previews the events. washington journal is next. ♪ host: good morning from cleveland on this monday, july 18, the first day of the republican national convention. the party plans on focusing on security today with the theme -- make america safe again. one day after three officers are killed in baton rouge, and following the deaths of five officers earlier this month in and the police shootings of alton sterling and philando castile. our question this morning -- how do we make america safe again? republicans, call (202) 748-8001 , democrats, call (202) 748-8000

, call (202)ts 748-8002. cleveland residents, want to hear from you. (202) 748-8003. orn us on twitter, @cspanwj, go to facebook.com/c-span. we will get your calls just a minute. this is your chance to tell the republicans that are gathering here in cleveland what you think should be done to make america safe again. for thisheir theme afternoon, the kick off the 1:00 p.m. eastern. more on washington with this weekend's convention. is makehe overall theme america great again, that has been donald trump stream -- donald trump's theme throughout his campaign. make america working in his tomorrow night's theme, make

america first again is wednesday night, and on thursday night is e again.rica on the speakers you will hear from today when the convention kicks off at 1:00 p.m. eastern, these are the evening speakers that you will hear from. robinson of willie duck dynasty, former texas governor rick perry, marcus luttrell, best-selling author and former u.s. navy seal will be speaking, as will scott mayo -- baio from "joanie loves joshi." an actor and former calvin klein model will also be speaking. a couple of immigration reform folks will be speaking, including jameel shaw, whose son was killed by an illegal immigrant, michael mccaul, a republican congress and from taxes will be speaking. sheriff of milwaukee county, david clark, will be speaking as well. you will hear from sean duffy

and colorado senate candidate darryl glen, u.s. senator tom cotton, u.s. senator jeff sessions of alabama, rudy giuliani, and the long it from melania trump. host: with tonight's program, what do you think? how can rub against and democrats make america safe again -- republicans and democrats make america safe again? it is about a mile away from where we are, and those police from cleveland in the county in the state, but also law enforcement that has been wrought in from across the country -- how do we make america safe again? bill is first in virginia beach, a republican. good morning. >> good morning. i'm 67 years old, and i have

seen a lot of my lifetime and i was just -- i would like to say that it seems to me that most of the people who are demonstrating outside the convention or anywhere else are probably unemployed. they have too much free time on their hands. a lot of times, they are just putting themselves in harms way and taking a chance of maybe getting themselves heard. hurt.t -- if they have a brush with people with opposite opinions or the police. i would like to see this country to the point where people can have a meeting or convention that is peaceful and safe, without demonstrations outside. causing a lot of friction. wish,s probably a utopian but that is what i wish for. thank you. host: bill, thank you. larry, in memphis, tennessee.

what do you think? caller: i'm a black army veteran, 59 years old, and i have seen shootings like that have been going on lately. the only difference that you were seeing on camera now. here's the problem. when bad police do bad things, instead of the police trying to protect them, if they arrest them and put them in jail, you wouldn't have this problem. and white people have to have different experiences in this country. most white people do not understand that. off -- what this is me pisses me off. have a good day. john, an independent. what do you think, republicans gathering here for the first day of the republican convention. make america safe again, how do we do that? caller: first of all, we need to impress on critical thinking, if

you hear something on your favorite news channel, i would advise you to check three or four different sources and find out if what you are hearing is actually what is going on, and not taken out of context. another thing is, we need to stop the greed. we have taken capitalism to extreme where now it has become a vampire capitalistic system, sucking the life out of everything to maximize profits, its anti-humanity, antienvironment. poverty, you will make america safe and people will have less conflict. and free education, it's not free. we are not giving these children free education. are educating our population, and the returns we will get from that will make america safer, and set an example for the world. with that example, we can be in leadership again. right now, all we are is the footstool for vampire capitalism. thank you for c-span.

host: before you go, john, which candidate can do what you are saying? caller: bernie sanders. host: you mentioned free education, are you voting for hillary clinton? vote 70%,ssissippi the republican down here, so i'm going to write in bernie sanders and elizabeth warned. if we don't take progressive move towards changing the way we relate -- my neighbors are not my enemy. people in poverty cannot have the political clout to create poverty. the only way you have seen wealth is when you undervalue labor. when you have a disparity such as we have here in america, you have people that are disgruntled, and rightly so. i have relatives in law enforcement, i love and respect these men. when they speak, i listen to them, because they are smart, they have actually put that police officers behind bars.

but they are in that club of blue, and rightfully so, they defend their brothers and sisters in arms, and protecting our community. but if we just concentrate on the disparity of incomes, the tensions will come down, and education -- some news broadcast organizations push forward that if you are giving something free, education -- we are not giving something free. we are investing, and we will get returns exponential to what is put in. host: all right, john. i heard your point. let me hear from peggy who is next, an independent in hayward, california. good morning. caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. to make america safe again, we should invest in our police officer training. i think a six months training program is just inadequate. they are professionals, compare

them to nurses. nurses get a minimum of two years, and they don't carry a gun. i think if we gave them a little more education, perhaps a year, they would be better able to face what is out there for them. this terrific world we live in. thank you. host: thank you, thank you. the officers that were killed in baton rouge that followed the shootings of dallas police officers, and before that, the fatal shootings of black citizens in this country by police officers, there's this piece in the l.a. times this morning the notes that between the two attacks of dallas in baton rouge, law enforcement officers from georgia, and michigan were shot incidents that drew far less attention, but add to the sense that is a dangerous time to be a cop. the dow shootings, 31 law-enforcement officers have died in the line of duty so far

this year, compared with 18 officers that died at this point in 2015. just the statistics on police officers dying. we have the number of black citizens that have been killed as well. this conversation on this monday morning, as her publicans are slated to begin their convention this afternoon, 1:00 p.m. eastern, and then again some of the come back in the evening and 80 4 p.m. -- at 8:00 p.m. the lineup of speakers to talk about national security, that is the theme today. and that, with thousands of delegates here, lawmakers from across the country -- republican operatives and top officials gathering. we want you to tell cleveland this morning, how do we make america safe again? let me hear from beverly in north carolina. democrat. caller: good morning, how are you?

i see that the republicans have changed their logo from great again to safe again. how we can make it safe again? not walk around with ak-47s on your shoulders. make these laws to the point where you have to have some sort of permits to buy a gun. everyone has a gun. we are concerned about isis, isis people can walk in and get a gun right beside you without any permit or any id, that's one way. another way is to respect each other, talk to each other, respect each other. cops must respect people just like people respect cops. that when you do have a problem with the policeman killing a human being, he should come to trial. no da's, no deals. when that happens, you get a lot of people angry about no fair.

inwant to just be safe again this country, i don't know how we are going to be safe again. we have so many ridiculous laws. but if we are going to be safe again, we're just don't have to learn how to respect each other, if we don't love each other. .tart talking to each other start looking at each other as human beings. and as far as donald trump is concerned, how can he even think about making some country -- this country safe again, when he is just the opposite? he is about a police state, he's about carrying guns, doing what you want to do. he is about hate. that's all i have to say. my prayers are for america. i don't know was going to happen here. host: ok, that is beverly. go to tony industry types, maryland, and independent. tony, good morning. caller: good morning.

i'm not sure if it will be a good morning. these shootings seem to happen every other day. they seem to benefit the republican party, which is very odd. me personally, this is my opinion, i believe these shootings of the police are staged. they are staged to me. i don't see any evidence to contradict what i just said. along with a few of these terrorist attacks also. i believe they are staged. i'm going to tell you something. host: that is tony's opinion industry types, maryland. we're going to get more of your thoughts here as we continue on the "washington journal," from cleveland, ohio. let's go to peter back in washington with more details. peter: donald trump reacted to statement after the shooting in baton rouge, this is what he had to say. president obama just had a news

conference, but he doesn't have a clue. our country is a divided crime scene, and it will only get worse. ae "washington times," as page about security in light of what has are happening in the country. security front and center at the convention, donald trump, who will officially claim the republican presidential nomination on thursday, has dedicated the convention's first night to arguing that he can restore a feeling of safety. publicans said the turmoil of recent weeks with terrorist inspired attacks here and abroad , and heightened tensions between police and racial minorities undercut the leadership of this white house. how many law enforcement people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country, mr. trump said in a twitter posting sunday afternoon.

pete: the press and delegate hotels, police were on foot and horseback. clevelandhill," police say suspend open carry during the convention. the patrolmen's association is pushing the ohio governor to suspend the rnc -- during the rnc state laws that allow people to carry open arms. police union president steve loomis said the state's open carry law makes it much more difficult to ensure the convention is secure. ohio governor john kasich reacted after the shooting yesterday in baton rouge. [video clip] john kasich: i spoke to the ohio highway patrol, to be informed

of the terrible loss of life the police officers in baton rouge. our hearts and prayers go out to the families, and let's be clear, these kind of vicious attacks on police officers will only serve to drive a wedge and destroy the very fabric of our society. to the families, god bless, and thank you. that was the governor of ohio yesterday, reacting to what happened in baton rouge. on the democrat side, hillary clinton put out a statement, saying we must not turn our backs on each other. we must not be indifferent to each other. we must all stand together to reject violence and strengthen our communities. our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the police officers who were killed and injured today. president obama went before the cameras yesterday, and this is what he had to say about the police killings in baton rouge. [video clip]

sosident obama: it is important that everyone, regardless of race or political party or profession, regardless of what organizations you are now of -- everyone right focus on words and actions that can unite this country, rather than divided further. we don't need inflammatory don't need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or to advance an agenda. we to temper our words and open our hearts, all of us. we will we saw in dallas this week as a community came together to restore order and deep in unity and understanding. we the kind of efforts we saw this week in meetings between community leaders and police, some of which i participated in. where i saw people of goodwill pledged to work together to reduce violence throughout all of our communities.

that is what is needed right now. and it is up to all of us to make sure that we are part of the solution, not part of the problem. president obama in washington yesterday, reacting to those police shootings. gatherings today are about a mile away from where we are, in the cleveland area at the skylight financial groups space. whereicken loans arena, the convention is taking place, is about a mile from where we are. you can see right there, the map on your screen, that is the road to get to the quicken loans arena, where republicans will kick off the convention around 1:00 p.m. eastern, and again, there seem today is make america safe again. we turned all of you this morning, so the republicans here in cleveland and around the country, and democrats as well can hear what you think -- how do we do that?

go to stephen in cleveland, ohio. a democrat. stephen, what do you think about all the security in this town, amid the tensions across the country and around the world with the terrorist attacks? caller: here's my opinion. , you needhat security that security badly. the terror attacks, that's a story i don't know too much about. i keep up with it, but i don't know much about it. never tell you what i would do around the country. i would take the handcuffs off the police, i would hire 10% more policeman and then i would take the handcuffs off the police and let them do their jobs. you don't need to take the police out of the community, you need to take the drugs and the guns out of the community. the community is suffering from broken families and disrespect. officers those police in baton rouge, and god bless those police officers that died in dallas. thank you. let's go to david in

albany, new york. a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. a couple of quick comments, how much can you say about this? the call came in earlier about vampire capitalism, i've heard that several times. how about vampire bureaucracies or vampire socialism? there is also a problem. grown sonment has that political elite has grown so large, everybody is struggling to get into that class, they are abandoning capitalism. authoritarian nature of government is also part of this problem. i couldn't give you the whole argument in this minute or three you are going to give me, but that's my feeling about it. if you to look anywhere in the world where you have enormous overwhelming governments, france, russia, argentina --

that is where most of the trouble is starting. you have illuminated capitalism, you haven't encouraged it. that is sort of my message. when you do bigger economy. a lot of these problems would evaporate with more opportunity. the idea that were going to have more governments, more authoritarianism, and that can fix this problem, that's the wrong way to go. that's my comments. thank you. , moving on tot dave in sugar heights, ohio. where sugar heights in relation to cleveland? caller: it's right next to cleveland, just about. i haven't been, is it a suburb? caller: yes, it is a suburb. host: what do you think about all the security in your area, and every thing that is happening across the country? republicans with their message today, make america safe again?

i first will say good morning to c-span and their wonderful workers, especially good morning to the wonderful c-span audience. i'm just so happy that they have this avenue where people can make uncensored comments. that is a wonderful thing in a democracy. 4, ig been born on july feel a special affinity to our country. more important, i think we have to take a look at reality. we are at a 50 year low in crime , whether that be murders, police shootings, etc., etc. however, part of the asha know if you would call a problem. but we have two or 300 media outlets today, which i was young , we only had the three networks. so the coverage that comes on all of these avenues really can get people riled up a little bit .

i think people have to put that in perspective. and as far as guns go and shootings, we have to remember -- it's unfortunate, and i feel sad for all the victims, but 70% of the shootings are suicides, and the other 29% are basically domestic situations or business partners. and cold-blooded murder is really extremely rare. you have to keep that in mind. basically, we are pretty safe. i know the president had brought this out time and time again, he gets very little publicity. we have to keep in mind, we are safe. i want to say thank you everybody for coming to cleveland for this wonderful convention. remember, everybody coming here brings us joy, either by coming in were leaving. thank you, have a good day. host: dave, before you go, are you still there? caller: yeah.

host: you are an independent, how do you plan to vote in the fall? caller: this is going to be the toughest decision i'm going to make. i am still undecided right now. i'm still undecided. i don't know how i'm going to vote yet. i do want to make one other comments. , 1966, the anniversary we had what were called the hub riots. if you look at that situation, compared to today, it's like -- they were really bad. there were tanks in cleveland, the iranian people, there were buildings and blocks destroyed. god for bid that we ever went back to that. today, i don't want to belittle it, is very tiny compared to what really happened. today, 50 years ago in 1966. host: ok.

me givet from day, let our viewers a little bit about what's going to happen here in , oneland with protesting yahoo!'s website, they have a little details about downtown demonstrations, potentially larger stop trump march has been prevented by the city -- permitted at noon today by the city. burke, activist tom spokesman for the anti-trump coalition that is convening on cleveland said he expects the event to be peaceful, protesters have pressed the city for months for permission to march right up to the convention. the coalition to stop trump says it has been given permission to march monday up to the vicinity of the area. that is going to be taking place right outside our window here at the skylight financial group. to the quicken loans arena has been blocked off, so the protesters can march close, right up to the arena.

