be another session of no change. >> the issue that i think is is for there to be balance in the house of representatives and the u.s. senate. think it will force the current administration to try to govern more from the center, which i think is important. when we govern from the center, i teach my students this, it is important to do that because it teaches us to have empathy for the other side and it teaches us to eat able to recognize other people and the issues that are important to them. voices from the state. part of c-span's 50 capitals tour. announcer: this morning, a look at issues in the battleground state of minnesota. later, military times pentagon chiefh chief -- bureau

talks about the trump administration to send as many as 800 u.s. troops to the southern border in advance of the tiger caravan. take your calls and and twitter. " washington journal" is next. ♪ good morning. october 29, 2018. flags over the u.s. capital remain at half staff two days after that attack on a pittsburgh synagogue left 11 people dead. this marks 8 days until election day. it was two weeks ago president trump said the midterm elections kavanaugh, at caravan, law and order, and common sense. democratic candidates have worked hard to make the election cycle about health care and a referendum about the president.

we are wondering what you think the election is about. give us a call and let us know what issue you think the fines 2018. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. you can also catch up with us on social media. on twitter it is @cspanwj. on facebook, facebook.com/cspan. very good monday morning to you. you can start calling in now online's for republicans, democrats, and independents. we begin with this headline from the new york times. pipe bombs and shootings unsettle elections. with today's left in an already divisive election season, the campaign finale is unfolding and a cascade of horrors finger-pointing. a handful of senate races nationwide. theyny voters appear --

also often defended or blamed politicians, particularly president trump based on those buried-- partisan lines this headline from the front page of the washington times this morning. americans agree, other side must temper rhetoric. mail bombs, shootings change nothing. what is the issue that the fines this campaign? what is it about to you? republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. here is a couple of the other headlines this morning on some of those other issues that may come up. from the new york times today, a pitch for health care to the front page of usa today talking about abortion cases making their way to the supreme court offering a test to the high court one more from the washington post about the youth vote. will a youth wave hit the ballot

box? a new poll says the demographics' interest in the election is increasing. in st. petersburg, florida, line for democrats. go ahead. caller: i think the biggest issue coming up right now is the fact the polling is not correct about what is going on. you cannot have all these republicans jumping ship on the republican bandwagon and say they're voting power is even to what it was before. they have a lot less going on. i think we are all being fooled by these polls. i look forward to the blue democratic wave putting my man g illum in in florida. host: for the race for governor would do findat that governors race for you if you point to one issue? there is toold say

much in trump's pocket, he is not his own man. host: larry in massachusetts, democrat. go ahead. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. aboutk this race is cycle. about historical cycles. we have seen -- seemed to come all the way around to fascism in this country and i think it will take on traditional voters and young people and everybody who cares about this country to turn out and vote to stem the tide of this right-wing push. theseve these haters and shooters and these domestic terrorists and i wish the media would call it what it is. it is domestic white terrorism

and it's only the vote because that is the power we have as the american people in this country to stem that tide and turn things around. again, thank you for c-span. i think you are very vital. host: in new york, independent. good morning. caller: i think this election is most likely going to be a referendum on the president. economy is see, the doing good. most things are doing very well. if you ask of the young people what they think, they are getting jobs. all of these problems we have, internal division, whatever, i believe republicans are going to keep the majority in the senate and in the house, there will not be dramatic change. the democrats might win, but that is it. as long as the president keeps on the economy has what the

gentleman behind me says about white extremism whatever, go to german. -- europe. the german chancellor is going to lose her -- the way the trend more conservative idea of keeping the interest. -- trump isk trump just one part of the movement i see, personally. host: has it always been about the economy this cycle for you? caller: basically it is the economy. the economy is keeping doing what it has been doing, republicans will be fine. host: on the independent line, eric, elk grove, illinois. good morning. caller: yes, sir. i am absolutely in love with trump. i was a republican, but i no longer will be. i am independent.

i think there are so many things . the main issue with immigration has to be number one and c-span is too darn liberal. i think you should go right down the middle. i would love it. you, sir, are the worst of all the hosts for being obviously liberal. host: why did you become an independent? why did you switch from the republican party as someone who says they love donald trump? caller: i was a cruz man all the way. trump is so honest. i love it. it is the best time of my life. it ist care if i die, great. i love waking up in the morning and seeing what did trumpster new today. host: that is eric in illinois. john, los angeles, line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. i am calling about your topics. i would like to say to the last

caller, i personally have never seen the political scene in this country so uncivil, so ridiculous. i am not really a democrat. i am sure as hell not a republican and i personally think donald trump is a disgrace . getting back to the topic of the day -- before i do so, i would like to say i wish c-span. i like c-span. i watched it for 30 years. i would like to see it go back to the way it was when brian lamb was there and you bring in people to talk about a topic and you always had a counter -- usually republicans or democrats, somebody to counter the person's opinion. people outside here could figure out what the other side was thinking before they came in and called. as far as what we should be thinking about in the elections, i think we should be getting out of this warmongering stage we are in. get out of building a defense

system basically at the expense of social security and a lot of social programs that need to be bolstered up. we should get back to the idea of fixing infrastructure and building the green infrastructure that will take us into the 21st century. we are wastinge our money on what we are doing, making rich people richer at the expense of poor people trying to get on their feet and scaring people about losing the few social benefits they have. they could get them out of the kind of -- people are in bad shape today. i live in los angeles. you should take a walk on skid row. host: do you think there will be a focus on infrastructure in the next congress? is that something you think both sides can come together on in this climate? caller: i think the green infrastructure and the regular infrastructure is something we

should, but we will never have the money to do it unless we get out of this warmongering stage we are in. host: john in california. on the republican line, gordon is waiting period caller: thank you for taking my call. i think the main issue in this upcoming election is whether this country is going to look up or look down. if we look up to god, he will take care of us. everything will be all right. if you look -- if we look down to what the democrats want, to kill babies in the womb, higher taxes, a safety net for everything that goes on in this country. this country went for 150 years without safety nets. people take care of each other when it comes down to it. host: our question for you, what is the 2018 election about? republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000.

.ndependents, 202-748-8002 a couple callers already this morning have brought up the political tone in this country. it was an issue that came up yesterday on the sunday's shows. this lankford was on cbs week and was asked about the political tone in the country. [video clip] >> the president of the united states has a bigger voice than anyone else in politics or in the world. does the president, as it stands right now, meet that standard you are talking about for public discourse? >> no, i have said this to the president before. i think the president needs to be more clear in his rhetoric and doesn't need to be as caustic. that is the way he chooses to communicate and i don't think it is always helpful. we have the same issue on campuses all across the country where individuals cannot speak out there views or they will be shouted down. in our basiclp dialogue and i think the president should and all of us

in congress and anyone in public a good roleset modeling example of what it means to have respectful dialogue. host: that was republican james lankford on the sunday shows yesterday. how the president has reacted in the wake of the recent pipe bombs in that shooting on sunday from the front page of the new york times, the chief counselor quickly veers back to attack. of the story noting the president's leadership has been thrust into the center of the national debate with about a week to go into the midterm elections. the story saying even some of his supporters have called him tone deaf in recent days saying his fire and fury style fueled a toxic moment while defenders bristle at what they consider opportunistic attack by opponents interested only in tearing him down. the president has made clear he does not see national harmony as his mission. he mocked the notion of being

presidential. he breeds the dutiful words of unity and grace and determination that aids put in front of him, but refuses to stick to this script as people want a fighter and he plans to give them that. this was the president on twitter saying the fake news media is doing everything in their power to plane -- blame republicans, conservatives, and me for everything going on in our country. it is their fake and dishonest reporting causing problems far greater than they understand. is question for our viewers what is the 2018 election about. what is the issue that defines it for you? brad in kentucky, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. you do a fine job and don't let anybody tell you different. will be about the future of the country.

with a two-party system, i know republicans are very happy with trump and that is fine, but with , the dialoguestem is reaching a point. it is not that we will be sparked into violence. --on't think the rhetoric people complaining about the temperature of the rhetoric and stuff. what we need to fear is we are reaching a point where it is not so hot, but we are numb to one we are listening to where no one is hearing one another. point, yout to that now progress can be made -- progress can be made with legislation or anything when you have no desire to interact or communicate or try to progress with the other party and i blame a lot of that on the democrats. i don't think trump is nearly

the -- he has got quite the mouth on him, but it is not -- he is not spewing the violence they make him out to be. i think a lot of it has to do with democrats and when trump came into office, i don't think he knew he was necessarily republican or democrat. he could very well work with the democrats and probably wanted to. for some reason, he decided he is so foul an individual that the whole country will be sacrificed on not doing anything with him. cultureu talk about a of not listening and talking past each other, was election 2016 like that in your mind? caller: yeah. and there's a lot of blame with the democrats is that. aboutas been said still

hillary clinton and the dnc, the total corruption. that is still going. host: when was the last time an election wasn't defined by that? caller: defined by what? talking past each other and not being able to get anything done? 2016.: it started in i believe for sure. i know republicans -- people say and it's a fair point, republicans, mitch mcconnell infamously said -- he had that meeting the day obama was sworn that he was can i make sure he didn't get anything accomplished or something like that. republicans did ratcheted up on obama to an unprecedented level. now we are at a point where we

are fully not willing -- not willing to hear one another. host: that is brad in kentucky. you bring up president obama -- senator mitch mcconnell, senior senator from your state. he has a column in today's washington times bringing american politics back from the brink. he writes in that piece today that these artifacts. while my democratic colleagues mobs, thison angry unified republican government has been helping deliver one victory after another for american workers and families. we have taken major bites out of republican -- obamacare and dodd frank. we passed landmark legislation to confront the opioid epidemic had on. we have ended the obama era atrophy of our national defense and made the investment in our all volunteer armed forces our service members deserve. this contrast could not be clearer. democrats are grasping for unhinged attacks and republicans

are taking care of the people's business. that is his column today. the lead column in the commentary section of the washington times. jim in charlotte, north carolina. republican, go ahead. caller: yes, sir. this whole thing with russia and donald trump being the only one that understands war and piece -- peace, you cannot get there if you are dealing with -- and hillary clinton and donna rice. if you want war, keep up what you are doing. if you wanted peace, -- would have been built was totally different than he was. just a response. host: why do you believe president trump is the only person who understands war and peace? caller: he told the lady one day he was trying to keep her from .urning up

.t wasn't noticed, of course right on c-span a few weeks ago, wilson a gang of woodrow so-called foreign-policy experts and everybody saw how wilson was filled with, the good old boy. what is got putin and the cia in business for? in 2011, hillary and -- who used to brag on c-span about what was going on trying to cause a revolution in 2011 in moscow. what do you think the cia is in business for? you don't want peace with russia

and you probably won't get it. host: cori in new york, democrat. good morning. what is the 2018 election about? caller: hi. i don't know why people are picking on you. you are not responsible for what people say over the air. this is an easy question to answer. it is shock and offer the democrats because they lost the election. they made up their minds right away to hate him and not even pay attention to all he has accomplished in two years. obama had a democratic congress for two years. he did nothing. he had no plan. i cannot vote for the democratic way. there is no way. if you have an open mind, you will see this man is doing a great job. host: do you consider yourself a democrat? caller: i would like to be, but i will not be this time. host: why would you like to be?

