democratic consultants. then we're going to talk about the cost of -- a new report about the cost of incarcerating consultants. then we're going to talk about the cost of -- a new report about the cost of incarcerating immigrants. so make sure you join us tomorrow morning for another "washington journal." have a democratic consultants. then we're going to talk about thanks for joining us. >> here on c-span this morning, "newsmakers" is next with neera followed by vice president pence talking about the nomination of brett kavanaugh to republican lawyers in washington, d.c. after that susan collins and dick durbin discuss their

one-on-one meetings with judge kavanaugh on capitol hill. r, opponents of the nomination hold a rally outside the supreme court. "newsmakers" welcomes neera tanden president and ceo of the center for american progress. c-span viewers are familiar with the progressive think tank based n washington, d.c. let me introduce you to our reporters. darlene superville covers the white house for the associated press. jerry seib, executive editor for the washington post. darlene: i wanted to start with the big news of the week. how should democrats respond to paul manafort, his conviction on financial crimes. also, the guilty pleas by michael cohen, president trump's

longtime personal attorney. how should democrats respond to those developments? neera: there are two issues at play. those cases see the idea of a culture of corruption in washington. democrats have been talking about the challenge of corruption. we have these 2 incidents with the news around duncan hunter and chris collins, members of the house of representatives, and died of for self-stealing as part of being members of congress. that paints a picture of the swamp invading washington. the public rightly feels that people are helping themselves, public.ing the i also think this is connected strongly to the russia investigation at large. a situation in which

news seems to be getting closer to the president. candidates i think, should talk about what is happening in washington. the russia investigation is about what happened with our democracy. it is vital. the mueller investigation seems to be picking up speed. jerry: in the broader public conversation, the manafort and have broughtments forth talks of impeachment. could there be one at the end of this investigative road? is it useful for democrats to talk about impeachment? how should democrats approach the impeachment question? neera: i think the issue is what are the facts? it is possible the president is talking about impeachment and the impact on the markets.

is oneeachment process that starts with an investigation. we learned the house and senate are incapable of holding the president accountable in republican hands. absolutely, democrats if they take the house back, the senate back, they should start an investigation. the impeachment process is the end of that. the investigation starts that. the american people are wondering why no one in washington neither house of congress is willing to look at the facts we have in front of us. jerry: it seems that impeachment is a topic that would generate more enthusiasm among base republican voters that want to stop it then-based democrat voters. than base democrat voters. neera: the strategy making this

around impeachment, my view is the heart of this issue is accountability. assume thatounders congress would hold the president accountable. when the republicans have both houses, that has not happened. the process starts with accountability. darlene: what issues do you think democrats should be running on closer to the midterm election? you mentioned the culture of corruption, impeachment swirling in the air, what should they be talking about if not impeachment? neera: republicans in the house and senate have taken a number of votes. those taken, especially health care and taxes, are critical in places all around the country, from red states to blue states.

my view is the republicans passed a tax bill that raise premiums by weakening the individual mandate. the ways in which washington has worked to hurt people should be front and center in the congressional debate. that means talking about repeal daca. that -- repeal the avca. also talking about the tax plan which is not increasing wages. the culture of corruption is a critical issue. all three issues are once the candidates are campaigning on. jerry: let me take you deeper on the health care issue. our polling shows it is the number one issue for democratic voters. in raises the question on what democrats should stand for on health and 2018. is there a consensus democratic

position the hind a medicare for all single-payer plan as an ultimate solution, or should they be talking about restoring obamacare? most: 2018 and 2020, candidates believe health care should be a right. how you get there, there is a wide variety. who campaigned in special elections, talking about expanding the aca and building on it. candidates supported a version of medicare for all. i guess you could say it is medicare extra. ensuringextra is everyone outside of a payer-based system can have medicare as an absolute right. a lot of democrats support medicare for all. i think and 2020 we will have a robust debate, the democratic

candidates for president will have a robust debate about which version of universal health care, or which plan is the right step. that will be a healthy debate. i don't think one side will win over the other immediately. in the 2018 debate, the 2018 races, in the house you have a lot of challengers running against republican incumbents who voted to strip health care from 23 million people. that should be a front and center issue. and a tax plan that worked out to increase premiums. both our health care issues they should campaign on. darlene: how many seats do you think democrats will win in the house and senate in november? neera: i'm never going to be optimistic about a campaign again. [laughter] definitely learned that lesson. i would say what is interesting about the special election so far is democratic enthusiasm has

