upshington journal," coming monday morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. join the discussion. >> physicians and scientists talk about pandemic preparedness and response. live coverage beginning at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2, online at c-span.org, or indeed free c-span radio app. ranks now, conversation with former democratic national committee interim chair donna brazil. from washington journal, this is just over 35 minutes. >> we want to welcome back donna. inside story of the break-ins and breakdowns that put donald trump in the white house." how has your week in? guest: it has been great. i have heard from friends as wanted to not who only courage me to tell my story

but also wanted you to know -- wanted to know more about the hack. your i want to get reaction from some republicans, including -- from the hillary clinton campaign. [video clip] approached both campaigns about a joint fundraising agreement, they were broke. they were not going to be able to transfer down money to the state operations to keep them operational. both the clinton and sanders campaign signed the joint fundraising agreement. the only difference was sanders did not raise money, and we ded. >> sanders was raising money -- donors. had big money sanderson's getting more money from individuals and smaller donations. >> that would have been great. rate for the dnc to raise jointly with him. hillary turned over her emailers to the dnc after the

election was over. it is important for low dollar donors to be part of the process. but the dnc said we need help. we created the memo of understanding that was there. it was not about the primary election. and we were very frustrated with the dnc. the idea that we had any control is laughable. we put guardrails in about how the money we raised needed to be put in a way that mattered. host: your reaction. guest: first of all, they dnc was broke. where we disagree is the dnc, which nominated secretary clinton, should have been independent. it should not have received those resources that would later be construed as the dnc tilting to one side. the fact is, secretary clinton

won. she won the primary. she had 4 million more votes. it is almost like a landslide, when you look at the outcome of the election. should truth is the dnc have been free to spend its own resources. as i have stated in the book, which i think is important for people in the future, those who will leave the democratic party, before a nominee is selected, no one should take control. had a phone conversation with hillary clinton. the election was in november. she called you in february. guest: she called me, i am sure -- well, we talked about the future of the democratic party. she called me three months later. i can assume, given what has happened in the election, what was going on, secretary linton had a long list of people to call coming looting volunteers, party leaders, and members of congress. somewhere along that list, donna brazile. that is great the i admire her.

she is a phenomenal women. the campaign that robbie and others managed to sell short to you that is why i wrote this book. i wanted to write my own postmortem. robby mook and others from the campaign are free to write their own postmortem. what they are not free to do is denigrate or destroy the dnc or destroy any entity is there that is help -- that is there to help americans across the landscape. host: they wrote a letter. i want to read part of it. "we were shocked to see the news that donna brazile would turn over the will of the democratic voters by something to replace hillary clinton and tim campaign -- and tim kaine. it is particularly troubling and puzzling she would seemingly buy into false russian fueled propaganda about our candidate's health. donna came in to take over the

dnc at a very difficult time. we were grateful for her for doing so. but we do not recognize the campaign she portrays in the book. finally, we are pretty tired of people who were not part of our campaign telling the world what it was like to be on the inside. we loved our candidate and each other, and it remains our honor to have been part of the effort to make hillary clinton the 45th president." guest: i appreciate the last part of that letter. no one worked harder then i date. -- than i did. ," is about the break-ins and breakdowns that led to the election of donald trump. i gave an assessment of how the ofocratic party fell short its mission, in large part because we did not have the resources i believe we needed to win in those states that donald trump was able to win. host: let me share this headline from the "new york times." the conversation the president had with vladimir putin.

his denials of russian interference are sincere -- the president saying i believe him. guest: it is extremely disappointing. first of all, mr. president, this was an attack on our country, our election system, our democracy. most importantly, this was an active campaign to destroy the democratic national committee, between ordinary citizens. the fact that we are now learning about the investment the russians made in our social media platforms, the fact that we are not even working to 2018,ve or be prepared, in for further for interference, be it from russia or any other nation, i think the president needs to acknowledge what 17 agencies have said and what and many -- and what many americans have come tothat russia did interfere. host: here is what the president said in vietnam. [video clip] >> i am surprised there is any

conflict on this. i believe he believes that. it is important for someone to believe. i believe he believes that russia did not interfere in the election. as far as what i believe in it or not, i am with our agencies. intel agencies, our intelligence agencies. i have worked with them very strongly. there were not 17, as was previously reported, but there were actually 4. but as currently led by fine people, i believe very much in our intelligence agencies. to be same time, i want able, because i think it is very important, to get along with russia, to get along with china, to get along with vietnam, to get along with lots of countries. we have a lot of things we need to solve. russia and china in particular

can help us with the north korea problem, which is one of our truly great problems. so i am not looking to stand and start arguing with somebody when there are reporters all around and cameras recording and seeing our conversation. i think it was very obvious to everybody. i believe that putin really feel strongly he did not metal -- meddle in our election. host: donna brazile, your reaction. guest: again, i am disappointed. when we learned at the dnc -- and of course, we did not learn it right away, because it took forever for it to get to the right leadership in the party -- but when we learned there was russian spyware, that he had been in our system well over 10 months to one year, and had not theystolen emails, but were stealing research, data, stealing many of our technology confirmed notwas

just by one agency but confirmed by 17 intelligence agencies, that the russians were indeed involved in our system. i am disappointed the president is not taking this as seriously as it should be. briefing fromd my a federal agency, my first reaction was to go straight to the pentagon. why should i go back to the dnc? the dnc is under attack. this was a cyber espionage campaign that sought to discredit and destroy our nominee, that meddled in our ourtion systems, meddled in -- i concluded, after i was briefed, that something was going on. that they were just not going in our email box. they were looking for information that could discredit

hillary clinton, discredit bernie sanders. so in my judgment, the regiments -- the russians did interfere. host: our guest is donna brazile, the former interim head of the democratic national committee. two parts from the book i want to ask about. first, you write "this election broke all the rules and destroyed the tradition of civility. as a country, we ask these mental questions -- who are weak, what do we value, can we find a way to trust again and not just see each other as partisan enemies?" guest: i believe one of the reasons why the russians were successful in meddling is because we are so polarized. during the time in which the hacking was occurring, i kept reaching out to my republican counterpart. us."t saying "help

do not allow the spyware and malware to destroy our party. the democratic national committee next year will celebrate 170 years. i was concerned also about the republicans. i was concerned their database may be destroyed. i kept warning them about what we were being told about cozy bear, fancy bear -- we found other bears and wolves, too. i was concerned about our country as an american that i warned republican so that if, by chance, they were being attacked, the steps we were taking to get rid of the interference in our system. host: and you write about how this impacted the staff of the dnc and also the murder of seth rich. guest: let me just say this. i have to be careful when i talk about this.

