the house armed services committee looks at european military operations and the threat posed by russia. senator jeff flake speaks at the national press club, and a house hearing on defense strategy in space. toabout an hour, we talked congressman matt gaetz of florida about the school safety bill that passed in the house yesterday. historian julian zelizer, on his new book, "the presidency of barack obama." " is in capitals tour

southern california, where we speak with kevin de leon about california politics and his primary race against dianne feinstein. later, eric bauman. yesterday, one months since the parkland, florida, high school shooting that killed 17 students. country,across the high school students, even some elementary and middle school students walked out of class calling for stricter national gun control laws. welcome to "washington journal," on this thursday, much 15, 2018. your reactionng to yesterday's across the country. for students and parents, the 202-748-8000.

for teachers, call 202-748-8001. we would like to hear from all others if you do not fit that category, call 202-748-8003. 202-748-8002., as you saw from the video, we covered the event, one of the rallies in washington, at the capitol. this is front page this morning of usa today. "we deserve better: thousands of kids across the usa demand and end to gun violence." students from about 2800 schools marked national walkout

day, many by leaving their classrooms at 10:00 a.m., to show solidarity for the 17 killed in the attack on february 1 14 at marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida. students gathered on the .ootball field at marjory they join students from a nearby middle school to walk two miles to memorials set up for victims. "to the parents, thank you for raising this new generation of leaders." "thank you for raising this new generation of leaders." your thoughts on yesterday's events, the reaction in your community across the country. on capitol hill, reporting from "the washington times," the legislation that passed yesterday in the house, this is front page of the washington

times. "the house ok's $50 million to help, $50 million in annual funding wednesday to help schools assess their safety risks in the wake of last's school shooting in parkland, florida. we will get your calls in a moment. we will show you reactions from students at yesterday's reality -- yesterday's react -- yesterday's rally. country's gun problem, the solution is more guns. you know we have a moral problem in this white house. apology -- when national policymakers value the money of the nra over children, we know we have a moral problem in the halls of congress. in the coming weeks and months,

more of my peers will be slaughtered in their own classrooms, winter deaths will be dismissed as collateral, you know we have a moral problem in this country. so let's make one last thing clear. their right to own an assault rifle does not outweigh our right to live. host: all of the coverage of that event available on c-span.org. one of the national rifle association's tweets yesterday, an hour and a half in yesterday -- janet, good morning. caller: good morning. i think that the killings have all started when the to rugs got out of control. i have heard that they cannot deal drugs without guns.

stop, andneed to there was a priest that said children should be homeschooled or go to a christian school because they are not learning about god in the public schools. they are making their own things up about god, saying there is no god, that everybody is god, and supporting any statements according to what is right. they are making up their own rules and committing crimes. we need to stop the drugs. robert ins hear from caspian, michigan, on the others line. i hear you. go ahead, robert. caller: thank you for having me on. for president trump to speak off the cuff about arming the teachers is wrong, i would say.

it needs to be well thought. i know there are different ideas. there need to be mandatory gun classes in schools from seventh grade, just like sex education. there was not forced sex education to begin with, but if parents are not teaching kids about gun safety, teachers should step in and show pictures to these students at a younger age. i commend these students for what they are doing right now, especially that young man who spoke out. it does need to stop. trump needs to rethink the situation. i do not think arming teachers is a solution, but seventh, eighth, ninth grade should teach gun safety. if they do not pass the course, then their name goes into a registry. it well thought through. if they do not pass these tests,

they need to register to where they cannot have a gun. robert in is michigan. "usa today" said there were 2800 protests across the country. more than 3000 student walkouts were planned across the u.s. to press elected officials to take action on school violence. in "the wall street journal," some students who walked out faced unexcused absences. there were more serious penalties in a number of states. inb county school district georgia, which has nearly 113,000 students, said on wednesday that those who participated in disruptive presentations -- disruptive demonstrations may be subject to punishment in accordance with the student code of conduct.

students and parents line, go ahead. caller: they are going to make history. firsthand being shot. nra -- they have not experienced that. smart, more than the nra. there protests in your area in bradenton? caller: yes. host: steve is a gun owner in towson, maryland. caller: i am not only a gun owner, i am a federally licensed dealer. is the schooland

shootings. there are thousands of laws on the books not being enforced. there are 2 million across the country. when bill clinton was exiting and bush was coming in, they got together and they got congress to pass the gun free school zone law. the federal government passed law.aw, got signed in the the government also refuses to enforce the law. they leave it up to individual jurisdictions, but the supreme court has also said, in u.s. government versus arizona, that states cannot enforce federal law. the federal government is responsible for enforcing it. another thing with the universal background checks, that is taking the commerce clause. are -- the federal regulatet can only

interstate commerce. seatbelt laws are not a federal law. every state signed on with it and every state passed it. if you want universal background checks, every single state has to pass a background check law. military style rifles -- style or look has nothing to do with function. in ar-15 is just like any other hunting rifle. it just looks like a military weapon. it is not. as a firearms dealer, i have to abide by 200,000 regulations. if i do not, i could end up in prison. host: you are into houston, maryland, and that includes maryland and obviously federal laws. florida passed the age limit to

purchase a firearm, raising it from 18 to 21. what is the law in maryland? they have not passed that law yet. they are discussing it. they have not passed it yet. if the state wants to do it, fine. there are other people saying for the fed to raise it to 21 because teenagers do not have the mental capacity to own or use them, but wouldn't that be the same for driving or voting? steve talked about the enforcement of regulations. the issue came up at a senate judiciary hearing yesterday. "the washington times about that. "the fbi admitted it bungled its handling about that. the acting director of the fbi

said it is not clear the bureau could have done enough to prevent the massacre given current laws." >> one thing we are charged with his protection of our country and our communities. sometimes that takes disruptions prior to the act. in this case and many other cases, there are limitations for us, and we know that. as i wanted to be fully transparent on, we made mistakes here. no question about that. that said, even had we done everything right, i am not sure we could have stopped this act. but he would have been nice to try. it would have been nice for the investigators to sit down in front of mr. cruz and have that discussion. host: all of that available on c-span.org. your thoughts about student protests across the country. henry, a teacher in new york city. good morning. caller: i am a public school

teacher with 25 years experience. i believe that the good.strations were well it was a good idea. being was 18, people were sent to vietnam and had no choice in the matter. now people have the choice, and the wording they used was quite six thanked and to the point. two other points i want to make -- i am in favor of these orderly marches and demonstrations. exercising first amendment rights -- that is why they go to school, to learn that stuff. the idea of arming a let's say ar -- schoolteacher is well-educated and firearms. he locks the door. you imagine the possibilities to that? one armed teacher, 25 youngsters -- that is nuts.

the last thing i want to mention is today's "washington post," upump said he made information in a meeting with justin trudeau." he fabricates information that he meets to -- that he brings to a table in a meeting with an ally. i leave that to your imagination. henry, we will find that "post" story in a moment -- in a moment. john is a gun number -- is a gun owner in annapolis, maryland. caller: i grew up in broward county, florida. i am in my mid-40's. at the age of 18, i could not wait to buy an ar-15. within 30 minutes in florida, i

15 on myut with an ar- birthday. family,rom a republican hard-line conservatives. on my 18th birthday, i got a lifetime membership, joined the marines. i was deployed to afghanistan. these weapons should not be in the hands of citizens. this is not what the founding fathers intended. the level of devastation that me as a marine corps infantryman in afghanistan saw -- it is not something an 18-year-old kid should be up to buy, walk into a school, and shoot up. no one in their right mind would have considered that. when someone calls up and says

these are just hunting rifles, they are not. it is fantasy. that is pure fantasy from the nra. i called the nra a couple of years ago and i said enough is enough after sandy hook. i called them up and i said i am on your books, i am a life member, but take me off your roles. i want nothing to do with you anymore. host: are you still a gun owner? own oneyes, i still handgun, for personal defense in my home, which is more than sufficient. host: i appreciate you weighing in on the discussion. 202-7l gun owners -- 48-8002. students and teachers, 202- 748-8000. "trump says he made up information." he says he made up information with a leader of a top u.s.

ally, saying he insisted to justin trudeau that the united states runs a trade deficit with its neighbor to the north without knowing that was the case. .ere is albany, georgia johnny, welcome. go ahead herein -- go ahead. 23 years in the military. and that .223 is nothing like i had in combat. a .22ullet is almost like . i am going to make this as simple as i can. the next time those kids leave school and start marching down the street, someone should tell them to stop and face each other and say i am not going to shoot you and you do not shoot me, so we are not going to kill each other anymore. that will stop this whole thing. it is the kids who are the

problem. work on your kids. that is it. host: johnny, thanks for your call. anthony, oceanside, california. you are on the air. , iler: i want to say disagree with that article you are, how it said those kids leaders. i disagree with that. leaders do not go surrounding -- do not go surrendering their rights or freedoms and our rights and freedoms. true leaders figure out a way to protect their own selves. i also disagree with the laws that stop control. how can anybody tell when anybody is going to do. i do not care how crazy they are, know when can -- no one can

say when to lock them up in asylums. yeah, that is about it. , a gunet's go to mike owner in wyoming. good morning. mike, you are on the air. caller: hello. host: you are on the air, go ahead. caller: mike, one more time. we will go to jim in central islip, a teacher on long island. go ahead. laber: i am a retired instructor. i do not want -- i do not want to downplay what happened to these kids, but more people are being killed because these kids are distracted with these phones . the only problem with that, the media cannot go out there and

put their cameras on these car accidents, where people are hit by cars and buses because it happens all the time. , a gunichigan, david owner. tell us about your community. was there any sort of student protest there in saginaw? what i have got to say is, these children were told that if they did not march, they would fail that subject. this, lookinghind at getting these kids to do this. i am not saying they should not have a voice, but, listen, some strange things are going on. i have been watching this from the start, and on national television they showed the replay of the cameras at the school. one shot showed two police

s, and a body bag, throwing something into a private car. nothing -- nobody down forto get taken this. school officials are letting it happen. the police department -- all i ,an say is people's children see what your kids are learning in school. get your family life back together. you might better homeschool your kids then send these kids to these institutions that are causing part of this. host: we are getting your reaction to yesterday's 20 800 walkouts, protests across the 2800 walkouts, protests across the country.

owners, 202-748-8002. for all others, 202-748-8003. video of protests on capitol hill. the headline here from "the "may givestimes," 2300 russian diplomats the boot ." host: here is what she had to say to the house of commons. we agreed immediate actions to dismantle the russian espionage network in the u.k.,

urgent work to develop new powers to tackle all forms of hostile state activity, and to ensure those seeking to carry out such activity cannot enter the u.k., and additional steps to suspend all planned high-level contact between the united kingdom and the russian federation. mr. speaker, the house will recall that following the murder , the u.k. expelled four diplomats. under the vienna convention, the united kingdom will now expel 2300 russian diplomats who have been declared unidentified intelligence officers. they have one week to leave for this will be the biggest expulsion for over 30 years and reflects the fact this is not the first time the russian state has acted against our country. through these expulsions, we will fundamentally degrade russian intelligence capability in the u.k. for years to come.