been high. democrats are voting at higher level than republicans. anywhere between eight points and 15 points. if that carries through, democrats could win 30 seats to 40 seats. it is a gerrymandered system, so in 2010 republicans won 60 seats with a wave election. i don't think democrats could win that many. i think the energy and enthusiasm over the last year and half of the trump presidency -- i have never in my career in washington same this level of political engagement and enthusiasm. the marches, the energy, that is translating into voting. people are voting at higher levels. really republican districts are

ones where you have democrats voting at parity or at higher rates than republicans. jerry: yet a strange situation in the sense that on one hand the president's job approval is relatively low, but the economy is performing extra ordinarily well. you have unemployment down, workforce participation up, worker productivity increasing. that is a good economic message for republicans. what is the democratic counter on checkbook issues, which when you get to november, tend to rise to the top of the agenda? neera: it is striking how low donald trump's approval record is now given the economy, which says a lot about him. i worked for bill clinton during the impeachment process, and his job approval was much higher at that point then donald trump's.

i think what is ironic about the situation, especially with the economy, is that a lot of these factors were good two years ago when donald trump was campaigning. he made an argument, that wages and incomes had been struggling. i used to think he had a pretty good point, that broad economic numbers have been positive for a long time. to mask a particular situation, wages, particularly for people that haven't gone to college, have been struggling for a long time. we have an unusual situation where wages remain stagnant, perhaps fallen behind, in the last year and a half as we are approaching 3.9% unemployment. there is something different and new about that. productivity is rising and we are seeing stagnant wages.

i think this will be the central issue for 2020. is do -- i don't think this just an issue in the united states. this is politics in europe as well, and throughout the world. how do you get wages rising, particularly for people who don't have a college degree, which still remain 63% of americans, in an economy being factors in globalization and technology. this won't be as much of an issue for 2018. donald trump, what is happening will be central in 2018, but the next democratic nominee has to have an answer on those questions. darlene: i want to go back to the house. there has been talk about nancy pelosi and the leadership structure on the house democratic side. if democrats were to retake the 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 new leadership to rise through the ranks? neera: there has been a strategy around nancy pelosi. demonizing her and using her as dge, trying to reinvigorate tribalism among republicans by attacking her in the midterms, one reason people grasp on is she has been an effective leader for democrats. at the same time, it is important for us to have new avenues and paths for a new generation of leaders in the house and senate. i don't think that means pushing aside nancy pelosi or leaders, but it is important in these elections in 2018 -- what i

think is incredible is how many fantastic candidates are running that are iraq war veterans, prosecutors, outside the political process. we have more women running the never before. you have a 1970's level of change with a new generation of leaders, and there should be a path for them. i don't think that means we should fall for a republican strategy of demonizing nancy pelosi. i say that as a person who worked for hillary clinton for a while, and republicans are good at demonizing strong women. i would say that has been a strategy, and i don't think democrats should fall for that strategy. they should allow some pathways for this new generation of leaders. jerry: i want to take you back to a subset of the economic conversation, trade. skepticism about free trade was prevalent in other public a

party before donald trump. a newk skepticism to level and took democratic voters in the process. where should democrats be on free trade in 2018, because there is a moderate element of the democratic party that has been, and remains, in favor of the free trade agreement. what is the consensus position, if any, on trade? neera: it is the democratic party, asking for a consensus position on anything is a lot these days. you'll have to forgive me for having a nuanced conversation for one minute. look, i think there has been a on whatllenge globalization has done to wages in the united states.

