obama will give testimonials and probably tell some nice stories, nice anecdotes. i would think hillary's speech is going to matter less because she did not win in the electoral college. twitter will light me up for saying she did not win. she did not get more electoral college folks. .t is the obama speech you want host:of politics. "washington journal" continues. host: the president of emily's list joining us to talk about the role women will play in campaign 2020. good morning to you. guest: thank you for having me. host: remind us of emily's list, the organization. list ismily's celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, committed to electing pro-choice democratic women up and down the ballot.

we are the largest political committee in support of electing women in this country. we are looking forward to a very big 2020. host: tonight's keynote speaker, kamala harris, you are quoted in one of the papers about your impressions of her. for those who did not read it, what do you think her being on the ticket rings to the issues your organization focuses on? the most important issue for us at emily's list is women's or presentation. we really do believe that we are going to have a better country, with better policies and more forward thinking when we have an equal number of women and men sitting at our decision-making table, and in the highest levels of power. to see senator harris rise up and be chosen by vice president, which we were so grateful for, -- you have nominee

someone being great enthusiasm, someone with great experience as attorney general of california and united states senator, someone with great passion and compassion for this country, and i am just thrilled by what i am hearing from not just our , but me and a lot of people across the country. she made decisions and experienced on the campaign trail going back and forth on issues like segregation -- those concern you at some level? i think it is probably one of the reasons vice president biden chose him. last summer, her willingness to stand up and make a statement that was really, really important to make -- you have saying, like joe biden

this is the person i want standing next to me to make major decisions who is not afraid to share her opinion, even if it is different from the person she is standing next to. that is clearly the kind of person joe biden is. it is also the kind of person kamala harris is. my guess is they will agree more often than not, and that is what we need. what are your plans or your organization's plans for this cycle as far as money spent and activity you are going to do? guest: the bar is high after 2018. in 2018, i sat down with -- i sat down with nancy pelosi and promised we would deliver her the majority of the house to the democrats, and we did. we were able to pick up 24 house

seats for democratic women at emily's list, phenomenal women. we added another 10 on top of that in safe democratic seats. we did that in 2018. now, we have to go into 2020, and the first thing we want to do is make sure we get this biden-harris ticket elected. we are so excited about the choice and we will be backing up as aor harris and her role vice presidential nominee. we also firmly believe that for anything to work in this country, we have got to have a democratic majority in the united states senate. we have heard of the convention already this week senator cortez masto, a great senator from nevada, as well as leader schumer, talk about that. wonderful women in pickup opportunities in maine, iowa, kansas, and texas.

we'll see a lot of emily's list activity in those regions. we are also looking at the house. i will be honest -- at first, i thought we were in protection mode, now, i think we are in expansion mode. i think we are going to be net gaining democratic women in the house. you look at the democratic congressional campaign committee's best pickups, what they call the red to blue list -- nearly 80% of those candidates are emily's list women. they are hungry and diverse. one more layer as we go down the ballot is we have hundreds of legislative candidates across this country -- great democratic women who are stepping up to take charge of their legislatures and get their arms around what is going on in these states. it is a big cycle for us. $110 million in

2018. we are looking to do even more in 2020. we will see how that goes. it is a truly wild election cycle up and down the ballot. host: if you want to ask about 2020 and related issues, you can do so on our line. republicans, 202-748-8001. one of the comments that came from president trump after the nomination of senator harris was the term "nasty." how did that affect you when you heard that? guest: i wish i could say i was surprised. we have been anticipating, particularly from the trump organization, a lot of sexist and racist tropes. spacesort of their safe when you are donald trump and the republican party and you don't have anything to say,

particularly after the failed leadership of the covid-19 pandemic, as well as the economy and the systemic racism around this country. you go to fear and dividing the country. and the problem with terms like "nasty" is that they just land differently on women. we are not tolerating it anymore. i don't think there is enough oxygen out there for these kinds of activities, these kinds of language uses anymore, not when families, women voters in particular who are going to decide this election, are concerned about whether or not their kids are going to be able to go to school, if they are going to stay in school. are their parents going to be able to stay safe and healthy? are they going to have to look at grandma again through the window at the home? this is a really, really hard time for our country. it just shows this kind of