ore they get within a block two of the arena, that is the are blocked off, they will not get any closer to that. so security is pretty tight in that area. in fact, the auto story notes that eight-foot tall fencing was queued all around the starting on saturday. jonathan in taxes, a democrat. good morning. what do you think, how do we make america safe again? morning, thank you for taking my call. i think we have to have accountability on all sides. when he to keep the police accountable. it's not just an issue for the black community, it's an issue for the hispanic community, it's also an issue for everybody else in general. i think something we have to do this notion that

the human species is divided by race. let's just get rid of these terms black, white, hispanic, anglo-saxon, there is only one race, the human race and the human species. on the other side of the accountability coin is that we should keep the black lives matter accountable as well. they have this ideology of we're going to shut things down, we are going to shout it down, they're not too interested in listening to the other side, they are so concerned about being demonized. i say this is democrat, someone who voted for obama. if we are so concerned about not demonizing people, they shouldn't demonize the opposition. down, and weem need to keep people accountable in respect to the black lives matter movement, there are people within the black lives matter movement their sympathizers with the black panthers and the black liberation army. people deliberately call out the

shooting of a police officer, they don't speak out about it. if i can make one final point, since we started talking about terrorism. i think that internationally speaking, the only way we're going to decrease islamic terrorism is when we, as citizens -- the government is going to keep on failing us. we have to defeated as citizens, we have to do it ourselves. we have to take a stand for civilization that's been compromised each and every single day. jonathan with his thoughts. more of your calls coming up very with respect to washington. peter: i want a show you two pieces of video that we found on twitter, this is brenda williams of cnn. whothis is gop delegates are applauding the police as they walk through downtown

cleveland. you can see this happened after the baton rouge shooting your she posted this on twitter. one other piece of video we want to show you quickly is vice news with video of police in cleveland area. you can see how they are addressed. that is what we want to share with you. host: back to your calls this morning about what is happening here in the rock 'n roll capital city. cleveland, ohio. republicans kicking off their convention today starting at 1:00 p.m. we'vee seeing that, as been telling you all morning, as national security, and how we make america safe again. we are taking your phone calls on that "washington journal." here on the. we are going to 11:00 a.m. eastern, and then we will pick up our coverage again around

noon today here on c-span, with more phone calls and thoughts ahead of the official start at 1:00 p.m. we will then go to the floor and let you watch it uninterrupted, watch the proceedings unfold here on c-span. after that, we will take your phone calls again, and then when republicans come back around 8:00 p.m. eastern, look for our coverage to start before that, and after again. more of your phone calls. you get to tell cleveland and the republicans and republicans and democrats across the country what you think about this republican convention as it is happening in real time. oryou are not near a tv, your computer screen, and you can't get on c-span.org, into get the c-span radio app on your phone. you can walk around with headphones and listen to every single minute of this republican convention.

let's go to florida, jim is watching us there. how we make america safe again? i know we can't save the world, but the little girl that was in that car when a police officer shot a man -- that little girl got to me. she kind of broke my heart. i think i have a solution to maybe prevent that from occurring. stop, if you are a driver and there is a weapon in the car, whether you are a felon or there is somebody in the car, your nra member, whatever. there should be a universal protocol, a signal, the can stick your hand out the window, waited in the shape of a gun, whatever. you are putting the police man on notice that there is a weapon in the car, and that he could go through his protocol of how he wants to empty that car. i think it would be a viable solution, it would be filmed that the policeman was on notice , if you pull a guy over for a headline, he can put you on

notice like that. you could maybe just give him a ticket, so ticket for that headlight, but the warning. with that of putting them in prison for two years, maybe put in a county jail. that way everybody is on notice that there's a weapon in the vehicle. i think it would make everybody safer although a, especially if it could have prevented that little girl from ever seeing something like that again. host: that is jim's thoughts. tom, you are in cleveland, ohio. an independent. what do you think? caller: i think i can add to that discussion. in ohio, when a policeman runs your license plate when they pull you over, and you have a gun, and you a permit for a gun, it's tagged to tear license, i don't know what the rest of the nation is. that way the officer knows that you have a permit for a gun, and you have a permit to carry it. they ask if you will have your gun with you, and at that time, you keep your hands off the steering wheel and all that, so

the officer can see your hands. now in cleveland, they are is to to did the officers. it seems to be working pretty well in the city of cleveland, as far as we are not hearing arrests orental anything like that. because both parties know they are being viewed by a camera. people act little more civil when they know their other people watching. host: i believe the police officers on bikes that they have even been given cameras on their helmets as well, with the extra security and the extra law enforcement that is here. tom, have you tried to come to downtown cleveland since people started descending on your city? caller: i live down right off the highway on the west side. down to the flag area on saturday night, had a concert thing.

everything was peaceful, protesters weren't around. anything argumentative with anybody. are trying to make your way into downtown cleveland, one of the best ways is to take the public transportation. the rta, the train. our cameraman is on the train this morning, making his way down to the queue area. he is showing us sites and sounds, what the security looks like. drivethat are not able to , parking is tight, a lot of roads are blocked off. this is the trick that you will take right there on your screen. the cameraman has gotten off of the train, making his way up the street of downtown cleveland. to show youe blocks what it's like to be a delegate in the city of cleveland, were

visitor, or one of its many, many staffers. or 15,000 credentialed media that are trying to make their to cover theeue republican convention this week. everything starts around 1:00 p.m., but a lot of folks are going to have to make their way into downtown cleveland head of that. there delegate breakfasts that are happening, delegates who are staying out in the suburbs of the cleveland area, many of them might be taking this transportation, this public transportation into the city area. where all the action is taking place. just a couple blocks from the queue is the cleveland convention center. that has been set up to house all of the media here in cleveland. there's workspaces in the ballroom area, and then they have shuttles that will take you from the convention cleveland center over to the q. you are put on a bus that brings

you right up to the queue -- to , and you can make your way into the quicken loans arena. when republicans gather today, it will be about national security. that is the fema. they establish that before the killings in baton rouge. talkhat will be with a about today, one day after those police officers were killed and following the shootings in dallas and the shootings of black citizens by police officers. the myth that also is the terror threat by isis, the attacks in france and other places around the world. we are asking all of you to tell the folks gathered here and lawmakers, what do you think, how you make america safe again? in virginia beach, it's your turn. good morning. caller: good morning, greta and america. this message is not hard, it's been around for 2000 years. live ourve to do is

faith and we can light the world. ring prayer back into the schools, put up public service commercials where we tell people this. tell them to go out to their place of worship and serve their god, christ says if he be lifted up, he will draw all men under him. orneed to, as believers witnesses or whatever your faith is, live your faith. share your faith. and learn to love one another. if we love one another, that will straighten out everything. with regards to the police officers, 99% of them are good. 1%, they call it a thin blue line. but we regular citizens call it the thick blue wall. if you are a police and you are sitting next year partner and you hear him make certain statements or conduct himself in a certain manner, and he is corrupt, he needs to be reported. he needs to be re-trained and/or

let go. unfortunately, racism will always exist. but again, it's that half a percent or 1% to make it bad for the other 99%. let us all learn to love one another, let us live our faith, and let us share our faith. if we come back to god, for he says a nation that turns his back on him shall be turned into hell. we need to recognize this. that's all my simple messages 2000 years ago. ok.: the replica national committee has put together an historical tour for convention goers of republican sites around cleveland. one of them is the cleveland history center here. they are showcasing what they are calling the birth of the republican party, the first republican, abraham lincoln. we were able to visit the cleveland history center yesterday. take a look at me as a bit they put together. -- at the exhibit they put

together. [video clip] a look at this is abraham lincoln, the father of the republican party. lincoln does have ties to cleveland. he to cleveland during his campaign for president in 1860, in this case, we have a look at e wasmaterial, this ax carried during his campaign for office. lincoln was invited to come to cleveland by the mayor of cleveland. he made two stops in cleveland, he made a stop during his campaign, and unfortunately, on his passing, his funeral procession brought him where he laid in state at public square. we have some items that look at him alive, this is a life mask of lincoln that was made. intriguingly, they wanted to e, but they didn't have one available, so he had a broomstick. we look at lincoln in cleveland. this is the letter from the

mayor, inviting lincoln to make a stop. he accept, he is accepting his visit. in a print of him addressing the public in cleveland on the from an early hotel in downtown. the historical society has a significant lincoln collection of fully tells the story. we touch on a few items, just a few. the unfortunate passing, these items in this case look at his death. we have some wood from the rail of the booths where he was at the theater when he was shot. a remnant of the dress that mary todd was wearing, a proclamation from the mayor in cleveland closing all businesses and inviting the community to pay respect to him and he came into public square. a little bit from the cleveland history center here in the city, where republicans are gathering for the rebel looking national convention. they will be what is called the

q, where the cavaliers play. they will get underway at 1:00 p.m. eastern. keep watching c-span for every minute of the convention gathering. we started around noon and continued her this morning on the "washington journal," until 11:00. with the backup at around noon for more of your phone calls. laterhey come back tonight, rounded :00 p.m. eastern, we will have coverage before and after. c-span all day today, if you can, or c-span.org. if you cannot, get the c-span radio app, sue can continue to follow everything republicans are doing here in cleveland. also on the act, is a schedule of events that are happening here. c-span.org also has a special page for the convention. about thend details events that are happening here, about our schedule as well. and then if you go to twitter and you follow c-span on twitter, we have lists of the

delegates that are here in cleveland, as well as the reporters that are covering the convention. you can follow it that way as well. we're talking about national security issues, that's what republicans will focus on, on their first day of this 2016 convention. good morning to kelly in georgia, a republican. how we make america safe again? caller: thank you for taking my call. i have three quick statements i would like to make. i would like to commend the unmannerly or the called, what a profound and beautiful statements that he made. everyone turning someone in, about 99% of the police. the second thing -- the media. one thing i have noticed about c-span, and please don't cut me off before i get to my second statement -- what i notice when

a white person calls in, and they get very close to the edge of something that might be a little uncomfortable to the black community, you cut them off in a heartbeat. however, if a black american foment ande let them foment and foment on very, very, very racial, hatred stuff. my third comment, we know that there public and national ,ommittee, the black panthers the nation of islam, very, very hatred, some of them have been put on the terrorist watch list, are coming to the convention. can you imagine at the , what if allrty the kkk, the area nationals, what if all of them decide to rian up -- the are

nationals. what if all and decided to show up? my point being that there are bad people in both groups. ,ike the unmanned said earlier you turn them in -- like the young man said earlier, you turn them in. if there is a bad seat in any group, you turn them in. we are one nation, under god. no matter if you are black, white, hispanic -- if you are a jew or muslim or christian, that will not be tolerated. we must come together. but the media, you should not allow an african-american to cops, ande against against anyone, and then for a white american to say something

that just kind of goes there, and you cut them off. host: let me jump in, we heard your point. whoever's sitting in the host chair have to make a call about when someone crosses the line, and what that line is. , is a to do our best here split-second judgment call and we try to do our best to keep the conversation on topic, civil. you can certainly give your opinions, but we want to keep it appropriate here, as we continue to take your phone calls, get your opinions come and get your thoughts about today, national security. it's your turn to tell cleveland, the republicans were gathered here what they should do to make america safe again. that is what they're going to be talking about on their first day of the survey looking convention. more of your calls on that, coming up. let's go back to washington. peter: the convention convenes at 1:00 p.m. eastern time today,

we will be live at noon with a preview program of it. some of theth business of the convention being conducted. reportsreet journal," that the rules fight is set to end quietly, what might have been a disruptive fight about the party's rules and platforms is now almost certain to end with a whimper when the republican national convention opens for business on monday. the only remaining drama will come when bands of renegade delegates try to slow the convention proceedings through a series of procedural movers that are likely to fail. just as the effort to block donald trump from becoming the party's president nominee did last week. mr. trumps opponents will seek a recorded roll call vote by each state's delegation on the rules adopted in a marathon rules committee session last week. an editor for the national review has this report on his

-- breaking news, coburn now open to gop nomination. big excuse of news, he writes. one final new contestant may emerge this week to rest the republican nomination away from alleged billionaire donald trump. can reliably report that the former u.s. senator from oklahoma, dr. tom coburn, would accept a draft from the convention floor as delegates petitioned successfully to put his name in nomination. i know we are talking about how to make america safe again, which is the theme of today's republican convention. thatare some of the tweets our viewers have sent in. this is bill king, i hope i am wrong, but i think the protest outside the quicken loans arena are going to be way worse than the chicago 1968 protest. here is c-span democrat tweeting in -- i am tired of police pity.

they have been abusing us for too long, and they are all complicit. tweet, make america safe by putting prayer back in schools and ridding ourselves of progressivism. host: peter, let's show our viewers what they are doing to make cleveland say this mooring. our cameraman is right outside of security, and he is going to make his way through the security this morning and try give you an idea of what it is like for convention goers and the media, etc. this is an area for the media that he is going through. he probably had to get his bag checked. see the barricades that they are put up on both sides. if you are a member of the media, or delegate, if you have the right credentials, you're going to be walking through this area. you are blocked off from the street, and the buildings on the

other side, and so he is making his way over to get into the where theof the q, delegates are gathering later this afternoon. media is getting in their place, other convention goers, a lot of staff that have been on the ground already in cleveland, well ahead of the convention starting today, to get this place ready. window to very narrow do so, because of the cavaliers going so far in the nba finals. aroundd to turn the q and get it ready to go for this convention in record time. you can see that once you make your way through this barricades , then you can go into -- you -- walkgo over to q area.o the

the police officer directing, you have to go through this tent and go through another layer of security if you want to get even closer to the q. our cameraman will continue to be showing us the sights and sounds this morning of what it's like to be part of the media, to be a delegate, to be one of the staffers, the lawmakers, speaker of the house paul ryan and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell were in town yesterday, they were practicing at the podium, getting the podium height right and the volume for the speeches they were making at the convention this week. today though, the focus is security in this country. donny in downs, kansas, democrat. what do you think? caller: i don't know how to make america safe again, but i do know that measurement franklin once said that those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety dinner -- deserve neither liberty nor

safety. i think about that. people need to pay attention. ben in alexander, virginia, independent. caller: thank you, happy monday. i have been in law enforcement for over 24 years. i was a police officer in camden, new jersey, i was in the military and law enforcement detachment team, and i worked for a federal agency. thate, safety is something has never been guaranteed by america. there is no law that guarantees our safety. you look at the homicide rate since the 1980's were 70's, or 90's, whatever. drugs thatll the polluted the streets and all the murders that occurred from their -- how do they get here? i have been profiling for years, she said like she might have been white and a little older, and from the deep south. on her to put the blame

black lives matter, black panthers is like blaming your doctor for identifying you have cancer. matter, where was that movement during slavery? during people suffering from as if poverty -- from massive poverty? i don't see the correlation, i find it very odd that people would speak about a movement. this movement is not in and of itself evil, it's in direct relationship to america. america created poverty and distraction. i think what she is missing, and a lot of callers are missing is that when the introduce new policies with the 13th or 14th amendments, the directly related to slavery, in particular, that those laws are not written for black people, for people of color. those are written for white people that have a certain amount of power, for them to recognize our humanity. because we understand that we are human beings, we don't need a lot to be written for us to tell us that we are human.