if they seek to rebuild it, we will prevent them from doing so. second, we will urgently develop proposals for new legislative powers to harden defenses against all hostile state activity. this power is currently committed in a relationship with those expected of -- suspected of terrorism. i have asked the home secretary to consider where there is a new need for espionage powers to crack down on foreign agents in our country. e-governmenttable amendment to the section's bill to impose sanctions in response to the violation of human rights. play ourso, we will part in an international effort to punish those responsible for the sorts of abuses suffered by sergey.

host: all of that is available on c-span.org. our topic this morning for the first hour or so, your thoughts or reactions to yesterday's student protests across the country. 202-748-8000 is the number to call for parents or teachers. here is a view of high school students at the north lawndale school and the banner they unfurled there. "students demand stricter gun control." a photo from inside "the new york times, of middle school students, students from everett middle school in san francisco. protests lasted a symbolic 17 minutes, one minute for each victim of the school shooting in florida. our next caller is on the line. go ahead.

that needme questions ,o be asked about the people what the forefathers said or did. you have to go back and see what kind of guns they had at that time. they should use the guns that are available. knew.s all they they did not know about rapid firing guns. so if you want to talk about what the forefathers did, it would be wise to go down -- go and shoot the kind of guns that were available then. host: do you think the founders and forefathers were writing about a specific firearm about that time or the general principle of gun ownership, the freedom to do that? they say they are

following by the letter of what the forefathers did, then they have to do that as well, what kind of guns they were talking about. i do not think that they thought , was aitizen militia well-trained militia. you would have to disband the soldiers and the police because then every citizen becomes the police or a soldier. it is something to think about when they talk about a well-trained militia. host: let's speak with a gun owner from clinton, maryland. caller: good morning, bill. i am college educated. i have a gun. i am an african-american independent who likes to think that i am open-minded. i am appalled at some of the

comments i have heard not only this morning, but over the past several weeks, that some of these people, my fellow gun owners and nra members, who are quick to dispel these young people who have gone through a traumatic experience, and they are quick to dispel them. i just cannot -- while everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, i just cannot believe all andowminded, un how narrowminded, un thoughtful and uncaring these people are. it rivals my mind. wonder this country

ss-ackwards. i pray for this country everyday because i cannot believe some of these people. i am saddened for the american people. i really am. .hat further infuriates me and i am an avid c-span watcher, is that these people really seem to believe what they are saying and what they feel. how would they feel if they had to go to work and duck bullets, to go to school and duck lits? bullets?so -- and duck it is sad. this world is sick. some people in this world are sick. and they are not the ones who kids atrring to these school, the workplace, and churches. host: comments on twitter, or at

twitter, comments on @cspanwj. this quote says, there is nothing noble about demanding the government take away your fellow countrymen's writes -- rights. host: randy is in chicago heights. good morning. caller: i am sure everybody in the old -- in the whole world would say guns were made by man. they were not made by anybody else. guns were made by man. about theke to say forefathers signing the second amendment and all that stuff, the constitution, that they did not have any clauses, and they are saying let's bomb japan with atomic bombs.

by man,ombs were made and they did not say anything about nuclear weapons. i would like to get back to our teachers being armed. that is a silly thing. shoots the gunman teacher, and all of a sudden he has another handgun right there. the teacher is dead and there is another gun to use to kill more students. and a person the other day on your program brought up how to safety in schools. our national guard is doing nothing but sitting on their butts. they go to class once a month and have a party. that is what they say. you know what, they get paid. we pay the national guard. maybe one or two national guard could be at that school. in a college of thousands, maybe or 20 or 25 use the national

guard. they are trained people. they carry weapons. they know how to use them. so the national guard is doing nothing. let's use them in our colleges and high schools and grade schools. in illinois. randy front page this morning of "the wall street journal," they lead with the photographs, "protests bring out a million students." the continuing effort to silence a former adult film actress who says she has had an affair with mr. trump. the trump organization lawyer, -- aarken -- jill martin delaware company formed by mr. trump's personal lawyer, used to

pay $130,000 to stephanie clifford in exchange for her toence, according arbitration documents filed in orange county, california. michael cohen, mr. trump's lawyer, has obtained a temporary restraining order against ms. clifford in the arbitration to stop from talking about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with mr. trump. warren, massachusetts, and we say good morning to keith on our parents and students line. caller: how are you doing today? i am just curious -- i am having a hard time with all of this. what i am hearing after the shooting was these kids are not old enough to do this or do that . they cannot drink, smoke.

what the problem is, in my opinion, the teachers are telling them what to say at these rallies. they are telling them to exercise their first amendment right, to take away other rights that they may have, and they may look at it differently when they get older. the left just seems out of hand. they are giving people free out and given safe places to shoot heroin. the whole thing is messed up. if you had a couple of trained trained teachers and some smart guns, it really just bothers me, the whole walkout.

these kids think they are being empowered, but they are just being used. host: we had video yesterday from capitol hill. many students as well as politicians. here is one of the student speakers from yesterday. [video clip] >> in an ideal world, none of us would be here. the kindergartners who died at sandy hook would be in middle school today. in las vegasers would have gone home to return to their families. in an ideal world, the 32 students who died at virginia tech would be employed professionals, and the 17 victims from stoneman douglas would be hitting lunch at school right now, and the only thing they would be worried about now would be a test for next per9io iod. but this isn't the case. we live in a country where

lawmakers are more concerned about their contributions from the nra than they are about the lives of their constituents. host: yesterday's rally from "the new york times," reporting further details on the rallies across the country -- they write that even after a year of continuous programming -- continuous protesting, the emergence of people not old enough to drive as a political force has been particularly arresting, unsettling a gun-control debate that had seemed impervious to other factors." washington state, a gun owner there. caller: these guys are protesting their own people. they ought to protest the administration at their own school, the sheriff, the fbi office, mueller, and all the guys who let these people off the hook.

they want gun control. they ignore the dangerous people so they can get their little gun control, and they all want it. headse media, all the fbi . not the agents, but the heads of it. and obama and all of them have done this. mexico, 2500 guns go to hoping that would help with the gun control thing. and until they start getting rid of them people, that is who you ought to protest. not the politicians, not the guns. running thesets offices that do not pay attention to what is going on. they cannot surveillance -- they cannot surveil a muslim terrorist, but they can surveil a politician. it is back to school, no

walkouts set across the country today. 202-748-8002 is our students /parents line. caller: i am a grandmother. we have guns and i am raising a 10-year-old in the public school system. i am proud of these students because somebody needed to stand up and talk to the congress and the politicians about what is going on in the schools. i had a question. there is an organization called peacejam. i would like to know what it is. host: i do think we have any information. you said you are a grandmother with grandkids and you have guns. are your grandkids able to use those? caller: no. 10 years old. they are locked up.

they are for our security and safety. they are not for them to have or use or touch or anything. i do not think the rights of the people,god-fearing should be taken away and their guns taken away when the police should move in on these gangs and these people who are carrying the guns illegally. host: that is so in it -- that illinois. doug is up next, a gun owner from marquette, michigan. i feel sorry for these kids. they are being used, they are being duped. they are exercising their first amendment to forfeit their second amendment. remember, the criminals do not go through the legal system. and they -- this

whole gun debate -- the only people that will be affected is the law abiding citizen. young tos are too understand the details. i feel sorry for them because they are exercising their first amendment right to give up their second amendment right. listener says, "i am whoed to -- by people pretend to know what the founders contemplated." organizations reporting this morning on the death of stephen hawking yesterday. here is "the financial times." "stephen hawking, one of the

most brilliant scientists of his age, who defied death for more than half a century, has died, age 76, overcoming severe disabilities. his "a brief history of time" came the best-selling science book ever written. despite being paralyzed and losing his power of speech, the renowned physicist communicated using a distinctive speech synthesizer and became an immensely popular lecturer who could fill any auditorium with fans to hear his account of the cosmos." back to our parents and students line, scott in new hampshire. i am concerned with the problem on the guns, but i do not think it is the guns as much -- we can maketo

havewith machines -- we pistols that can kill. we have to remove the hate. the hate is what we have to remove, the bullying, the hate. there is so much more besides the gun that is the problem. wars without justifying why we are there, why we are doing things. we have to be more diplomatic with people. organization, organized crime here and there is just so much more. i feel sorry that we are not taking care of it, helping these kids that way. helping them to communicate and to remove the hate. host: we will hear from mia next, in baltimore. caller: one of the biggest things we also have to focus on is when we look at the people who actually bought the guns,

they also had mental health issues. and the mental health providers who wear out there, they did not have the ability themselves to help stop the gun violence themselves. with the nci s database, they could have pulled the trigger themselves and said i could have actually had an application to caused thathave guns are being purchased in the first place, in either 30, 90, or 180 days to help save these orldren's lives in florida, in any other state throughout the nation. that is what our congressman need to do -- our congressmen need to do. host: a teacher in tennessee, good morning. caller: good morning. pleased to see these .oung americans

i am so proud of them. is, whenever we talk about guns, the second amendment -- i wish that those who have guns and support guns would go and read the full second amendment of the constitution. founders put that in the constitution for a reason. the second amendment was put there for a reason. it had nothing to do with holding guns, it had to do with whether you could use a gun while this country was in the hands of the british, and were , before we were the

united states of america. hope that people would get a dictionary or go to the library. get out a copy of the full the secondn, go to amendment and read it. go to the second amendment and read that second amendment, the full second amendment. thank you for the call. yesterday during the senate judiciary committee hearing on gun violence and school safety, a number of senators, florida officials, and some of the parents of students killed in view,ooting, in one man's it goes beyond school safety.

