conclude by appealing to history. upon whosedition death and strength we deal, this is supposed to be a country made up of people for the people by the people, more than a century ago, our ancestors saw fit and

necessary to assert the 15th amendment. no one shall do not or abridge the right to vote. this imperfect project did not end there. more than 50 years ago, martin luther king stood in washington in 1957 to call for equality at the ballot box. typest time he said all of conniving methods are being used to prevent negroes from becoming registered voters. the denial of the sacred right is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandate of our democratic tradition. a religious traditions speak strongly about the disenfranchisement of minorities and the poor, the prophet isaiah said well under those who legislate evil and rob the poor of their rights. ou who area's faithful be steadfast in your devotion to all a, bear witness to the truth in all equity and never let hatred of anyone lead you into sin of deviating from justice.

harshly spoke against democracy and: is the focus on matters of the law, love, justice, and mercy, so i believe that any national platform that does not call for the immediate restoration and expansion of the voting rights endinginning with, not with, beginning with the passing of the voting rights act amendment act and any platform that does not champion legislation to undo citizens united impact would be morally indefensible and constitutionally inconsistent. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you. carolina, after the election where kay hagan lost by less than two percentage points,

it is interesting that after the election when all kinds of snag and going on in north carolina that there was, everybody went and moved on. the impediments had already been baked into the cake. i'm no not by and your organization, but then i looked at down in texas where you have 600,000 people at a minimum not being able to vote and it is as if that becomes the norm. that weall of us agree cannot allow that to become the norm. we are better than that. i want to hear from dr. west. testing, testing. i just want to say that there is simply no other figure in american culture who is as close --martin luther king junior

and i think this is very important. we live in a culture where everybody is for sale. what i see and brother barber is a spiritual integrity, and electoral subtlety, and commitment to public life, and he is willing to be faithful unto death. that is very rare among our politicians, among our public figures, and i say this precisely because making a connection between voter suppression on the one hand, but then the larger agenda that includes the power of wall street, includes corporate power , includes all the lobbyists who stand in the way of the people's will, and it is very important not to fetishize the vote as if this is about voting rights as opposed to empowering those everyday people to have their voices heard at the highest in institutional

processes that shape us. my question actually is, can you say something about how this relates to the younger generation more and more, reaching the conclusion that both parties have been too with corporate power, with wall street, with lobbyists? >> indeed. thank you so much. , 30,000 votes, less than 100 votes per precinct, is the person who ran against kay hagan elected. 75,000 votes were suppressed. the things that we have to understand, and i keep raising this point. too often parties have written off the south. when you write off the south, you write off 22 senators. 30t means you only need

senators from the other 39 states to control the u.s. senate. if you write off the south, that's 31% of the u.s. house of representatives, which means you only need 29% from the other 39 states to control the u.s. house of representatives. control boards of election. now how does that relate? talking aboutrt real racism, not just once a -word, but thee n systematic institutional racism. we have not raised that in this issue of voting rights and voting suppression. think about it. the leadership of the united states congress has refused to even have hearings, that's longer than strom thurmond filibustered. we also have to understand and to your point is that you can't

instancened about for an economic sustainability, poverty and living wages and not inc. about voter suppression. it can't be concerned about health care and environmental justice. you can't be concerned about criminal justice reform, because how the district attorneys become district attorneys, they get elected. how do judges become judges? how do we get bad laws like stand your ground? it is from people who get elected. you cannot dismiss the two. if you are concerned about a progressive agenda and say nothing or not even have a national conversation about voter suppression, then your strange, strange to say the least. i would say that to either party. i was in appalachia the other day, five new branches of the naacp. the counties are 90% white and

89% republican, and we are organizing in appalachia in the west. hundreds of people showed up. they are making the connection. they are understanding that for where you stand on abortion and hama section robbie -- and homosexuality is foolish. a tr moral agenda would stand for economic sustainability, living wages, in alleviating all,ty, health care for environmental justice, women's protection, reform of the criminal justice system, and protecting and expanding voting rights, lgbt writes rights, lgbt writes come and never giving up on equal protection. rights, and never giving up on legal protection.

think the peace movement against xenophobia. if you put all that energy together and you have protected voting rights, that is what is happening. retrogression. if you put all these movements together you can see a third reconstruction come to full adulthood. we will fundamentally change this country. we can't do it unless we fight over issue of voter suppression. demo we are going to have to move to the next witness. >> i am embarrassed that i live

as a gay jewish woman in north carolina with a governor like pat mccrory and all of our elected officials. for the most part republicans can discriminate against us to. there always has been voter suppression in the stout. -- in the south. how do we stop voter suppression in the propervote representatives. >> which is fly number one -- which is why number one we need to get the passing of the voting right suppression act.

