structural long-term problems the global company -- economy has to contend with. things like demographic shifts, what the impact of technology will be for job to jobless, underclass, concerns about productivity and debt that overhang. income inequality, something that was never discussed in my phd. it's now one of the biggest three issues on the agenda. it is long-term structural problems. the people were charged with overseeing the regulatory and policy environment are very short-term and michael sick in their frame. >> watch "afterwards" sunday night on c-span2 book tv. welcomes neera tanden, the president and ceo of the center for american progress. in that position since 2011. c-span viewers are familiar with center of american progress, a progressive think tank.

let me introduce the reporters asking questions. darlene making her first visit, covers the white house for the associated press. jerry returns,, executive washington editor for the wall street journal. we will jump right in. darling, you are up. >> i wanted to get started with the big news of the week. democrats respond to paul manafort, his convictions on crimes? also, the guilty pleas by michael:, the president -- michael:, the president's longtime attorney? neera: there are two issues at play. both of these cases feed the idea of a culture of corruption in washington. democrats have been talking about that culture and the challenge. we have these instances, the

news around duncan hunter and chris collins, members of the house of representatives who are indicted for basically self dealing with being members of congress. swampll picture of the invading washington, i think the public feels like people are helping themselves and not serving the public. connectede office is to the investigation at large. that is a situation in which news seems to be accelerating and getting closer to the president. that issue, candidates, people to really talk about in washington. i think the russia investigation is important. it is about what has happened with our democracy. it is vital, and the robert mueller investigation seems to be picking up speed. >> in the broader public conversation, the developments,

the manafort and gates coh -- cohen development, will there be an impeachment of president trump? is it useful for democrats to talk about impeachment? approachd democrats the impeachment question? neera: the issue is really what are the facts? it is passable. donald trump himself is talking about impeachment as impact on the markets. is the impeachment process starts with an investigation. what we have learned is the house and senate are incapable of holding the president accountable in republican hands. if theyly, democrats take the house back, the senate, they should start an investigation. the impeachment process is the end of that investigation.

absolutely, i think the american people are wondering why no one in washington, neither house, is willing to look at these facts that we have in front of us. --is it a political matter as a political matter, impeachment seems like a topic that would get more enthusiasm on base republican voters who would want to stop it, as opposed to those who say why republicans may want to talk about it. neera: it seems like republicans are talking about it more. steve bannon has a strategy of making it around impeachment. what is at the heart of this issue is accountability. our founders assumed congress would hold the president accountable. one republicans have those houses, that has not happened. withhole process starts accountability.

>> what do you think democrats should be running on closer to the midterm elections? you mentioned corruption, there is impeachment swirling around, what should they be talking about, if not impeachment? neera: the republicans in the house and senate have taken a number of votes. been issues that have taken, particularly health care and taxes, are critical in places all around this country. from the red states to the blue states. my view is the fact that the republican passed a bill for tax that has weakened the individual mandate, it -- ways in which washington has worked to hurt and not help people really should be front and center in the congressional debates. that means talking about repealing the aca. that's also the tax plan, which is not for decent wage gains for people struggling in this

country. the culture of corruption is critical. all three of those issues are ones that candidates are campaigning on in swing districts and base democratic districts, as well as red states. >> let's go deeper on health care. it is actually the number one issue for democratic voters. it raises the question of what democrats stand for, or should stand for, on health in 2018. should there be a consensus democratic position behind a medicare for all single-payer plan as the ultimate solution? should democrats just be talking about fixing and restoring obamacare? neera: in 2018 and 2020, i think most candidates believe health care should be a right. it is high you get there, there is a wide variety of views. conor lamb and danny o'connor

campaigned in special elections, talking about expanding the aca and building on it. a lot of candidates have supported a version of medicare for all, medicare extra, the center for american progress put forward a plan. ofensures everyone outside the care of a system can get medicare and have that as an absolute right. support democrats medicare for all. i think in 2020 we will have a robust debate, the democratic candidate for president will have a robust debate about which version of universal health care, or which plan to get to universal health care as the right step. i think that will be a healthy debate. i don't think one side will win over the other immediately. in 2018, it's really in the house. of challengers running against republican