we had to have somebody that has a certain amount of power, which ironically, all the founding fathers were slave owners. i said because of previous caller said we know for white person gets a little too close to over the line and you cut them off. the flick being a little pregnant, you are or you aren't. racism is racism, all the other stuff goes out the window. let's go to louisiana, hunter, republican. hunter, let me ask you. with the killings yesterday in baton rouge, louisiana, your perspective -- how do we make america safe again? caller: each day, after hurricane katrina, we lost a quarter million pets because people would is the last minute to free -- to flee. itdon't get many hurricanes, won't people left of the last minute and left their pets

behind and there were a number of casualties. since that time, each day i go to some of the most dangerous neighborhoods, many of which are at the american, and feed feral animals. i do this because it's just an affair of the heart. i guess some of the friends i have, i talked to yesterday about this issue, before this incident in baton rouge occurred yesterday, day before yesterday. we talked about this, and i do feel in my heart that african-americans have been other on more than subcultures in this country. i don't know the reason for it. i really don't. but i do feel this way, and the films i've seen recently, the shooting in minnesota, the event baton rouge week or so ago. it looked to me as if i saw man choked to death in the french quarter in new orleans by police, an african american. it was an unnecessary death, in my opinion. this is a common sense fix, but it would work. if we would see to it nationally

that our police were properly compensated -- dallas is police are grossly underpaid. we need to pay our police a reasonable wage with benefits. i feel that this would improve personnel and correct some of the problems we are having. it's a common sense solution, but i really believe that it comes down to it that it would work. i will stop there. i enjoy your show. thanks forhost: calling and giving us your perspective. all of you this one, because republicans and democrats across the country and other republican lawmakers -- congress, the white house -- how we make america safe again? that is the theme religions are taking up amid police killings and police shootings, as well as the terrorism threat around the world. in california.

you are up early, good morning. and independence. am.er: yes, i greta, good morning. good morning, c-span. greta, you are doing a fantastic job. you are very professional, let no one tell you any different. but you know that. host: thank you. caller: what i want to say is this is very simple. this is about humanity. all we have to do is treat one another as the other one wanted to be treated. that's all. treat your brother and your sister as you want to be treated. it's not hard. becausele find it hard, we still live in a society in 2016, where people feel like they are better than other people, because of race or religion. pigmentation or the lack thereof. but we are all just humans.

i know certain people from different races have been taught these things for a long time, but there's no basis for none of these things. there's no facts to it. no science to it. we need to stop all the foolishness and start treating one another as human beings. the guy in the car that got shot with the kid in the car, the officer didn't see that guy. if that would have been a white family in that car, and the guy said i have a weapon in this car, he would have given the guy a chance, ok, thanks for telling me you have a weapon. take these instructions. the because it was a black guy, and he said i have a weapon in the car, immediately, he panicked and the shots flew. that's because he didn't identify with the individual in the family in a vehicle. because he doesn't see them the way he sees himself. again, it's about treating one another as they want to be

treated. as yousee one another want to be seen. that's all. host: bernard, we will leave it there so i'm getting a few more voices. ron in eagle river, wisconsin. ron, a democrat. i have a criticism for the rules committee. i just happened to catch a little bit of it, and the republican rules committee looks like the same people who are in washington running the republican party are running the rules committee. there is no change. i didn't see a single minority on the rules committee. this is supposed to be a very diverse country. and yet we have one party -- host: i want to stick to the topic about national security, but it will let you know that coming up here at 8:30 a.m. eastern on the "washington journal," we will be talking to

two members of the rules committee, regina thompson, part of the free the delegates, the effort by some of the rules committee to unbind the delegates to vote their conscience. and then randy evans, a rules committee member, he is also with the republican national lawyers association. he was aligned with the republican national committee during those two days of the rules proceedings that we did cover here on c-span. if you missed it, they will be sitting down together. we will talk about happened, and what could happen today on the floor of the quicken loans arena, when the delegates gather for the first time, and they go proceedings.house we will have coverage of it here on c-span. we will ask the type of questions coming up on the "washington journal." committee, made up of 56 or public officials, one from each of the 50 states, and six u.s. territories. this is the standing rules committee, between each national

convention, examining and discussing changes. the rnc committee on rules. delegates,ts of 112 operates while the convention is in session. it proposes rules for the convention, which must be voted on by the delegates. those are the delicates that will be voting. alternativeso 2302 delegates here in cleveland. let's go to rosemary in ann arbor, michigan. a republican. we will try to get in rosemary's voice. tell us how you think about national security. caller: we need to get god back into the white house. eventstwo, when these happen, we spend 80% of the time talking about the person that did the killing and 20% of the

the people who got killed. we've got to play our -- pay our policeman more. let's give them more respect. go trump! host: we are going to turn our back to the "make america safe again" theme later in the show. we want to talk about the protesting happening in cleveland. we will talk to the aclu about the permission process, who will be protesting, how that will unfold this week. before that, peter's len with more on the convention -- peter slen with more on the convention. 50,000 people will be coming in. the metro area of cleveland has 2.2 million people. the washington post profiled two

people in the suburbs. is "trump finds unlikely supporters outside cleveland." teresa ishere is that dennis kucinich's sister and she is voting for donald trump. for nearly her entire life, she has been active in democratic politics, starting as a 12-year-old who overcame her shyness to knock on doors for her brother's cleveland city council race in 1996. dennis kucinich went on to become cleveland's mayor and congressmen, a two-time presidential candidate, and one of the most passage meant --

passionate liberal voices in the party. she and her husband expect to do so up and down the ballot, vote for republicans, including in ohio's hard-fought senate race. till -- still she respects obama, however, "he had a message to go forward and now we are going backward." we have reverted to wars, people getting killed, people coming over the border, and isis. ohio, theren parma, is a deeper sense that hard work does not pay off the way it used to. this is an article from "the washington post." in the "weekly standard," paul manna furred confirms that chris christie was livid he was not .icked to be trump's vp

he was reportedly enraged he did not earn the vp spot. ,"hile minding my own business john mccormick writes," i saw a man engaged trump about the vp selection process. the man, whom i could not identify suggested that mike --ce was a smart pick christie was livid, right? yeah." replied, christie made no secret he was disappointed, but "the daily standard" -- "weekly standard" says that it was far more than that. there is an organization called newsie. they have been putting videos together about the conventions.

in this short video, they explain what is going to happen over the next four days. [video clip] >> it is not all confetti and balloons. each party meets and chooses a platform and a president or a nominee. this week, the republicans are meeting here in cleveland ohio. most americans see it in short bursts on tv. but a lot happens before that and some of it shows up in prime time. delegates get the behind-the-scenes work done. 2500 at the republican national convention. democratic national convention. they work on a party platform document that says what the party is about. the committee writes it up and

the delegates vote to approve or amend. they want is also about setting the tone and the keynote speech, often given by a rising party star. the next day, those same delegates vote again, this time to decide the nominee. it gets a lot more tv time than the day before. >> texas. >> minnesota. >> missouri. >> day three is all about the speakers. the party's best and brightest, at least the ones willing to speak positively. >> osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive! >> the next president of the united states of america, donald j trump. day, the convention's last the nominee makes their closing speech and sets their sites on their opponent.

this year should be interesting. >> we have crooked hillary clinton, as crooked as you get. >> donald trump is temperamentally unfit to be president. host: republicans kick off their in cleveland,6 ohio. they will beget gathering this afternoon at 1:00 eastern at the q. our cameras are outside that auditorium. it seats about 20,000 people. there are thousands of delegates and 15,000 credentialed media, staff, lawyers, lawmakers that have all made their way to what is called the rock 'n roll capital city here. in our studio just a mile from the q, we are at the skylight

financial group space, we have with us the staff attorney for the aclu of ohio to talk about protesting that is going to take place starting today. what rights dos people have to protest? guest: the first amendment guarantees the freedom of speech. it does not stop there. contemplatesly that many voices joined together are stronger than just one. it guarantees the freedom of assembly and to petition your government. it is an opportunity for people to come on a national stage. and assemble and speak their piece. host: was the republican open to themittee idea of the protesters coming here? i think the city and the republican national committee

and many partners came together to create a security plan. had to expect that people would come to protest, celebrate, or express their views. like they do it every political convention. host: how does it work if you are a group and you want to ,rotest at convention in town what do you have to do? guest: the city and the secret service and the multiple agencies have created a somewhat restricted protest right in the downtown area. zone is a hard security that the secret service controls , where people cannot go. it is only credentialed people. outside of that, the city has created a large zone.

they are overlooking the parade route. there are a couple of parks that the city has left open for people to gather in. the permitting process like? do you have to pay to get a permit? guest: you don't have to pay to get a permit, but the restrictions that the city put in place for permitting are rather severe and that was the result -- i'm sorry, that was the catalyst for a recent lawsuit with the city. they had created a zone where you had to get a permit to speak anywhere in 3.5 miles. we were able to whittle it down to less than half of that. a permitable to get for only 15 minutes and we were able to create flexibility. groups have had to apply for a permit in advance and are lined up on a schedule. for: what is the criteria being granted permission to

protest? guest: there is time, place, and manner criteria. speech, youent or have to apply for a certain time period that is designated, that doesn't run into security plans. host: you said that there is a time and place for each group. how are they coordinating that and what would it look like? like a thet look marching route? guest: sure, groups from the morning to afternoon time each day will have about a one-hour segment. larger groups have certain accommodations. they will start from the west side of the bridge and come over. originally, the parade route thenthe city created turned south and left protesters in no man's land.

as a result of the lawsuit, it comes back up the other side of jacobs field and then folks can festivities and whatever is around. viewers can go a the pedestrian side of the bridge. you represented not just anti-trump groups, but also pro-trump groups in this case. what did the judge say about the case you brought forward? guest: sure. i think that is an important point. we represent people of all different viewpoints because they all enjoy the same rights to speak and assemble, particularly at an important event like this. byt we challenged was death a thousand paper cuts. the city did not say no speaking anywhere, but in the huge area,

they said you cannot have these items and you can only go here for a certain amount of time and it was so narrow and the marches were so sequestered and the assemblies were so sequestered, that we challenged the regulations on those bases and the judge agreed with us on every point. he ruled from the bench that the rules were unconstitutional. they ended with the settlement agreement. host: let's go to the calls. charles in cleveland. an independent. caller: to the end lady, i think that what the aclu needs to do going forward is look at how cleveland put this together. just as there is voter suppression, there appears to be a lot of first amendment variousion organized by groups within the city.

rights, youmendment cannot infringe that by creating these type of suppression mechanisms. we are recognizing that the whole notion of putting together groups away from some of the activity is one thing, but that should not override the constitutional right to assembly. lastly, i wanted to say that on -- the wholeic notion in cleveland about how do you make america safe? police need to be safe . in cleveland, the biggest issue has been the police unions

and the unchecked power of police unions. thank you, young lady. good luck. host: ok, charles. a couple of issues. guest: i think that is exactly right. one of the rights that we hold most dear is the right to speak and express ourselves. it is our responsibility to advocate for that right and defend it and recognize just how sacred it is at all times. host: what about the role of the police unions? what were the negotiations like with them? on top of the protesting, you have the open carry law. what does that do to the dynamic of the protesting? guest: there are a couple of dynamics at play. first, there is an in congruency in the protest restrictions the

city has put in place. certain items are prohibited in the city. tennis balls, bits of string, cans of soup. at the same time, open carry guns are permitted. i think that ohio is an open carry state and i recognize that that is the law, but i think it is worth pointing out that this is something that deserves further scrutiny because you could see how silly it is, to ban tennis balls and to be able to have guns and the dynamic of fear that creates. there waslieve somebody yesterday who was in the public square of cleveland close to where everything is ar-15.ng with an guest: that's right. you see several feet away from him children playing in a fountain in the public square. i don't think that is the kind of community any of us want to create. host: i want to show our

viewers. a westlake, ohio member openly cleveland'sar-15 in open square, just a couple blocks from the queue and the convention center -- the q and the convention center. guest: in the public square is a speaker's platform. that will be someplace that people are talking, as well. host: helen is next out of laverne, alabama. good morning. caller: good morning. [indiscernible] y'all care about people. y'all telling people to bring guns to the debate. i think that is the wrong thing

y'all should do. y'all said y'all cared about people, y'all cared about the police. this is not solving the problem. y'all already having trouble. why are y'all going to keep adding to the problem? you are telling people to bring guns? i'm looking at it. host: we will take your criticism of this idea of protesting, that that could add even more tension to the situation. guest: that is a concern that we have come to equal a clash or a conflict. i think it is quite the opposite . i think that when people are absolutely free to express it ask is a release

valve. outllows us to talk ideas as a civil society. i think peaceful protest is really the bedrock of our culture and our constitution. concernsyou have any with, as the associated press reports, that protesters will be filmed by police cameras, they will have body camera is a fixed to riot gear. an arizona company says it will load -- loan 300 mounting units to the city. do you have any concerns about how the police, the law enforcement around here will be armed? guest: sure. dead people think thinke are in a city -- i

people know that we are in a city operating under a justice department decree because of police force problems. the entire national community is really looking at it right now and that is really crucial. at a security event like a convention here, the federal government gives a $50 million grant to the local community and they can use that on security. we have seen the local police acquiring these military style materials. they really have no place certainly won the convention leaves town to stay in our community. this is not a war zone, this is a metropolis where people need to be safe and have a good relationship with community policing. host: will that equipment stay in cleveland? guest: we hope not. decree isthe consent

something that is not fully rolled out yet. .t requires updating of sources we would hope that some of the money could go to it. host: explain the consent decree. guest: sure. that is the result of an investigation by the u.s. justice department into some of the biased policing we have had problems with historically in the city. the consent decree lays out a set of steps to improve community-police relations. caller: i just wanted to make a brief comment and y'all have touched on it. ,he object of bringing guns even though it is an open carry. ima gun owner myself, but being a responsible gun owner, i would not put myself in a situation

that could potentially turn theire. and have that is there anyway we can come together and peacefully talk about our grievances, our differences and not show the intimidation factor that is coming across, that we are going ?o because we legally can i just don't think that that sits well to say we are here peacefully, but we are here peacefully to intimidate you. how do you feel about that? guest: i really appreciate your voice and i hope that we can find a solution together. host: the governor says there is nothing he can do. guest: that's right. frankly, i don't know about the legality of those steps.

hope it is something we can come to as a community, if not immediately right now, than in the near future. host: brian in san antonio, texas. a democrat. either -- hi there. are you there, brian? caller: i'm here. host: good morning, go ahead. caller: i think that as we see those right gear police -- riot gear police, those are the ones that i like to see, the cameras on top. the uniforms are really riot gear-ish and kind of intimidating, so i hope they don't inspire fear because it is kind of a weird looking outfit to keep them safe, but seeing all those cameras, i think people, like you already set about an hour ago on television or on camera, you are going to

be acting a little better. cops in general all across the nation, we should all have the bodysuit and the cameras on the cars. host: we will take your point, that cameras will perhaps lead to peaceful demonstrations because both sides realize they are being watched. guest: i certainly think that is one of the hopes around body camera's. the riot gearh on and the appearance of the military police. i think that is an intimidation factor you are calling out and that it has a chilling effect on people coming out to speak. i think that is another dynamic it creates that we should be pushing back against. ust: elizabeth bonham told earlier there is a marching route for protesters that begins right out of our studio window

right here. protesters will be able to march at certain times and they will within howway to many miles? a mile of quicken loans arena? guest: they will be within several hundred feet. host: at one point, they will have to make their way over this bridge. our cameraman is near the quicken loans arena. they will be marching over a bridge on their way to get close to the arena, where convention ares, delegates, the media going to be together to cover the republican national convention. day one is today. keep your television here on c-span.org orl as get the c-span radio app to listen minute by minute as the republican party will be voting

on their rules, their platform, the principles that guide the republican party, and they will also be nominating donald j trump to be their candidate for the republican party. on thursday night, he will lose the word receptive when that happens. what is happening inside. outside, security is tight. that is where the media and the close.es can get if you do not have the right credentials, you are not getting within that hard security perimeter. protesters will be starting today around noon and they will continue through the day and every day this week. elizabeth bonham, who has been representing the protesters, staff attorney for the aclu of ohio, here to take your questions and calls.

