now back inside the republican party, and gearing up to challenge donald trump. does it make a difference? guest: i don't think it will make a difference. if anyone was going to challenge trump, it would be on the right. you would have a conservative on the right. a more moderate candidate, i don't think is going to hurt him. activist conservative voter, especially in the primaries, one not vote for someone less conservative. they made to vote for someone more conservative. you see a more conservative candidate jumping into the race? guest: i don't. he has been good on that stuff that the constituency cares about host:. thank you very much for stopping by. come back again. host: we want to welcome back if familiar face, donna brazil. interim chair of the dnc, author of a number of books, teacher at howard. you are one busy person. donna: i'm enjoying it.

-- my predecessor was james, the former director of the fbi. the series allows us to bring in prominent speakers from all walks of life. i am very excited about that opportunity. walks of life. i am very excited about that opportunity. host: your newest book for colored girls who are considering politics. guest: we have been involved in politics for over 30 years at the national level. we have worked in practically every role within the democratic party. forbook was just nominated the naacp book of the year. who haveis for women blazed the trail of american politics, helping to elect presidents, working for presidents and working to encourage more young people to get involved in politics. host: let's talk 2020 politics.

bernie sanders over the weekend preparing a campaign video that has not been released, but indicating he is seeking the nomination again. he is 77 years old. guest: no surprises here. bernie sanders randy phenomenal campaign as a democrat. a lane for bernie sanders is a lane for kamala harris and amy klobuchar. joe biden is considering. jay inslee. at the end of the day, it is likely we will have anywhere between 15 to 20 candidates who will make their official announcements in the next couple of weeks. make anto o'rourke will announcement by the end of this month. do you guest: think he will jump in? guest:yes -- do you think he will jump in? guest: yes. he could stay in the state of texas and run for senate in 2020 or he could run for the president. stacey abrams has the same

opportunity. run for president or for governor. host: what about joe biden? guest: like bernie sanders, he is a known commodity within not just the democratic party but the country. host: but do you think he runs? guest: i have not talked to the vice president in a couple weeks. i know he is exploring it. he is talking to donors and former staffers. he is likely to jump in but if he does not, there are more than enough democrats who will fill that lane that vice president biden will normally fill, looking up for working people, helping to make a difference on major issues. joe biden is another great candidate. host: there is another candidate who has 100% name modification based on what might come out of the -- report. is there any chance to clinton jumps into this race? guest: i don't know.

i have talked to her a lot of her -- i have talked to a lot of her closest confidants. while she has not joined in the interest, i have not any evidence that she might be running but she is a remarkable woman, phenomenal. she ran a campaign that sought to bring people together. stronger together was the message. at the end of the day, we all know what happened in 2016. most americans understand by now that there was interference. the fact is, i think hillary technically screwed out of an opportunity to become our first female president. i don't like to use those words but there is no other way to say it. it was a tough political year.

she could not get her message out. there was foreign interference. with day we had to deal the assault of the males coming from nowhere. it's as if somebody goes in your house and steal your property and then puts it out on the street for others to see it. host: if the mueller report does have a clear link between russia and the campaign, and that is a big if, does that give color clinton a path to say i was robbed and i will do this one more time? guest: that is up to secretary clinton and her advisers. this is a two-year process. this is not an easy process. if she wants to run, there is a lane for her but i also believe that secretary clinton has made it possible for more women to run than ever before. we have a historic number of women who are running.

they are formidable, talented and i believe that of the four or five who have already announced, we might see a future president or vice president. i really do believe that. host: in four months, the first debates will get underway. the first one will be done by cnn and cnbc. as you look at the outside -- at this from the outside, how should they identify who is in these first debates? polls?it be placed on should it be random? guest: it should be democratic. i want to fault the dnc for not having more than enough debates to get the people to know our candidates. msnbc and nbc will host the first debate. tom has not announced the city. two executive nights so we would have enough airtime for candidates to share their platform and their vision. host: it is not the afternoon

debate or the evening debate. table fillede a with experienced proven leaders and experienced public servants. the individuals who will be selected based on the most recent polls starting now, but they will also be -- it will -- if you haven donors in all 50 states, you must show some viability. you cannot be summit who just wants to promote themselves. you have to show some viability and you will be selected based on that. host: let's get to your phone calls for donna brazile. greg is first up in washington, d.c. i am gregory from d.c. and i really appreciate donna brazile. guest: thank you.