[video clip] >> it is quite divisive. my view is the best way we can prevent school shootings -- the first step is to improve the security at our schools. that is something i think we can all agree on. the kids should be safe, the teachers should be safe. the parents should not have to worry about sending their kids to school. i would like to see us act there first. beyond that, i think the best -- despite what happened in parkland, early identification and interdiction seems to me to be the best way to prevent these from happening. as a part of that, as i said in my testimony, if we can identify these potential violent actors, and gethool shooters them the help they need, understand who they are, and that they do not have to resort

to violence, that is the best way to prevent these. -- weall of that hearing are asking your thoughts on yesterday's rally. 15 minutes left in the hour. front page is morning of "the washington post." host: let's hear from sparta, tennessee. george, a gun owner there. caller: why don't we just give these teachers guns with special bullets in it that shoots

beanbags like the police have? nobody can get killed, this and that. this is just ridiculous. nobody remembers, from hitler's --they took the guns from all the citizens, and you know what happens after that. host: here is a teacher joining us. good morning. am an administrator at a school in the d c area, and we encouraged students to walk out yesterday and they had a small demonstration. even though our sample size is small, when you talk to young people, the issues clearly the firearms. that is it. once we filter out all the signals and the noise of the debate, when young people drill it down and you have a conversation with them, they clearly see the firearm as the issue. the other thing about education

is, for the last several decades we have told teachers, do not be political. do not make your opinions known. be totally neutral. an outcome or an outgrowth of that by discouraging teachers from being political actors themselves. teaching is a political act, and we should treat it as such. we make our opinions known. students can dispute does, and we can have conversations and that is fine. but we do not stay neutral. we encourage our teachers and students to have real dialogue together. sean, outside of action on limiting certain firearms, either federally or locally there in the nation's capital, you are an administrator in washington, d.c. what more can the school due to be on the lookout for this type of behavior that leads to these make the school

building itself safer? caller: one of the things we have done in education is to prioritize the hard skills versus the soft skills for the last several decades, especially because you can test reading and math scores and all of those things. it has been at the expense of schools providing's strong -- providing strong social and emotional support. when you discuss with students, what mental health indicators should be lookout for, it is really fuzzy territory because where do you draw the line? a lot of students, for instance -- i am honest and open with my students as well. i have struggled with depression, and i take anti-anxiety meds. i am very honest and open with that. should we restrict my ability, put me on some kind of list because i take zoloft or something like that?

where do we draw the line in terms of mental health? cornerot some guy on a spouting out nonsense. mental health is a really complicated issue. when you have these conversations with kids, they say we all have our certain issues, so what would put us on own-ado-night -- do-not- -not-fly list. host: have a good day in school. we will go to just planes -- to des plaines, illinois. caller: you just heard from that liberal, right? this is the problem. you have liberals indoctrinating children. these are children who are not old enough to vote.

the reason is because their brains are not developed yet. to make rational decisions about gun control, about the second amendment. understood-- if they , those guns were provided for frontiersmen. the reason we have to have guns is, that is the last line of defense. the police always come after a problem. they do not ever make it when the problem is happening. host: on your argument about students and their brains are not developed yet -- what do you think about what florida has done? they have raised the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21. is that a good idea nationally? is completely ridiculous. you cannot have an 18-year-old go in the military and come home and not be able to practice with a gun here it -- with a gun. first of all, you will see right

away that will be overturned because it is against the constitution. you are no way possible going to take away guns. all you need to do is have one way in that school, and people go through metal detectors, and the local police should be on staff at that high school. we have 100 police officers. what are they doing all day? i see one car drive down the street once a month. where are these police officers? they should be capped out -- they should be camped protecting the children. host: we have a couple more calls on this issue. a story you may have seen on the news, certainly an unusual one. this is the daily news reporting on astronaut scott kelly. astronomers dna no longer

matches twins after a year in space. astronomer scott kelly spent a year in space. he returned a changed man. kelly, who lived on the international space station, while his identical twin, mark , 7% ofstayed on earth his jeans were altered. were is no -- of his genes altered. he is no longer identical to his twin. some changes, like the length and of scott's telomeres reversed once he was subject to earth's gravity. but other changes persisted after six months. researchers found a deficient ,mount of tissue oxygenation with stress to mitochondria, which transform nutrients into energy and increased inflammation.

good morning. go ahead with your comment. caller: well, good morning. i was just talking about all the money wasted. paper, a lot of taxpayer money. children are young to be influenced. these programs, when you are teaching the children, they are young. able. minds are influence what about fathers who said in 17 minutes we will be back and they left them standing in the schools. however -- how are these kids going to feel about their rights to protest against the protesters? how are they treated? did they spend? was it billions? was it enough to fix the

schools? i do not know. you would have to come back with that on another show. host: christine is up on new hampshire -- in new hampshire. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. my concern is it seems that everything i am hearing is all about the teachers, the government, the nra, nothing about the parents taking responsibility. how did these kids get out of the house with this gun? are people have parents who -- what do you want to call them beit is about the parents to on their children. the children should be good. how is a parent letting a kid get out with a gun? i do not understand how other parents such as myself -- i take full responsibility for my kids. i do not want the school being responsible for my kids. it is a path time -- it is about time kids -- parents start

toning -- they are too busy do the job they need to do. we are parents out of the love and respect we have for the children and we do not want things to happen. we cannot help the other haveies who have to full jobs. parents are trying to push off the responsibility to their own children, and to the children around their neighborhoods and in their communities. the parents are the disgraceful ones. not the priests. the priests should not have to be in the schools. i went to schools, and there were no priests, doctors, guidance counselors. they think that they know how the children are feeling. the bullying thing has been an issue and always has been. in tuneents are more with their computers than they are with her own children. host: that is christine in new

hampshire. a quick story from the south carolina state newspaper. their headline this morning, the sister of charleston shooter -- sheroof, who murdered drugs.ested for selling morgan roof was charged with simple possession of marijuana and two counts of carrying weapons on school grounds. made aroof had also social media post on snapchat, which alarmed the student body. we hear from linda, good morning. caller: good morning. children doo -- the have a right to protest, but when you said yesterday -- i about died. they are the biggest killer of children in the united states.

they need to put 55 million students on that field with the shoes. the aclu, if law enforcement went after a kid uz? they would be screaming that they are profiling, it is racism, and all this other crap. these poor kids are being used by the left, and i think it is horrible. that is linda in new york. we will continue our conversation about school safety and legislation about guns on capitol hill. later on we will speak with julian zelizer about his new book on barack obama. it is saturday, or 17.

on saturday, march 17, marcy kaptur will be the longest-serving woman in the house. she took office in 1983. to mark the >> we have the esteemed honor of shegnizing marcy caster as becomes the longest-serving woman in the history of the house of representatives. [applause] [laughter] >> and it is not just about the longevity of her service, but the quality of her leadership in the house of representatives. it is fitting that we should recognize her outstanding leadership during women's history month.

thank you for giving us the of doing that. had i know our colleagues in ohio take great pride in their association with marcy caster and for the rest of us to have the honor of calling her colleague. she is the first woman ever to be assigned to serve on a subcommittee of appropriations on events. and in addition to protecting the american people, honoring our first responsibility to protect and defend, she is the champion for the world war ii memorial, and a determined defender of all who served there and thank you for that. [applause] pelosi: she has taken great pride as a constant, unwavering voice for the american heartland in the u.s.

congress. her face is important to her. her face in god, in the community, it in our country. as a leader of the joint select -- sheee -- for example is a strong champion for retirees and their endangered pensions. the list goes on and on, from childhood to pensions, she has been there on the appropriations committee. woman on theerving appropriations committee, as well. later today at a reception -- -- i you are all invited will read a letter of congratulations from barbara mikulski. "washington journal" continues. --t: cumbersome matt gaetz

congressman matt gaetz is with us. the first step in the u.s. house in passing a school safety measure, we spent the first hour of the program talking with our viewers and their reaction to the protests here and across the country. fromwas your take away what you saw and your constituents? guest: as a floridian, it hits home for us. no smiles in the center eight after this terrible tragedy. my fellow floridians would like to see action. making sure our schools are safe and no parents have to drop a child off and the next day, clean their room out. so funding for school safety. metal detectors, resource id scanning.anced

so that we know who is on campus and who is there to contribute to the educational mission and who is there to do mischief. i may have a different feel that some of my colleagues but i think that protest is the sign of a healthy democracy and the fact that students around the country shared their views -- even though they may not be ones that i hold, i think it is a good thing for sending gave to -- thing for civic engagement. to see that decisions that are made impact quality of life. host: you are a graduate of .lorida tech -- florida state and blame a mary law school. one of the youngest members of congress. do you see some of the passion of those folks yesterday in capitol hill, does feel familiar to you? i have to tell you, as a consequence of the pennsylvania special election, i moved to the

fourth youngest member of congress. lamb.s thanks to conor i will certainly say that i hope for the day when the millennium millennial generation is engaged in a productive way. and i do think protests can be a spark. it is a healthy sign for democracy. host: obviously the parkland shooting was the spark for this current protest, and next saturday's protest as well. your legislature in florida act fairly quickly. the governor signed legislation that raised the limit from 18 to 21. do you think there is anything that the u.s. house could learn from the way that florida approached legislation after the shooting?

absolutely learn from the mental health parts. i have substantial 10th amendment concerns. it sets the stage to experiment .ith and develop best practices in florida, there was less discussed reform that occurred but far more significant. across the country we have a patchwork of mental health laws that don't take it vantage of the opportunities you have to screen people for their behavior and to ultimately make a determination regarding the risk they pose to themselves or others. florida today you step forward in enhancing the capabilities of the government with those screenings. level, i wasal very disappointed when we had a discussion with the fbi and the fbi didn't seem to have a full

grasp of their capabilities. when it comes to scanning social -- inand machine learning this case, we had a lady on january 5 call the fbi to say that the parkland shooter was training for a school shooting in a backyard. theyet we didn't have investigative work because there was too high volume of information. host: the senate judiciary committee held a hearing yesterday. they heard from an acting deputy officers from the fbi and law enforcement officials. any plans for your committee to take up this issue? guest: i think the full house to the position that we hold on school safety. an investment of resources into the capability that could stop a school shooter. i do not expect gun control to the past. we passed legislation well provide theenate to

next process. to label people who would be a threat to themselves and others making sure they don't have access to firearms. there is good in. isolating gun control on people who would do harm rather than -- rather than a law-abiding people. host: there was a provision in their regarding concealed carry -- do you think if the bill winds up passing in the senate and comes back without that measure that it could survive in the house? the house is very serious about the concealed carry legislation. we don't believe someone's rights should stop at a state line. my hope is that the senate will see the field kerry doesn't make myone less safe and in

state, concealed carry permit holders are eight times less likely to commit a crime than members of law enforcement. these are a law-abiding people. host: our guest is congressman matt gaetz, here to discuss school safety and gun violence. here's how to be part of the conversation. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. .ll others, (202) 748-8002 we welcome your tweets as well. we want to play comments from yesterday's debate on the school safety bill led off i a member from new york on the judiciary committee. although the bill passed by a big margin, democrats certainly want something else. let's take a listen. >> this bill does not include any provisions to strengthen gun laws or to help keep guns out of

the hands of those who should not possess them. evidence tells us we must establish universal background checks instead of the flock system we have. --should encourage states to protection orders and we must ban assault weapons. these steps would help prevent school shootings and would reduce the daily toll of gun violence in our community. host: your thoughts? guest: the house did take previous action. so some of what he mentioned is true in terms of timing but not the substance of what the house has taken up. i also have spoken to donald trump about the bump stock issue . i have every expectation that atf will be taking action administratively to enforce the existing loss or you don't have been told jerry rigging firearms

to beale the have those enhanced capabilities for widespread violence. get ahow often do you chance to speak to the president? guest: he has been pretty busy -- so io a habit broken haven't spoken to him lately. he usually calls me. the republican line, go ahead. caller: thank you c-span and congressman. managerederal emergency and i wanted to address an issue that hasn't deceived -- that hasn't received attention. what we are still teaching kids regarding what to do in schools for active shooting response. i watched all of the coverage of iedkland and i have stud every school shooting before that and our schools are still

following a lockdown procedure. there is a resistance to change that. those of us who study the subject have determined scientifically that lockdown isn't just not the best solution that it is just about the worst thing you can do. no plan at all would probably be better. there are better ways to do this. and we need to bring more attention to this. right now we are making kids in schools into targets. yes, we should try to prevent happening butfrom the fact is they happen and we need to do better to the kids in the schools. and if i may offer a suggestion on the conversation regarding weapons permits and things like that for teachers, we do have an existing program that is the perfect model for how to address that which is the federal arms life check officer program. it allowed pilots to bring

weapons into the cockpit. it has strict training requirements and is a volunteer program. it could be looked at as a model for teachers who want to obtain the training as litigation and skills necessary to carry a firearm. guest: i completely agree with the assessment to update the mechanisms of our response. resources of the house approved yesterday could be used to bring people into create the updates and to assist districts with a technical knowledge but i would suggest to them that reach out to our office and others to help get connected with the department of education. we are looking at a wide field program for a response that would include physical aspects and training assets in an act shooting situation. i do know that the state of

florida, the legislation you seference includes provision and includes training. host: and all of that is voluntary? is there any consideration, if you take on that role, is that person paid more? guest: it would not be a teacher. thelorida they made decision not to mix with the security mission but there are other school personnel, athletic coaches, dean's -- who could receive the training if they volunteered to assist with protocol. host: let's move to north carolina, lc. licensed concealed and carry. ar-15 starts an

firing, i'm not pulling my little gun out to start shooting. masss it that all of these shootings are done by white boys? that if are being crazy it was a muslim, you would pass the law tomorrow? you have been killing people since you got here. you killed the indians and then you have been shooting at the other. mentally there's something wrong with them. we are not the only one who has people crazy around the world. -- iobody with the ar-15 have a 45 and if i don't get it time, i am not shooting. guest: thank you for that question.