paul in danville, virginia. a democrat. good morning. caller: hello. can you hear me? host: good morning. go ahead. we are on the air. criminals canhen get guns without a background show,online and at a gun it makes it that much of a tougher job for the police officers and i'm not saying that they can get it in the street illegally, but the police officers are actively going after street dealers and nobody the buyers in line at a gun show. it makes it easy also for a lone gunman to purchase guns that way. that is my comment.

thank you so much. that was actually john in virginia beach. let me also give you paul in danville, virginia. paul, go ahead. , i am ayes, first off moderate democrat. i agree with certain things, but not these far left extremists. i disagree with the lady from the aclu who says that you have the right of expression and stuff like that. you don't have that right when you are blocking traffic, blocking businesses, and blocking people from taking care of their business and not allowing the ambulances and things like that to get through because you've got groups of people like the black lives matter and others blocking traffic. what happens if somebody is therefore an emergency medical

situation and they won't let them through? host: we will take that question. has that been considered? guest: that is a good point. the first amendment right is not totally unrestricted. there was a line where first amendment protections and and where civil disobedience begins. civil disobedience begins at breaking laws. many, many people coming out to share their voice, whether they are protesting something or celebrating as the trump supporters are doing, they are making the choice to peacefully protest within a set of regulations and they are doing so safely. think, in part because the city has instituted very restrictive rules around this, there are going to be people that might choose to engage in civil disobedience.

that is a choice they are making , to break a lot of they disagree with or to break a lot to prove a point. certainly, it is true that the first amendment freedoms extend so far and they don't extend to breaking the law. host: chris in lincoln, nebraska. independent. caller: yes, my question is, you veteran thatombat is disabled. is i thinke from that we need to look at the whole picture correctly. healthy, itest is think freedom of speech is thathy, but i don't think we really look at the full picture, especially with the shootings. blacks killing blacks in the united states, especially in chicago, by the hour.

i certainly, when i was in the service, the united states , gavement gave me a gun me all the tools to be a proficient soldier for our country and our liberties and .ur freedoms i respect protesting, but there are laws. when you become an american, you agree to abide by those laws. a privilege. life living here in america is a privilege. host: ok, chris. elizabeth bonham, we will get a response. guest: thank you for your service and your comments. i want to be really clear about something.

a narrative we are seeing more and more that is a dangerous one. there is not a positive relationship between peaceful protest and violence. they don't have to do with one another. when people come out to share their voices, that is a right that we all have. what i think we should be worried about is not that right getting out of control or that right producing violence because that is not what is happening. what we should be worried about, if anything, is the state taking steps to curtail that right. when that happens, when civil liberties begin to shrink and we are complacent, that is when we will be in a dangerous position. said earlier, eight months out of law school, you the staff attorney job for the aclu ohio. did you think you would be eight months out of law school taking up such a high-profile case? guest: i certainly feel very

lucky to be working with the aclu. it is a historic organization and one i have valued all my life. host: what has it been like for you? did you feel ready for this experience? guest: absolutely. we have a great team. the lawsuit was brought by a veteran litigator and cooperating attorney area did -- attorney. it has been really amazing. everyone has been doing their best. host: did you learn something on this case that you did not learn in law school? [laughter] guest: i'm learning something every day. host: about what? the right to protest? about the aclu? what is it? guest: i think having the privilege to work with the aclu is helping me discover how crucial it is to protect our

civil liberties, especially in times of turmoil. a democrat in lakewood, ohio is next. caller: good morning. as the guest pointed out, there are reasonable restrictions on the freedom of street -- speech for public safety reasons and yet, gun ownership has apparently become a right in our country with no restrictions, to the point where someone with a gun could be in downtown cleveland right now. i think this is crazy. you think about the core values of our country. caring for each other. i don't think gun ownership is a core value. it certainly has not caused all these mass shooters, but it is certainly not a deterrent,

either. the ownership of guns is the ultimate right in our country and it is out of balance. i would like to see it changed. guest: thank you. like we discussed earlier, the right to speech, one of our most sacred rights, is absolute -- not absolute. neither is the second amendment right. i certainly think the second amendment contemplated reasonable regulation. dan here inl get goose creek, south carolina. caller: good morning. i would just like to echo what the young lady said. as citizens of the united states , we have the right to peaceful assembly. if that is to protest, that is our choice to do so. any restriction by any local government, any business, or any political party that just does

not want to hear what is being protested, that is just too bad. it is our right to do so. that is all it wanted to say. host: let me pick up on what you are saying and ask elizabeth bonham. how is the aclu preparing for what could unfold? tell us what you are thinking about, what you are preparing for as the protesters get ready to go today. guest: sure. right now, we as first amendment advocates, and a lot of civil rights and civil liberties organizations, are in a watchful monitoring role. with the lawsuit and coming up to the convention, we did the fromwe could to create what were pretty draconian strewed actions -- restrictions to reasonable ones. having set that stage, our job is to be there if folks need us and of their liberties are trodden upon and to be a

watchful eye holding the state accountable. host: how many protesters are expected this week? guest: i have heard so many different numbers. that this year, we are in a particularly unique election cycle. uniquein a particularly climate and in a lot of ways. my hope is that a lot of peaceful and diverse voices will come out to see our city. host: elizabeth bonham, thank you very much for talking to our viewers about what is happening in cleveland. guest: thank you. host: coming up, we will talk and randya thompson evans. we will get to that conversation coming up. first, yesterday, we spoke with baker, where he was

preparing food for the media outside the convention center. we are here with al "bubba" baker, one of the official caterers for the republican national convention. how did you get into barbecue? >> i did not get into barbecue. i was born into a barbecue family. i always tell people football was my job, barbecue is my passion. host: what is your specialty? >> we are the only people in the world with the ribs and we remove the bones. it is an actual slab of ribs. was endorsed on "shark tank." you can get it shipped right to your house. host: special sauce? secret sauce? >> no, no. to me, a good rib should not have to be swimming in sauce.

it should be a complement to it. that is because i grew up around, if there is no wood, it is no good. we use a combination of wood. victory for the ribs. -- hickory for the ribs. we take our smoking seriously. host: how did you become a caterer for the republican national convention? what did you have to do to be one of the official ones? it when iured into heard the word competition. they said, you will have to come down and compete. i was like, i'm in. my children and my wife, they know that. not have any political aspirations whatsoever. was, in order to

qualify to be one that could compete. the rnc did not pick the caterers, they just eliminated the ones and then we are in the media building and you can decide whether or not you want our fanfare. that is kind of how that works. process in it was a my life that was going to come around once. i do business out of tampa. i work in some grocery stores there. i thought, i would not see this again in my lifetime. i think that is what life is about. that aregs, you once not harmful, do it. host: what has been the security process like forgetting your food cleared? >> they have done a really good job. they have been to the restaurant. host: who is they? >> the fda.

the rules are well within how we operate anyway. they are a little more stringent. they asked us to do some things that we would not normally have to do under the health department or the usda, but i get it. my thinking is, to my friends i hit would hate to make somebody from the media sick. that is not where you would want to go. it is an experience. this morning, i was swept for a bomb. dogs have been in my truck. they went up under the hood. i have never seen that in america. i have been to israel, i have seen it. to have that feeling and to know, i'm scared, i haven't done anything wrong, i'm scared -- it

is an experience i will never forget. even coming into the gates with my own grill, somebody at the checkpoint, i've been to countries -- i think the lesson ,or us, the people on my staff thank god you are american because you go to other countries and you cannot drive from kansas to cleveland without a checkpoint. you cannot drive from bethlehem to nazareth without a checkpoint. keep that in mind. that is the kind of thing i have been reminding myself through the process. it is a growing to me. i think i will be more appreciative of flying in the airport, going from state to state because i will not have to stop my vehicle. if you think about it, that is pretty intimidating. it intimidated me.

host: thank you very much for talking to c-span. >> thank you very much. [laughter] host: we are back here in cleveland for the first day of the republican national convention. it opens at 1:00 p.m. eastern. towill be the 41st attempts win the white house for the republicans, which they have accomplished 23 times. at our table, a mile from the quicken loans arena, we have regina thomson, a delegate from colorado and the cofounder of free the delegates 2016, and randy evans, a delegate from georgia, the rnc rules committee member, and the chair of the republican association. thank you for having us. part of ana, you are

group to try to unbind the delegates at the rules committee meeting last week. tell our viewers why. guest: that is a little misleading. our assertion is that the delegates have always been unbound. other than 1976. what we learned last week is that we were right. the lie was exposed when the rules committee had to proactively put language in saying that you are bound. exposed and we have been unbound, other than one convention in 1976. host: why do you want delegates to be able to vote their conscience? guest: we believe that being a delegate to a convention is a justerative process, not to come to cast a predetermined vote. if that were the case, why do we have a convention? we can pass the platform electronically signing documents

on e-mail. we send delegates to make choices according to their conscience, according to current information and that is what it is about. it is about choices and we --ieve that has already been always been the process. host: you are against donald trump? guest: yes. host: who are you for? guest: i'm not advocating for a particular candidate. i'm doing it to open a door for the delegates to have a choice to nominate -- and it might be mr. trump that they nominate, but i want them to have that choice. host: randy evans, how do you respond to what she said about how the rnc operated last week and the way the rules committee? guest: i think maybe a little history lesson might be helpful. kind of interesting that i first met former speaker newt gingrich

in 1976 as a history student learning from him at west georgia college. what we learned was that in the 1800s, largely, delegates gathered at the conventions and the delegates made the decisions. beginning with teddy roosevelt, there was a feeling that rather than have all of the power vested in powerbrokers, we should shift the power back to the people and have the people make the decisions that within be manifested or reflected in the delegates they chose, the instructions they gave those delegates, so that when they appeared at the convention, those delegates would reflect the views of the voters, not the powerbrokers. and,started in 1912 gradually, the proliferation of the number of primaries, caucuses are designed to bind delegates. the federal courts have consistently ruled that party rules govern over state rules. the net effect was that under a

umbrella, the national committee decided to let each individual state decide how they would go about having their delegates either be pledged or not latched, bound or , bound or not bound. what the rules say is that any individual state can decide. the rules say how the process will work and the rules reflect theift of power, not from powerbrokers in washington dc, not from the people on the inside, not even from the delegates, but all the way back to the grassroots come of the voters, we vote, we vote according to a set of rules to say how are delegates must vote at a convention. that is all that happened last week. the rules committee reaffirmed those rules that have existed for some time that made it very clear that if an individual said that their delegates are bound

to an outcome as reflect did by are the ruleshose that will apply at the republican national convention. host: regina thomson, how do you respond? guest: a couple of things. we have many open primaries and caucuses in this country. a privatet just member organization with the members of that party choosing the nominee. it was heavily influenced by democrats and independents and interlopers, essentially, coming in. this was not a clean party process that brought us to this point. secondly, as of ganja no delegates across the country over the past many weeks, what i've come to find out is that these are not powerbrokers or insiders. these are everyday people and few of them are the powerbrokers and the insiders purported to be

-- these are normal, everyday people who have been elected as with the deep conviction that we need to examine the candidates individually and cast a vote according to our conscience. host: what is next, regina thomson? on thursday and friday. today kicks off the gathering. what is the republican national committee, what is the schedule like? guest: i don't know what the schedule is like because we have not been made privy to that yet. we know there are some functions that have to happen. we have to elected chairman and a secretary and then we have to ratify rules before we can go forward with the rest of the convention. we have things we have been working on and we will see what happens. there are a few things still in flux. host: what are the possibilities for viewers who will be tuning in to watch? guest: there is always a

possibility on roles. there may be minority report that may be introduced. i have no idea -- i'm not working on those myself. i don't know whether minority reports will be introduced on particular rules. beyond that, the rules have to be ratified. get to the when we nomination process, we will see. there are some things in flux. we will see how things go and we will communicate with their delegates and talk to them about what they need to do. need to bethe rules ratified, does it require a rollcall vote? guest: it does not necessarily. whatl say that we do know is going to happen today. we know that the gavel will drop at 1:00 p.m. we know that exactly when the gavel drops, the platform committee and the rules committee and other appropriate

committees will reconvene. just kind of background for the viewers, the way it works is that before the convention, you have temporary committees. these committees have no power. they are advisory committees and that was the committee meeting that met last thursday. it would have met on friday. as soon as the gavel drops and the chair takes the podium and assumes control, then you will have permanent convention committees. those permanent convention committees go into session and, largely what they do is ratify what has been done by the temporary committee rules. then those will come to the floor for an up or down vote. we know there are a lot of delegates who are unhappy with the outcome, but it is really hard to indict the process because you did not like what the outcome produces.

kind of like saying, my team lost in the nba finals, i'm unhappy about it, we should change the three-point rule. we should change it retroactively. that is not the way the process works. i hear the complaints about open primary states, but that is just a reflection of federalism, that the republican national party does believe that individual states should choose their own method of selecting and binding delegates. i agree that the delegates today are different than the delegates that led to this process. the reason they are not reflective of the powerbrokers of yesterday is because we have gone to the system of saying, we are going to let the people pledge their delegates rather than having their delegates be powerbrokers and that is the reason the system works so well. host: we want our viewers to be part of this conversation, as well.

the republicans kick off their convention today. .epublicans, (202) 784-8001 democrats, (202) 784-8000. this is your chance to ask to delegates-- two questions. they have been here, they have been part of the process, the housekeeping that takes place with these party conventions and you get to ask them questions and comments about this effort by some to vote their conscience, as it is being called here. them, itefore we go to does not sound like your groups have many options left. guest: that is true. there are few options, but there are options. to a point that randy made about havingcess of the rules gone through the committee last

week and being referred to the convention, we are well aware that many of the delegates that were in the rules committee were instructed. if certain people introduce amendments do not vote for them, it does not matter what they are, how valid they are, certain people who introduce amendments do not vote. for everything they introduce. it was not a clean process. senator mike lee was shut down from being able to speak in favor of one of his own amendment. that is not a clean process. it does not tell us that everything was actually heard and considered. through.ally rammed things were not heard as they should have been. host: there are news reports that the republican national committee, you put together a texting group and delegates in the room were getting texts in real time that said, don't vote

for this or vote for this. guest: i'm not going to deny that every proposed rules change was heavily vetted for a number of purposes. is it consistent with the other rules of the national committee? a number of the amendments were not. they were heavily vetted for consistency with the outcome that voters expressed at the polls and all that was done was communicated. at the end of the day, what happens is the chairman calls out your name when you send yes or no. that is an individual decision. if you want to follow the lead of people who have served on the committee for a long time or the general counsel of the committee or someone who helped write the engaged inmeone parliamentary procedure or the chair, that is your prerogative. at the end of the day, there was no hidden microphone behind each

delegate barking out a vote for them. each person voted individually for themselves, they made their own decisions, and that is the way the process works. having stayed close to midnight, it was surprising that they did not have an ability to debate. i don't think there is any effort at any point to shut down the debate process. amendments flurry of that had not been prefiled were submitted and every single amendment was taken up. let's get to calls. greg is first. an independent from virginia. caller: good morning. this is a much more serious issue than people realize. americansmillions of

that do not want donald trump. sometimes, voters do not make a good choice, sometimes they make a bad choice. it is definitely much more serious and is under covered by the media. the republican party honestly needs to split, because donald trump is going to destroy the republican party and so, for the future, for the future ahead, the republican party actually needs to split to save itself in the next eight years. thank you. host: regina thomson, i want to give that to you. do you agree with the caller? guest: i agree there is definitely a larger rift in the party. that has been happening for decades.

