museum of culture curator discusses soldiers in world war i and how their experiences served asexperience served as at for the civil rights movement. ♪ host: good morning. , 2020.riday, february 21 at the top security official warned members of congress russia is working to interfere in the 2020 election in an -- announced he was replacing the national director of acting security. actinggetting -- director of national security. we are getting your reaction to how concerned you are of -- about russian meddling in the

2020 election. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002.you can send us a text. that number, 202-748-8003. otherwise, catch up with us on social media. on twitter it is @cspanwj. on facebook it is facebook.com/cspan. a good friday morning, you can start calling in. here is the front page story from the new york times. warnedgence officials lawmakers russia was interfering to try to get president trump reelected. five people familiar with the matter said to the new york times. a disclosure that angered mr. trump who complained democrats would use it against him. to the front page of the washington post, here is how they report the story after learning about the analysis provided to house lawmakers, president trump grew angry at his acting director of national

intelligence joseph maguire. seeing him and his staff -- trump possible serious response ruined his chances of becoming the permanent intelligence chief according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the .ondition of anonymity president trump announced wednesday of this week he was replacing mcguire with a vocal , richard grenell. wall street journal with a few more details about the capitol hill briefing conducted last week. deliver theon information on election interference in a classified hearing before bipartisan members of the house panel, the intelligence committee -- the wallficials street journal noting the chairman adam schiff, california

democrat who led the impeachment case against the president. mr.ident trump mentioned schiff during his oval office meeting with mcguire as a reason he was irritated that lawmakers were briefed first. wasking of adam schiff, he tweeting yesterday in the wake of the revelations of this story. this is what he said. we count on the intelligence committee to inform congress of any threat of foreign airfare and's. if reports are true and the president is interfering, he is jeopardizing our efforts to stop foreign meddling. president trump mentioning adam schiff in his rally last night in colorado. here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> we have the swamp, that dirty, rotten swamp, crooked politicians and bad people, but

we are getting them out, one by one. like little adam schiff. what a crooked politician. he is a corrupt politician. he will lie and the next day get caught. he will be sorry he got caught. the next day he will say the same thing. he has no shame. he is a liar. i think he is a sick person. heads to lassident vegas tonight ahead of the nevada caucuses which take place tomorrow. the washington post editorial board weighing in on the replacement that happened earlier this week of mr. maguire with richard grenell, the german ambassador. the political purge continues. mr. trump installs a loyalist as acting national intelligence director. a little bit more on richard drenell, the president tappe

the american ambassador. he agreed to hold the post for a .imited period of time federal law gives the president a great deal of flexibility to appoint whoever he chooses to the position on a temporary basis while his official nominee for the job awaits confirmation from the senate. late thursday, president trump traveling on the west coast told reporters he was considering an ally of collins, his running for senate as -- senate as the permanent director. that appointment expected soon. getting your reaction to all of us -- all of this and asking how concerned you are about russian interference in the 2020 election. allen first out of scottsdale,

arizona. caller: a republican. good morning. good morning for c-span and i have two questions, one for the democrats regarding climate change and regarding the russian interference. host: let's stick with russian interference so we can stay with the story. statisticere is one regarding climate change. at 24% of the earth is inhabitable -- host: we are going to have a climate change discussion another day -- caller: okay. regarding russia, here it is. trump has five major sanctions notnst russia and there is anyway he is going to be involved with -- host: any way he is going to be involved with what? caller: there is no way the

republican electorate is ever -- trump is ever going to be involved with russia or china or any other government outside this. he does not need any help from anybody. he is on his own as an independent president and thriving. you look at all the people alling up and the polls are skewed, who cares about the polls, there hasn't really been a nominee for the democratic party to go against trump at this point. until we get to that point, then we can have a discussion about where the polls really are. host: this is ed out of california, independent. good morning. .aller: good morning, sir i am very ross perotian in my politics. originally, i did not give credence to this russia thing or

anything like that until i watched a tv show called homeland and it showed how simple it is for one russian operative with a cell phone camera to take a picture of wackoe -- of a right wing in a bed saying the kid is dead -- is how simple it is and how really stupid people can be. you have some people believing won't leave. i am thinking they believe what the media says. i go for walks in the morning. what annoys me is people do not think it through when somebody

says something and just like the , trump is ae businessman. what he says in public and what he says in private are separate things. i said listen to the man when he talks. everything he said is a bargaining position. he got 21%. host: this is clarence out of myrtle beach, south carolina. go ahead. caller: good morning. i think the whole thing is a canard. considering the corruption we party,hin the democratic republican party, and -- ifandering, the money russia interferes, it is minimal and on top of that, it is hypocritical for the united

states to complain about russian interfering when we interfere in every election around the world. host: this was the top election security official delivering the conclusion of multiple at thegence agencies february 13 meeting. you think all of that -- all of these intelligence agencies are conspiring together? caller: absolutely. did toted to invade -- invade iraq. what makes you think they would not do it again. i am not a trump fan, but he has state, that we have deep people who want to make decisions on their own outside of the authority of the president. i don't agree with that. host: dorothy is a democrat out of florida. how concerned are you about russian interference in 2020? pays off the

posters and the way russia is interfering, they are making is risingssor bernie in the polls because donald trump is paying off the posters -- pollsters to his advantage. host: how do you know that. where have you heard or seen that? caller: where i heard that was his personal attorney in prison .ow his personal attorney under oath, i heard him on tv said donald trump did pay off the posters. host: the new york times noting as part of the intelligence briefing last week, intelligence officials have previously told lawmakers russia's interference campaign has been continuing and the briefing included what appeared to be additional information russia intended to

interfere in the 2020 democratic primaries as well as the general election. that on the front page of the new york times. they dig down a little bit more on the history although the intelligence conclusion russia intrying to interfere is new the 2019 report of robert mueller, there is a reference to russian desires to help bernie sanders in that campaign against hillary clinton in 2016. president trump's allies in the congressional briefing pushing back against some of the charges arguing president trump has been tough on russia and they specifically note representative chris stewart, member of the intelligence committee, here is what they say about him. the republican who has been considered for the director of national intelligence post in the past was among republicans

who challenged conclusions. providedrt insisted -- antitank weapons and strengthening the nato alliance with new resources according to people briefed on that meeting. he declined to discuss the briefing, but said moscow had no reason to support mr. trump and pointed to the president's work to confront iran. i challenge anyone to give me a real-world argument where putin would rather have president trump and not bernie sanders. chris stewart also tweeting yesterday, keeping his statements confined to the appointment of richard grenell to the acting security post, this from the day before, so

wednesday evening this is what he said after the news came out richard grenell was being appointed to the acting position. congratulations for being named acting director of national intelligence. he has been a fantastic ambassador and i am confident he will do a great job in his new role. getting your comments, your thoughts, set aside the first hour of the washington journal. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. stephen in kentucky, you are up .ext caller: i voted for trump in 2016 and i will vote for him again and russia did not have anything to do with me voting for the man. host: when we talk about

concerns about russian interference, concerns in 2016 for paidsian efforts social media advertising, impersonating americans, you don't pay any attention to social media, is that what you are saying? caller: no, i don't. host: do you think we give too much credit to how much influence a paid social media campaign or fake twitter account will influence americans. caller: i absolutely do. host: anything more you want to add? caller: no, sir. that will be good. thank you. host: this is mike in illinois, good morning. .aller: good morning, john good morning, c-span. there is a saying in chicago, you cannot hustle a hustler. were led around with the carrot and stick by israel for

years and years and now we will be led around by the carrot and the stick in russia. host: what is the carrot and what is the stick for russia? caller: the carrot and the stick -- thepower vacuum, power vacuum that we were supposed -- supposedly freeing syrians and other countries like south korea, tokyo, people we kind of looked out for. there is a power vacuum now that office and they are front man for the antichrist, which i feel is kushner. host: we will move on. caller: good morning, c-span. good morning morning, john. how are you>? host: i am doing well. caller: my feelings on it is

when they talk about interference, they have done it before with all the .isinformation they planted people over here long before this election and the last election and got their operation together. people are forgetting what putin really is. this guy is not your average politician. he had his own legislature resign so that he could rewrite their constitution so that he can stay in power. it doesn't necessarily have to of not justform giving people dirt on a political opponent, but misinformation. it also comes in the form of doking groups that actually -- like proxies for them.

for example, you have certain hate groups in america that have linked -- they have said this before, they wanted to link with the groups in russia and now you look at these hate groups that have come into more prominence, especially now they are saying boysgroup -- the boogaloo talking about wanting to wage civil war in america. host: when you say this is nothing new, russia has done this, the intelligence committee said this was like nothing that had ever been done before, this a brand-new effort in terms of scale by the russians to interfere in the u.s. election. caller: may be on our side, but think about putin's background, you don't just go into an operation like this half lit.

things like this take preparation and just because it showed up in 2016 the way it did doesn't mean it wasn't in the works prior to that. it could have been in the works as far back as 2008. host: should be -- should we be any less concerned? caller: we should be very concerned, especially with the data breaches that happened, we should be very concerned and people sitting here talking about russia did not convince me to vote for trump, if you were reading the stuff on social media, yes, they did. they don't have to come out with a megaphone. host: the same question i asked the other caller, do we give too much credit to how much influence social media has? caller: i am personally believing that is a no question. if you look at where people get most of their information today,

it is not like it was back in the day when they had newspapers and objective writers. you have people on social media. you don't know who these people are. you have no idea. like the one person they found. that sean hannity was referring to. that was one of the russian operatives that set up shop and was throwing out all this misinformation. as long as there is misinformation, the people who are not intelligent enough to look at things or don't want to look at things because they think it is a bunch of hogwash, they are the ones out here spouting everything out these guys put in. chris is next in maine, good morning. i think this whole

thing, they are trying to metal -- they are trying to throw a monkeywrench into the mess and they have been doing it for years and we have been doing it. we do it in israel with mr. obama. it is not good. since they came up with the computer and the internet, you have to deal with this stuff and i think mr. trump is doing a pretty good job and i will stick with him that lady who said he is buying off the polls, i guess he did not do too good a job in 20 buying off the polls. host: this is victor out of florida, you are next. your reaction to the stories and how concerned are you about russian interference in 20 20? caller: very concerned. i think they will do everything they can to support donald trump.