are armed, it is better than being unarmed. when my colleagues came under fire at the baseball practice and some of them said they -- said if they had arms, it would have at least been a fight. i could have been bearing a number of my colleagues as a consequence of a tragedy like that. circumstance with our own colleagues in a situation like that. as to the situation as to whether or not we evaluate the cause of a mass shootings with different races, i would say the pulse nightclub was a shooting situations than the sandy hook shooting.

it has taken us some time to determine what would be an withtive strategy to deal shootings and it is my hope that a better diagnostic for this type of behavior with the scanning of social media would recognize these situations earlier. host: do you think about keeping the guns out of the hands of people, like the suspect in the parkland shooting, the parkland shooting, are there other mental of -- beyond just health -- where you can prevent and identified those people from getting guns in the first place? guest: enhancing our database assets would help us on the mental health front and ensure people are domestic abusers and people have have committed felonies don't receive them. the las vegas shooter should never have had access to a firearm, but as a consequence of

a poor sharing of information, he was able. i think we can do a lot with the among technology different data sets that we used to make the decisions. the. let's go to help frank, good morning. independent line. turn down your television. caller: i sure will, sir. was in vietnam and was wounded in 1966. i wonder if this guy has really ever faced down any kind of weapon at all. host: i have the wrong line. now, frank in tulsa. disabled vietnam

combat veteran. after i got home from vietnam, they made it legal to kill unborn babies. and they had already kicks god out of schools. no praying. i don't know if they still say the pledge of allegiance. but we are teaching these kids they came from monkeys and whatever they want to do socially and sexually is fine. they let them play the games that are used to train combat people nowadays and they start killing each other and everything. so we want to make laws but the -- the beautiful little brains when they start school -- that is where they ought to be introduced to god and love for

their fellow man. it is right that any politician and lawmaker who but for one lot, we could solve all the problems. i think it represents a lack of humidity -- of humility. it increases the likelihood that you have the acts of mass violence. i don't have the answer. i don't know what the silver bullet is but i think the caller is correct to identify that there is a wide array of input into young minds that could lead them in a good direction or a bad direction. host: we noticed in the northwest florida news, a guest patrickhere from wallace who is currently studying computer engineering at the university of central florida, and writes a letter to you saying "thoughts and prayers are welcome and encouraged but

representative matt gaetz, this needs to stop. torever i go places, i have take into account, what if someone starts shooting? what is the fastest escape?" that is one of your constituents. what is your response? pass a lawne can that says by virtue of law there will be no more violence or shooting. we have to pass provisions that make that less likely. need to strengthen our database assets. that we have the right mental health structure in place --y have those folks improving their condition is the best thing we could do. i don't think the deprivation of people's gun rights is responsible and i don't think it will work and i think about guys will still get guns.

think it will stand the constitutional review. host: let's hear from susan in arizona on the republican line. caller: i have been dying to get on c-span. i have two questions and a statement, if you don't mind. went to school -- they are 25 and 26 now. they own guns because their dad trained them with the gun for safety. they have the safety hazard with the case at home and everything. our family of members got shot at an apartment. huntingt shooting and and they were trained. it does start with the home. same thing with mental and drugs. i have an alcoholic son who just

we are of prison and here, as parents, even though he is older. we are training him and keeping him out of jail and going back into jail so he can learn how to survive out here. so proud of you. i am so proud of the republicans and our president. china to help kids here with drugs. he is trying to put the wall. he is trying to do the next step with the guns. what happened was chicago? all of the kids out there didn't talk about chicago at all. that people need to be well-equipped when handling firearms. that is one of the reasons why the state of florida uses a state marshal program which has high standards for training, to get a concealed, carry probe -- carry permit. we have high training standards

for that. and i think it is appropriate to always be evaluating how we can ensure we have responsible gun ownership in this country. and we also play a part in that. the caller is correct to point out that it isn't just the government that should assume that possibility. the family should promote the goals of responsible gun ownership and it could do a lot shootings and accidents. host: you mentioned your concern over the fbi not reading the signs and you have been critical of the fbi on the clinton investigation. calledller probe, you late last year or early this year for another special counsel. i wanted to get your reaction to what the attorney general is theidering, possibly firing director.ing fbi

mccain is the director of an internal justice director probe over the decisions of the 2016 campaign, including the probe of hillary clinton policy use of a private evil sector. they claim he was not forthcoming during an interview with the new york times which first broke the story. your take on that? guest: jeff sessions has more information than i do but i do think there is sufficient information to terminate the cave. he had a role in sending emails to the washington field office during the investigation, telling them to stop investigating. depriving them of their jurisdictional capability and removing the case to headquarters. with drafts of statements describing the conduct of hillary clinton so they were

changed so it would carry a different pit. i believe the timing of that decision is likely links to the release of the inspector general's report on the activities of the fbi. michael horwitz is the director and we expect his report soon. and it will be critical. some of the political activity of mccabe and the extent that passes over. comes up, howt does it come to you? do you get the first look at it? you are out of session on friday . how do you get a chance to see the report? guest: typically the chairman gets a briefing. were may be some provisions have to review in a secured facility. in other provisions, we could have an open hearing. aboutl make a decision how to proceed with publicizing that report based on the content.

sources thate of may need to be redacted. host: we go now to herbert from maryland. good morning, fort washington. caller: good morning. who is running the country? the nra? the republicans? the democrats? you guys keep passing the buck. i did the martin luther king march and everything. that is only got something done. -- [indiscernible] your own people. why don't you do something about it? thank you, goodbye. address your perception of the influence of the nra, both on a personal campaign level and more broadly, but the rest of your colleagues? guest: the nra has substantial

influence because they speak for a substantial amount of americans who enjoy second amendment rights to the fullest extent. the callernt out to that there have been issues when the president has pushed back from the nra. particularly on the issue of stocks. and there have been other instances where republicans have agreed or disagreed. much like any other group in host: -- this town. law gives the current atf the ability to stop bump stocks from being able to be used by people. more effectiveme at ensuring that law is enforced and followed. and i think the use of technology will help us.

let's hear from sebring, florida. republican line. caller: i am very happy to speak to matt gaetz. , a veryhe is very good good congressman. he is focused and experience and he has passion about everything he does. and thank you very much about that. i am a single mother and i have a daughter who is 22. at 13 she was in middle school and was bullied like nobody could imagine. i taught my daughter how to change a tire, number two, shooting a gun -- knowing how to shoot a gun so you can protect yourself. she is a concealed carry now with a little girl of her own. and she is kind and smart. have: it sounds like you every reason to be very proud of

your daughter. and this highlights the gun ownership of and training. and i think it is a viewpoint held by many limitations. we have floridians who are concealed-carry permit holders just like she was referencing. a bill passed in the house, a stop violence act providing funds for training or spotting for warning signs. it would create a coordinated warning system and it would andt school efforts authorizes $50 billion annually over 10 years. what do you know of the senate taking that up? guest: we have every expectation that the senate will take this up. in washington, too often we start with the issues we's agree on rather than finding common ground. and there is a lot of common

ground on the theory that we can theo much more to improve quality of the response that we have two red flag cases like the parkland shooter and in the event of an active shooter, what can we do to save lives. host: let's get one more call from massachusetts. i would like to say to everybody out there in america , andan automatic weapon m16, fires 800 rounds of minute. everybody is screaming that we want to take markets off the weapon but they are not automatic weapons. with a fire 800 rounds bump stock. when nancy pelosi and chuck schumer come up in peoples driveways, what is the acceptable amount of american trying to take away

the firearms? because they are not going to give them up. caller ishink the well apprised of what the capabilities are of different firearms. i would suggest that the beating of the second amendment is what is at discussion. -- is for hunting and doesn't exist for second -- for self-defense. when you isolate this purpose, it leads us away from the types of reform that would limit capabilities of the firearm itself. last issue and we will let you go. we want to get your reaction to a story about a potential deal on dreamers. white house officials have told republican leaders that trump is open to cut a deal in an upcoming spending bill to protect immigrants from

deportation in exchange for border wall funding. what do you know about this? guest: i am proud of the president. everything from tax cuts and his negotiations and his willingness to engage with democrats on immigration. the president wants this deal on immigration. border security. if we can get the right mix of issues with wall funding and border security, i think we can build in a solution that is acceptable to the country for dreamers and move forward with the immigration strategy that puts america first. thei really believe that country is ready to take off. host: representative matt gaetz, thank you for being with us. spend a few minutes to open up the phone lines.

any public policy that you are reading about or talking about. (202) 748-8000, democrats. (202) 748-8001, republicans. (202) 748-8002 independent callers. start dialing and we will be back in a moment. ♪ this weekend, the debut of our series "1968 -- america in turmoil." years to the50 turbulent time marked with war, political assassinations and the space race, women's rights, racial strife, a fractured residential election and the rise of the political left and right. this sunday, the vietnam war. from major political and diplomatic developments to the undoing of the lyndon b. johnson presidency. with jim webb, author of the and a memoirovel "i heard my country calling."