if you don't have free clearance it means these laws can be , butd an unconstitutional it puts the weight on the people that have been suppressed. all of the things these would have done would not have been allowed after the clearance. if you are not even willing to have nationals. we have a national speech on security. we ought to have a national speech on the state of voting rights. when the voting rights act was passed, this legislation was may be more important than any victory on the battle scene. we have organize from the bottom up. legislatures have

decided to engage in voter suppression on steroids. one of the officials in north carolina said if a we do hurt students, so be it. -- sot we're doing hurts be it. that's why i'm contending if we really do need to have a conversation about race and class. but it doesn't need to be on the peripheral. mail -- ii want to want to mention is make sure we understand we have a connection. if we talk about it it can be a fusion coalition. that is the scapegoat. the bill tonight's cities. the bill denies the ability for and homosexuals.

it is a racist class, driven, homophobic field. people had not been elected, they would not have been able to pass. the states would pass the redistricting. we saw a legislature pass since the 19th century. then you have an unconstitutionally constituted legislative body. they stacked and packed 51% of

african-americans in the seven out of 100 the eight house seats. 49% of african-americans -- they bear -- they thereby changed the house representation, which used to be seven -- then it is 10-3 republican democrat. and they did this not just a black -- not to elect black people from electing black they did it to elect progressive candidates and that is why we cannot just hit at voting rights. you really want to have a conversation about race and class. a 91 day filibuster of the u.s. congressional leadership.

to stoppingly tied the progressive agenda. >> can you talk about how you built this multiracial coalition that resulted in huge numbers of people coming out to support your movement? need to learn how to do grassroots organizing. can you talk about how you did it, especially on a multiracial basis. >> there is a book called third reconstruction. the first thing is to understand the move doesn't come from d.c. down, they come from greensboro up. number two is to believe we could be a coalition in the south. in a point ofy history that we can break over

the solid south if we have enough prophetic imagination and courage. we stopped operating from the standpoint of left versus right, conservative versus democrat. i'm conservative, i am liberal. theologically conservative. but all of that together. because i want to consider love -- i want to conserve love and justice. using terms that divide us. let's start talking about what and whaty consistent is economically sane. we were able to get people in a room. we put up a map of the legislature.

go up there and check off who is blocking your legislature. everybody had the same whether fighting for justice come lgbt. lgbt. justice, if they are cynical enough to be together, why aren't we courageous and smart enough to be together? why aren't we courageous enough and not justher when we win, but stay there long enough to change. of northtarted, 40% carolinians do not believe in medicaid expansion.

we have to have prophetic imagination in order to have prophetic implementation. but you have to stay at it long enough. we are not going to invest in the candidates anymore. what must we do from the people from the bottom-up? thank you.

>> the lawyer committee modes housing and development. voting rights and more. throughout her career she has focused on strengthening our democracy by combating the discrimination of african-americans. i don't think she is here. here?istian was moved to the united states when he was nine years old. christian became an all-american scholar.

he was limited to his undocumented status. started volunteering, he was one of the core in the family. visited by the president and vice president. >> thank you for allowing me to address you. i am a third-generation immigrant and a proud dreamer. civicso the national engagement coordinator. i have been blessed to be part of a greater organization that has the best minds in the country. the focus is on leadership development.

the family educational fund is train staff- we dedicated to the environment. and voter registration and education. locally.y and they have strongly opposed this law.

taking part of the program. local and national partners have challenged the voter registration card. nevada, in compliance with the nvr a. election department came compliance ensure but are registration form is in place before the 2016 electoral -- 2016 general election. partnered with local and national partners, with the fifth circuit court of appeals.

looking forward, i believe solutions that promote democracy program such as photo registration, automatic butter registration, modernized .lection systems >> any questions? ago youears participated in a water only , took on the congressman of

the united states to take on comprehensive immigration reform. the house never brought to the committee, much less to the floor. as it has been pointed out there -- afilibuster in effect filibuster, in effect blocking the same thing going on with respect to an action on comprehensive immigration reform. i don't want us to miss the opportunity to give the chance to talk about what they are doing there. >> i have been blessed to participate in a fast with great leaders.

the only reason why i took part of this is because i have a matter in this. i believe my mom and my dad, there is a great sacrifice to have a better future. i thought it was time to give back a little bit to my parents. i think they have outstanding citizens, like my mom and dad. there are millions of families across the country that want to .ave a better future every day i work is because of them. one of my biggest nightmares come to mind. deal i can look my parents in the eye is if i did everything i could for them to have a better

tomorrow. fasting is part of the solution, but the overall solution is by having people vote. that is why day in and day out we are making sure we are building political powers. everybody take part of the democracy. >> it is nice to hear you want a better situation for your parents. thanks a lot. the honorable john loredo. former representative john loredo served in the arizona state house of representatives for several years from 1997

through 2004. representative loredo became the first latino ever to serve as democratic leader of the arizona house of representatives. thank you for being with us. >> thank you members of the platform committee. thank you for letting me come play before you today. we have been talking about the attack onis voting rights and the other is the attack on common sense campaign-finance regulation. they are interrelated in toressing both issues strengthen our democracy and make our elections work for everyday people. voters approved the election and initiative. systema revolutionary that allows candidates to run for office on small contributions and public funds. there the first few --

