important role in society. if we use them to heavily and aggressively, it undermines confidence in them. host: one more call. democrats line. caller: yes. i would like to go back to your instance of the $.40 milk carton. in the case of a child who is entitled to free lunch, how likely is it that child would have access to a lawyer, or his parents could afford a lawyer? so this just builds on itself, but if you have a police officer in this cool, you also need to have a lawyer in the school, so these kids can say i need this lawyer by my side. it doesn't make sense.

is a great suggestion. i will mention that when i talk about it in the future. oft: the march 2017 issue reason magazine. talking about school resource officers. thank you for your time. onare going to focus democrats. we want to hear from you only, especially as your party leadership is being selected today in atlanta. we want to know what qualities you think the dnc chair should have. eastern and central 202-748-8000 , mountain and pacific 202-748-8001. we got an update from the washington post about the elections today and what to expect. 447 members of the democratic national committee will meet and vote on their

entire leadership. they will vote on one of seven candidates to become chairman of the party. the since coming out of their as recently as a few hours ago, tom perez, the secretary of labor, has a clear advantage, while ,eith ellison is in the hunt but needs people to change their , needs some of their candidates come over. does become tom perez, what has he said about the position and what does he want to do with it? caller: that has been one irony about the race. perez, like ellison, has said theparty was out of touch last eight years and was critical of the way it was under barack obama and debbie wasserman schultz. it did not do what he called

house calls, one-on-one campaigning locally, did not invest in all 50 states in the moretory, basically a localized party. it is more about investing locally and early to organize all the time. that is something the democratic congressional campaign committee is starting to do. this is the lesson that was taken from the 2016 elections. his idea is not much different than ellison's. the disagreement between them are more fraught and based on external factors. coming from the results of the 2016 presidential elections, so a new role for the dnc, at least a new effort come of vision, or direction perhaps, would you say? , the dnc under

debbie wasserman schultz again was seen as becoming listless andand not helpful to parties and states that were not loaded with money already. there is also pretty open criticism for people like perez, who worked for president obama for eight years, criticism of how the obama political network invested in organizing for america, health or already groups took the research the dnc could use. i think part of it is a fundraising role, and perez impressed people by not running schoolthing higher than board or attorney general. i think he will tap back into democratic donors. thatssue, there is a worry one, ellison is better, one of

the best fundraisers in the house of representatives, better raising funds from a mass audience. two, that ellison will come with the support of bernie sanders who backed him early and hinted he would help. ellison lower the amount of money the party could take from banks, corporate donors, which is loosely defined. perez has made some of those promises, but there is less evidence. he raised money, but the idea of him becoming a donald trump, barack obama mass fundraising figure, that is unproven so far. host: walk us through the mechanics of the vote today. you talked about the numbers, but how does it work and how many votes does the person need to win?

10:00, starting around you need to hundred 24 to clinch that on the first ballot. there are seven candidates remaining. bend, aroundsouth 30 votes. perez and ellison are close to winning. the rest of the candidates are scattered with not much support. , it is not ae secret ballot. they will roll call this vote, and if someone has the majority on the first ballot, they are done. if not, people drop off. that,of before any of they are doing 10 minute presentations with one final pitch for support. people i have talked to will change their minds based on

are, but the people who undecided are avoiding public pressure. it is possible you can move a handful of votes with that, but it is fairly decided in people's heads right now. they just have to go to this process of voting. washington journal continues. democrats electing a new leader for the dnc today in atlanta, we want to get your thoughts from democrats only for the selection of the next leader, not only who it should be, but what should they focus on. democrats only on the lines. give us a call depending on the time zone you are in. jerry andith shreveport louisiana. go ahead. caller: yes, i would like to see the democratic party stay in the lane where they are.

there is nothing wrong with the democratic party when you have the underhanded deals that was done with the hacking and we electoralt rid of the college and go by the popular vote. say you wantu democrats to stay in the lane where they are, what do you mean by that? caller: it's not the leadership we have. nothing needs to be done with that now. -- we need to do is find out silverext up, spring, maryland. go ahead. silver spring, maryland. caller: hi. as a younger democrat, i have only seen the democrats have a

majority in the house, and a real working majority in 2008, and a lot of that has become because democrats have moved towards a more localized approach, and the new dnc chair should be focusing a lot more on governorships, state houses, state legislators, and across all 50 states as possible. whatis why i really like -- was talking about. i think he was intelligent and talking about a 50 state strategy, and i don't hear it from perez and ellison. i wish they would focus on it and a little less on the federal level and go ahead on a policymaking level from a local standpoint. shakira from trenton, new

jersey. you are on. caller: thank you. if the dnc does not select keith ellison as the new chair that the democratic party is going to dissipate. disintegrate, because many people are looking , at therace now chairmanship race, and making a decision as to whether or not they are going to try and hang in with the democratic party or organize something new and more progressive on their own. i think the women's march is a really great example of how many people are so dissatisfied with the addition of the right, with the vision of the republicans. they just don't like that vision. i think keith ellison, bernie sanders, of the smith warned, those of the people who -- elizabeth warren, those of the people who had the vision that