caller: i will have my daughters get that book. d.c. have nothing in the taxationare without representation in d.c. i love you being on this air. guest: while i love c-span. the dnc yesterday convened in washington, d.c.. mayor bowser was there. to d.c. state party sponsored our reception. we strongly support making the district of columbia the 51st state. it was in our 2016 platform. i'm sure it is going to be in our 2020 platform. mine -- she has

more cosponsors lined up for d.c. statehood than ever before. greg, we need people like you to make phone calls all across this country and encourage your friends and family members to get congress members and senators. ic. residents like greg and helped clear the ball of trash -- the mall of trash. we provided services until the federal government reopened. d.c. deserves to have a vote in the house of representatives and we deserve to have two united states senators. host: let's go to california. caller: good morning. -- i've gotalling two questions. one question that i definitely want to know about. social security is called an entitlement.

when they started social security, everybody that they paid in, that money was supposed to draw interest. there was something always said about a third rail. raise the social security? it could have paid for itself. second question. if it is proven that russia had something to do with the election, and because as far as i am concerned, they installed trump in the white house. that is an act of war. is there anything? can we make this country whole again? things are really screwed up. have a great day. guest: thank you. you are up early. i believe we have the strength to protect social security. have to ensure that all of our in title -- entitlement programs

have the resources that will allow these vital programs to succeed. we have to ensure that we can sustain them and not borrow from them. i am a strong supporter of these valuable programs. with regards to the russia investigation, i have taken the position from day one that we need to get to the bottom of the cyber attack on our nation. this was not an attack on hillary clinton or the democratic party, this was an attack on our democracy. we need to ensure that we secure our elections in the future and figure out if any americans had any involvement in this attempt to destroy our democracy, that is the bottom line. mr. mueller has already indicted 37 people. he has not completed his investigation.

ofdon't know what the status his investigation is, but we are looking forward to getting to the bottom of this so that we can protect our elections in the future. host: what are your thoughts on the democrats lurching to the left and its impact on the success in 2020? guest: i look at our platform. when you look at our platform, everything from criminal justice for warm to ensuring the health and safety of all americans, this is not looking to the left is designed to make us disagree with each other without having a formal discussion about the issues. the democrats would like to have a conversation about climate change. climate change is real. we want to have a conversation about criminal justice reform. president trump just signed the first step act. what is the second step act and the third, toward ending this

insidious policy that criminalizes things that should not be criminalized? we need to have a conversation about health care. leading drivers of people filing bankruptcy. this is not lurching left. i don't understand why democrats who want to raise the wage so that every american can have a quality life, why is that lurching left or lurching right? it should be about strengthening , preparing americans for a future where everyone can survive and pay their fair share of bills and so forth. host: your first campaign was. nine, downhe age of in my beloved louisiana, in my hometown. i was born in new orleans. i worked with the city council candidate who promised to build a playground. i went door to door, encouraging my mother and father's friends and coworkers to go out and vote.

host: did he win? guest: hell yeah. he got the playground built. every time i go home, i checked on the playground. i love politics. host: your reaction to something -- on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you this morning? guest: god bless you, sir, i love north carolina. caller: i want to go back to wikileaks. a lot of stuff from wikileaks has been swept under the rug. we found out that there was racism in the democratic party in virginia. we found out there was abuse of women in the democratic party. look in virginia.

we found out through wikileaks that there was collusion between the democratic party and a major news organization, cnn. if we want to talk about collusion, i think a major news organization and a political party colluding is pretty bad. respect,th all due wikileaks was not a great source of information. somehow or another, they had access to information that was stolen. it was like a robbery. someone walks into your house and take your property and then they parcel it out to build a , in many instances a false narrative. there was no rampant racism within the democratic party. had there been, someone like myself and many others would have stamped it out.