first few cycles worked really well. i-8 being able to rely on five dollar contributions. contributions qualify for the system. there were some immediate impacts of public finance on the political spectrum. one of the most germanic impacts we saw -- the most dramatic impacts we have seen is the asrease of people of color well as women. we saw people of color elected in two districts that were not minority districts. it was very difficult for a person of color to run in a non- majority-minority district. nobody expects you to win. and we had public finance people qualify for clean elections. funding they need

it in order to win a competitive race. theeally did become about quality of the candidates and their ideas. we started to see people getting elected at all levels. there was also a traumatic impact on public policy. marginas a very close between democrats and republicans in the house and the senate. and it led to more coalitions having to work together, that moderated the state legislature. record investment in public education, record investment in public health. they would come down the pike from the more conservative members. i distinctly remember my into my year walking office and there was a lobbyist from the chamber of commerce waiting for me. he had this very nice glossy

thing to hand out to me and it had a big 98% on the front. 98%, 98% of what we want and 98% of what we want killed gets killed. after we have a whole bunch of collections candidates, they stopped passing that out because those percentages dropped dramatically. special interest getting involved in politics in two different ways, buying who they want for public office. justthat doesn't work they wait for him to take office and get the hell out. they know if they can in debt somebody, that affects the policy. neither one was possible for clean elections candidates. couldn't fund their campaigns comes they weren't running clean.

and they couldn't donate corporate checks after they got elected because that was illegal. it made public policy much more tempered at the state capital. that, we lost the matching funds for clean election. distinctly going to talk to them after we lost the matching funds in clean election. i can't vote against that anymore. this and iing to do can't defend myself anymore. for the first time arizona did

not have the protection of section five preclearance of the voting rights act. a record long lines waiting in lines for hours and hours and hours to vote. p.m. and close at 7 ended at 1:00 in the morning. many people simply turned around and walked away. either they wanted to use a restroom or wanted to eat. the county clerk dramatically reduced the polling place. they went from a couple hundred polling places to 160. that would not have been allowed under section five of the voting rights act. another desperate of voter suppression bill, our voter engagement groups are really successful at registering large numbers of people. permanent early vote list. if you sign up once and you are

you have your ballot 26 days before the election. minority voters, get them to turn their balance in. voter engagement groups are in the neighborhoods all the time. are trusted and respected people in the neighborhood. people will allow those canvassers to carry the ballot and turn them in. the state legislature ran a bill outlining that and made it a felony event for one of our canvassers to collect the ballot and turn it into county election officials. under preclearance it never saw the light of day.

kicked it right back to the state. the state new there was no way -- without preclearance voter suppression was alive and doing well. for our part in arizona, people are out on the street as they are gathering to put an initiative on the ballot to repair the arizona clean air act. the citizens initiative is key, but we need congress and the next administration to act. the democratic platform must call for the restoration of the voting rights act and modernization of our election system. increasing transparency and political spending. agency.an election we need to change our constitution to value political

equality and say that democracy is in speech. to increase participation and make sure every voice and make sure every voice in the political process can be heard. thank you. >> thank you for your comments on small donor financing. i agree that we have to recognize the centrality of all of these issues in democracy. my voice to do that in the platform. we do have candidates in this race. financing.ut public connection between these

issues and how they ensure democracy is really important. >> thank you very much. our next guest will be coming by way of skype. he is a native of san francisco and has been active in the ministry for over 20 years. they became the national director of urban strategies lived free campaign. campaign led by hundreds of faith congregations throughout the united states committed to addressing gun violence, mass incarceration of young people of color. welcome. >> the way the church speaks for

me, i also serve as the national director for urban strategy. the one million families in 2016 , the local state and national federation. we run the largest motor civic engagement program. we plan to make over one million voter contact. we say that the first revolution is an internal revolution. i want to focus my testimony on how to close the passion gap. we call it integrated motor engagement. we must remove every barrier, which instructs the full

participation of all of our people in this country. believehe weaknesses we in our present party is a robust analysis and governing principle which takes seriously the way racial divides and economic equality is structured in policy and practices, which are often championed and sustained by -- sustained by elected officials. the people's liberation, not false messiah's. we have hundreds of thousands of americans and their families to to police violence and massive incarceration. an arbitrary violence, all which ended full participation of life , liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. democracy with the

democratic national platform must have. driving our addiction to incarceration and gun violence. some cities, one out of every three men of color vote. a florida currently disenfranchises over 2 million voters because of previous criminal convictions. so can the dnc set a moral standard to end private contracts at the federal level, which would decrease incarceration. including our immigrant family members. about the immorality of such arrangements. can the dnc refused to take dollars from private companies? the nra, gun manufacturers, and

other for-profit entities which compromise the everyday voters could for justice and inclusion, we believe justice and public safety should not be for sale. supportwo, can the dnc -- particularly of candidates with color -- particularly with candidates of color, rather than establishing candidates of the neoliberal political project, which have overseen the greatest expansion of economic inequality on their watch. prioritize the browning of leadership at the democratic party on every level. outthe dnc support holding efforts to build a real youthful progressive wings of the democratic party? candidacy -- and demand