they would like to see pursued, but from the time the democratic leadership council and clinton came on board, it basically became republican right, so they watered down the democratic message and tell it became indistinguishable from what was happening on the right, and so i think if they go with other than keith ellison, i think the democratic party is going to be the big loser and there will be something new arising that will incorporate and capture the attention and the energy that the women's march demonstrated. host: thank you, color. keith ellison of minnesota, candidate, and his candidacy talked about how to win elections in the trump era. >> the way to do it is if you want a friend come you have to be one. you have to be in solidarity

with the people's movement. i'm telling you right here in baltimore when freddie gray was killed, people were hurting in the streets. i came to baltimore that time to hear the people, listen to them, and talk about how it is that we can bring real dignity to people who have not been getting it are the people who are supposed to serve them. the other way we can do it is to understand the used to be 30,000 steelworkers in baltimore. goodhere are about three we have to support the union movement, the labor movement, to fight for people every day. we have to say the word, union. the union. that is what we have to do. we have to be there for women who just saw the most person to become president. we have to stand in solidarity with our sisters and fight back, and young people, let me tell you, i have folks in my community that represent and all of this country who are worried

about the escalation of these ice rates. we have to be on the line, caring the sign. the reason why have the support of so many grass roots support, when there is a picket line to be walking on, i am on that line. we will be together to stand up our first amendment rights into electoral gains at the ballot box. twitter, a viewer says the next chair of the dnc should not be a member of the house or senate. each is a highly demanding full-time job. debby from littleton, colorado. go ahead. caller: i agree with the twitter comment. i agree with a lot of what lesson has to say. i am a former, embarrassed ex-republican. i see the whole middle being neglected.

the republican party keeps going further right, the democratic party kids going further left, and we have left out the middle. i like what pete has to say. i apologize for not being able to pronounce his name correctly. he is young, a good organizer, not establishment, and i think he can grab all the people in the middle. those forums where you see representative ellison and others are available on our c-span website. our coverage will start at 10:00 today. ite atour webs c-span.org. los angeles, california. this is lisa. caller: thank you for covering this. i watched the debate did i think keith ellison has to be the future of the party. i have been a lifelong democrat. i am in my 50's peered i have seen it too good things. i have seen it do terrible things. i think we need to cover our

progressive base. the middle is well represented. the middle-class, the upper that i think that woman previously represented, they are already ok. it is the people on the edges of the middle class falling into the lower class who need help. they are the ones who elected trump. andeed a democratic leader, keith ellison is the only one who represents that. thank you. host: albany, new york, tiffany. caller: hello. thank you for taking my call. i lean towards the woman who just got off the phone with you. we need mr. allison. to me, he seems like the person who can actually bring those progressives at the edge, and the ones in the middle, together to go forward. i think his idea of working from, and i hate to use the word

bottom because it is negative, his idea of working from the bottom up. that is the fresh, new idea we need, this idea of conditioned and polished politicians working just likeop down, with reaganomics, it does not work. we need these fresh ideas to give voices to the ones who are not heard. that is what those trump supporters are saying. they't agree with what believe their values are, but i am a person who works to bring jobs. i go to school. i pay my taxes. i can't buy a politician or a lobbyist. i believe mr. ellison is a person who will get with the grassroots, come talk to an organization or committee that i am involved in, and go to washington and speaking get the ideas that i hold dear to the people there. i think he is great. that is exactly who we need. host: let's hear from will in sheffield lake, ohio. caller: good morning.

what i would like to say is i used to be republican. i switched to democrat a while back. first of all, the democrats need to get back to being democrats. they lost their way. for years, the democrats used to represent the working class, the middle-class, hard-working americans, and they lost to that. they keep saying they represent hard-working, average americans, but they don't. nafta.gned things like they're doing nothing to promote unions. they have lost their way. as long as mr. ellison, whether he will change that, i don't know. that is what the democrats need to do if they want to win again. host: we heard from keith .llison, tom perez he had a chance to talk about not only his positions, but made his case on why he should be the next dnc chair. >> politics is a people business. people like elliott,

dreamer i met in arizona. helping the union member who lost her job and we helped her get back on her feet. it is about making sure we put our guys into action every day. when we put our guys into action every day, the values of opportunity and inclusion, we win votes. the elected democrats. of the majority of americans. we need somebody who can take that fight to donald trump. somebody who can bring together the entire party. someone with a proven track record fighting, and someone who has a track record of a turnaround agent at scale. this is a big turnaround job. he requires someone who has done that. i have had the privilege of doing that over three different agencies and the course of my career, and would love the privilege of being your leader so we and can put our values into action. host: again, another candidate

in the running to be head of the dnc. a lot going on, not only with elections and we have continuing coverage of the cpac conference this week, also the national governors association in town. with so many things going on, the best advice for you to follow it is to go to our website at c-span.org. not only can you see it vents that have been taped. you can see today's election. keep close to the national governors association meeting could all that information is available to you at c-span.org. let's hear from susan from florida. go ahead. you are on. white, andlue color i don't think anyone represents me. i am not an implicit racist, and i think ellison represents blacks, and perez represents woman, sheand that

