about why eligible americans do not vote, with american university professor jan lieghley. and the role evangelical voters will play. >♪ >> three weeks until election day and other than short pro congress is out. members are campaigning in their districts and states and a number of representatives and senators are responding to the pressing constituent needs in the aftermath of hurricane michael another recent natural disasters. good morning, welcome to "washington journal" as we look at photos of the devastation on the florida panhandle. we are going to ask about government response to natural disasters. are we too reliant on government

assistance after these disasters? here we are breaking apart the phone lines. if you live in a disaster-prone area, whether that is a hurricane earthquake, that number to call is 202-748-8000. 202-748-8001. we welcome your tweets on the issue and on facebook. one of those potential members of congress, rick scott, the governor of florida who is running percent against bill nelson, responding to a florida hurricane. this is front page of "the wall street journal" this morning, on the ground to inspect the storm's damage along with president trump and the first lady, inspecting the damage in florida. the photo this morning, the president touring yesterday. the response on twitter is how

you make your thoughts known. kevin says, don't we pay the government for fema? there should be taxed dollars left over for the people. send the military to clean up after storms. donald westberg says, infrastructure upkeep should be paid for by the government in any to help its own people in bad times. what kind of question is that. ? from brian who says, the question always comes up after hurricane, never any other event. it is called coastal in the. -- it is called coastal envy. question is about the government's on to natural disasters. 202-748-8000 if you live in an area that is prone to disasters. 202-748-8001 for all others.

this is inside "the washington post," reporting on the president's trip, along with first lady melania trump. president trump said he would ask congress for emergency aid in the aftermath of hurricane michael as he and first lady melania trump toured the deadliest -- the aftermath of the deadly storm. management emergency associate -- official says it was premature to give aid. they write congress approved funds after hurricane florence, that were included and a broad reauthorization bill for the administrationn early this month.

fema's disaster aid account contains $31.7 billion, according to a spokeswoman. do we rely too much on government aid? let's go to jessica, indiana, and hear from charles. good morning, charles. caller: yes, i think they are doing the best they can to take care of these hurricane victims. that is all i have to say. thank you, sir. host: you, bet. lady lake, florida, and patrick on the line. patrick, were you affected by hurricane michael? personally, we were not really in the area. i think c-span to look over the constitution and see where fema is. we have a problem with, the federal government has a -- all of the disaster aid. hello? host: you are on, patrick.

caller: ok. they got their loans from federal banks. if the federal government doesn't give these people a check, they get stuck with the bill anyway. hello? host: patrick, tell us where lady lake, florida is? caller: it is a little bit northwest of tampa bay. like i was saying, i don't think anybody that gets a home, buys a home and a disaster prone area should get a loan from a bank. let the free market figure out and let them figure it out with insurance. host: has the area around you or tampa been hit by stones before? have folks relied on fema? caller: the parasites who live off the government. program. 1960's

what did people do and the san francisco fire, tornado thinking through the midwest? i know c-span loves corporate welfare and this is all this is is corporate welfare. host: that's go to new jersey -- let's go to new jersey and here for more 10 east brunswick. good morning. caller: good morning, and thank you very much. , ande in middlesex county it is my feeling the government should be responsible that the u.s. army corps of engineers and other aspects of the u.s. army should be brought in to help not only rebuild, but to make sure that there is no violence. in in middlesex county and all of new jersey, we don't have natural disasters except by the jersey shore. one of the things that will be a disaster is that the jersey highways will be strangled by

the congestion. there is poor planning on the part of the municipal government. there are almost 560 government agencies in new jersey. there are not shared services, and it is unfortunate that each their own police department and fire departments and we have the highest taxes in the nation. the federal will -- the federal government should be responsible for natural disasters because they have the funds and they should do it. host: as in previous hurricanes and other storms, fema director brock long, wanted to show you some comments from brock long, but first the headline from bloomberg about those comments. -- todministrators slam evacuate before storms. this is brock long last week in reaction to hurricane michael. listen to what he said. having the we're

conversation. [video clip] >> i love the beach and the mountains. but if you want to live in these areas, you have to do it anymore resilient fashion. you have to mitigate your homes. you have to understand why we ask you to evacuate. and every day, we got to figure this countryke more financially-resilient. a lot of people cannot put their hands on $500, so they are not properly insured and are not spending the money to mitigate. very few people have experienced a cat two, cat three, or cat four storms. often behaveple based on their past experiences, but when these things happen, we learn, and what i am afraid of his hurricane amnesia. 10 years will go by and we will

forget what happened in mexico beat. so how do we build cultural preparedness? a lot of people don't pay attention to what we do or say. host: that was fema director brock long on reaction to hurricane michael and occult preparedness. how much -- are we too reliant on federal assistance after natural disasters? in a48-8000 if you live natural disaster-prone area. and 202-748-8001 for all others. secretary of state mike pompeo meeting with the saudi leader this morning, some video this morning of the secretary with mohammad bin salman. so far, no reaction from mike pompeo yet, at least before cameras, and we will get those to you if they are available. front page of "the wall street ," trump since pompeo as

rogue considers road -- killers for journalist's disappearance. investigators search the istanbulcrime scene in for clues. on monday, officials were considering whether to say rogue operatives killed jamal khashoggi during an interrogation gone wrong. the case has strained u.s.-saudi ties and cast a shadow over -- mmad bin salman's gilbert in alabama. welcome. caller: yes, sir. good morning to c-span and a c-span audience. thank you for the topic.

losing my home in 2001 in birmingham. he was talking about hurricane amnesia. there is nowhere to run or hide across america because natural disasters have touched every part of this nation. the problem i have with the media when the president spoke in georgia, fox tv but the only one who carried that live and it was quite amazing to me that the president said that he -- what i am saying is, we as a , twon, we can spend money cost $2pped down that we want toece, but

blame the taxpayers. what do you think about that? host: on the issue of fighter jets, there was some damage caused by hurricane michael. front page of the "washington times," president trump's tour of the devastation of hurricane michael came close to the air force were more than a dozen fighter jets were damaged after being left in the path of the powerful storm. the fighter jets, some possibly damaged beyond repair, were caught and the widespread destruction that took 18 lives, flattened homes, downed trees, and buckled roads. lead here from richard -- let's hear from richard in trenton, michigan. richard, are you on a speakerphone? can you pick up the handset there? go ahead. caller: yes. my question is about responsibility. the state of florida and texas i

believe do not have income taxes. state income taxes. , shouldn't they make that available if they provide a tax to cover some of this cost? they live next to oceans. host: richard, do you think that is a levy. ? that the levy that the federal government should pay to the state saying we offered this much aid to you and you need to pay that back? caller: that sounds reasonable. in a bloomberg report that said the state of florida gets four times as much money back from the federal government as the people send into the government. so, i would just like them, they talk about how they can get by with no state income tax. host: let me see -- thank you,

richard. this is a fema chart. let me see if i could get it on our camera here. this is disaster aid provided by -- inoney from 2008 to terms of the recent tracking. you can go to the fema website county by county and look at each county. it is $163 million approved for florida. assistance and the small business administration, disaster -- the total is 160 $3 million from fema alone, not from other agencies. the range from this appears between 2008 and 2014. it obviously does not cover the recent stories -- the recent storms rather. let's go to ramin in new york city. good morning. caller: good morning. i just would like to say a few words about trump and all of his

fans at his rallies, holding up trump saying veterans for , when everybody knows he is a coward. -- they cheer. world seese whole that he will not keep his word to senator warren when she showed that she is an american indian. it is pitiful. sees thatn the world he is a coward who will not keep his word. host: the story raiment is talking about, here is front page of the "new york times," with dna test, warren signals -- it is a racial taunt made by the president of the united states unlike his discredit claim that barack obama was not born in america. just as president trump embraced

mr.rth service him -- trump's unrelenting mockery of senator elizabeth warren is pocahontas questioning her claims of having native american heritage. ms.as prompted miss -- warren to provide proof of her --estry saying it is strong that senator warned -- strong evidence saying that senator has strong native american heritage. there has been some backlash on that from the cherokee nation. as reported here from breitbart, cherokee nation blasts senator warren's dna as mockery and

, writing cherokee nation issuing a statement declaring senator warren's dna results as mockery. she released her dna results to the boston globe. they had already had to issue two humiliating corrections. twohe already had to issue humiliating corrections. this is rick next in birmingham, alabama. rick, good morning. birmingham, are you there? ok, go ahead, rick, you're on the air. caller: yes, sir. commenting on the fact that there have only been three category three hurricanes in decades, asking the question that people are too reliant on government assistance, we don't have enough data points to make that conclusion, but we do know that money should be available

because it has not been expended , therefore, to answer the question, that does not instill trust in people glhf contributed taxes to the well-being -- in people who have contributed taxes to the well-being of the -- what are we trying to do by asking this question? host: in birmingham, where you impacted at all by hurricane michael, the recent storm? caller: not a hurricane, but i have experienced tornadoes. it takes a while to recover from those, but hurricanes are an extreme situation. people should be dependent on the government. this is one of the great things about this nation is that the government appear to help the citizens who in turn help the government. it is a reciprocal relationship. it should be no contention about this issue. host: that is rick in alabama.

those of you in disaster-prone areas. 202-748-8001 for all others. congress said -- congress just approved the faa reauthorization including response to hurricane florence. onare joined by a reporter fema funding. this recent disaster recovery do of 2018, what does this and what does this mean for fema funding? guest: yeah. this essentially changes the way fema funds disaster mitigation. this act, which was a law that governs federal disaster response, required federal money to be used to restore infrastructure to pre-disaster standards, so this bill tweaks the law to allow fema to dole

out some money. it is a limited amount of money, but some money to build to 21st century standards after a hurricane, our earthquake, or whatever -- an earthquake, or whatever. they allow communities to rebuild what they need as opposed to what was there. and it allows the federal government to give some money to localities to improve zoning and building standards, which are usually at the local or state level. brock long held a press conference last week after hurricane michael where he sided building codes as a major issue. he said if you build to the same standards after a storm destroys everything, you will only get the same result. i think you refer to that is hurricane amnesia. host: you played a soundbite from that company talked about a culture of preparedness.

it sounds like the direction of fema at least under administrator long is changing its focus that they are interested in pre-disaster mitigation? guest: that is right. they have stressed that a lot under brock long and this bill, the disaster recovery reform act. he also sort of stressed the benefit of this bill for his own priorities. host: we read a story earlier in vocal the washington post" from the president yesterday -- in "the washington post" from yesterday. this would be above and beyond what they authorized in the funding in the recently passed bill? guest: yes. the recently passed bill billion in.68 disaster aid for victims of florence.