journalist,-winning author of "they marched into sunlight." 19 68, america in turmoil. live sunday at 8:30 a.m. eastern on c-span's "washington journal" and on american history tv on c-span3. >> this weekend on the c-span network, saturday at 9:00 a.m. hasern, american history tv daylong live coverage from ford's theater in washington, d.c.. the annual lincoln symposium -- ande co-author of william harris, michael and walter starr,

author of "stanton, lincoln's war secretary." c-span's book tv is live to discuss the bible's influence on literature and its legislation and human rights with the museum's director. we will also take your calls during the program. watch this weekend on the c-span networks. "washington journal" continues. host: headline from the new york times on the special election in pennsylvania. turf."ats win on trump's lamb, democrat and former marine scored a razor setn but extraordinary up

in a special house election in pennsylvania. the republican candidate may still contest the outcome that insurmountable, given that four counties in pennsylvania's 18th district have 500 provisional and other absentee ballots left to count." open phones. (202) 748-8000, democrats. (202) 748-8001, republicans. (202) 748-8002, independent callers. we hear from shakira on the democrat line. caller: thank you so much for your service and discussing this topic. i just wanted to take an approach to this topic -- i'm not sure if it is being discussed. from the side of the school , i thought the

details were that he was expelled from school? and previously that when his birth mother was alive, for the that he hadoter, incidents with her and authorities were called to his home about 30 times. as an educator, i look at that and think obviously, he was going through a difficult stage when he was home with his parents. and the parent needed help. that parents are needing help in american households. in when children are rebellious stages or needing more assistance, sometimes they don't reach out to the school system. did thehe school system right thing by expelling him but i wish there could be some type of integration of services when there are troubled youth in that capacity. sowas 18 years old

technically he isn't in anyone's jurisdiction or eyesight, that there may be a flag where the school administrators can alert the police if there is some chance of difficulty. in an on theo sam republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. somethingo talk about , a radical proposal, but i don't think it is really radical, i think it is constitutional. use our duethat we process system to incarcerate people that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they pose a threat to society. versus somebody who already committed a crime. nikolas cruz.

had professional testimony looking at different misdemeanors for that and saying, this is somebody who is at danger of harming himself and others, and then have him locked away, it is her as a preventative measure or rehab, maybe that would have presented -- that would have invented it? the pledge of allegiance to isis if someone is radicalizing themselves but didn't commit a crime yet -- i heard a report that over 1000 people -- the fbi is busy surveilling them. literally waiting for them to commit a terror attack so we could arrest them. why not put them in front of a jury and say that yonder reasonable doubt that because -- person

host: if you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt but what crime other than their mental condition and their potential threat to society, what crime? caller: that's exactly the point. a great question. we should have laws that allow us to incarcerate people even for not committing a crime. for just being a danger. we will have testimony from experts. -- we will be a will to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that this dangerous person and once we do that, the law should allow us to incarcerate him just for that. host: let's go to the big map underlined and hear from jeffrey. -- let's go to the independent line and hear from jeffrey.

caller: i have a comment about nancy pelosi. i was activated in 1958 when we had riots in baltimore. and we circled the entire city and when we came to little italy, we were told to stop and move north. we were not allowed to go into little italy. and on top of the buildings down there, there were armed people with rifles and shotguns. we were ordered to not go in. pelosi, her father was the mayor of baltimore and was a .ongressman and whenever i see her talking about gun control, it really irks me that she talks about not having guns and all of that but they had theirs. host: what year was that?

caller: 1968. in the walladline street journal about yesterday's passage of the banking bill in the senate. saying they pass a bill using senate rules. but the senate got closer to relaxing the wave of crisis era placed on the banking industry, with senate approval of a bipartisan plan. the bill would be the most significant revamp of financial rules since donald trump took office. to 31.ed on a vote of 67 john on the republican line. i want to make a quick comment regarding the florida mass shooting. one thing i never see anybody

talk about is regarding what caused the kid to go shoot up that school? i feel like there may have been a part of it was about bullying. it sounds like he maybe wasn't fitting in with these kids. maybe he was awed and had issues going on. he is still a human being and he is still american. and i feel like maybe there was bullying? because he was expelled before he went back. anyway, i just wanted to say i would be interested to hear conversation on that. -- er: host: elma on the democrats line. caller: i was calling about the opiate crisis. everybody seems to think that it getting --ople

people do what they want to do. thing as tono such what these people are going around saying, that it is an opiate crisis. it is a good crisis because that is what people want to do. that is all i have to say. times,n the new york writing that the white house has created a working group to prepare for a landmark meeting between trump and kim jong-un. but trumps sudden ousting of rex tillerson could delay critical elements of the planning until the senate confirms his successor, mike pompeo. few officials expect mike pompeo's arrival to delay the meeting itself as long as the president and mr. kim remain committed to it. that rex tillerson's departure deprives the white house of the

person most experienced in efforts to reach out to north korea. they also write that adding to the confusion is the lack of the official confirmation of a meeting with north korea. .his was relayed by two envoys but an american officials said on wednesday that the united states and north korea had not confer directly about the meeting with various diplomatic channels. i wanted to point out one of the diplomatic channels potentially -- this is an associated press tweet that north korea's foreign minister is visiting sweden. they write that is a trip that could be seen as the first step towards a scandinavian country hosting the meeting between trump and kim jong-un. let's go to sean, go ahead. caller: yes, i had a couple things about what is going on with the russia investigation. we have been talking about the

gun problem. you know, the nra has already been accused of money flowing in from russia. also, you see they shut the committee down. everybody afraid on the republican side of the party to get to the bottom of this? it is almost to me that we are advancing the interests of russia in our country now. recently, we found out that north korea now has rockets that have no sanctions? pass a law and our congress for sanctions to be put on russia and they are still not on them and nobody is doing nothing? the is the matter ways politicians, are they working thethe kremlin or president? we should be supporting america. not the interest of russia. and it is a shame what is going on. that was sean in north

carolina. joining us next is julian zelizer, who wrote a first historical assessment of barack obama. joining us this morning to talk about his brand-new book that he edited with other writers and it has just come out. we are inviting him this morning and thank you for being with us. we want to ask you about the product -- the project. the first assessment of the obama presidency. what originally got it going on the book and help to bring together the various writers involved in this? a book like done this about george w. bush and his presidency when it came to an end. and i wanted to continue doing this. moveally the idea was to beyond the presidential rankings that we already have when a presidency ends and instead, bring some of the brightest , who were not

obama specialists but specializing on other issues, foreign policy and having them write the chapter that puts this presidency into perspective. so they all wrote their first draft and presented it at a meeting we had in princeton the week after november elections. and that was the idea, to generate a first discussion how this fits into the long history of our presidents. to open the conversation. host: your book is broken down into a dozen or so chapters. you wrote a couple of those chapters. tell us how you came upon how to divide up the topic area? it is difficult to do. inevitably, some issues get left out. but i took a look back at some of the major themes that move

beyond the day to day politics in the obama administration. seems that shaped all eight years. problems that the administration continued to go back to. immigration which was on the table since day one. and he dealt with that right the way through the end of his presidency. his relationship with the conservative movement. congress, republicans in congress, and again, this is not a theme that was important for one day or two days but it impacted everything he could or could not do. another is counterterrorism. -- how did he face he fair compared to president bush. so all of the shaped the entirety of the eight years rather than just a short idiopathic the -- rather than just a short time.

r were the takeaways from that in terms of what you should and shouldn't do in this new analyze and write about the obama administration? useful when it was the first book was finished, there were heated feelings in and in the room of contributors about the president. so i learned how to push back against the immediate feeling that historians have as citizens see theet them to presidency in relationship to the work they do on american history. .nd that was difficult although i think we were able to do it. and it was very helpful. this one was a little different. there was a certain amount of shock and all at the outcome of the election. most people were not predicting that trump would be the victor. even amongst trump supporters.

this was important. the ending really changed dramatically and forced authors to rethink some of the storylines. host: we are joined by julian zelizer, a history professor at the editor in "the historical assessment of barack obama." ." join the conversation. (202) 748-8000, democrats. republicans, (202) 748-8001. .ll others, (202) 748-8002 send us a tweet if you would like to. pullingyou end up together the writers for this and avoid the pitfalls of talking about the obama administration legacy? or getting into analyzing what the quote "legacy" may be? it has partially how i

picked people. when i pick authors i picked the brightest people i know. want historians who don't necessarily think about the presidency that way -- meaning, primarily focused on what the legacy will be more narrowly focused on what is unprecedented and precedent it. but really they come at the presidency through the lens of a bigger issue. a true historian does that. it gets you out of that context. by a of a great chapter race relations. on has been a a story on black power and how racism works and she tackled the question of what the obama administration try to do and was able to a college and was not able to accomplish on the issues of institutional racism. and a story like that won't

necessarily come with the question of, what is the legacy? host: you mention the challenges of the obama administration and a conservative congress. and in the chapter "tea party" about the party, the book reads that obama could never figure out a way around the conservative forces in congress. beenegislative branch had the base of power for conservative republicans since the 1994 elections when the gop, led by newt gingrich, won majority. he couldn't figure out a way around that. how do you think obama's efforts in having relations with republicans in congress, how does that compare to george w. bush? bush: well, george w. obviously was a republican. so we live in an era of

polarization where both parties workvery little ability to with the other side. and that also means that within there is a pretty good coherence and consistency in what the president and the party members will do. this presidency has turned out a little bit different but obama was dealing with division after 2010, first in the house and then in the senate. and i think he was dealing with a republican party that was not really going to find much common ground. the kind of common ground that obama dreamt about in 2004, it to happen.t going so he was dealing with a big institutional problem. he could play golf with speaker boehner and he could schmooze but it really wasn't going to

move the congress. so a lot of the presidency from 2010 forward is taking place in the context of a very weak and intense executive congressional relations. host: we are talking with julian zelizer, and editor from a new book. we go to michigan first to hear from brian on the independent line. caller: can you hear me? host: you are on air. have been trying to find out information going back to 2009 and i'm hoping you could be helpful. mueller at the fbi, the iranian deal going down. in for the first time history, obama could not appoint an inspector general at the state department. that is alarming to me, knowing hillary in place

with all of these conflicts. and the clinton foundation. and it is really appalling when you have a state department that has over 300 under the inspector general's purview, you have mueller in charge of the a ei -- of the fbi and none of this makes sense. information so i am hoping you could help us out and find out why there was no inspector general at the state department that was confirmed? it lasted for over four years. with all of the information we can get to, the only information -- on a channels like c-span. host: we will get a response. guest: this is part of the story

frequently while president obama and hillary clinton and various scandals surrounding curb were front and center. the deal has discredited many of the accusations that have been made. i would urge you to do more reading. but this is not really a scandal that has any legs. and the original story about the ainton foundation, from political perspective, and supported by conservative outlets. so i just don't think that is central. host: let's hear from don.

caller: i have a couple of short things. if you read the book that obama wrote i-4 he ran -- wrote before he ran for president, it will tell you more than anything you could read. historian,y, the does he think that bush could have gotten the approval -- that would have forced saddam hussein to follow the weapons inspection program? i'm not quite sure on the question there. know if you think there was an alternative in the bush presidency to the use of force? in terms of getting more authorization for the inspection programs but in the bush presidency there were many people who agree that is -- that was the mature.

the sanctions were working and the evidence after the war is not one where there were huge cachet's of weapons of mass distraction. that definedissue the 2008 election. and was very much at the heart of why there was so much support for barack obama at the time. he had the greatest clarity , whereas future secretary hillary clinton, when she was senator, was one of the democrats with presidential aspirations who was to supportive of the president. weapons inspections. she did not want force as a first resort. she still became part of the political moment where that war was launched. she and obama had this very interesting political relationship that unfolds right

through the 2008 primaries. this book, it is worth reading, but it gives you a flavor of a global citizen, who, again, was part of the attraction of this presidency in 2008. host: what is your book's assessment of the president's indling of morsi inherited iraq and afghanistan, morsi initially opposed? ,y the end of his second term where was the administration? guest: it is mixed. one of the things in the book that i like is not everyone agrees on these issues. there is one chapter by jeremy surry, who while admitting mistakes the president made, overall it is a pretty positive assessment of how he was able to draw down the wars even with the surge in afghanistan, and certainly the withdrawal in iraq.