seth worked at the dnc. he was a great, loyal, dedicated staff. as the vice chair for civic engagement and voter participation, seth was one of the two people who work in my area. his murder -- we took it seriously. we cried for days. we mourned the loss of not just our colleague, but a friend. seth was murdered july 10. i became chair july 24. in between those weeks, we saw emails of staff people being leaked. those staff members came under harassment you they started getting threats. started getting bombarded with emails from trolls and bots. we did not know who was setting our house on fire. but at the time, we were mourning the loss of a colleague. i believe fundamentally that the staff at the dnc, they are the grandest people i will ever get

to know. they were brave. they came to work each and every day despite the fact they were getting death threats, that the building was getting constantly threatened. people were protesting, because they had read selected enough and leaks designed to sow discord and turn the dnc against the dnc. that is what happened. host: carol is joining us, tyler, texas. you are on the air with donna brazile. her new book titled "hacks." caller: good morning. i have a couple of questions i would like to ask. the first one is what in the world would make donna brazile think that hillary clinton is not capable of answering questions during the debate? i saw those questions she gave to her. that is ridiculous. hillary clinton is the smartest politician on the planet, nose

and stairs to most all questions. so what was her motive for that? to i am ashamed you are used respect her. that is over. loyal, for any of us democrats to be loyal to bernie sanders, he should not have even run on the democratic ticket read he was not a democrat before. he is not one now. host: you write about this in the book. guest: absolutely. i am sorry i disappointed you. people confuse -- they forget the fact that as vice chair of the democratic national committee, i was under enormous pressure to expand the number of the base and town halls, etc. what idea, and i apologize for it later, because people only saw what wikileaks and others wanted you to see. they did not see all of my emails. what they saw was me supposedly giving hillary questions provided by cnn. what i tried to tell people is that cnn did not share questions

with me. period. that is it. period. but what did occur is when we expanded the number of debates and town halls was i wanted to give both candidates -- in fact, martin o'malley was in the race. i wanted to give them heads up. first, we were to talk about issues people of color were concerned about. we wanted to talk about the death and ot. about the flint water crisis. cnn was the beneficiary of many of these debates. but i gave both candidates heads up that we were going to discuss topics of concern to black lives matter, people of color, and others. for the first time in the democratic party process, by the middle of march, we had not discussed any of these issues related to people of colored, their economic circumstances, the criminal justice system. the things people cared about. i also write in the book that

every saturday before the sunday shows, i reached out to the republicans. i guess ms. carol is upset with that. but i do not know the republican party process. so i would reach out to sean spicer and say what is happening on the republican side? i reached out to rick tyler. i reached out to everybody. because i am the person that i have always been. somebody who is there, somebody who wants to get the facts, and somebody who is willing to engage more people in the process. host: where you surprise cnn cut ties with you? guest: no, i cut the ties. i am not surprised they have continued to attack me. you know why i cut ties? because i got home that night and could not find evidence that they were asking me to prove. and because i could not find that, because i could not find those emails, i told them, let it go. let it go, because i will take it -- they wanted to publish a

statement, but i thought that was not the way i would handle it. i have been with cnn 14 years. i love cnn. then need -- many members of my family, some of whom were rescued, cnn allowed me to use that platform to say we need to help the people in louisiana. i watch cnn. anderson is still my boo. i may not be his boo-boo, but he is my boo. thatt to address an issue you did not give me an opportunity to address. hillary clinton -- i dropped everything to become the chair for the democratic national committee for the second time in my adult life. cycles, 11ection presidential. inee weeks ago, i was northern virginia, canvassing for a candidate who became the

first asian-american woman to be elected to the house of delegates. i raised money for them. y called me on a sunday and said i need you to drop everything and walk the streets, i would do it read i did the same for president obama and did it for everyone else. when it came time for me to answer the many people who were calling me, not just reporters, but also members of the party who were concerned about her health, it was my job as chair -- the charter stipulates that. my job as chair is to confirm -- confer with other democratic leaders. i had to think about this. this video went viral. so the idea that i took some message from the russians -- please. i have been had by the chinese, as a member of opm, staffer, and now the russians. i am not trying to the talking points from everybody --i am not talking points

from anybody. but i want to explain how they may come back to destroy us once again. host: one quick follow-up, because jake tapper was very critical of you. what was your reaction? guest: i respect jake. i saw him a few months ago. it i said in the book, jake, am a partisan with a point of view. that is why cnn hired me. to be partisan. the notion that i will given to pressure from cnn to produce more debates and town halls, and i have all of those in else -- but one my email, my so-called emails were leaked and put out to destroy me -- which is fine. that is the game. piled on, i said we can explain how this process works. because i know how this process works.

but it is ok. i am a woman of faith. i have my god. i have my great friends. i have my beautiful family. host: you are one of how many? guest: i am the third of nine. host: we go to barbara in new york city. caller: good morning. i called to say thank you for writing your book. we need to know what is going on and how these parties operate. so i am very appreciative, not only of your book but also the campaign.n al gore's it was not your fault you lost your also wondering, what you think about al gore as a candidate for 2020? guest: thank you, and thank you for your kind words. i do not know about 2020. right now, my focus is on the election in alabama. lsu tiger.

i will visit the auburn tigers in a few weeks. we have a race in georgia. it is a run off. that is one in atlanta. i will help my friend next weekend. i will think about 2020 in probably 2019. right now, 2018 will be a very important year for democrats. this is what i want to tell all americans. you have a right to vote, you have a right to run for office. take itot have to just from washington or any other place. go out there on your power. register to vote. that involved and make a difference. that is what i would encourage people do. candidate,bout one worry about the future of our democracy, protect it from foreign interference. host: david on the republican line, you are next. caller: how are you doing? guest: i am doing good. great to hear from someone in north carolina. caller: hi.