compatibility for just a platform for local elected officials and bodies, particularly democratic elected officials, county district accelerate thean breaking up of the pipeline, which is another form of voter suppression. confidence.risis of we see local democratic officials unable to deliver on the governing principle. it is a fact that very few, if anyone remember what the was from previous electoral cycles. to moves this mean beyond the document to one of are part ofty that the democratic party, but are yet complicit in excluding our

communities from democracy. many of these democrats have bought into liberal notions of , rather than charity and intercommunal interdependence. our message and ideology matters for our community. this will fall flat on many hearts and minds of millennials. for many of us we are wary about our own bogeyman and bogey women , which incarcerates, gentrified's, and excludes our communities from participation. it gives the platform to emphasize, addressing the exclusion of brown and poor

, through targeted electoral campaign. can expand economic dignity and justice, as well as ending the profit for incarceration, all the while accountability mechanisms for local, state, and national candidates, i believe .t would close the passion gap from low density populations to vote and sustain that people started in the fields of alabama. the streets and neighborhoods of ferguson. thank you for your time. >> we will have one question from dr. west. >> can you hear? i just want to thank you for your eloquence end

we have gone to jail together, we have also prayed together. i want you to say more about the all of us or none movement that has to do with mass incarceration. it seems looking at your critique of neoliberal apitalism, we actually have way of connecting based on moral and spiritual grounds that he best exemplify, connecting all .he different movements anti-mouse of privacy, anti-white supremacy, anti-jewish, anti-muslim. been able to do that on the west coast. can you talk about that particular movement in a way which you are able to brought it out? back is you come right a double punch for this platform community. them if you take seriously integrated voter engagement, a

formerly incarcerated organization allows us to have models that we can replicate all across the country by doing five particular things. we can organize constituents into year-round power organizations. throughout the whole year we are organizing constituent directly impacting people who are able to fight and win local elections and punish officials for their -- weity or ability to lead the base to engage and mobilize the broader electorate. petition gathering, conversation with voters. to hold passed proposition 30 and proposition 37, which helps in many ways

deconstruct the decades of mass incarceration policy. allows us to shift the public narrative. developvalues help authentic local spokes people who move narratives and direct voter engagement, earned and paid media and elite organizing strategy. again we are not just looking towards a figure, we are talking about not permanent emily -- permanent enemies or permanent allies. engaged, then it allows us to reshape the rules of the game, making sure our people, our interests are consistently there at the front. many of our black lives matter type organizations all across withountry, we are working this model in mind.

we think this will allow us to close the passion gap to make sure we have people in office that are representing our interests. >> thank you for being with us. the executive director of the state of innovation exchange, prior to leading the exchange. campaign fromate .ayor michael bloomberg he also served as the consumer financial protection bureau assistant director of intergovernmental and international affairs. thank you for being with us. >> good afternoon committee members. it is an honor to speak to you about an issue i care deeply about, protecting and expanding our democracy. many factors let my parents to immigrate from india and settle

in rural nebraska. a chance for a better life for their children. it was also the promise of experiencing american democracy. the idea that every citizen has a right to vote in the fate of their community and a political system where all voices are heard. that noble right, that for right to vote is the bedrock of america and something we should strive to protect. it is fundamental who we are as americans. there are forces in this country a working to undermine this core value. if my parents were becoming citizens today it would be hard for them to register and vote in many states. states have introduced hundreds of bills making it more difficult for ordinary citizens to participate in the political process. these efforts were massively accelerated in the election of

2010. 32015 state legislators introduced nearly 400 new voting restrictions in 49 states. last year alabama, the birthplace of the voting rights act passed a strict voter id law and then closed 31 do you feel the state, primarily in areas that disproportionately affect people of color. conservative legislatures pass laws for early voting, cutting registration, a lemonade and preregistration, and imposing a .trict voter id law that legislation will be implemented in 2016. 17 states will have new voting restrictions in place for the first time in a presidential election. why is this happening, how is this possible?

would argue the democratic party has ignored the states for too long. conservatives have invested ruthlessly at the business of movement building at the state level. they have opened an infrastructure that allows them to drive policy like stand your ground, from florida to 20 some states. they have built up a fallen team that allows them to train and recruit conservatives for office. they have more legislative chambers than they have had since the 1920's, and they have 31 republicans across the states. as the executive director of the state innovation exchange, a group that works on state policy, and now building a counteroffensive to fight groups american legislative exchange council and other conservative forces in the state, i have had a front-row seat to how the corrosive and anti-democratic policies impact lives of people.