incumbents who voted to strip health care from 23 million people. that should be a front and center issue. also the tax plan which worked out the agreements. those are health care issues candidate should campaign on. do you thinkeats democrats will win in the house and senate in november? >> i ams never one to be to at -- i'm never one to be too optimistic about a campaign again. [laughter] i definitely learned that lesson. what's interesting about the special elections so far is that democratic enthusiasm has been very high. unusually, in midterms, democrats are voting at higher levels than republicans. anywhere between eight and 15 points. if that carries through, democrats could win 30-40 seats. it is a very gerrymandered system. in 2010, republicans won 60

seats. i don't think democrats could win that many. andink the energy enthusiasm is pretty impressive. over the last 1.5 years of the trump presidency, i have never in my career seen this much political engagement and enthusiasm. the marches, the energy, now that is translating into voting. people are voting at higher levels. are ones inistricts which you have democrats voting in parity, even at higher rates. >> you have a strange situation, in the sense that on one hand the president's job approval is low, but that economy is performing well, which should be good news or republicans. unemployment is down, the stock market is up, you have workforce , that is a good

economic message for republicans. what is the democratic counter on checkbook issued, which, when you get to november rise to the top of the agenda. neera: it is striking how low donald trump's approval record is right now, given the economy. i think it says a lot about him. i worked for bill clinton during the impeachment process and his approval was much higher at that point. ironic about the situation we are in is that a lot of these actors were pretty good 1.5 years ago, two years ago when he was campaigning. he made an argument that wages and income were struggling, and had been struggling. i think he had a pretty good point, which was that broad economic numbers that have been

mask ae for a long time particular situation, which is that wages, particularly for people who haven't gone to college, have been struggling for a long time. we have a very unusual situation in which the wages remain stuck. maybe they have fallen behind, even in the last 1.5 years as we -three .9%ching 3.8% unemployment, there is something different and new. productivity is rising, and we still see stagnant wages. i think this will be the central don't think20, i this is just an issue in the u.s. i think this is roiling politics in europe, as well. it is how you get wages rising, particularly for people who degree,ve a college which still remains about 63% of americans in an economy which is

being led by technology. this is not going to be as much of an issue for 2018. think the next democratic nominee has to have an answer on this question. >> i want to go back to the house for a minute. there has been a lot of talk about nancy pelosi and the leadership structure on the house democratic side. retake thes were to house in november, do you think it is time for nancy pelosi, steny hoyer, and jim clyburn, for those leaders to step aside and allow for some new leadership to rise up in the ranks? been a strategy around nancy pelosi. asonizing her and using her a campaign wedge, trying to tribalismreinvigorate

amongst republicans by attacking her in the midterms. one of the reasons why people go after her is she has been an effective leader for democrats, she was an incredibly effective speaker. it is important for us to have new avenues and new pathways for a new generation of leaders in the house and senate. push -- iat means don't think that means pushing aside particular leaders, but in these elections, what i think is incredible is how many fantastic candidates are really running. former prosecutors, war veterans, people outside the political process. more women running than ever before. this 1970 four change, where a new generation of leaders came in. there should be a path for them. i don't think we should

basically fall for republican strategy, demonizing nancy pelosi. works forperson who hillary clinton, republicans are pretty good and -- at going after strong women. that has been a strategy. i don't think democrats should fall for that strategy. they should allow some pathways for this new generation of leaders. >> i want to take you back to a subset of the conversation we were having a minute ago, trade. skepticism about free trade was prevalent in the democratic party before donald trump arrived. he took skepticism about free trade to another level. you can argue stalled some democratic voters in the process. where should democrats be on free trade as we stand here now in 20 thing -- 2018? there is a moderate element of the democratic party that has been in favor of free trade agreements. there has been skepticism's. in your party, as well.

neera: it is the democratic party. -- [nofor consensus audio]