and yeah, the president aid for victims of michael, and when congress comes back in november, there will be some discussion about that. i would expect them to dole out some additional money. host: how does the legislation change a way that fema can recover grant money? guest: yes. includes aation provision that essentially prohibits fema from recovering grants made in error under certain circumstances. so, if a fema contractor comes in and gives a state government that information about what projects are available for a grant, fema cannot go back and say, we have to take that money back. and it puts a three-year statute of limitations on grant 2004,ment retroactive to

and there are big problems regarding katrina with the storm getting improper grant and then fema coming back saying we want our money back. owe us money, essentially. i should mention the bill includes provisions that fema wanted that allows states to take on some more management management.ome more host: you can follow nick on twitter. thank you for the update this morning. guest: thanks. host: we continue our conversation with you about the federal government response. how reliant are we on federal government aid after disasters? 202-748-8000 if you live in an area prone to natural disasters. all others, 202-748-8001. let's go to tom in st.

petersburg, florida. caller: hello. beould see why there would ever length of federal aid because at least around here, there are no local resources. there are no hurricane shelters. there are no hurricane-style vehicles to go get people. i could see the federal government being the last resort pretty much all the time. host: when you say there are no hurricane shelters, you're in st. petersburg. there are no hurricane shelters there? caller: they repurposed the middle schools and stuff, but you know, there is no staff. the middle schools don't have specialists that are qualified. you know, you have to go to the shelters. they don't use school buses to go to the mobile home parks to get people.

what i am saying there is no designated hurricane shelter. personally,bout you do you think you are prepared for events like that in terms of water, lack of food, batteries? the way youstate of should live in florida, and do you think your neighbors are equally prepared? caller: you know, i am because i am from sarasota and i live in saint pete now and in florida for the majority of my life. florida took over new york as the third most populous state. listened tot, they rick scott, and he was telling everybody to going 75 and head north and hit savannah. that just proves my point, there are no local resources. he basically said, head-on 75 and head north, you know? i think a lot of these people who are new during irma, they did exactly that, and they were stuck without power. so, i am in florida.

i am not on a respirator or life support or anything or in a mobile home. but i know that i could survive without air-conditioning for like three days. i am prepared, but a lot of people are not. host: tom, appreciate that. we will go back to lady lake, george in lady lake, florida, near tampa. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. thank you. i could understand the concern of the people in the panhandle, and i feel sorry for them. i am from the virgin islands. i was not there last year when the disaster came through, but i was there for many other ones. one destroyed most of my house. but the local governments are not prepared to take care of people and disasters. in disasters. the virgin islands and puerto rico last year during irma and maria were completely destroyed, and we did not see any help for

weeks. florida, there were there the next day. the weather channel was there before the disaster covering it and they do not do the same for us in the virgin islands. and we are americans also. and the disparity what the government does -- host: george, what brought you back from the virgin islands to be in florida? caller: i retired from my business and so forth, and it is very expensive to live there with your retired. i lived there 53 years. host: from what you hear from former friends or neighbors in the virgin islands, how have they recovered? caller: not too well. i have two daughters that are still there pier 1 in st. croix and one in st. thomas -- that are still there. and one in st.x thomas. the people are completely mesmerized.

they walk around like zombies a year later, and there is no help for them. and our local government is not prepared for nothing. the hospital is a disgrace. yearuy had to go in last and needed blood badly. they had no blood. he died. there was absolutely no help. if you didn't it -- if you did not get off the island before the storm comes your loss. host: let's hear from arthur next in boston. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. if it is some of the government, who should it be on? but people? this is a joke to me. collectingandidate funds -- i am seeing candidates collecting funds and doing nothing.

[indiscernible] why we don't -- [indiscernible] everybody is talking about congress, but no one has mentioned what an awful thing we are doing. i hope one day we will understand -- [indiscernible] government did not do anything about this. [indiscernible] arthur in boston. president trump touring hurricane damage yesterday in the florida panhandle. this is roll car -- this is rolled call in their headlines,

rick scott announces plans to skip -- the president yesterday touring and offering additional aid. this is what the president had to say about the cost of the storm. [video clip] >> the governor knows we are there for them. governor, you know that. , asill be helping alabama we have been with north carolina, south carolina. >> are you worried about the -- pres. trump: what are you going to do? there is a hurricane and i have to take her of the people. the deficit is always a problem, but we have to take care of our people. that is the most important thing. let's go back to calls. john from florida. good morning. you're on the atlantic coast,

right? caller: yes, i am on the gulf coast. host: go ahead, john, yes. caller: i have been through a couple of hurricanes, especially and loss a lot. it is really amazing the hypocrisy that goes on. the president is going around the governor looking at all of the stuff. took all the that regulations off greenhouse gases, creating all of the heat, giving us all of these hurricanes and tornadoes and everything else that is going on. it is absolutely amazing. when he said, people should've been better prepared. there is no way you could of been prepared for michael. it was on top of you before you knew it. the gentleman from michigan said, they have to --

[indiscernible] i cannot believe what is going on. they have money for everything else, except for taking care of people, not just florida. host: john, let me ask you a couple of things. you said you have been through a couple of hurricanes. tell us what that process was like. when you apply for aid from fema, what it -- would you most needed for? it for? caller: to take care of the electrical grid and put it back together as quick as possible. that is the essence of what we need in this country. and when we had hurricane charley go through here, we lost our complete electrical grid. it was gone. and there was no air-conditioning. you can live with it for a little while, but a lot of old people, you cannot do it.

what bothers me is that the government has money for everything you can think of. $12 billion for an aircraft carrier, and yet, they cannot help people. i have been paying money into flood control and everything else for as long as i can remember. even when i lived up in michigan. it is not like i haven't paid into this thing. i have. i survived charley. host: here is richard next. we go to athens, tennessee. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. thanks for taking my call. this is a double-edged sword, i think. the federal government does have a large responsibility in the recovery effort. however, people need some

personal responsibility towards self-insurance, paying for insurance for stuff like this. um, for the simple fact that the previous caller said, we got money for everything else. no we don't. we're $20 trillion in debt. and if we keep doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results, it is not going to work out. host: here is virginia, peter, your thoughts on our reliance on federal government assistance after a disaster. caller: yes. thank you for taking my call. a longtime listener. i think c-span is a fantastic show. everyone needs to contribute. that there are states that are contributing

states. typesrstand are different of disasters in different locations, but for the states that are actually prone for tornadoes, hurricanes, and any type of disaster, there should be some type of state tax, whether it is one penny, and it should be put aside for events like this because they know they , so they areurring stepping up to the plate a little more for the states that don't have it. but i think it needs to be a shared responsibility, and that is my comment. host: thanks for that. three weeks until election day. on what may be ahead. some trend lines are improving for publicans, but there still appears to be anti-trump sentiment and grassroots democratic anger to flood control of the house to democrats. he also writes, the harsh reality for the democrats to control the senate is many of to states where they had

prevail are red states with a lot of pro-trump sentiment coming states such as texas and tennessee, sites of democratic upset dreams that seem to be fading were always destined to snap back in the republican's direction as a return to their home base. those realities have been supplemented by gop grassroots anger at the way brett kavanaugh mistreated during his confirmation hearings for the supreme court. writes writes, it is not hard o imagine a scenario in which democrats win more votes nationally to win control over the house, but cannot prevail over the key states needed to control the senate. your primary source for campaign 2018 covering a whole bunch of debates -- c-span, your primary source for campaign 2018, covering a whole bunch of debates, including in virginia. the incumbent is days brand and the contestant and applico spam burger. they debated and talk about the national debt. [video clip] >> it is actually hypocritical

that we would have someone stand on stage, talk about fiscal responsibility after adding $1.9 trillion to the deficit after voting against hurricane believe, after voting against the -- bill, after voting against budget after budget because he did not want to add to the deficit, but when it came time to give tax breaks to from cynical companies, there he was. i want to serve this community. it is the community that made me who i am, and i ask for your vote on november 6. burger is mining. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, we have the three rebuttals through the duration of the evening and has one minute to reply. >> ok. yeah.

to follow theike ultimate irony of the democrats complaining about deficits and debt at the end of a debate. it is unbelievable to hear someone who said we need more government spending for every single program here, asking me about deficits and debt. so-called the republicans passed tax cuts that cost $150 billion a year. if you grow at 4%, they are all pay for. to get nine senate democrats, which we needed for the budget, we had to fuss up the budget $400 million. everybody knows with a spending problem is and it is on the failed pelosi agenda on the other side of the aisle. and if i could finish my phrase without the other side getting unruly, it is also important to add that revenues are up 4% due to our tax cuts and economic growth, but spending is up 8%. and that is not from

republicans. that is from the runaway spenders on the other side of the aisle. host: that is the virginia seventh recess my night, and more debate coverage, mom and includes the texas senate debate live tonight at 9:00 eastern here on c-span with ted cruz and congressman -- o'rourke. live tonight and :00 on c-span radio and c-span.org. all of those debates available at c-span.org. this is from page of the washington times on the deficit, trump's deficit in first year approaches obama levels. president trump oversaw massive increase in his first full year in office. the treasury department with stagnant taxes that brent a similar government back into the realm of trillion dollar shortfalls. write, the government ended

fiscal 2018 at $779 billion in than fiscal7% more 2017 which was split between obama and mr. trump. the news would have been worse with an increase in the deficit of 162 billion dollars instead of $113 billion but for some payment shifts. , it was the worst year since 2012 on the government was coming out of its spending binge. deficits are rising fast. groupent of the watchdog who calculated this year's shortfalls work it out to $6,200 per household. the trump administration said things were not so bad officials pointed to strong economic growth he said will pull the government out of its budget tailspin along as covers agrees to spending cuts. let's go back to your comments and calls on government response.

-- response to disasters. jim from pennsylvania. thank you for waiting. go ahead, jim. caller: i used to live in hawaii. i lived there for almost 30 years and i got run over by four hurricanes. the one thing the government ought to step in and do every time there is a hurricane is put all of the utilities underground. alleviate -- i think there was one estimate, 80% of the mis-function after a hurricane for people who don't have electricity. just get those wires underground. i would like to make a comment. i saw you reading about elizabeth warren before. what difference does it make anyways? and age, if you want to become, if you want to -- if you are a man and want to become a woman, you can be one just by saying it. there was a lady in virginia, and white lady, she decided she wanted to become a black lady,

so she became a black lady. plothere is all of his who about senator warned -- there is all of the hoopla of senator warren becoming a white lady or an indian, what difference does it make anyways? isn't wants to say she indian, she should be that, if i want to say i am a black person, that i am a black person, especially if that means it would get me into a better college or law school, or help me to throw someone else out of a job who happens to not be a minority. host: i think in senator warren's case, she was responding to the president's challenge at a rally this past summer on her genealogical makeup. she went through with it. caller: now, now -- now, that is not the point. she has been running around for years saying she was an american idiot and even the cherokee nation is telling her to sit down and shut up. from lady is marianne

lake, florida. good morning. caller: good morning. i was in lady lake, which is a part of the villages in florida. i have lived there for six years, and i left last year. it took me 12 hours to get to atlanta, georgia to stay in hotels. they cost me $2000, but at least i was safe. the government should help people out. comes down to it kickou know, if i have to it in myself, what choice do i have? that is what i would do. host: how do you prepare ahead of time? what is your secret, if there is a secret? when you live in a hurricane-prone area, what you do to prepare? caller: we had sufficient time

because irma -- we had sufficient time, so we had plenty of time to pack luggage and i took my cat with me, which was exhausting. leftike i say, i think i 10:00 a.m. in the morning, and i did not get to atlanta until 9:00 p.m. as governor scott said, get out. callere had an earlier who said the state should do more to have shelters in place, saying the governor just drive north of 75. that was the caller's take on that. caller: i agree. and the shelters that we have our schools and people have to bring their all little mattresses. your sleeping on the floor. i mean, -- you are sleeping on the floor. 69 then and i'm 70 now.

i don't want to do that. left,days later after i because they did lose power, and everything is underground for us. period was much quicker. good point someone made. that stuff should be underground. host: thanks, marianne. we welcome your input on twitter . some reaction, this one from tom the trees, the government assistance for natural disasters was never intended to make anyone whole for their loss. the burden of responsibility falls on the individual and the state in which they reside. another one says, living in florida, you board up your home, stock up on food, water, flashlights, but it is not too much to ask the state for assistance. and one says if you are done enough to stay on a tropical toand -- if you are dumb

stay on tropical island, and you have to deal with the consequences. in houston texas -- houston, texas. good morning. caller: yes, i live in houston, texas. and i have lived through at ike --wo hurricanes, i was without electricity for 30 days than the other for 21 days because of the windstorm and the trees that knocked out electricity. but people can help themselves -- there needs to be laws for people building in low-lying areas. a lot of that disaster happens in homes in florida as well as

the windstorm. the flooding in houston was a terrible problem. they are required to build homes three to four feet above grade level. i don't think the government has a lot that they can do, except to pull more money into a terrible situation. host: in houston, the response to hurricane harvey, has a local government, the city, county government changed any other building codes or requirements in terms of building and those flat-prone areas? areer: i think they re-thinking it, but they are trying to re-think how to --divert the water in case like with ike when they had lots and lots of rain. that is a terribly expensive project.

however, they primarily should immediately passed a law that any new housing bill has to be built at this level. because that would solve a lot of problems. it was a result of the water -- the damage was a result of a lot of the water and not of the wind. it could be avoided by simply building above that grade level. it is an easy fix. host: thank you. hearing from folks affected by a hurricane. and we would like to hear from you out west. if you live in an area prone to a hurricane, fire, whatever, 202-748-8000. 202-748-8001 for all others.

another story we're keeping an eye on secretary of state mike pompeo now having met with the crown prince mohammad bin salman, some video from earlier today, a brief meeting according tonews reports, and we hope have further information as set story develops. "new york times" this morning, back to the killing in istanbul, the headline says saudi said the journalist was killed by mistake writing sodded radio was preparing an alternative is the nation for the journalists, thinking that at the saudi constant investable two weeks ago in an interrogation gone wrong, according to a person familiar with the kingdom's plans, president trump echo the possibility that jamal khashoggi was the victim of "rogue killers." president touring hurricane damage yesterday in florida was

asked again about the case, and he had some additional comments. here is what he had to say. [video clip] pres. trump: i have to see what they say. working really close to a saudi arabia and turkey, and they are working together to figure out what happened. we want to know what happened also. a lot of people are working on it. a lot of people. we will see. nobody knows. there have been official reports, but there are rumor reports. [indiscernible] pres. trump: i am set to find out really firsthand what happened. what they know? what is going on? he may go to turkey, he may not? we want to find out what happened. and he has got instructions to find out what happened. we are talking about the whole

situation saudi arabia. it is a terrible situation, there is no question about it. i don't like it one bit. host: president trump was in georgia making those comments also touring florida. the washington post did a before and after photo look of mexico beach on the right side of your screen. as they go back to calls, the before look on the right side is the after, the left side of the before. let's hear from ivan in inverness, california. good morning. caller: thank you. you have a caller who spoke about the role of underground power lines and how valuable they are in the aftermath of a disaster. chord in myuck a line because out here, i was looking at a fire not long ago, fortunate, it did not burn down my house.

i learned from the fire department and most fires start out here in california because high winds load on the power lines and in the power lines the kimber and scrub -- timber and brush and that is how the fire starts. two years ago, i entertain some friends from sweden, and while they were visiting me, they remarked that california reminded them of sweden 50 years ago. i said, why is that? they said, because your power lines are above ground. in sweden, the power lines have been buried for 50 years. now, this is something the government did. we are talking about a lines on government. we could rely on government to bury our power lines. and we would have fewer fires out here in california and

florida after the hurricanes hit , there would be more electricity available for the people to use to recover themselves. that is my point. thank you very much for listening. power with the concern of high winds and the high tension power lines. thank you for that information. to miami, florida, we hear from patrick, good morning. caller: good morning, sir. i have lived in florida my whole life and i survived hurricane andrew, irma, and all the storms in between in the same house. i think it is a matter of personal responsibility to board up your home instead of going on galvanize steel, aluminum shutters. get a new concrete roof with hurricane latches. and then you can survive one of these storms.

pictures ofefore the news media covering mexico beach. i just thought, what is going to happen to these people, and you saw what happened in those before-and-after pictures. host: "the new york times" did a piece yesterday of one of the very few houses that survived in mexico beach. among the ruins of mexico beach stands one house built -- as they build their dream house last year on the shimmering sands of gulf of mexico, russell king and is nephew painstakingly documented every detail of the elevator construction from the 40 foot pilings buried into the ground to the types of screws drilled into the walls, they picked paints from a palette of and christen their creation, the san palace of mexico beach. it survived. it was a house.

you can read that. they designed it to withstand winds of 250 miles an hour. this is bill in pennsylvania. hi there. caller: hello. am i on? host: you are. good morning. caller: hi. i believe the primary responsibility is to the person who lives in that state. they should have insurance. they should prepare their home hurricane- i mean, season in florida -- hurricane season is in florida every year. it is a common occurrence to have a florida, so they should be prepared, but the problem is, we are a nation of laziness. we want the government to take care of us. host: boca raton, martha, hi

there. caller: good morning. i wholeheartedly agree that the government is duped. people relying too much on the government after the storm. i agree with the people who spoke previously, you need to prepare yourself. the state of florida, every year, the beginning of hurricane season has a sales tax-free few days to purchase hurricane items. -- you are the only person who can handle it for yourself. the government cannot do it for everybody. years.lived here 23 last year is the first time i ever evacuated, and i am six miles inland. hours to get.5 from boca raton, florida to albany, georgia, and i left at midnight.

and that was one stop for gas and one-stop to go to the bathroom. that werengs irreplaceable because i literally thought my home was going to be gone. .ou need to prepare the government cannot do it for you. if you look at the pictures of michael, it is a widespread area . how was the government going to be able to focus on you? everybody, your neighbor, the city is in the same boat. host: another view martha on the devastation by hurricane michael. another view on government's role anyway. citizens. assist we do not pay taxes and time of need, why do we exist at all. we are rate go relying on fema because no one wants to pay for private mortgage insurance in the escrow accounts. selling liability insurance does not pay. one more says it states had to

back federal aid after disasters, midwest states in tornado alley would be bankrupt. a few more calls. sylvia in virginia. caller: oh yes. i went through hurricane donna when i was younger. and there were psychological ramifications afterwards. i wasn't able to really get rid of. i think the government should help out and other avenues. we have someone appear who is taking the tracks from charlottesville to help out, so you need both, but we also need psychological help for some of these people that have been scarred from what they see. it never goes away. thank you. host: a quick look at what states are spending or what they do not know they are spending. there was a survey. most they do not know what they spent on disasters. cost of helping communities recover from natural disasters are rising, yet most

days do not comprehensively track these expenditures according to a report from the pew charitable trust, natural disaster assistance involves a complex set of players from the for profit and non-profit sectors, and policy makers in all levels of government operating without the critical information they need to control growth, and the cost of future disasters. susan in fort myers, florida. hi there. caller: yes, good morning. thank you for taking my call. i have several points to make. number one, not everybody has a computer. i don't. and it really gets difficult when it comes to instructions. the other thing is, every body is talking about, you know, get yourself ready and everything. you can get yourself ready, but the building codes and the structures they allow may not withstand a hurricane, and even

a mild one. and as far as evacuation goes, it costs quite a bit of money. number one, you have to have gas. gas station schizo full. -- gas stations get so full. hand,ve to have cash on not a credit card because as you evacuate nobody takes it anymore and the power is out. then there is the price gouging. then there are wonderful folks who try to take advantage and steel and loot. is easier said than done and i have often thought about rounded structures instead of structures with corners on it.

i am not an architect. host: thanks for sharing your experience. more washington journal ahead. you are 21 days till the election. next up we will talk to doug pagitt.- doug we will talk about americans who will not be voting this november. sunday, joel richard paul, professor at the university of california law school in san francisco ask about his biography of john marshall. legacy was upll's scared by a single opinion. marbury versus madison establishes the review of

judicial review. he was a soldier in the revolutionary army. he was important. he served at valley forge. he was a leading figure in virginia -- the virginia house of delegates. and an indispensable man in debates because he was a guy who persuaded the majority of virginia delegates to go along with ratifying the constitution. without virginia, there would not have been a constitution. .e was an important diplomat he was secretary of state and 11 contributions he has made as a founding father get forgotten because of the significance of his when decision in marbury versus madison. sunday on 8:00 eastern on c-span's u.n. day. announcer: where history unfolds daily.

in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television. we bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court and public policy events in washington and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. washington journal continues. host: three weeks to election day. we go to kansas city missouri to --pagitt.doug packet he is also a pastor, a radio host and more. tell us about common good. how did he get started and what is your focus in terms of this election year? guest: vote common good is an effort to invite religiously

minded people and specifically evangelicals to consider the common good when they vote rather than for many what is person andctive republican impulse. us where to a lot of the republican party is now in its commitment to the trump agenda is not fit america and does not fit for the driving force of our christian faith. we are traveling the country, inviting people to flip congress because we believe the trump administration is to be restraint and their is a role for congress to put blocks in front of the agenda in this administration. we think evangelical christians should be part of that. yourss about this tour of -- host: tell us about this tour of yours. what is your message? are you dealing with specific races? we are traveling the

country and 31 cities around the country, starting in pennsylvania. now we are in kansas and moving down to wichita and then we will be in texas and out to california. all the districts we are going to have an incumbent republican in that seat. we want to introduce the voters to an agenda we think would help to restrain the tom price -- presidency. as a christian, my commitment is not to be a democrat. it is to love god, love my neighbor. the conditions on the ground colors to put that faith in action because as christians are famous for saying, faith without works is useless so the work we have to do is make sure public policy represents, good for all. we are not saying become a democrat. we are saying restrain a trump administration that would become

to both separating families at the border, damaging our economy and environment. butre not a partisan group we're asking congress. not onhe president is the ballot but his policies may be. in 2016, the president one evangelicals so -- what is your pitch to evangelicals who voted for president trump in 2016 and, what do you say to them? guest: every election has its own set of conditions. in 2016, voters the likelihood a binary choice between trump and clinton and a lot picked donald trump. we are asking them not to live in 2016. we are asking them to live in 2018. they have a choice to make. if they support this trump agenda, for a lot they could not

go as far as voting for hillary clinton. a lot feel like there is no way they can continue to support this presidency and a complicit congress that would be just as happy to separate families at the border in order to send a message to refugees to not come to the united states. we're asking them to pay 2008.ion to conditions of host: how is your organization vote for common good funded? guest: vote common good is funded by private donations. families have contributed. we are traveling in a caravan we bring from town to town and we have a mobile stage and set up in parks and church parking lots and on street corners. we run these events. we travel with top-notch misses since -- musicians. we invite candidates that would be supportive of common good and was traitsd putting

become administration to join us. in all our events there are music -- is music. we want christians who are about common good to be able to have a public voice and to say out loud things they are often saying in private, just something we hear all the time. we hear it from republican lawmakers that their own personal belief and we hear this from voters -- their personal belief is they need to do something to restrain the trump administration and change this agenda in this country. they get quiet when the call comes out to say that publicly. one thing we are trying to do is turn up the volume and give people a sense of community they can be a part of as they do their civic duty and for many, driven by their faith commitments. host: we want to open up the conversation. here are the numbers. 202-748-8000 -- republicans.

202-748-8001 democrats. independents: 202-748-8002 we welcome your comments on twitter as well as c-span wj and we'll get to those thoughts in a moment. -- you mentioned the hillary clinton race. critical read you, a measure of the role of religion in our elector politics is the behavior voters that attend religious services once a week. tomost elections from 2000 2014, these voters chose republican over democrats by margins of roughly 20 percentage points. in 2016, this gap narrowed to 14 points. it dropped six of percent in 2016. you pointed out you thought

evangelicals tell you they could not vote for hillary clinton last time but they are saying this time they can vote for democratic candidates. they are. we hear it everywhere. people are saying, i did not have any idea how that this would be. it feels like a national emergency to many. i mentioned the idea of separating families. for christians who hold to a teaching that which god has brought together, no man should ever separate that is often set at weddings. the trump administration, to reconnect to a policy of threatening to separate families and putting kids in detention a matter of policy is something that a lot of evangelicals and people of good conscience they cannot support. there is not only a sense of cruelty that does not fit with evangelical sensibilities, but --icies that are initiated

initiated by this administration and supported by a republican congress are far outside the bounds of what evangelicals would ever tell their own children. we are finding with many voters they didlking to that not imagine the trump administration would actually do the things it is doing. if you like it is their obligation to leave a legacy for their children and they need to stand up to this administration. guest: we have calls -- host: we have calls waiting period joining us from missouri, we hear from gary on our republican mine. caller: do not get me wrong. ado not think donald trump is carnival or nothing but he talked about separating people at the borders. what about separating babies in the womb? does that mean anything? guest: there is a lot of energy

around the issue of abortion certainly. the trump administration did what it chose to do by nominating supreme court justice they think is going to change that law. footing for a democratic candidate for congress is not a commitment to supporting abortion. there is no connection between those. there are many pro-life democratic candidates. they exist and are on ballots all over the country. this conflating of abortion and somehow people believing their personal vote is their personal support for abortion is not accurate and i do not think it needs to drive the agenda. the religious community has been divided since 1972 and before. ofis not a litmus test people when they walk into the book -- voting booth. i take the issue seriously. we know it is the dividing point. there are different views on

this but we are not asking for people to change their views on abortion when they place their vote on november 6. what we are asking is to read the sermon on the mount at church on sunday and but that inform your vote tuesday. i do not think many voters with the republican agenda on november 6 matches what they heard and the church on november 4. host: let's hear from john on our democrat line. caller: i want to commend you for what you're doing. i thought for a long time that you were the other way but i can see you are getting out and you got the message and you are conveying the message to everybody and i commend you. thank you. guest: thank you. host: how long have you been out on tour? what is the biggest issue you are hearing about from potential voters? we started october 2 and

are going to run through november 6. it has been a long road already and we are looking forward to stops in front of us. we hear two things. i think you have heard it in both of these colors. the question of abortion is significant for many who continue to support the trump administration. the other is what we heard from john and that is people saying thank you for getting out and saying this. they know there is this silenced group of progressively minded christian people were not raising their voices. that is part of the reason we are on the store. whether or not trying to convince republicans they should not support him from -- donald trump, we believe if you watch the administration. there is nothing we are going to do and our messaging or events that are going to convince you. the trump administration is making our argument for us.

what we are trying to do is encourage people they are not alone they do not have to set their christian faith aside when they want to oppose this administration that is doing harm. one tweet this. are full of hate. why would they support drop? this was as i am an evangelical and i believe in complete operation of church and state. my beliefs have no place in our government. i am a liberal democrat but we exist. who cares what christians are evangelicals believe politically? i believe the separation of church and state. keep their prayers and political philosophy to themselves. why do you see the influence of forgelicals, even -- either republican or democratic candidates as being important in this election?

we are not asking for a block of voters to make the country's agenda. we are asking for each individual to be moved by but -- by whatever moves them. for evangelicals, they should not bring their agenda to their faith to their politics. they should bring the agenda of their faith to their own voting criteria. we are asking for people to be informed and to make thatinforme from what they are committed to in their hearts to their ballots. i appreciate those comments. what we do not want is some kind of the accuracy. -- the accuracy. they seem to want to conflate support with the trump administration and for this congress as support for the agenda of gods. what we are trying to say is your christian faith informs you as a voter. or informs you as a person and we want you to become a voter.

our agenda is not to inflict the rest of the country with the christian agenda. it is to affect voters with a net tax that would be meaningful for them when they vote. host: let's hear from the democrat line. caller: good morning. two difficulties i have are watching the democrats go crazy .ith their agenda the viciousness and attacks on the republicans is not religious. i want the republicans and independents to keep in mind kerry and obama went to syria prior to all this. i want people to be alert. i think they had something to do with all this going on now so please keep alert. how in california on our republican line. you are on.

caller: i was a democrat for 42 paying 2000w i am -- dollars a month. we are going broke. i do not support the sanctuary cities. borders, would you want people to come to the border and we let them in? --that is happening what is is happening with california, we are a mess. it is a great question about borders. common good is not a shield for the democratic party. what we're doing is motivate voters to engage in their faith. i will say this country has long had a commitment, sometimes driven by the religious understanding we should care for the least of these everywhere in the world. we have thegesting answer to every question about

the borders. what i am saying is you know what cruelty is and what it looks like and taking families that are seeking refuge and separating them from their children in order to send a message -- i want to be clear. that is what the trump of thetration's purpose separation of families is about. it is to send a message should -- so they are separating young children from their parents in order to punish. other people will not seek refuge. these are refugees. these are people coming, asking to receive the designation of being a refugee. the idea someone would say, if we do not punish children and emily's we are going to have "are to be frank? not think that is understanding the issue of what is going on with immigration. , more than 80%tt

of voters in 2016 voted for president trump. what do you think has changed in that group that would have them vote democratic in 2018? were heartened by the 20% who did not. it brought this statistic that came from a religious service. they found people who self identify as evangelical, 80% of those people voted for trump but when u.s. the question that if you attended a regular church service, the more often evangelicals attended church services or were engaged in communities of faith, the number -- percentage of support for donald trump goes down. i am heartened by that. in fact, people who are in christian communities where they are meeting in church services are groups, they are not supporting trump at the same level but there are people who

say they are religiously motivated and often those people support donald trump at a higher level. i think there is something going on where the self identification of people who are claiming a christian narrative supports donald trump higher than his practice of attending church do. we are hopeful that people in christian communities, if they are listening to one another, if they are engaging in issues of faith and civic life, that they are beginning to see you can have a christian faith. your christian faith calls you care for the least of these. you cannot simply go on supporting the trump administration and a republican congress. the a traveling with republicans , independents, people who do not vote regularly. it brought all of us together. this presidency is to be restraint and the founders .nticipated

the remedy was a congress who would storm up to this presidency. this is us utilizing the system below representation to bring about restraints we think there needs to be on a trump administration. host: you mentioned the common good tour on its way to texas, reporting on the senate -- senate race there. that overworked may benefit from an unlikely support group like even jellico women. after church on a recent sunday, emily mooney smiled as he -- she told her girlfriends about her public act of rebellion. she had given it to her family evangelical church. conservative bible belt texas, she spotted the sign of support, endorsing acker democrat challenging ted cruz.

what are you hearing about the role of evangelical women in these tidier -- tighter races? people have known for years women are always the driving force in these churches. even when churches do not recognize leaders yet, women have been the leaders of these churches and many republican women are so newly enraged about what is going on with the trump administration and complicit congress that they are willing to change their long-held political party affiliations to do something about it. this is a crisis of faith for many and the leadership is primarily coming from evangelical women who are not saying this has to stop. their behavior of the trump administration, the constant lies. it is hard for this woman to go over there church and here the idea that the truth will set you free what the trumpet ministration is lying and exaggerating.

evangelical women are the voting block we think is going to make a difference, not only in that senate race in texas but across the country. remind ournt to viewers we will be covering that debate between ted cruz. on our republican line, kathleen. good morning. caller: good morning. i disagree heartily with this pastor. the only thing he seems to be talking about is the separation of families. what about when somebody in this country is convicted and they are separated. how many are really family? they have not taken the children. i heard talking say to them, all of you folks who are violently opposed to these

people coming in and being separated, how many of you will take one family and your home, support them, pay their food spills pay their medical bills. why do you think it is to our right people come in illegally and, by the way i am an american by choice. why do you think? host: we will get a response. guest: thank you. bordermeone comes to the seeking refugee status, that is not coming into the country illegally. if you know what is happening on the border, the trumpet ministration is taking families who were seeking refugee status going to the border. they are not speaking across. they are going to the border and there they are being separated. i know it can feel complicated between people who are coming across the border four day work

versus families that are coming with mothers and fathers and children. and seeking refugee status from places in central america. the evangelical church community does work. i appreciate you bringing it up because that is great work organizations do supporting refugees. they support them financially. they help them find work. that is something the christian communities have done with refugees for decades. it is the work they do. i know you were trying to suggest if people like me want to support refugees, we should support them and we do. they are international refugee committees and all the religious traditions we care for refugees, we would rather see enter this country and then supported. i appreciate the fact you are saying we are only talking about refugees but there is something the christian story for jesus as

a refugee, as a child that connects with a lot of christians. they understand the idea that a government with -- would want to separate children from their parents. that is the christmas story. life the story of jesus' so those of us who root ourselves in that christian story sun connection to the idea young children would be pursued by the government to be separated from family. on twitter, reaction to c-span wj. evangelicals lost that ability with gw bush and and being a christian conservative, my division started and what to use them. says democrats will be curious on november 7. mary says there are other christians in the world. does christian, what

evangelical does evangelical mean? does it mean liberty university or temple university? >> many people have never heard the phrase progressive evangelical. they have only heard evangelicals representing a conservative and often fundamentalist extremist view of christianity. hundredsand there are around the country. people come from nondenominational free church evangelical backgrounds for whom our faith and believe in the teachings and following the ways of jesus cause us to live in progressive ways and causes us to think about the environment. it is a lot to think about health care and how we care for one another, to be -- to think about employees and fair wages. jesus is one whose as we visit people in present. when you care for the least of these, you have cared for me. that agenda we should care for

one another, what jesus would call the kingdom of god's many of us use the phrase the common good. ofmon good expressions religious life is alive and well amongst those who are christians and evangelicals. many people who are in evangelical churches are far more compassionate and progressive than the pastors who be those churches. as a pastor, i recognize the fact that people in my industry from my community have often come across as the people mentioning as tolerant, mean, restrictive and close minded. that is not true for everyone. part of the reason people do not know we exist is we have cupped ourselves quiet and common good is to travel this country and invite the religious community to live up to his faith not only in this election putting going forward. we are asking people to let the light shine before all people.

host: let's get one more call. this is our independent line. caller: it is sophia. -- are you aware these families are trying to smuggle in drugs? we are not just separating that. there are policies and procedures one must go to to become a u.s. citizen. they do not have to come illegally. do you have any common sense the way the world works nowadays, people just -- i do not understand. democrats hassk, the party itself been supportive? ofst: many people are leery 90 people for good reasons. they have only ever heard the expression of faith.

and evangelicals, that has been contrary. we are having to make clear to them that we do exist and we are people that want to support the common good. if we need to travel the country and six or 15 years in order to remind people to dislodge control of congress from democrats because they do not care for the common good, we are willing to do that. we are not just being democrats we recognize there is a national emergency and crisis that is going on with this trump administration. if we find a democratically controlled congress that is not pursuing the common good, i will be the first to be in a box and travel in the country asking people to pursue the common good because that is what our faith calls us to. care for all people in all situations and not find our allegiance to one political party. good for themmon tour schedule and more.

billy, appreciate you being with us. guest: thank you. we will continue the conversation of the upcoming election is's. gently clean.by are you planning to vote in november or not? we will hear from her on why people vote or in this case, why they do not. also, later we would hear from the family research council's tony perkins of the evangelical vote in november. announcer: c-span's studentcam video competition is in full swing. this is question is -- what does it need to be american? students and teachers from around the country have taken the social media posting about entries. celebrating cooperative federalism with marble cake in a peak of as we work on our what is a me to be

an american? thanks,ted special showing their #studentcam project. tweeted,gh school kicking off their final project. what does it mean to be an american? tweeted he -- students thursday. the students were able to get pictures. this year, for studentcam, we're asking middle and high school students -- to present a documentary. we are awarding $100,000 in test prices -- cash prices. the deadline is january 20. the to our website. -- go to our website. thursday, we are

augusta, maine for the next up of the c-span bus. paul lepage will be our guest during washington journal starting at 9:45. host: election day getting ever closer. we areeeks away and joined by jim lately who was a professor of public affairs at american university in the nation's capital. talk with us about why people choose not to vote. general, the common thought is midterm elections are lower turnout. what are the reasons they give for not voting? guest: a lot of times they report they do not have information about the election. they do not care or do not want to have anything to do with politics. it is not worth their time or effort to make to the polls on election day. host: look at the midterm

turnouts as lower than the presidential election. has that always been the case and historically, have turnout levels in the united states been low? announcer: in terms of midterms --guest: in terms of midterms, yes there is a 20% difference. this is common. there is lotuses group issued into campaign -- less information and campaign excitement. historically, in presidential elections the turnout has not declined systematically but it tends to go up a little or down a little depending on the ,ampaign so issues of the day whether the economy is good or not, other factors influencing individuals decisions. >> based on the election of a new president and issues surrounding the 2014 midterms, what is your sense looking at a three weeks from now how turnout

will be this year? guest: most are expecting high turnout. the question is whether there might be a partisan difference in that turnout. their oftentimes is. of theporters presidential election of the winning party, those reporters stay home. they won in the previous election. they are either satisfied or disappointed by what happened. so they do not go that extra effort to make it to the polls in the midterms. turnout is typically higher for the opposing party. the out party whose activists and voters want to make a difference. is their data to show the effect of a couple things -- states where a voter id is required or states where there are fewer polling places than historically had been or any

data on the impact of hacking another -- tampering with election systems. host: we do not have anything systematic on tampering but on the voting laws, we are starting to collect a fair amount of evidence that suggests these morees, making it difficult whether that is closing precincts are changing precincts, having them further away from your home or slice of business, can have a negative effect on turnout. often have a negative effect on turnout. you are making it more difficult for people to turnout. it is easier to stay home. the interesting thing about photo id is often there is a counter mobilization effect. if it becomes a political issue. while the adoption of the law might increase turnout, if more groups immobilize voters saying they are trying to take voters

rights away. you will see people respond. host: where we compared to the rest of the world? guest: are turnout is generally lower but that has to do with the details about election laws come election districts and such. are different but not necessarily unique on that point. host: our guest is jan leighley lately, professor of government a --ublic affairs at american university. joining us to talk about the upcoming election, particularly white people do not vote, we would like to hear from you. if you never voted, here is the fomite to use. would love to hear from you and why you choose not to vote. the other binds are like this. if you vote in some elections is if you vote always, that

these numbers. 202-748-8000 202-748-8001 independents: 202-748-8002 . reach us on twitter. washington post had this story that shows their poll. the voters appear ready to turnout numbers to be 2014. three weeks before the critical midterm elections, voters are expressing significantly more interest in turning out where they were roger years ago. -- across is up and all democratic groups. those who say they are in favor for democrats in the house typically are younger and nonwhite voters underrepresented in these midterms. guest: young voters are underrepresented.

inn you compare voters presidential elections to midterms, if they are younger who lose their voting power because there cannot rate are lower than those of older adults. that has been a historical pattern and really changed. there is a bump up in younger turnout, in obama's first election but that was it. today, story from usa records 29 million hispanics eligible to vote. more than 29 million hispanics will be eligible in november's midterm elections walking -- welcoming a percent of voters. that could prove request democrats try to win one of both changes of congress. writesite -- alan gomez overall increases is tempered by the fact hispanics have underperformed on election day compared with white and black voters according to analysis.

we have calls waiting for jim lately. on our line for those who sometimes vote, alexandria virginia we hear from charles. welcome. caller: good morning. i vote every chance i can. i did 10 years in iraq and afghanistan as a civilian and i was not always able to get my absentee ballot back and forth across the atlantic in time, but other than that i am most always vote. one thing i would like to say is people do not realize the reason we vote tuesday in november is so the farmers can get their crops and at the end of the summer and voting on the weekends is a sin. i would like to see election they moved to april 15 to help focus the mind on the election. grandfather was born in 1900

and he thought franklin roosevelt -- the moon and i -- voting was important. host: his idea of changing the election day makes interesting history on why it is the first state in november. guest: your historical details are excellent on that point, on the historical reasons we have done elections when we have. it has just been -- i believe there was a letter in the washington post proposing academics have proposed and started a group. mike alvarez. move to makeoup to election day a holiday. in many democracies come election day is either the weekends or a holiday where people have off work have a

which means it can make voting easier and if we want higher turnout, making it easier can make a difference. host: let's go to virginia. ace always votes. good morning. i always vote because i think that is one of the only things -- actually, voting and jury duty are one of the two the constitution should ask of us. i am a process service member. as the military, that was a huge response ability. i think it is beholden on us as citizens to do our duty as american citizens and that is to vote and serve on jury duty. when i hear people say they do not vote for whatever reason, then why are you upset?

host: there is not a constitutional obligation to vote but it is your sense there has been a civic duty to vote. held --s a wildly widely held belief in older individuals to shift from -- of thinking from voting as a duty. that is a key part of citizenship and its possibilities and being a member of a community among younger individuals. courtis not nearly the for that notion. it is a choice you make and it is a choice among a set of actions one might take were not take to try to influence politics or express your opinions. there was nothing especially unique or duty-bound about casting your vote. host: who votes now? this is a look at the turnout by

age in off year in elections going back from 1974 all the way .hrough 2010 in the older age group, 61-75. in off year election turnout, these seemed to be the same sort of float when you look at income brackets and the , we dodecline of turnout not have 2014 in their the we are seeking. that reflects the issues of the day whether we are in the second term of a presidential election and that emphasizes the effort political candidates put into getting people to vote because of issues at stake or control of the house at stake. whatever the politics of it is.

candidates, parties, independent groups. ask people if they need to vote. give them information and we see increases in turnout. host: did they have the upper hand in terms of enthusiasm? caller: they do because often there is a perception the policies and actions of the party in power over the previous two years have either threatens them or they stand in opposition to those actions. so they can step up and try to do something. host: we have set aside a line for those of you who never vote and we go to halley. tell us why you do not vote. caller: the reason i do not vote is i do not trust the system. back in the days, they would not have technology we have today. i think it is a way they can get information on the and i do not trust the system. host: how common is that

response? guest: i do not know how common but ithe technology it is would say it is confusing and frustrating to figure out how to vote. .ach state is different some states spend money for local voting, alexa ministers who try to do their best to make it easy and safe secure for individuals to vote. it can be frustrating to know how that system is set up. host: we hear from dominic who is a regular voter. isler: i think this year more important than any other we have congress and the senate to stop this president. it is unbelievable. i am begging my kids, they are all democrats.

i am begging them to vote republican. we cannot stop the trump agenda. i had a part of my house -- at my house. everybody who came over had to bring a cop. three years ago, every person who came was worried about losing their homes. everything was going well and we have to go out and keep this guy 's agenda moving. i hope everybody does the right thing and votes republican. it is important today. host: thanks. , connecticut. go ahead. guest: -- caller: first, thanks for c-span. i called on the sometimes vote line and though i am calling from connecticut, i am registered to vote in an happened and sometimes the candidate that is up for

election, because of the number of registered democrats in it is futile to -- so to speak. -- is going to win the upcoming election by 75%. it is a lopsided situation. for thoseke to say people who are interested in voter participation, i believe donald trump is going to increase vote up dissipation, to .eights never seen before that is pro-and against him and for that, increasing voter precipitation. i thank him. guest: yes. i think it is true. one of the things donald trump waydone is in a distinctive

and with what the color suggested is he is giving individuals a choice on variety of important public policy. he is making clear choices in taking a stance that in years past, president trump candidates have not offered or are not willing to make claims or offered arguments he has made. citizens have a charged. -- choice. what are you hearing from those who will vote are you hearing ?rom those who will not quote 202-748-8001 -- guest: american university are enthusiastic about getting out to vote and voting. a tweet from jason who says we should make registration automatic with the drivers

license and a story on that. the success of that in georgia area georgia sees a new surge of voters. more than half a million voters have been registered including the ranks of women and minority groups that tend lean democratic. much increase is the result of the change for tribal -- drivers license reform. applicants and automatically register to vote, how's that automatic registration become popular across the country? it has been adopted by an increasing number of steaks. automatic remember does not mean it does not connect you to candidates are issues in the campaign.

the georgia case is an important one where stacey abrams for governor investigated resources for getting registered voters to cast ballots. it is a two-step process. you have to have both in place. host: he talked about a woman who try to reregister but a month left before the election, this woman's application won us over 53,000 sitting on home with georgia secretary of state brian kemp's office and unlike appling nuñez, many on that list may not even know their voter registration has been held up and to point out the secretary of state is the republican candidate for governor. guest: yes registrations are on hold because they do not match

identification that has been provided. order lists are notoriously error filled and difficult to match to drivers licenses, especially for a unique name .ather than john or susan there are issues with requiring that match. sam, hello. caller: i'm a second law student at the university of maryland and i have always voted and one of my -- one of the things i studied in my undergrad degree at george washington university is the judicial election -- in judicial elections a few people participate in that begs the question of whether it is the .emocratic contest when you only have 40% or less of the electorate turning out, is that the democratic contest. those who do not vote are advocating civic duty of the

colors have alluded to. we have localities in states. we will see a lot of that. guest: judicial elections are tough. you have a shift of appointments from having elections driven by spending and we do not know who is doing this spending. we have little information in the media communities about actions or decisions or effectiveness of judges. one might argue an appointment system provides a different set of judges that might be superior to low turnout elections which might not represent the full body of potential voters. host: let's hear from another caller. this is david in illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you?

host: fine, thank you. 3 -- caller: i tried calling different times to talk. i am a 60-year-old white male, never voted throughout all the years. shame on me. because of everything i have seen going on throughout the past year, especially from the democratic seniors, i am disgusted at their behavior and i feel i need to do my part in .hose thing my vote you can do through the computer. you can do it in person. i urge everybody please get out and vote. host: david, are you going to do it in person or a mine in danville? a better part of it

online but i will be receiving -- i am disabled so i will receive people were to my home to be able to vote and then mail it back in. you pointed out midterm elections are run by states. absenteehe status of programs across the country? who is programs are lacking? guest: absentee programs are widely supported. state elections officials learned how to manage. one of the challenges is getting that balance back on time so so citizens counted are doubtful that can happen or will not trust the mail service. one interesting trend we are seeking is citizens are more

likely to drop absentee ballots off at election boxes or election locations rather than put them in the mail. once they drop in the mailbox, the not sure thing they will arrive. thoughts from a wild and wonderful who tweets, i was to my children into the booth with me and explained that by voting, i was fiddling one of the two duties of citizenship. by the time they were six, they understood that. good morning, robert. caller: good morning. it is amazing to me how the same bad ideas keep getting bandied we needed an essential -- the essential answer is to rename election day procrastination day and replace it with election season, then i

believe other states have. a electionn day is three-hour window. it doesn't 40 million people in philadelphia, the lines were two hours long. i cannot believe it has been challenged -- not been challenged in court. democracy is a sham and that people are deprived the opportunity to vote. shortecause the window is repeated suggestion about an election being a holiday is it will cost me billions of dollars for a state to provide an election season. host: we will get a response. aret: election officials

trying to do a lot with limited resources and having to guess a lot. when are all the people going to show up? -- show it. guest: we have studies. i think if there are problems, one might think that we will try to solve them and that is a practical issue. problems are not as widespread as what might appear to be the case. the other point about maryland's has extensive early voting. one implication is there used to election day and election day was a community of that, even are interactive with other people. you the members of your community. when are the consequences of election reform? now we will do home with our absentee ballot and we drop it in the mail and there is lex collection to the local community, which changes the nature of theit changes the nate

experience. jan jan leighley is an author. we'll get one more call. ocean, indiana. this is daniel, who does not vote. tell us why. caller: i grew up as a conservative republican, but i never voted because we were always taught it doesn't really matter. after last year's, or two years ago, the presidency, and this whole kavanaugh case. duty.it was my i have a lot of friends who have never voted who are voting for the first time this year. we hear how the democrats are going to win on the voting day. i am not saying it in my area. everybody is fired up as far as republicans to vote. to is it such a big issue

have a photo id to be able to vote? i don't understand that. host: you are in favor of that then. caller: i am in favor of that. host: do you have that in indiana? caller: yes, we do. host: we will hear from jan leighley. guest: you're right that for many people it is something we already have, so offering that photo id does not impose additional cost. for some individuals, people who don't drive, more rural residents, older individuals in their 70's, 80's, 90's might not have the paperwork they need or have official documentation. the cost, the effort they have to go to to secure that

information might not seem as easy as what you might expect. people get frustrated about standing in line on election day. imagine having to drive 30 miles to the county seat to sort out your records to get a photo id a month or two months or three months in advance of election day. for many people, photo id is just part of modern life, but not everyone. llers whohave two ca said they don't vote, but this will be the first election they will vote in. guest: we have choices. we have policies. it is about politics. host: jan leighley, thank you for being with us this morning. guest: thank you. host: we will continue on with more on the election three weeks away. we will talk to tony perkins, head of the family research

council. that's sheer on "washington journal." -- here on "washington journal." >> madison establishes the principle of judicial review. that is what he is known for. the fact is that john marshall was a soldier in the revolutionary army. he served at valley forge. figure in theng virginia house of delegates. he is probably the indispensable man in the ratification debates because he is the guy that

really persuaded the majority of virginia delegates to ratify the constitution. without virginia, there would not be a constitution. he was an important diplomat in negotiations with france. he was secretary of state. all those other contributions he has made as a founding father get for done because of his significant decision in marbury versus madison. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's q&a. >> this years question is what does it mean to be american? students and teachers from around the country have taken to social media, posting about their entries. tweeted,vernment celebrating dual and cooperative government as we work on our

what does it mean to be american c-span documentary. to our middle school, showcasing their studentcam projects. fourth block civics students, kicking off their studentcam final project, answering what does it mean to be american? took my harrisburg students on an outing thursday morning. the students were able to get some pictures for their c-span classroom student documentary. this year, we are asking middle and high school students to produce a five to seven minute documentary. $100,000 in cash prizes. the grand prize is $5,000. go to our website for more information. >> "washington journal"

continues. host: we're joined by tony perkins, president of the family research council to talk about religion and 2018. we want to start by asking about the past weekend and your involvement in the release of pastor brunson from turkey. how were you involved? guest: good to see you again. i was there in my role as a commissioner on the u.s. commission on international religious freedom. i was asked to be there for the hearing for pastor brunson. i met with him the night before. there was a lot of anxiety. he was fearful he was went to be placed back into prison the next day. e had been on house arrest since july 25. host: why? guest: he was charged after the 2016 onempt in

president erdogan. trumped up charges. the media speculates he was being used as a gambit. erdogan was upset that the u.s. did not weigh in immediately after the coup attempt and come to is a. there is no -- to his aid. submitted. evidence charges were based on hearsay. the witnesses who provided that this,y, so and so said that was the basis of the charges, basically they recanted their stories. what was clear was that the economic pressure, the sanctions, the terrace that the administration -- t ariffs that the administration had put in place forced them to find a way out.

two yearsnced him to and one month, giving him credit for what he served. that left a year. arrangements were made to get a military flight to get him out of the country immediately and back to the u.s. host: you were there on friday not certain at all. guest: we had no idea. the state department had no idea. the administration has been working on this. i spoke to the president before i left last week. i took a letter of encouragement from the president to pastor brunson. the state department has worked through various scenarios as to what their response would be to the decision. nobody knew if he was going to go back to jail. when the jail door opened, they turned a blind eye, and we immediately worked to get him

out of the country. host: have you been to turkey before? guest: i had not. i have been on the commission since may. another one of my fellow commissioners has been tracking this case. she was out of the country, so i was asked to go. we are showing video of you in the ove oval office with the president of the weekend. you prayed with the present. pastor brunson prayed with the present. this is a great man. he and his wife are wonderful people. he said we pray for the president every day. i want to thank the president for not for getting me. would it be appropriate for me to pray for the president? i said absolutely. that is what he did. we landed a few minutes before noon at anders air force base. shortly thereafter, he was at the white house with the

president. host: an editorial in the financial times has this title, a chance for turkey and america to rebuild ties. this clearly removes a major obstacle. turkey has been an important nato ally. there are other issues at play. the question has to be does turkey want to be a strong nato ally country? they are working with russians for a missile-defense system. there are multiple factors. i am concerned about the whole idea of justice. as i said in the courtroom, zmir, an hour from i turkey, a gymnasium converted into a courtroom. host: for this specific purpose?

it was converted two years ago after the coup attempt so they could do mass prosecutions at one time. the defendants sit in a lot of areas that could contain up to 100 people. they move them all through at the time. the hearsay evidence that was presented against pastor brunson , as a former police officer, i cannot have even gotten a search warrant based on what they presented. he was held for two years based on that. turkey has a long way to go. under erdogan, they have made some moves that are troubling. i hope this reset of this relationship or removing this obstacle can reengage those relationships where america might be a vote to bring them along. we are still very concerned at the commission on international religious freedom about the abuse of religious expression.

they remain a tear to country on our list of concern -- tier two country on our list of concern. host: moving on to politics here with tony perkins. evangelical voters, (202) 748-8000. all others (202) 748-8001. we saw the scene with pastor brunson praying with president trump. 80% of evangelicals in 2016 supported the president at the polls. would you think it looks like for evangelical support 2018? guest: it hasn't really changed. what is amazing is this presidentwould you think it looe for evangelical support has solt support. george barna, the guru in terms polling evangelicals, the socially active, governmentally engaged evangelicals are at about 89% in

support of the president. when you look at his policies, evidence with bringing home and evangelical pastor. he is not the only one. this is the 18th or 19th president we have brought -- prisoner we have brought home. has advancedow he religious freedom in the country domestically. you look at how he has advanced a pro-life agenda. fortwo top issues evangelicals and 2016 remain at the top list of their concerns are the courts because the have targeted things have targeted things evangelicals and conservatives care about. you look at public prayer, public expression of faith, the 10 commandments, the issue of life and marriage, those things were not decided by legislative bodies but by the courts. courts are at the top of the list.

this president has been systematically addressing those issues. pastorur earlier guest doug pagitt is leading vote common good, trying to bring out democrats. he raised the issue of immigration, detaining families at the border. how important is an issue for evangelicals? guest: it is an issue with evangelicals. it is a tough issue. i have met with the president about it. i have met with the attorney general to discuss this issue back when families were being detained. i said would have to figure out a better way to do this. we have, but it is still a problem. our borders are a problem. congress needs to take the lead. i have been at this post for 15 years. this can has been kicked down the road each time. it is a tough political issue, but it is an issue we must

address. host: let's get to the calls. we have vincent in oklahoma. go ahead. caller: good morning, tony, how are you doing? guest: i am doing great. how are you doing? for sin. am voting host: we say hello to stephen in connecticut. caller: hello. thank you for taking my phone call. i don't know if i agree with everything with tony. i agree with a lot of christian tenets, taking care of orphans, the penniless. i want to roll back into this voter discussion and getting out the vote and what his experiences have been like. my experiences, we can this canvas --

schools in town. it is really difficult. hispanic neighborhoods don't really vote. this is like the first year after eight hard efforts to get out the vote that i see hispanic neighborhoods starting to come around. this is anecdotal. lead themen really family and a lot of these neighborhoods? that's a good observation, stephen. in many areas, especially as you see single moms and absent fathers, women are leaving their homes. -- leading the homes. single moms, their issues are about their kids. they want hope for the future. they want to see them succeed. they need opportunities. voting is part of that. i encourage everyone to participate, especially if you have traveled overseas and

realize how few people on the face of this planet have the opportunity we have in america and consider the price people have paid to give us this freedom. we can disagree openly and argue in public, and yet we can do so, hopefully we will return to more civility, but safely. few places in the world have that. the vote is essential to that. in thee were talking previous segment about people that don't vote. what is the family research council's role in that? we have an arm that is involved in that. we have two bus tours around the country. registration,ter

but encouraging people to get out to vote. where need to be informed and wheres stand the candidates stand. people think the party platforms are not important, but they follow these platforms 80% of the time. host: here is michelle in atlanta. caller: good morning. first and foremost, i am iangelical black woman, and would never support anyone in that republican party. you have the grand wizard of the klan who is up in the white house and wants to do in all african americans and latinos. we have been registering stacey

abrams. georgia this thug in disenfranchise black people. black people are going to come voteike cockroaches and house.mp out that white guest: i certainly respect michelle's opinion. 8% of themp had about african-american vote in 2016. it is not high. it is below normal. shows that has grown enormously. the lowest unemployment rate 50 years. lowest unemployment rate for african americans in history. if you look at the economy, the

economy is forward. freedom andamental moving forward. , whenional opportunity people look at his policies, the beyond the tweets, they realize this administration is moving in the right direction. host: looking at june 2016 in whitelack protestant 8%, 55%.elical the fine for us what makes that'sgelical. guest: a good question. host: how do you define it?

guest: we mentioned george barnum. there's about 10 points he goes through. one who has confessed faith in jesus christ, accepting forgiveness, and seeking to live life life -- their bible.ng to the basically the bible gives guidance to everything we do. we vote according to those biblical tenets. evangelical vote is

about a third of the vote. sage-con is about 10%. host: there's a wide range. guest: no question. unusual in this last election. 2016. guest: yes. the president solidified that support. what was behind that is the more trumpdia pummel president paintinge him -- i'm with a broad brush -- it looks

gratuitous. evangelicals say they don't completely agree with skycam but he is beinggratuitous. attacked -- with this guy, but he is being attacked by the same people that attacked me. the more he is attacked, the comesemented that support from evangelicals. host: let's get to donnie. caller: hello. you took my call. i am going to be honest with you. i am pentecostal. i don't know what you all believe. i am going to tell you one thing. that's what my bible tells me. , or donaldicals trump, the way he has treated these women, says things he wants to say. i tell you what, when this life is over, we are going to come

before the lord. when we die, we leave this world. we are going to stand before judgment and be judged accordingly. i don't know what you believe in. if you don't tell donald trump what he has done to america. host: the will you go. guest: i like to ask him a question. the choice was between donald trump and hillary clinton. supportedinton openly policies that were antithetical to christian beliefs. what were we to do? voting is the same as supporting hillary clinton. i understand that mindset. i think it is a narrow, wrong viewpoint. especially given what we have seen in the last two years. i did not support donald trump in the primary for the very

reason the caller mentioned. when it came to a choice between hillary clinton and donald trump, i had donald trump who wrapped himself in the republican party platform, the most conservative platform in party history. i wrote a large portion of it. he had mike pence, a strong evangelical as his running mate. he put out a list of conservative justices he would've appointed to the supreme court. between that and hillary clinton, it is no-brainer. we supported him. we said we said we're going to give you a chance. we don't agree with what you are going to do in the past. we think your lifestyle is anathema when it comes to the standards and values we embrace, but here is the choice. opportunity, and he has not disappointed us. when you look at what he has done.

our support for him is not unconditional. if he continues to keep his promises and not revert back to the activity he is alleged to have done before, he will have our support. if that changes, so will our support. host: let's hear from james in baltimore on our evangelical line. caller: thank you for taking my call. like an sounds republican evangelical. what is the last time he supported any democrats? unless he is condemning all democrats of not being worthy of being called evangelicals. he sounds like one of those republicans where the ends justify the means. if this man does this for me, i don't care what he does. if he cuts taxes, i don't care what he does. i've got mine, don't care about yours. what has hillary done so that?

[indiscernible] host: all right. guest: i supported a democrat in the last election. dan lipinski. host: congressional race. guest: he is a democrat. pro-life. he embraces the values evangelicals embrace. it does not matter. if you carry the title democrat but have these values, we will support you. host: jim, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: fine, thank you. caller: i consider myself a christian, and one of the most important tenets of faith is we believe our personal faith is important to us. the difference here is that apparently his personal faith is he believes others must adhere to. we cannot live in a theocracy because my values must somehow

be foisted upon others. how does he justify his personal live? and others must to?t: who are you referring host: jim is gone. let's talk about mike pence. you have known him for 20 years. how has the president been in moments like that where the country has needed faith leaders as much as a presidential leader? guest: he has grown comfortable in that environment. it was an unfamiliar environment for him. he is clearly on a journey as it pertains to his faith. he has grown comfortable and listens to and appreciates the input of evangelicals. quite frankly i think it has had a positive influence on him. jim's point.ress

i don't know if he was talking about the president or me. nobody is trying to impose values. everybody has the opportunity in this country to bring their values to the table of discussion. e lastas on th administration, if you were a christian, you have to check your faith that the door before you could enter the public square. that is totally contrary to what the founders had in mind. does my view from the view to someone else? no. i have the right to aggressively argue. that is how our system works. we have this public debate. in the capital, that is what happens. we come to a consensus. when that consensus is short-circuited because we marginalize or silence certain voices or the courts don't allow us to reach that consensus, that is where we have conflict.

that is where we are today. with tonye, you're on perkins. caller: good morning. i was evident evangelical christian. i gave that up. i went back to be a true christian who follows the teachings of jesus. evangelicals have become paranoid, white christians losing their country to minorities. they have only one goal, and that is to keep america white and christian. that is exactly the opposite of what christianity is. love andity is about helping others and taking care of others. what has happened is the paranoid white christians have become worshipers of donald trump. they follow all these false prophets out there living in 16 million-dollar houses flying in $10 million jets.

they need to wake up. jesus is love, not hate. thank you. host: stephen in north carolina. guest: interesting. i will say this, i cannot disagree more with the caller. a few years ago, i wrote a book with a friend of mine who happens to be african-american, bishop harry jackson. it was about our faith. personal faith, public policy. he is a democrat. i am a republican. it is about how we use the guidance as evangelicals. we reached a consensus and understanding, commonality through the scripture. the scripture has to guidance as evangelicals. be the defining fact. jesus said i am the truth. i am the way, the truth, and the life. no man comes to the father but through me. we want to describe jesus as

love, he is love. he is also truth. to get yourharder message through in a society that has other religions? not as long as we can have a discussion. i know there is this focus on what is called those who no longer attend church. those people are not who have turned away from the faith, but i would say the church, and i am careful here because i'm painting with a broad brush. when you speak in generalities, you get things wrong, but many in the church have turned away from the truth and this idea that everything is love. it is love, but it is the truth. it is the truth that shows people they need the love of god. if we have an opportunity to have that discussion, i think that is why it is important that we have a civil society in which all views can be respected, not agreed with, but respected.

having that discussion is important. i have no concerns whatsoever about being able to defend what i believe. we just have to have that discussion. i think the truth at the end of the day prevails. perkins, president of the family research council. thank you for being with us. guest: thank you. host: google open up our phones for any public policy issue or news issue you want to talk about. we'll talk about the issue in istanbul and the khashoggi story in just a bit. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. republicans (202) 748-8001. (202) 748-8002 for independents. >> c-span's student video competition is in full swing. what does it mean to be

american? students and teachers around the country have taken a social media, posting about their entries. one ap teacher, celebrating dual and cooperative federalism with a cake in ap golf as we work on our studentcam document tree. john tweeted, special thanks to our middle school, showcasing their studentcam document tree. john tweeted, kicking off studentcam file projects, answering the question what does it mean to be american? harrisburg academy tweeted, took my students on an outing thursday morning. they were able to get pictures for their c-span classroom studentcam documentary. this year, we're asking middle and high school students to produce a five to six minute documentary. we are awarding $100,000 in total cash prizes.

the deadline is january 20. for more information, go to our website, studentcam.org. c-span, where history unfold stately. created as aan was public service by america's cable television companies. today, we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite rider. -- provider. "washington journal" continues. host: it is open phones until 10:00 eastern on the house comes in for a pro forma session.

we will get to your calls momentarily. microsoft, paul gates, passed away yesterday. the seattle times, renaissance man shaped the city culture. he helped launch the personal computer era, philanthropist, among the richest people in the world. he gave away his fortune. initiatives in aerospace and artificial intelligence. the allen, co-owner of seattle seahawks overlooking the team and alt for the public-private team and a public-private partnership in seattle's chinatown district. . what do you want to talk about? caller: good morning. how are you?

host: fine. thanks. caller: i want to talk about commercials that are being brought around the country. fatheru see a white picking up his eight-year-old daughter, biological black daughter, it makes your heart warm. for all the bigots and racists in this country, this is the way life is in this country. mark is only independent line. caller: how is it going? is tony still around? host: he is not. let's hope he is listening. go ahead with your comment. caller: he said in the previous administration you have to check your faith that the door. i guess my suspicion about that it is more of a coded

language for evangelical christianity being code language for white america and white attempt tomore of paint obama as this atheist who -- the paranoia one of the previous scholars pointed out. -- callers pointed out. host: thank you. we are going to michigan to hear from laura, republican line. caller: good morning. i would like to say asked republican because -- ex-republican because what we have in the white house is neither fish nor follow. i am so disappointed in the public who voted for this strong man, a man who had no knowledge of how politics operates and to

put someone like that into office to run this wonderful me that hisseems to prime object was to destroy anything that president obama had done in his eight years of governing. these christians are false prophets. anything is good only because it is their way. they have no consideration for the rest of the people because if he says he is only 30%, what about the rest of the people in this country. politics was the art of the compromise. vote to getoes not these kind of people out of office than might as well can for a prince who

lives a horrible life who they treat women like second-class citizens. it is appalling. wake up, america. the christians are not christian. host: it is open phones until 10:00 eastern on "washington journal." secretary cocktail with crown prince mohammad bin salman. he told saudi officials that u.s. concern about the khashoggi case and they want a thorough and transparent and timely investigation. joined on the phone by matt lee, associated press diplomatic reporter, covers the state department for the ap. from failed state with mohammad bin salman this morning. what has been the effort on this? guest: we have heard very little from the saudi's so far.

we have heard from the video and photographs that secretary cocktail hat with the crown prince that they were cordial. they were smiling and trying to front that suggests that the u.s. saudi partnership is in jeering and will remain. or not they are able to follow through on that, particularly given the rather harsh note that there seems to be on capitol hill right now about this whole situation, i am not sure that it is really feasible to say that this relationship is going to get through this whole episode .nscathed host: what options does the

state department have give the saudi's are going to admit to some culpability in the death of mr. khashoggi? guest: there are a broad range of options that the state department and the rest of the administration have, ranging from doing nothing, which i think is unlikely given the sentiment among lawmakers, the negative sentiment among senior lawmakers and republicans at that, not to mention democrats. i think the most likely scenario is if there is some admission of culpability that this was rendition gone wrong, and there thatdentified scapegoats it will be a minimal option if thatdministration thinks

whatever the saudi's come up with is credible and can pass the smell test. that is going to be difficult. that is probably what they are going to try. in that case, i would expect there to be some sanctions imposed on whoever these theegoats are, whoever saudi officials are who are blamed for this. i don't expect that those sanctions will be far-reaching and extend to people who are not identified as being culprits in this. believees anybody else that the killers could have been wrote killers as president trump speculated yesterday. it is difficult to say in

this vacuum of information other than leaks and possible theories that are being floated by and alsof the saudi's the turks who have come up with a variety of especially grisly theories about what happened to mr. khashoggi. anyone think that seriously believes that if something bad happened to mr. fisher be, which it certainly looks like it did that it was entirely without the knowledge of senior saudi officials. that does not seem to be plausible from what i am hearing around town.

we saw the video of the secretary meeting with hamas been summoned. is he going on to turkey? guest: that is the expectation, that he will leave saudi arabia after another meeting with the crown prince, which is expected to run late into the night. we would expect he will then ankaraw morning fly to for meetings with top turkish officials to get the state of play from them. i think we can probably expect some words from secretary cocktail tomorrow after his meetings in saudi arabia are complete. host: matt lee is a reporter for the associated press. he covers state department issues. thank you for the update. guest: thank you. says a tweet, matt smith

matthew lee is a hell of a reporter. i thank him for his service. we thank him for his update. eastern.es until 10:00 this is plain field, new jersey, conrad on the democrats line. good morning. unfortunately so many of the previous scholars stole my thunder. tony perkins made mention of the fact that the previous administration stopped our religious views or freedoms. he did not cite one example of how the obama administration did anything to harm anybody's religious views. in fact, both barack obama and his wife attended regular church services every week. this man has not seen the inside of the church except one he was going for one of his failed marriages. he said that the previous administration did things to

hurt evangelicals. he said it no evidence of that happening. is a man that lies and divides this country. you want to talk about division. i have not seen a mop any angrier than the ones at his campaign rallies. they look like lynch mobs. he says some of the most egregious things against don lemon, maxine waters, lebron james, and he gets cheered for it. starting with his father, fred trump, they have not paid income taxes. that is called cheating. this man has about as much christian character in him as an ant. evangelicals swarm around this man and say he represents morals and values. there is no moral value whatsoever from donald trump. you mentioned the rallies the president has been having,

which we have covered on c-span. one of the reporters who is always there, cnn's jim acosta. accosters, the headline, he is harangued and asked for selfies. he has noted that such events can be fraught. his recognizable face, he is something like the star of an opposing team at a home game, a villain. brian in texas, good morning. caller: my name is brian. thank you for allowing me to speak. good morning. ironic that your seemed to him and his other evangelicals to forgive trump on every transgression he has made before becoming president or any sense

he may have committed before being president, such as infidelities and so forth, failed marriages, and yet i remember a guy in the white house 20 years ago, and the only not being made was truthful about relations with an intern, and yet he was a most impeached. -- almost impeached? why were the image a local's at that time -- evangelicals at that time pushing for impeachment, and yet 20 years forgiving are not goin trump. caller: i want to make a few points faster than liberals make most points. president trump, before he was

president, when he won the primary, i told my children, give him one year in office, and the liberal press will have the nation believing trump divided the nation. that is how he got elected. it was a reaction to obama. as far as being the perfect man, king david had a soldier killed in battle so he could steal his wife. peter denied christ publicly to save his own skin. he will use him despite a man's imperfections. fk said ask not what you can -- your country can do for you can do for your country. ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. eisenhower,an under it was weekend by lyndon johnson. that is why we don't hear much

about it. you will never hear about it. it will be gone from the history books. appreciate the call. host: thank you. rule would compel drugmakers to disclose prices in commercials. the trump administration proposed a new regulation that would require them to disclose the list prices of prescription drugs in television advertisements. the proposal sets the stage for a battle with the pharmaceutical proposedindustry, which says the requirement would be a form of compelled speech in violation of the first amendment. patients deserve to know what a given drug costs when they're being told about the benefits and risks. know the drugo company has pushed their prices to abusive levels. the proposal to

long-standing requirements for automakers to disclose sticker prices. that speech by the health and human services secretary yesterday. we covered that on c-span. you can find that on c-span. rapid city south dakota, good morning. democrats line. caller: this is the democrats line? host: sorry, i got the wrong one. that is louis and south carolina. caller: i want to remind people of america we took religion out of the schools a few years back. now we're putting it in the politics. think it is time america wakes up and realizes what is happening. falling, and it is going to fall. when it falls, it is going to fall hard. host: catherine is on the

democrats line. welcome. caller: good morning, c-span. good morning. i am calling because i want to say that president donald trump never intended to represent all of us, he never will. now or when he runs, if he does run for office again. i don't think he will win. i hope to god he will not win. see: who would you like to run? caller: i would like to see john kerry, the former secretary of state run and win. host: what about your state senator elizabeth warren? would you support her? caller: i don't think she will run. ofo see that she gets a lot

press and things like that. i don't know. is not sure if the country .nterested in her i don't know. i felt like john kerry kind of already won his presidential election, and for some reason that did not get counted either. gore ran andthe al won. secretary clinton ran and won. you know, democrats i guess run and win. when are we going to learn? host: let's hear from matthew in baltimore, public in line. caller: i just had a quick question. we don't hear too much about the

tombs that went missing in china, and yet we hear a lot about this journalist in turkey. host: very good point. i will see what i can find. we have a couple minutes left. heraldage of the miami and courtesy of the museum. the picture of the president handing out water in florida. he was in florida and georgia yesterday. focusing on the campaign, the election three weeks away. the hurricane disrupted two of the nations most consequential races, florida governor and u.s. senate by forcing strategists to balance the need of empathy with the need to woo voters. louise ono oregon and our democrats line. thank you for taking my

call. it is hard to get into you guys. i want to say if we believe in god, we best believe in the devil. he might just have orange hair. these men, while they are flashing the headlines everywhere are very busy with deregulation and everything else you can imagine that is going to destroy our planet for all life so i just wanted to say this as well as let's not forget the 5000 kids that have been taken away from their parents that are now intense in i guess texas probably. michigan, is great, independent line. caller: yes, this is brad. host: ok. go ahead. you are on the air. caller: thank you. your evangelical guest list for a perfectly white churches and

religions should no longer receive tax breaks. host: why is that? are you still there? back to the issue of the journalists, mr. khashoggi and that story our involvement with the saudi's. this is from the washington post this morning, while trump wants lucky and boeing and others dealing with the saudi's. saudi arabia has long been fertile territory for u.s. defense contractors since 1950. the country has spent nearly $90 billion on arms from american suppliers according to data compiled from the pentagon. nearlyar alone it spent $5.5 billion. that is not close to what the pentagon spends, but it is not for defense firms to court the kingdom. next up is shreveport, louisiana. this is carol on our republican line. caller: good morning.

host: good morning. go ahead. caller: i am a christian. is thing i don't understand how the republican and democrat christians can spew such that at one another -- venom at one another. what happened to love one another? if we don't get together as humans and treat each other with respect and love and kindness, we are all in deep trouble. just want to follow-up on a collar that asked about the interval story. the headline, wife of ask him to pull chief fears for her life with her with her husband attained in china. reporting says the wife of the former interval chief fears for her life and that of her twin boys after her husband was retained by chinese officials in the latest case of a forced disappearance in beijing.

she said she received a threatening phone call from a stranger after her husband vanished. she said the stranger told her to teams were coming to target her very she -- she was moved to tears as she spoke of her sons and said she has not told them what happened to their father gre. that is from cnn. let's get one call from and in powder springs, georgia on the democrats line. he had talked about evangelical christians. i think what we lose sight of here is that when we attach a label on to everybody what we are saying is that all of these people are the same. i am 80 six years old, i am an evangelical christian, and i am a democrat because i am a christian. >> we will let you go there.

one final note from president. with a record, i have no financial interest in saudi arabia or russia. have isestion that i more fake news of which there is plenty. that does it for washington journal this morning. the house is in no for a brief pro forma session. thank you for being with us. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] thchair ls befo theouse a communicnthe speake e crk: e ss om, waington, d.c., octer6, 18. i heby theonable yan a.ostello to act as spker pro tempore his y. ned, paul dry, speak of the hou representatives. the speakro tempor the prayewille off by lain, fatheronroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. gracious and merciful god, we give you thanks for giving us another day.