but i have also seen how states can be models for positive change. driven by progressives around the state, spurred by new technology and new ideas, policies like online voter registration, same-day registration, automatic voter registration have passed in a number of states. these are common sense good policies, and have passed with strong bipartisan majorities in the state. along with the various registration and voting, states have passed a number of other forms, which expand the , increase participation, and protect the fundamental right to vote. this includes restoring the right to vote to nearly 6 million americans who live in our communities, pay their dues, and were released by the justice system but were denied a voice because of prior felony convictions. states have demonstrated the ways in which we can impoverish

democracy, when we create barriers at the ballot box, but it also shows how modernizing our systems and increasing voter access can and rich it. i strongly urge this committee took moved -- this committee to look to the states and work to undo voting restrictions. and to realizing the democratic promise on which this great country was founded and my parents were inspired by. thank you. >> thank you. we have heard from several witnesses this morning, very eloquent who are laboring the state politics. these are the last four democratic party platforms. they don't talk about state politics, it is not in here. us, we are case for writing 83016 democratic

-- what iso add in the case for us changing what has been done before? we are a national committee of the democratic, why is there a case to be talking about state-level politics? >> every policy the democrats care about may run through the federal government. if you look at what happens when federal policies are passing, the states have been able to block what we have cared about. 19 states have left 10 million americans uninsured. these have human consequences. antiunion policies are making it tougher for families to share in the economic recovery. austerity measures are letting vital infrastructure rust up. we heard about flint earlier. leaving the states out causes that type of thing.

gun policies would have been stronger there, that could have been prevented. you are also ignoring the human consequences that neglect causes. i would strongly encourage the party and this committee to integrate state policies and focus on states into the platform. >> thank you very much. we're going to hear from the president and executive director of the national lawyers committee for civil rights. ms. clark focused on strengthening our democracy by combating -- by combating discrimination, african-americans and other marginalized committees. thank you for being with us.

-- president and executive director of the national lawyers committee for civil rights. in 1963 at the behest of president john f. kennedy. defend the civil rights of african-americans and across themmunities nation. working to defend the civil rights for all americans is critical to the health and good standing of our country. the right to vote lies at the heart of our democracy. it is indeed the bedrock from which all other rights flow. we have heard a great deal about the threats we now face today in the wake of the u.s. supreme court 2013 ruling and the shelby county versus holder case, which got the heart of the voting rights act. i want to thank the reverend for eloquently describing the crisis that we now face.

to ask thee committee to focus your attention on the unique significant and long-standing challenges and barriers faced by a group of nearly 6 million american citizens who were categorically excluded from elections across our country. many states continue to maintain laws that deny or restrict the right to vote. and the 6 million americans, people who have paid their debt to society and are seeking a and encounter barriers at every turn, getting access to housing, getting access to educational opportunity. it is indeed the barrier to the ballot box that are most pernicious and anti-democratic.

this is an issue that impacts all americans and our voting system generally. the racial implications must be underscored. the stark racial disparities that play out at every level of our criminal thesee system, disenfranchisement laws have a disproportionate impact on african-americans, latinos, and other minorities. of every 13 african-americans of voting age is ineligible to vote today due to a felony conviction. the problems are especially pronounced in three states. including florida, kentucky, and virginia. contexthistorical cannot be ignored. when date back to an era

the number of states began for me letting the laws with the focusing onose, particular crimes that african-americans were more likely to commit. alabama amended its constitution to expand disenfranchisement to include all crimes involving moral interpret to do, a vague and undefined term that was used to apply to misdemeanors and not punishable by law. tenuoustry's status is when we maintain laws. among 45 industrialized nations, we are one of only four to impose restrictions on the right to vote. reversing some of the harmful

effects of discriminatory policies that contribute to to the massing carp -- mass incarceration. right tostoring the vote so that all americans regardless of race, economic status, or history with our troubled criminal justice system will have full and equal access to the political process. this is a criminal justice reform issue. returning citizens benefit from civic participation. research has found civic engagement activities reduce feelings of isolation among offenders and their -- and thereby reduce the likelihood of re-offenders ending up back in jail and prisons. that these laws stand in direct conflict with public safety.

we have seen scattered signs of progress. taken action to restore the rights to votes. a law went into effect this year. we need the party to provide leadership on this issue to address the patchwork approach to these issues around the country. i leave you with a quotes shared by one of our allies on the ground in kentucky, teddy. a 74 year old gentleman who states that when you don't have your rights, it is as if it you are still serving time. you still can't vote.

to expand access and leaders who are courageous enough to restore voting rights to the 6 million returning citizens who pay their debt to society. thank you for the opportunity to speak to this important issue today. >> i want thank you for your testimony and really add to that. in 1924 congress granted citizenship for native americans born in the u.s.. the citizenship act,

native americans weren't allowed to vote because the right to vote was governed by state law. some states barred native americans from voting. was younger in i remember my relatives, some of them were incarcerated for practicing the ceremony. many of our members were arrested and incarcerated. a lot of our tribal members do not have the right to vote because of the crimes that they committed. some of them were just practicing the ceremony, using our medicine and singing our songs. it was something i grew up understanding and we were taken needf -- we really national legislation to help protect and further our voting rights.