they were against hillary clinton because she was critical of putin and making critical remarks and he wanted to get even, so he supported trump. even though there are sanctions on russia, he is building a military base in venezuela. he is in violation of the monroe doctrine. they are building a plant in kentucky. mitch mcconnell is involved in it. question, where do you get your information? information,of my i go on the internet, i look at good sources like fortune magazine, forbes, i do more reading than going to facebook because you get a lot of lies and misinformation on facebook. tv media has an agenda. i read the canadian newspaper because it is less bias and they

don't have as big an agenda, so they will give you good information. litifacts and get good information. nothing is being done about it and basically, in this internet age, the younger generation gets their information from facebook know it, soians they can get into a computer easy. if you don't have paper ballots, they will hack computers and change elections. host: the new york times diving in more to what russians are trying to do in the 2020 election. the russians have been preparing and experimenting for the 2020 election undeterred by american efforts, but aware they need a newplaybook as yet --

undetectable methods. they have made more creative use of facebook and other social media rather than impersonate americans as they did in 2016. they are working to get americans to repeat this information. to sayry goes on russians are working from servers in the united states rather than abroad knowing american intelligence agencies are prohibited from operating inside the country. the fbi and department of homeland security are allowed to do so with aid from the intelligence agency. russian hackers have infiltrated iran's cyber world -- cyber warfare unit. the national warned officials believe foreign powers including russia could use ransomware attacks like those that have debilitated local governments to damage or interfere with voting systems or registration and data systems. one of moscow's main goals,

undermine american confidence and that is what they told lawmakers, that russia looks to so doubts over close elections and recounts. this story being reported in several newspapers. this meeting last week with the house intelligence committee members and in the wake of that meeting, the ouster of the acting director of national security. we are talking about all of it in this first hour. cecelia in illinois, how concerned are you about russian interference in 2020? i am very concerned. that guy in new jersey made some valid points and i know in 2016 after the vote came through, i was researching in pennsylvania. a group on facebook had people

in wisconsin and michigan and i know just in pennsylvania, i only did half of the county, but there wereee like supposedly12 -- 120% turnout for republicans even if you factor in the fact you had a turnout in the democratic portion of the voters 10%, 20%ould factor in on top of that, which we know did not happen who voted for trump. it was still an anomaly. host: are you saying you are not confident in u.s. election systems? caller: i like to vote early and i like to do a paper ballot because then i know and i watch and make sure my vote is counted because that happened where they did not put my ballot in there.

the russians,t of but there are americans who want to cheat for donald trump. they did it in 2016 and 2000 for .ush junior something has to be done. we have to do a paper trail. if we do electronic voting so people have to go back to the paper ballot and we have to look out for gerrymandering and the secretary of state. in michigan, he threw over half a million people off voter rolls. me 10% ofying to tell those people would not have voted for hillary clinton and we would have a different president? reaction to these

stories from the folks who work in the building over my shoulder. ,his is from hakeem jeffries one of the impeachment managers in the house, this is what he tweeted. russia helping donald trump in upcoming presidential election, is anyone surprised other than the distinguished gentlelady from the great state of maine referring to susan collins. one of those key votes who during the impeachment proceedings. this from debbie wasserman schultz of florida, the former chair of the democratic national committee. trump is mad not at russia, but congress after finding out the kremlin is interfering. congressional leaders need intelligence assessments and presidents who will protect our elections. richard grenell served as acting

director of intelligence, the republican congressman from new york, one of president trump's most vocal defenders and he said the attacks on richard grenell are not because he will not do the job exceptionally, but they are afraid he will, he is the anti-james clapper, which is perfect. he will take no prisoners cleaning up any mess lingering to move the intelligence community forward stronger than ever. we will show you a few more tweets throughout this program. getting your reaction to this story in several papers and asking whether you are concerned about russian meddling in the 2020 election. jack in north carolina, republican. i want to make a comment about our intelligence services, which you seem to be quoting this morning. , fidel castro, bay

of pigs, jfk assassination and last but not least, 9/11. what do these have in common? they were opportunities for our great intelligence service to do something and they failed. why would you believe them on something like russian interference in our elections. is there anybody who could take over who would help regain your trust? caller: nope. stop fromut and fresh. host: what do you want to see, everyone who is fired -- who is there fired? caller: absolutely. the whole place is tainted.

i just wanted to say why are you going to believe something that had such miserable failures in the past? host: that is jack in florida. john out of california. say i: i just wanted to follow social media. i believe people on facebook, be influenced.an want to playthey around with. is linkedmedia choice in. that is a business website and where do i get my information? i do research. everything these politicians say are recorded and there are facts.

the cato institute came out and said obama was the most lawless president we have ever had and listed 10 things. i have never heard anything about obama when he was in there. i am 100% as an independent for trump and i cannot understand these guys. as far as bernie sanders in the 50's -- 1950's, we would have thrown him out of the country. they don't allow traders like traitors like that. run aguys could not lemonade stand. host: two different takes from facebook when we posted this question at the start of the program. shane saying more crying from the left, they pulled out every pathetic move, trashy tactic and realize they are going to lose, so it is blame everybody else for their own tactics. the democrats only put forth the

biggest losers. this is insane, all the aigner rents. the idea people are convinced all 70 u.s. intelligence agencies and all of our allies' intelligence agencies are lying and trump in dash and putin are the only ones telling the truth. putin is not our arch nemesis and wants only what is good for america. some of the comments on facebook. you can also follow at @cspanwj on twitter or send us a text message, 202-748-8003. molly in florida, you are next. because iam calling woke up this morning and all i hear and see is russia, russia, russia. didn't we live through this in

2016? it was proven false then they did not help trump get elected. democrats have tried everything -- host: come back to that point. it was proven false then they did not help. caller: he did not collude with the russians, let's put it that way. host: do you acknowledge russia did try to interfere? caller: now we are back to russia, russia, russia before the election, but it will not do any good. democrats are lost. i was a lifelong democrat. i am embarrassed to say i voted for a democrat before. i am embarrassed to say i voted for obama and clinton and them. i am embarrassed because they are acting like crazy fools, children. this story happening the

thistime yesterday as story, focusing on the story yesterday, a federal judge .entenced roger stone -- finedo was find prison will not go to immediately. a federal jury found him guilty --lying about his efforts and hillary clinton's presidential campaign. these efforts obstruct were deliberate, planned, not one isolated incident and conducted over a period of time. donald trump said yesterday he

would not pardon stone, at least not yet. president trump making comments yesterday during an event in las vegas about the sentencing of roger stone. this is what he said. [video clip] >> you see a lot of press so before we go further, i want to address the sentencing of a man, roger stone, roger stone. he has become a big part of the news over the last little while and i am following this closely and i want to see it play out to its fullest because roger has a good chance of exoneration in my opinion. and you people understand probably better than anybody in the room. i have known roger stone and his wife, who is a terrific woman, for a long time and roger is definitely a character, everybody sort of knows roger. most people like him. some people probably don't.

i do and i always have. guy, a little different, but sometimes those are the most interesting. he is a good person. his family is fantastic. he has a fantastic family and there is always a reason for that. roger was involved in the trump campaign for president. long before i announced, he may have done consulting work, but he was not involved when i ran for president and he is a person who, again, he knows a lot of people having to do with politics. andwhole life is politics it is my strong opinion the woman in charge of the jury is totally tainted. when you take a look, how can you have a person like this? activist. anti-trump

can you imagine this? host: that was president trump yesterday. the judge in the case yesterday also thinking the jury for doing their job under difficult circumstances telling the courtroom in extended remarks yesterday when it comes to the issue of possibly pardoning roger stone, members of congress weighing in on that issue. this is the minority leader. if president trump hardens roger stone, it will be a green light for trump's accomplices to keep raking the law. if any republican cares about preserving rule of law, they will take their head out of the sand and stand up to trump. getting your thoughts on the reports yesterday about the briefing to congressional leaders, intelligence committee .eaders about russian meddling

tracy in north carolina, you are next. believe foro not one minute the russians elected donald trump. we listen to donald trump on television, speeches, and appearances, and made up our own minds these people have america's best interest at heart. we should all be grateful he is in there. say so inns have no how we vote. they can manipulate our information, lots of things. when you listen to a man's speech and he holds his promises true, how can you doubt him? agenda?you doubt his

it is ridiculous. we are going to vote for trump and he will win in a landslide. democrats will freak out and .lame the russians once again, we are going to go through another series of ridiculous accusations against our president and it is wrong. these clowns who are democrats running for president could not run a soda shop. host: did you watch the president in any of his rallies this week? caller: i watch the president frequently and go back and speeches and i have done a lot of research listening to trump. i don't listen to the media to east -- media twist on either side. i listen to the president's words and then i see the actions backing up his words. to deny the fact this country is

growing better than it has in decades -- why would anybody want to change the path the country is on? host: if you want to listen to the president's words, we will be airing the president's rally in las vegas ahead of the nevada caucuses. the rally taking place at 3:00 p.m. you can watch it on c-span and listen and watch on c-span.org or listen on the radio app. charles in tennessee, you are next. caller: how are you doing? host: doing well. by the i am insulted notion from democrats that anybody with a fifth-grade education cannot research and find out the truth for themselves. hillary clinton was a terrible candidate. joe biden was a terrible candidate and the establishment

democrats are determined to stay in the center with their candidates. that is why we lost the election . trump will never be president again because 30% cannot make an president. i am very insulted no matter what russia does, everyone should listen. fox news, rush limbaugh hate done --hey have americans have been divided by limbaugh.nd rush you say towould callers who have called and expressed your same sentiment about what they call the liberal left media? caller: there is no such thing as a liberal left media.

what they do, they will promote certain social agendas that make there is liberal, but people --in type if people want to hear the truth, turn to democracy now. research for yourself. russia cannot influence me. barack obama made hillary clinton a failure by making him secretary of state. people, stop blaming russia. russia cannot influence your vote if you are smart. host: ernest out of decatur, georgia, a democrat, go ahead. chief ernestme is

.arshall not only have the russians influenced the thoughts of the american people, but the american people follow the racism in the 1950's. donald trump, if you want to call him a conservative, he has always promoted separating people. --m a native american in reference to the treaty of the choctaw. nobody talked about how the 14th amendment applied to citizens of america or the economics of america. everybody is talking about how russia influenced our election when you have racism and the

indoctrination of racism. -- america is destroying itself when you have a person who can deal with treason in the white house and people in the congress and the ignoring the laws. the columns about that can -- bombs that can destroy the world, we were talking about destruction. donald trump did more to destroy other intry then any the world --

host: working on the strategic treaty? caller: we had organized nationwide young democrats who to putgo against -- jimmy carter in the white house. we had to fight against even people who dislike me because of -- tryingof my skin to deal with the policies -- whengled with racism, but i spoke, i had to change the mind of the people i was talking they had so much hatred in them. host: how often were you able to change's people's minds? caller: a great deal because i

dealt with the reality of where we are now. destructive world. we had to sit out as people of the country -- host: you might be interested in sticking around for our next segment of the washington journal joined by jason altmire, carlos curbelo, a democrat and a republican who have come together for a group called "unite america." we will be talking about their efforts in our 8:00 a.m. keith, you are next, republican. caller: how are you doing? host: i am doing well. comments are all over

facebook, all over social media. i keep asking the question whose minds do they think the russians changed in the 2016 election? i can bet you dollars to donuts, there was no republican who needed any reason not to vote there is noand democratic candidate running this year or the 2020 election that any republican would have any reason to vote for. all these russia comments from the left is an excuse for their ineptness -- that is my thoughts on it. host: the concern here expressed intelligence community, with the assessment of 17 -- this that make up

briefing offered by the lead election security person in the intelligence community, that is where this story came from. does that make a difference to you? caller: no because obviously there was a deep state involved in this. obviously them wanting to keep hillary in as president and russia might try to interfere, but i don't think they are changing anybody's minds. the democrats don't have anybody with a lick of sense would vote for. why change our economy to a socialist economy like bernie or half of the other democratic candidates? it is beyond me how anybody could support that. ce, democrat, you are

next. caller: i am disappointed at the man who said back in our day, we assassinate people when he was talking about omar. i don't think you should let that go by. there is no i in team. fox is owned by russia, there is no doubt about it and democrats, this guy is such a big talker, he never has one were to say about russia because he has laundered money for them. when the truth comes out, these people will wake up. it is sad to hear these people fall for this garbage. this man is a traitor.putin 2020 for trump. they are arguing about who to put on top. host: steve in york, pennsylvania, republican. caller: good morning.