just tells all whites were implicit racists. there's nobody that represents me. international news. this takes a look at work by iragi air force on attacks in syria against islamic state, saying the airstrikes were anddinated with damascus carried out through a joint intelligence and command center in baghdad. this was according to a spokesman for iraq's defense ministry. he said he had no information on whether the strikes were coordinated with the u.s. led coalition in syria. iragi airs came as force's are reaching the final stages of their operation to oust the group on the northern city of mosul. it is the largest remaining stronghold in iraq. in minnesota.ace

go ahead. grace. yes, this is i am a democrat. i'm from minnesota. we have the best state and the have union, because we level heads and intelligence and we work hard, and keith ellison is one of the best people they could represent us on the dnc. he is from minnesota, and he knows what it's like to be an ,rdinary person that works hard and he looks for everything. i'm a former union member, and we need to bring back the unions, because that is when the american worker can win. thank you. host: thank you for calling in. go ahead. caller: how are you doing this morning? host: i'm fine. caller: i totally disagree with

the last woman. keith ellison has a very shady past. he helped organize the million ,an march for louis farrakhan who is one of the most vicious racist in this country, and a vicious anti-semite. keith ellison is also, he is also the one who tried to talk israel into giving up part of jerusalem. i think he is the worst person to represent the democratic ish they would get back to the grassroots when they would help the working man and not leave the party of same-sex marriage, and abortion on demand. host: who do you think should have the dnc? caller: i think it should be mr. secretaryhe labor from the obama administration. i can't think of his last name now. that is probably who i should think.

and i should think someone better like the former virginian senator -- i can't think of his name now. tom perez represents a centrist part of the party. keith ellison, the people he has run within the past and i don't think he has changed the bed, i it. i think he will drive the party into the ground once they expose what he is, but whatever. host: los angeles, california. go ahead. favor ofes, i am in going younger as a couple of the other colors said. we don't want a new democratic leader that is going to bring baggage. we need someone fresh and new that has new ideas that the republicans can't look back and

say, oh, well, this person had something to do with farrakhan or the obama administration. someone who can push a sporting get things done. it is not already in the senate are in the house where they can focus 100% on pushing the democratic agenda, so that is just my opinion. i think the younger gentleman that was in the military, grassroots organizer, i think he would be a good choice. steve,e will go next to loganville, georgia. caller: yes, good morning. write-in.ing a i used to live in new orleans and new a number of folks there, family, both the dutch and mark. mark is my age. he would be my choice.

he knows politics. he is a tremendous organizer, and he is a mediator. also, havehat, i am known the landrieu family. i think mitch is a great mayor and new orleans. and also living in atlanta now, atlanta metro, i very much like politician-full-time is the way to go with this, but i think mark morreale would be a super candidate for this, and i appreciate your comment host:. .he new yor host: the new york times looks at immigration in sweden. some residents see the clash as

a welcome change. , ands see it as racist sweden is already changing its immigration policy. swedes are not rushing to a hard approach toike immigration. it goes on to say in 2015, refugees, and it led this country of 10 million to tighten the rules. family reunification is more difficult, making sweden less accessible and less attractive to immigrants. there is more to the story when you go to the new york times website. new jersey, the wheeze. go ahead. louise fromm the new jersey.

my choice would be keith ellison. i have listened to him on numerousoccasions, talk shows, and he seems to be the choice for the democratic .arty at this figure time, we need someone with the stamina and the strength and the courage to speak up and speak out, and most of all we need someone to get out, boots on the ground, get the democrats to the polls and do not let the republican party discourage us from going to the polls, us meaning the democrats, going to the polls and vote these republicans out that are putting scare tactics into the y's voting system, and with what is going on in the system today, the country today,

it has to be that we must vote these republicans out, and the person that can carry that message, that to the message, or get that particular message out, is i think in my opinion would be keith ellison. host: ok, let's hear from andy in kentucky. hi. go ahead. i am very concerned about the democratic party. to me, i am a conservative, conservative democrat, and i like the gentleman from indiana. i think he would make a good chairman. d somebody with moderate views, conservative, and would stand for what is right good like i said, i am conservative. we need somebody who would be pro-life and support the right the things the

democratic party used to stand for. they used to be pro-life. they used to not support the gay lesbians lifestyle. that way we can start winning again. host: the story this morning you have probably seen in other publications of formats about a select group of reporters not invited to a non-televised breedin briefing at the white h. white house press secretary sean spicer banned reporters from cnn, the new york times, politico, the los angeles times, to buzz feet and gave access a number of other reporters, including those representing conservative outlets. the response goes as follows, the board is protesting strongly against how today's gaggle was being handled by the white house

. we encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with the others in the press corps who were not. the board will be discussing this further with the white house staff. more ofprobably see that. in fact, sean spicer spoke about it in that non-televised thefing, talked about back-and-forth between reporters who were not invited. here is a bit of that exchange. >> i think it is interesting. right. i think we have showed an abundance of accessibility. we have brought more reporters into this process. the idea that not every single person can get there questions answered, we have gone above and beyond to make ourselves more accessible than any prior administration. >> what about the other outlets today? >>