we don't have a voice. they can come out and be part of the process. fact our members need to be part of the process and need to have the right to vote. i want to thank you for your testimony. >> the racial disparities are severe but this is not a black-white issue. this is an issue about our voting process. i couldn't agree with you more. >> thank you so much for this. one argument as we take out the complete outrageousness of this disenfranchisement is the point out it is not something that is just obvious. there are a couple of states in the union were people are allowed to vote while they are

in prison. it should be seen as the most obvious. just complete astonishment that somehow this the print lingers on. i guess all i'm saying is thank you because talking about this all the time is one of outrage. this is as just a direct challenge of what it means to be part of a constitutional system as one can imagine. you must be from maine or vermont, one of the two states in the country that does not restrict or limit the rights to vote. think that maine and vermont stand as leaders in this regard and we need leadership at the

national level to help push the other 40 states to catch up to where maine and vermont stand on this issue. >> we see it in maryland and we see it throughout the country, so many young lawyers coming along. i remember i can literally count -- the number of african-american lawyers in one state. we see more and more young forward andng addressing issues like this. how importantyou it is to have our entire society being well educated to be in a position to make a difference. i want you and others to go back to their organizations until

people we appreciate what you all are doing. it really does mean a lot. i live in a neighborhood where a lot of young men, i have been here for 35 years. at least 60% of the young people within a one mile block of where i live. criminali live have records. >> thank you. and thank you for your leadership. we are going to end the era of mass incarceration, we need to make sure that when people come out of prison, they are given the access to opportunity. so many of them cannot get access to jobs, to schools, but we have to care deeply about the fact that so many of them are excluded from the ballot box and

denied accessibility. thank you for your leadership and thank you to the committee for bringing attention to this incredibly important issue. >> thank you. [applause] congressman. >> thank you. i would like to put into the record the statement to the executive vice president, you see out here today. >> thank you. >> we have heard on economic issues. the presentation is about expanding democracy, so he has been a big part of that. i will offer this for the record. >> so ordered. thank you. [applause] >> to the members of the committee, we have three skype presentations now.

mr. zogby will address us for two minutes. at 1:00, i am on my way home. let's go. who is an attorney spearheaded a reform campaign in florida, which was then one of the worst gerrymandered states in the nation. her efforts led to the passing of two amendments, limiting legislative power to the districts to favor incumbents or political parties, and the ,mendment on gerrymandering giving them the ability to elect those of their choice. and to be as equal in population as possible. thank you for being with us.

>> thank you very much, mr. chairman, and members of the committee that it is a tremendous honor -- committee. it is a tremendous honor to speak with you. i wanted to talk to you about what i see as one of the biggest threats to our democracy, nationwide. and of which we have done something about in florida. legislative and congressional districts in most states are rigged by the political party in power to ensure that their --ies and their selves themselves, are reelected. most states, there are currently no rules to stop them from drawing districts to favor themselves. as a result of this unfair paragraph, districts -- grab, districts senselessly divide communities. they often meander for hundreds of miles and more often than

not, they divide communities along the way. small towns are often splintered into three or four congressional districts, and people do not know the representative because they live so far from the representative's hometown. perhaps more important, when these districts are rigged for a particular outcome, representative are not accountable to constituents. because of how they draw the districts, they do not have to fear any serious election opposition. incumbent legislators, by the way, have a 98.2% retention rate. this -- voters. and without a voice to represent their interests. and when the next redistricting cycle comes along, these legislators take care of themselves and their party, rather than the people they are sworn to represent. rigged tostricts are

-- >> we will see if we can get her back. is we will move on. she is back. >> i am back. >> happy to have you back. >> so sorry. i do not know what happened. but i think i was saying, when the districts are rigged to be won by particular party, then the few elections that exist occur in primaries, and this often leads to the election of the most extreme candidate, thus the legislators and congress are often populated by members who cannot possibly be expected to come to the center to find common tuition for the public good. and in most states, this is

legal. it actually constitutes legalized rigging of elections, and the legalized infringement on the rights of all voters to elect representatives of their choice. so to solve the problem and restore real democracy to our country, at a minimum, every state should have constitutional rules or standards for redrawing district lines and congress should adopt standards to be used in congressional elections. the standards that we adopted in florida, which after some initial litigation, have brought us tremendous success in leveling the playing field in florida, include in essence, politicians are not permitted to draw district lines to favor themselves or allies, or to use redistricting to draw out their

adversaries. they are required to draw districts that make sense. the districts that have to be compact, follow existing city, county, and geographical boundaries, and are as equal in population as practical. and they are absolutely prohibited from drawing districts to diminish the ability of minority voters to participate in the electoral process, or to elect representatives of their choice. the legislature is constitutionally bound to follow these rules, and if a resulting plan is challenged in court, there are anti-gerrymandering rules for the court to enforce, which really do not exist today in the common-law. so i recommend, and hope, that you will include on your platform that all states should adopt standards to ensure the

removal of the scourge on democracy, and congress should require similar standards to be used when drawing congressional districts. i thank you for this opportunity. to speak to you about this important subject. >> thank you. [applause] >> thank you. skype is the by founder and president of democracy 21, an organization working to promote government integrity, accountability, and transparency. he is a recognized national leader and a spokesman on money and issues, including finance, lobbying, and reform. so, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. thank you for this opportunity to testify. democracy 21, of a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to

strengthen our democracy. it goes without saying that our campaign finance system is completely broken. billionaires, millionaires, and secret contributions are flooding our elections with big money in amounts never seen before. it is also clear that the american people overwhelmingly reject this system and they want fundamental changes. democracy 21 applauded the campaign finance reform that was issued last fall by hillary clinton. we recommend that the key elements of this plan be incorporated into the platform. these elements include creating a small donor public matching fund system for federal candidates, overturning the disastrous citizens united decision, and closing the gaps and loopholes used to spend secret contributions in federal elections.

