conversation about women in politics with jennifer lawless, author first, what did you think of the kamala harris pick this week. : it was a strong and safe pick. she has the credentials that joe biden needs. she has a campaign style that voters are excited about. it is going to give donald trump a tough run. host: you said strong and safe. what do you mean by safe? guest: i mean that when you look at the list of the potential contenders for vice president, several had liabilities. every vice president a candidate has a liability. kamala harris seemed to be easy to address on the campaign trail. when you look around and think about who the most obvious choice was and the choice whose strengths clearly outweighed her weaknesses, kamala harris was at the top of the list. host: what do you think her

weaknesses might be? guest: i think the biggest weakness would be in terms of her record as attorney general, it is possible that the trump administration might suggest that she was too tough on crime which is ironic. it is something the democrats will have to at least be able to manipulate because they want to make sure that people of color and people who are very excited about the black lives matter movement don't find this as a distraction. basically her record in the senate and the way she has spoken about her record should quell those concerns. host: who did this big bring to the polls who was not going to come to the polls before this pick? speaking, vicey presidential picks do not matter as much in terms of the outcome of the election. she brings a level of enthusiasm that people might not have felt about joe biden. joe biden is up in the polls and it is likely he will win the election because democrats and

independents do not want donald trump to have another four years. what kamala harris brings is the enthusiasm that might not have been attached to joe biden himself. now it might be the case of democrats are turning out not only because they are opposed to donald trump, but also because they are excited about their choice. host: to same question we ask our previous guest. is kamala harris nasty a sexist statement? guest: yes. i don't know if prior to donald trump who would have termed that a sexist statement. given that he only applies the word women and they are usually women of color and that it is always in response to something that they said or did he does not like, it is his go to sexist statement. the fact that that is the first adjective he could use to describe her highlight that she has already gotten under his skin. host: as we highlight women in politics, anti-waiting to talk waited to talky

to you. .emocrats, (202) 748-8000 .ndependents, (202) 748-8002 mary is up first, a democrat, good morning. caller: i can ask you this question. now asat this world pre-corona and post-corona. now we have post-corona. americans, notas as democrats or republicans, right now, i cannot go to a restaurant, my kids can go to without getting corona. americans are dying every day. nasty are talking about woman. we are in a state of emergency. corona,alking about trump, kamala, none of them.

i cannot go to the mailbox. i cannot mail my mail now. what is going on in this country? here is my question. -- id trump's real name is know he keeps saying obama was not a citizen. donald real name trump? host: that is mary in michigan. jennifer lawless, on the issue we are talking about 80 days from election day. guest: this is an election that is going to be a referendum on donald trump's leadership. it is his leadership regarding the coronavirus, regarding the economy, it is his leadership regarding giving a sent to the american people that there is a way out. -- giving a sense to the american people. chiefas an executive in

and a consoler in chief. he has exhibited time and again that he does not rise to that occasion. this is a donald trump issue. when he is asked about how his administration has handled coronavirus, he says that they have made no mistakes, that this is excellent, that we should be very happy and that millions would be dead otherwise. the reason i think he is concerned about november is because he realizes that that message has not resonated. that is the message he has been transmitting since february. deaths yon160,000 where we were in february and we have unemployment levels near the great depression. this is going to be an election where joe biden and kamala harris have to make a case to the american people that they can lead better than donald trump can. in other elections we talk about supreme court justices or a woman's right to choose or school vouchers or other issues, those things are important to voters.

right now, they don't have the luxury to think about them. it is all about the pandemic and the economy. host: lisa is in texas. independent. good morning. caller: good morning, ms. jennifer. i would like to say that kamala harris coming to the ticket is the letter c. i would not use the word color. i would use capable. she is very capable of taking care of this country and pulling us up out of what we are in right now. lady, thethe previous ms. patrice, i would challenge her to change her news channel. host: that is lisa talking to jennifer lawless. your thoughts on this description of kamala harris? caller: i think -- guest: i think capable is the right word. what is interesting about the election process is that there were a dozen women all whom were

ready to become president on day one and that really highlights an evolution in the status and stature of women in politics. the fact that that was important to joe biden and the fact that there were so many women of color on that list also highlights how much progress we have made in terms of women occupying this position that places them very well to become vice president or president. and frankly the fact that we are talking about it as a strong pig highlights that we have reached a point in time where americans are clearly willing and able to vote for a female candidate, they are willing and happy to vote for candidates of color. 15 years ago, that would have been a crazy thing to say. host: linda, in florida, a democrat. good morning. ander: thank you, john thank you for your guest today. i want to make a couple of points about voting while black.