that is not necessarily a product of individual trade agreements. in fact, the most pressure on china.as come from the united states does not have a bilateral trade deal with china. i do think many things can be true. first, china does not play by the rules. right? it has a variety of ways, currency is one option enterprise is another, using the power of the state, to achieve economic ends. it is not playing in the same way the united states is. there.s an unfairness in some ways donald trump is right about that. is a trade war the best mechanism to accomplish a better result from china? i don't think so, myself. a terror for --

tarrif war hurts both sides. there should be a strategy about uniting more partners to address what china is doing. a criticism that previous administrations have not done enough about china operating on the global stage is fair. we do have to think about how it works for american business and american workers. that doesn't mean ripping up our trade relations with europe makes a lot of sense, or having a trade war makes a lot of sense. there is a nugget that there is a middle path. they will be a rich debate about this in 2020. a lot of people look at what trump is actually doing, saying that doesn't make a lot of sense. punishn the end going to

a of american workers and consumers in the way he is going this. there has to be a smarter way to take on the real issue, that china doesn't work fairly. we put up with that for a long time. darlene: judge brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court, is that a done deal? neera: i don't think so. i worked on health care. election i trump's was part of a lot of meetings where people assumed the aca was both houses of congress, this was a major promise for them and a number one agenda item. people engaged in that process, and it was an important process, and we're still early, we haven't gone through the hearing

-- my worry about the kavanaugh nomination is it will be kabuki theater. in washington will expect the kabuki theater. respecting the president, those are the same platitudes judge robert announced in his confirmation hearing. i think democrats, in the process, have to try to ensure judge kavanaugh doesn't get away with that kind of kabuki theater. returning to the first question, this is an extraordinary moment for the country in which the president of the united states essentially was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in cohenichael

pleading. he has nominated a potential supreme court justice who is out of the mainstream, particularly in his views on presidential authority and if a president can be subpoenaed. i think this is an extraordinary moment. i hope the country rises up, particularly. in the hearings there has been more activity around this in the last couple of days. we have seen democratic senators say this is outrageous and out of the norm. we are going to take the step of canceling meetings with judge kavanaugh. they don't have a lot of procedure they can use, but i do think judge kavanaugh is an extraordinarily unpopular nominee.

i think democrats, this is the moment where people are going to remember where they stood on these constitutional questions. jerry: you don't have to be too remember when supreme court nominees were confirmed with 90 plus votes in the senate. is that never going to happen again? it seems to be the ultimate polarizing topic. think this is a great should get to 90 votes. what is odd about where we are is judge kavanaugh is not a moderate nominee. if he had been a moderate nominee, i think it would have been important for democrats to support him. who is not only supported by the federalists, but on case after case has taken

the furthest right decision. -- right position. we are getting polarizing today not because of the partisans on each side, but the nominee himself. the president of the united states did not have a big electoral mandate. he had several people to choose from. he chose someone who is pretty extreme in his views. at least to the far right. in the last year of his term, barack obama named merrick .arland who had the support did every liberal love merrick garland? no. but he had ruled in ways that were unpredictable in some cases. if we were in a different situation with a moderate nominee, you wouldn't see the intensity of opposition against judge kavanaugh. darlene: there is news that

senator mccain and his family decided to discontinue treatments for brain cancer. is there anything you would like to say to his family or senator mccain? neera: sarah mccain is an extraordinary american and is a role model. senator mccain is an extraordinary american and is a role model. i didn't always agree with him, but it was politics were you could disagree and still admire them. he was an example of that. i wish his family very well in this situation. really, the whole country should, and most of the country does, more and the possibility of losing such a great american the possibility of losing such a great american. -- susan: on the

campaign they didn't mention immigration. how important will immigration be this fall? the second question is dismantling ice, is it an effective campaign position for democratic candidates? neera: my view is we should ice.m we have had a mechanism of enforcing immigration laws for decade, after decade, after decade. ice is a little out of control, but it should be reformed. the question of immigration, let's be blunt. campaign aftern what in are running consider racist ads. attacking latinas and gang members in places we have seen no gang activity at all. they will use immigration as an attack line against democrats. ways to state the democratic

position, to have comprehensive which mean reform, strong borders and a path to citizenship, that is ironically very popular with the american people. it is important to fix this going forward.the family separation policy is a vital one. what we will see on immigration is the effort to divide more americans. jerry: i will circle back to the midterm elections. what is the key voting bloc? who matters the most? neera: what is fascinating is how white, noncollege women go back and forth. the resistance itself is led by white college-educated women. white, black come a latino. in doug jones' race, african-american women were the wall there.

race, whitend's college-educated women are shifting dramatically to the democratic party and are active, knocking door-to-door. gore white noncollege women in the election will be important for 2018 and 2020. jerry: it really is the year of the woman. again. it happens every 2-3 decades, so it is not that often. [laughter] thank you, so much for having me. susan: "newsmakers" is back after our conversation with neera tanden. our two reporters, jerry seib and darlene superville. you spend a lot of time at the white house. what is that mood after the weekly have gone through? darlene: the mood is subdued.