let me preface what i am saying. i think you are a democrat hack, but i love you. i love the fact that you have come out and said something that everybody thought. you want to get the clintons off the playing field. and -- you know, you were the one who brought up the real important thing. can i answer you now, my friend? caller: yes, sir. guest: yes, ma'am. boo, here is donna 101. i wanted more than any american, probably, i wanted to win in 2016. i wanted hillary clinton to be president of the united states. had she won, i probably still would have to take my activism. i have been involved in politics

since the age of nine. i worked on a lot of presidential campaigns, senatorial, congressional campaigns. you can call me a hack. but last year, the country was hacked. that is why i selected the title of this book. i believe that whenever there is injustice in society, whenever there are people being harmed, whenever there are people whose rights have been trampled with, it is my job, and the job of every american, to stand up and speak out and express his or her opinions. that is something that, as americans, we may disagree with. but the true nature of our country, our democracy, is stability. i believe we should be civil with one another. i get attacked sometimes from democrats because i reach out to republicans. sometimes, you hear from the

other side, and something you may hear and understand from the other side -- we should listen to one another and not just be democrats, republicans. we need to come back together as americans. host: tier hypothetical, but in they moore's name ballot, and the republicans bring in luther strange, what does that mean for doug jones? guest: he needs to continue. he is talking jobs, education, health care. roy moore is talking about what he did or did not do 20 years ago. host: 40 years ago. guest: correct. roy moore was a district attorney. he held a lot of power. these people were probably afraid of him, scared to talk about what was happening to them. he should be respectful of them. john mccain said what he did, if you did it, is disqualifying. i agree. if the republicans want to put a right in, right -- put a write-in in, right on.

but i believe in doug jones. by the way, we should talk about your other book -- guest: well, my nickname is "trouble." i got that nickname from mayor emanuel in chicago. caller: good morning, steve, and ms. brazile. i have to say it is a thrill and honor to speak with you. i am so excited. i will try to not get goofy here. first of all, i would like to say congratulations on your book. guest: thank you, ma'am. caller: i want to know if you will come to oakland or san francisco for a book signing, so you can sign it for me. guest: i was in san francisco just this past -- i was there thursday night at the commonwealth club. i look forward to coming to oakland. barbara lee is a great friend.

i know a lot of people in northern california. i would love to come back. caller: you are welcome. anytime, day or night. guest: i appreciate you. caller: and i think you did a great job on the campaign. i watched the whole thing. i was on it like a laser. let me sum up what i think about the election. since 2015, we have known what has gone on. it is -- it was not a fair election. i think we should redo it. right? when itat what kids do, is not fair? both sides did not play fair. guest: thank you so much. and i want to just say this. i would hope that we take some lessons from 2016, and that is, as americans, whenever we hear the word "hacked," we should take notice that someone is trying to interfere.

someone is trying to influence us. one of the characters i mentioned in the book, he called me just about every day to give me an idea of what the active destabilizeld be to our democracies, call into question our elections. that is why i believe the onus is also on the president. he needs to acknowledge what happened last year. he needs to convene a bipartisan commission to study ways in which we can protect our country in the future. i have seen that happen in germany, with their elections, in france with their elections. so many in austria and other countries. we need to take a page from our own book and strengthen our democracy. host: chapter 12 -- "i am not p atsy the slave." explain. guest: when donald trump said " what the hell do you have to lose?" that was my wake-up call

that this was a close election. i tried to hire people. in some cases, they were wanting to come and work for free. bricklin refused. him the highll commander bricklin -- brookyln. bring on people who could help me expand of the vote. i was worried the obama coalition did not get enough attention. that is why i am not "patsy the slave." as analogy here is that woman, i wanted to make my own decisions. i did not want one someone in the headquarters in brick lane -- brooklyn making the decisions. i did not work for hillary. i do not work for the campaign. i was a volunteer for the dnc.

my obligations were not only to the office of the democratic national committee but my obligations were to the rank and file. host: on the republican line, david is next, south dakota. caller: good morning. it has been very interesting, listening to you. i think you should run under the democratic ticket. you impressed me more than any other democrat i have heard. but i agree that the russians with ourmeddled elections, just like the united states has meddled with the elections of every other country in the world for years. but i do not think the russians tried to elect trumps when they already have their hooks into mrs. clinton. when you claim that other countries meddle in elections, obama actively campaigned for one of the candidates in the british election. he did everything he could to defeat netanyahu, which is just

the way world politics are. but you have really impressed me. run for president as a democrat, you would be the first democrat i have ever voted for. thank you. guest: thank you, and thank you for your kind words. i love the people of south dakota. let me just say this. i mother taught us to wrongs do not make a right. i have heard that argument as well, that the united states has meddled in elections. perhaps so. i have noticed some occasions that i have read and witnessed. but i am referring to our democracy. we came under attack in 2016. in 2008, when the chinese tried to hack into both mccain and president obama's campaign, the justice department went to those officials and said, here is what is happening. in our case, it was delayed for months, in large part because we had a contractor who we

maintained in our system we did not know. once we started the mediation, we did the very best job to remove them so they could not interfere. we see now from the social media campaign and from others how much the russians were actively engaged in sewing -- sowing discord and distrust. yes, they tried to destroy secretary clinton. destroyted this -- to her credibility, her platform, everything. one of the ways to do it was sow discord between the clinton and sanders campaign. when i found the cancer, i wanted to get rid of it. i did not want to have any excuse out there why senator clinton was not running a strong campaign to win the presidency. host: the 940 louisiana, what is it like today? guest: first of all, we are mourning the loss of fat domin oes.

host: you can sing the song if you want. guest: i know. we used to go by fats domino's house. his pink piano. would such a good guy, he give us candy. when i think of the ninth ward, i think of fats domino. with any hurricane, it takes a while for their recovery efforts to begin. i served on the louisiana recovery authority. we wanted to rebuild stronger and safer, not just our levees, but also to lift houses above ground, so people would have a chance to survive. something about houston. i have been to texas twice. i want to say something about puerto rico. we have to help those people. they are our citizens. it will take time for them to rebuild their lives, rebuild their homes, get back into their communities.

investicans, we need to in making those places safer and stronger. we should not forget them. next year, we are celebrate our 300th anniversary. i am on the tri-centennial committee. we are excited about the future of louisiana, excited about what is happening under john bel edwards. i am proud to call louisiana home. i am proud of our mayor, mitch landrieu. he is in his last year of service. i want to say thank you. host: our guest is donna brazile. malcolm, your next from tennessee, democrats line. you with us? caller: yeah, i'm here. i got a question. knowing what you know, would you suggest a special counsel to check into hillary's stuff?