they are voting for the woman because she is black. i think people are believing largestk at who is the voting bloc in the country. it is not evangelicals, it is not white women, it is black women. so why would you not have someone on the take it if you are trying to win to get the majority of votes? i agree with what she stands for. the only other comment i want to make is they are always touting about president obama and where he was born and him being the first black president. john mcardle, please google. he is not our first lack president. presidenta dwight d. eisenhower 's mother was a black lotto from --many -- black mood lotto- mulatto.

get educated like the biggest voting bloc of lack women which i am proud to be of and vote kamala. and jennifer lawless on black women voters in the country. guest: one of the reasons that joe biden focused on black women is because of this reason. the reality is that the democratic coalition that barack obama failed in 2008 and 2012 relied heavily on african-americans and in particular black women and given the bench of lack women in congress as governors across the board, there was no reason. they are still underrepresented, of course they are, but there was no reason not to tap into that talent because it was signaled that joe biden was not taking any for granted. host: you are also an author. why womenur books, "

don't run for office." the bench of women in congress, some stats on that. early in the house, 101 women hold seats, 23% of the house. in the senate, 26 women currently serving. 26% of the senate. what are your thoughts on those numbers? guest: and because there been a lot of discussions around high-profile women in positions of political power we can wash our hands and walk away. everything is fine, have gender parity. and we don't. it is not only that women are roughly about 25% of congress, but they are also about 20% of state governors and 20% of big-city mayors, and 20% of legislators across the country.

to put that number in to perspective, roughly 20 years ago the united states ranked 57. over the course of the last two decades, although we have seen an increase in the percentage of women serving in positions of power, 60 other nations have moved up at a higher rate than we have. it is really important to recognize and applaud the fact that kamala harris is in a position where she can break a glass ceiling and potentially be very well-positioned to become president. it is also important to put that into a broader context. men continue to dominate our political institutions. host: a countries have the largest percentage of women serving in the legislature? uganda.ne is that is something we would never have in this country. that is good news, because the reason you have quotas or because voters aren't willing to

elect women or the parties aren't winning -- willing to support women. , on women run for office average they do just as well as men. they also raced just as much money and media cover them similarly. this is true in both primaries and in general, and it is also true for democrats and republicans. the issue is not that women don't win, it is not -- it is that they are not running in the first place. part of the reason they are not running is because they don't think voters will vote for them or donors will give to them. hopefully this election cycle will begin to change that narrative and maybe we will see an increase at even higher rates than usual of the number of women running on both sides of the aisle. host: i mentioned one of your books. here another. ." jenniferhe run lawless, our guest.

commonwealth professor of politics there on twitter. for about the next when he five minutes. if you want to join the conversation, republicans (202) 748-8001. kratz -- democrats (202) 748-8000. .ndependents, (202) 748-8002 good morning. caller: good morning. it is good to be with you this morning. ar the first time i am doing -- vote.oting i'm watching tv and it seems that like it is going to really the postalt for service to handle the mailing votes because so many people do because of get out the covid.

they do not want to get out and vote in line because of that. i was ar comment -- and democrat for years. i changed to republican. really and truly, i will be honest, i don't think much of either party. i wish we had a third party. i am disappointed that the democratic party has led -- leaned so far to the left. that bothers me. but those are my comments. i will hang up and listen. host: professor lalas? guest: in terms of mail-in voting, it is important for viewers and citizens more broadly to understand the potential calamity that could ensue in november. the reality of covid means that isentee ballot -- voting

going to be a major mechanism by which people cast ballots. moreeasures that make it difficult for the post office to process mail, any measures that involve mysteriously putting away ballot-sorting machines, any of these measures make it difficult to count votes. the good news is that states are aware of what is going on. many states are pushing back and saying that they have been able to deal with mail-in ballots and it hasn't led to corruption. challenges with the postal service will certainly be a big problem heading into november. that is why i would encourage people, regardless of where they live, to vote as early as they can by mail. partisanship point, for a long time now people on both sides of the aisle have said they don't like what the democrats stand for, they don't like what the republicans stand

for, and they don't like the lack of civility. at the end of the day they have a choice to make and they have to choose which party better represents their views and can better implement the vision they have for the future. part of the reason that a third party is difficult to start up in the united states is because the two parties doing body most of what the typical american believes. if you believe in a certain set of views, it is likely that the republicans are -- or repelled -- or democrats are placed for you. take in their heels and almost all of them vote for the democratic candidate. almost all of the republicans vote for the republican candidate. whenwas the case in 2016 republicans and democrats alike did not like the person at the top of the ticket. hillary clinton and donald trump were the most unpopular nominees we have ever seen.