behavior by our president as obama --ho, as misses mrs. obama said, is in over his head in this moment. host: this election cycle, what is at the top of the list? dealingo doubt, we are with the pandemic. women care about every issue, just as men do. everything impacts women and their families. but obviously, health care and access to health care, and making sure that that stays in place and improves -- and i thought last night at the convention, there was a good conversation of what else we need to do. there was a debate in the party. i think it is a good, healthy debate. what we are going to end up with is an even better health care system, building of the affordable care act, we definitely need to do, including adding a public option. i think health care is still very high in the minds of women

voters across the country. care andrt of health the economic security is reproductive freedom. the choices they need to make about their families -- they are looking for leaders who are going to stand up for their ability to make these choices. you definitely have a ticket in joe biden and kamala harris who will do just that. caller is from austin, texas. this is nancy. go ahead. imagine a more vacuous reason to vote for someone than the sex that they are. principles, what their principles are. do they believe in adhering to the constitution? on foreign policy, do we want to bomb more countries that have nothing to do with our national defense?

you believe about the bill of rights? do you believe in adhering to that? specifically, which ones do you want to blow over? we have got to this era now -- i don't understand it. it does not apply intelligence. what race someone is, what sex they are, what color their hair are, are they tall -- what is going to be next, the suit they are wearing? what color their hair is? do they have good makeup jobs? what about principles? who can get back to that? host: what would you like the candidates to address? caller: on what aspect is she even talking about sex, a valid reason to vote for a candidate? host: nancy, in texas. go ahead. guest: we would never suggest that anybody make a choice based on gender, because you are exactly right. it is about values. it is about principles. it is about vision.

the reason we do the work we do to uplift women candidates is because there have been, for decades, obstacles in front of women candidates who have made it harder to compete on an equal level as men. the good news after 35 years of the work we have done -- we have been able to level that playing field somewhat, and it is getting better and better. really, that is all we are trying to do, is get a level playing field, so our women candidates can compete. but when it comes to voters, nancy, you should definitely be looking at which candidate, which family, is going to take care of our country and our constitution. we believe at emily's list that we are supporting candidates. yes, they are women, who will do exactly that. but we also want to break down those obstacles that can still

stand in front of women advancing. if it was all equal, if it was all easy, if it did not matter, there would be an equal number of women sitting in congress, an equal number of women and men sitting in all of our government agencies. and there is not. and there is a reason for that, and that is what we are trying to break down. stand byr, you have to people, individuals, who are going to vote for you. we have to think about candidates at emily's list. host: a caller from maryland, hello. caller: good morning to you. how is it that you sit at any table, which is laid out lavishly, and not have a woman involved? it is impossible. this country should have been doing this years ago. i am a dad of four women. they are grown, raising their

own families. they do a great job. but i do know this. when i leave out of my house in the morning and i venture to work, even if my wife goes to work, she makes sure the house is settled for she leaves. i tell you right now, this lost without, so women. we have fought wars. we have never given them the credit they deserve. women have assisted and more. they have taken care of the men and more. they have taken care of themselves. they are doing things they have not received notoriety four. how in the world do you heal this land without women? host: thank you. guest: thank you so much for saying that. i think particularly as we are celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the 19th amendment that began the process

of giving women the right to vote -- it was a good week to have that conversation. we started a country with women who were not part of the process. we are still trying to evolve out of that moment, and we do have these amazing, great women leaders. but you are right, they should be everywhere. it does make our nation stronger. it makes our nation better. let's get really blunt about it. haverations, when they more women sitting at their corporate boards, interestingly, and there is good academic research on this -- they become more profitable. it is just bringing a different set of perspectives, and you need all of those perspectives. if you have got situations where there is only, let's say, one gender, and then there is only one race, sitting at a table, you are missing so much of who