guest: no, sir. knowing what i know, what they did was legal. you can set up a joint fundraising agreement. you can have a memorandum of understanding between one staff to another staff. file sec reports. there is nothing illegal about what occurred. in my judgment, i did not like it and it was unethical, because i could not do my job as chair. toad to get permissions write a press release. i was told what i could and could not say. so sometimes, i did not say anything. no, secretary clinton -- as far as i can tell, they ran a vibrant campaign. that is why they got 3 million more votes than that president occupant. kennedyeen at the school for me to politics and policy at harvard. one of the things i am working

on is how do we prevent the hacking of our elections. this book is not just about the hacking of the clinton campaign. i present common sense solutions on how every american should protect their identity. you are out there and yakking and snapchatting away, and you are not protecting yourself. change your passwords. change it often. i get technical in the book. because the hacker house, the wonderful americans who came to our rescue, i talk about their service to our country. they were able to help us fight russian meddling. host: how long did it take for you to write the book? guest: i had help. a remarkable woman. danielle martin. she put a tape recorder in front of me, and boy was that cathartic. it took nine weeks. i was under a tight deadline.

and i waited. people cap asking -- people kept asking me about the timing. to ourd robbie to come future forms. i assumed they would write the post boredom. when i did not see the postmortem about the hacking or what was going on internally, i decided to write this book. host: did you read "what happened?" by hillary clinton? guest: absolutely. it was a good read. sign my book.l i will sign her book for her. it was historical. she gave good, strong recommendations on how to treat women in the future, especially women candidates. that is another reason i am so delighted so many women are thinking about running for office. "the the subtitle is inside story of the break-ins and breakdowns that put donald trump in the white house." in the book, you write --

guest: oh, god. it was -- i have been involved in a lot of campaigns. i managed al gore's campaign. i have been called a lot of things. been attacked many times, working in volatile -- politics. apologize for attacking others. but when you have a foreign government actively seeking to destroy anyour candidate, activy seeking to weaken your democratic institutions, including the media, it was not nice. they influenced the campaign. the journalist out there -- i want to caution them again. the journalists took every leak as if it was the gospel truth.

as if it came from the book of joshua or came down from the mountain. they never questioned it. they used it every day to further sow discord into our election, to further weaken secretary clinton, to further to the-- and it led harassment of individuals within the democratic party. donors. ordinary citizens, who had their information on our website, because they took a white house tour. all of a sudden, their information was in the public. i believe this was a crisis moment for our country. yet, on november 9, the day after the election, everybody gets into party mode for donald trump and, on the clinton side, the democrats, we are all mourning. no one is thinking about our democracy. host: you called anderson cooper a "boo." guest: that is an affectionate term from a southerner.

host: how many deer have? guest: i have several. boo-boo-booave my -- had with her injuries' voice and george clooney's looks -- if he was a dog. i'm not calling him a dog, but that is how i imagine him to look if he was a dog. host: when was that taken? guest: i was at -- atch anderson w cooper. there were some people, i would put them on, he would go to sleep. i talked to my dog. i did. i cannot wait to meet chip

again. chip was a beautiful dog. [laughter] host: i am just laughing at -- we go to florida. good morning. caller: good morning. woman.uble guest: i that you know women who have stirred trouble, stirred you --, i have -- i bet caller: i know. it takes bravery, real courage, to do what you are doing. to come on c-span. and i love the guys at c-span. they do great work. i give them all my applause. but it shows courage for you to come on this long, on tv, and

say what you said. host: thank you. guest: well, it took courage for esther in the bible to go to the king if i perish, i perish. it took courage for harriet tubman to go back and forth to get people out of bondage. it took courage for nelson mandela. it took courage for mother teresa. it is about the courage of your convictions. if you believe something is unjust, you should speak out. more importantly, if you believe in freedom and equality of all people, speak up. i was telling my colleagues and students at harvard last week, if you think of this got me in trouble, imagine being a student 1970's, ande late you are calling for a holiday for dr. king. or calling for the freedom of nelson mandela. that got me in trouble.

i have been trouble all my life. but i am good trouble. host: we go to mark, joining us from st. paul, minnesota on the republican line. caller: thank you. i have three brief related questions. number one, you indicate in your book that you closed the blinds to your office, because you were afraid of sniper fire. i am wondering who exact the did you think would be shooting at you and would it be a foreign power or domestic power, such as maybe the clinton machine? number two, there is a theory that seth rich was the hacker, the person who leaked the hacked emails. i am wondering your thoughts with regards to that allegation. number three, i am wondering if you have any theories with regard to who might have killed seth rich. guest: let me just say, when i got back to dnc headquarters after the briefing, i mentioned how scared i was. i wanted to go to the pentagon. i wanted the dnc to be closed

down with yellow tape around it. later in the book, i describe how we got word how the dnc might have to to close its office, and i looked for an alternative office. this was not the ordinary kind of campaign where people call you and say one or two bad things. this was a campaign where you got suspicious packages, got all kinds of threats. you are trying to do your very best, as i did, to protect the thef and infrastructure at dnc. we made important security changes to our physical office just, so people could not walk in off the streets. we did a lot of prudent steps that i believe help to save us. you know, i get really touchy about seth rich. because, he is a patriot. he was a loyal member of the democratic national committee. to honor faithfully

part of who we are. that is the right of every american to participate in the election process. he helped to create, along with many others, iwillvote.com, which provides valuable resources about people who do not know where to vote or register or get information on candidates pay with regards to the conspiracy that seth rich, they are baloney. i spoke at his synagogue. i know exactly who seth rich was. he was part of our team. i can tell you that seth rich should be honored for being a great american. somebody who cared to make a difference. and all of these conspiracy theories -- on his parents' wishes. drop it. let us find the person or individuals who murdered seth rich. but let us stop destroying his good name. he was a friend. he was my kid.

you can ask the governor of washington state. i was out there -- upon learning urder, i had to call into the dnc office to comfort people. comfort my colleagues. but i have to cry myself. i could not stop crying. seth was one of my kids. when somebody you love is hurt, you stand up for them. while i was not his mother or y, i knowoel and mar them. i have had plenty of time with them. they are great people. they are still suffering, along with his brother, aaron. they deserve one day where we honor their child and not tried to destroy his name. fox newsyou know, channel and sean hannity, in particular, did a series of programs on seth rich -- guest: that is wrong. host: a lot of questions. guest: we should answer them. we should find out -- i know the

metropolitan police department continues -- this is an active case. there is a reward for anyone who knows anything about seth's m urder. but let us not tarnish his name. seth was a great person. the lies being told -- sometimes, i am like where do these come from? the lies. seth worked. he was honorable. there was nothing found on his computer. the stuff i have read -- where did they get this information from? the purse -- the first person i wanted to protect when i walked into that building was seth rich. he was a great man. great young man. i wish we had more like seth rich. more young people willing to go out there and work for democracy. he wanted to see hillary clinton in the white house as well. god bless you, seth. god bless you. host: our last call is from missouri, democrats line, benton. caller: hey, donna.

it's good to talk with you. i just have a few questions about the timing of the book. some say it is a time that is like beating a dead horse. so i feel like, are you trying to work with democrats to come up with solutions for the last up with theseends results, as far as long lines at ands and voter turnout hurting everyone -- herding everyone towards one candidate, hillary clinton. there was no opposition to her in the democrats. the distance it takes to get to polls. reduction of early voting, things like that. voter suppression by law. host: thank you.

we will get a response. guest: first of all, thank you for your questions. the best time to talk about the election is when we are one year out, when it is still fresh in our memories. this is about trying to ensure we have a stronger political party in the future as well as a stronger democracy that can withstand foreign interference and attack you i hope any of my friends and colleagues, who have not enjoyed my "time" would understand this is about a time to heal wounds. we have to properly heal. the only way to heal something that has been infected is to address it, address all of it. this is the donna brazile version. hillary has written a book. bernie has written a book. joe biden is coming out with a book soon. there are so many books that will talk about the 2016 campaign. finishesen the reader my book, they will see not only am i still trying to help the

democratic party, i want to make the country stronger, be more actively engaged in protecting our democracy. and i agree with you. we have to make sure there are no blocks or hurdles or obstacles to any american trying to participate in the right to vote. voting is the lifeblood of our democracy. thank you for your time and your great questions. host: the book is titled "hacks: the inside story of the break-ins and breakdowns that put donald trump in the white house." donna brazile, what is next for you? guest: i am still at harvard. my report is due soon. it is about strengthening our democracy in the future. i am looking forward to going back to georgetown next semester. i have a lot on my plate. as always. but the most important i try to do each and every day of my life is think about all of the young people, like myself, who got involved in politics at an early age. i want to help them get a seat at the table, even if we have to bring folding chairs.

>> also from washington journal, a discussion about the future of the republican party. this is about 45 minutes. the gop tax bill. said, it mayll mean a small tax increase for some middle-class residents. where is this leading? guest: nowhere, really. this is not radical. what reagan did in 1981, was quite radical. andtop margin was 70% reduced that to 39%. this is not radical reduction in taxes, whatsoever. there is no enthusiasm for this among the conservative base.

host: let me get your reaction to what house speaker paul ryan said on taxes. [video clip] >> this is something we ran on. we did not pass some huge thing on an unsuspecting country. we ran into 2016 on doing this tax reform. the president ran on doing this tax reform. this is about fulfilling peoples to the american and improving people's lives and making a positive difference. i believe when we do this, make good on our word, promise, they people's lives better, we will be just fine. area host: that was -- just fine. host: that was paul ryan. will it passed the senate? we expected to pass the house. guest: i think it will, but there is no enthusiasm for this bill among the base of the republican party. inn reagan has his tax cuts

1981 and 1986, it was very organized. there was a place called message disciplined in line of the day. whatever the president's speech was that day would also flow through the cabinet, congressional leaders, interest groups, so everybody was harmonious on any given day to build public support for the president's initiatives. there has been no organization or explanation whatsoever. people are confused and some opposed to this. host: ronald reagan unveiled his second tax plan in may of 1985 and signed it in 1986, about 18 months from beginning to end. and house republicans are trying to do it in less than two months though they have said to be working on it for years. guest: reagan had a democratic congress. one. isber two, this bill

straightforward, whereas reagan's was complicated. it basically rewrote the tax code because there were dozens of tax brackets until 1986 and to threed it down brackets. host: one mitch mcconnell says he cannot guarantee all middle-class families will have a tax cut, what does that do for the talking points? guest: it makes it more difficult to sell it because it looks like it is for corporations with the corporate tax cuts, but there isn't much focus because no one is talking about anything good with the middle class. host: as a republican, what do you not like? guest: i think they should start over and say, we are going to do something temporary but long-term, too. the tax code needs to be rewritten.

deductions,ritable adoption deductions, medical deductions, and also, all the emphasis on the tax cut side, but they had given up ending as an argument for the american people. this is a diverse country and i think it is impractical to run it from one area by the potomac river. this power ofeed education and energy? what does it do? we have lost the arguments of taking apart this federal agencies and sending the power back to states and localities. host: with regards to the tax debate and affordable care act not repealed and the frustration within the gop, as you look back when books are written about 2017 and -- guest: lost opportunity. that is what the title of the

book will be about for year one of the trump administration. there have been good things, stock employment -- stock market, employment. when you have maybe not the maturity of the american people minority, more things should have been done. host: what was missed? guest: congressional leadership has been dragging their feet. because congress took the longest break in history. they seem more interested in holding press conferences than hearings. host: will mitch mcconnell be the republican leader of the senate in 2019? guest: i do not have a crystal ball. the newspapers -- my guess is he will. host: our guest is craig shirley . we will get to your phone calls. (202)-748-8001 for republicans. (202)-748-8000 for democrats. jack is first, providence, rhode island, democrat line.

good morning. caller: good morning. i am one of these conservative democrats. the democratic party has been taken over by socialist and communist. i like mr. steve bannon quite a bit. this guy hasn't arrogant smile that i do not like. spade a statea and they are afraid of him. i will tell you why. because he is with smart. the man's iq must be 160 or better. is,alled pulsing or what he a scumbag. a bunch of these people are scumbags, and he is going to run them out of power and their cowardly, too. take care. guest: [laughter] where do i start?