thank you for having me on. i am a republican. the reason why i voted for trump last time -- i looked at the issues and i am looking at the issues now because this is a bunch of malarkey. it is just 2016 all over again because they lost and if you go back through the last eight hiss before that, obama and officials did the exact same thing. they interfered in the elections of several states, several nations. one of them was israel. toy spent over $140 million overthrow the prime minister of israel. host: you are not concerned about russian interference in 2020? caller: no, i am not.

we have interfered with this and a lot of the people running for bernie is not a socialist, he is a communist. my issues are this. i am attired. i am in my 70's. babies and when i saw the president on the state of the union and that woman held her little girl and she was taken from her mom and survived 21 weeks, very small, one-pound, democrats did not applaud that little child. they want to have abortions on demand. we have now in some states killing older people, euthanasia. host: just about 10 minutes left in this segment getting your

response to these reports about russian meddling in 2020 in an effort to help reelect president trump. here is some reaction from folks from twitter and text messaging. james said we were warned in the mueller report. that was swept under the carpet and here we are months away from another u.s. election. real southern california american said russia wants trump to be president so he can continue sanctioning them, brilliant. this from larry, the only people i see meddling is the media. the media can lie to the people to get them from voting for trump. ,athy says no surprises inevitable given the u.s. state of affairs. putin won in 2016 and has been invited back. what did you expect? getting your thoughts, your comments this morning for about another five minutes or so with this story. rob has been waiting in texas,

good morning. energy president trump's producing policies are costing the russians a minimum of $160 billion a year in lowering energy prices. be can he possibly pro-russian costing in norma's amounts of money? -- enormous amounts of money? it was hillary that got money from the russians, not trump and putin recently -- i worked in russia for a while. i heard putin bragging about he has made 1008 new nuclear weapons pointed at us. host: what was your job? caller: some of it environmental, but retired

senior senator -- scanning. people don't realize how complicated the oil industry is. low, imy tube is so could not hear you. host: i wanted to hear about your work and insight into russia? putin sayings 1008. no russian oligarch would give somebody like hillary $140 billion without putting -- without putin's permission. the 140 million dollars. $160 million is the lower energy prices. host: what is the $140 million you are referring to? caller: it went to her charity. you have to know that. they were given that by the russian oligarchs.

in new jersey, a democrat. good morning. whole: after hearing the hour of the plow -- of the program, i came to a conclusion. tosia does not have intervene, you have republicans do the talking points for them. thank you. host: george has been waiting in tennessee, a republican. go ahead. rosenstein onrod national tv some time ago giving some kind of news conference and he said russia interfered with , and he saidtion not one vote was changed. it seems like a colossal waste of time. i am as concerned about russian air -- interference in 2020 as obama was in the 2016 election.

in thisr last caller segment. plenty more to talk about today. we will hear from two former members of congress from both sides of the aisle on their effort to make government more representative. carlos curbelo will join us and jason altmire. seriesklong museum week continues with a visit to the missoni and museum of african-american history and culture. will join us to talk about the role of african-american soldiers in world war i and how their experiences served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement. that is later today on the "washington journal." ♪ campaign 2020 bus

team is traveling across the country asking voters what is you -- issue should candidates address? >> the most import and issue is civil rights and civil liberties like voting rights, reproductive rights, criminal justice reform and reproductive freedom. these are more important now than ever because we are seeing them being violated left and right. they are as important as every other issue. >> the issue that is most important to me right now is the fact our veterans do not have housing. i feel as though new hampshire, since it is one of our 50 states, should do more for our veterans and right now, veterans have to leave and either go to vermont or massachusetts in order to get the services they need. i don't think that is appropriate. these people make a sacrifice and they should be able to have services when they come home. >> i am interested in having the

candidates focus on actionable environmental policies. also incentivizing renewables. >> the most import thing about this campaign is the truth. we need to work on gun violence, health care, college education. we have a lot of things to work on. when the senate votes openly and against the truth in a partisan manner, it is time for us to return to our roots, face facts, listen to witnesses. it is time to face the truth and move forward and we cannot do that if we do not open our eyes and pay attention. >> one of the most important issues to me in the 2020 election is education including the current cost of education for postgraduate and graduate ofk and also the kind concerning legislation that has been coming out of the trump administration in regards to

secondary ed and k-12. me, education is number one and that is why i am voting. >> this is on the road, on c-span. >> washington journal continues. host: we are joined now by two former members of congress. --gressman krewasky salter carlos curbelo, and in the studio jason altmire. a caller said she is done voting. nothing changes no matter what party is elected. she sees no point in voting. what would you say if he had the chance to talk to her? guest: we talk about these issues across the country. that is what we hear from some people.

that is clearly not the right solution. we talk about empowering more people to vote. currently in the system the extremes within both parties are empowered in the primary process. they vote more often, contribute to campaigns, and in primaries they showe up in much greater numbers. not onl voting not only gives the extremes more power. we try to find ways like opening up the primary process to all voters instead of having a just democrats and republicans. open it up and let them have a say in the process of who their leaders are. host: congressman curbelo, what would you say to that caller? guest: most people in the country, republican, democrat, independent, most people are just frustrated by our politics.

most americans instinctively know some things are not working. there are reasons for that. part of it is the structure of our elections. thatve an election system really gives a small proportion of the voters a very big say in who gets elected and what policies get passed. and also we need to fix the people. a lot of the people getting elected to office just refuse to ark together, refuse to have healthy political dialogue. i get it. like most americans, i am frustrated. i know we can do better and this is not a republican opinion, democratic opinion or independent opinion. it's an american opinion, an american idea that we should fix and heal the democracy and open up the system so people feel good participating. if they want to participate,

they know the vote will matter. that their vote will count, whether they live in california, florida or anywhere in between. what congressman altmire, is unite america? guest: a group of interested people and political philanthropy who are interested in reforms at the state level, open primaries, rang twice voting, vote by mail, things that will empower voters and also candidates. making sure in contested you know what party will win in the general election and making sure the people whoever's from the primary are pragmatic and willing to work with the other side. most importantly, put people over party. we have unfortunately too little of that. we are trying to build throughout the country --

identify the people and groups that are like-minded and support these reforms and build that out to scale so we can empower people instead of parties. host: that is the topic for this hour. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. congressman curbelo joining us from miami. how did you to come together on this issue? remind viewers about your service in congress and who your constituents were. guest: jason and i have a lot in common even though we are from different parties. we were members who tried to work across the aisle to get things done. working across the aisle in a bipartisan manner is just a means to an end. table,a is you sit at a you figure out what you share in common, you understand you are

not going to agree on everything. that's impossible. no two people agree on everything. then you move forward, and that is not happening in our system. that is something i struggled to get more people to do what i was there and jason had the same experience. tot-congress, we decided come together and become part of this wonderful effort. people can learn more about this organization at uniteamerica.org. register to get updates. i represented the southernmost district in the continental united states. south florida. southwestern suburbs in the florida keys down to key west. hey swing district. a district where voter registration is about 36% democrat, 33% republican and 34% independent.

truly a swing district. a district where in primaries all those independent voters, a third of the voters have absolutely no say. we will have a primary in florida on march 17, a presidential primary. millions of voters will be locked out. we think that is unhealthy for our democracy. that is why we came together. that is what we are looking to change and we are inviting the american people, everyone who knows we can do better, who knows we can heal our politics for the good of the country to join this effort and visit uniteamerica.org. , whatcongressman altmire did your district in pennsylvania look like? guest: carlos and i represented swing districts. about 380 of the 435 seats in congress are overwhelmingly partisan. like carlos, i had a mixed constituency. towns,tched across 146

from the ohio west virginia border -- ohio-west virginia border. northernay across the wealth and communities -- wealthy communities in pittsburgh. i had a mix of socially conservative democrats and pro-business republicans. they both trended towards the center. i did not have a lot of folks on the far extremes. on almost every issue they disagreed. i knew i would make cap my constituents unhappy. host: how sure are you people one compromise? my guess is when people go on their own social media pages they are probably seeing more strident partisanship and calls for a bite -- then calls for bipartisanship. if people want what you're working towards? -- do people want what you are working towards? guest: overwhelmingly. no one can argue our government

is dysfunctional. what you see right now is very frustrating. want, and theye might vote republican or democrat most of the time, it's about do you want a functioning government? do you want people who can compromise, come to consensus and get things done? our electoral system incentivizes the election of people who are not just incapable of working together but penalized for compromising. host: we will get to the calls of the keystone state in greensburg, pennsylvania. is that new your old district? guest: very close. host: frank, good morning. caller: yes. is i don't think republican or democrat has really the people in mind. really -- they do

their politics. they are politicians. everything is based on politics, not on what is best for the country. it is like who can do what for whatever. host: when you say it is based on politics, is that a way of saying it is based on the members' self-interest in getting reelected? caller: basically yes. for their own agenda that they the that they think american people want. i have been a lifelong democrat. lean more towards the republicans now, and that's a shame. i am 79 years old. i have always been a democrat. but i don't like what the democrats are saying. host: frank, i will let the republican take that first, congressman curbelo.

guest: i understand his frustration. topink what i hear is that priority for most members of congress is to get reelected. not all, but most just want to get reelected. that is kind of the way the system is designed to work. the problem is in order to get reelected most of them only have to appeal to maybe 10% to 15% of the voters in their district. the voters who will give them a primary victory at than the general election is kind of a foregone conclusion. that yields an unhealthy democracy. that yields a democracy where members have no incentive to come together to solve the big problems our country faces. no matter if you are republican or democrat or independent, whatever issue you care about, whatever it is, you need a congress where people can sit ton and figure out solutions

make for better outcomes on all those issues. under the current system, as we can see, people prefer to bicker and fight and posture and say radical things that will get them on television. what we are trying to do is change the incentive structure so members of congress from both parties, no matter how level or conservative they are, have an incentive to come together and try to solve some of these big challenges. we have a lot of big challenges sociale approaching, security, medicare, the solvency of those programs. infrastructure gets talked about every year and nothing gets done. immigration has been an issue debated for almost 15 years now. no solutions. we can make progress on these issues only if we have a healthy democracy where people who are

in office have an incentive to sit down and work together. ofjason said, 70% to 80% americans believe that should be the case. true, there are people that don't and thank no one should ever compromise on any issue. those people are in the small minority and they should not be driving our democracy. today, focusing on this issue. that is on your screen now. american politics is broken but here is why you should not give up on the system just yet. some of the recommendations you have been working towards. you talked about an open primary election for all voters, ending partisan gerrymandering, pushing back against negative campaigns, and acting bring choice voting. if these recommendations were enacted, congressman altmire, would you still be in congress? guest: you would have more people like carlos and i.

people willing to work across the aisle. if you're running in a primary today, especially in enclosed primary, the people who vote in overwhelming numbers are the folks on the extremes. yes, people are self-interested when the running for office. they want to be reelected. they will cast their messaging and vote to appeal to the audience who will determine their fate. those in large part are the extremes. we are saying let's give a voice to folks who want compromise and consensus. what i would hear in my district is both sides. i had the benefit of hearing both sides and bringing that to washington. if you represent one of these majority districts all you hear is doing what you are doing and don't you dare compromise. that is not a formula for success. host: congressman curbelo, some viewers are more familiar with this. can you explain how ranked choice voting works? everyonesentially participates in all elections.

you don't have separate primaries. all the candidates are on the ballot. choose youryou first choice, second choice, third choice. if no one gets a majority of the vote, the first round, then those other choices that voters make may come in to play. the one who gets the majority will ultimately get elected according to the choices they made. it sounds confusing but it is really simple. you go into the voting booth. andrank all the candidates, according to your ranking the winner is selected. it prevents people getting elected with maybe a third of the vote, 40% of the vote, which happens and we have kind of seen that in the country where

candidates have won elections without having a majority of the vote. we see it in congressional districts all the time. this is a way to include all the candidates and all the voters. we strongly believe, and there is evidence to show this will build a healthier democracy by including more people and by yielding outcomes that reflect what a true majority of the public would like to see in each district and state. host: congressman altmire, is the system catching on? guest: maine has ranked choice voting. the city of new york just passed it for their primary elections. the city of minneapolis. san francisco has it. it is catching on across the country. changerlying goal is to the incentives of the people who are running for office because if you just appeal to your narrow partisan extreme in an

open primary or ranch choice format, you will lose. you need the support of the rest of your party and the people in the middle and people on the other side in many cases. it changes their incentives on that govern, when they legislate. it makes a difference in the way they think. they do want to get reelected. the way they get reelected is not appealing to the narrow base but to everybody in their district. host: our second callers from the sunshine state. john in florida, go ahead. itler: listening to everyone stands out in my mind is the fact that the people running for office, for congress, senate, they are talking about $180,000 with all the benefits god knows how much. this is a job for them. primarily that is what they are looking for. that is why people don't get along in congress. the main think they are interested in is their own

pocketbook. that is what i think it is. they speak very well and they groom themselves well but everyone knows. you are talking about big money. if you can't get along, so what? there is a lot of prestige in it and a lot of phony baloneyness with it and people roll the dice voting for anyone. you know that. it is a roll of the dice. you can do little on your own. that is all i have to say. , do: congressman curbelo you want to feel that from your fellow floridian? great to get a call from florida. i think it is easy to say things like, everyone and congress is just there for the money. look, serving in congress is not easy. i respect everyone in congress for their service, for being

willing to put their names on a ballot, being willing to get scrutinized like no one else in the country does. for being willing to be away from their families on a weekly basis pretty much. i don't want people to think it's an easy job. i don't want people to think we are in some way diminishing what members of congress do. we want to change the system for the better. attack memberso of congress. we don't want to question their motives. a lot of people who serve in congress, when they lead congress into doing a lot better. characterizeto people trying to get rich in congress, unless you are doing something illegal. you are probably not going to get rich by serving in congress. what we do need to change is the motivation for getting reelected, or how people look at

getting reelected. going back to this point that jason made, do we want members of congress to have to appeal to the entire districts or most of their districts? four do we want them to haptic -- or do we want them to campaign and focus on 10% to 15% of the voters? we strongly believe, and it is obvious that the more people are included in our democracy, the more people candidates have to appeal to the better for our democracy. that means more people are being represented and included in the decisions that are made. attackingt about people in office. this is not about diminishing the work they do or the time they put in. this is about fixing a broken system. host: congressman altmire, you have gary in the tar heel state, an independent. caller: i have a couple of

things i want to say. one of the problems we have is we have people like nancy who have all the time on tv to do these things. she is not exactly online with what you guys are saying, and i appreciate that. how do you make your positions and still expect to get your constituents who are one-sided? how are you going to do these wonderful things you are talking about doing when the voters are too shallow? carlos, he's hispanic and come -- compliment hispanic area. i'm not saying he's not a good representative, but people vote too simple. we getst vote -- how do past that to go to the wonderful things you are talking about? host: congressman altmire? guest: voters vote for the issues they care about. one of the wonderful things about the house is every

district is the same size, unlike the senate where every state has two. there are 435 districts. you divide by the population of the country and that is how big each house is. 750,000 people right now. that is why it is critical with the senses of coming and the way -- census upcoming. one think united america supports his independent commissions for gerrymandering so it is not the politicians choosing their voters. it is the voters choosing the politicians. that will change the type of district we have. you will not have as many of these overwhelmingly partisan districts and you will have politicians that have to listen to both died. -- both sides. host: we are assuming human nancy pelosi. how much do you blame her for where we are on partisanship? guest: the party leaders are not supportive of some of these

issues, of giving the power back to the people. a lot of the people who have their power had it because of the party they belong to. we are trying to enact reforms that put people over parties. majority --si and minority leader mccarthy are both in california. california has both independent commissions for gerrymandering and an open primary system and it has worked well. they don't agree on almost anything. the one thing they agree on is they don't like the system because it takes the power away. host: congressman curbelo, how much do you blame president trump, majority leader mcconnell and minority leader mccarthy? guest: having served in congress i can tell you that what congressional leaders from both parties spend a lot of time on every day is preventing numbers from working together to seek compromises. they view that as a threat to

their power. leaders in congress want critic debility. they want control -- they want predictability. they want people to read off a script. when people are representing their districts and solving issues by having conversations, by exchanging ideas, by having healthy dialogue, leaders in congress view that as a threat because that introduces an element of unpredictability which is very healthy. that is what the framers had in mind when they designed the institution of the house, the institution of the senate. dynamic places where people can come together and share ideas and have debates and allow the best ideas to emerge after reaching agreements, after compromising. leaders in congress, at least today, don't like that. they work every day to prevent those efforts.

you will hear leaders call in members and say, what are you working on? why don't you just do what i have suggested? host: a lot of people have described president trump as an element of unpredictability. how much blame to you assign him? guest: he is unpredictable in his style. i think the president has missed an opportunity to really be a post-partisan president. here is someone who throughout his life has been a republican, a democrat, and independent as well. he has gone back and forth a few times. he is someone who very obviously did not have a strong affinity with either party or a strong loyalty to either party. i think he really had the opportunity to be a bridge builder. to say there is a better way of doing this. we don't all have to think one way because we are republicans

and another way because we are democrats. to me it seems like he has fallen into that partisan trap. he has kind of reinforced the divisions that already existed in our politics and our society. i think he has missed an opportunity. by the way, i think former obama missed an opportunity. president obama gave a famous speech at a democratic convention i think in 2004 that said -- i'm paraphrasing. we are not red america or blue america. we are purple. we should come together. he was talking like someone who could be a post-partisan president. someone who could put the country over either party. i think he missed an opportunity there as well. this is not any one person's fault. it's the result of many years of a broken political system. host: the website of the group is uniteamerica.org.

congressman jason altmire with us in washington, congressman curbelo with us from miami. cochairs of that group with us for 30 minutes more this morning. we will try to get to as many of your calls as we can. homer in shreveport, louisiana. caller: looks like you had to cinnamon on this morning that we really need. they are agreeing. we have too many people with -- they make the truth counterfeit. you have two this morning. everybody wants to talk about each other. we need to get together. thrives -- i will make myself look good by making you look bad.

you cannot stand in a crowd and make yourself look young. host: would you like these gentlemen to run for congress again? caller: i sure would. these are the kind of people we need. host: congressman altmire, 20 run again? -- would you run again? guest: i'm not going to run again but we need people willing to work together. i love louisiana and i recognize the accent with homer. i was glad to hear him call this morning. the issue is that many states in the country, voters are frustrated. what we are trying to do is empower people. i are note carlos and extinct in the congress but there is a lot fewer than their be.d two most of the reason is structural issues and the political system. they are problems that are solvable.

we have to have the resources to go into these dates and make the case for why these changes are necessary. they cany mail because do research at have time to make decisions. host: how much money is behind this effort? guest: we are prepared to spend more than $10 million on the current election cycle. we will continue it moving forward. there is interest among the political philanthropists, people who care about issues and they are concerned congress is not getting anything done. guest: congressman curbelo, would you run for congress again? guest: neither of us are looking to get back into congress. i was grateful for my time there. i served during this hyper-partisanship era. still, i feel like it was able to get some important things done. we are not looking to get back into congress. we are looking to help fix the congress. we are hoping to get people in congress who are willing to work

together, willing to put petty politics aside and solve some of the major challenges our country faces. this is not a campaign for anyone, for any group of people. it is a campaign to heal our democracy, fix our democracy, and that's why we are inviting all americans to join this effort. this is fundamentally an american effort. not a republican effort, not a democratic effort, not even an independent effort. it's an effort to fix politics for everyone, no matter which party you belong to. even if it is a third-party. one of the smaller parties in our country. everyone in our democracy should have a say. everyone should count. host: mike is in houston, texas. good morning. caller: good morning. first thing i would do is require any laws passed by congress also require them to abide by those laws. they should live by the laws

they pass. host: to hone in on that, the what law are they not living by right now? caller: the first thing i think about is the elements of obamacare that may have been exempt from. they shouldn't be. i think also they should probably live -- why do they have the pensions they have? i argue they should live with the social security arrangement the average americans have. i don't see why they have this special highway of retirement tot americans don't have prepare for. host: let's take of those issues. congressman altmire, you were in congress when the affordable care act was passed? guest: i appreciate mike's call. i'm not picking on the color but this is indicative of the

problem we are trying to solve. you alluded to social media and people surrounding themselves with folks who think exactly like they do. gavewo examples the caller are ubiquitous in the discourse of congress. i'm sure you have callers that talk about those things but they are factually incorrect. with regard to the affordable care act, there was nobody in that country that was forced into a different plan except for members of congress. members of congress were forced to give up their current health care plan and go into the obamacare health insurance markets. they were the only people in the country and they did that because of the public pressure. the bill involved in a way that they had to be accountable to the bill. host: because of this concern that it would be expected down the road if there was anything different? guest: exactly. with pensions it is the same thing.

used to be email chains and out twitter makes it easy to pass misinformation. members of congress are on the same pension system 80 federal employee is on -- that any federal employee is on. you have to serve at least five years in congress to qualify for a pension. you have to be elected to a third term. it accumulates over time. if you serve 20 years or more, you can never make more than a third of your salary while you are in office. the rules of the pension of the same as for any other federal employee. guest: congressman curbelo, you have jennifer in california up early with us, a democrat. good morning. caller: hi. i'm calling about breaking the country together. have a line for democrats and republicans. we should be calling in as americans and for the love of this country and to uphold the constitution. environment that this

president has caused we are never going to come together until this president is out of office. plain and simple. thank you. host: congressman curbelo, did you want to respond? guest: i think it is easy to look at the state of the country and try to blame one person or blame one party. i understand there are a lot of people that are frustrated out there. when people get frustrated they look to assign blame. this isr truth is that the result of many years of the erosion of our democracy. we can look to when this all started. a lot of people point to the mid-1990's when republicans took over the congress and the tone and the nature of the debate changed in congress. our goal here is not to assign

blame to anyone. our goal is to look to the future and to figure out how to fix this. we have a pretty good plan. that plan involves including all americans, giving all americans a greater say in our democracy. candidates working together to solve big challenges. we feel that is a better use of our time rather than looking back or saying, well, if we just get rid of one person or if we punish one party or the other party, this will all get magically solved. it won't. we've had democratic president. we have had republican presidents. republican majorities in democrat majorities and things have not changed in the country. big problems go unaddressed. the nature of the discourse continues to deteriorate. this is not about anyone party -- any one party or politician.

this is about fixing our democracy and uniting america, our namesake. we would ask everyone to try to keep that perspective because if we go too narrow or too small we will miss and stay in the same rut. host: bob and tyler, texas. caller: good morning. hase is one program that united america and always will. why should we experiment on other programs that never worked and will never have a chance? why don't we go back to the first law, page one of the entire u.s. code. worldds that changed the and will save it again if we just quit ignoring it. do you know with those 35 words are on page one? host: phyllis n, bob. bob.ll us in,

guest: we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. those are the words to which the constitution was written. you are ignoring the constitution and you are ignoring our declaration. it is as simple as that. host: how are we ignoring it? caller: the only written guarantee in the constitution is the republican form of government. they are talking about a democracy. the first time democracy even appeared in the u.s. code was in 1937 when fdr totally obliterated with his government reorganization act and broaden social security, the works project administration and all this other stuff that is unconstitutional. we are not a democracy. the guarantee in our constitution is a republic and

to protect us from invasion. texas.that is bob in guest: i thought he was going to say c-span was the only program that can yet america. the constitution and the declaration of independence are the founding documents of the country. he is right. we are a republic. we are not suggesting overturning the constitution. we are suggesting doing exactly what the founders of the country had in mind. having people show up to vote and using their voice to determine what their representatives do in washington and their state capitals. we want to make it easier for people to vote and make it easier for the people who are elected to public office to do with the people want rather than what their parties want. host: the caller brought up social security. that is a very big program where republicans joined democrats in passing that program. does that not happen anymore with the big programs? guest: it is rare.

to president trump's friend in the leadership on both sides of the house and senate, criminal justice reform. maybe not on the scale of social security but in a normatively important issue for many americans. they got done after many years of languishing because the sides were able to work together. it is not impossible to do but it is very rare. host: congressman curbelo from pasadena -- you have richard from pasadena, maryland. we talk about independent commissions for gerrymandering in the states. maryland is one of the worst for gerrymandering. i don't believe there is a commission for the state. i think we need to solve those problems before we try to change our electoral system. i would like to get your thoughts on that. host: congressman curbelo on gerrymandering? guest: richard, you are absolutely right.

that is what we propose to do. gerrymandering in some states benefits democrats, as in maryland. other states it benefits republicans. going back to the previous caller, the founding fathers were very skeptical about political parties because they distort the nature of our republic. they distort democracy. the framers assumed people would go to congress and be driven by the national interest. instead most or many are driven by partisan interests. gerrymandering, the way districts are designed in both states are driven by partisan interests. what that ends up doing is it disenfranchises voters. it excludes people from our democracy. ort is why we want to end curtail political gerrymandering. that is why we want to open up primaries to all voters so every american can vote and have a say

and who is going to represent them. what richard is proposing is exactly what united america is all about. host: congressman altmire, a map here. the states in red have independent redistricting commissions. it includes some very blue states. california and washington. very red states like idaho, alaska and montana. battleground states like colorado and michigan. why don't more states have that? guest: it's critically important right now. the reapportionment process happens after the census. the results will determine the number of congressional districts every state has and the state legislatures are in charge of deciding how the lines are drawn. for too long in the past they have been drawn by the people who hold those seats themselves at the state level.

independent commissions are being talked about all across the country. oklahoma, pennsylvania have major redistricting commission ideas that are percolating to the system. it is happening across the country. i lost my seat because of redistricting. this is something i care a lot about and i know a lot about personally. we really have to find a way to take the politics out of determining how the lines are drawn. every state is different. in oklahoma or massachusetts you can't necessarily draw 50-50 districts. that is not what it is about but it's about making sure people are well represented by whoever is speaking for them and their state capitol and in washington. you can't do that if the lines are not drawn fairly. host: explain who gets the final say on an independent redistricting commission to make sure who gets to decide what fair is. guest: it is different in every state.

in a state you claim to have an independent commission but the appointees are determined by the governor, the majority leader of the parties in the minority leaders in the state capital. that is not really independent. when we talk about independent commissions in the state where we work we wanted to be truly independent and distinct from the political apparatus. host: the lone star state, kevin in san antonio, democrat. caller: thank you for taking my call. politics is about branding. what politicians know is if you republican,crat or -- look at the last three presidents. george w. bush was a republican. got us into a war. people, because he is republican, they will support him. you have barack obama. goddess kind of back online, back in order. people hated him because he was a democrat.

claims to be a conservative. heck,spending just a holy has no moral values, but people support him because he is a republican. it is all about branding. ?ost: congressman curbelo guest: our politics have become very tribal and probably more tribal than any other time in modern history. a lot of people will support anyone if the are a republican. other people will support anyone just because they are a democrat. i think we can do a lot more for society at the family level and community level to encourage people to evaluate candidates based on all their merits, not just their political affiliation. i certainly tried to do that. i am inclined haven't been a republican since i registered to support republicans, but i try

to discern. i try to figure out who is the best candidate in every race. i just want to recognize that we can do a lot in terms of structural reforms, a lot in terms of supporting candidates who will fix this democracy. yes, i think all of us as citizens need to do our part and essay we need -- and to say we need to make our contributions and stop dismissing people or disqualifying people just because they belong to a different political party, or maybe they don't belong to any political party because they decided to register no party affiliation. we should not judge each other by whatever our political label might be. host: a text message from bill in vermont. , bill says altmire term limits is the best way forward to keep big money out of the political system and keeping politicians honest. guest: i don't agree.

i have researched this. i wrote a book on political reform. term limits is always a big issue that comes up. in researching that it changed my view. i used to the before term limits because they sound good. what happens is if you look at the state level where states have term limits, is prohibited by the constitution at the federal level, the folks who come in to office immediately start to position for their next gig. either to become a lobbyist by cozying up to special interests or running for a higher office and the politics and fundraising that goes into that. they make short-term decisions. they differed difficult decisions to future legislatures because they don't want to have that on the record when they are running for their own seat or a different seat later in the future. they are less innovative. they get less done. that is what research has shown. the people that like term limits the most are the lobbyists because they are not term

limited. they are there forever. they can build relationships and have more influence in a term limited environment. host: what does the term dead center mean? guest: i had the most interest phonorecord in congress as determined by the national journal. they rank based upon your voting record from one to 435. i was 218, exactly in the middle. we were both centrists. both willing to work with both sides. that unfortunately is a dying breed in congress. host: how political polarization divided america and what we can do about it, published in 2017. toler: i want to say ditto the last republican caller that talked about the constitution. sounds puffy and nice

and kumbaya, but this sounds like -- there was a no labels movement. i think it was joe lieberman's deal. it kind of fizzled. ideasttom line is we have that are diametrically different between the conservatives and liberals. conservatives, for example, don't want to open borders. we don't with the second amendment rights infringed upon. we don't with the government and our lives. we want low taxes and things that make the economy grow. we want that stuff. we don't want to have a government that looks like with those current crop of democrat candidates are all saying on stage. it is interesting because many here these -- when i hear the

united movements, i don't hear policy discussions. all i hear about is giving the we have to is about come together and we have got to make compromises. the bottom line is i don't want the life that those folks up on that stage are trying to put forward for this country. host: thank you for that call. congressman curbelo? guest: we are not looking to change anyone's mind about how they view issues. we are not looking to pursue any policy agenda. this group does not advocate for specific policies on any issue. this is exclusively about reforming our system of electing candidates, about reforming our democracy so that all americans have a say. let's take one issue as an example. immigration policy.

security,ller, border there is nothing wrong with that. we should want secure borders. every country in the world tries to do that. we certainly should do so as well. under the current political environment you cannot get any meaningful border security because you need congress to pass it. the president is doing something to shift a little bit of money around. that will move the needle a little bit but they comes nowhere near to the type of investment we would need to truly secure our border. perhaps there could be a political environment one day where republicans and democrats can sit together. republicans can say we really want a meaningful investment importer security and democrats can say sure, we will agree to that but we would like to modernize some immigration laws or maybe we would like to address the issue of childhood

arrivals in the united states. people who have been here for 15, 20 years and who grew up in our country and are paying taxes here and contribute into our economy. we would like to fix that issue. then they could come together and both sides can get something that's important to them. by the way, the byproduct is the country would get better policies for everyone. i want to give the caller an example of what this could look like if we successfully perform our democracy. this is not about changing people's opinions. this is not about imposing a set of policies. we have no policy agenda. we all have our own opinions but that is not a part of this effort. this is exclusively about including every american in our electoral system. about giving every american a say so that the politicians in

washington and in state capitals and everywhere else in the country are more responsive to more people. host: congressman altmire? guest: the caller referenced other groups. i think he would be surprised at the movement building across this country. there is a lot of frustration with the political system. he referenced no labels. the problem solvers caucus in the capital. they work together and talk about issues. there is a group called represent us in the political reform space. there is a group working to elect more veterans to the congress. they are with honor. they spent $14 million to elect more veterans. host: as either party? guest: both parties. there is a group called issue one which is about changing rules in the procedural process to have a more fair playing field. united america is a different

mission. we all have the same goal. what we talk about is changing at the state level the rules of engagement in primaries to give people more of a voice and to incentivize working for the people rather than parties. for: bob is on the line democrats. congressman curbelo, i wish you were here to help me with the pronunciation. alachua? caller: home of the florida gators. amen. let me tell you a fact. i am 80 years old. until we get big money out of politics you can forget trying to fix anything. it is all about the money. why do you think all these lobbyists are in washington/ it's about the money -- in washington? it's about the money. until you get the money out of politics you can forget about

changing anything. host: congressman curbelo? guest: i am a miami hurricane but it will not hold that against the caller. my wife is a gator so i can't hold it against the caller. money and politics is an issue. another issue that will never get meaningfully addressed under the current broken system. there will never be a compromise on electoral reform in terms of campaign financing unless we can get people to work together. the last major reform, which in my opinion unintentionally ended up doing more harm than good at the beginning of the 2000's, the mccain-feingold bill was a product of bipartisan cooperation. in today's environment that is almost impossible.