haveected politicians who not done what they said they would do. there have been rifts happening in the party. there is a very serious one happening right now because of the presence of donald trump, who has not been a consistent republican for his a dog life, who has donated to democrat candidates. there is a rift. is going to be solved, i don't know. i intend to stay in the party and make changes from within. i'm not want to advocate that we leave and start a separate party. i think we can actually do it from within. it is going to be difficult to heal after this election. the rifts are deep. host: why? why are the rifts deep because of donald trump? guest: his attitude toward people not his followers, he asked like a thug. at hisno problem saying

rallies, "i'd like to punch the guy in the face." he's given his followers permission to be ugly and vile. that is causing the rest all of her media, we see followers of his, they can't have a reasoned discussion on the merits of what you want to talk about. they simply throw ugly invectives at us. it is happening consistently to read without me engaging, i can post an article on facebook, just put it up and never make a comment, and for days, i will get donald trump followers coming back with ugly things. people he has given permission to be like him. that what about the tweet donald sent out right after the rules committee effort by some books that was gloating about -- bragging about the stop trunk donald trumptop

movement, that they did not get anywhere. guest: it was a reflection that it was a movement that had no support to it, beyond a very small minority. point, if you are a 1964, manywe look it in the republican establishment accused a person of being someone who would threaten the peace of a planet. when ronald reagan ran, here is an actor who had been once divorced and how can we trust him, given that he had been a governor of california. in 1994 when speaker newt gingrich came along, there was this whole movement to say look at the messenger, he is from the back bench, but each time, the party was able to take those transitional moments and move the party dramatically forward, rather than staying in the past.

any party that stays in the last millennia, in the 1900s is not going to win. that barackwe saw obama had so successfully done. his campaign adapted to the new generation and the question here is, will we be able to do the same? no one would suggest that donald trump is a traditional candidate that campaigns or speaks or communicates in a traditional way, and that has been true at every transitional moment in our party and in the democratic party as well. host: let's go to betty in michigan, republican. caller: it seems that everybody, all the delegates and democrats the constitution was written for the people, by the people. that should be the most

important, the majority of the american, republicans are for donald trump. for the people and by the people and that is who he is for. the democrats are not, they are only for themselves. host: i want to give you this call and then i will give randy the next one. county you respond to people who are supporting donald trump out there? millions of people out there voted for him that disagree with you, that delegates should be representing those voters. caller: somewhere -- guest: those are not all republicans, they did not vote for donald trump, they voted or another candidate. he does not have a majority of the support of the american people who actually voted in these primaries. the argument does not hold water. when i hear people say he has the majority of the american people's support, he doesn't, he

does not have the majority of the delegate support. about 70% of the delegates in that convention center this week do not want to cast a vote for donald trump. boundmany of them feel and harassed by their state party chairs, but about 70% do not want to vote for him, that is not overwhelming support. host: charles is next in virginia, republican. i agree with the guy that was talking about goldwater, reagan and the guy he mentioned. in an absolute democracy, we live in a republic. that means people vote for representatives, people to represent us. people -- they gave them free will to vote at

the convention, who they wanted to vote or, but we don't live in an absolute democracy. -- after about -- this individual -- if they determine that things be,'t the way they should -- a relay says the same thing, that had a temperament, and the ability to actually control the nuclear forces that we have, i would agree with the guy, we have to think about it, because -- host: randy evans. guest: i think charles makes a great point, because there are two different ends. one end is a national primary,

which literally would be to say forget all the individual states, get all the individual processes, we are just going to have one day, you go and you vote in the national primary and whichever candidate gets the most votes, that person becomes the presidential nominee. we believe that goes too far because it ignores the reality of how the electoral college actually likes a president, state-by-state -- actually elect's president, state-by-state. delegates who gather and then they decide amongst themselves who they think the nominee should be. under the conscientious objector role, every delegate, regardless of how their state noted, regardless of how the voters in the individual states want them to vote, those delegates have the absolute power. we had that in the 1800s and those turned into powerbrokers

that started taking powerbroker candidates and decided that was not the right way to go. where we ended up was in the middle. going to saying we are have primaries, but we are going to have delicate. we will have those delegates reflective of the voters in the individual states. donald trump received more republican voters than any nominee in the history of the country. if you literally say i don't want to national primary vote and i don't want delegates to be completely autonomous, i want it to be a blend like our founding fathers day when they created , i want ital college to be a blended approach, we have that approach, we worked hard to preserve it and every it is goings that to produce an overwhelming nominee. operationso conduct

which is basically another way of saying we count votes. we count people's votes. i will tell you right now, we counted the votes and they will be well north of 1400 votes. they could reach as high as 1700 votes for donald trump out of 2400. we are talking about a nominee who is going to get overwhelming support. it is not even going to be close, especially when you consider you will have upwards of 25 states. it will be a lot like the rules committee, it will not -- there will be a lot of bluster, and a lot of action. he will get will be on the magic number? -- well beyond the magic number? guest: that target has been met

and passed. host: explain how the vote will work. guest: we will have a rollcall of the states. it is a very ceremonial part of the convention. every state loves to stand up and say, we are the great state of alaska, we are the home of great salmon fishing and this and that or the other. the rollcall will go through. thompson, you and your fellow delegates who would like to vote your conscience, what will you do? guest: many of them will still insist upon having their vote recorded as cast. some may abstain. it is a choice every delegate has. away, and weer day will find out between now and then what the delegates are willing to do. numbers are

correct, is the effort over? guest: it is not over until it is over. host: what about the pic of indiana governor mike pence. did that help you or others come to donald trump? guest: for me, it made no difference-i don't see the vice president as anything other than a warm body waiting for the time when he may have to step in to fill a spot as president. vice president's having something to do that is effective and means something to us as voters is over. and theot change mine few people i talk to, it did not make any difference. host: let me go to amy in georgia, a democrat. good morning. all --ald trump the tree vitriol makes perfect sense to

me. republicans have been using the politics of race, division, classes and, destructive policies. they create an environment that is very hate filled. donald trump is the perfect face for the republican party because he was created by all the things they have been doing the last 30 years. you are getting what you made. let me say this. for seven years, president barack obama has been the president of the united states of america. he had every opportunity to bring this country together, and yet i don't think you can find any person on the street that believes that we are more united than ever. instead, we are more divided than ever. we have never been more divided along -- among race relations,

among nationality or religion, between police officers and citizens. we have never been more divided than under this president. i have a genuine fear and my genuine fear is if hillary for genders relations what president obama did for race relations, i worry for the country. suddenly, we have a candidate who is completely focused on the idea of meritocracy. what-- it does not matter skin color, nationality or gender you are, we want to give you an opportunity. i expect donald trump to go to the south side of chicago and safe oaks, you have two futures. want future is, i will give you a job, i will make sure jobs come back and you can live in a better home, your kids can go to a better school. the other option is to elect hillary clinton in which case,

you will get another check and eight years from now, you will be in the same situation that you live in, today. do you want the status quo, the you want continued police shootings and riots in the streets and terrorist rats at home and abroad, or do you want to have at least a hope and opportunity at a better future? i think that choice is going to be a very clear choice in november. i think most americans are going to conclude another of the division based on demographic they cease -- bases. host: let's hear from shirley in indiana, public and. -- republican. caller: we should all stop this fighting, killing and let the police do their duty and put a brick wall about who ever is we need toarm --

work with our country and we will move forward, everyone that is willing to work with this country, and stop all this. all this fighting and killing and shooting. that policemen did not know what that man had on him. get off the that street and quit selling things and doping up, we can move somewhere and go forward, because this is not right. this is not the way we are supposed to live. god is not want us living like this -- does not want us living like this. host: ready evans, let me ask you, have any adjustments been made to security in cleveland because of what happened in baton rouge? guest: i'm not completely at liberty to discuss those because

the very essence of security is the uncertainty. i can tell you this is going to be one of the most secure conventions we have ever had. there will be no safer place on planet earth than in the quicken loan center. and inside the perimeter. every precaution has been taken. every delegate should feel good about their first amendment rights. the protesters should feel good that they will have the opportunity to express their protest and they will be able to do it in a constitutional way. that was the order permitting the protest, it was a compromise between the aclu, the mayor, the rnc committee, all them came together and worked out something that everybody could live with. nobody has a legitimate basis to say we were denied anyone of our rights. now what we need are good law-abiding citizens to enjoy those rights. host: bill in massachusetts, democrat.

i want to compare the democratic rules committee to their public in one. -- when they had a chance to vote, they would vote and it would be on the board and everyone would see it. republican committees, everybody nay, i cannot tell, could you please stand up? it sounded ludicrous and did not look good to me. guest: the way the rules work is this. if it appears as though there is an obvious answer, then rather than spend an inordinate amount of time that could be spent on issues were there is a serious division, we can have a voice vote or a standing vote. , c-spanty of it is cover the entire rules proceedings that not only does the chair get to see and every

member of the committee get to see, but all of america got to see exactly how the votes were turning out and exactly how the voice votes were turning out. a much more important thing to remember is this. at any point, any member of the committee can ask for a recorded vote. if they are supported by 19 other members of the committee and there are 112 members, they can actually force a recorded vote. the difference between us is ours is about getting the business done. we are not going to spend time on things that everybody agrees on, like dispensing with the reading of -- things that are time takers. we will spend our time on serious issues where there is a real division, and then take a roll call vote. that when you agree with caller and what you are hearing? guest: we were very open and

transparent. the whole world was able to watch our process. i heard from foreign correspondents all around the world wanting my comments on our rules process of the convention. it was open and transparent, i would like to see personally, more rollcall votes on more substantial issues. we actually take not just states roll calls, what the states actually pulled her delegations within on all of these of standing issues and there are not that many votes that we are taking that we should -- we should not have that as the baseline of how we conduct our businesses, we actually pull the people in the delegations on their votes on rules and on the platform and the nominee, they should be standard practice for transparency, within our own party? host: are you saying or could you force rollcall votes on the platform?

guest: there is a process for that to happen, and it is within our roles, so we are not trying to do anything renegade or outside the process that is available to us, and republicans are rule followers by and large, so when there are laws in place, we try to follow them and that is what we are doing. host: rob in california, republican. caller: the system works. we can vote for republican candidates and democrat candidates and independents. it, we you do not get voted for donald trump, we want him to run this country. those that are opposing it in rejecting it are basically counterproductive and they might as well put de on their name and vote democrat.

guest: i'm obviously not a democrat, there is no d on my four head. orehead. fou i am committed to electing a conservative president. this is not sour grapes because my chosen candidate was not the one nominated. there were several good candidates that i would have gladly supported that were running. this has to do with what i believe is a man who is running who is not truly a republican, not a conservative. we know yes trouble understanding many things having to do with the current touche and like to process. that is our objection. it is not because our candidate did not prevail, it is because we do not believe this man is a republican at heart, does not understand the constitution and is not embody republican principles. guest: i think that reflects the divide, which is the process actually works, it is just that

there are folks who do not agree with who the process used. i can appreciate -- process produced. i can appreciate that. i was the senior advisor to the newt gingrich campaign in 2012. i fullynd of the day, understood that the other choice would lead us to disaster. i believe that was proven right given what we have seen 2012. i did not cut and run, i did not challenge the process. this is not a process issue. our system does work, sometimes it produces unexpected results and this is an environment where that is especially true. there were people from both parties. the bernie sanders voters in the

democratic party and the donald trump voters in the republican party who have said the system is not working, america is not on the move, america is not where it needs to be. enough of this leading from behind, we need to be leading from up front and we want a candidate who is not going to go in and rearrange the pieces on the table, we want someone who is going to go to washington and take the table over. that is what we saw in the democrat party with the bernie sanders voters. who would have thought he would have made it all the way toward the end of the process and the donald trump voters who in fact ended up being the prevailing party and the presumptive nominee and will be the nominee on thursday. host: lauren in pennsylvania, republican. in regards to regina, it is people like her that give us to looting -- to losing candidates like john mccain and mitt romney.

people in the republican party said enough, we are choosing somebody who is going to win and is going to actually do what they say they will do. shame on you for not standing by the american people and your fellow republican voters. host: let's give her a chance to respond. guest: i am standing by the republican voters. mccain,e was not john it was not mitt romney, it was not bob dole. i was not a supporter of those candidates and i would have bought them tooth and nail, because they were not my choices. by doing this, i am not paving the way for a democrat candidate. i am trying to pave the way for the delegates to make a choice based upon the best information that they have on the current presumptive nominee, and that is all. i'm not trying to destroy the party or take any way -- take away anyone's vote.

the majority of people who cast votes in this primary did not cast them for donald trump and we are here to be the voice of those people. host: how do you want the republican party to change, going forward, because there was also an effort at the rules committee to change -- i was referring to closing the primaries for the next time around, so that it is only republicans voting in the primaries. guest: read his comment about the process, that we give the states the right to choose. the rnc has the right to set their rules and say to the state that if you have open primaries and open caucuses, they will reduce the number of delegates you have. ouro not have to leave party open to people who are not registered republicans, not part of the party, that may or may not ever vote for a republican again.

we do not know if they will follow through in the general. the rnc has the right to control that and if they leave it up to the states, that's fine. we can restrict the number of delegates those states get. we don't have to allow the government to tell us how -- that we have to have open primaries. that is up to our legislators to say we will change this because we are a private member organization and we will choose our nominees. host: it appears the rnc was opposed to this idea. is that true? guest: the rnc is opposed to interfering with states rights. thatee with regina that particular one, which was to have the rnc tell the states how to conduct your business about how the pleasure delegates was rejected -- how they pledge their delegates was rejected.

it permits our electorate to be much more nimble. part of what happened to us for a long time that led up to the contract with america was the republican party was stuck in a set of rules, stuck in the 1800s thinking that it would somehow move along and we had to be much more nimble. what barack obama proved was that his organization, moveon.org and related organizations were very nimble. in, and your voters they can't be nimble and they can't suddenly say i don't want to go with a candidate who has continual legal problems with the department of justice and criminal investigations who destabilize the middle east and hit the reset with the soviets -- button with the soviets.