he has strong opinions, for sure. host: have you met steve bannon? guest: he is a friend of mine, and associate. i know him well. the caller is right, he is smart, effective, i'm not sure he is right all the time but i spunk.his fortuitous and for sure. host: this headline is from "the new york times" on page 19a -- steve bannon pains a target on mitch mcconnell's back, his response -- ha-ha. guest: the best response now is mitch engage but mcconnell could improve chances by getting more things done in the senate or going through the motions of attempting to get more things done. host: on the republican line, joe in missouri. good morning. caller: missouri. host: good morning, joe. caller: i am not a tax expert

but there is a big galaxy that you lose your tax deduction for --r home, real estate taxes i have not been able to write them off in six years because i do not have enough things to ride off. it would be 10% of your gross income so i have a use standard deduction. i have not been able to write real estate off for six years. plus, if this past goes through, they will double my standard $12,000,s of like which will put me in that 12% -- i am a 15% now, even though i'm retired. i want this tax bill, i do not want it to start over like this man is saying, and the fallacy has to be corrected you will lose your tax reduction. many of us cannot write them off use this. we have to

guest: thank you. part of the proposal was to cap homeowners production by $5,000, so a lot of homes would be eliminated and booze their tax -- and lose their tax reduction. host: our next caller is maria from new york. independent line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i would like to let it be known that for the eight years that president obama was in, my social security did not go up with the cost of living of 3%. my social security go down, down, down. i am disturbed with what is going on in washington. i mean let's put it together.

we are americans. the democrats wake up. let's work with the republicans, even if you disagree, but talk. program, the senators when they were in session. aretch the house when they in session and i do not understand it. why can't they just get to the topics? yes or no? and get it done. this is what america is all about. host: thank you. has a the caller the parties used to talk to each other prior to 1964. there were a lot of conservative democrats and liberal republicans and they could compromise on a lot of issues over the years, national defense, spending, things like that.

in 1964, the two parties operated basically in an equilibrium, where if democratic party's nominated and more conservative candidate, they would pick a more liberal to balance the ticket, same with republicans. in 1952, they picked moderate eisenhower so he picks conservative richard nixon. in 1960, conservative nixon picks moderate and the cap at large. -- henry. this changes in 1964. the establishment is destroyed. romney ort pick scranton, as common sense would dictate to put into party together, moderate republican governors at the time, he picks little-known, equally conservative bill miller from buffalo, new york. at the time, when asked why, he said because he takes off lyndon

s off lyndonick johnson. but picking an equally conservative running mate, he redefines the republican and democratic party. over the years, moderate liberal republicans begin to leave the republican party, like john lindsay. he was a moderate republican mayor of new york city and becomes a democrat. he begins the process of attracting conservative democrats to the republican party, so john colony -- john conley became a republican. and inegan the process 1972, george mcgovern accelerates the process by polarizing the two parties. is that thetime now republican party is almost all conservative or very conservative. the democratic party is almost all or very liberal so it is all

most impossible for the two sides to talk to each other because there's no commonality and very little that they agree just governmentally, but politically. host: you have written several books on ronald reagan. you wrote a book on a speech he gave in 1964. and in a speech on friday, wrinkly said had there not the nancy reagan, there never would have been a president ronald reagan. guest: that is correct. i agree with that. it was once said that ronald reagan wanted to be the best shoe salesman in the world, and nancy reagan would have assured it. she was that invested in his success and happiness. way,rtain points along the she would lend her advice at the national debate with a critical piece of advice. she had a hand in selecting

cabinet officials, political aides, and reagan reaching out to gorbachev, she had a direct hand in that in 1987. she was a critical -- she was his best advisor. she was always his best advisor, not only his wife, he loved her duvet, but also, he turned to her for advice, first, last and always. host: what do you think, what would ronald reagan think of president trump? guest: well, i go back and forth on that because reagan was a party man and campaigned for not, odious, but questionable republicans over .he time i think that he would probably

-- definitely not like the personal attacks. it is not reagan style. so if you separate the personality, and just focus on the policies with tax cuts and things like that, he would agree with donald trump. rose,let's go to nashville, tennessee. republican line. how many books have you written? guest: seven, but i am working on four more. host: go ahead, rose. caller: good morning. i have a couple of comments. first, as a tennessean, i'm embarrassed and disgusted over how senator corker has acted and attacked my presiden. -- president. the second is about the tax plan. it is unfair when we have obamacare mandates, individual mandate that you have to have health insurance and a lot of

these people, a lot of people are paying high premiums and that the bulls. -- and deductibles. some may be $10,000 a year or more and the tax plan proposed either in the senate or the house takes away the medical deduction and that is totally unfair, and it is really going to hurt the middle class, the working-class, the lower class, deduction is not allowed anymore. jump: what i would do is the tax plan. i know they vote on it next week but it has so many objections. you just heard one, and articulate woman, i would scrap it, and appoint a blue-ribbon commission, conservative , expertss, to come up in tax code and policy, and to

sit down and come up with an alternative tax plan and they could do it in one month. host: wasn't the time for that earlier this year or last? guest: this has had so many objections in the past and the republicans are going to gain no political benefit whatsoever. they ought to scrap it and appointed blue-ribbon commission and come up with an alternative system and presented to congress. something everybody can get behind and agree on. , one a couple of tweets for michael who says steve bannon is the perfect foil. he gives up controversial quotes and has the look of a maniacal genius. another viewer, saying, these people crack me up. steve bannon is like trump and came from hollywood showbiz. guest: [laughter] how many times is hollywood compared to washington, anyway? host: we will go to derek,

chicago, democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: good morning, sir. good. caller: yes, you know, the comment that it was going to say i will have to change it because first of all, i do not believe reagan would even recognize the republican party today. gentleman washe saying earlier was that have written used to be and how they would choose -- was how it used to be and they would choose a less conservative person but in my opinion, the democrats have than ever and they have lost a lot of their principles. guest: republicans controlled the house, senate, white house, most of the government ships, most of the government, so i think the republicans are closer to the senate. the center might be the right currently.

there are sweeps of history that go back and forth, pendulum, more toward the activist and activist government. i think we are in a de-activist cesar now. host: what is the next book to be released? guest: i working on a book about george washington's mother, and the working title is "honored madam," because he would address his letters to her like that. no one has done cannot her.aphy -- a biography of his father died when george was 11. his stepbrother, half-brother lawrence, took over a lot of the parenting but he was in fredericksburg with his mother and she really guided him and kept them out of the british navy, where he wanted to be a cabin boy in the british navy and he wrote a letter to her brother locked in london and

said absolutely not, not under any circumstance should you allow him to be in the british navy because the caste system there and american subjects at the time with the lowest. there was also a time when one third of them were dying at sea, either from scurvy, battle or falling overboard. there were instances like that, interceded in george's developing career and set him on the path toward becoming the leader of the american revolution. even though she was somewhat a sympathizer, even when he headed the revolution but she raced them so well that he or marge -- but she raised him so up that he would emerge to be the most important leader in the history of america. host: and the school in fredericksburg virginia named after her. newt," whattizen

did you learn the most that surprised you about it? guest: a lot. i had forgotten you were covering congress. there is how much he did to help along the revolution. congressher members of really carried the water for the reagan administration through the years. the 1981 tax bill, newt gingrich was in charge of bringing democrats over and on board and contras the nicaraguan and a key part of conservative house members. but critical points along the , tradee 1986 tax bill issues, things like that. mostlyublican party was a free trade party at that time

and reagan was essentially a free trader, so they were a lot they worked on the help pass house so they could pass legislation. the other thing that surprised me was his longevity, which in and of itself, a study of his life was made worth while i have to go back to henry clay or others. to find a national and political leader on the stage for as long as newt gingrich without eating president of the united states -- without being president of the united states. abraham lincoln was only on the national stage for seven years. henry clay was for some 20 odd years but newt gingrich has been a spokesman from the late 1970's up until today, advising presidents, political leaders,

writing books, offense, articles, giving speeches. so that is what made his life worthy of study. that as much as anything. host: if you are interested in the book, he said that what craig shirley on the "afterwards " program, available on www.c-span.org, available anytime. we will get back to your phone calls. greg from new jersey. republican line. caller: you guys went off topic a little with the book but that is ok. i have to say that this country is divided but not in two parts. it is divided in several. congress, like you said, is dragging its feet. congress is tremendous and they do not think we see what is going on. that is why people are angry. the left is going to be the left and trump i understand is a

figure, but what -- he was voted in to do certain things and we want them to do those things. they are stalling. they think we're not seeing that. we are. i will take health care, for instance. they are not under obamacare. they do not deal with the social security like we do. they are separate from us. we see that. we see what is going on. seeing i think about the situation is. i feel that this country is heading toward a real crisis and it may erupt into a civil war. the left is not jack kennedy's left. .t is not even lyndon johnson/ -- lyndon johnson's left. this let is bad with other people there. -- this left is bad. they want to reject everything

american and wash it away. your book on washington's mother would be rejected by them because washington owned slaves. we have a big problem in this country that we are divided. host: thank you. guest: first of all, washington freed slaves on his deathbed so i want to put that to rest. the caller is partially right. he says we are divided. yes, that we have always been. political historians who will tour you during the american revolution, 20% to 30% of the american people and colonists wanted to stay with the crown. benjamin franklin's own son was in prison as a spy for them. inwere divided over that war 1812 and the civil war was about our divisions. our entry to civil war took three weeks to vote on and dozens voted against our entry into world war i.

we were divided over civil .ights, virtually everything there are only two times in the history of the united states where we were united as a nation. december 7, 1941 in the aftermath, everybody was for going to war with japan. cannot find anybody in this country, except for one republican congresswoman from montana, who voted against entry on fdr's request for declaration of war against the empire of japan, and for a few precious 2011ts after september 11, -- 2001. those are the only two times in the history of the united states where we have been unified. host: let's turn to the race in alabama. to moore was speaking reporters and addressed allegations against him. [video clip] >> why now?

and thecrats republican establishments know the importance of this election. in fact, most people in america know the importance of this election. they see it as a prelude to elections coming in 2018. and it may very well determine the future of our country. my opponent is 11 points behind. that came out days before this article. they are desperate. this article is a prime example of big news. -- fake news, an attempt to divert attention from issues in our country. host: what is going to happen? guest: your guess is as good as mine. it is a mess. i know that there are accusations from the "post" and the motivation for writing it and their history of political

affiliation, but five women, that cannot be ignored. voters decide,he but the question is, is there a third-party right in candidate -in candidate? host: will that help the democratic party question mark guest: it will make it work -- party? guest: it will make it moreguest: competitive. you speak so well on reagan but you fail to bring up two points. first, is dealing with iran-contra, nothing happened rules immune made to it, but also the fact that he and thatdrop taxes 25%

basically destroyed almost everything. great you referred to that -- would you refer to that question mark guest: what -- would you refer to that? guest: number one, what did the story?p this second, the root cause for iran-contra was a congressman from massachusetts who is a friend that tip o'neill. and inhibiteds the president from doing a search warrant policy, which anyone would tell you is unconstitutional. enriched themselves off this. it was an honorable attempt to help the contras defeat the communist nicaragua and a lot of people agreed with it. it was wrong and everybody moved on. you are know what 25% referring to? reagan at the end of the years

had 19 million new jobs in place. it was less than 4% when he left office. interest rates were 21% when he took office and under 7% 20 left. the mood of the country was better. we were winning the cold war. in 1980, we were losing it. s, we were winning it. reagan will go down in history as one of our four greatest presidents because according to a liberal historian, he saved millions of people, alongside franklin d. roosevelt, washington. host: when do you think the old-timers set in? guest: it was five years after he left office. he and mrs. reagan had gone to the mayo clinic every year for a thorough psychological and physiological and physical testing.

they passed with flying colors. it was five years after -- you know, it was five years after he left the presidency that he began showing signs of early onset alzheimer's but well after the presidency. host: how did mrs. reagan know something wasn't right? guest: she did not. it was a schedule. i think they went every june of every year and it was june 1984 -- 1994 that they went, and the doctors diagnosed him and he went back for more tests and they told mrs. reagan that the president had alzheimer's. in augusther i think or early september of 1994. host: roger in pennsylvania, republican line. caller: hi.