arguessame time, surry he reestablish some of the basic tenets of liberal internationalism -- the rule of international law, diplomacy, not using force as a first resort -- and says he was pretty successful both at drawing down the wars, even more importantly, re-creating support for this cold idea from the early war that had been lost. there is another historian, homestead,lston -- who looked at counterterrorism policy. where were we after eight years of the war on terrorism? more continuity than break. a lot of the programs put into place under president bush remain intact. president obama in some ways accelerates some of the wars, the drone warfare. she is more critical of what he did, despite the promises of 2008.

there are differences in the book on that issue. host: let's go to chicago and hear from john on the independent line. caller: good morning. i am sort of confused. during the obama administration, is a always told he constitution scholar, and this and that. at the same time, several instances during his administration, he violated the constitution. out, he madee came changes himself, not the legislature. he is executive branch. -- i amone things confused. is he ignorant, or just lawless? to be the two has answer. both of you have a great day. thank you. host: go ahead with your response. guest: i don't think either is the answer. challenged in court repeatedly, including on aca, and the court did not ever reach that conclusion.

both the daca program and other programs were constitutionally sound. what you see with him is what you see with many presidents in this era, that they -- that there is an aggressive use of executive power, and this is particularly important when he found trouble finding any kind of response from a republican that was against him. with aca, it is a really important story. usually after legislation passes, there is a period where it sticks. congress will often amend the program to make sure everything is working. did not havema that. congress was not going to do .nything other than challenge he does employ executive power, but not in unconstitutional ways, nor is it out of ignorance. he knows what he is doing. he is working within the constraints he faces to try to make the program work. chapter by meg

jacobs on the fight against global warming, the paris climate agreement, the keystone pipeline, one of the sections --s, sub she writes that obama was preparing to unsheathe his most powerful weapon, a dramatic use of executive action in his 2013 state of the union address. the president revealed his -- his intention to have the epa move forward on regulating climate change and carbon. efforts we are now seeing overturned by executive decision and by the trump administration. guest: that is absolutely right. for her chapter, it starts with the cap and trade legislation, where like with health care, obama tried to employ conservative ideas, which is where cap and trade started, but cannot get legislation through , and in the senate,

the bill is stifled. in his second term, he turns to executive power and executive action in his final years, as well as entering into this pattern -- this accord. one of the arguments that she some of hisis made legacy very vulnerable. executive power, as you see in the climate, is very effective. it allows the president to move forward even with this kind of congressional opposition you saw on climate change. but it is vulnerable. usingt president executive power is not succeeded and sympathetic president, if that president does not create a political coalition that will outlast him, some of those executive actions are vulnerable. they could easily be taken apart. that is exactly what she argues and what we are seeing happened under president trump. it has been one of his most

aggressive and most successful areas of policy. he has systematically dismantled much of what the president achieved on climate change. is in lynchburg, virginia -- republican line. you are on the air. go ahead. youer: i have to tell [indiscernible] administration. because they got her into office with the money and [indiscernible] i want to know if she had to do with the legislature and all. host: did you hear that, her question? guest: i heard most of it. valerie jarrett was a very important minder. on a lotresident's ear of strategy in terms of how he should position himself, taking what issues to move on first and what issues to wait on, and

simply the broader political strategy. he did not win because of her or her money. that is simply not the case. in large part because of the sheer frustration that had built with the gop and the status quo toward the end of the bush presidency, and because of the excitement he generated for many, many democrats and independents, who saw him as a new voice, a different kind of voice in american politics. he raised a lot of money, like all our presidential candidates. it did not come from her. was she responsible for obtaining it? i think that is the reason his presidency took place. she was an important advisor to him. part of a small circle all presidents bring to the white house -- people they have worked for before they became president, and people who try to guide them through the difficulties of washington. host: let's go to john next,

democrats line, inclined, new york. i am confused. i vote democrat all the time. on this confused district 18 in pennsylvania. wrong.e we have this young fellow who basically is a republican, as far as i can see, with a d next to his name. i understand that they want to fill seats in congress, but if you are against -- we have the parkland movement, where we have young children against assault weapons and bump stocks, and school shootings. one minute on your channels here -- "morning joe," they are all behind this. all of a sudden, they switch gears and are for this fellow who pulled off this upset, that

basically as far as i can see, he is -- he voted republican. you know, he is a young republican fellow. it is confusing. i am an independent, and i generally vote democrat. but i am kind of confused on the message that they are sending. about an me ask you article in "the washington post" obamat, tying in the administration. this is a piece in "the washington post." a obama history lesson that trump may be doomed to repeat. he said barack obama and donald trump have one thing in common. they both build unique coalitions that are proving difficult to replicate when they are not on the ballot. presidential campaigns by relatively comfortable margins. as he watched helplessly democrats sustained big losses in the 2010 and 2014 midterm elections, talking about the loss yesterday of the republican

seat in pennsylvania. guest: it is something that actually is quite important throughout this book. part of what the book ends up talking about -- this came through in many chapters -- is this discrepancy. on one hand, president obama was extraordinarily successful at making policy and achieving success on major policy areas that had really been pretty dormant or deadlocked for years, such as health care, financial regulation. but politically, his party really suffers. politically, during his presidency. it culminated in the 2016 election. there are a lot of moments in the presidency where he is not able to transfer his own coalition to the rest of the where and even moments that is not his primary concern.

many congressional democrats are often worried about this. they are saying he is not doing enough to help with email lists and potential contributors are campaigning while he was handing them very controversial issues. so in the end, there is one story of the obama presidency where a lot of public policy is remade, and you have a two-term president, but you also have 2016, with a republican congress, a republican president, and president trump, who for many, it is pretty extreme to have him in the white house. the you are seeing a little bit of this today. i still think president obama was more sympathetic to the idea of trying to build a stronger party than president trump is. i am not sure he is really concerned with that. on the other hand, the flip side is, there is a positive argument about conor lamb and what the

democrats are doing. one of the things republicans do and president trump is in office and they don't have the white house is, they focus on local races, state races, and they try to rebuild the party from the bottom -- from the bottom up. they are very successful, as we see with the tea party. i think that is a little bit of what democrats are doing now. really trying to find what candidates will work in different areas. i think the intention will be there, especially as you have to talk about votes on issues like gun control. host: let's go to baldwinsville, massachusetts. caller: good morning. how are you doing today? host: doing fine, thank you. good morning. caller: jimmy it sounds as if you are writing a book that is like a cnn interview. it is a softball. it does not handle any of the miscalculations and the very poor judgment that president

obama had over his eight years -- benghazi. i mean, he pulled all the troops out of iraq, and millions of people got murdered by these people in isis. he does not take any responsibility for that, none. if you had left a group of soldiers there, that group would never have been born and would not have run down the streets. i have watched it on youtube, and it is horrific had a murder babies, kids driving down the road in cars. it is incredible. everything he did was a disaster. he knocked our race relationships back 50 years. he was the divider in chief. everybody can talk about the greatest thing since coffee. i have no idea. the chinese did not even roll up the carpet for him. he had to get out the back of the airplane. he was the most disrespected president everybody has seen. donald trump is not the greatest human being on the planet, but he is better than any of the presidents we have had recently.

all of his numbers of deportation were turned around at the border. no other president counted numbers that way. host: pick up on his comments about race relationships. where were they when the president came in, first african-american president? in your book, where do you find it? guest: well, race relations do not improve during his presidency. i think we went backwards. there is a lot of excitement when he is elected. the fact the country had elected an african-american was a sign of progress. it was not a defining issue about him, which in many ways was great. that was not how we saw politics. that was not the prism. that was some hope. over the next eight years, those hopes vanished. part of what the story is about is the limits of what president obama can really do on this issue. he makes some important moves

through the department of justice, for example, with juvenile prisoners and trying to have a better policy toward them, toward incorporating x ex-offenders back into communities, and prison sentences that were punitive toward african-americans -- but his presidency ends with americans watching all these confrontations with police and african-americans, and great frustration over how race was often built into our criminal justice institutions, and there were limits of what he could do. rselher essay by gary goer talks about the ferocity of the backlash. to argue that president obama is responsible for the deterioration in race relations really does not get the story right. i do think we see a pretty

ferocious light backlash by the end of his presidency, which shapes a lot of the 2016 election. but, you know, i think this is an area to be faulted not simply from the right, but the left as well. many civil rights activists thought he should do more, thought he should use the bully pulpit even more aggressively. and the president's response was, he did what he could in the circumstances that we saw in 2016. there are many authors who are quite critical of the president, including on foreign policy. syria, hiss like response to the russian intervention in the 2016 election -- this is not a book of softball answers. they are pretty hard-hitting. and from different political perspectives. 's piecetherine olmstead is called "terror tuesdays."

what were terror tuesdays? guest: this is a very important chapter that looks at the different pillars of counterterrorism policy, and is, you have ay president who ran in 2008, trying to argue we had to either overturn or substantially reform a lot of how the counterterrorism program worked, and yet he actually does the opposite. he gives it bipartisan legitimacy by the end, by the end of his term. so she really captures that element, and are used by 2016 the war on terrorism circa george bush is officially entrenched as policy. she is one of the authors who see these continuities. host: a collection of historical essays on the presidency of barack obama. a first historical assessment, edited by our guest, a professor

from princeton university. thank you for being with us this morning. guest: thanks for having me. host: next, we continue with our 50 state capitals tour. here is peter slen. peter: we are in sacramento, california. there is the c-span bus, part in front of the state capital, which was finished in 1874. on that bus is the california senate president pro tem, kevin daly on. -- de leon. they give for being with us at this early hour. how would you describe the state of the state in california? guest: good morning. i would describe the state of the state as being very good, in spite of the incessant attacks from a federal administration that seeks to undermine our economic prosperity and progressive values, as well as our people. as you know, it has been across

the country -- california has led the resistance against this administration. with her guards to climate change, with regards to the environment, with regards to high wages and adding jobs to the economy, with regards to immigrant families, i would say the state of our state is very good, in spite of the incredible challenges we are facing today. eight largest economy in the world. peter: you use the word resistance when it comes to the federal government. guest: i do. i think that on november 8, 2016 , i could never be prouder to be a californian, because by a margin of two-to-one, californians rejected a politics fueled by resentment, misogyny, and bigotry. we took a very different position in california, because of the presidential election. understanding with the real implications would be for states as progressive as california.