i think i speak for all the former chairs and the current chair, we don't tolerate that within the democratic party and we find it, we condemn it and we ask the official or entity to explain it. the second thing, with regards to collusion between the dnc and cnn, there was no collusion. i was involved. i was with cnn and i was vice chair of the democratic party before becoming the interim chair. our party seeks media outlets to help promote our candidates but also to talk about our agenda. wikileaks used stolen information to create a false narrative. that is why director mueller is seeking the truth and we will get to know the truth within the next couple of weeks, once everything is put on the table. host: this is from linda

hirschman, from the outlook section of the washington post, the electability trapped with this question, will americans vote for a woman? the assistant professor and your home state who teaches political communication louisiana state university found that when women played up stereotypically votersne properties, regardless of party rated them better. they were rated lower in terms of likability. with no similar backlash to mail candidates who -- male candidates -- i teach women and gender studies at georgetown. i have been a part-time professor for 17 years. there is another article in the new york times, a woman, just not that woman. until 2016, we have

often seen one woman. we have seen one woman in this party, one in that party. we have never seen five or six run. we're going to look at these tart of the characteristics that women bring. are they collaborative, are they combative? we have a lot of things that we are going to learn on the campaign trail. the most important thing i encourage americans to do is get to know the candidates, get to know their positions and where they stand on the issues. don't get caught up on these traps where she is too tough or she is likable enough. where does she stand on climate change, infrastructure? where does she stand on public education or the deficit?

most americans would like to talk about these issues in 2020. we are not going to talk about her hair. got forbid anyone talk about my hair this morning. where going to talk about her the whiter past to house -- we are going to talk about her policy, her path to the white house. host: and your hair looks nice. guest: thank you very much. host: this is another tweet from karen. should the democratic party eliminate superdelegates? have a votell not on the first developed. they have not eliminated our voices but they have a limited our votes on the first ballot. by the way, we are americans, we are activists and donors. we are people who have spent over 40 years knocking on doors and raising money, encouraging

candidates to run, supporting candidates. i have not been a paid democratic staffer since i worked on al gore's campaign. isn you see me out there, it because i love my country and i want to encourage as many young people and old people to run for office. if you are out there, i might be coming in looking for you because we want more people to run. host: the book is titled "for colored girls who are looking into politics." donna brazile. brand new is joining us from south carolina -- brandon is joining us from south carolina. caller: i love your hair. guest: thank you. caller: i am the former democratic nominee in trey gowdy seat. we got almost 40% -- trey gowdy's seat. we almost got 40% of the vote.

i am also a joe biden staffer. run a decides to campaign, would you accept the responsibility? guest: unfortunately i am out of the campaign managing business but i am in the cheerleading business. i have known joe biden i was 28 years old, over 30 years. he is a decent man, a great american and i wish him the best of luck. tara mccullough i have known for over 30 years. -- amy,nown amy,, love are all my friends, i love them all and i want to see a vigorous debate in the democratic party. host: ralph northam, democratic governor of for genia, justin fairfax the lieutenant governor, both facing serious questions. should they stay in their job? guest: at this point the

democratic party of virginia has called for both officials to step down. it appears they are going to stay in office and try to work out these issues and problems with the virginia legislature as well as their constituents. honor -- anhave a honorable and decent conversation about race. this is black history month. we need to have a conversation that does not end with step aside or resign. when you do conversation where we are transforming, rebuilding, we are about redemption and forgiveness, but we are not about sexual harassment or assault or racism. these are not american values. i just hope we can have a conversation before we just say get out of town. i know ralph. not as well as i know justin. i know justin very well.

ralph northam is someone who cares about the american people. he cares about equality under the law. forward,he has come and we don't really know if he was in the blackface or the klan outfit. what we do know is it appeared on his page and a yearbook. he needs to explain to not just his constituents but the american people why my face is wrong -- why blackface is wrong. it intimated it people. -- intimidated people. that is why it was wrong. of course sexual assault is a crime and that is absolutely wrong. we should allow victims of this abuse to come over it and tell their story. host: we will go to rudy in california, democrats line. caller: good morning.

campaign, i016 believe that as never can american, mr. trump -- as an african-american, mr. trump did not talk to the black community, he talked past the black community. addled all think it is would it work this time. when he is speaking, he speaks to an audience of 99% white. guest: i was at the democratic national committee headquarters when president trump said what do you have to lose. he was referring to the black community's overwhelming support for the democrats. we have everything to lose. like most americans, we don't want to lose our voting rights because we vote democrat. we don't want to lose our health care because we vote democrat. we don't want to lose our ability to have a balanced life because we vote democratic. we have a lot to lose when our party is not in office and that

is why we are democrats. we have african-american lieutenant governors in wisconsin and new jersey and virginia. african-american attorney general's in places like new york and illinois. -- and of ensure course i want to be fair to republicans. you have tim scott from south carolina. we want to make sure that african-americans like all americans can enjoy the kind of quality of life, sharing prosperity and security that most americans want. host: indiana, good morning. guest: i love indiana. host: you have been everywhere.

go ahead, kevin. caller: hello. i have a few things i want to talk about. thatuperdelegates ithe superdey superdelegates, there are only four with one time voting, but that dictates to gets to run for president. the other thing i was wondering, since you have been in politics for so long, how does the use of illegal drugs, like hard drives, thein, compared to recreational beer or marijuana affect the blacks, because i feel like, and from what i know in indiana, in the small towns, your rural areas, where it is all white, i mean 50% of them

smoke marijuana. but if you're in the city, the cops are beating down your doors because of marijuana. guest: there are a substantial number of americans who are in prison because of recreational use of marijuana, and we believe there should be a pastor people with nonviolent offenses to be able to get out of jail. when a serpentine, get out of jail, and have the ability to live their lives, make compensation for their crimes, but to go forward with their lives. i do not like to think of heroin as being a poor white problem or a poor black problem. this is an american problem. we need to do something about it. that is why the legislation that was passed with overwhelming thertisan support, president signed the bill, we

need to deal with opioid addiction, and these are we have to do with as americans, not just blacks or twice. superdelegates some of your automatic delegates. that does not mean something special, it means because you are the governor of a state or you're a united states senator or united states congressman, you automatically get a seat at the table. so-calledare automatic. we do not make presidents. the overwhelming majority of americans who pledged delegates, votesre the ones whose will ultimately decide who is the "democratic party" nominee. i love being an automatic delegate, because i have worked hard, i have earned my seat at the table. that does not mean i am against other people joining me at the table. i want as many people as possible to come through the door. and by the way, i will give you a seat, even if i have to bring in a folding chair.

host: you authored a book -- guest: it is on paperback. thing,nd one final passing of someone you know in 1976 made his mark and the jimmy carter campaign. guest: you know, i was involved in the jimmy carter campaign. super we had all of these consultants and posters and what was justese gurus, pat a kid who wanted to do something great for this world and this country. carter's to make jimmy image larger than life, although jimmy carter is larger than life, but pat was an amazing person. was aversial, yes, but he trailblazer.

host: donna brazile, your new book, "for colored girls who have considered politics," announcer: c-span's washington journal, live every day, with news and policy issues that impact you. morning, monday residential historian douglas brinkley discusses the history of presidential relations with congress. then come independent institute senior fellow-human discusses president trump's use of executive power in the border wall debate and how presidents have used executive power in the past. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern monday morning. join the discussion. on tuesday, democratic presidential candidate john delaney attended a politics and eggs breakfast -- breakfast in new hampshire. until last month, he was a u.s.

representative for maryland's sixth congressional district. in july, 2000 17, he became the first democrats to announce a white house bid for 2020. the new england council and new hampshire institute of politics at the college cohosted the event. [applause] mr. delaney: thank you, jim. that was a really nice introduction and i like that he worked the bruce springsteen lyrics. when i am at events often, i will talk about stuff going on in the world and i will point to someone and say that bruce springsteen is my favorite artist. meone and say that bruce springsteen is my favorite artist. i have seen him 30 times in concert. one of the problems in the world is that we tend to talk about averages, the averages don't mean anything. if me and the boss were having lunch at a table having three burgers, somebody would look and say those people