in our view, the small donor public matching funds approach is the most essential legislative reform needed to fix the campaign finance system. recognized thes very important role that bernie sanders played during the primaries, replacing the campaign finance issue at the center of the national debate. senator sanders had unique success in raising small contributions to finance his campaign. unfortunately, this approach is currently the exception for federal candidates. a small donor public matching rolesystem can make it the that role. senate and house democrats are expected to inject the campaign finance reform issue into the national debate during the coming months. a system of matching small

contributions with multiple public funds will empower ordinary americans, greatly increase the value and importance of their small contributions, dilute the impact of big money, and allow federal candidates to run for office without becoming obligated to big-money funding. -- funders. other key reforms are needed and should be incorporated into the platform. they include creating a new campaign finance enforcement agency to replace the sec, andonal, failed establishing new rules fro that's recorded -- four outside candidates. the public is demand change and is cynical about whether it will ever occur. in the past, commitment to pursue campaign-finance reform have been made by democratic presidential candidates before

they were elected, and then were ignored after they became president. to show the american people that the commitment to campaign-finance reform is it real this time, we recommend that statements along the following lines be included in the platform. the clinton administration will take campaign-finance reform to the country, as a national priority early in 2017, and for as long as it takes to win this battle for the american people. the clinton administration will work with members of congress to develop comprehensive campaign-finance reform legislation and to have it introduced in congress during the first 100 days of her presidency. a clinton administration will devote the time, energy, and resources needed to win the campaign-finance reform battle. the american people want fundamental changes in our

campaign-finance system. a failure by washington to deliver on this will create an even more disinfected, more cynical public than currently exists about washington and our elected representatives. the battle for fundamental campaign finance reform must be fought and it must be one. thank you again for this opportunity. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. be ms.al witness will young, she is joining us by step, the director of the national asian pacific american women's forum. she is the country's only national progress of organization, dedicated to social justice, for pacific islander women and girls in the u.s., she previously worked at

the lgbt community center in new york city. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. and thank you to the entire platform drafting committee for the opportunity to speak with you. as you heard, i am the executive director of the organization. and we are working to make sure that our communities are seen, heard and included i am also the culture of the we belong together campaign, which brings together women with immigration policy reform. asian-americans and pacific islanders are the fastest-growing racial group in the country. we number 28.1 million. and we also know that immigrants coming into the country are women and children. despite the stereotype of in immigrant is, and the first immigration law passed on our country, which as you know prohibited the entry of asian women into the country.

, you arell of this looking at the new face of america. one that is increasingly asian and increasingly woman. i came with my family from hong kong in 1977. women are the backbone of civic participation and engagement in the family. polling shows that mothers specifically -- drive the citizenship process, are the ones who make the health care decisions, and drive the likelihood of voting in the household. in the past decades, we double the number of asian american and pacific islander voters to about 4 million and we added an average of 620,000 new voters every election cycle. yet the full participation potential of our communities remains underdeveloped, for three reasons. the first two are stereotypes about our communities that render us inhibitive. whichnor minorityness

portrays as as successful, which he raises a long history of discrimination against asians in america, erasing the range of experiences amongst the more than 50 different groups that make up the community, and asian-americans as a wedding against communities of color. the second prevailing stereotype is that of being a professional -- perpetual foreigner, that we are the racial minority that cannot fully assimilate. and i want to acknowledge that this is felt by our muslim brothers and sisters today and it shows huge disparities in deportation. thirdly, we need politicians to speak to us, quite literally. two thirds of these women surveyed in the postelection polls say that they received no contract prior to the election. agreed withhe women the statement that public officials do not care much about

what people like me think. this is why we need the segregation outreach. we need a platform that reflects our hopes and dreams, and specifically names asian americans and pacific islanders. in 2016, we demand to be seen, heard it and included. not just implied. when you do, when you bring us to the table, what you see is we secure an active government which provides more services. when asked about budget priorities, we support more for education, health care, seniors and a safety net for the poor. we are less likely to support increasing the budget for the military. we support tax increases on higher earners to reduce the federal deficit. asian-american pacific islander women know that we fight for justice in a is central to our work must of determination and success. it's many a percent of us support -- 78% of us support the right for abortion. racist laws, that seem