we are always ready to work with a federal government, with the congress or the executive branch , but when they seek to undermine our economic prosperity and our values as a state, and our people, we simply say we won't purchase a paid. we won't lift a single finger or spend a single cent to separate mothers from their children and children from their fathers. we celebrate diversity and inclusivity in california. we believe that has helped us grow into the sixth largest economy in the world. hasr: senator de leon mentioned the california economy represents about 15% of america's gross domestic product. senator, why did you decide to run against i am feinstein for feinsteinor -- diane for u.s. senator? guest: i believe it is time for a new generation of leadership. we are long overdue, 25 years overdue, to have a debate on the

values, the issues, and the priorities that we as californians care about. i believe it is time to have a voice not on the sidelines, but on the front lines. i know politicians can be prone to hyperbole, whether on the left or the right or in between. i would say these are historic times, dangerous times in our nation. i believe we need a strong voice to move an agenda that promotes human conditions for all individuals, regardless of where you come from. peter: if you want to participate in our conversation this morning, we have one number four california residents and another for all others. on is senator kevin de le our guest for the next 20 minutes or so. senator, has dianne feinstein not represented california well in your view? let me say this. i respect senator feinstein's as ourent to service

representative in washington. this is not personal. the values of a state that has changed dramatically and a court or century. this is about the issue of health care and making sure all businesses have access to quality health care. this is an issue of making solid investments for debt-free color -- college education for students settled with debt upon graduation, or those who take six or seven years to graduate, because of high costs. this is about comprehensive immigration reform and the young dreamers whose lives are in peril today because of this administration. i was say because of these perilous times for our nation, especially for a state like california, there is no time for conciliation, no time for patients and crossing our coulds, and wishing we have a good president. it is time for a solid debate.

it is good to have choices. ultimately, the people in california will decide. you mentioned choices. california is essentially a one-party state -- governor, state senate, state assembly, all democratic. what is the danger in being a one-party state? guest: i don't think there is a danger. i think they're always have been vigorous dialogues as well as debates. have witnessed in real-time what is happening in washington, d.c., the paralysis, the gridlock, the deep dysfunction of the insular political culture that is washington. we see it when we have three branches of government, whether it is executive, legislative, bicameral, the u.s. senate, the congress, and the judicial branch, dominated by perhaps more right of center in republican thought. in california, you are right. the executive branch and bicameral legislative branch are dominated by democrats.

nonetheless, we are the most productive, progressive legislative house in america, bar none, become pushing the most far-reaching climate change policies not in the nation, but in fact the entire world. $15aise the minimum wage to an hour, investing in health care for undocumented children. at the end of the day, we all have to pay the costs. let's be smart and invest in preventative health care. making sure there is equal pay for women doing equal work. the most restrictive gun control and gun and emission laws in the country. thing,have too much of a i do not know if you can measure or quantify real accomplishments that improve the human condition for all. i think we have a compass that in the golden state, california. host: let's hear from some of the 40 million residents of california. we will begin with annie in

fairfax, california. you are on with state senator kevin de leon. i have a boyfriend who is a trump supporter, and i know that he is not bigoted, so i just wonder, what about the voices out here for the other viewpoint? support us also? also, i am very against abortion. i wonder if his comments could be on that. guest: thank you and good morning to any up in fairfax. what i would say is the following. given an opportunity to be your voice and represent you in washington, i would fight for all voices, like i do today. not just democrat voices, but those also on the right. i think that even if you are a trump supporter, your children deserve to breathe clean air. you deserve access to high wage jobs. you deserve to have access to quality health care.

to me in many ways, these are nonideological issues. nevertheless, they have been highly politicized in the environment that is washington, d.c. regardless of ideology, regardless of party, regardless of your significant other -- your boyfriend voted for trump, although he may not believe i would fight for him, i would fight for him. on the issue of abortion, it is well-known that i believe it is a woman's right to choose. i know it is a highly polarized issue, what many americans feel today. i do believe a woman should have that right. 40 5% of californians identify as democratic. 25% as republicans. independent.s jay is in san bernardino, california. caller: good morning. senator, i am from a working-class neighborhood. in recent months, governor

brown, yourself, senate the state house, has raised taxes significantly on the working class. those here in the inland empire are under the great duress of these tax increases to our fuel. can you explain what happened? why did you raise our taxes? my final comment is this. to,eed to get back certainly, the real issue with california. it sounds like you are just taking off this checklist of progressive ideology, and you are forgetting the working-class . sustainable -- these $15 wages the average, businessman cannot afford that salary for his employees. host: thank you, jay.

let's hear from senator daily on. -- de leon. guest: i appreciate your perspective. i can say that the wealthiest state in the wealthiest nation in the world, no one who works full time deserves to live in property. i think raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour -- i do believe it is the right thing to do. theing back to , over 25cture tax years, the legislature as well as past governors have kicked that can down the pothole-ridden road. in the meantime, our infrastructure, bridges, and roads deteriorated greatly. we have not raise the gas tax in more than a quarter-century, because we had politicians from both sides of the isle, as well as governors from both parties, fearful of doing it. the fact is, we need to invest in revenue. we need to capture revenue to invest in our infrastructure, to grow this economy, to put people to work. san bernardino -- i know san

bernardino is a working-class county, whether you are in rialto, whether you live in fontana, the city of san bernardino -- hard-working people who get up every day, and who work hard to make and's meet , and have respect for working people such as you, j, and others in san bernardino. we had a real opportunity to have billions of dollars in perpetuity to invest in our infrastructure, and at the same time grow this economy and put people who live in san bernardino who are unemployed or underemployed back to work. ironically speaking, president trump is talking about infrastructure, talking about raising the debt ceiling. i do not think it is physically the right thing to do. he is paying interest like on a credit card to fill potholes. it does not make sense. i think we should pay as we go. controversial. nonetheless, i believe it takes leadership from democrats and republicans to move this forward.

the past two and a half decades, politicians did not want to do the right thing. rate ine unemployment california, 4.3%. colin is in santa monica. comment tot a quick the senator. there is no that danger or consequence in having the state be ruled by only one , iny, in fact, you know santa monica, i watched a supposedly liberal government run the homeless out, bring in so much wealth, make exceptions -- environmental exceptions for the big hotels. so in fact, if you don't have any opposition -- and this goes culturally as well, and certainly in los angeles. you get the democrats, the left, do not even need

to really aspire to their own ideals. basically, power corrupts absolutely. i experienced it. a lot of people have in various ways. it is really hard-core capitalism, and the poor be , certainly in santa monica. the supreme court ruled it was unconstitutional to throw the homeless out that way, but the cities in california, at least los angeles, seems to disregard that. that is all. host: senator? guest: i will say this -- homelessness is a real issue. to the pointasized where it is a huge crisis, not just in santa monica and the city of los angeles, but throughout california and throughout the nation. say that myo hometown of los angeles is the homeless capital of not california, but the entire world. there has been a lack of leadership. but we have great city council members in l.a. that are moving

the ball. we need to tackle this issue of homelessness when it comes to building supportive housing as well as wraparound services for mental health issues, addiction issues. with regards to -- going back to democrats controlling the executive branch as well as the branch --legislative it is a reflection of the values of the people of the state of california. as you mentioned, peter, the , or the of californians plurality, are democrats. there are a large number of independents who lean left on the political spectrum. that is a reflection of the votes and the values of the people of california. you cannot force them to become republicans, to become more right of center or the extreme right. that is who they are, and that is who they elected democratically to the positions that occupy the state senate, as well as the assembly, to reflect their values and priorities. that is who we are.

be a californian and a democrat. from hiswe extrapolate comments, there is a sense that there is a very high cost of living in california. is that something that can be fixed, changed, etc.? although we are the sixth largest economy in the world, we do have challenges in california. there is no doubt about it. the issue of housing and the lack of supply and demand, which is enormous -- we have to make our permitting process more efficient and streamlined, so we can continue to build intelligently and smartly by respecting the environment, the air that we breathe, the water that we drink. we have to provide affordable housing. i agree with our friend from santa monica, colin. santa monica is one of the most wealthy enclaves in america.

it is a very well-run city. no question about it. its credit rating is extremely high. it is a beautiful city, a diversity. but like every other municipality, in california and the nation, we have challenges. homelessness is a challenge. we in the legislature have to do more to deal with affordability and housing. we moved a package last year which is a huge step forward. not the panacea. it will not resolve all the woes and ills of housing, but we have to do much more. we are beginning to tackle this issue seriously. host: jana, santa barbara. caller: how you doing? host: please go ahead. the state ofe -- this state -- i have been here 60 years, and it is terrible. we have all three taxes at the property, and, income, surrounded by states

like arizona that only have two. on the other hand, our schools are the worst. he mentioned our roads are going down. they take the money and spend it on specific interest groups, like the public employees unions , that managed to get benefits past, and wages past, that are now higher than even the private sector. a janitor that works for the city of los angeles makes $80,000 a year. 90% of retires, he gets his last year's salary. we are running out of money to replace teachers that retire, to replace correctional institute guards that retire, because when they doired, as i said, not have any money to replace it. meanwhile, they are coming back for bonds every year on us, for more and more taxes. they spend their time putting through costly environmental things that have hurt our

economy. people are leaving. there are people coming. our of them apparently welfare people, because it is such a wonderful subsidized state. he just said he wants to give free medical care to illegal aliens. they will want to bring in some more. host: a lot on the table. let's hear from senator sw -- de leon. is a: santa barbara beautiful city and county. i was there last saturday. i would say the following. we are tackling some very serious issues here when it comes to housing, when it comes to employability issues, when it comes to education. last year in 2017, we made the largest investment in our history of the state of california, coming off the worst recession. there were enormous cuts that

were unfortunate, that worker connie and in nature. we are trying to make the right investments for public schools. and we get to the level we are at before the recession -- with regards to the collective bargaining unit agreements, whether they are health benefits, pensions, salaries -- these are negotiated at the local level. whether it is the city of santa barbara, the city of santa barbara, santa barbara school district, los angeles -- this is a collective process done democratically. there are local officials through the state of california. i would never take away the opportunity they have to bargain collectively. i do believe everyone should have a right to access quality health care. i don't believe that your financial income levels should dictate if you have access, again, to medicare, medical care. these are tough choices that we again, make, what, california, by all objective measures, is really humming right now. we still have work to do.

no doubt about it. we have air quality issues. we have issues to deal with education and higher education. these are the challenges we have taken on collectively, both democrats and republicans. these are very exciting times, and i appreciate your comments. host: senator, you have a background in education. six under 30,000 california schoolchildren attend charter schools. are you a supporter of charter schools? supporterm a strong of our public school system. i realize charter schools are here to stay, whether people agree with charter schools or do not. we have very good charter schools in california, and charter schools that are not so good. i do believe that physical accountability as well as academic outcomes should be universal across the board, for both traditional public schools as well as charter schools. one thing i don't agree with wholeheartedly is, i don't believe in taxpayer-funded

vouchers, taking money away from for sectarian or secular schools. i don't believe we should be stealing money from public schools and giving them to private schools. if someone has the financial wherewithal to send some into a private school, i respect that choice without a doubt. schools are huge in the largestand charter schools in the nation are located in the city of los angeles. i believe that come ability across the board should be applied to any school that receives public tax dollars. host: finally, the california statehouse has not been immune to the sexual harassment conversation we're having in the country right now. there has been a resignation. some other accusations. what is the status in sacramento? me take this issue. i believe the issue of sexual misconduct is a societal issue.