we are as a nation. and we are looking at making ,his a representative democracy and we want all those perspectives at the table. host: you mentioned the anniversary of the 19th amendment. what did you think of the president offering a posthumous pardon of susan b anthony? guest: you know, it was a little strange, but ok. [laughter] it felt like it kind of came out of nowhere, but if you are going to do it, do it. susan b anthony was one of many great women who fought for a very, very long time to get the right to vote. as i think about the women whose shoulders i stand upon, not just as the president of emily's list , committed to electing women, but as a woman who gets to work in politics, and think about the fact that my grandmother, who we

just lost in february at 100 years old, was born the year that women got the right to vote. she was actually born in the moment when women could not vote. it was later that year. i think about the opportunities she did not get. fairbanks had been born even 50 years later, she might have been in the u.s. senate, because she was a tough woman. an iowa farm wife. she did not get those opportunities. but women like her fought for me. i think about that all the time, the shoulders we stand upon. this did not just come to us. there were so many who fought. and we have to continue that legacy of fighting. i think about congressman john lewis and doing it across the

board. have a lot of work to do across the country, bringing everyone back together. i think women, particularly women of country, it is essential in bringing this country back together. host: from massachusetts, republican line, we will hear from eddie. dad, the working breadwinner -- he got some money and brought it home at night to pay for the groceries and discipline the children. now, the big thing is the single mom. i cannot believe it. she has to go out and get two or three jobs. who is going to discipline the kids? we are spending more money on prisons than we do on schools. now, i hear that in some neighborhoods, children as much as 75%. host: if you want to respond to that. reasonshere is a lot of

for the challenges that families, all different kinds of families, are facing in this country. much of it deals with the economic unfairness that families are facing, and the criminal justice department that is putting way too many of our young men, particularly black men, and in prison. things wee of many have to address. new the top of the list is what is going on. host: we will see hillary clinton speak tonight. she ran four years ago. what has changed and women support, and what didn't she do that joe biden has to do to get support? remind folksd just that hillary clinton did actually win women. the problem was we did not win them by as much as we needed to, and she would have been

president of the united states. she did win the national popular vote nearly 3 million votes. the 2016ll say is that election was a time where it felt like there was a need for -- some people felt like there was a need for a change after eight years of democratic administration. sensewas also sort of a that it was said and done, that she was going to win. when you think about what the fall was like, everybody was told hillary was going to win and it was going to be ok. they did not have to worry about donald trump becoming president. i think that maybe some folks took it for granted. anywe cannot ever, in election, take anything for granted. if anything, we had a massive wake-up call in that 2016 election. we are paying for it every single day under the trump administration, and the damage

that the trump administration is causing in all of our agencies across the country and across the world. voters,n now, the women i do believe, as they did in 2018, are going to decide this election. that election, where democrats took back the house in near-historic numbers, the most diverse freshman classes ever seen -- we had an electorate in battleground districts that was 54% women. think about that. it was 46% men in those districts voted. i think we are looking at an election this year, if everybody can get the balance and get them in and counted, that we could have an election looking at women being 55% of the electorate. that is a game changer, because then are moving toward democratic side. you are seeing huge gender gap ofbers and support of women

biden. yes, men are supporting trunk, but i have got to be honest -- if we have 55% of the electorate women, i will take the gender gap the way it is going. host: from wisconsin, independent line, we will hear from connie. woman andsaw this campaigned. old, and i grew up in an error that women stayed home. if they were lucky enough, they stayed home and the husband went to work. but the women being home had to make a lot of decisions -- healthwise for their children, food wise, bill paying wise. i can remember how difficult it was. i love history. when the woman wanted to be a doctor in an all-male environment -- how much trouble she met. but she was persistent. she wanted to be a doctor. and it was that persistence that

the woman gave that was able to make women more noticeable to me. overshadowtrying to men. they are just trying to be part of the world, to make things better. when they cast a vote, they have that right. if they think different than a man, fine. if a man thinks different than a woman, fine. that's their right. i think women have worked real hard from day one to be noticed, and to be independent on their thinking, and if they think things are right or wrong. they do that in everyday life living situation. why shouldn't they be able to do it moving in other areas? i'm sorry. host: i will stop you. i just wanted to make sure you got your thought across.