yet nine out of 10 democrats supported clinton and nine out of 10 republicans supported trump. host: we are 80 days away from election day. people are about to see a lot of negative ads and many have seen a lot of negative ads already. campaigns spending their money on negative ads, they wouldn't do that if they didn't think it worked, correct? guest: that's right. you can assume any ads campaigns are putting them out has been a strategy that has -- it is not a risk. that negative ads mobilize the other side. instead they would raise enough suspicion that voters would not turn out to vote for the candidate who was being attacked in the ads. we've now gotten to the point where positive ads are rare and negative ads are the ones that garner attention. they do work.

people expect it and when they see one side playing dirty, they want their team and their side to respond. we are in a pretty cyclical pattern now. host: joanne, michigan, independent. caller: i am wondering. there are more white woman dan --out there then -- than black. why didn't he choose someone who was white for his vice president? is my question. guest: let me out lay out a couple of facts. women are more likely than men to turn out to vote. women since 1980 have been more likely than men to vote for the democratic candidate. that doesn't mean that women is a block always vote together. if you look at the most recent election cycle, white women and white women who were not

college-educated in particular, actually broke for public and. anything about the kind of candidate the democratic party needs and the kind of nominee that person will choose, you have to think about putting together a democratic coalition and also a ticket that would quell any independent voter concerns or bring back those independents who voted for trump last time. given that the democratic party is as diverse as it is, given that black women have played such an important role in elevating the fortunes of democratic candidates, it makes a lot of sense to demonstrate that the highest level that diversity is also important to the party. you can't is a party say, going to camp -- counting your vote because you have no place to turn and we are not going to embed you in the highest positions of leadership. i think that is what we are seeing and it is a smart move in terms of putting back together that democratic coalition that

seems 12 faltered after 2012. host: two gloria in maryland. a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for all that you do. in this day when there is so much oppression -- let's be honest, an off a lot of it is blowing out of our white house. it is just wonderful to be able to enter the conversation. -- only physically blind, don't get nervous. i'm not spiritually blind. blind pastor, social justice activist. i have been here a little while. america is pining for change, because the hope

bucket of rocks and the white house does not know how to convey those things. covid would not be the horror that is, had donald trump taken it seriously and not called a democratic hoax designed to bring down a president. we need to vote for change. ,nd having a woman come forward i wouldn't care if she was needs to mama, there be ideas that can coalesce to causing us to be america again. america isn't a place where people apply for asylum and diet the border. america isn't a place where we snatch babies out of the arms of their parents and then deport the parents so that family can never be whole.

america, open your bibles. this country belongs to god. get on your knees and let's vote america back into becoming america. god bless you. host: gloria with her thoughts. green coveout of springs, florida. republican. good morning. myler: thank you for taking call. she just described how a biden, a lady called and wanted to know why he picked a woman. well, he was forced to do that. why she is not reporting that is incorrect. theot letters saying that lacs would not support him if he did not pick a black woman. ok? she is not reporting that right. host: jennifer lawless, do you want to jump in? guest: that's not true. it is simply not true. if you linton -- listen to the interviews with james clyburn, who was a pivotal actor in

helping joe biden securities south carolina vote, he said very clearly that he would love to see black women on the ticket. but there cannot be a litmus test. joe biden said he was going to choose a woman and he has also said he wants to make sure his administration reflect the american public. at no point did anybody say that there was no choice, at no point did joe biden say he would only look at women of caller. frank lee, we are at the point right now, is 2020. i don't think we should be having these conversations. kamala harris is by far the most qualified vice presidential candidate we have seen in quite some time. let me put joe biden aside. there is no question that she is as qualified as mike pence or paul ryan. the idea that she has only on this ticket because she is a woman or black woman i think is an affront to the democratic

party's goals, it also kamala harris' qualifications. host: we have shown stats in this segment. american women and politics at rutgers university, debbie wallace is the director of that center. she was interviewed this week after the kamala harris pick. this is what she had to say when comparing it to geraldine ferraro or sarah palin. think in both those cases, putting a woman on the ticket felt like a hail mary. which i don't get the sense that it has that same field this time around. what are your thoughts on that? guest: i agree with that entirely. he1984 walter mondale knew was going to lose the election. a very, he lost by regrettable margin for democrats. putting geraldine ferraro on the

ticket was a way to signal that he stood for change. it wasn't enough. sarah palin, this was a situation where john mccain and the people who worked on john mccain's campaign acknowledged, he didn't know what they were getting with palin, but they were willing to take a shot because they knew they were facing a very uphill. this time around, that is not the case. if you look at the media coverage, if you look at the responses to kamala harris being named vice president, there is no discussion of this being a hail mary pass. this has just been seen as a strong woman put on the ticket because it makes the ticket stronger. cindy.wo -- to you are on with professor lawless. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have been an independent since i started to vote.