to undermine our reproductive freedom. including a law that we are suing the state of arizona over, along with the double acp -- naacp. and we support gunner sections. and pay equity. when you look at our community, we are paid only $.86 per every dollar that a white man is paid. but when you look more closely, you find for example, that these women are paid $.61, and burmese women only $.53. one out of every three women workers make less than $15 an hour and they are concentrated in low-wage jobs that do not provide paid family leave. the vast majority of asian-american pacific islander women support the environment and environmental protection. education is also a serious concern, with affordability of

college, all the of schools and the building of schools, is of very serious concern for ourselves and our families. and i want to say that 70% of these women improve -- support affirmative action. we support a pathway to citizenship and family reunification as a priority. these backlogs take decades to process and many are waiting to be reunited from families, and they are from asian countries. these are our families we are separated from. in some ways, we know that asian-americans are not quite --gressive, engaging and organizing our community is critical for securing justice for all americans. so please see us, talk to us, say our names, try to pronounce our names correctly and include us. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. dr. zogby.

>> i want to take the opportunity to raise a few issues that have not been covered that i believe are important to this issue of expanding and protecting the democracy. in almost every election cycle, in the last decade, we have noticed a lack of civility in this course. -- discourse. i believe it began in a very serious way with the election of president barack obama, some people cannot deal with it, the foreignness of the president and his name. it morphed into an accelerated campaign against islam stared -- sislam. in 2012, it was the double pledge that they would have to take. this year, it has gone to extraordinary lengths, leading a candidate proposed a ban on

muslims coming into the country. our platform calls for no religion -- for immigration. [applause] civility leaves to hate crimes. i think this is also something that we will include. and secondly, the -- when it comes to speaking about muslims, there is a danger i fear, that we too often securitized to the conversations, so that the discussion says, it is important that they talk to us because they can help us as opposed to we should talk to them because they are part of the we are, neighbors and friends. [applause] >> i agree. >> and it is important because if we are to be one republic, one country for all of our citizens, muslims must feel an equal part of that. my community went through a.

of exclusion, and my sitting here is evidence to the fact that is coming to an end, i think anyway. muslim immigrants needed to feel that same sense of participation for who they are. and there are two other issues. i raised the issue with the former attorney general, on the question of profiling, but the closing the loopholes in profiling i think is important, to send a message to law enforcement both on the national and local level and securely at the border control, it no longer affects just muslims, it affects the latino community as well. the use of the crude profiling, not -- you can have race or ethnicity as a part of a broader profile, where they are not the

determining factor, but where they are the determining factor, we get ourselves in trouble. and to think that the community has been affected by that negatively. and the issue of surveillance. we have witnessed over the last decade a program that we became increasingly aware of, largely due to the ap and the work they did. the surveillance program in new york, we know it is broader, it is mapping communities, sending informants, collecting information on totally innocent behavior. i have seen the ethnic mapping of syrians, egyptians, palestinians, and the shiites, it is the way that the maps were done, the four books. if you look at it, it is disturbing to see all of these pictures of restaurants in new york, coffee shops, grocery stores, places that i have gone myself, with informants

reporting -- i heard this conversation, these were the people that were there, this activity should not be happening in a country like ours that protects democracy. so a statement about surveillance and the use of surveillance against innocent political activity, and just daily social activity, is something that we should come out against. think that is about it. >> thank you. >> i wanted to see those issues included in our discussion. >> thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, i am sure that there are other than -- other members that may have additional things we have missed . we try to cover everything we could come up with or thought about. there may be things we have missed. would like you to get that information to andy.

we would love to have that no later than tomorrow. midnight tomorrow, we would appreciate that. and you can give andy all of the information. let me do some housecleaning real quick. staff,to again thank the they have done a great job of doing this. i want to thank debbie washington, who has done a phenomenal job in all of this. marriottinly the renaissance, the staff here have been wonderful. mentionme not fail to our spectators, our friends, some of you have been with us both days. we really appreciate you being here. this is for our crowd. you do not think that we

noticed, but we did. again, to the members. we will meet in st. louis next friday, when we will be addressing the drafting. and i want to thank all of you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to give to this very important effort. have a safe trip home. thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

[chatter] [laughter] what have you been up to?

[chatter] >> the dnc platform committee wrapping things up in phoenix. this was one of several hearings that they are holding in an effort to shape their platform ahead of the democratic national convention in philadelphia next month. the next committee hearings are set for st. louis at the end of next week. you can see this hearing from phoenix again and it's entirety, tonight at 9:30 p.m. eastern time on c-span, and it is available online at [indiscernible] .ww.c-span.org >> with the primaries over,

c-span takes you to the political conventions. watch the republican national convention with a live coverage from cleveland. >> we will be going into the convention no matter what happens. i think we will go in so strong. >> and watch the democratic national convention from old althea. >> let's go forward, let's win the nomination, and in july, let's return. >> and then we take our fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice to philadelphia, pennsylvania. >> every minute of the republican and democratic national conventions, on c-span, c-span radio, and www.c-span.org . post.com and on saturdays washington post,