like to make her mark on the republican tax plan and it goes back to reaganomics. needs to be aly new reform on tax and it cannot be along the lines of what most of your conventional mainstream conservatives have proposed. there is an answer to this. it is what i call the combination, flat rate, flat tax or flat slope flat rate tax. what that is is a 10% increase and at the uniform incremental toe per $100,000, up $500,000, a 50% rate that then becomes a black rate of 50% out

to $20 million. at which point, it increments at for $20e uniform 5% million slope, up to $100 million, where it is a 70% rate. host: what about that? guest: [laughter] he will have to explain it to me again. you know, sometimes public policy needs to be straightforward and simple to sell the american people. part of the beauty of the reagan 1986 andin 1981 and the reform of the tax code was that everybody understood the washingtona mess, was getting too much money from taxpayers, and there were too loopholes,ackets, and silly deductions and things like that and it needed to be simplified. that is what reagan focused on. caller has a good idea but

it has to be -- he has to explain it or sell it in a way that makes as much sense to as many people as possible. host: ronald reagan campaigned and thethe government size of the government was larger when he left and the department of homeland security he attacked was still in place, why? guest: there are certain things a president can and can do -- cannot do and things he can and cannot focus on. he was locust on restoring american morel -- he was focused on restoring american morel and he achieved -- morale. he said in his diary's he regretted not doing more about spending and abortion. but the percentage of gdp went from something like 24% to 22%.

there is one other way to look at this and it is an important point. you can look at it statically or dynamically. if washington is at 22% but he grows national economy by 6% to 8% over eight years, he shrunk the impact of the national government by expanding the economy, so in a way, he shrinks the influence because it expands so much faster than federal spending. to californiago on the democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to preface my question that when it comes to the president, i do not vote the party lines. i voted for republicans, democrats, and for the last 40 years, but my question is, why is it now that in congress, with the republicans controlling the last and senate, and since

november, the presidency, they cannot get anything past? i do not understand. guest: i think there are too many cooks in the kitchen. every congressman now has media consultants, political consultants, and they are all interested in reelection, so focusing more on their constituency then they are the national purpose. it creates basically a mess on capitol hill. they cannot get anything done because it is not of interest to them. their interest is getting reelected. host: for massachusetts, independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a question or comment about the proposed elimination of the state tax. i'm an independent and voted for mr. trump. nothing has been passed and i am

going to get hit, a significant tax increase. i consider myself to be middle class and i am surprised other people, representatives in high tax states, like california, are not rushing back. host: what do you make and how much increase do think you will face in taxes? caller: i make between 120 thousand dollars and $130,000 and it looks like i will pay between $2500 and $3000 depending on the house and senate proposal. host: how worried are you about the local and state tax deduction? caller: it is significant. that is where the increase comes from. and a look at other people who live in one of these high tax states and they must be billion -- millions of us who will take the hits, and having voted for trump, those tax reliefs, i am

devastated -- not devastated, not overly surprised but i find it unbelievable there isn't more pushback, and a lot of people have not run the numbers yet and there are a lot of things but just to look at the numbers and i create an excel spreadsheet and it would be a significant increase for me and others, as well. guest: excellent point and well articulated. this is a troubling issue and somewhat of a sleeper issue. it has not gained momentum yet but i think it should. we are for as much power in statesman localities as possible and when i come to washington, by eliminating tax deductions, you are sending more to washington and giving them more power over the individual. thatnk it is very troubled

they would propose the elimination of this the duction. host: we will go to mark in queensboro, north new york. where are you calling from? caller: queensbury. host: thank you. caller: it is funny, the previous caller hit the nail on the head. i make around the same. i'm independent. i usually go democrat to make sure to vote in the primary, but it boggles my mind the republicans, who are always all about helping out the middle and i'm a business owner, too, so i would not only get the property deduction which i rely on heavily and my numbers would work out to the previous caller 's numbers of extra tax to pay, corporaten from the

tax because it is part of the american dream, helping small now, is owners, and still have obamacare and pay around $7,000 or $8,000 a year i premium, some of which could deduct from this attack another $3000 on my tax bill. it boggles my mind this is what the republicans will vote for. i think it is more than the in the previous caller that will be across caller -- party lines that will be outraged. host: who did you vote for? trump, i voted against voted for hillary as a way against trunk. i did not want her, i wanted her need but he got screwed by the democratic national committee. bernie but he got screwed by the democratic national committee. guest: the white house and the

republican party, and democrat party, had a series of hearings to get input from american people of what they wanted in and nobody has gone out and asked the taxpayer or any small business owners with their opinion is that this and asking the american people what they would want in a reform act. host: our last call is from albuquerque, new mexico. ruth, you get the last word. caller: good morning. my comments is i am a mother and grandmother and when my grandson comes to me and says, well, the president says it, does it, why can't i do it?

i have to say to him, because we are not raising you to be this particular type of president. we want you to be a gunman who respects all people, women, men, and it doesn't matter race, creed, color -- you want you to be a president who respects all people, women, men, and it doesn't matter race, creed, color and we want you to be an example rather than a detractor. it scares and frightens me. i'm wondering, are other grandparents or parents feeling the same? something has got to change. if i am feeling this way and my grandkids, i'm sure there are others, as well. thank you. guest: that is an excellent point. by the way, my life is from new mexico, not too far from albuquerque. this has been happening more and

more since probably that days of watergate, when things came to power by richard nixon and they tried to explain to their children. it picked up again during the impeachment of bill clinton. i would tell the caller to quote ronald reagan who used to say -- do not trust me, trust yourself. do not look to washington for answers, look to yourself. host: who is the next ronald reagan? guest: there isn't any. it is like asking, who is the next harry truman? host: nobody in the republican party fits the mold? guest: there are great people who support his mission, who are conservative, but reagan was so generous. andame along at the time all these things shaped him.

but hee had his aides would never take the position olls.se of p he would take it because the too many politicians are not direct. reagan was very directed. he had a core set of principles. nothing would change his opinion of those things. they reached maturation by his view of the world, his view of america, and his view of american culture and life. book our guest has another in the works, so we will have him back again. thank you for stopping by. >> c-span's "washington journal news andveryday with policy issues that impact you. coming up monday morning, writers corresponded amanda

becker discusses tax reform on capitol hill. a movie producer talks about the state of u.s. manufacturing. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal" 7:00 a.m. monday morning. join the discussion. >> watch c-span this week as congress debates tax reform. the senate finance committee begins a review of its bill on 3:00 p.m. eastern. live coverage on c-span3. its bill onbates thursday. live coverage on c-span. get details on c-span.org/congress, and listen to live coverage using the free c-span radio app. c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was