caller: i would like to be because i have always been. this is ridiculous. what i see democrats doing. screaming women standing in front of senators, bothering people who are trying to eat their dinner. it is horrible. i look at those women and i think, i am not one of them. host: when is the last time you voted for a democratic candidate and why? but it i tried obama, was a big disappointment. i marched for civil rights. i was happy to see him get in, but he was a do-nothing man. two years he had solid democrat behind him. all he had to do was have a plan and he did not. in las cruces, new mexico, independent. good morning. caller: for me, last week, the question was where were you win fascism -- when fascism came to

america? the week began with our inability to condemn the khashoggi killing in his temple -- in stanbul. we then moved on to the assassination attempt of national and political figures. then we had nielsen at the border at the head of homeland security saying we would not kill the immigrants seeking asylum in this country. that was followed by the bubble floated by the administration that we would write homosexuals and gay people out of existence. then we have the president declare that he was a nationalist and we ended the week with the killing of people in a synagogue in pittsburgh. is me, that in caps on lies s what fascism

is about. the jews, that gay people, and instead of the gypsies, we are talking about brown people from central america. where were you the week fascism came to america? host: that is don in las cruces, new mexico, this morning. here is one of the lead stories in the pittsburgh post-gazette, focusing on of the emotional vigil held yesterday in the wake of that shooting at squirrel hill synagogue. gazettesburgh post talking about the victims from 54 to 97 including a husband and wife, two brothers were the first to arrive at one of the nation's oldest synagogues. that vigil yesterday. the 2000 people attended alleged shooter, robert bowers, is expected to before -- appear before a federal magistrate

today. the editorial board of the "feelurgh post gazette we must" is the headline. we need a moral awakening in this country. gunt is foolish to think control will end mass killings or armed guards would prevent them all, it is full or should to pretend there is not a national, spiritual crisis. ande is a mental health mental health institution relation crisis. pittsburgh's alleged domestic terrorist was consumed by a disease called hate. we need a reassertion of values.ist and humanist we all need to get and give more mercy. culture changes, politics, politics can cave -- can change government and traditions. in much of our current high and low, left and right, young and old, there is an undercurrent of hate. hate is not a national condition, it is a learned

thing. churches, temples, mosques, to become incubators of respect. we are taking your calls this morning. days away from election day 2018. we are asking what you think the election is about. what issue defines it for you? dave in michigan, a republican. go ahead. saner: i am going down to antonio in a few days. i have to say the hispanic community, i have never met friendlier people in all of my life. i think they are probably the most friendly ethnic group in the world. i would love to go down there. my daughter lives there and my two granddaughters are marrying two handsome hispanic men. they are legally here. the previous phone call, that man actually sounded like he

needed to see a psychologist -- psychiatrists. if you blame on what all of the said on donald trump, you definitely are misguided. the article you read in the newspaper truly is what has happened to this country. they have taken god out of our public school system. they have taken any chance of expressing christianity in our schools or any religion -- they have taken it out. allowed to know the 10 commandments. you are not allowed to know anything about our religious heritage in those public schools. when you do that, you take away the fear of god. that is what this country was established on, the fear and respect of god's will and the 10

commandments, thou shout not t not kill.l shalt not steal. i remember coming home from work one day and i was living in the east area of detroit, an all-black neighborhood and i am partially black myself. i have read hair with big freckles. my little girl was sitting up and she was really smart in school and the black children front porch on my feeding off of what my little girl knew in the classroom. they were studying together and they looked at me and said -- i won't use my name, but they said they thought -- i am going to vote for ronald reagan. i looked at them and i said, i guess i am, why? they said, because you are white. i said, i really hate white. was wrong -- ain't white.

what is wrong with the republicans? don't you know abraham lincoln was a republican. and they told me he was a democrat and showed me in their history books it said he was. kids are taught lies in school today. we need to do something about our school system and start teaching our kids about our faith and the 10 commandments and the respect of someone greater than us. hences not done today and , we have people like that fellow that killed all those jewish people in pittsburgh. you grow up in a godless life and you are going to be godless. host: kenneth is next, buffalo, new york. a democrat. what is the election about in your mind? caller: i have a little quotation here.

as democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents more and more closely the inner soul of the people. on some great and glorious day, the folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the white house will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic morom. n. hl mencken july 1920. i say that a little fishy sisley -- facetiously. the issue is donald trump and he is a disaster for this country. .eople don't seem to realize it , they ask election all the candidates what they thought was the greatest threat to america and only one of them had it right and that was bernie sanders. he said climate change.

people don't realize that is a one is evenand no talking about it. the president of the united states is not even talking about it. of the one example mindlessness of our president. of -- immigration is a distraction. it is, look over here to diverge the attention of the people from the really important things. where is our infrastructure? how come our infrastructure is falling apart? how come the stock market is plunging at the present time in spite of all the claims he is doing so good for the economy? i can go on and on, but it should be about the president

because he is doing a lot of damage to the country. i have had enough time. thank you. in newhat is kenneth york. a few tweets. the question, what is the 2018 election about. aboutiewer writes it is trump. will he keep our with congress behind him or become not relevant? several more tweets as we have been chatting along. tom in tennessee, and independent. go ahead. >> good morning, sir. i think this election is very important. one of the things that is actually missing that i see is the moderate position. over the last 30 years, with moderates in congress and the senate disappearing. you have had this gravitation to the extreme left or extreme right. i don't believe most americans

are that way. we need a little bit of socialism as far as medicare and social security and whatnot. we also need the regulation of businesses to the point where they can flourish, but not be a contributor to the climate change we are experiencing. it reminds me of a lecture i saw on youtube. it was a professor talking about the ancient western roman empire and how it fell and that was because a lot of their rhetoric was becoming so extreme. you had people they call barbarians, basically non-latin speaking people wanting to move in and become part of it. the powers that be said no. we really are dividing their own house and falling for the shock jocks on the news, the radio and tv. you have to be extremely this

way or that way. we need to get back to the middle ground. that is who we are. that is how we were founded. we seem to be ignoring it. host: this is senator chris coons, democrat from delaware asked on face the nation about the political tone and whether lawmakers share responsibility equally for setting that tone in the country. [video clip] >> i think those of us in national office, those of us in congress who have louder microphones and are heard from an seen more regularly need to take responsibility for ways in which we lower the temperature. senator lankford and i are the cochairs of the weekly senate prayer breakfast. we get together every week with a bipartisan group of several dozen senators and one of the things we focus on is trying to oft each other in a spirit

humility and prayer and see each other as real people, not as enemies or political opponents. one of the things that concern me is the ways in which our president and a number of other national political leaders of both parties have used their megaphones in order to inspire and instill and energize folks based on division rather than based on unity. >> are you making any claim about that inspiration and the acts we have seen this week from the president? >> these particular attacks are from deranged and hateful individuals. it is hard to draw a clear line between specific arguments the president or others have made. when senator sanders heard one of his supporters had taken up a rifle and shot congressman's police and try to kill other republican members of congress, he took to the floor and announced it. what i think -- denounced it.

what i think is helpful is those in national leadership recognizing the arguments they had -- are making have inspired or encouraged deranged individuals to commit acts they do not support. to distance themselves from the arguments that might have inspired these arguments -- these actions. it is important for us to recognize there is more work we can and should do to lower the temperature and tone in our national politics. 7:30 on thefter east coast and we are asking you what is the 2018 election about for you? a few answers from facebook and twitter. betty writes it is about immigration and we must not reward criminal behavior with the gifts of our country. one viewer says it is about everything, trump must go.

rihanna st. petersburg, florida. a democrat. what do you think? caller: this election is really about a legal immigration. -- we hear, i am a democrat, but i am voting for president trump only because i want to protect this country. i was originally from venezuela. i came from venezuela legally 30 years ago and i saw what illegal immigration did to my country. i see cnn and the democrats only illegals families and children. i worked with social services for 20 years and i see the need the americans have. there arefamilies -- already immigrants here. white americans and we need a lot of money. seniors need a lot of money.

need aldren in poverty lot of money and democrats, all they do is talk about illegal immigrants. youou love your people or want to bring people and the united states have given help to the world at the expense of the american people who are the kindest people in the world. i don't agree with mr. trump. i don't like -- a lot of things i don't like about him. the protection of immigration. thank you. is waiting next in texas, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. i am a republican and yes, i did vote for donald trump and promises made, promises kept. if you look at what this man has keeping all of his promises and when i look at all these people coming up from guatemala and honduras and whatnot, they are going to try

and get into this country illegally and this is why we need a wall. just like that lady prior to my call said. we have got enough people up here that need help. we don't need people coming into this country illegally and the democrats saying we don't need a wall. they want to let these people in here and give them free medical, free food, and everything else. what about the people we have got living under the freeways now that don't have a home? that are standing out on the corners with a sign saying "i need money." "i don't have food,"" i don't have a job." where are we going to put these people? that migrant caravan you referenced, we will talk more about it in the wake of the trump administration announcing the deployment of military troops to the border.

we will be joined by tara copp, the pentagon bureau chief for military times. talking about that mission and what they will be doing when they get to the border. stick around for that discussion. dan in billy, maryland, independent. good morning. , maryland, independent. good morning. caller: i have worked for 7 presidents in the last 30 years and i have been a democrat in maryland for the last 60 years. i support trump. to me,at him and see, the smartest fellow i have seen as a president of all the folks i worked with starting with lyndon johnson, nixon, go on up through clinton. i work in national security and doing a onald trump is job in national security. i could go on a detail, but i will tell you he is seeing

things and done things that have been amazing than -- and previous president have ignored them. i don't think you can argue with the economy. even ronald reagan's record, he has surpassed that. when it comes to the economy, you have to look at the immigration problem and national security altogether. these people coming in are good people. whoally like the mexicans come in. i see them working around the neighborhood and they are great people. however, we cannot afford to take in the world. this is a national security problem not only because these people could do us damage, but they are taking our resources that are required for national security and to take care of americans. when donald trump says america first, this says we elected this guy as our country and we should be able to control things.

he is doing that. host: it sounds like you have been around a lot of presidents. which president does he remind you of? caller: pardon me? host: which president does donald trump remind you of? caller: the two best president i worked for, ronald reagan and bill clinton. i don't look at the president as my priest. these guys are doing a job. i look at them as functionaries. people who provide a service and take care of the country. bill clinton did a great job on the economy, i think, and he kept us mostly out of wars. i think ronald reagan, -- i think donald trump is this way, too. in some ways, even better. you can take a look at things like the united nations and how we are mistreated around the country. been screwedmy has up and people have lost jobs

because of those large trees that basically screw us when it and how tradefs should be handled. this is not free-trade we have with china and nafta and mexico. these things are where we have gotten the bad end of the stick. i see donald trump doing all these great things. one thing he did this morning. i listen to all the talk shows. what i see here. these people, on every sunday with the same basic message, 95% hate trump. 95% propaganda. nonsense is fine. nonsense all the time. look at the evidence. what is the evidence that donald trump presents? the evidence is the economy and we will be talking to the folks in north korea.

all right, that guy is a little bit off-the-wall, but we have to work with him. they have weapons that can do damage to us. i am just saying, let's get some sense in this country. all of this nonsense like -- speech does not cause crazy people to do crazy things. they will do crazy things no matter what and there is nobody who has been better at dealing with israel and the jewish people as donald trump. grandchildren are jewish for crying out lab. the nonsense you hear -- out loud. the nonsense you. ridiculous. host: democrat, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have an opinion about this election. republicans stay in power they control the house and the senate and congress and they also have the supreme court. imagine what happens if they get

this. guy becomes a dictator. john in texas, republican. good morning. caller: yes, i think the most important issue of the election issue is the immigration and the economy. we cannot let the whole world come in this country. everybody has a front door on their house with a lock on it. their door anden let the whole world walk in and say take whatever you want and make yourself at home. whatever you want to do. we have to protect our country. we have a good thing going. the economy is strong and everybody wants to jump on our ship. if everybody jumps on our ship, it will sink. we have got to look out for immigration and put a stop to it and let the whole world come in. we have been supporting the

world for years and years and years. it is like trying to do now, balance scales. the u.s. is not our -- the world's piggy bank. we cannot support the whole world. we cannot keep working with lopsided pay agreements. with us being $22 trillion in debt, if the economy -- we can payoff a lot of the debt. the socialistic idea that the democrats have has never worked and we will work with them trying to -- one more time. host: that is john in texas. about 15 minutes left in our discussion and a few more comments from social media. bobby from facebook, the election is about getting rid of those old men getting rid --

choices.d barbara brown on facebook says it is about checks and balances. we need the senate and house to for an this poor excuse president and not have him undo all we have set in place that is good for us as a country. taking your calls on phone lines for republicans, democrats, and independent. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. .ndependents, 202-748-8002 as you continue to call in, our leading up debates to campaign 2018 continues today. on tap fort is today. senator bernie sanders will be debating republican challenger lawrence su pan, one of two debates happening on the same day. we are covering this one at noon on c-span. you can listen on the radio app and c-span.org.

also today, new hampshire's first district debate taking place. edwards.pas and eddie the debate between republican andy barr and democrat amy mcgrath in republican -- in the 6th district. eric, thank calls, you for waiting in pennsylvania. an independent, good morning. caller: good morning. this election is, for me, about saying goodbye. it will be the last one i participate in in america. i am moving to germany and i have voted for republicans and democrats and independents and libertarians. i voted for bush senior and obama. imo always all over the map.

i look at the individual candidates. at least half of your callers so far this morning and then the from meet the segment the press or face the nation all are carrying what is the most problematic for me in america, god insistent -- incessant nonsense. we are supposed to have a clear separation of church and state and we don't and there is a reason why wars for territory and resources are wars that can be fought and won and ended and god wars never end. the more america participates in this petty little nonsense like the finger wagging done at somebody like bill clinton for a consensual involvement with whiler consenting adult they really look the other way for a guy like trump who is creeping in the back door at the miss teen usa and we are all

familiar with the comments he made. the guy is an embarrassment. host: why are you moving to germany? caller: because of jesus. have aill not let me free life in america. i am basically moving to germany to find america. i am going there for my ellis island experience so i can experience american freedom. it cannot be had in america. you look at the people and the comes intosity things where it has no place. the schools, the bridges, the roads, health care. religion should be just like sexual behavior. it is a thing we all do and we all know each other's does it, but we do not see each other doing it. it is a private thing, keep it to yourself. the minute your shoe leather hits the sidewalk, you shut up

about it. host: joe in florida, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a simple answer to your question about what this election is about. i think it is about socialism and democracy. host: do you want to expand on that? caller: yes, i think democrats are trying to push a socialist agenda that this country does not need. the republicans are bringing us back to a democracy based on capitalism. next in norfolk, virginia. democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling because for me, this election is about returning our country to a place i can feel proud of and i am hopeful people will come out in droves for this midterm election to let president trump -- which is hard for me to say, that we do not

support the way he talks, the way he acts, his rhetoric is a dangerous. we loveallers saying everybody, we are kind, we are christian, but i do not see that behavior. i see a lot of hypocrisy and angry rhetoric and i don't see anybody saying this isn't acceptable, this isn't who we are. one of your collars a few days said something a few days ago that democrats have been garbage men and they clean up the messes republicans make and there is no time for democrats to get their agenda through because all they do is put the budget back together act -- after republicans go in and pillage and we see that again. we have this enormous deficit. obama tried to put our country back together in terms of spending and trump has gone forward and done all these tax breaks that have certainly not benefited me.

as a teacher of middle school students in a very diverse school, i see scared faces. i see distrust and that is heartbreaking. this country is supposed to be about christian values and i don't see that. i don't see any love and thesess reflected in pseudo-christians that call themselves republicans. i am really hoping this election shows trump that we are not this horrible race hating, club wielding, here is my cross let me beat you with it country. we are a country of decency. that is my hope and that is what this election is about for me. host: you say you are a middle school teacher. it do any of your students want to go into politics or elected office when they grow up? caller: my students are very

idealistic. i recently moved here from fairfax, virginia. i had a lot of students whose family's were involved in government whether military or whatnot. ashink they see themselves the future. they see themselves as change. i think many of my students were was aorrified when trump candidate, the way he talked white,eople that weren't that did not reflect that apple pie caricature. it was heartbreaking to see. it was just heartbreaking. i don't know. i think this election cycle has shut down a lot of bright voices and a lot of hope for people that aren't that stereotypical white american. it makes me sit in my heart -- sick in my heart.

toope my parents would want make this country great. i think right now, they are losing heart and hope because of what they see every day. host: that is lisa in virginia. she talks about the president's word. patty davis has a new column in the washington post about the president's words. "let's stop asking trump for comfort asking -- after tragedies." where does a grieving nation turn for comfort when the man occupying the white house asks -- offers none. places of worship are supposed slaughtertuaries, not houses. a friend told me he doesn't want to listen to the news anymore. he wants to be ignorant because the stress and fear are too much to bear. i answered we are all responsible for attending to if youher's wounds and stay blind, you cannot help. ignorance is not an option. this is a chance for all of us to lead with her agenda

compassion missing at the highest levels of our government . this president will never offer comfort, compassion, or empathy to a grieving nation. when questioned after a tragedy, he will always be glib and inappropriate. let's stop asking him. his words are only salt in our wounds. patty davis in the washington post today if you want to read it. santa fe, new mexico, independent. good morning. caller: hello? host: go ahead, tony. you are up. caller: hello? host: one more try. caller: can you hear me? host: yes, sir. caller: good morning, john. i think the only issue and will ever be the issue is the environment. , maybe we ought to start a clock on your program, perhaps. 12 years and counting. that said weents need to get to the moon.

we got there in less than 10 years. we need to get our heads out of our butts. this is a unifying -- regardless of party, race, religion. if you are a human being, it is about the environment. talk about the economy, stupid, no, it is the environment. about the environment, you ain't got the economy, you ain't got the ability to wars and everything else and if our allegedly does want to pull out of the paris climatic -- climate act and deregulate and allow violence to our air, water, and food supply in the united dates herehe world -- especially as national security. i heard that brought up today. my last and final one -- comment would be a quote by hubert reeves who said man is the most

insane species. he worships an invisible god destroying an invisible nature, not understanding the visible nature he is destroying is the invisible god he is seeking. is next.ifornia larry is a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. we have got to impeach trump. this guy is an aligned racist con man. he can only can't ignorant people -- con ignorant people. where is the health care? he said he was going to do health care better than obama. if they appeal obamacare, there is a lot of poor people that are going to die in the south. the collusion with russia was too much. what happened was in the trump tower when the russians came in, they simply told him go here, wikileaks.org -- the metadata

was stolen by julian assange and snowden. they gave it to some of the trump people and it was the son-in-law that had the brains batch files on this metadata and came up with the 30,000 missing emails for hillary. russia has had much of a prominent place in the election in these final weeks? think the network security people have knocked a lot of them out and we are watching them to close. i don't think they really care about really care about midterms. they want to run our country. donald trump, his wife is russian, his kid is half-russia n. we are hand in hand with russia. host: the issue of russian interference as an issue that

defines campaign 2018? caller: no. they will not interfere. like i said, network security. i am a network security guy. i taught network security to the government 10 years. 20 years in the united states marine corps. we got that now. but we were not watching with donald trump and his collusion with russia. we kind of just turned an eye there. host: larry brought up health care at the beginning of his comments. a few more tweets. penelope writing my main issues are sustaining and improving the affordable care act, amending the citizens united decision to get dark money out, getting regular order in congress, and dealing once again in fax that is why i will be voting straight democratic. nicole says the behavior coming from the left is disturbing. i do not that that's people of that kind of temperament and

power. the schoolork with system here in south carolina. children thousands of right now who are homeless. their parents are homeless. some of them are actually living in their cars. they are living in portable buildings in the backyards of family members. they are living in the woods. they are waiting for months to get some type of supplemental housing. i really feel like we do need to all oftop to allowing these folks coming into our country that are going to homes, going to need medical, et cetera. are inerly people, who nursing homes right now -- i

have an aunt in there. she is paying over $7,000 out-of-pocket, and she is receiving below average care. so our elderly people are dying -- they are the forgotten breed. so we have the opioid crisis that is causing a lot of problems, a lot of money, the government has to put out these people. it is time to take responsibility for ourselves, for our families, and i think trump is doing a great job. i do not think he is racist. love andt to send my my prayers to the folks who were murdered in the synagogue. --t: petersburg gaithersburg, maryland. what is 2018 about for you? caller: i am hopeful it is the

beginning of the end of the democrat party. we have seen in this country a deterioration of what used to be democrats. i tell people i used to be a democrat, but now i am an american. -- ie that this signifies voted a straight republican ticket here in maryland, the bluest of blue states. i am sick of the democrats. but with the immigration -- host: when did you stop being a democrat? caller: under bill clinton. i heard your caller talking about bill clinton being a great resident. he was there during the dotcom revolution. that is why the economy went up. nothing afterid the first bombing of the world trade center. he was offered osama bin laden. he did not do anything. then having a serial rapist in the white house is not something

i am proud of as an american. listening to you, i think if we can get rid of birthright citizenship, because it is a vasodilation of the 13th, 14th, and -- a bastardization of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. we need to stop birthright citizenship. likeed to take inventory, the previous caller said, of people in this country, the veterans who need stuff. and we need a moratorium on all immigration. this country needs to get to the point where the folks that are here now need to be assimilated. it is tearing this country apart, what the democrats are doing to it. host: sue in maryland. our last caller in this first segment of the "washington journal" today. starting this morning and into doing for the rest of the week,

we will be featuring states with some of the most competitive house seats this cycle, seats that may decide the control of the house of representatives. we start in minnesota. later this morning, the pentagon is getting ready to send to terry troops to the southern border ahead of that migrant caravan. timesopp of the "military was quote will join us with that. but first, the shooting at the pittsburgh synagogue came up in a debate, and the candidates were asked about the second amendment. [video clip] >> i would not change the second amendment. i want to protect law-abiding citizens of this country that do things right every single day. we have fought for those, all of our bill of rights. protect the second amendment rights. be to take away second amendment rights for

those who proved his -- proved themselves to be violent or a threat to others, after following a due process alignment with a judge. we had a loophole -- we called it the fix nics act, that we passed. we were able to stop felons from getting guns after that shooting we saw in texas. i have worked with our chief of said whatomaha and can we do to make things better? impetus for crime in omaha -- where you go to a store to buy a gun legally but with the intention of giving it to a felon who is not allowed to have a gun. i submitted a bill to congress to hold accountable these folks who are knowingly giving guns to felons.

so there are practical things we can do to defend our second amendment right as well as reduce gun violence. >> thank you. is a reallyhat interesting question to bring up. i do not believe the founding fathers would have ever group like the a nra would have so much political influence in our country, where we have politicians that get money from them, despite the fact that most responsible gun owners are not even nra members. all thehe things i hear time is people already scared. they are scared of sending their kids to school. my own daughter came to me after the parkland shooting and said she was afraid to go to school. this is not something that come as a parent, you ever want to hear. we need common sense gun safety regulation. the vast majority of americans support this. 86% of americans support background checks, mandatory waiting periods.

the idea that you can go in and buy a gun without having that seems so irresponsible. and we need a ban on the sales of weapons of war so they are not getting into the hands of people who are using them to gun down people in our country. it is time for our leaders to take charge on this. it is such a shame that our young people are being more brave when it comes to common sense, proactive, safety solutions to these issues. it is time for us to take a worshipd say places of should be havens, where people can go without worrying about their safety. we need policymakers to stand up, acknowledging that there are responsible gun owners but doing something about it. all ofhat debate, and our debates, are available on our website, c-span.org. this week and for the next four days on the "washington journal ," we will talk about some of

the key battlegrounds for control of the house in campaign 2018. we are focusing starting in the land of 10,000 lakes, in the state of minnesota. to help us get the lay of the land, we are joined by minnesota public radio briana bierschbach. thanks for being here. can you start by talking about the money pouring into minnesota by this campaign, spending both candidates and outside groups reaching historic levels? guest: it has been really striking. with the last round of campaign-finance reports, we were adding them up in our newsroom, and it is approaching $30 million to $40 million from outside groups. competitive house seats is pretty striking. when you add on top of that what the candidates themselves are spending, they are keeping pace with the outside groups. it is nearing a total of $70 million with candidate spending and outside spending.

usually, outside groups are spending more than the candidates, but you are noticing the candidates are able to raise a bit more money this cycle, especially the democratic candidates. they are able to raise more money from groups and people outside of the state itself. so they are able to keep pace. but when you look at $70 million for four seats in a state like minnesota, which does not really see spending like this, it is really striking. people are seeing it on their tv's. it is nonstop ads. you cannot have a commercial break without will or five political ads. host: and associated press reporter puts it in respective. this is just the outside spending on house districts, the top five states -- california, texas, states with a lot of congressional districts, and minnesota comes in at three, with just eight congressional district's. after that, pennsylvania and new york. as you pointed out, four competitive house races and

minnesota. let's start with them, starting in the eighth district. it has gotten particular personal in recent days, especially with recent ads. what is going on there? guest: the 8th is a republican see their best chance to flip a district. representative rick nolan is retiring after several terms, leaving the seat wide open. the district went 15 points for trump in the last election, which it had always gone for democratic presidential candidates before that. so republicans see a real opportunity. they are excited about their candidate, pete stauber, a former police officer in duluth and a local county commissioner and veteran. democrats have yielded a guy named joe radinovich -- democrats have fielded a guy named joe radinovich. republicans are acting joe radinovich for past parking

violations between now and 2004 -- about 30 parking violations, including driving with a suspended license. and they have hit him -- it was pleaded out, but a drug paraphernalia charge when he was a young kid. he has responded by putting on his own digital ads, basically telling his own personal story. he has gone through a lot of tragedy. he came home from track practice one day, and a family member had attempted suicide, and he found that family member there. less than a year later, another family member killed his mother and himself in a murder-suicide. a really horrible story. he is talking about it, looking straight in the camera, in an ad. make himis struggles more human, more real. that is a strategy i've seen in number of races. candidates who cannot afford a response ad on the air are going

digital typically with the voters. but thisbut this is approaching0 million we know of that has been spent in this district, a lot of it by republicans. they are really excited about their chances. host: from that large district in the northeastern part of the state to the suburbs of minneapolis. let's focus on two congressional republicans who are trying to keep their seats in the house. can you start with erik paulsen's race? guest: this one is the most watched race in our state it more than 50 million -- $15 million spent in this race. it is a suburban district of the twin cities. it has the lowest unemployment of any district in the nation. people are very comfortable in this district. erik paulsen has been there for a number of terms. he has survived some tough races. i think this is his toughest one yet. dean phillips is a democrat who is wealthy, basically the heir

of a local liquor company. he is really hitting a number of issues, taking money from pharmaceutical companies. and tying into the president is his main agenda. because the district voted for clinton. trump is not popular in the district. recently, the president, surprisingly, endorsed erik paulsen in the race over twitter. that was immediately jumped on by his opponents, saying they are one and the same, and voters should see that as well. this is one where democrats see their best chances to flip a seat. host: would you say erik paulsen has a tougher race on congressman jason lewis in the second district? guest: it is hard to say. is doingyork times" live polling. both have shown them down.

if you look at the ads being run by the erik paulsen team, it would suggest he is in a tougher fight. he has gone very negative in the last experience a couple of attack ads that have been controversial locally, because they involve local health boards, which say the ad is wrong. it has really been an onslaught of negative attacks. it would suggest he is very concerned about his position in their own internal polling. close asewis race is well. angie craig is ahead by 10 points. a snapshot in time, like any bull. but this is a rematch from two years ago. angie craig has changed her tone a little bit. she is a democrat, a businesswoman, a gay woman, talking about all of those pieces of her biography where she did not really talk about it for the last race. but she was a former -- he was a

former talk radio host, and some of the sound clips are resurfacing. host: we do not want to forget about the first district. can you touch on the latest there? guest: that is an open seat here the candidate there is running for governor, tim walz. dan feehan, a democrat and former pentagon official, running against republican jim hagedorn, who has run several times in the district. that is also getting nearly $10 million in funding. a recent poll showed the democrat ahead in what is traditionally a conservative district. i think republicans are very worried in that district. host: briana bierschbach covers it all, reporter for minnesota public radio. nprnews.org. -- mprnews.org. will stay focused on

minnesota as we had this conversation. we should note special phone lines. minnesota residents can call in at (202) 748-8000. all others at (202) 748-8001. as you call in with your questions about minnesota politics, we will head up to minneapolis. we are joined now by professor david schultz of hamline sciencety, a political professor, helping us understand minnesota a little more. begin with the fact that half of the house races in minnesota are extremely competitive this cycle. how unusual is that? inst: it is unusual both minnesota and nationwide. but minnesota is changing. people think of minnesota as being this overwhelmingly democratic state. the last time we voted a republican for president was 1972. but minnesota is changing and lots of different ways. every state wants to say it

is special, but minnesota is almost a perfect microcosm of national politics. when briana was talking about the number of ads and why -- how nasty they are, one of my students asked about the ads. we have turned into ohio in terms of how competitive and close we are. the demographic changes in the state are clearly making minnesota far more competitive. we saw, for example, in the last presidential race, where donald trump got within 50,000 votes of winning minnesota -- clinton still prevailed. so there are things that are changing in minnesota that are worth elaborating upon in terms of what is happening. host: as a political science professor, it is fair to call minnesota a purple state? it is becoming a purple state. over the lastck

10 to 15 years, the control of the state legislature, the house and senate, have flipped partisan control back and forth. when governor dayton, a democrat, got elected eight years ago, that was the first democrat to the elect did in minnesota since 1986, for governor. mostly -- inad fact exclusively, democrats as statewide officeholders. we have clear regions of the state which are strongholds for republicans, strongholds for democrats. the patterns that we see nationwide, where democrats are strong in the urban cores and republican's are strong in the republicans are strong in the rural areas is the same pattern we are seeing in minnesota. the other pattern in terms of minnesota and a pattern nationwide -- when hillary clinton won the state less than

2%, it was really more a question of who did not vote. about6, clinton got 200,000 fewer votes in minnesota compared to barack obama four years earlier. donald trump only got a couple thousand votes more. in many ways, we saw democrat staying home election day 2016. we saw the exact same thing happening here. we have minnesota and interesting position in 20, going into 2020. there are signs the state is changing, perhaps following wisconsin, michigan, iola, other midwest states, and flipping republican. and there are signs that part of what happened in 2018 is clinton ran a very bad campaign in the state did we have lots of evidence going in a variety of directions. but i think we can make the argument that, given the flipping back and forth in

control of legislatures, given the fact that we have regional areas of support for democrats and republicans, we have clearly become a more purple state than most listeners or viewers with ink minnesota is. why do so many sitting house members think now is a good time to run for higher office? guest: look at someone like keith ellison, who we did not talk about before. keith ellison representing minneapolis in terms of the fifth congressional district. he saw himself, perhaps, as still being in the minority in the u.s. house of representatives, even though he was certain to win reelection, and decided to flip to run for attorney general. that is one occasion. you have someone like rick nolan. he decided to run for lieutenant governor. there are also some thoughts that there are some personal problems in terms of family issues. then we have the issue of tim walz, maybe also saying it is no

fun to be there minority in the house, i will just run for governor, was recruited by the democrats. i think some of it is some idiosyncratic type of things. but if the overall think about the pattern going on here, we have half of our congressional delegation in competitive races. addact, we could probably this up and have more if we had a couple more open seats. we clearly have a lot of opportunity for the two parties to pick up things in terms of flipping seats. it is very possible at the end of the day republicans pick up the eighth and the first, democrats flip the second and third, and we have a pattern we republicansde where control rural areas, democrats control urban areas. with thet to key in

erik paulsen-dean phillips race. in many ways, that is a really good microcosm of what is happening nationwide. it is an affluent west minneapolis suburb. it went plus 50,000 four clinton two years ago. district by 17t or 18 points two years ago. but it is a district that has a very high percentage of college-educated women. and as we know, the battleground, in many ways in the united states this year, is for where college-educated women and suburbs go. that is a race where i have been arguing for several weeks that if the democrats can flip the third congressional district, they have a very high probability of flipping control of congress, because that district is such a perfect picture of a lot of the forces and trends going on both in state and national politics. host: it is also estate that saw

one of the viral ads of the 2018 campaign, this one featuring bigfoot. dean phillips was talking about town halls held by the congressman. here is that at. [video clip] >> i thought i was good at fighting. -- hiding. then erik paulsen comes along. how can you have tens of thousands of people looking for you all the time, and not one of them find you? i started to wonder. does erik paulsen really exist? where is the proof? a blurry photo taken from miles away? plan.to come up with a from bigakes money pharma and votes to erode essential health care protections. so the place to find him is at a big pharmaceutical company.

and that is where i went. i was prepared to stay for weeks. it took seven minutes. i was so shocked when i saw him walking by. i almost dropped the camera. but i got it. proof.s the so take it from me, bigfoot. erik paulsen really exists. host: professor david schultz, that is one of the ads that puts that race on the map nationally. what was your take when that came out? guest: that is a very effective at. because erik paulsen and jason lewis have avoided town halls. that has become an issue locally for both of the districts. what is song -- interesting about that ad, it

is humor and satire. those are hard ads to respond to. when someone does this kind of satire or humor, where do you come back in terms of a counter add and say i am not bigfoot, i am not in fighting? those become very hard to do. it was a very creative at. in a state we should concede that many years ago we had paul wellstone doing creative ads in the 1990's. jesse ventura 20 years ago, very creative ads. types of adsese are very effective. what is interesting also about race is that the ads are quite negative. but what i've seen, which is really interesting with eric paulson, is his campaign is actually doing a lot of those attack ads on dean phillips. that is unusual, because as we know, often times the attack ads are done by outside groups.

that way the candidates can do a little bit of distance from them. that probably suggests something in terms of the internal polls from erik paulsen's campaign suggesting things are very tight. the other thing i think is interesting about this race, erik paulsen and dean phillips, is go back two years ago. in a district that went plus s0,000 clinton, paulsen win handily. he had difficulty two years ago in distancing himself from donald trump. dean phillips has run another very effective ad that shows donald trump and erik paulsen titling the canoe at the same time, literally putting them in the same boat together. it did not help erik paulsen a couple of days ago for donald trump to do the endorsement. he has been trying to distance himself. and his strength, erik paulsen, in terms of getting reelected in a district that is trailing

democrat is to try to cast himself as an independent , but i think the overall national partisanship has hardened the last two years. it is making it more difficult able tosen to be distance himself from donald trump. that is an interesting dimension. from theht suite president on october 23, congratulating paulsen for tax cuts and regulation. we are spending an hour each morning focusing on some of the key states that will decide control of the house of representatives. if minnesota is a state you are interested in, today is your day. a special line for residents of minnesota. (202) 748-8000 is that number, if you want to call in. all others, (202) 748-8001.

in forest up first lake, minnesota. caller: thanks for taking my call. i've been trying to get in with you guys for years and never could. i am really shocked. host: we have you now. what is your question? caller: i just wanted to make a statement. this whole thing is all about the donald. it is more than obvious. and what he is doing to this country is incredibly unbelievable. he is getting away with things that no other president in history would have ever even th unk of. and he is getting away with it all. schultz, youor were just talking about the influence of donald trump on that erik paulsen race. do you want to talk about it and some of these other house races we are watching? guest: clearly, i think donald trump is the issue across most of the races in minnesota.

let's go back to the eighth district. radinovich, the democrat. the eighth strict to include the area, age, a mining northeastern part of minnesota. redistricting has brought it down to the northern suburbs of the twin cities. it has become more conservative. part of the district is still very democrat, that is duluth, minnesota. but for listeners across the country, i would describe part of that district, what is called appalachia.ge, like always district that was important, iron range, for the democratic party in minnesota to hold together a statewide coalition. but it has clearly shifted, starting with reagan and now merely with trump. he went plus 15

points for donald trump. it is one of those few congressional districts in the country over the last 10 years that has flipped back and forth partisan control several times. and it is a section of the state that i think is really trailing republican. had rick nolan, the democrat, decided to run for reelection, i think it would have been difficult for him to hold it also. being as incredibly popular as he is and that district, both in the northern suburb and the iron range area, has clearly been an impact -- a big impact. it is possible he may make one more stop -- he has been there several times. but certainly trump's popularity has accelerated the shift we see in the same way we see a shift other, letn lots of us say, traditional working class areas cost the united

states. -- across the united states. host: north bend, next. caller: i find it hard to believe that -- host: that was wayne in nebraska. guest: it is interesting. minnesota public radio just did a poll that came out last week. it said that over a majority of minnesotans oppose trump's policies on immigration. by that.surprised minnesota is a very heavy immigration state. not just in terms of how we might traditionally think about it, but we have had, for example, a very large population asiansg and southeast relocated here after the vietnam war. we have lutheran social services, religious groups, relocate a lot of immigrants here.

we also have a large somalian african population. and of course, we have a significant hispanic population. i mentioned that because i think the immigration here is not just driven by, let us say, issues we may think of in terms of normal immigration patterns of people coming to the united states for economic opportunity, although they are, but we have had religious groups, we have had the government, we have had lots of different organizations bring people in. i think the state views immigration a little differently overall than does many other states. having said that, we know that the republicans, jeff johnson, members -- jeff johnson running for governor. republican running for governor. and many republican congressmen are pushing hard on the republican immigration line. that will work in some areas of the state, but overall, i think

there is much greater support for immigration in minnesota because of those unique relocation programs that have been done, often times for, like i said, by religious groups. so that takes on a different dimension in minnesota. host: are there other important demographic changes in minnesota since the 2016 election that could impact 2018? course, like of nationwide, it is the rapid urbanization that we are seeing. and a soda, the twin cities, about three and 8 million people out of a state of 5.5 one million. we are getting more and more areas.living in urban the urban votes are clearly trailing more democrat. you have a large younger population. nationwide, our younger population often times votes in higher percentages than we see nationwide -- i mean under the age of 30.

those are a couple of factors. two other things are very important to think about in minnesota. election have day of registration, which means even if people are not registered to vote, they can show up on election day, still register, and that is effective in terms of this year, where we are seeing signs especially college olorents and people of c becoming very excited about the election and are registering to vote next tuesday. between 10 to fifth -- 10% to 50% of people in minnesota generally register on election day. i think the excitement we are seeing from younger people under 30, along with day of election registrations are critical. but the biggest sign we are seeing is if two years ago, democrats stayed home in the urban core, indications are that voter registration is up in those counties, which suggest,

perhaps, a higher turnout or democrats this year than before. that will help statewide races. that will help in terms also of -- statewide race, governors races, u.s. senate, but they will not have quite the same impact in some of those non-urban, non-suburban congressional races. host: our guest the next 25 minutes is professor david schultz of hamline university, author of more than 30 books on various aspects of american politics, here to take your calls and questions as we focus on the state of minnesota, on those key house races that could be the key reasons for control of the house. tom is in erie, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. my dilemma is -- i was a lifelong republican. until i saw the way they treated barack obama.

was no longer republican after that. they did not just disrespect a man, they disrespected the presidency. to wincans cannot seem in general without cheating, which is why they gerrymander everything to their advantage. me dilemma for people like is that there is nobody that represents the 80% or 85% of us in the middle. you have the far right crazies battling the far left crazies. and those of us in the middle who want to see common sense legislation, like immigration laws that actually make sense, do away with the anchor baby crap and things of that nature. who present us in the middle? i do not see democrats waking up yet and actually demonstrating

that they could do that. their messages are all far left crazies. there -- issues moderates in minnesota and gerrymandering in minnesota. guest: we will start with a gerrymandering. the last congressional lines in minnesota were drawn by our courts. so i think they are relatively fair and terms of the lines here. i do not gerrymandering is quite as big of a problem. the bigger problem we find in minnesota, as we find often times nationwide, is the issue of democrats and republicans geographically sorting themselves out. let's say, for example, we really wanted to draw a go to -- a competitive congressional district in minneapolis. so that they would be equal chance that a democrat and republican would be able to compete for it. you would have to draw an incredibly strange line that would take us out into the

suburbs with high shapes and things like that. i think partisan gerrymandering that we see is far more acute in pennsylvania. the pennsylvania so green court ruled on that and ruled that it was unconstitutional under state law. we know gerrymandering is not quite at the same problem. in terms of moderates, even though lots of people want to say that there are a lot of people in the middle, the reality is that percentage of the population that really does describe themselves as moderate has gone down significantly. as i describe it, in 76 -- in 1996, publication -- public us as a dell put curve -- bell curve. think we are i seeing patterns we are seeing nationwide we have a democratic

party that is moving left, representing mostly urban interests, urban young people, people of color, women. we have the rural areas of minnesota, plus the iron range, which is slightly different. so we are seeing those machine -- same shifts occur. i know there are a lot of people who want to say they are moderate. often times, i think people who say they are moderate are the ones who say everyone else is extreme, but i am not, but clearly we are seeing that pattern in minnesota. if i could shift to the governors race -- tim walz, who was representing congress in the first district, running as a democrat. jeff johnson is the republican running for governor. the battle there is trying to find what is the center in minnesota? where is it located? whoever wins will probably win a relatively close race, but the

patterns are going to be very distinct. urban areas will go democrat. iron range will go republican. there will be a small batter ground for votes in suburban areas. but we are seeing the same thing. the number of people who are truly moderate -- depending on what we defined as moderate, has decreased, even in minnesota. it is becoming harder for candidates to find a centrist position in terms of where to be. host: interim -- about 20 minutes left to talk about minnesota politics. minnesota residents, (202) 748-8000 if you want to call in. all others, (202) 748-8001. professor schultz, i wanted to ask you why in minnesota, if you are a democrat, you have "dfl" after your name as opposed to just a "d"? guest: it stands for democratic

farmer labor party. take us back before world war ii. we had the republican party, the democratic party, and we had the farmer labor party in minnesota. unified after world war ii under the efforts by hubert humphrey who was, at that time, the mayor of minneapolis. so modern politics in minnesota is established right after world war ii with that unification. democraticout it -- armor labor have been the three stools for the democratic party. geographically, that meant the urban cores, it meant people in labor unions, it meant farmers -- it also meant the iron range. what has happened over time in minnesota is clearly some changes have occurred. the democrats still have strength in the urban cores. they have strength and a few other places across the state as well, such as rochester,

minnesota, where the mayo clinic is. they also have strength in duluth. but nationwide, they have lost of the urban areas, especially among public sector unions, they have lost that labor aspect, as we have seen a lot of workers out of jobs or have moved under the democratic party because of social issues, abandoned it. he still call it that democratic farmer labor, but there is a decreasing percentage of, let us say, the dfl that represents farmers and labor in terms of what we used to think about it. one way also describing minnesota is if i wanted to paint a picture of how minnesota has changed using the microcosm metaphor -- analogy here, i will pick two counties in minnesota. where austin minnesota is. also minnesota is the corporate

headquarters to hormel foods -- people who know spam know what i am talking about. it is traditionally heavily democrat, laborer. rochester minnesota, home to the mayo clinic. ibm had a big facility there. traditionally republican. we have seen those two counties gradually flip, such that in the election, austin basically voted for donald trump. those two counties tell us a lot about the state and change in minnesota politics, as does nationally. what is no question that the democratic constituency looks like in minnesota has changed over time. fromu look at exit polls

2016, in terms of the population that describe themselves as democrat versus republican versus independent, in minnesota, it was roughly 38% democrat, 35% republican, 30% independent. that is close to the national numbers in terms of what. over time, i've seen the overwhelming party id advantage that the democrat have had in minnesota gradually erode to where now they are within a couple of percentage points of each other. host: we have a lot of calls. john in rochester, minnesota. go ahead. caller: good morning, dr. schult z. i would like you to talk a little about the attorney general race and whether or not you think the sexual allegations havest keith ellison will any impact up and down the

ballot? guest: great question. the attorney general's position in minnesota has been held by the democratic party in nearly -- for nearly half a century. it features keith ellison versus republican doug wardlow. this is a race adjusting that doug wardlow is leading. keith ellison faces several challenges, even the or the allegations by his ex-girlfriend of sexual harassment or sexual assault. one of them, he is running from one of the most liberal districts in the united states, trying to run state wide. that is hard to do. he i hate to say this, but has both african-american and muslim, and i think that may be a very hard thing state wide to run on. now throw in the allegations of sexual assault. polls are suggesting that he has lost support from a lot of suburban women from whom he

women from whom he needs to get those votes. right now, if i were looking at the polls and making my best estimate, republican doug wardlow has a significantly better than even chance of winning. i think the sexual assault charges -- allegations have made it more difficult for keith ellison to message and get out the case for why he should be attorney general. minnesota, isph, next. caller: thank you for taking my call. i live in the sixth district. it is not considered competitive in minnesota. -- ihat i want to ask is think maybe you said it earlier, but i did not catch it. that the election is a referendum on the president of the united states. lostncern is that we have -- i am a democrat, and i will admit that -- we have lost the republican party that stands for what it always stood for. my concern is my congressman --

i have not heard any word out of congressman amber about the atrocities that the president trace through his speech. i would like you to comment on the sixth district a little bit. bit. guest: the sixth district. tom emmer it represents it. this was the district that was previously held by michelle bock. in many ways, it is considered to be one of the most conservative districts in the state, most republican leaning. i am not surprised that congressman amber is not criticizing donald trump. they have appeared together. overall, donald trump is quite popular within the sixth district. it is not a surprise. asis not viewed by anybody very competitive at this point. so no surprises in terms of why you are not hearing criticism. host: duluth, minnesota, leah.

good morning. caller: thanks for taking my call. after listening to the last couple of callers, i have comments on a couple of things. i am in the eighth district. i want to say that democrats are losing this district. -progressivecialist and very left-leaning. our city proves it by being the highest tax city in the state. but they have forgotten the miners. i grew up in the iron range. thated in a town of -- have gone down to 7000. the unions have -- the miners have thrown the unions under the bus, finally. this district will vote for stauber. after 64d of nice, years, that we will be republican. host: professor schultz? guest: there is no question

that, for many people, the iron range area -- you have duluth on lake superior, the iron range, which would be northwest from there, that is an area that is economically very hard hit. i grew up out near the appalachia area. i described the iron range area as facing many of the social and economic pressures you would see in places like west virginia and so forth. the caller points out that the changes that are occurring, the movement of the democratic party, especially where the democratic party is being driven by minneapolis and st. paul, represents a set of values that probably do not fit very well with all of the voters, or a lot of the voters, in the iron range and the eighth district area. it is an area that, i think us a call indicated, is probably going to flip. i would not be surprised if it

does. bierschbach mentioned the tough ads going back and forth. this is from the congressional leadership on, which helps republican candidates. their ad against democrats. [video clip] >> what is career politician joe radinovich hiding? radinovich has a history of breaking the law. 30 traffic violations and misdemeanor offenses, including possession of drug paraphernalia. there is a better choice. pete stauber has spent his life serving our community. 22 years with the duluth police department. pete stauber will always put minnesota families first. host: and the democrat in that race, joe radinovich, responding direct-to-camera facebook at. [video clip] march, 2003, i came back

from track practice. opened the door and heard a gunshot. i ran to the kitchen and found a family member had tried to take his life with a firearm. i bent down, lifted his legs up, stopa book under them, to him from going into shock. because that is what i was taught to do. i called 911. waited five minutes for the ambulance to arrive. my family member was brought to the hospital, spent a month in the intensive care unit. spent weeks beyond that in therapy. i was there with him the whole time. i wondered if that was the worst thing that was ever going to happen to me. , februarynths later 25, 2004, ash wednesday, i was told, after coming home from a school event, that my mother was

killed, shot to death in my kitchen by a family member who then took his own life. i struggled in the wake of that. boy, did i struggle. but because i had teachers in my life who recognized the value of public education, not just in textbooks and classrooms, but in making sure no student falls between the cracks, i was able to get through it. and because my dad had a good union job with health care, my family members and i were able to get the care we needed when we needed it. these millionaires and billionaires letting our area with negative ads want you to believe we should forever be defined by our lowest moments, our mistakes, our struggles. what i know it is my struggles have made me stronger. it gave me a deeper understanding of what community is about and what is at stake in this election. host: what did you think about

that back-and-forth series of ads, professor schultz? guest: clearly it has -- on one level -- again, i still think the eighth district is a referendum on donald trump. but it is also a referendum on radinovich's character in terms of who he is as a person. per the earlier ones of having all of the parking tickets, drug paraphernalia -- you heard the earlier ones with the parking tickets, drug paraphernalia. but i want to come back and say there are larger structural forces going on in terms of the shift of the iron range's political identity, the way the politics have changed as a result of the loss of jobs. behink our broader and may more significant forces that will affect that election, although we cannot deny that the personal aspects of especially

radinovich's character will factor in. host: a couple more calls. linda, thanks for waiting in ohio. caller: good morning. i always look to minnesota for their sense of humor. [laughter] i called because i wanted to ask if you think al franken has any chance at all of running again or some other office? i enjoyed him. his book was a hoot. and i think that picture of him on the plane was very obviously an ad for his upcoming show, just goofing off yet i just cannot imagine that he is that kind of person. but i guess you did the right thing. but do you think there is any chance he would ever run again for any kind of public office? host: thanks for the question. professor schultz? guest: he has made noise about wanting to run for reelection for something at some point.

the question becomes for what? for example, amy klobuchar wants to be senator. it is her position. if tina smith wins the democrats, that is out. the question is what would he run or at this point? looking at may be a member of congress. if dean phillips were to win, for example, that would for those, probably, him, al franken, for running, because he is part of that district. it is hard to figure out exactly what it would be that al franken would run or. obviously, a lot will depend on who wins next week. let's say the democrats were to be routed. then there may be openings for franken. but i am suspecting we will see franken become gradually rehabilitated and become a fundraiser for the democratic party. host: tom is waiting in montana. caller: good morning.

i would like the professor to explain the difference between a democracy and a republic and why we are a republic. and what is so scary to me is someone like hillary clinton, who knows full well what our federal government is all about, saying she got more votes. that does not make any difference. that's like mob rule. i would like to know what he thinks about that. host: professor schultz? guest: first of all, democracy versus republic -- we do live in a representative republic, where we do not have direct democracy. we have people electing their representatives who go off to washington or wherever to make their decisions. it is a technical difference. most of us say we live in it democracy or representative democracy. in terms of the other comment, it is a whole different show to debate the merits or demerits of

the electoral college. we can say that donald trump won the electoral college. those rules elected him. hillary clinton won the popular vote. host: a few minutes left. how should viewers watch of results in minnesota when they come in? how do you read the election when you are watching the results? what is the tell for when one party is going to have a good night or not? guest: a couple of things i would look for is how significant the turnout in hennepin county and ramsey county. hennepin county is minneapolis. heavy turnout in those two counties will vote exceedingly well for the democrats. if turnout is not dramatically better than it was two years ago. then it will be a good night for republicans. the second thing i will look for

in terms of patterns in the state is a couple of other counties. olmsted county, where rochester is. that is a county moving democrat. well turnout vote -- bodes for democrats. in terms of republicans, i would ine to see how anoka county, the northern suburbs of the twin cities, how that is doing in terms of voter turnout. those are some of the things i would be keying on. if i were looking at races, if it looks like erik paulsen is going to win versus dean phillips, that is going to give me some areas. so key in on the 3rd congressional district. that represents an affluent

suburb. patterns in terms of voter turnout will be important they are. and traditionally minnesota, in presidential and congressional races, is usually at the top or near the top in terms of voter turnout. a few years ago, our presidential turnout was nearly 78%. we had pretty depressed turnout the last three or four election cycles, but still in the top states of the country. i am expecting heavy turnout in this election, which may be a pattern we see nationwide. host: care to make any predictions about those competitive house guest: i was never saying the first district, too close to say in the first district, too close to call. second district, angie craig. third district, dean phillips.

the next, pete stolberg. i think we will see all four of see itaces flip so we see aligns with what happens nationwide. ist: professor david schultz a professor at hamline university. appreciate your time this morning. guest: thank you very much for having me. host: the pentagon is getting ready to send military troops to the u.s. border to head off that migrant caravan. we will talk about the mission down there. we will be joined in the pentagon bureau chief for the "military times." we will be right back. >> this week, we are looking at battleground states. the most competitive races of

the midterm election in minnesota, new york, california, pennsylvania, and florida. join us for life campaign 2018 call-in on c-span. securityeek, cyber analyst and reporter on voting machines and election security. >> the department of homeland security has been working with states and counties to scan systems for vulnerability. that is only focused on internet-facing systems. they are not looking at the modem and transmissions to see if they are secure. they are not looking at the voting machines to see if they are secure. they are not looking at the tabulation machines. those are the core critical machines of the election.

>> watch tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. c-span, where history unfolds daily. c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. to bring youtinue 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. the best-selling author is our guest on sunday at noon eastern. her most recent book is "spark of life." she has also written five issues of the wonder woman comic book

series for d.c. comics. watch live sunday from noon to 3:00 p.m. eastern. whenre to watch next month author brad meltzer will be our guest on book tv. >> "washington journal" continues. host: tara copp is pentagon bureau chief for the "military times," joining us to discuss president trump's plan to deploy troops to the border. what do we know about the size of the mission and what the mission will be? they are active forces. it is important. we are looking at 700 to 800 troops to augment the already 2000 national guard already at the border. those were dispatched earlier this year. secretary mattis authorized their deployment to the border

to have customs and border patrol agents. host: where are the new troops going? guest: they will be anywhere along the texas-mexico border. they could extend to california. there are several major checkpoints where they look for traffic. basically, they are going to be backfilling. we will not have active duty troops armed on the border looking for people crossing the river. you will have them in administrative positions, providing aviation support, there might be helicopters were surveillance. we will have them potentially in motor pools assisting with getting the different vehicles beat upt get heat up -- riding along the border. host: why is it important these are active troops? preventssse comitatus military from acting as law enforcement in a state. the reason national guard was

sent, those troops are authorized by the state governors and under the governor's control and not violating the act. if you send in active duty forces under secretary' control, those are federal active troops and they cannot conduct those law enforcement activities. host: let's talk about the organization of the troops and the role the governors will play. guest: when secretary mattis authorized the national guard the governors could have sent up to 4000 to the border. it became a political issue. a lot of governors did not want to send troops. texas provided most of them, about 1000. the other states, a couple hundred apiece. this time, secretary mattis is sending active duty so you don't

have to ask the governors. it is an ability to get down there quickly. host: you were on the triple secretary mattis. you got back last night. we are glad you're here. did you have the chance to talk to him about this? guest: i did. we sat with him for about 30 minutes while we were flying, and then we had a press conference in the czech republic yesterday where i asked about the issue. we asked, why are we sending active duty? what will they be doing? he was clear to say they have not come to a final decision on the roles of the troops and how they would be governed but they would not be in violation of the posse comitatus act. they look at every deployment to make sure it is in time with the -- in line with that law. and: if you want to call in

join the conversation, lines as usual for democrats, republicans, and independents. you can start calling in now. dutyays for these active and reserve troops on the border? guest: because secretary mattis authorized the initial national guard troops, they are under the governor's authority that will be paid for with federal taxpayer dollars. do you have an idea of how much this is costing? guest: we are still looking for that number. host: take us through not just this administration but past administrations as well when this has happened. presidentened during obama's term, during president bush' term. when there seems to be a crisis at the border with an influx of

, u.s.ants or undocumented military facilities and personnel have been used to help customs and border patrol agents deal with the influx. between 2016 and 2017, there were thousands of undocumented kids held at fort bliss, texas. the idea the military is new to this now is not the case. they have frequently been asked to help. host: during the obama administration, where their state governors who pushed back against this like we saw with the trump administration? guest: no. that is the interesting debate. i think it is because of the larger and heated immigration debate going on. the use of troops has become more of a political issue than it was in the past. host: we can talk about it in the next 20 minutes. tara copp with us having the conversation about the deployment of troops to the border. first, a democrat.

caller: how far is a caravan away from the u.s. border? i would like your take on the have thatny people this is being done for political reasons and not u.s. security reasons. host: tara copp? ago, its of a few days was about 1000 miles away from the border. they are currently 95 miles inside mexico. this caravan is traveling primarily on foot. they do get some vehicle support. it is not a fast-moving caravan. at the current rate of speed, i do not think they'v will reach the border by election day. that does not keep it from being an election issue. it is obviously being looked at through a political ends. is it a political issue?

it depends on whether you look at it like that or not. ask secretary mattis political questions. his response was this was a request from dhs. because they asked him to fulfill it, he did. host: why not ask those questions? guest: the military is apolit ical. the quickest way to get them to shut down is to ask a political question. host: what will he do? guest: he was shut down basically. you want to get facts about what the troops will be doing. they will not be armed. that has bothered people, having armed military intimidating those trying to escape violence. right now, the predominant troops that will be there will

not be armed. be in self-defense. those are the things we try to unravel with the secretary. we don't try to engage him in a larger debate. host: jerry from texas, democrat, go ahead. you are on with tara copp. caller: we are sending live troops, and these are just people walking with children, little backpacks, no armor, no guns, no nothing. you could just stand there with a truck and stop these people crossing the border. spendingding thousands of dollars on troops for people and their kids? they are just women and refugees. they are just trying to get to someplace safe for themselves. we are going to spend thousands and thousands of dollars. i was in the military.

stopw it is really easy to that caravan. i could do it with a dozen people. i don't need thousands of troops on the border to stop these people from crossing. host: tara copphost:? guest: i am not sure half a dozen people would stop 7000 migrants. the order is being fulfilled because the president requested it. the why should be addressed to on whether they wanted active troops instead of national guard. the president cannot force the governors to send national guard troops. the president can direct active duty forces be sent to the border. host: what have we heard from folks on the ground at the border? department of homeland security, border patrol officers, what are they saying about this? do they want the active-duty and reserve troops?

guest: they need support. the number of apprehensions along the border is up. year, 397 in fiscal year 18. there is a larger amount of traffic. there is a larger political issue. you have seen a lot of heated rhetoric and tension along the borders, particularly at facilities used to house children. national guard is probably the best use of forces, but active duty is what we will be dealing with. host: michigan, willy is next, a democrat. caller: good morning. i am calling because i'm trying to figure out what we are supposed to do about all the cases the government has been found guilty on and still has not did anything about it. host: what cases are you referring to? caller: kidnapping, wiretapping, all these things. host: we are talking about the

deployment of u.s. troops to the border. that is our topic with tara copp. we are going to stick to those topics. we have her expertise for about 15 more minutes. independent., caller: good morning. i appreciate your answer questions. i have heard reports many of these folks heading to the u.s. border are being transported by buses and other transports. most of the time, you see them when they are traveling on tv. these are for photo ops. i wanted to ask her whether or not she had heard any of these reports. mexico has already said they would give these folks asylum. i'm curious as to why they have not. appreciate it.

host: tara copp? guest: for many migrants, arrival in mexico is not enough. there is a level of violence in mexico people are trying to escape in mexico to come to the united states as they are from honduras and guatemala. the ultimate journey is not to end up in mexico. it is to end up in our country where they have potential opportunities to start fresh. as far as the caravan, there are buses and i have been trucks that help these people keep moving. they are walking 1000 miles, slightly under if we wanted to walk from the east coast to the west coast. they are still making the journey. i guess the caller is intimating this is an orchestrated effort to get migrants to do a big photo op. from what we have seen, these are families looking for help and opportunities. host: president trump has reached out to leaders in mexico about the caravan. have any u.s. officials tried to

reach out to the leaders of the to warnto make contact them off before they get to the united states? guest: trump has tweeted at the caravan. the irony is that very few of the people traveling have an iphone that they can look at the tweet and respond. tweeting is probably not the best way to communicate with the thousands of migrants. when they get to the border, there will be more direct discussion with agents, the mexican government. this part of the story has not happened yet. leads those us who discussions if they get to the border. who will be the first contact for the group? guest: it is really one-on-one. when you get to a port of entry requesting asylum, it is your individual case. that is why there is all of this administrative support that will be needed.

the number that reach could be larger than expected. host: is the goal to still have customs and border patrol lead those first contact efforts? guest: exactly. under secretary mattis' orders active duty and guard are not authorized to interact with the migrants at all. host: louisiana, democrat, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i served in the united states army for 27.5 years. i was a senior noncommissioned army.r in the seventh and i don't see the point of national guard being taken away from their families, put in and theyke country,

will probably come from the 82nd airborne which is the first to deploy, this is nothing but politics. those national guard people should not be out there. the united states army should not deploy active duty people down there behind a bunch of cracked. crap.-- a bunch of i was in the army when we had to go to bosnia. we went there for a purpose. these guys are going out there with rifles and everything. you have a bunch of people coming over, little children looking for a better life. anybody with common sense knows it would take you three months to walk 1000 miles if you are lucky. politics.re dirty thank you. host: tara copp? guest: we were talking about previous instances of presidents requesting active-duty support. in 1997, the marines assisted

customs and border patrol agents. they sought a 17-year-old kid herding goats. that changed the discussion as to whether you should have active-duty on the border and if they should be armed. this has happened before. there is a broader political debate. the question for the department departmentis the that requested it and they are fulfilling it. what about the case where the 17-year-old was shot? guest: he did not survive. the marines were charged. host: did they end up in prison? guest: i think there was a court-martial. i don't remember. next, independent from illinois. caller: good morning. what ifion deals with the people trying to get into this country ignore the 8000 soldiers down there.

are the soldiers going to open fire on that group? what is going to happen in this case? as i said previously, the vast majority of troops on the border are not armed. their purposes are for administrative support, helping get the vast amount of data collection and trials needed with all these people. i know that is not what you typically envision your military doing, but they will also be doing things like flying helicopters overhead for surveillance, during logistical surveillance, during logistical support so the actual agents trained in processing people can get to do that. host: what about building the wall? could any of these troops be used in that effort? guest: there is construction material headed down. barriers are being sent to the border. there are engineering troops

that can help with assisting with any part of the wall already built. there is also a training range in arizona. it is federal land, military property. they are looking at bolstering that as heart of an enhanced wall. host: independent from nevada, good morning. caller: great to be on with you. this has a historical perspective. the beginnings of this, one of them, was in 2009 when the president of honduras attempted did, what hugo chavez tried to secretly distribute ballots to get elected for another term. called correctly by the government of honduras an unconstitutional act. the supreme court and senate

acted as they should to stop him. if they did it in a way that is not like ours, if it was not legal process, impeachment process, that is unfortunate. but they did it according to their law. host: bring us to today and the deployment of these trips. caller: we have to understand the beginnings and history. it should be reported on. i'm upset more of the reporting does not speak to why these people have an economy that is shattered, somewhat because of our state department. and they lost loans. they lost farm aid. they lost world bank financing because they were branded a rogue state incorrectly by our state department. we need to understand our

shortfall in that aspect. we need to understand their people. they probably should not have all come at once. but we could restore some of the trust. they were a great ally. they helped us in these political struggles with nicaragua. we have a base there. we could train some of these young men on that base to be policemen, soldiers, more of the statesmen they need to work with us in a democratic way. host: tara copp on the reporting of the history of this and secretary mattis' thoughts on the relationship with these countries where the vast majority of the migrants are coming from. guest: sure. the united states has been a when for migrants escaping they have problems in their countries for centuries

immigrants have come here escaping problems from the past and we have welcomed them. the overall number of immigrants coming in from latin america and south america has dropped over the last 10 years. it is still about 400,000. hefar as secretary mattis, just got back from a trip to south america. to him, it is important to keep those relationships strong because there is a rising a lot of influence from russia and china in south america. ae u.s. has typically enjoyed healthy relationship with most of the countries down there. it is a point of being able to secure the border but not make somebody feel like you are unwelcome just because you come from another country. host: speaking of secretary mattis, i wonder if you chatted with him about how long he intends to stay in the job. guest: we ask and ask.

there is a lot of speculation he is going to go. he told us he is committed to staying. he also told us he takes it one day at a time. unfortunately, we have not been successful reading his mind. host: what is his usual response? does he shut down those questions like the political questions? guest: usually makes a joke. he will tease us he will go buy a house down the potomac so he never leaves. he talks about how he was really enjoying retirement in california -- in washington state and maybe it is time to go back. he is not showing his hand one way or the other. host: couple of minutes left with tara copp. south carolina is next. russell is a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning and thanks for taking my call. as an air force veteran, we were taught america's borders should be canada and south america and

if we keep tight relationships with canada and all of latin america and south america we because theot safer natural borders of the ocean would protect us from invaders. i see the current administration has tried to destroy our relationship with canada. and they are not sending help for police to mitigate the violence in latin america. they are not working with those countries to mitigate that violence. it seems to me the reason those people are trying to get to is the fault of the current administration by defunding the state department and not helping the latin american countries deal with violence. all the previous presidents worked with the police departments of honduras, venezuela, nicaragua, to make

sure violence was mitigated in those countries. that is my comment this morning. thank you. host: russell from south carolina. is there anything you wanted to pick up on? guest: he raises an important point that the oceans have acted as natural barriers that have kept the country relatively safe. that is no longer the case in this highly globalized world. the 1.i did want to bring up is a couple of weeks ago the present mentioned there might be middle easterners in the caravan and there might be a terrorist threat hiding in the caravan. his own administration later walked that back and said there is no proof. there are people who have found their way through the mexican border. 16,000 were apprehended in 2016 according to dhs statistics.

there is no evidence. they were connected to terrorism. they just found a way to the u.s. that way. point that we have become a more interconnected world. you can travel to mexico and go into the u.s. from mexico just like you can enter the united states from canada. host: san antonio, texas, roy, independent. go ahead. caller: this is roy. i served 27 years in the military. i lived in six foreign countries and seven states. i stayed single a long time so they sent me where they cannot send married guys and all that. people are missing the whole point. it is not that these countries are not safe. we are not safe in san antonio. it is overpopulation. the same thing is happening in

north africa. 1980 carter said in [indiscernible] that these states do not allow birth control or anything. when i was a kid in pennsylvania, you could not even buy condoms. that is the way it is in the south so their birthrate is so high they cannot possibly find jobs for these people. host: let's see if we can get in carol, a democrat. caller: good morning. if they have funds for the military to go down there, why don't they use the funds to help the people? they could use the funds they were going to fight them with to help them when they get here.

that is my comment. host: tara copp? guest: it is a fascinating point that the military seems to be the solution instead of going a diplomatic route with the state department. the state department has a lot of programs throughout the world but they have seen their funding cut dramatically the last couple of years. it seems this administration is leaning more toward a military solution rather than a humanitarian aid one. host: when are the new troops planning to arrive? will you be going to the border? guest: i don't have plans to head down there, but they are expected later this week. host: tara copp's bureau chief for the "military times." thanks. next, we will end where we began this morning with this question. eight ways away from the election day, what is the election about for you? republicans,or

democrats, and independents. you can start calling now and we will be right back. >> the c-span bus is traveling across the country. in boston, we asked which party should control congress and why. >> i would like the house to remain republican because i like the way things are going. i like the way the economy is going. i think if it were to switch to democrat, it would create a lot of gridlock and not a lot would get done. i think the way things are going, it has been one of the best runs in recent history and i would like it to stay that way. >> i want to see a democratic majority in the house because i do not like the way washington is going with the republican-led house. i feel like it should be changed and it would be for the better. >> i want the house to remain in

republican hands because i'm tired of gridlock and things not getting done. if it flips, i'm afraid it will be another session of the change. >> the issue most important relative to this fall campaign is further to be balance in the house and senate. i think it will force the current administration to try to govern more from the center which i think is important. i think when we govern from the center, i teach my students this as a history teacher, it is important to do that because it teaches us to have empathy for the other side and able to recognize other people and the issues important to them. >> voices from the states, part of c-span's 50 capitals tour. >> "washington journal" continues. host: 30 minutes left in our program today. our question for you is what you think the 2018 election is

about. here is one of the headlines on that topic. what is the top issue for you? the electionhink will be defined by? here are some other headlines. about abortion as a test case for the supreme court. another asking about whether the youth wave will hit the ballot box this year. let us know what you think this election will be about. jeff is first in kentucky on the line for democrats. good morning. go ahead. for me, this election is

a referendum on trump, whether america will continue to tolerate a president without any checks or balances. another comment i would like to make is the subject you had about the migrant workers. basicallyalready said he will not allow these people in the country at all for any reason. the easy solution is they would go down to where they are now 1000 miles from here and get these people to sign the documents they will need when they come into this country, if they are going to come into this country, and process the paperwork as to who and what they are so when they get here, they know who they are. but he is not interested in finding a peaceful solution. he is just going to turn these people away. if they cross the border, he was a separate them and do what he has done before.

to me, it is a referendum on whether america will tolerate a president like donald j. trump. and i certainly hope they don't. host: that is jeff in kentucky. speaking of kentucky, more reporting yesterday on the fatal shooting in the state. a white man tried to enter the predominantly black church minutes before people were shot at the grocery store and parking lot. they were both described as killed.ack who were police arrested the shooter. that is reporting from cnn on the shooting last week. indiana, good morning. what is the election about in your mind? caller: immigration. i believe neither of the

previous administrations have been serious about immigration issues. this is not a military invasion. this is an economic invasion. these people come to our country. they take jobs americans would like to do, and then they sent their money back to their home countries. it is an economic thing. the president is making the right choice by trying to stop these people because this money needs to stay in our country. when they come here, they don't money to support their selves. they have to look for people to support them or the government supports them. this whole thing boils down to an economic disaster if you let these people in. there are thousands of jobs taken by illegal immigrants that americans could and would do. ofis just another instance for these immigrants. they don't have the american citizen in their minds.

the pundits on new shows were losing their jobs, it would be a different story. but it is the construction workers, factory workers, people who need jobs are the ones suffering. let these immigrants stay in the countries they come from. i am an independent voter. .,voted for george bush, sr ronald reagan, bill clinton, barack obama, and trump. i want them to stay in their own countries and try to fix them instead of coming here and sending money back to the countries they come from. the election is about the survival of the american economy. host: california, democrat, good morning. caller: here is what i think we should do at the border. we should put nonlethal landmines that would stop them before they set foot on the border. it should be just before the

border. as far as the lady you just had on as a guest for a whole , you did not take a single republican call. not even one. i find that quite amazing. host: i'm not sure about that for the last segment, that we take the calls as they come in this morning. takeinly no effort to not calls from one line or another. we certainly would not do that. caller: i don't believe you because i was watching and i tried to call in on the republican line. and it rang off the hook. ok? this is amazing to me. i thought c-span was supposed to be impartial but they are not impartial. i think you are part of cnn. host: we will keep doing our best to be impartial and take calls from both sides. rose is on the republican line from illinois. good morning.

caller: good morning. i was just calling in because everybody is worried about the women and children in these groups. they did a count and said there is over 80% that are military age, youngman men that could stand up and fight in their own country and have an american revolution like the french revolution in their own country today. we are economic slaves. everything the government wants us to do. my husband was a factory worker. it took him 30 years to make $19 an hour. he worked over 40 hours a week for 30 years. when the illegals come in, they take their jobs. all of a sudden, he is only worth $9 in our. that has been happening across america. it has got to stop. i'm tired of being an economic slave to every little thing the democrats want us to do, and they are not the ones hurting

like we are, the workers of america. host: is this election about immigration for you? caller: it has been open borders for 40 or 50 years. nobody has been doing nothing but talk. nobody has been standing up for us until now. and democrats don't like it because they cannot get their marxist socialist government in. to comed these people into this country to fight against us. we are not needed anymore. we want to be a free country. we don't want to be economic slaves to anybody. that is what we have been, the oppressed middle-class. host: that is rose from illinois. abouts the 2018 election eight days from election day? bill is in pennsylvania, a democrat. go ahead. caller: i think the issue is bring back the middle class,

which is an want to happen because whenever -- which is not going to happen because we never had a middle-class until after world war ii until 1975. before world war ii, there was no middle class. there has only been a middle-class for the last 25 .ears trade trump is trying to bring it back. they don't want it back. they want everything for free. that is my comment. host: hollywood, california, line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. i apologize to you for the youformed people calling saying you are not evenhanded with the calls. i know that is not true. i appreciate the good work you

do for us. for me, this election is about ignorance and hate. there has been so much hate fostered by this white house and our president. there is so much ignorance by his followers who don't take the time to look at other sources of information other than fox news fostered bygroups the hate coming from this president. i've never seen anything like this. i been watching presidents for over 40 years. these the best president we've ever had. unfortunately, he is the man like hitler. host: what about the finger-pointing on who is responsible for the hate? here is a front page story from today's "washington times."

do you think there is too much finger-pointing here? caller: i watch all the sources. i don't see anybody from democra new sources fostering hate. i see them being overly evenhanded since the election that haverom 2016 tried to be very careful not to hateful.nated and they have been going out of their way especially on cnn to be right down the middle. i see fox news as fostering hate. it is all these little hate groups across america that are waiting for their chance to have a president that would allow them to grow. and trump has helped to grow that hate.

they'rele don't realize middle-class jobs are not coming back until corporations bring factories back. nobody can do that for them. host: here are tweets from the president from about an hour ago saying there is great anger in our country caused in part by inaccurate and fraudulent reporting of the news. host: sharon is in california, a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm not a democrat. i'm a republican. i called in on the republican line. my big deal is immigration. shown, 90% ofis

them are men. where are these men going to work in this country? they cannot even speak english. i don't know what is going to happen. we are leaving california when my husband retires. i hope every immigrant allowed across the border go straight to our late -- l.a. and hollywood and lives with those people. i hope they get all of them. host: where are you going to move? guest: we are going -- caller: we are going to move to texas. we are going to get out of your. this state is terrible. the city where we live is 20% food stamps. that is a lot of people. immigrants, all these hollywood people want these immigrants to cross the line. i want them to sleep in their flowerbeds, on their front lawn, i want them to have them. when they have them, they will want to be protected.

host: carolyn is in west virginia, independent. what is the 2018 election about in your mind? health i got two issues, care and immigration. as far as health care goes, before the a.c.a. or obamacare was placed into effect there were millions who did not have health insurance. after it went into effect, there were still millions of people who did not have insurance. people needfor all, to take some responsibility for their selves. placenot the government's to take care of everybody. think we need to take care of those less fortunate, disabled. that is fine. outou are able-bodied, get

and find you a job. and the immigration -- , what are yourre thoughts on your ability to buy coverage if you have a pre-existing condition? caller: it is the same way with car insurance. if i go out here and get two or and it is not up to me to not get the d.u.i., i pay high risk insurance. i understand pre-existing conditions. i don't have a problem with that. but the way the pre-existings come about is say i have a child. i take my child to the doctor. the minute the doctor says it is allergies, that child has a pre-existing condition. some ofed to tweak these pre-existing conditions. as far as immigration goes,

,exico has offered these people immigrants, they have offered them amnesty. saying we needr to send people down there to fill out the paperwork. immigration law says that you go to the embassy in your country and file the paperwork for amnesty into the united states. mexico has offered these people that. rained them refused it mexico has offered them jobs. they refused it. i understand they are poor countries. but where do we say enough? need to get our own house in tellingfore we start

other countries we don't want them to tell us how to run our country, saliva we need to tell them how to run theirs? dustin on facebook says the election is about saving lives by stopping republicans from destroying protections for people with pre-existing conditions, keeping public schools funded, detecting medicare and social security, trying to put a line of defense around trump by taking the house. "i voted blue" is what dustin wrote. health care is the subject of this "new york times" article today. democrats working hard to make health care a key issue in the race. that quote president trump in the article from his rally on october 18 when he said he believes the election would be caravan,anaugh, the law and order, and common sense. what do you think the 2018 elections are about?

give us a call and let us know. republican from new york, you are next. caller: i got a quick comment. the midterms mean getting more trump patriots and getting rid of democratic communists. host: andrew is in georgia, a democrat. go ahead. caller: i am a first time caller so i am a little nervous. i wanted to address the issue of immigration. i heard one of the earlier callers say her husband used to be paid $19 an hour. and as a result of immigrants coming in, now that john has been reduced to $9 an hour -- now that job has been reduced to $9 ian hour. people blame the immigrants instead of the employers. i think the anger in many cases is misplaced. it makes me wonder if it is

because of the wages or because they are brown people and do not look like the people who are so angry. i agree something needs to be done to help those people trying to make a better life for themselves and their family. but i don't think all the hateful rhetoric is necessary when it comes to the immigrants. i heard another caller say something about using nonlethal detonation to hurt the people coming across. what kind of world are we living in? that is my comment. thank you for taking my call. host: sandra, could you talk about the issue of immigration in georgia and the impact on the governor's race there? caller: i don't really know what the impact is on the governor's race in georgia. that is just my honest answer. host: thanks for calling in. kevin is next in alabama, republican. go ahead. caller: i think immigration and

closing loopholes is one of our biggest things. but also keeping our economy rolling. i have a comment for these people about obamacare. i have a pre-existing condition. why they set up social security disability. that is what kept our free markets going, because they had an insurance policy with social security disability. i am on social security disability. that is what saves me. anondly, my wife made $12 hour on her job. obamacare.p for it is supposed to be cheap, right? how is $373 a month cheap? we signed up for one that was

supposed to have a deductible of $3500. but when it come through, it was $6,500. or then when it come from next year, it said it was going up in price and going to a $10,500 deductible. ok? there is no way somebody can pay $400 a month, $4800 a year, for insurance, plus $6,500 deductible before it even kicks in. does that even make sense, sir? host: kevin in alabama. a few more tweets and facebook posts as we have been having this discussion on what you think election 2018 is about. writes to stop the childishness in congress and

continue prosperity for all americans. chipper says it is about saying no to nancy pelosi and maxine waters. says it is to vote competent and caring people who understand the basic principles of the u.s. government and how to make them work for the well-being of our citizens. michael in new york city, line for democrats, what do you think it is about? caller: how are you? host: doing well. caller: the bottom line of this election is checking trump. cannot be running around like a runaway train. nobody on the republican side is checking this man. he is corrupting the government more than ever. loses his personal businesses and personal connections -- this is his personal businesses and personal connections with saudi arabia. he needs to be checked.

ote blue tot v save our democracy. host: massachusetts, independent, good morning. caller: yes. i could go on and on about trump and all of this. i want to give you a personal experience of mine yesterday. i had a hard time working hard blowing off leaves. i went to wendy's at 3:00 to try to grab something to eat. they were closed. you know why? they did not have enough people to work. the people that used to work there were mostly immigrants. the american people do not want to take these kinds of jobs. we need the immigrants. do you understand? trump is correct. he has to go. that is what i have to say today. the immigration thing is nothing

but a big nazi scheme just like jews. had against the [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] wanda is in host: michigan. caller: in michigan on november 4, we set our clocks back. on november 6, we need to take our country back. that means putting trump in check because he's getting away with too much stuff. he is destroying our relationship. we need the house at least two police him because nobody is. that is all i have to say. host: do you think democrats have a shot at taking the senate? caller: i hope they do. i think they have a good chance of taking the house. and i'm keeping my fingers crossed for the senate. host: lahr in washington, republican. what do you think election 2018 is about? caller: for me, it is about

getting people in office who believe in our constitution, sovereignty, and values as american citizens. that is what is important to me. we hear the democrats screaming about trump being out of line. i'm sorry, he's not. the people out of line are the democrats, and they don't look at their own. they have more criminals and sexual predators in their upper offices who for years have done terrible things and stolen money from the american taxpayer to do it with. i want it stopped. i want it exposed. they have done nothing. host: you said it is about our values as american citizens. what are our values as american citizens? ander: for freedom individual to be who we want to be and still have an opportunity to live in this world with everybody else.

immigrants are coming down here for a welfare check. we can get our country in line again here we have prosperity for anybody that know, they can get out there and get a job and go to work. until we have that, i really feel we don't have room for anything else. america needs america right now. we need to heal ourselves. we have been wounded terribly. with obama running around saying crap about our president, it is just disgusting. host: it'salso you want to shut down immigration in this country for a while, correct -- it sounds like you want to shut down immigration in this country for a while, correct? caller: i would not be against it. host: how long? caller: i think it would be best to take it a day at a time and look at the issues to find out what we have going on, what we

can do for this country for who and what we are about. we are not about any ideology. we are just about the u.s. constitution. i wish we would mind our own business. anyway. it is up to those people to go home and fight for their country like the american people have fought for our country. host: a couple of minutes before we take viewers to the heritage foundation for a discussion on north korea. that is coming up next on c-span. until then, more of your calls. alexa from orlando, florida, independent. go ahead. for me on the election, it the major points would come from an environmental perspective. i think our government needs to be more aware of the dangers of climate change. i think it is incredibly people into have

power to make changes to deny climate change and science. also i think when it comes to immigration, a lot of the responsibility falls on companies that hire immigrants at a lower wage. i think that adds to a lot of the problem. to say that jobs are being taken away from the americans and blame it solely on immigrants coming over here, i think the responsibility is heavily on those doing the hiring. host: worn, massachusetts, republican. good morning. caller: thank you for c-span. you get these people coming on from these caravans and they are flag from country which they are condemning, which

doesn't even make any sense. if their countries are treating them so that, where they walking with people holding the flag of the country they hate so much at the front of the caravan? this is dangerous. this is crazy. i think we should start to worry about our own country.these people are not good people . it is just upsetting. i think the whole aspect of the way the democrats are trying to run this country is just a losing battle. i love you, have a great day. host: jim in west virginia. you all pulled up a whole bunch of stuff. this is my opinion.

i am a democrat. i think republicans try to delude and deceive people. i think their place themselves on this massive pedestal of righteousness. oppositionu say in to what they say is automatically evil and wrong. that is kind of what democrats have been relegated to. host: what do you say to republicans who would say the thing about democrats that they disagree with? caller: they have been doing that since president obama was elected. as as someone was speaking about earlier, it is given rationale toollow bigotry and racism. it's sad. topics, as far as immigration, two republican presidents got to sign executive

orders granting amnesty to millions of mexican immigrants, south american immigrants. two republican presidents were allowed to do that. that is a historical fact. they wouldn't let president obama. they blocked him with merit garland. that is what kevin i was about -- kavanaugh was about. democrats were opposed and perhaps some of his questionable historical background, questionable political bias and the way he conducted himself in the past. as far as president trump saying, we have to get rid of the fake news. the fake news he is crying about and truth and people in his campaign were involved with russian oligarch people. making business decisions. rext of people think tillerson was named secretary of

state. they don'tis people, like the sanctions that president obama and hillary put on the russians for invading crimea. host: that is jim in west virginia. judson, new hampshire? : you asked a young lady a few minutes ago what was the basic american values that she felt was being threatened. that.d like to answer a think one of the most unique american inventions which made america, america was the peaceful transition of power. when george washington gave up being general of the army and later on declined being president for life, we established a tradition of peaceful transfer of power. we have had that ever since. that was threatened once before. that was in the 1850's, leading up to the civil war in 1860.

we saw the polarization similar to what we are seeing now with people on the other side being demonized for money interest. a populist as being concern. host: do you think it is as bad as today? caller: yes. i think it is getting that way because you see increasing personal violence and demonization. since the election of president trump, what we have seen is the resist movement. what happened with the peaceful transfer of power and they want to overturn it. issue, ito pick one would say that is the one that is most fundamental to this country. these other issues, we can go on and on about it, but i think built goods to a large

extent to become part of the resist movement. host: that was our last color. -- caller. we will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. now, we take you to live coverage of an event at the heritage foundation. digging strategically about human rights challenges in negotiations with north korea. >> i was there to do media for heritage, specifically because heritage really wanted to highlight the issues of human rights that we feared truly were potentially going to be left off the agenda in singapore. if the trumps, administration is willing to call forth complete verifiable, irreversible dismantlement of north korea's nuclear program, why not ca