yes, campaign finance reform is an important topic. no, it will not be addressed until we fix the other structural problems that our electoral system is facing today. host: back to the keystone state, harrisburg, pennsylvania. mike, go ahead. caller: i would like to speak about hypocrisy if i could. texas and the red southern states talked about getting the federal government off my back and getting them out of my life. every time, every time there is a hurricane, a tornado, flooding, you name it, i have never once seen any of these red southern states, republican states say we don't need the money or the help from washington or from fema. we will take care of the situation by ourselves. i am sure the retired people in the red southern states would be

more than happy to give up their social security benefits when they retire seeing as how they don't want the government involved in their lives. ultimate -- ie have been obsessed with this for a while now. why is that not the ultimate hypocrisy? badmouthing the government all the time and accepting aid, welfare, social security, fema payments? host: we will let congressman curbelo start on this one. guest: we all have a right to criticize the viewpoints of others. it is true there were members of congress who voted against relief for the northeast one superstorm sandy hit, and then called for and asked for relief for their own states when they were natural disasters in the years after. seek to get into those

debates. that is not our role. our rol is to make sure every americane -- our role is to make sure every american, if you believe the government should have a greater role in society, we don't judge anyone for those views. i have my opinions. jason has his. we probably agree on a lot even though we are from different parties. i know we do. this is not about that. this is about how each of us feels or the policy we might individually think are best for the country. this is about creating an environment where all viewpoints are considered and given the same weight. for every american batters the same for the health and for the good of our democracy. host: with just a minute or two to go, congressman altmire, where are you going from here on this effort?

how much of this effort will be directed to your former fellow members? guest: a lot of them are behind-the-scenes very frustrated with the fact that when they go home they are incentivized to be more extreme than they would like. there are many people in the congress currently, and we worked with them, who would like to cross the aisle. who would like to join in collaborative efforts. they are just incentivized it even punished for doing so because they will draw a primary. this is an election year. we are going to engage in a big way and spend more than $10 million across the country to enact reforms that will allow people who are of like mind and want to see reform in the system to have a greater voice in who their elected officials are. host: congressman curbelo? guest: i want to thank everyone who has joined us in the last

hour and thank c-span for the opportunity. i want to invite americans to join this cause. it does not matter what your political affiliation is. it does not matter if you like certain politicians or others, if you like the president or don't like the president, whether you liked the last president or not. this is an american because. this is about -- this is an american cause . uniteamerica.org. share your feedback, sign up, stay in touch with us. if you think this is important, join us. talk to your neighbors, talk to your friends. i think if we succeed, and i'm confident we will, our country will be healthier and stronger for us and for our children and grandchildren as well. host: congressman curbelo, congressman altmire, thank you for your time. up next on washington journal we continue with day 5 of our

museum week tour. we are heading to the smithsonian national museum of african amick in history and culture. krewasky salter will join us live from the museum to discuss african-american soldiers in world war i and how their experiences served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement. we will be right back. ♪ >> this weekend on book tv, african-american history, the likelihood of secession and the challenges of the working-class. kevin meredith, editor in chief of the undefeated on the latest book on african-american history, the fierce 44. >> we don't say this is the greatest black achievers ever. at that fitooked the sensibility of the first african-american president, in the sense that, here is

something, they did something pioneering, disrupting. they were, in some cases, noisy geniuses or quiet innovators. >> 9:00 p.m., george mason university professor fh buckley examines the possibility of states exiting the union. >> every morning, washington post arrives at my doorstep and seems like a fresh argument for secession. it drips with contempt on the other side. there was a lot of that. what is missing is an understanding of people with different points of view. >> sunday, 9 p.m. eastern on afterwords, nicholas kristof and sheryl report on the issues facing the working-class in rural america, interviewed by jeff merkley. yamil and the small

areas around america, people are walking a tight rope. one miss and they fall. there is no safety net. >> we have vastly overdone it and become obsessed with the personal responsibility narrative, blaming the people who fall off for the catastrophes that follow. >> watch kevin meredith, fh buckley and the others this weekend on book tv, on c-span2. inside theke you now sis money and -- the smithsonian museum of african-american history and culture, we return fighting, the african-american experience in world war i. retired colonel krewasky salter guest associate curator. first explain, the meaning behind the title. it hints at a story beyond two

years of service and fighting over there. return,lly, exactly, we fighting, the african-american experience, world war i. number one. you don't see the world military. it is not just about soldiers. it is about civilians. men and women. soldiers and civilians. young and old. white and black. that is the long title. the short title, we return fighting, speaks to what happened after the war and how african-americans used world war i as a transformative event for them, just like it was a transformative event throughout the globe. host: we explore that story throughout this hour of washington journal, day five of museum week on washington journal with our friends at america history tv, c-span3. phone lines split up regionally.

eastern or central time zones, (202)-748-8000. mountain or pacific time zones, (202)-748-8001. special line set aside for african-american veterans, (202)-748-8002. would love to hear from you as we explore this observ exhibit t the african-american museum of history and culture. temporary exhibit, how long will this be up? how did this idea to focus on this story get included in the museum and open in december? opened december 13 last year. it will be up until june 14, this year. the 100th anniversary of world war i. a part of our mission is to illuminate always the story of

americans through the african-american lens. we wanted to make sure that experience during world war i was also highlighted. the reason the exhibition opened runningand is still goes directly to the title we talked about, we return fighting. the exhibition is not just about the african-american military experience. it is about african-american life and how african-americans used world war i as a foundation to plant the seeds for what became the civil rights movement after world war ii generation came back from fighting overseas as well. we thought about this exhibition as early as 2014-15, when i was boss at they then

smithsonian, that we should do something for world war i. he, rick,ears later, and then founding director, lonnie, now the secretary of the smithsonian went to france and they came back and planted the seed that we would do a world war i exhibition. then the guest curator and subject matter for military history, got the nod to do this exhibition. the exhibition speaks to not just what happened in the war but what happened after. host: military history first. u.s. joins world war i. what role did the military planners see african-american soldiers playing? how much was that shaped by the service of african-americans during the civil war, some of those civil war veterans who

would have still been alive in their 70's and 80's by the time world war i broke out? guest: great question. the bookends of the exhibition, 1865-1963. when we talk about the exhibition, we also plant the seed of what was going on in america, 1865, after the american civil war and before world war i. what was shaping the experience and use of african-americans was partly the service of african-americans in the american civil war and on the western frontier. the american civil war. the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery, 1865, the 17th amendment, correction, 14th amendment, 1868, gave african-americans citizenship. the 15th amendment, 1870, gave

african-american men the right to vote. 1866, reorganization act, made african-americans a permanent part of the military. the era of reconstruction, uptick in the life and progress of african-americans. ,hen you get to world war i there is not this idea we want to put african-americans on the battlefield because what happened after the civil war? there was an uptick. there was a fear to not arm large groups of african-americans. push wasrld war i, the to use african-americans largely in services of supply roles. two african-american divisions. i also want to talk about the first interpretation, when you talk about what was setting the stage, when you walk in the exhibition, the first interpretation has three

conversations going on. between w.e.b. dubois. a conversation between the president of the u.s., woodrow wilson. a conversation with a young 28-year-old activist, randolph, from jacksonville, florida. says, 1980, in a magazine, -- 1918, in a magazine, which had been his sentiment for years before, african-americans should close ranks with their white brethren while this war lasts and fight. that was around the same time where president wilson goes before a joint session, congress, april 2, seven-page 10,ch we all remember, 9, 11 word phrase, we must fight to make the world safe for democracy.

when african-americans hear that, they believe, because their citizens, third, fourth, fifth generation americans and the leading scholar, w.e.b. dubois is saying close ranks. most african-americans believed that. many of them will support the war. however, there is a third conversation going on. randolph, you see his quote "we would rather make o."rgia safe for the negr each one of those has an image. the image under then, kkk regalia -- so the image you see under randolph's quote and the image of the president at the capital and the image of young men going to war are all within one year. when you understand african-americans are going to

fight a war to make america safer democracy and many believe the world and america would be safe for them when they get back, you will understand the rest of the exhibition. fighting, then african-american experience, world war i. a special phone line for african-american veterans, (202)-748-8002. otherwise, phone lines split up regionally. eastern, central time zones, (202)-748-8000. mountain, pacific time zones, (202)-748-8001. how many african-american 1917-1919?uld serve what did the british and french allies think of those soldiers? guest: during the war, 400,000 african-americans served during world war i. 200,000 of those went overseas. that was the number that served.

when they went overseas, a portion of the african-americans served under the french, the 93rd infantry division, which included 4 african-american regiments. when they served under the french, they were treated with a level of equality that they have not experienced in america. the french treated them as equal. they were happy to get these soldiers. the time the7, by u.s. entered the war, it has been going on three years for the french and british. british forces, when you talk about african-americans, there is very little contact, if any, between african-americans and british forces during world war i. the british did have their colonial forces, west indian

forces. when you talk about african-american soldiers and their contact with european counterparts, in this exhibition, we not only interpret the story of african americans but also of black people throughout the globe, the black tdiaspora. when the french went to war, it was immediate in 1914. the british had 15,000 black colonial troops that went to war in 1914. colonies on had 4 the continent of africa. there was little contact between african-americans and the british but there was a lot between african-americans and the french and not only the 93rd division that fought with the french but you have almost 160,000+

african-american services of supply soldiers throughout ports in france and making sure supplies get forwarded. there is that interest in seeing these african-americans, who are not the french colonial troops most french people have been reading about. host: 45 minutes left in the segment. we want to hear from you, questions, comments as we go to this exhibit with you, learn about the history and let you ask your questions. david on the line for african-american veterans, detroit, you are on with the colonel. caller: thank you, washington journal and colonel salter, thank you. i am just finishing up this wonderful book. red."blood runs are you familiar with eugene bullard? guest: absolutely.