i don't believe that people should stay in office for years and years. i believe in term limits. i believe we should go to public funding. i wish they had chosen the black woman who was the police chief. i think that would have been a verse of the of thought. i'm a little bit tired of politicians all being attorneys, because i believe they all think the same. not to vote for anybody who is an attorney. voted for trump because they are sick and tired of politicians, regardless of party. that was a vote for change. that was the vote for change, donald trump. onn i was on the other day c-span, somebody referred to la aslah -- kama un-american. how can you be african-american

but be, have. to that is jamaican and asian? thank you. host: professor lawless, do you want to pick that up? guest: i will say that i think the slate of candidates is strong. val demings was certainly at the top of that list. at the end of the day i think the biden campaign a decision about who they thought he could work best with, who he thought would be the best asset in the white house and help deliver him to vote in november. as to diversity of thought among candidates, it is true. for a decade now the overwhelming majority of congress, governors, and presidents have been lawyers, misleaders, educators, or political activists. and of the ways we can expand that pool is for people who are not in those positions to start running for office.

experience and ultimately run for higher office. -- federal office. the final piece will adhere, in terms of a vote for change is that we saw in 2016 that people were tired of politics as usual. they did want to give somebody who didn't have a political history chance. i think we have all seen what can happen when we do that. i'm not talking about donald trump's bluster, i'm talking about the fact we are amid a pandemic, we are amid a depression and we have people in the white house who don't have the expertise and don't have the political connections or will to do anything about it. there are pros and cons to continuing to elect the same kinds of people. and there is a shock to the system and we get a new kind of candidate, the best we can do is hope we don't find ourselves in circumstances where a lot of experience would have been useful. host: he said something for the

presidential ticket. do you think kamala harris becomes a key sarah get in the battle for the senate and in-house races as well? do you see her being sent to arizona and maine and iowa and colorado to try to take back the senate? guest: it will vary by state. joe biden is popular in arizona, colorado, maine, north carolina. it might be a better deployment of the campaign's resources to send him there and to deploy kamala harris to the aquatic areas where turnout could have the result last time around. if you look at michigan and pennsylvania, a few hundred thousand additional votes would have made hillary clinton president of the united states. i think the campaign has to decide there it is best to use her to shore up democratic support or stump for who would

be her future colleagues in the senate. regardless of whether they send biden or harris, good news is they now have two people who can be out there doing this, which is difficult even the conditions. host: going to take a look at it now from the republican side. if you are a republican senate strategist, do you use kamala harris as a foil? guest: in all of the top races. ,f you look at arizona colorado, montana, north carolina, maine these are places where the electorate is split. these are races where democrats and republicans have a good shot of winning or holding their seat. can dothe best thing you is paint democrats as liberal crackpots. kamala harris will be a way that. it is funny, because during the campaign she was being as -- seen as being a bit too

moderate. now we are hearing that she has -- is as left as they possibly come. you would expect that regardless of who joe biden chose, but i think in those senate races that is going to be the message. host: in the washington times today a graphic on kamala harris' endorsement by various interest groups in the sea and around the country. they cite her ratings. all of these groups have voting ratings. here are the ones they choose to side. the human rights campaign, which works for lgbtq rights issues, 100% rating. league of conservation voters, the environmental group, 100% rating. planned parenthood action fund, 100% rating. the american civil liberties union, 86% rating.

the u.s. chamber of commerce, just a 30% rating. the club for growth, just a 19% rating. 0% rating., a i wonder if your thoughts on those ratings and how they are being highlighted? guest: i think that those would likely be the ratings of virtually every high-profile democrat that we have in the country right now, whether it be in the united states senate, the u.s. house, or the people on the stage running for the presidency. we have reached a point where the democrats embrace certain issues. right toing a woman's choose, and lgbtq rights, and climate change. i can sure immigration reform and that we are not punishing little kids. these are things the democrats stand for. the republicans don't. these are clear differences between the two parties and a clear difference in the choices voters have. i think putting forward those