registered democrat and they have to actually go down, change their voter registration, they have to wait for the registration to be put on the books and then they can vote in the republican primary. it is too sluggish and an area where we have iphone and 24 hour news coverage and instant internet indication and the ability to communicate immediately. all that has happened is the republican party says we will be more nimble, more quick, astor, more reactive to the views of voters than ever before. one way to do that is lit states decide how to best do that. there are many states who believe that they would have never made their way to the coming republican states had it not been or the primaries, because the establishment was so locked in it was only the ability to go over, picked the red ballot rather than the blue bell it that made the difference -- ballot that made the difference. host: now on the line, a

democrat. i just want the gentleman to know that americans are prejudiced, but they are not stupid, donald trump has no program, no agenda, he has nothing to offer the american people accept promises. promises don't even make sense. you have the wall around mexico. this is totally ridiculous. if he thinks he is going to blackmail mexico into building the wall to keep them out of america, he is stupid. he has nothing to offer the american people. this gentleman here, who is trying to articulate his position is a better candidate. host: i will have this thompson go first -- miss thompson go first.

we have -- we have the right to protect our borders. whether that is with patrols or a fence, we have the right to protect our borders. it is not just a right, it is a responsibility. i think mr. trump's assertion that he is going to make the mexicans pay for it is ludicrous. to me, that is throwaway rhetoric to garner votes, telling the people what they want to hear at the moment without having the means or mechanisms to actually follow through with what he is promising. everything you have told us, what are you going to do in november? guest: i personally will not vote for mr. trump. i cannot in mr. -- i cannot in good conscious do that. i will not do anything to tell people to do that, that is my

own personal choice. host: isn't that a vote for hillary clinton? guest: no. or i willher not vote write in a candidate of my choice. i will not vote for another party whose ideals i will not agree with. at this point, my choice will be not to vote for him. guest: let me answer the gentleman's comment and in the process, i'm sure that i will hear about this from my lovely bride at home because she hates it when i do this. i am from georgia and as you might imagine, college but all is a slightly important thing. for the southeastern conference, college football is a religion. if i were running a college football team and i had a choice, and one choice is a proven coach you always lost football games, that is hillary clinton and barack obama, nobody

agrees that the america we see today is the america we want for our children. we don't want them exposed to bombings and shootings, we don't love them exposed to failing schools or higher deficits. on the other hand, i have a bright young coach with really crazy ideas about throwing up with all and doing all kinds of crazy things and he makes promises that we are going to do better. he offers the hope of a winning season. to me, it becomes a very easy choice. i always go with the hope of the better against rubin failure. i think that is what we have seen here. donald trump has a proven record of succeeding in the businesses that he has done. he is candidly not a professional politician and that of white mike pence is such an important choice. i do disagree with regina on this point. cycles, we have seen the vice presidency mature in ways we have never seen before. anyone who thinks vice president

dick cheney was not an integral part of the operation of the country has not studied any of the history or any of the books that were written about the bush administration. anyone who does not think the joe biden has been an integral part of obamacare in the operation of the country is not studying history. becomee presidency has an integral part of the federal government. when you add mike pence who is someone with a proven record of leadership, conservative values, a steady voice, someone who is a proven, six seater, a proven winner who builds businesses, who offers new ideas and you put them together, it is going to be someone with a proven losing record -- it is going to beat someone with a proven losing record every time all-star. host: was donald trump your first choice? guest: i had to take a pledge of

neutrality from the very beginning. i always kind of had my hands tied all the way through, but what i will say is of the 17 candidates, i like them all. i like the idea that we had 17 great americans who are willing to put their lives on the line, having written the bus with newt gingrich, it is no easy thing. these candidates sacrificed enormously, and they do it because they love their country. host: along the way, have you had concerns about things donald trump has said and the way he says them? concerns that it could impact the general election? guest: i will be the first to concede that he is not a polished politician and he made a variety of what i referred to as few mistakes -- as rookie mistakes. i have to share, politics is a

profession, it is an art, it is not something you can just do intuitively. i will be the first to agree with you, that he had plenty of stumbles and fumbles and plenty of comments that completely backfired and will not serve him well in the fall. in the end, i think he will come back to where we were in 1980, which is we will have the hope of a better future against the record of if you remember jimmy carter we had gas lines and knowan hostages and as you , right now, people are afraid, they are afraid to walk the streets, they are afraid our country is on the decline and they are afraid for the world. when that fear hits, you look for someone who is a deacon of hope as opposed to a proven failure. host: have you given any advice

to donald trump? guest: i gave advice to every single candidate. one of the things i did as my pledge of neutrality with create a website that permitted every candidate to get your name on the ballot of all 50 states, the five territories and the district of columbia. when newt gingrich ran, we found that to be a incredible hurdle. we started the process of providing direction on how the rules system would work, how you go forward and we will provide additional resources in the fall to protect elections and assure voter integrity. ,ost: we will go to bob independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am a supporter of donald trump. i wanted to tell ms. thompson that the republican party has been tearing itself apart for years.

the democrats have been so far ahead of you guys as far as tactics and coming together after the primaries where you guys continually, at the end of -- keep going after each other. this one's not politically correct enough, this was not a republican purist, this was not a constitutionalist. it is pathetic. and johnmitt romney mccain in the last two elections, the almost wanted to shut the tv off because mitt romney ran away from the fact that he had money. who does that? if you went out and became wealthy, why would you be embarrassed about that? john mccain tried to stand up and tell people the country would be ok while our economy was collapsing. what the people are saying is we sot someone that is not

politically correct that somebody can go in and say things that we are actually getting because the country has been bent. everybody that makes less than $100,000 a year, we are all caps where yourn't know position is in the world, but everybody else is hurting, and they want somebody to stand up we say we want this back, want our jobs and to be able to go out and apply for three jobs and within a couple of days get a phone call instead of applying for 50 jobs and getting no phone calls. host: i have to leave it there. guest: it is hard to respond to some of this. i want a president who is going , createan atmosphere the atmosphere were jobs come back to this country. i don't want them to leave the

country, i don't want division in the party that creates an atmosphere where we cannot work together to do that thing. i am here because i want unity in the party. i want solid -- solid conservatives in our party. i'm looking for a constitutional conservative and i think that is important, that we bring that back to the party. i want what this gentle and wants, i want the jobs to come back and for him to be able to get a job offer after job of -- after job offer. donald trump is not the candidate who can make that atmosphere. there are other candidates who are not here to enrich themselves. very honest men who have the same ideals and dreams that this gentleman has and would work for the same thing. host: senator ted cruz will be working -- speaking this week. what do you want to hear from him? guest: i do not want to hear an

endorsement and i don't think i will hear that from him. that would be very's pointing to hear him support donald trump, i don't know if that is what is coming or not. the people that support ted cruz like to hear him talk about his grounding in the constitution and the fact that he wants america to follow rules and laws because if we are lawless, if we have a plan and say this is how we are going to govern our country but at any moment, anyone can just make changes, it leaves us rudderless. if we do not have a role of law that we can count on, it leaves us out of control and it is what the supporters of ted cruz love about him. things shipped within the plan, but we have a plan since -- we have a plan that we have had since the inception of the country. host: randy, when will the governor make his way here and

will he or do you know what day he is speaking? guest: the rnc did issue a schedule and i think he speaks tuesday night. i look forward to that. he is going to speak on the same night as newt gingrich. the former speaker will be the lead in to governor pence. i think that is a great way to tailor it because it will kind which is the last -- we know you know how to run a business. we know you know how to create jobs. we know you know how to build an empire, but can you actually make any of this happened on a dysfunctional capitol hill? you will bring it to people, newt gingrich to balance the budget, reform welfare and close the contract with america within the first hundred days of congress, introducing mike pence who came into the congress

afterwards and worked and challenged and fought for those same kinds of things throughout his tenure, only to go back to indiana and implement it. host: we are hearing that all trouble announce who would be in his cabinet if he were to win. guest: i cannot answer that question. host: that sounds like a yes. --st: i think you will hear i think the average american and certainly the average republican is going to be pretty bill -- thrilled when they hear the names. i think when they hear the name or attorney generals and the hear the name or the department of state and the department of defense and the joint chiefs of staff, i think that they are going to feel a lot better. host: when will they hear those names and when will they deliver that? guest: that is way above my pay grade. that.i do not believe

randy evans, georgia delegate, chair of the republican national lawyers association, virginia thompson, thank you so much. enjoy your time in cleveland and thank you for coming together and taking phone calls from our viewers. guest: you have been wonderful. host: we will continue here on the washington journal, up until 11:00 eastern time this morning, taking your phone calls and getting your thoughts on what is happening in cleveland today, the first day of the republican national convention, it kicks off later this afternoon, and the scene for today will be, keep america safe again. we want to know from all of you, what are your thoughts on that, and storytelling in with your questions, how can we make america safe again.

we will get to those calls, but first, peter back in washington with more details about the convention and news. guest: i want to share some of the delegate's tweets. it has been a busy morning and you were talking with mr. evans of georgia. here is michael williams from georgia. ben carson spoke at their breakfast and he tweeted out this picture. this picture of willy robinson from duck dynasty speaking at their breakfast, also this picture from last night, having fun in cleveland. from adrianaet boeing and the nesta souza is speaking at their breakfast. is movie and his book, heller is

america -- hillary's america is coming up. island richards is a delicate from wyoming and here is the wyoming crew, all the delegates on the way to a breakfast. those are some of the tweets that are being sent out by the delegates. you mentioned that tonight's theme is make america safe again. the overall theme of the convention is make america great again. tomorrow, it is make america work. make america first again is wednesday nights theme and thursday night is make america one again. mike pence will be speaking on wednesday night along with newt gingrich. donald trump will be speaking on thursday night. tonight, well the convention

gets to -- underway at 1:00, there is some business being taken -- taking place, alleging a chairman and going through the ands and approving those stretching that out and delaying it a little bit, but tonight, some of the speakers that you will hear from, all live on c-span. dynasty,inson of the former texas governor rick seal, former u.s. navy of june he loves chassis or whatever that show is. also pat smith, a mother of a benghazi victim and a former u.s. marine corps veteran who was in benghazi. those are some of the other people who will be speaking, shaw, anh jameel

immigration reform advocate whose son was killed by an illegal immigrant. -- the sheriff of milwaukee county and he will be speaking as well as sean duffy, a representative from wisconsin and darryl glenn who is the colorado gop senate nominee. tom cotton, senator from arkansas is speaking. jeff sessions from alabama. of course, a and lot of you trump -- a lumia trump -- alanya trump. host: we will pick up on the first day of the national convention. we will turn to our viewers and get your thoughts on how can we make america safe again. that is the wording that the republican national committee is using. republicans that

have gathered here in democrats across the country what you inc. about that. pat in ohio, a democrat, you are up worst. -- up first. caller: i think the way to make america better is by democrats and republicans working together. they need to start talking to each other, especially when it comes to the house and the senate, instead of fighting each other and blaming each other for each other's mistakes. ok.: joseph in florida, republican. caller: good morning. all, it --st of first way to make america great would be to elect donald trump

especially when you look at how everything hillary clinton has touched has turned into chaos. i agree with what the young lady said before hand, a lot of trump isid how donald not a true republican and whatnot, i think that is a good we have seen what that is happened and has been happening for years is if i am a very -- a republican, i can only vote republican. how about putting somebody in there who is in the middle? they could be i don't care who you are, i like what you say, in that of us just bumping heads. if you are republican, we can only do republican. harry reid blocked for two years, everything that was passed by the house, never hit

the senate floor because it was a republican idea. donald trump has shown he is not a true republican. ok, that's fine. let's get somebody in there who can actually -- you know what, i like that idea, i don't care if it came from a democrat. let's try to work for the american people for once. host: let me ask you a question, have you gone to a donald trump bought theave you make america great again hat or how are you supporting him? caller: my daughter has a hat, i son has a hat, i have a hat. i believe in what it says. let's make america great. let's stop making -- our farmers cannot even sell what they grow. because we have to help

nicaragua and we have to help this and that country, which is all for the better and the good and hey, how about us? we have millions of children in this country that are starving. that is unbelievable. as you were talking, we were showing our viewers what convention goers can purchase when they are at the convention sites. there are all sorts of offerings. we saw the donald trump t-shirts and other donald trump gifts. hats and t-shirts and american flags and other american gifts. all the vendors that are lined , this is right inside the q. we will keep taking calls about

making america safe again. that is the theme for the first day in cleveland. roger in ohio, republican. i like to comment on the gentleman who just made the statement. i agree with him 100%. our country has been on a downhill drag for a long time. i agree with him, i don't care about a republican or a democrat, the thing that we have to look at is what is going to improve our country? we already know what has happened in the last few years. especially the one that is our president now, i think it is a total disaster of what he has done, and why people want to stand up and fight somebody that has ideas to move forward?

the lady that was on their a while ago talking, if you don't vote one way or the other, she's voting for the other side. i think if you are in office, you ought to have enough bone to stand up and vote one way or the other. during this conversation, with all of you about national security issues, as republicans take that up, day one of the 2016 republican convention, we are in cleveland where security has been beefed up. who has theervice heart inner perimeter of the quicken loans arena, and you have other federal agencies, local law enforcement, state law enforcement and law enforcement from other state that have all come to the cleveland area to keep convention goers, radio, and others in cleveland safe for the next four days.

there are expecting about 50,000 visitors to descend on cleveland. this is the fourth time the republicans will convene in ohio. the first time was in the city of cincinnati in 1876. in 1924, they also had it in cleveland, as well as in 1936. 5000 hotel rooms were requested in downtown cleveland. 16,000 in the northeastern part of the state, approximately 1200 events happening in this area and as we told you around 50,000 people, that includes 15,000 credentialed media, from not a lot ofnotice states, international media also coming into the city. independent,tana, what do you think about the best way to make america safe?

caller: i don't know about making america safe, but how about the best way to keep americans from being stupid? the people of america are really stupid. we are not very educated, or we would not have donald trump running. i watched republicans tear our country apart, send jobs overseas and i will never going back in 1975 when richard nixon went over to china, very friendly, no he didn't, he went over there to give all of our jobs away, they're going to make their money and people above them richer and there were going to screw the american public. after that, he took us off the gold standard. he took us off the gold standard and we are about to crash. your money is about to become

worthless in the next month or two. host: we heard your point, let's get another voice. next up in maryland, republican. caller: i would like to make one statement to everyone listening angry, the guy that did that in baton rouge was angry because he did not see fairness towards all the people in this country. citizensne, police, were held accountable for their actions, and their words, everyone would be safer, because there is no fairness. these police officers, and i have friends who are police officers, but some of the police men are killing people unjustly and they are not being charged. they're getting off, being

acquitted, and that is not fair and that is why people are angry. host: danny in ohio, republican. caller: thank you for c-span. i would like to say that i support donald trump 100%. one think we can do to make our country safe again control our borders. we need to know who is coming in and who is coming out of our nation. undere homicidal killers the guise of islam going across the world murdering people. that we have people roaming across the borders that we do not know who they are. donald trump is against illegal immigration. like -- iing i would like about donald trump is he seems like he has made a very

good choice with mr. pence. our country was founded on judeo-christian values. the american civil liberties union has taken the 10 commandment out of our schools, pictures of jesus christ out of our schools, they have been on a crusade, and if people want to blame the national rifle association for what is in people's hearts. i preach on the side, i am not an indoor -- an ordained preacher, but i can tell you that we have an obligation to the poor, to the fatherless. in the blackoblem community that needs to be addressed, and that is fatherless and this in the home. when you don't have a father in the home, sometimes, young men like it or not, they need to be