it has impacted newsrooms as well as washington dc -- washington, d.c., silicon valley, hollywood -- virtually every sphere imaginable. i think that when the dust settles here in the state capital that we are going to be usedodel that could through the country, of where we have actually taken an independent investigator and have given all potential claims to that independent investigator , for out of the reach of any influence. we have established a 1-800 hotline and have contracts for two nonprofit agencies. this is about changing the culture, changing processes, to create an environment that hopefully is free of any type of sexual misconduct. you can factor section misconduct in the future and create an environment where someone, a young woman, feels free to make a complaint without

fear of retribution. i think that when the dust settles, california could be used as a model for many other state capitals, but especially a place like washington, d.c., instituted mandatory sexual harassment training just last year, in the fall of 2017. this is a societal issue we have to tackle together, but men in particular should play a leading majorityause the vast of those who are perpetrators across the spectrum are men. leon is the state senate president pro tem, and is a candidate for the u.s. senate. our bus is on a tour of state capitals and is parked in front it -- state capito; state capitol in sacramento. is going to join

us. we want to from tom in lancaster, california. what did you think of our conversation? caller: i would like to ask mr. some questions, but i guess he could not answer me because c-span would not let me asking the question, because i have been waiting for 20 minutes. host: what did you want to ask him? caller: it is about sanctuary cities. he talks about -- she says immigrants in one phrase and aliens.says illegal you know, it is a con. it is a con on the american people. immigrants come here. they wait in line and they become citizens in the united states of america. fictitious illegal alien thing -- they are foreign-born invaders, and he wants to give them everything an

american citizen has. how long have you lived in california? tell us about yourself. caller: all my life, 82 years. i was a marine. i was a sheriff. i worked in the sheriff's department. and also, i was a union representative for 40-plus years. i have protected people all my life. and we had a great america. , which as an independent, i voted for him -- god bless him for helping the american citizens. and life will get good again if -- look at california under democratic control. it has fallen apart. our water is polluted, as people live on the rivers. the homeless are everywhere. and the jobs are not here. , what-- it is a disgrace

the democrat party has done to america. thank you. tom in lancaster, california. lynn in bishops california. where is that? caller: it is the valley where los angeles gets its water. host: nearly tahoe? from the am 40 minutes mammoth mountain ski resort, straight up highway 395. it is incredibly beautiful. and like i said, that is where l.a. gets the water. i am really disappointed that i did not get to talk to mr. what's his name -- host: senator de leon. caller: yes, i mean, he had the nerve to say that people that send their children to charter schools are stealing tax dollars and money from public schools,

when they still steal and rob the residents of california tax dollars all the time, and give it to other people. and he wants to talk about affordable health care. i paid $1800 a month for my husband and i, and we have a $7,000 deductible apiece. i can go on for hours. but what i would really like him to know is how people like us, who have worked all of our lives, started out with nothing, have built a good retirement -- we are leaving. and people like myself are leaving in droves. and they don't get it. and for him to just sit there and say that he is fiscally conservative, but wants to give hour, as a15 an business owner, he is clueless of what that does to a business.

now i pay $15 an hour if my people are worth it. but then you match medicare. you match social security. -- bay area is workmen's comp. is based on payroll. so what world is he coming from? for me to have to pay for people that are undocumented because the people of california who are supposed to be the lawmakers are choosing the laws that they wish to follow, like allowing undocumented people to get taxpayer dollars, but then you boast about the most tightest gun control laws in the nation -- it is like he is talking out of both sides of his mouth. host: we are going to have to leave it there and want to introduce you to the chair of the california democratic party. mr. bauman, i am sure you heard

that call. i do not think lynn is one of your constituents. but how would you respond to her? guest: i would start off by saying of course she is one of my constituents. the california democratic party cares for every californian, not just in the credits. we believe california is the most welcoming place in america. we believe this is a place where people have the opportunity to have success, to have a good life, and to survive, thrive, and do well. individually, i understand people's complaints. but i will tell you that right now we have the lowest rate of uninsured californians ever in the history of this state, 4.4%. thriving.y is we are the sixth largest economy in the world. our on implement rate keeps going down. while it is by no means a perfect situation, working people in the lower ends of the middle class and upper ends of the onesng class are

who have felt the least of our recovery, and that is where we are trying to aim our policies as a party, to help those people have a better life, have a stable life. honestly, as democrats, we do not think anybody should go to work every day and not be able to pay to have a roof over their head and food on their table for the kids. that is what we aim our policies toward doing, to ensure everyone has that chance. host: california has 12% of the u.s. population, 15% of the gross domestic product in the united states. gary bowman, who are you -- eric bauman, who are you supporting for u.s. senate? the california democratic party did not take a position in the race for the united states senate. we have an excellent senator in senator dianne feinstein. we have an excellent up and comer in state senator kevin de leon. it is a gift and a luxury for us to have two find people like that, offering tremendous things to the table, since our party

has not taken a position, i do not take it personal position, but i will work to make sure california continues to be represented by a strong democrat in the united states senate. host: is there discord in the state party from the progressive or moderate wing? the media'sems favorite topic is to talk about the discord in the california democratic party. in our convention, nearly 5000 people were there, and it was an incredible place to be. the amount of energy, the amount of positivity that was there -- all the lead in stories about how much discord there was going to be -- and there was not any discord. people battled over which candidate they supported, that we were in tents in engaging and getting ready for this election season. we believe california is a blue beacon of hope. we can elect democrats from one end to the other. we have figured out how to make it work here in california, and we are going to help our brothers and sisters in neighboring states to help them

have those same successes, because we have the luxury of doing that. host: eric bauman is a registered nurse and he spent -- guest: let me back up one second. that is not to dismiss the fact that we definitely have a more traditional wing and our party. we have a more progressive wing in our party. that for sure exists. but the democratic party is this huge tent party. people always talk about it. our party runs from folks far on the left to people right of center, and people in between. the amazing thing is, we managed to make it work, all of us together. host: eric bauman is a registered nurse, spent 17 years as chair of the l.a. county democratic party. but,s calling in from now california, in the operational lines of california. napa, california. caller: the last colors do not

represent the majority of california. we are happy out here. the state is booming. infrastructure, 16 years back-to-back -- the cut and did nothing to repair it. the real question is, where are we right now on sb 562? the democrats shelved that bill. we need to get that ready. we want health care for all. we want the state to stay number one and show the rest of the country how that could work. host: is that a universal health care bill? caller: right, sb 562. the democrats can temporarily change the rules in the house to vote this through with their majority that they hold. they may not hold it long if they don't do this. we could have helped care for all and be the first state to lead the way, just like in canada. that is how it started in canada. host: that is great. eric? guest: i hope you worked in the you were in the area with the fires, and i hope

all is well for you as we recover from damage in that area. universal health care is a primary tenet of what californians believe. it is part of a reason this was the state that was able to make the affordable care act worked so well, and enroll nearly 4.7 million people in the various programs. that said, sb 562 is the dream of most immigrants, inc. able to have a single-payer system for health care. you still get pick our own provider, our own hospital, but theave a single locus in middle of it. the assembly health community is working on more than 20 bills to try to implement various aspects of health care reform. i know that in the assembly side, many of the leaders are concerned the funding mechanisms are not in place at this time to make sb 562 in its current form work. i have worked very closely with senator laura and senator atkins , the authors of sb 562.

this is an important piece of legislation for us to keep moving toward. if there is any place in america that can show how it can be done, it is right here. host: this is harold in palmdale, california. caller: on minimum wage, i every time minimum wage goes up, the cost of a hamburger goes up. the public sector has to learn to live within its means, because they have to have a cost of living wage every time the minimum wage goes up, and there is no balance. there needs to be a freeze somewhere, so things come to a balance. this seems to be a problem, the way i look at it. host: thank you, harold. eric bauman? california, we adopted a $15 an hour minimum wage program, but let's be clear -- we did not go from $10 an hour to $15 an hour.

in increments of $.25 a year over the next five years or so, it will get us there. the reality is, one cannot live in los angeles or san francisco, or even fresno, on eight dollars an hour. one cannot raise a family. one cannot pay for a car, pay for housing -- the housing market being the most expensive in the country. the affordable living wage for californians is an important goal. ensureg out how we retirement stability for californians is key, because social security is not enough to live on for anybody here. just in housing costs alone, it is too costly. we continue to work on raising the minimum wage to bolster small businesses, to create tax incentives for business owners, and to -- to help ensure that people can have a future, and

can live a good life and have the golden state once again lead to a golden life. in closing on this piece, i want to say california is one of the most beautiful places in the world to live in. ofare a nationstate made up people from hundreds of countries that speak hundreds of languages. and we are the experiment that proves the diversity of our state is the beauty and strength of our state. the economy continues to boom in the information technology and biotechnology sectors, in the arts and entertainment, in so many fields of innovation. that is how we keep going forward, and we cannot forget agriculture. 's agriculture economy is critical to feeding the world. we continue to make sure our agriculture -- our agricultural community flies -- thrives. the: hillary clinton won

popular vote in 2016 by 3 million nationwide. 4 million more californians voted for hillary clinton then donald trump. melody is in press line, california. caller: hello. i felt compelled to call. the reason is -- it is about the vote. the voting system is admittedly different in california than in the rest of the u.s. wondering about the daca kids. i believe that when you get your drivers license, the daca kids and all of the illegal immigrants have the option of box that says they are u.s. citizens. the daca kids come in. they are innocent.

that boxthey click that says i am a u.s. citizen, they are committing perjury. your point.k we got let's hear what eric bauman has to say about that. guest: well, i am no expert in the procedures of the department of motor vehicles, but that is patently false. in order to receive a drivers license, before you will be issued a driver's license, you must have a certified copy of both your birth certificate and your social security card. i the way, that is not just california law. that is u.s. federal law. it is not possible for somebody who is undocumented to go in, click the box that says i am a u.s. citizen, and get a drivers license. it does not work that way. host: robert in marina del rey -- go ahead. he is being disingenuous and terms of his position on the u.s. senate race. he is a voter. he is going to be voting in that

primary. i am sure he is going to vote for someone. he is going to vote for de leon or feinstein. it would be nice who he -- if he would tell us who he is voting for. finally, i would like the definition of citizenship. does he support voting rights for noncitizens? host: who are you going to vote for in the senate race? caller: de leon. host: eric bauman? guest: i certainly have an opinion about who i am going to vote for personally, but as chair of the party, i have a different responsibility, and that is to not give my personal opinion and have anybody mistake that it is a position of the california democratic party. in answer to your last part of not -- ition, i do believe that citizens should have the right to vote. that is what our voting system is about. i know there are one or two restrictions in the state of california who have permitted

noncitizens to have limited voting rights in local elections . me personally, i believe that one of the rights and benefits of citizenship is the right to vote, and i think it remains that way. host: eric bauman is chair of the democratic party in california and has been our guest. thank you for your time. the house of representatives is coming into session. r: the house will be in order. pursuant to the order of the house on january , 2018, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties. all time shall be equally allocated between the parties and in in event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. each member other than the majority and minority leaders and minority whip shall be limited to five minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. gutierrez, for five minutes.