ratings is actually fine. it should make democrats feel good about her as a peck and it should reinforce to republicans that this is a legitimate credit ticket. they have to decide whether they are willing to support these views because they don't like the direction the entry has headed, or whether they want four more years of the same. int: our next caller illustrate, pennsylvania. public and. good morning. harris a wonderful choice. of all of the women he had a choice to pick from, they were all wonderful. and myting for joe biden mind is made up. four more years of trump and we won't have a country left. thank you. host: before you go, would you have felt that way had not been come all harris is the peck. -- not been kamala harris as the pack? caller: of all his choices, they

were all good. yes, i probably would have voted for joe biden no matter what. whoever he peck. i like kamala harris. there is not a thing wrong with her. she helped the people in california get the bankers to give more money out when all of those people lost their houses. she is a fighter. she is for the little guy. i like her. host: jennifer lawless, what did you hear in that call? guest: i heard the general view that it is great when there is a vice presidential candidate everybody likes, but it really doesn't matter that much. as long as it is a respectable choice, people are not going to vote for or against the ticket because of the person in the number two spot. something i will note that is important about this pic is that it highlights the kind of decision-making that joe biden will bring with him to the white house. he had a very difficult decision. he had a lot of good options and he made a choice that i think

most people agree was a smart one. regardless of whether kamala the ticketsence on changes the outcome on election day, it does signal to voters that he is aware of the fact that he is old and needed to bring in someone in the next generation. that he is white and he needed to speak to a broader coalition of voters. and that he needs to be attentive to what is going on in the political environment. as far as decision-making is concerned, it was a really good first decision if joe biden was trying to signal to america that he can be trusted. or two moreor one calls with jennifer lawless of the university of virginia. if you are enjoying the conversation, if her a follow on twitter. this is william haley anderson, north carolina. independent. good morning. caller: good morning.

i think kamala harris is going to be a good candidate. . think she would be a good and i had one other question that has been bothering me all day. keep talking about the unemployment. when you file for unemployment, it don't last but 12 weeks. italy this state. -- in this state. how are you going to stay that you are going to go to work and you are going to collect more money when it doesn't last? you have to have a job by then? you don't get no unemployment. host: jennifer lawless? can you take that up? guest: sure. the struggles people aren't doing on a daily basis and have been since february and march are what is at stake in this election. the fact that donald trump and congress are at a standstill and can figure out how to move forward and put together a

package that helps people put food on the table highlights the lack of federal leadership we have, but it also shows that if the party control of congress changes, if we have somebody new in the white house, that could potentially be a jolt to the system to change the way these issues are handled. whether you are a democrat or public and, i think this is one of those times you look around and say, this is not working. this unemployment arrangement is not working. i'm not supposed to be scared about whether i am not going to get the next one. right now the choice people are going to have on election day is whether they want to continue with that uncertainty or take a risk and try something new. they don't know what the biden-harris administration will bring, but the question is, is that uncertainty better than the certainty that nothing is getting done. host: i did want to ask, 80 days until election day. how much do you think we are

going to be hearing about them across' 2016 nominee, heller clinton over the next 80 days? guest: she is a prime time speaker at the convention. next week it is going to be a lot about pointing. i prediction is that both hillary and bill clinton will be very careful about the language they use in their speeches so nothing they say can be used as a soundbite. it is a risky move, because neither of them are popular right now. it is the appropriate thing to do, because one is a former president and one was a woman who has gotten as far in presidential politics as anybody else. it is going to be threading a needle, my sense is that next week will be a week where we hear quite a bit about hillary clinton. host: jennifer lawless is a commonwealth professor of politics at the university of virginia.

>> c-span has covered every minute of every political convention since 1984. we are not stopping now. this month's conventions will be like none other history. plans for both gatherings are being altered. the democrats will meet to nominate joe biden as their presidential candidate on monday. president trump will accept his party's nomination the next week. p.m. c-span at 9:00 eastern for live coverage of the democratic convention starting on monday, and the republican convention starting next monday, august 24. life streaming and on-demand at c-span.org, or listen with the free c-span radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. ♪

>> "the contenders," about the men who ran for the presidency and lost but changed little history. the 1916 presidential candidate and chief justice of the supreme court, charles evans hughes. sunday night on q&a, elaine weiss on her book "the women's hour," about the ratification of the 19th amendment which granted women the right to vote. > get passes a house -- it passes the senate with only two boats. there are senators who are spitting on it as the house passes it in 1918. it takes until june of 1919 before it passes both houses. then the senate knew they were

sending it out for ratification, what is called an off year. most state legislatures were not going to be in session. that was sort of was full to make -- purposeful to make it more difficult. the suffragettes had to convince 30 governors to call legislators back to a special session to consider the amendment. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern -- qspan's "human day. &a." we tour the exhibit rightfully hers with museum curator corinne porter.