c-span two, the postmaster general and the chair of the united states postal service board of governors will testify watch the house oversight live coverage friday on c-span. and monday on c-span2. ordemand at c-span.org listen wherever you are with the free c-span radio app. >> the house of representatives is on a district work period but nancy pelosi has decided to call members back to washington to work on legislation regarding the postal service. they will be in session saturday morning with post -- with first about. -- with first votes. host: our first guest of this hour is aimee allison, the founder of she the people, joining us from oakland, california. good morning. thank you for being on the program. for those not familiar with your organization, what is it? for thr

organization, what is it? guest: she the people is a national network of women of color, black, latino, asian-american, and indigenous from all over the country. women of color who are united in a common cause around gender, racial, and economic justice. host: who supports organization financially? combination of foundations and individuals. certain there a political structure? -- doesave progressives there have to be progressives, conservatives? guest: most women of color are democrats and most definitely hold progressive or a social justice frame of mind in voting. but is not required. the issue we deal with is bigger than party.

it is bigger than politics. it surrounds helping to shift the culture to make space in our multiracial democracy for the group of voters, 20% of the population, who are least represented, but who the country needs desperately. host: leading up to the announcement last week of senator harris being joe biden's vice presidential pick, you called it a watershed moment. can you expand on that? guest: you cannot understate how important it is to a woman of color personally and how strategic it was to put kamala harris on the ticket for the democrats. to women of talking color in battleground states such as arizona and texas and florida and georgia, and what we heard a month and a half ago was that there was an enthusiasm gap, which kamala harris on the ticket, evidenced by how strongly the polling and the

numbers in terms of fundraising shot up since the announcement, she has deepened enthusiasm amongst a court of voters, women of color, who will be the margin of victory in these swing states. it is a very exciting move and also something that represents this new place for women of color, who have never been at the top of the ticket. it bodes well not only for women -- of color, that executive leadership, but the number of candidates they represent in down ballot races in november. host: in terms of the strength and ability she brings to the ticket, how cheap -- how would you clarify those? strengths are how she has shown up in this moment in the wake of calls for racial justice. she has been an advocate.

she has one of the most repressive voting records of any senator, supporting and cosponsoring bernie sanders's bill and showing up in a lot of different ways to advocate for a $2000 a month cash payment for the people suffering during this economic crisis. i think that is her selling point. and she brings to the ticket and ability -- an ability to navigate racial politics. in california, we have 40 million people, and she already demonstrated she knows how to speak to and motivate a multiracial coalition. that will be key for the ticket, for the democrats to win in states, to bring together people. trump has been so divisive, separating people by race, pitting one group against the other. it will take a ticket like a biden/harris ticket to reach across to bring people together to vote in record numbers in november. host: our guest is with us for

the half hour. if you want to talk to her and asked her questions, it is (202) 748-8000 for republicans. .emocrats (202) 748-8000 independents (202) 748-8002. (202)n text us at 748-8003. when it comes to senator harris, what do you think she has to do going forward? what do you think is best for her as far as making the case for her not only as vice president but for the ticket overall? guest: one of the things i saw at the dnc last night and what i think she will carry forward campaigning is an embracing of and acknowledgment of the need to address racial justice. it is one of the things we heard in our national network of women of color, the concern people continue to have about how

hatred, bigotry, and racism, seem to be unleashed, and what kamala harris and joe biden planed to do about that -- plan to do about that. that is one of the big issues that need to be addressed. in terms of issues, we have heard that women of color are motivated by plans to address two things. one is health care and the other is the economic crisis. women of color are most likely ande essential workers, have put themselves in harm's way doing their jobs without adequate protections. and now people have lost their jobs, lost federal moneys that would help them pay their rent and buy food. people are starting to be in desperate situations. so i think those of the two big issues that people want to hear from kamala harris going forward. host: you talked about being in

oakland. some have expressed concerns about her record as a prosecutor. one of those concerns was shared last week on this program. there was an independent women'' forum. they talked about senator harris's record in california. [video clip] rights and unfortunately her criminal justice record. from the criminal justice side, she has promoted being a top cop. law and order is important. we want to ensure that if you are breaking the law, you are held accountable. the question is, when you look at her record, whether she has withheld important evidence against people being prosecuted, whether she is prosecuting individuals for crimes they did not even commit. prosecuting parents for truancy. kids ine wants to keep school, but are you really for the black and brown people, the

people that will be targeted by the policy? from a workers rights standpoint, she supported a california law, which squarely hits at independent contractors, eliminating thousands, potentially millions, independent contractors. one of your guests mentioned landscapers, people who own small businesses, manicurists, translators. it runs the gamut of vocations. -- middle-class americans trying to build their own lives. laws that kamala harris supported would see those opportunities disappear. those are examples i find in we find concerning about kamala harris. host: how would you respond to that? guest: i think some of the criticisms of kamala harris and

the leadership she offered in 2011 are valid. we should talk about the way forward, but it is not 2011. we have to look at the way kamala harris has shown up in this moment. the justice in policing act, federally addresses some of those same concerns. she has evolved as a leader and nobody is perfect. michelle obama said it at the dnc last night. there is no perfect candidate, perfect person. the sun does not rise and set on one person. harris'samala leadership and legislation and agenda showed up in 2020 is meeting the need. arentioned that people suffering economically. that racism is tearing our country apart. she has legislation to address that. she has legislation that addresses parts of the

electorate that have not previously gotten a lot of attention. for example, a couple weeks ago, submitting legislation to have something thatn affects a lot of black women. i think in terms of the solutions for forgiveness of student loans and cash payments for people who are unemployed, which is millions of people, those of the kinds of things we see. the short answer is, without oaklandfrom people from or other places who hold criticisms for the way she led, policies she had 10 years ago, she is the leader we need now. offer aand joe biden ticket for the democrats that will unite a multiracial coalition and keep some enthusiasm amongst black and

brown women, who democrats need to turn out in high numbers in order to win. host: the website for the organization is shethepeople.org. aimee allison. your first call is from robert. he is a democrat. go ahead. say, kamala isto representative of immigrants. our country is a country of immigrants. the section of people she represents, the indian and the jamaican, i have been here since the founding. -- have been here since the founding, and they have been ignored. for her to be here to represent immigrants is really a change in america. the way this president has done

to immigrants all over the world is disgraceful. country of immigrants and he tried to make thing ins the worst this country when his father was an immigrant. so, thank you for kamala and for joe biden. host: ok. miss allison, go ahead. guest: i think there is a lot about her story people can relate to. the fact that she is a child of immigrants, it does matter to so many people. asian american people are the second fastest growing voting block in this country. story of being black and asian, that is important to people. we saw a whole new wave of birth

tourism being unleashed -- a new wave of birtherism being unleashed. and attacks on black women we heard so frequently from trump. i think people are tired of that. i think people want decency. they want respect. immigrants and the children of immigrants in the country, it gets acknowledged in a new way with the candidacy of kamala harris. host: mary from potomac, maryland. independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. know aling because i bunch of republican women. educated,em are privately educated, and they feelrofessional women who that trump is nothing but a con

anybodywants to remove -- who is ang patriot. removing them from office. out of 34, 27 have, for the first time, they will be working for biden -- voting for biden. and that says a lot. thank you. host: anything in response? guest: we have never seen republicans in these conventions, democratic conventions. i believe it was four, meg whitman, john kasich. i have my issues and i do not personally of color do not agree with anything the republican agenda has, but one thing we agree on is we need leadership that is going to bring back this country's sense

of decency, and to bring people together and move forward, so -- you know, i want to say a lot of people are hoping it will be republicans that change their votes that will actually carry biden/harris. that is not going to happen. most people who voted for trump in 2016 are going to remain loyal or stay home. but for the never trump republicans, some of them have found a home with the biden/harris campaign and joined the coalition, but the core and most important votes are votes of women of color who are, in some cases, places like florida , 25% of the voters who will go to alexion -- go to the elections. percentagewise, they beaufort immigrants overwhelmingly -- they vote for democrats

overwhelmingly. increasing turnout 1% to 3% in these key states will make a big difference for the democrats. host: from oklahoma, we will hear from jim, republican line,. kamala harris joe biden as a racist when she herself has proved this with her actions as a prosecutor. she was very racist towards minorities. keeping 1500 blacks in prison for marijuana convictions and then laughed about it. she kept a black man on death row until she was forced to release him. sleeping with a 70-year-old twice her age only to gain power, and she attacks president trump for his morality. she will do anything, say anything, to gain power. that is all she cares about.

she has no -- host: jim in oklahoma. miss allison. caller: i have heard a lot -- guest: i have heard a lot of the stories. they are just stories. kamala harris, the second woman of color to be in the senate. she has been elected statewide twice in california, our largest, most populous state. she is not perfect, but all the stories are but -- stories being told about per our told about her, a lot of them are falsities. she has evolved as a politician, as has joe biden, as has everyone in the senate and congress, where the issues of criminal justice, the issues of

justice in policing, black lives matter. all of those are part of a movement she has responded to. so look, i think the movement continues to push everyone in the senate and congress to adopt policies that a lot of people support. you know, moving resources from policing to housing and social services. many people, over time, have gone from believing that marijuana should be -- that marijuana possession should be a or now,o a misdemeanor in california, 100% legal. i think kamala harris is a leader that has evolved over time. her presence on the ticket is incredible. she has the most or one of the most progressive voting records, up there with elizabeth warren is bernie sanders, and that who she is in the moment. for that reason, i think she is the right leader to help us get

through this crisis. host: from georgia, democrats align, next up is lanice. hello. caller: my question is for miss allison. and yourself. "whitee of those suburban housewives" that supposedly support trump. we do not. if i am an example. i believe to some extent i am. and ar, living in rural small city in georgia, i am trying to reach out to my neighbors. they are of all colors, from to a deep chocolate brown, and i am meeting

resistance because, again, this republican state and the lies that your previous guest talked about our so prevalent -- about are so prevalent in my community. and believe. they truly believe. just hit google up so you can ask the question. well, nobody wants to do that. they will tell you they do not want to know. i do believe this is the vote we missed in the previous presidential election that we need desperately right now. so, please, give me some ideas about reaching out to my neighbors of all colors, but women. host: ok. we will leave it there and let the guest respond. spent some time in

georgia in 2017 and 18 when stacey abrams was running for governor. i learned a lot about your state. georgia, because it had not had any democrat when statewide, there was this assumption about who lives there and that the state was a red state, but stacey abrams and a slew of other candidates and leaders who have one in the last two years have demonstrated something different about georgia, which is that the population has evolved. it is a multiracial population. and like you said about your neighbors, it is every color, creed, and nationality who lives in georgia. there are a number of people in enoughte -- there are people in the state to swing the election, to turn that state blue through activating multiracial coalitions. there is an organization in georgia that i respect a lot called the new georgia project, led by an amazing woman.

is goal of this organization to register and get people out. originally, it was going door to door to do events. the quarantines messed up all of our plans to do field operations in places like georgia, so now it is calling and texting neighbors. my bet is that reaching out to the new georgia project might be a good start in figuring out how to reach people in your town and statewide. reallyt is georgia is a important swing state that donald trump one, but there is the population -- that donald trump won, but there is the population, enough to flip the state. it is all about turnout. for the next 80 or so days, it is all about getting people to commit to vote info early. voting starts four weeks before november 3, early october, turnout starts in a few weeks.

this is a chance to plug into those kinds of efforts. concern youevel of might have about motivation from here on out, through election day. usually conventions motivate people. are you concerned because of the new format? share concerns with people like stacey abrams and fair fight. i share concerns about the voter suppression tactics that have different states doing different things like voter consolidation and creating massive lines by removing people from the voter rolls. and now the attack on the post office makes people unsure whether, even if there is a vote male, whether that will be counted and countered on time. i think we will see people showing up at the polls in massive numbers.

our lesson from 2016, and a place like georgia or texas or florida, turnout for women of color, black and brown women who have in previous cycles elected and reelected barack obama, had the highest turnout of any race and gender. in 2016, it was on average, and therefore democrats lost. i think women of color and everyone who wants to see donald trump out of the white house is going to have to make a plan to vote and understand the rules of the state and make sure to register with a verified toistration right now -- register or verify the registration right now and vote early and make sure their counts. people i know are willing to crawl through glass to make that possible despite the fact that people are facing these challenges, job loss, trouble

paying rent, all the problems with covid-19 -- that covid-19 has w ♪ of the coverage democratic national convention continues tonight with former secretary of state hillary clinton, vice presidential nominee kamala harris, in former president barack obama. watch live coverage of the democratic national convention tonight at 9:00 on c-span, live streaming and on-demand at c-span.org, or listen with the free c-span radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. ♪ week,hington journal this getting the reaction to the democratic national convention and news of the day. morning, the final

night of the democratic national convention npv joe's acceptance speech with a political , and issues important to union members in campaign 2020. hisrities usa chair on super pac's role in campaign 2020. washington journal live at 7:00 eastern thursday morning. join the discussion and be sure to watch the democratic convention at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, listed with the c-span radio app, or watch on demand at c-span.org/dnc, also at the web, and sign up for our newsletter, offering a synopsis of the events. ♪ ♪ >> you are watching c-span, your unfiltered view of government, created by america's cable television companies as a public

service brought to you by gray television provider. next, dr. fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force, discusses the virus response and what comes next. he spoke earlier today at an event hosted by george washington university for half an hour. >> let me first off start by saying thank you for your time. how are you doing? this is insanity. >> you are right. it is really somewhat surreal. i am fine, it is just very intense. obviously, we are working 16 to 17 hours a day on this seven days a week, but it is something we have to do. this is a challenge, as you know, historic in its proportions. we have not seen anything like