he is interpreted within the exhibition. caller: ok. i was wondering. i had not heard you mention him up to now. host: we will let you pick it up. guest: he was not one of the first. he was the first african-american fighter pilot, combat pilot. let's talk about that definition. tuskegeeno mistake airmen in world war ii where the first african-american combat pilots to fly for the united states. eugene bullard flew for the french. when you talk about that contact -- the u.s. was not training african-americans to fly. eugene bullard was already in france before the war started. when we talk about what was life

like for americans, african-americans before the war? he was from columbus, georgia. his father got into a scuffle with his boss. they left town. eugene made his way to france. he was a boxer. he joined the french foreign legion. he is interpreted three times in the exhibition. the global war. we are in the gallery. he joined french foreign legion, was wounded at one of the two bloodiest battles, 1916. then he became a pilot, he flew with the french. the continuation of his story, where we interpret him after the war, is also part of that. he owns a club for a short time. he is a manager of many clubs. he is one of the drummers. we have footage in this

exhibition of him playing drums. interpretedrd, within this exhibition. he is a key to the african-american experience during world war i, although he served with the french. host: another individual story explored. sergeant thomas shaw. guest: sergeant thomas shaw represents what we talked about earlier. what is going on with the black experience between 1865-1917. he was a buffalo soldier, the ninth calvary regiment. 1891 awarded the medal of honor. his particular story, they were fighting in mexico. they were outnumbered, 3-1. he exposed himself in what we call today, suppressive fire, to allow his comrades to survive

that particular battle. he is interpreted within exhibition, a story develops around artifacts. honor at thedal of smithsonian national museum of african-american history and culture. we used his individual story to highlight the fact, 18 buffalo soldiers and seminole negro indian scouts. that is a distinction. it was 14 buffalo soldiers and 4 seminole negro indian scouts, awarded. there were also those who served in the navy awarded the medal of honor and six african-americans awarded it during the spanish-american war. five soldiers and one sailor. honor, shaw's medal of

to not just highlight him, but the fact that african-americans had been serving their country since the american civil war but actually african-americans have been serving their country before the boston massacre, which is where we often start at. they have served in all wars, the colonial war as well. host: african-american veterans have a special line we have set aside, (202)-748-8002. we would love to hear from you. phone lines open for everyone else. eastern, central time zones. (202)-748-8001, mounted and pacific -- mountain/pacific time zones. caller: good morning, colonel salter, thank you for your service. is it true when african-american soldiers would come back to america, if they are fighting for this country, they would be

attacked or lynched if they had uniforms on? is that true? guest: it is true african-american veterans were lynched during the red summer. we have interpretation of that. the red summer was not just a three month period of the calendar year summer. andtarts on april 1, 1919 runs through november, 1919. in this country after african-americans go, close ranks, put their grievances aside, as w.e.b. dubois said, and they go to fight to make the world safe for democracy, as the president said, juxtaposed against what randall said, they come back to bloodier than,

1914.1915, and that interpretation, we thought about, how do you make this red summer pop? a lot of us read about it in textbooks. exhibition tells the story, a picture is worth 1000 words. when you come here, you see those nearly 40 riots that happened throughout the country. most of them in the southeast. then you see this note at the bottom. 53 separate lynchings happened. during the red summer. how do you make it pop? identified 12and veterans who were lynched during the red summer and their names are on that graphic. there were veterans who were lynched in 1919 after world war

i. i will tell the story one, i'm sorry, go ahead. host: tell the story, please. their ise last name on leroy johnston. when you come to the exhibition, the 12 name, leroy johnston, from elaine, arkansas. a lot of us historians know about the riot in elaine, arkansas, late september, early october, 1919. he and three brothers came back from a hunting trip and all 4 of them were killed. the key thing about leroy johnston is all soldiers service is key, whether combat unit or service/supply unit. he survive europe. he was in the 369th infantry regiment, what we know as the

harlem health fighters -- the harlem hell fighters. he served, was a veteran, came back, and was lynched. each one of those soldiers has a story. that is one that would be interesting to highlight based on your question. thank you for asking. host: they picture is worth 1000 words. a flag might be worth 1000 words. we have been showing viewers images of a flag, a man was lynched yesterday. so, when we talk about why this exhibition is, -2020 the title, we returned to fighting, the experience of african-americans was not just about the battlefield. based on what we talked about, when you are immersed in the exhibition coming in, learning about black life, then you come to this area where we have 13

interpretations, this great photo gallery behind me, then you go to the end of the exhibition, what happens after the war? , thisw negro emerges aggressive african-american community who is no longer willing to accept the status quo that they had been living in before the war, after hearing those comments. is they madep did this flag and they hung it over headquarters in new york for 18 years, 1920-1938. they did it based on what you said is on the flag. a man was lynched yesterday. highlight,was to this is still going on in this country. somewhere there is a log, i cannot tell you how many days it flew, but every day after a man

was lynched, the naacp hung that flag over headquarters. the key thing about that flag is it is owned by the library of congress. temporary exhibition. it is not really something we want to collect all of these items. some items are one-of-a-kind. they gave that to us on loan. when it comes off exhibition, june 14, because it is a textile, it will go into storage for another 10 years. for those of us, like me, a historian, or a student reading books, and we saw that flag as an image, it is actually here. that is what the flag represents. it goes along with the red summer. what african-americans were doing and their white supporters, and that is key about the exhibition as well, and the museum. existow, museums should to tell inclusive stories.

we are talking about people who are pushing the african-american experience forward, not just african-americans. there is a representative from st. louis, missouri, leah oneida stier. he put forward an anti-lynching bill which never passed. that flag is just a strong image. naacp had the audacity to make this flag and hang it over headquarters. host: halfway through this, our final stop of our museum week series on washington journal, exploring d.c. area museums, talking about the american experience. we are at the smithsonian national museum of african-american history and culture. our guest, colonel krewasky salter -- taking your phone calls. (202)-748-8002 for

african-american veterans. other phone lines split up regionally. washington, d.c., up next with colonel salter. caller: as an african-american i am 84, howolder, does that exhibit, how is it related or has responded to by the millennial, the new group of young people, the millennials i think they call them? host: thank you. guest: yes, ma'am. thank you. from children as young as 10 i see coming in with to great senior americans as yourself in their 80's, everyone is responding to the exhibition very well throughout ages.

as curators, our images are not plastered all over the place. i would assume some of my colleagues do what i do often. i created the military galley, the permanent gallery on the third floor and was fortunate enough to cure this. i go through those galleries incognito. incognito, i know what is in the exhibition. i am standing next to individuals, watching people. i will tell you, young and old, in between, of all races, nationalities -- i was here with a couple french people yesterday afternoon, they are responding well -- people get it. one of the things impressed on all of us as inaugural curators by individuals in the museum arena a long time was to tell a story that resonates. tell the unvarnished truth story. tell the story people need to

hear, not necessarily what they want to hear. i have learned that is why everybody is responding well. people can also see themselves. everyone can almost see themselves in this exhibition. nine luminary individuals, six men, three women, seven civilians, two soldiers. millennials can see themselves in people like a philip randolph, just a fiend baker -- josephine baker, two of those younger people who are there age in 1917 and 1927. everyone is responding to it well, from what i see and what we hear. host: on that line for african-american veterans, nathaniel, smyrna, georgia. guest: thank you for that

question. caller: colonel salter, thank you for serving. guest: thank you, nathaniel. caller: i am a disabled veteran myself. guest: thank you for serving and i appreciate your service. war whereis is the when everyone came back, oklahoma city, where they dropped a bomb, kansas,, oklahoma they dropped a bomb on the black people coming up with their own schools, the kids dressed up going to class, going to school, then after the war was over, when everyone came back and they saw what was happening, they had a picnic and dropped a bomb on them. i believe you're talking about tulsa, oklahoma, 1921, after world war i. black wall street. there are a lot of ties to that story. i will answers short,

tell the piece you are exactly right, it happens after world war i, 1921. we interpret tulsa in this exhibition. everything that fits together. there is a key story not in this exhibition that folks don't know about. hooks,s a woman, olivia the first african-american, a woman in the coast guard, world war ii. just like josephine baker who experienced the east st. louis riots, 1917, went on to be what she became. hooks experienced the tulsa, oklahoma riot, 1921. she just passed away a couple years ago. that incident did happen after world war i. bomb dropped in tulsa?

can you give some background? olivia hooker tells in her story, a lot of these attacks, there were people in uniform and some of them were local national guardsmen. there were bombs dropped in the city, burned from the top down. host: dropped from a military airplane? guest: i don't know if it was from a military airplane. that is part of the story i am not completely sure or whether it was artillery. i am not completely sure on that aspect of the story. host: questions from twitter. asking, black jack

pershing, but he was like. he earned his nickname commanding black troops in the spanish-american war. is that the history of that? guest: yeah. that not too far from my right side. he earned the name blackjack. he served with the buffalo soldiers. sort of allons are over the place. some folks use it as a term of endearment and some folks used it as a pejorative term. there was another name he was n,led that began with a because he had served with african-american troops. blackjack pershing did have a relationship with african-americans, soldiers, and he had a relationship with one of our luminaries, charles

young. point a couple years before charles young graduated in 1889. the name originates from his service with buffalo soldiers. host: uncle sam writing on twitter, was there ever any black generals in world war i? guest: no, there was not. the first african-american general was not promoted until 1940. senior, theavis highest-ranking african-american, during world war i, was a gentle man i just referred to, colonel charles young. he has interpreted several times throughout the exhibition. the third african-american to graduate west point, 1889. world war i, he was a lieutenant colonel when the war started. board gone through the and was in line to be promoted

to colonel. retired foruntarily medical reasons. he was reinstated five days before the war ended and there is a story behind that. there were no african-american general officers during world war i. host: tony, newport, tennessee. caller: good morning. a couple of things. i was in vietnam. 1965-66 and my father was also a military man. i didn't know about being prejudice. i was on army bases most of the time with my parents. when i wound up going to fort bragg, 3:00 in the morning by train, i noticed a slave market was still in the middle-of-the-road down there.

signs on the wall that said, shop between seventh and ninth. [indiscernible] space, -- white women doing the maps, backgrounds, because they did not have computers. it was three black women, kathleen johnson, dorothy spencer, i think, and there was one more, mary jackson? host: thank you for bringing it up. all, thank you for your service, thank you for being one of our great americans who serve our country, especially during the vietnam war. i believe the gist of the see,ion is that he did not i am not sure i picked up on all

of it, but he did not experience or see a lot of racism until he went to north carolina and he is probably talking fort bragg, north carolina. he said he saw a sign, black shop between 7:00 and 9:00. i think his question is, even in the 1960's, you still had some of this going on. if that is his question, you know, that is absolutely correct. america is still not a perfect country. although military led the way as far as the institution to integrate in the 1950's, you still had turbulent times going on in the 1960's. i can think of three different stories of retired african-american senior enlisted soldiers and officers, still living today, who came in the military in the 1960's and were

still experiencing some level of racism when they were assigned to certain locations and perhaps they wanted to buy a house or go off base and eat at a hamburger establishment. i think his question is that, john. host: thank you for jumping in. i should have mentioned, when you were talking the history of african-american military officers, a good book on that topic, the story of black military officers, 1861-1948. the author of that book, sitting with us this morning. guest: [laughter] host:host: taking your phone calls. on the line for african-american veterans. caller: i cannot believe this, absolute serendipity. this is only the third time i have been able to get through to c-span. for me to get through this time, i don't know where to start.

i will speak quickly. colonel salter, i have to get in touch with you. i think we may be related. i have five of the most beautiful, i mean, huge, portraits and they are all salters. guest: [laughter] caller: where are you from? there are stamps on the back, 1868, 1870. the other thing, my husband's m rockther was on the news, in the office outside with the people in cologne. that is the first thing. the other thing is, i'm so excited, i can't believe this, james monroe trotter is the great great uncle of my husband. mary church terrell is my great aunt, great great aunt on my mother side.

related but are that you are related on all these people on different sides of my family. turrell?otter and caller: trotter is on my husband side. thompson, carol thompson, on the m rock news and my husband, james monroe trotter, obviously -- colonel aill give the chance to talk about his background. thank you for calling in with that. john, youst of all, caught me off guard. thanks for the plug. i did not know you would mention the book. to the caller, thank you so much. there was a lot there. one thing. terrell,ow mary church we pronounce it mary church terrell. most people listening are saying it is mary church terrel.

working at the museum, two of my colleagues, the reason she is interpreted in the exhibition, so is william monroe trotter, they were going to collect the items and the family said, we do not pronounce it terrell, we pronounce it terrel. to get to your question, i am a 25 year, american soldier, my father is an american soldier, served 34 years. he is from southern alabama, age seven moved to panama city, florida. the salter part of my family is from alabama. you can get in touch with me through the smithsonian. they will pass the info on. the salter family is very large and it would be interesting to find out what those connections

are. as a historian, being at this museum, i get some of my colleagues and there is one of my colleagues who recently learned, from looking at the index in the back of my book, is that her great-grandfather or her great grand uncle was one of the african-american officers in the native guards of louisiana. get in touch with me. through this missoni and. -- the smithsonian, and we will see. host: 20 minutes left to explore the exhibit. walkt to let viewers around the exhibit in the form of a sketchbook you have. who is horace pippen? guest: great question. the exhibition tells a story in many ways.

this is a story about the african-american experience, world war i. we have these objects which are actually in the cultural part of the exhibition, because when people hear horace pippen, a lot of people say, yes, i know him, our harlem renaissance, negro renaissance artist. we have a painting in the exhibition called dogfight over the battlefield. a very famous painting by horace pippen, 1935. to go back to your specific question, the sketchbook -- we also have his sketchbook on display which he wrote in 1920. in that sketchbook, i think i know this almost verbatim he seen threeday i

german and one french plane coming down. perhaps this is the inspiration." the 1935 painting. who was horace pippen? horace pippen was a veteran of world war i who served in the trenches, 369th infantry regiment known as the harlem hell fighters, went in the trenches with the infantry as early as april, 1918. shot his first german. he talks about that on the 14th of april. he is badly wounded, late september. that is why horace pippen was that painter, i forget which arm, that painted with one hand. he is one of those world war i veterans who, because of his experience in the war, he

painted a lot of paintings that really resonated. we have his sketchbook and the painting, both of those on loan, the sketchbook from the smithsonian archives in the hirschmore. that is who horace pippen was. there are a lot of stories like that. a lot of people would be surprised to learn about people who they know, and he was a world war i veteran. if i were to say, charles houston right now, 95% of the people listening who know charles hamilton houston, yeah, he is a lawyer, and that is exactly who he was. he trained one third of the african-american lawyers at 1940 and 1950ool, in america. thurgood marshall.

he became a lawyer. he served as an officer in the 368 infantry regiment in world war i. when he came back from the war, because of the horrible experience he had, he made his father's dream come true. his father was a lawyer and always wanted him to be a lawyer. charles hamilton houston finally decided to become a lawyer because of his experience in world war ii. horace pippen, charles houston and a few others. world war i was a transformative event for many reasons. when we get to the point where setting and planting the seeds of the civil rights movement, thurgood marshall writes, charles hamilton houston dies, 1951, 1952 or 1953 he says, we would not have gotten anywhere or be where we are without charlie. he is referring to charles hamilton houston.

we all know the history of thurgood marshall. host: less than 15 minutes left in the segment. a lot of calls. virginia,emporia african-american veterans. caller: how are you? host: doing well, you are on with colonel salter. caller: i was in the navy, 1955. there was a lot of discrimination going on then. short, i long story was on one vessel. i was sent there to be the bomber. they did not want me to be the bomber. i was rated. e1. doing my job -- [indiscernible] aboard,er ship i went they may be the master at arms. i was in charge of the laundry.

they did not want me to write anything. when i got ready to transfer from the ship, they rode up evaluation on me. they weren't supposed to do that. when they wrote the evaluation up, they gave me as low as they could get me. my parents they put me, not observed. i have my orders, went to the executive officer, second-in-command. i asked, sir, how can they evaluate me and never seen me? look what they got me for my evaluation. he told me, said, boy, only thing i can tell you, square yourself away when you get to your next duty station. tears rolling down my cheeks. i wasn't there for 90 days. three months before they evaluated. host: what do you take from that? thank you for sharing your story. guest: thank you for your

service, william. i was going to ask how long he was in the navy. my mother's brother served in the navy 20 years around that same time. ebb and flow. the caller has bad experiences serving in the navy, 1965, and there are people serving in the navy today who are having bad expenses for whatever reason. servicee navy was a like most others, who had already begun to integrate. the navy had their first african-american officers 12 years before our caller, william, again, thanks for your service, certainly, 1955, you have to remember the american military is made up, any

military is made up of the people of the country they live in and that is the beauty of our democracy. i certainly understand and appreciate william had some bad experiences. but the navy on the other hand was also making progress in the 1950's. thank you for your service. i wish i could talk to you longer to find out how things eventually turned out for you. host: melvin, fort pierce, florida, african-american veterans. caller: good morning. colonel salter, thank you for your service. just wanted to say that. also, i am working with a nonprofit, because for the brave, a veterans nonprofit organization, and i was wondering, how can we get detailed info, accurate, out like this on a yearly or year-round basis as opposed to just being segmented to the

month of february? also, what could organizations, such as because of the brave do to obtain information or set up locations to have that information available to the public? host: excellent questions. guest: thank you, melvin for your question and what you do for our veterans. you said a lot of things. i'm listening closely. one of the things you said was, as opposed to only black history month, we like to say, i say this all the time, every month is african-american history month. i am a military and african-american historian. this information out all year is to continue to do what you do and if you have time to visit the exhibition before it closes, the 14th of june, this year.

a temporary exhibition has a shelf life and a book also has a shelf life. i hope you can see this book. we were fortunate enough, our conwell got ar lot of us together, our advisors and after listening to me talk to her on our stories, she said, we should do a companion book. you can buy this book. the shelflife of this exhibition ends june 14. you put this on your bookshelf, the shelf life is forever. it has the same short title of the exhibition. we return fighting. the long title is world war i and the shaping of modern black identity. that goes to what we talked about, how world war i set the stage and planted the seeds for the civil rights movement. this book, and we are always taught about, exhibition is not

a book on the wall, because coming into this arena as a historian, we like to wax eloquently, so the book actually allows us to put more information than what is in the exhibition. you can use this book, because it is written by myself and five other scholars, our founding director rights the intro and epilogue. that is one way you can keep this story alive beyond the closing of the exhibition. host: new york city, denise. caller: hi, good morning. a pleasure to speak with you. my grandfather served in world war i. three 69th, he was one of the harlem hell fighters, company d. most of the time, you only hear

about company c of the three 369th. they were a little more famous. is there anyway you can get info, i am trying to get information like pictures and onrything, that you can get all the companies a, b, c, d? guest: yes, ma'am. first of all, specifically, i want to go in a different direction based on what you so, those records and a lot of that history would be number one, in the national d.c., alsoowntown, unit records in the national archives, college park. i cannot tell you exactly where that info might be located in

either one of those. the individual service records would be either here in washington dc or, if they survived, in st. louis. unit records would probably be in college park. 69th armory is still in new york city. they may have some info. there are a number of books written recently, one of our scholarly advisors, they wrote the book on the rattlers. if you go to the footnote, you will see a lot of where they got their info. i want to talk about, we keep -- ing about the 369th want you and viewers to know, it was only one of eight african-american regiments that fought. they get recognition for several reasons. because they are known, we have

an interpretation that really focuses on them but they were 8 of the african-american regiments that fought in the trenches. when you say companies, for me, as a historian, i can't tell you the story of every company but i think those 4 locations and a couple books and footnotes may direct you to some info you are looking at were looking for. host: five minutes left this morning. african-american veterans line, lake village,, arkansas john. caller: good morning. how are you? host: doing well. guest: how are you? caller: i just wanted to make known blacks have sacrificed, even in the 1960's, we were being mistreated. camp, a lot of

people did not want to -- did not want us to make it as officers. people know we sacrificed a lot of things, went through a whole lot of stuff to be military people and serve our country. host: yes, sir. salter, do you want to expand? guest: pretty much on the same line as our earlier caller, 1955, certainly, into the 1960's, 1970's, there were still because, our services again, the u.s. military is made up of a microcosm of america. there are always those juxtapositions because many of our retired generals and

admirals who came in the military as early as the late 1960's, -- my, father was drafted in 1951. he experienced a level of racism, obviously, in the 1960's, he stayed in the military 34 years. certainly, that was happening in the 1960's. because there were always going to be people who are not exactly happy everybody is a part of this american pie. that is why this exhibition is so important. people have to continue to be informed, continue to agitate and to move our country forward so we continue to be the greatest country on the face of the globe. host: colonel salter, two minutes left, but i wanted to give you a chance, this is a

temporary exhibit, but do you have a favorite piece or story you want to mention? guest: absolutely. that question always ends like this. wherever i am in the gallery, story isalmost every great, so i will talk about where i sit now. i happen to be sitting in the photo gallery. as curators, we are the face of exhibition. there are a lot of people that help us get from a to b. specialists, research assistants, project managers, conservators, so forth and so on. designers. in one of the design meetings, i mentioned, i would like to have a photo gallery. this is a beautiful photo gallery designed. today, because i am sitting here, this is my favorite section of the exhibition. of the 30 some odd

interpretations, i believe all of them come together well. it is hard for me to pick one of my favorites. host: understandable. colonel krewasky salter , curator of the exhibit, we return fighting, the african-american experience in world war i, it will close june 14, at the smithsonian national museum of african-american history and culture and we appreciate you inviting us in this morning. thank you very much, sir. guest: thank you, john. we appreciate it. we appreciate it. host: that will do it for our program on the washington journal today. back tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern, 4 a.m. pacific. we take you to the center for strategic and international studies, a program with a u.s. military, talking about priorities in military funding.

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