-- 30's to be a father. danny's thoughts in ohio. lori in massachusetts, independent, good morning. -- lloyd in massachusetts, independent, good morning. caller: i would like to know why it is prejudiced that we don't allow anyone illegally in this country. i don't think there is anything prejudiced about that. i think it helps get more jobs for more people, including minorities, so i don't know why -- to make sure no terrorism comes to the borders. nancy in florida, we are taking your calls ahead of day

one of the republican national convention and the theme for today, make america safe again it is what they will be discussing when they kick off the convention at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. we will be taking your calls up until about 11:00 eastern time, then around noon, we pick up our coverage with more of your calls and conversation about how this is all unfolding in cleveland, inside the quicken loans arena. that is the arena on your screen , from the outside, getting you an idea of what delegates in media and all the other convention goers, what they are seeing in the security that they have to go through, the many volunteers that are participating in this week's convention. idea of what it would be like if you were able to come here, 50,000 people

expected, we will continue to show you this coming up on the washington journal, and then when the convention gets underway, you will be able to watch and tune in. until then, we want to bring you over to the convention center, the rnc is having one of her daily briefings with the media to give us more details and we want you to be able to listen then as >> will conduct some official business and we will have an circuit hear from some of the county leaders welcoming delegates to the convention. we will hear from the host committee a little bit and a tribute to the governor. bennett,ribute to bob former republican party chair and cleveland native who is hope bring theul to

convention to cleveland. some of the other republican committees who will hear from the attorney general, the rs lc, some other committees. other republican officials that will talk about what they're doing to help mr. trump and the republican party to win elections in november to the delegates. we will also hear from some mayors and senate committee. thee will be speakers and republican governors association 11 number of speakers. that takes a from 1:00 until 5:00 in the afternoon, our anticipation is about 5:30 or 6:00 we will have a break and come back probably about 8:00 we went to ofain,

the names yesterday. you have this in your app. if you don't have it, it is an google play. it is rnc 2016, you can get the bios and information from the app and the list of the speakers. we have willie robertson speaking today. if governor perry, we have a number of speakers with regards to benghazi and think that a taken place with the overall safe is make america again. our hearts and prayers go out to the families of those in baton rouge and even in dallas. we remember those fallen police theirrs that have had lives taken. we have a good program today with a number of speakers that we laid out yesterday.

benghazi withm they will talk today. antonio sabato will be speaking this evening. mendoza with immigration reform will be speaking. along with sabine durden, there is a whole host of good speakers. representative michael mccaul will speak, congressman duffy and his wife rachel will speak. they are running for the senate in colorado will speak. a mother of ad fallen u.s. navy seal. mayor rudyns, former

giuliani will speak tonight. we will conclude with mrs. trump. we have a great program. have mrs. trump, we lieutenant general michael flynn also speaking after that. i think we have a great lineup tonight. even after that, we have others speaking along with jason beardsley.\ i think we have a great lineup. we are looking forward to it. it will be a great day. we look forward to a successful convention. i think the first day will turn out to be very good. they will take a couple of questions after this. tick-tock abouta what is going to happen. turn it over now to paul manfred talking about what the campaign is doing.

>> thank you, john. the theme tonight is make america safe again. context of make america great again which is the overall theme for the convention. to present a picture of donald trump that is broader than just the campaign initiative that people have developed from the primary season. we recognize a key part of the purpose of this convention is the opportunity to introduce the candidate to a broader spectrum of america that will be paying attention. we also understand that mr. trump has been not active in the political arena prior to a year ago. the biography of the man, while he is known from a topical standpoint, really is not very well-known when you get into the components of his personality. the goal, the overall convention

will be to present mr. trump not just as a political figure, but a father, a businessman, a compassionate human being that he is when the spotlights aren't on. that being said, the goal more thanis to be just a number of political speeches of those that have served in office. as an outsider, mr. trump's foundation of support came from the people in the states, not from washington. that will be evident in the campaign, and the presentations of the speeches. in trying to achieve this we have three different groups today speaking. as you heard, you will have the expects --personal

aspects presented. you then have some people who have been affected by world events will be speaking to the issues that will be relevant. some political figures talking about it from the standpoint of policy. as we develop this program, there are three parts who want to talk about. one is who donald trump is, the person. thend is to talk about failures of the obama-clinton administration. timeng up the blocks, this making america safe has two pieces to it. it focuses on the international peace. he points the campaign are making relates to the rise of terrorism, the dysfunctionality in the middle east and lack of leadership presented by the obama and clinton

administration. point. the second the third point we will be ofessing is the indictment hillary clinton is the ultimate establishment candidate. in a year of change, donald trump clearly represents the change candidate. only thelinton is not establishment candidate, but the epitome of the establishment candidate. service,ars of public all the problems she is campaigning against all came under her watch. we find it ironic the things she thatare broken are things broke down during the last eight years during her term of office. of herking issues character and failed leadership whereby she issues has put personal interest above political interest.

she used levers of power to advance the clinton foundation or other search donors of hers. that will all be discussed. that relates to how the system is not working. then the fourth and final piece of the strategy is to unify the party. we think the party is getting unified. we think the appointment of governor pence as the running mate for mr. trump is even accelerating what was a costly accelerating unification process. during the course of the last several weeks mr. trump is gone to washington and met with all the republican leaders and republican members in both the senate and the house. the response in those meetings by and large was overwhelmingly positive. really, have come together and our support in the candidacy. many of them will be here this

week. it will be evident that the elected officials in washington, the grassroots as represented by the delegates and supporters of mr. pence as well a coming together. from our standpoint, the final these is to show that unity in the course of our program. the types of political speakers that will be presented will speak to that unification coming together. so, the four themes, introduction of the biographical information of mr. trump, and indictment of the obama and clinton years, and presentation of hillary clinton as the establishment candidate with all of her character flaws, ns -- and then unification of the party. tonight's speeches will deal with several of those. early part of the evening only talk about benghazi and the failed foreign-policy issues of the administration we will speak to the clinton and obama time in

office as well as, and really, the failures of secretary clinton. moves into the foreign-policy and domestic policy issues that relate to immigration. we will highlight some domestic issues which we think are key to setting up the differences between the two parties. in the evening, and the primetime, mr. trump will be accompanying his wife to the cue. they will be flying in together. they will be at the arena together. he will introduce her tonight. then she will speak. they will then, after comments, jointly leave and go back to new york. onwill be here formally

wednesday. his wife's speech is the beginning of the family testimonials that will describe donald trump, the man. it is a part we think is historic. i have never been a part of the convention with the family will be used as extensively to show the inner part of the pound of the candidate. it will be broad-based over the course of the week. it is not one or two speeches. we think it is an important part of the night. after she speaks, and they willt, general flynn speak of the feeling issues of the clinton and obama foreign-policy. the important of speeches of the night. the indictment of the failures will be prosecuted. finally, the last segment of the speech in the 10:30 is senator ernst, congressman's inky, and

jason beardsley will interweave the international and the domestic failures of the -- and the consequences it has had on the american society. program,t for the tonight. this afternoon, we expect the platform to be adopted. theout any changes, platform reflects the donald trump impact on the traditional platforms of the republican party. the main document itself is pretty much the same as most republican platforms have been. some addedbeen component that reflect the issues mr. trump has raised during the course of the campaign. specifically, there is a piece in the platform and deals with building a wall, as opposed to just securing importer. section, there is discussion about better trade

deals and the need to negotiate better trade deals. that goes to mr. trump's position on trade. there is another section for the recall of the johnson amendment. andas legislated in 1960 (c) restriction on 501 organizations and church organizations as far to what their rights are. we call for that repeal. to create barriers between what the big banks can do and gavoid toe of the crises that led 2008. we believe the obama and clinton years have passed legislation that has been favorable to the big banks. that is one of the reasons using the wall street money going to her. they know she is their champion. we are supporting the small

banks and main street. we talk about legislation that affects some of the mistakes in imposing dodd frank. additionally, there is a strong israel pact that talks about one state and protecting our sacred relationship with israel. it is probably the strongest position taken in the republican platform on israel in a long time. therules, as you know, rules committee was rather a nonevent. anythingexpect significant coming out of the rules committee. the afternoon session, which begins at 1:00 is when those committee report will be adopted. in the program, which begins at 8:00, we'll deal with the messaging related to what i have talked about. so, that being said, are there any questions? >> you are talking about party

unity. john kasich will not be on stage. he is not the only one. mitt romney, former president bush want be here. what is your response to that? >> the party is unifying. these are -- the bush family, are have not been -- they part of the past. we are dealing with the future. we are dealing with issues that relate to the future. we like to have them but they don't reflect the broad strokes of the republican party. many delegates that supported that supported the other candidates are now supporting donald trump. there are a few that still are not, but no more than traditionally part of a convention post up conventions are a healing time, not when everything is done. we feel like the healing time is happening.

when we leave here it will be a united republican party. we'll be on message. governor pence has certainly done that. he brings his section of the party that has questions about donald trump. they did not know him. the problem who think exist inside the party late to the fact that donald trump is not been a part of the last 10 years. that has been an issue we have to deal with. it is more of an advantage to mr. trump because he is not shackled with any of the problems the last 10 years. he can be free of those to talk specifically about what the issues are, and how he will break gridlock. he won't fear the pressure of being politically correct in dealing with washington. it is a double-edged sword. the party is united. you'll see speakers like governor walker, senator cruz, governor christie, governor

huckabee, many of the candidates will be speaking on the program ran for president. congressman ryan will be speaking, senator mcconnell will be speaking, the range of leaders in washington and in the states will be a part of this program. they are working with us closely. >> i have a quick question. attendingprotests this convention, some delegates are expecting mr. trump to take the opportunity to apologize for the comments he's made about latinos. will the address this issue? i don't know what you are talking about. speeches that two it had to be postponed because of tragedies. those were when he was going to be speaking to the hispanic community by." incidents. we ahve rescheduled those speeches.

of the issuese touched upon has to do with open primaries. they do not want to have open primaries or bring in democrats closed want to have the primaries exclusively to gop voters. >> two tracks of issues that were being discussed. one related to the primaries that had happened this year, and that was the bind-unbind rule. those wree i -- were donaldthat reflected trump's campaign. you cannot invalidate the record number of republicans and independents who took part. those changes were submitted.

the rules were defeated overwhelmingly for some don't expect any further issues there. the second set has to do more with party rules on how the rnc is govern and how the 2020 primary process will be conducted. as you know, during the campaign, mr. trump raised several issues after the transparency and some concerns he had about the rules in keeping the public informed as to what was really happening. our position on those rules as they relate to 2020 was this is not the environment with which to deal with those rules. we figured a creation of the commission or committee to be appointed that would look at all rules governing the 2020 process. they could make recommendation to the rnc for changes. there was part of this package it will be constituted after the 2016 elections. theses where we think

issues should be discussed in a nonpolitical environment. we believe that will be passed in the rules package that will be presented today. >> says the party is uniting, johnmorning you said that kasich was embarrassing the state of ohio. is that part of the unity you're presenting? i am curious as to how that fits in. >> i said it is embarrassing that the governor is not participating. i said it is. he doesn't want to participate. we invited him. we wanted him to participate. we think that was a wrong decision. there were no conditions put on him. they wanted him to speak, he chose not to. the bush family were leaders and past administrations. this campaign is focusing on

2016. while we wanted them here, we understand that they didn't want to be here. i made the point that many of the people who supported governor bush in the primary and is served in previous bush administrations were involved in our campaign at all levels. we think the unification is happening. we hope that when the bush family decides to participate again in the political process that they will join us. we reached out to them. healing takes time. we understand that. with governor kasich, the same thing. we think it is a difficult situation in the home state governor doesn't participate in the process. we asked him to participate. he made a decision not to. that is what i meant. >> one last question. today, and yesterday, the will the orders.f ended, he wasry

not actually the choice of the majority of the republican primary electorate. why does the rnc feel like there is not a role for delegates to play at the convention in such a situation? >> delegates are playing a role at this convention. again, the rules for this convention were adopted in 2012. we simply abided by the rules created in 2012. delegates were -- >> at each convention. >> in 2012, there were set for 2016. for the nominating process, it is unfair to change the rules when you get to the convention. the nominating process for 2020 will be developed this convention. the process for the nomination was developed in 2012. there was not an appetite to try

to change the rules. that is what this is. >> thank you very much. host: the republican national committee gathering the media for a daily briefing on day one of the convention here in cleveland. the manager for the donald trump campaign answering questions you and him talking about several things first of all, the program will get underway then they will go through been the principles and will vote test going forward, the rules for the party and convention but also for the next few years ahead. turnedt 8:00 p.m., they

their attention to the substance of the evening. that is their focus on making america safe again. national security issues, they will be as the campaign manager just laid out focusing on not only what happened on september libya, butghazi, and the obama administration's foreign-policy calling it failed foreign-policy in order to hisrast donald trump with , hillary clinton. by the way, the democrats are gathering in philadelphia next week for their convention. we will have coverage of that just like we are here in cleveland. will be goingkend on to philadelphia. this is the fourth time republicans have had their convention in ohio. the first time was in cincinnati.