>> makes a lot of sense, or having a trade war makes a lot of sense. there is a middle path. i think there will be a rich debate about this in 2020. a lot of people look at what trump is doing, and saying that doesn't make a lot of sense. in the end, he is going to punish a lot of american workers he isnsumers in the way going about this. there has to be a smarter way to take down the issue, china doesn't work fairly. i do think we have up with that

for a long time. >> brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court, is that a done deal? >> i don't think so. . worked on health care right after trumps election, as part of a lot of meetings, people just assumed the aca was doomed. this was a major promise for them. i think people engaged in their process. he will have platitudes about restricting -- respecting presidents, the same that judge roberts did announce in his confirmation hearing. as a supreme court justice, ignored it. democrats in the

process have to try to ensure that judge kavanaugh doesn't get away with that kind of behavior. i would say just returned to the first question. moment an extraordinary for the country, in which the ,resident of the united states to say he is an sensibly named an uninvited: spirit or -- co-conspirator in michael cohen's. illegal actions or illegal activities, he has nominated a supreme court justice -- a potential supreme court justice who is out of the mainstream, particularly in his views on presidential authority. and whether a president could be subpoenaed. this is an extraordinary moment. rises that the country

up, particularly in the hearings, there has been a lot more activity around this. you have seen a number of democratic senators say this is ,utrageous and out of the norm and in some ways, anti-democratic. we will take the extraordinary step of canceling our meetings with judge kavanaugh. there are not many wolves on their sides, but there are not many procedures they can use. i do think judge kavanaugh is a extraordinarily unpopular nominee. i think democrats -- this is a moment where people are going to remember where they stood in these kinds of constitutional questions. >> you don't have to be too old to remember the days when supreme court nominees were confirmed with 90 plus votes in the senate. that? beyond is that never going to happen again? it seems the ultimate polarizing

topic on supreme court nomination. neera: this is a great issue, and we should get to 90 votes. it -- what is not about where we are is judge kavanaugh is not a moderate nominee. if he had been a moderate nominee. , it would have been important for democrats to support them. who is not only supported by federals, but on case after case has taken almost the farthest right position. polarizinging a debate, not because of the partisans on each side, but because of a nominee who has helped the president of the united states, did not have a big elector mandate, and he has several people to choose from. he chose someone who is pretty extreme in his views, or at

least to the far right. in the last year of his term, barack obama named mayor garland , he was the person who had ruled in ways that were unpredictable in cases. in a different situation and had a moderate nominee, you wouldn't see the intensity of opposition to judge kavanaugh. >> i wanted to ask you about news. there is news that senator mccain and his family decided to discontinue treatment for his cancer, is there anything you would like to say to his family or senator mccain? neera: senator mccain is an extraordinary american and is really a role model. i always agree with him on every issue. politicse can have with people and disagree with them and he is an example of

that. inish his family very well this situation. i think the whole country should, and most of the country the possibility of losing such a great american. >> we have about 1.5 minutes left. >> your list of issues for the campaign, you didn't mention immigration. it wasn't many weeks ago that that was all we talked about in the country, and the separation policy. how important will immigration be to voters going to both this fall? and ice, an effective campaign for democratic candidates. neera: i think we should reform ice. we have had a mechanism for enforcing immigration laws for decades. an important function of

government. i do think ice is out of control itself, and should be reformed. on terms of immigration, let's be blunt. conservatives in campaign after ads,ign are running racist attacking latinos and gang gangrs, you have seen no activity at all. i think republicans will use immigration as an attack line against democrats. i think in their ways to state the democratic position, which means strong borders and a shift. that is very popular with the american people. it is important to fix this going forward, and the family separation policy is vital. personally think what we will see in immigration in the fall is a further effort to divide more americans. >> one minute left, question from either of you?

>> i will circle back to the midterm elections. what is the key voting block this fall? who matters the most, in your opinion? neera: what is fascinating is how white noncollege women go back and forth. the resistance itself is really led by white college women -- or i should say, college-educated women, white, black, latino. the doug jones race, african wall.an women were the whiteor lamb's race, college educated women are shifting dramatically to the democratic party, and they are activists. they are knocking door-to-door. they battled the essential question. i think where white college election -- college women will go will be a deciding factor.

it happens once every two or three decades. much for being our best on newsmakers. neera: thank you for having me. back after ours conversation with neera tanden, head of center for american progress. reporters, darling, before we get to the elections, you spent time in the white house. what is the mood after the week we have gone through? >> the mood is a little bit subdued. although it was an extraordinary week, there have in a lot of weeks like this at the white house. frustrated, and has a feeling the walls are closing in with associates left and right seemingly turning on him and being willing to talk to the feds about what they know. had one meeting with sarah

sanders this week that was contentious, but that was it. >> the president is heading to ohio to get involved with the elections. the optimism level among democrats at this point, how would you gauge it? it was an interesting conversation, they are trying to contain their optimism. they have been there before with hillary clinton, and our school. on the other hand, it is a weird climate. the president's job approval is down, democratic enthusiasm is way up, it is the first midterm after a general, that's bad for the president's party. those indicators should tell you it is a good year for democrats. they should take control of the house. the senate is harder to call. it is a weird time. look at thisrats and say this is our time, we should not mess it up. they are worried that they are

extracted. republican enthusiasm rises as you get closer to november? what if it falls? unknowns.so many i think democrats are optimistic, but also trying to contain optimism. >> >> we heard neera tanden use the culture of corruption phrase. but these races for the house, ae they going to be run as national campaign, or are they saying to the candidates, address the issues in your own district? a little bit of both, right? in the particular districts, for where duncan hunter is, you can make it specific to that district and that member of challengerd the there. but then on the broader level, you can make it sort of a national issue, because of all the things that are going on with the white house and the and his former lawyer, his former campaign chairman. the charges that they pled to or were convicted of this last

week. so it can be localized, but it can also be nationalized. leadership is from the top down. so there can be sort of a down culture of corruption argument, if you will. nancy pelosi about and the attacks against her politically by the republicans. normally, that makes someone's star rise among partisans. but at the same time, we're restiveness among house democrats. what are her chances of retaining leadership? all, theof demonization of nancy pelosi that we're going to see in 2018 only just begun. we're just heading into the general election season. thatlicans clearly think putting nancy pelosi alongside every democrat candidate is a winning strategy for them. they think it's worked to help them in special elections and already.aries even you're gonna see more of it. i do think there are democrats just witheasy, not

nancy pelosi alone but kind of the cast, the generational cast atop the house democratic caucus that perhaps long, in there for too the eyes of some democracy. you heard neera tanden talk create a path to for younger leaders to emerge in the democratic party. as they discuss this internally, i think they're also concerned about the way the pelosi-led leadership projects to the general electorate. having said all that, nothing is gonna change. the fact that nancy pelosi is the -- is likely to be the speaker of the house if democrats win is not gonna change between now and november. i see no scenario in which that happens. >> the last week of august, in past years has generally been a pretty quiet week. are you looking at as the day?progresses until labor >> well, the president has another rally next week. kenya is coming to the white house on monday. and, of course, we just have to from themore fallout

russian investigation that's robert mueller, the special counsel. also, more developments in terms of associates of the president deciding to flip and tell what they know about what went on during the campaign or even before the campaign. >> i would just add one thing a little below the radar screen, amidst all this scandal talk. north korea diplomacy is about go back up. you have mike pompeo, the picked a of state, has special envoy in north korea. they're going to travel to north korea together and also visit korea. there's going to be a meeting in september between the north korean and south korean leaders in korea itself. after this period in which nothing seemed to be happening after the trump and kim jong-un summit, you're about to have a new burst of diplomacy on north korea. >> also, there is some news this that mexico might be nearing some agreements, reforming nafta. this close to your column which is that the administration steps its own good news.

[laughter] >> thanks to both of you. please come back. >> thank you. thanks for having me. ♪[music] >> c-span's washington journal, with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up saturday morning, the journal's josh mitchell looks at the impact of the education department's plan on for-profitules colleges and universities. university's nadia brown on the uptick on women 2018 midterme elections. and in our spotlight on commentaryegment, magazine's contributor discusses his piece about the failure of isgress and what he argues causing their weakness. c-span's washington journal. at 7:00 a.m.ng eastern saturday morning. join the discussion.

where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. to bring, we continue you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. you doark mills, what do for a living? >> i'm a senior fellow at the manhattan institute, where i write aboutand policy and energy policy. tech'm also a partner in a venture fund where we invest in software companies for the oil business. >> how did you get there? >> how did i get which? >> ha ha! are right now. >> on the faculty, as a fellow, at northwestern university engineering