i wanted to say thank you for bringing that up. i am so grateful to your generation. i am 47 and i feel like i am the beneficiary of all of your work in your generation's work to open up doors, to be the first doctors, the first lawyers, to break through those doors. i will be honest. i did not feel like i had to crash myself through a door to become a chief of staff for a united states senator, which i was honored to do for senator jon tester in montana. the door was open. but somebody had to open it first. it was my mother's generation. i want to say thank you. for my generation, all of our staff at emily's list -- we have some great staff, and i love them. us, i keep on

promoting more and more smart women into these roles. the more we see it, it is just going to be natural. i do think it is about balance. in women and men, you have different opinions on things. not all the time. sometimes not completely in alignment. but they have different likelihoods, and what we go through is different. i think that is what makes it so richer, when you have all those perspectives in the debate, whether it is in government or in business. i think it is the same thing. it is the richness of that decision-making process to bring in those perspectives. that is the work we do at emily's list every day. host: las vegas, nevada, democrats line, david, hello. caller: it is great emily's list is on c-span.

emily's list, i have raised money for the dccc during the obama era. you guys just dropping a name was a game changer. women do make better leaders. living proof. thank you for your hard work come up both of you guys. amy mcgrathis about and the senate race in kentucky with mcconnell. i know that if we win the senate back, mcconnell may not matter anyway. in that election, where are you guys at? she is down big. mcconnell is up. thank you. bringingank you for amy up. amy mcgrath did not seek the endorsement of emily's list, so i will be honest -- we are not as intimately engaged in her race as we are in iowa, in kansas. back, i will say i

do believe that amy mcgrath has the exact kind of profile that is someone who will be able to take down mitch mcconnell in kentucky, it is no easy task. let's face it -- he is a tough candidate. but she has the right persona, particularly as a veteran in this country. we have got a ways to go yet in that campaign. i think she is our best chance at beating mitch mcconnell. one way or another, we are going to make sure mitch mcconnell is not the leader of the senate. but it sure would be nice if you were not in the senate. host: from madeleine in west virginia, republican line. sayer: i would just like to i am all for women's rights. but women need to follow the bible.

speak --f them that realize we kill our babies by the hundreds. right.en, that's their it's their body. no, it isn't their body. god, and we are ,o recognize and protect life see the convention does not even mention the stuff that is going on. democrats, they kill -- they knock a man unconscious. you don't hear that from the democrats. why? host: ok, madeleine. thank you. guest: i think, madeleine, i

appreciate your position. we are going to disagree on this. i think it is important that women have the ability to make the best choices for themselves and for their families. seven out of 10 americans agree with that, that we just have to -- those very personal choices be made by women, as regards what's best for their families. i feel andarly how how the democratic party feels. and it is how seven out of 10 americans feel. i think we have to do it with kindness. he also have to remember that individuals have freedom in this country, and they should becoune able to do what they need to do to protect their families. the life ofats for america posted an op-ed on joe biden and his position on

reproductive rights. thoughtll hardly give a to such policies previously the democrats of 2020 will barely give a thought to policies that make it easier for women to choose life such as government-funded hospital care. the core tenant that abortion is normal. 21 alien- americas pro-life democrats face a choice between staying -- guest: it ensures that they have access to birth control, which can be a fight from the right. we have seen republican extremists wanting to strip a women of access to birth control , which is not a good way to end abortion, if you want to go in that direction. what we need to do is be mindful

of people's perspectives and understand we need to come to solutions that are best for women and their families. that centers around health care. as we roll out additional health ash -- which we have to, we have to center that around women and their ability to make choices, whatever they may be. host: stephanie schriock, joining us. ceo of emily's li >> next, a discussion on mail-in voting. it was set to start at 1:00 eastern. it is 1:38 p.m. in the afternoon.