although it was an extraordinary week, there have been a lot of weeks like this at the white house. the president is frustrated. there is 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. mood.a subdued we had one breaking this week with sarah sanders that was contentious, but that was it. susan: the president on friday heading to ohio to get involved in the election. let's move to the elections. the optimism level among democrats is -- how would you read? jerry: what was interesting in the conversation with neera tanden is they are trying to contain their optimism. they were there in 2016 with hillary clinton, and are spooked by that. on the other hand it is a weird climate. no one is sure. you look at the traditional indicators. the president's job approval is

down, democratic enthusiasm is up, all say it should be a good year for democrats and they should take back control of the house. the senate is hard to call. there is normal about the political environment. democrats look at this and say this is our time and we shouldn't mess it up, but they are worried there are x-factors. what-if republican enthusiasm rises closer to november.what if democratic enthusiasm falls? there are so many unknowns. democrats are optimism, but trying to contain the optimism. susan: we heard the culture of corruption phrase. are they going to be run as a national campaign, or are they saying to the candidates address issues in your own district? darlene: a little of both.

where chris collins or duncan hunter is, you could make it specific to that district and member of congress. on the broader level, you can make it a national issue, because of all of the things going on with the white house, the president, his former lawyer, his former campaign chairman, the charges they pled to or were convicted of this week. it can be localized, but it can be nationalized. leadership is from the top down. there can be a trickle-down culture of corruption argument. susan: let's talk about nancy pelosi, and the attacks against her politically by the republicans. normally, that makes someone's star rise among partisans. what are her chances of retaining leadership? jerry: the demonization of nancy

pelosi we will see in 2018 has begun. we are just getting out of the primary season heading into the general election season.the republicans clearly think demonizing nancy is a winning strategy for them. they think it has worked to help them in special elections and primaries already. you will see more of it. i think there are democrats who are uneasy, not just with nancy pelosi, but with the generational cast of leaders at the top of the house, the democratic caucus, that perhaps have been there for too long in the eyes of some democrats. you heard neera tanden talk about the need to create a path for democratic leaders. the way that pelosi-led leadership to the democratic party. nothing will change. nancy pelosi will likely be the

speaker of the house if democrats win. it won't change between now and november. susan: in past years, it has been a pretty quiet week. >> the president has another rally next week. the president of kenya is coming to the white house on monday. of course, we just have to look for more fallout from the russia investigation. also, more developments in terms of associates of the president deciding to flip and tell what they know. i would just add one thing is flowing below the radar screen amidst all the radar talk. north korean diplomacy is about to go back up. mike pompeo, the secretary of state has picked a special envoy.

there will also be a leader between the north korean and south korean leaders themselves. you are about to have a new burst of diplomacy. >> plus there is some news this morning that mexico might be nearing some agreements about reforming nafta. this goes to your column last week which is that the administration steps on some of its own good news. glad to have you here. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] tonight onto a day. national constitution center presidents and ceo jeffrey rozen talks about his book. served,ld his aide who

i will not play a part for popularity. if people want to reject me, that is their prerogative. he has a madisonian view. his heroes are the authors of the federalist papers. madison and hamilton believe that majority should rule, but only slowly and thoughtfully over time, so that reason, rather than passion could prepare. -- could prevail. cap believes it is set up to slow the popular passion so people can be governed in the public interest rather than through action. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on q&a.n skew a day -- c-span livein us for book tv coverage of the 18th annual library of congress national book festival next saturday starting at 10 a.m. eastern. viewererage includes a

comments from the set at the washington convention center. what the author of the soul of america come the battle for our better angels. leadership in turbulent times. ron turnout with his book. and fox news host with his book andrew jackson and the miracle of new orleans. the battle that shaped america's destiny. watch the 18th annual library of congress national look festival book tv.-span two next saturday at 10 a.m. eastern. next, the vice president speaks to members of the republican national lawyers the supremeabout court nomination of judge brett kavanaugh. he also talks about the trump administration's agenda moving forward and efforts to maintain a republican majority in congress and the upcoming midterm election.