1924.ere in cleveland in in 1936 as well, if you go inside the gun loans arena which is about a mile from our we are. quicken loans arena which is about a mile away from where we are. if you head down the road, that is where the protesters will take. you will see where the delegates get to sit on the floor. the bowl around the convention -- excuse me -- around the cue. inside, let me tell you about what happened to convert from a basketball arena into the site of the convention. it took four weeks to build out. it has never been done in under

five weeks. six hours after the nba finals game six, the team started unloading to convert this space. five steel beams were added for support for the lighting grid which weighs 140,000 pounds. that were1800 signs added to the interior. signs like "trumop, pence." the screen is 3.9 millimeters, the highest resolution available. 30 media suites -- fox, and c-span. there were 300 staff at a working to convert the q into

what we seeing. in the ceiling, 100 for the 5000 balloons and a thousand pounds of confetti that will fall when the nominee is announced. let's go back to washington. peter is there with more. >> i want to show you some front pages that have reflected the invention and what happened baton rouge. here is the front page of the baton rouge advocate this morning. senseless is the title. their pictures are up at the top of that there is no convention news on the front page of the baton rouge advocate. this is the san francisco examiner. the purse strings. supervisor proposals withholding money from police unless the san francisco police department submits quarterly reports on use of force and racial data. thisesides the convention,

other story is playing out quite big. dealer, aveland plain festive, peaceful curtain raiser. the clevelandof plain give a they got right into the news about what happened in baton rouge. now, maybe 50 miles down the road is akron. journalthe akron begin -- beacon journal. they have an article about the protests. hundreds rally peacefully downtown. takes up rouge story most of the page. medina,tte is out of ohio. it has the protest on the top that took place on sunday. then an article about the 1936 cleveland convention.

that is when house landon was .ominated for those remember, senator nancy kassebaum, that was her father. she was married to senator howard baker intel his death. -- until his death. two articles on cleveland on the side. the protest and an article about the ohio gop delegates are iffy about trump is the headline. here is usa today, trump a nation they say. they have someone from every state who is supporting donald trump. it has their stories inside. here is the chicago tribune. their front page as the convention gets started this summer. a couple of tweets. brian from the wall street journal. this is a sign that he saw.

says spotted at the rnc in cleveland. i'm told it is being replaced for obvious reasons. naacpor kasich was at the convention taking place right now in cincinnati, ohio. tweet governor kasich sent out from cincinnati. so thatcome together all have the opportunity to reach their god-given potential. abc, was on the floor of the q and was watching a rehearsal from tonight. [video clip] the brave ♪ home of [applause] host: one of the performances

that will be happening today off the 2016kicks convention here in the cleveland, ohio. that gets underway this afternoon. that is when they have some housekeeping things to do. later, then they get to the meat of today's convention but that the theme being "make america safe again." here to talk with us in cleveland from the skylight financial group is chrissie thompson who is a political politics reporter with the cincinnati enquirer. thank you for taking phone calls on what is happening in cleveland. i want to begin with this afternoon. donald trump's campaign manager with cash was at the briefing. we will pass his committee report it will be a nonevent this afternoon. is it? guest: i think that remains to

be seen. there were still some back and forth going on, some negotiations going on. i heard some of those thins morning. whether there are some never trump folks would have to make some sort of statement or seen during these committee reports remains to be seen. the rnc is going to great lenghts to present a unified front. there may even be some behind the scenes give and take going on as an effort to show that unified front. giving in a little bit to some that want to set up the primary process of something like this doesn't happen again. we will see what happens this afternoon. earlierere were efforts we talk to one of us delegates that wants to vote their conscience. who said that they would like to see in the future going forward that primaries are only for

republicans, that they are close. if the state chooses to have an open primary than they don't get as many delegates as a state was a close binary. is that still put -- primary. is that still playing out? guest: i heard some folks talking about just that post up it is a big question for the southern states. many of them have open primaries. many of democrats to come over and vote in a republican primary because they want to weigh in on that process in a state where many of the republicans are campaigning hard. this is the face of the republican party. indeed, the southern state what a long way to guarantee daschle went a long way to guarantee donald trump denomination. we will see if they have a say

in that process. host: we will be showing you the process unfold minute by minute. if there will be any display of the factions, the divided we're hearing about within the republican party, if it plays out on the floor of the q, we will show it to you here on c-span uninterrupted. that starts at 1:00 p.m.. ahead of fact, who will take your phone calls. about 4:30 pmnto eastern time. we will pick up again with more of your phone calls and get your reaction to what you are doing -- going to see on the floor. a computernot near go to c-span.org. or get to your mobile phone and get the c-span radio app. that way you can listen to everything as it is happening in cleveland, ohio. also said by the end of

this week the healing is happening right now. by the end of this week he expects everybody within the republican party will be unified. he said indiana governor mike pence helped with that. we just spoke with the delicate who said she does not plan to put for donald trump. guest: i think, coming from ohio, the ohio delegation which party set up the because they supported john kasich, by rule all 66 of the will vote for john kasich. they are actually required to. many of them still support john kasich. in various processes of coming behind donald trump. this morning, at the delegate breakfast, a variety of people spoke. tom cotton to not even mention donald trump's name. from ohio people

that they want to see donald trump on thursday give a really unifying speech that will help them come together around him. they don't think they have seen that kind of language yet. at the same time, it was said on a variety of morning shows that john kasich is embarrassing his state. is about acaich going to happen. that is in reference to the fact be making ais may side bet that trump loses and in four years maybe he has another chance. so why endorse him? unitedow, it is not a party of us up is whether these things people are looking to trump to see what he is going to say. will this party really come together around some of the people who are opposed to his candidacy? host: donald trump will be making his way to cleveland from new york. that hefirmed that

wants to accompany his wife giving a speech tonight. he will be introducing her. let's get to some calls. jim, go ahead. toler: yeah, i would like say i haven't always been for trump. i am for his ideals, and getting rid of the regular, everyday politicians. that was jim, frank in memphis, tennessee, democrat. what whiteon't know america means about making america great again. all i know is me as a black person living in our communities, you know what i'm saying? we don't have any jobs. we wonder how to all the drugs get into our neighborhood. must be a poor community.

how do we as a community have enough money to afford to get the high-priced drugs in our neighborhood? had eightwn, we years of a black president that was denied everything he tried to push forward. white america wants to blame us because america is a great again. we know what that means, you know what i'm saying? it is tough that we -- all we hear about is the crime in our neighborhoods. stamps,w you're on food what america is not on food stamps. -- now really from the jumo -- jump. host: thank you, frank. is the divide the color is talking about playing out in ohio voters? 50% of the population is african-american. guest:, actually, we just

finished a piece. along the lines of what frank is saying, we are hearing that from ohio voters. supporter and leading state democrat and african-american from cleveland said make america great again, taking it back to what it used to be, to her means jim crow lawas and segregation. see went -- she went through what it means for other races as well. there are other minorities and community saying we are struggling, too. the answer is not -- it feels like there is, throughout ohio, this white working-class americans that we are seeing

across the country getting behind donald trump saying things used to be better. some of the minorities are saying but a minute, the understand economy is tough but what are you saying? things didn't used to be better for us. we are hearing that play out here in ohio. one question will be whether hillary clinton can turn out in the number of african americans who voted for barack obama. couple figure drops by a of percentage points that could be a meaningful difference in the republican versus democratic turnout in the state and could make a difference for who wins the state of ohio. host: always a battleground state. right now, the couple of polls showing the two of them tied here in ohio. let's go to an independent in connecticut.

let there be no mistake. i love all of our people. that is number one. at the be no mistake of that. we can talk about the problems that we have until the cows come home. whetherave a job to do, we are employed or not. more americans are realizing that it's more and more of us are standing together to do something about the real problems of our lives and nation. -- election system is part the biggest part of why we have so many problems. we could talk about that until the cows come home. the point i'm trying to make

aware ofo make us more how we can fix these problems together as a union, united, as one people. by putting in place a voting system, not only so that it is fair for all the candidates running for office to be heard a nd voted on by all of us people, instead of just a few states before the ahead candidates even reach 5 -- my state and others. and only have a few people left to vote on. we want to make sure we have the best person capable of running our nation, the way that we want as voters. host: ok, that is edward. in manchester, connecticut.

what do you make of what you are hearing? do you believe that sentiment is shared here? iest: you know, in some ways hear what edward a saying from a state that votes later. he said the decision is made before this election gets to us. i believe in the 1980's both primaryshifted their process to emphasize the south more. democrats were kind of trying to do that in a way to embrace some diversity in the party, republicans followed suit. that has led to a more conservative candidate rising oftentimes in the primary election process. here in ohio, we are in the middle. i think that folks this year, our primary did matter quite a bit. it made it through connecticut mattered quite a bit. that was a group of states were

donald trump clinched the nomination for good. he got the momentum. year, buteen a weird you do hear that from people. changes in any major the order coming. it is possible that the time would be changed a little bit. the party's both compressed their primary process is already this year. you could argue that allowed donald trump to maintain this momentum all the way through. it also allowed ted cruz and john kasich to hang on for quite some time. host: new orleans, and republican, you're next. have a hi, i i statement. please let me get this statement.. i am livid, turning on the mainstream media. all you hear is republicans versus democrats. black versus white.

out here in the world when you're not watching television, there are people for working people trying to keep a roof over their head. it is still hitting people. if police officers out here getting away with murder. they are human beings at the end of the day. they get looked at as divine figures. i think can't do any harm with up being seen as -- you walk up to somebody and you jump on him and you kill him. nobody else can do that in this world. we need to wake up and realize that something is coming down the pipeline that is going to be bad for us as american people. there is a police state coming into being. not one politician is saying they need to put their foot in the police. --y are not saying that they're letting them get away with that.

any -- any of these political figures are they getting harassed by police? they are out here doing harm. host: i want to jump in at that point. also note that part of this of ising america safe again focusing on the lawlessness -- that is the were donald trump used -- to react to what happened in baton rouge and dallas. that will be part of the focus tonight. washingtonthe examiner because of the added weight and new emphasis is on tonight's a theme of making america safe again. guest: that is right, there was a lot of tension here in cleveland after the baton rouge incident yesterday. the cleveland police

association to suspend open carry here in ohio. they said they didn't have the authority to do that. tensions.e those the countrys around feeling concerned from all sides. supposed toers are be keeping us safe yet we have the shootings. police officers are also out there risking their lives. so, all of this is really, i think you are hearing it from every corner of the u.s. i hear quite a bit of what clinton -- quintin is saying. they asked are these people coming to ohio? this looks really scary. that is something we are seeing in all of our homes. the question is whether donald trump can really capitalize on that and projected the fact that and order.ing law

is that will the solution that we in the u.s. need? that is the other question. does he have a concrete plan? is the message he is carrying the message that will stop some of this violence and bring the country together? thinkare the questions i the american people are asking. it is up to donald trump and mike pence to really decide how they will shape their message. i want to emphasize that it is up to the american people to take a look at this and decide. that is why these conventions matter. host: pegida mica next, colorado, independent. mike next,we go to colorado, independent. caller: thanking god for your television station. anyway, my comment is i want to know what you think about progressivism. i, for one, i don't know how i'm

going to vote. i'm still listening i am concerned about progressivism. it sounds to me like socialism. they promise everything to everybody. we going to give you free education. i think america has to wake up to the fact that we have to live with a little less. we have to pay off a $20 trillion debt. -- itere in debt, that is destroys my life. you: ok, mike, let me ask -- progressivism in the state of ohio? guest: we have some pockets of the state that a very progressive especially in columbus and cincinnati. however, the state of ohio was

quite easily by hillary clinton. if one democrats in the state they are more working-class democrats and more traditional democrat. more for aking centrist record. that is what they found in hillary clinton. i think you hit these questions raising about progressivism. also a large group of the country that is saying that things are not as good as they used to be. they are reacting in a different way than donald trump saying we would like to have the government take care of some of these things. host: naomi, a democrat in louisiana, you're on the air. caller: yes, good morning. i have a comment. or a question. i am a retired person. amn though i am retired, i required to do my income taxes. when we going to see the income

taxes of donald trump, who is running for president and trying to make america great? that he has to first show his taxes and show us that he does pay taxes. thank you. guest: that is a big question. i don't know if we're going to see that this year. sonald trump has said that he i not going to release them until the audit is finished. it is not clear, audits don't go very quickly. if you were to stick with that it is not clear if it would happen this year. fromheard quite a bit politicians about how donald trump should do this. believe inters having as much information out there as possible. it would be helpful to see his tax returns.

i haven't heard that much from voters. you're the first person i've heard bring that up. it would be interesting to see if there's a large cry for that whether he would change his position. marty in seamy, california, independent. go ahead. caller: good morning. downt to distill this quite a waste anybody's time. i voted for obama in 2008, on what his rhetoric was. i thought it was very hopeful. i was very disappointed with what actually took place. finger insticking his the republican's eye and say why don't you work with me? when he kept on insulting them over and over again. likee to say that it seems it was on purpose to get us to

be divided. , we allcome together get better. there is more that we have in common left, right, center, than divides us. if we could just focus on what matters to each other we could make this place great again. host: ok, that is marty in california. let me get in another color. we go to texas, republican caller. your turn good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: doing fine, what are your thoughts on the republican convention? to speak tould like the ohioans and the bushes. thent to let them know with

utmost respect that trump was not our first pick but we only to get together. they need to use their powers and hold him accountable. he will be our candidate. came -- backback him the will of the clintons in the white house. and will use their powers everything to hold him accountable. pity to do their jobs to all work together for a greater good. working together we can make this a greater place. host: ok, thank you. guest: i think it is interesting. i am hearing that conversation play out in the minds of republicans in ohio. no question in their mind that they don't like hillary clinton. the question is are they going

to get behind donald trump? are they going to use that as a platform to hold him accountable? some people wonder if they can. believese has said he if he is a problem with the tone that he can walk right into the office and say look, i don't think this is right. howe is some question as to much donald trump can be held accountable and how much is he willing to change. different parts of his campaign with a say is going to be more presidential than his gun out and done some of the same things. that is one of the debates playing out here in ohio. we will see if we see more unity behind donald trump. host: mike in texas, eight independent, welcomed the conversation. ,aller: i have two questions one of them is not too far out of line. i want to know why that it seems

that the republican national bunch there in cleveland wants votes of aake our from the people -- away from the people that voted for donald trump. he outdid 17 other people. he is our nominee. we still have a group of people that just absolutely are working to take theing nomination away from him. also, i would like to know how is it possibly legal for even illegal mexicans and other people to come to our rallies and our conventions and all that kind of stuff, burn our flag and raise all these ripples. fly their own flags, this is the

other states of america, they aren't citizens. they ought to be put on those big white buses ago from prison to prison and taken back -- host: mike, we will take the first part of what you have to say there. of people voting for donald trump was to why is it is effort underway to stop him from being the nominee? guest: i think it goes to the eact that many of thes delegates have devoted their lives to the republican party. we don'them to say believe this manner represent where we want our party to go, they have a couple of options. they could not vote, they could vote for hillary clinton, or they could try to save their party in their minds. mike brings up an excellent point which the donald trump did win according to the rules the party set up.

measure, he is qualified to be the nominee. i believe he will be nominated this week. some of the back and forth we are seeing is from the folks looking themselves in the eye and saying is this a party that that ied my life to, want to continue to be part of? host: many ted cruz supporters because he was one of the last challengers, he has said he will speak this week at the convention. regina thompson earlier said she does not want to hear from him that he is endorsing donald trump to what you think we will hear? we will see more people like ted cruz coming out and endorse donald trump. i don't know if he will do it this week. supposedly, they did not discuss it. i think the trump people would like to see them. we could see a speech akin to a chris christie given 2012 which was all about chris christie and not about anyone else.

definitely not out of the realm of possibility. let's go to ellen in colorado. a democrat. are you with us? caller: yes, i am. host: you are on the air. caller: ok. my question is about our budget. my question is about our budget. is -- the problem is i have heard that donald trump is not releasing his taxes because he only paid 4% taxes. secondly, this is a combined thing. secondly, donald trump has said rhat he is going to dismiss ou $21 trillion debt. how do you do that?

by telling everybody in the united states they no longer have to pay their taxes? or only 4% taxes? in addition, i have heard that donald trump is going to start cutting 20% of all tax dollars paid which is going to go into his personal bank account instead of paying that 20% towards programs that we all expect our tax dollars to go to like infrastructure. let me jump in. let me askompson, you before we say goodbye. what are you watching for today? guest: