the scent returns for the first session since the death of ruth bader ginsburg. work is scheduled on judicial nominations with a vote later in the afternoon to advance in on any for federal court. watch the senate live at 3:00 eastern time on c-span 2. evening, georgetown university law school holds a remembrance ceremony for the late justice rick bader ginsburg. -- ruth bader ginsburg. watch live at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. online at c-span.org or listen live on the free c-span radio app. morning on today's "washington journal," mark hugo lopez from the pew research center about the latino vote and aboutcannon who will talk the importance of his state in

the presidential election. we will take your calls and you can join on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" is next. ♪ live shot of the supreme court. good morning, everyone. it's monday, september 21 read we begin this morning with the vacancy on the supreme court left by the death friday night of ruth ginsburg. we want to know, does the supreme court pick impact your vote? the president has vowed to move forward and mitch mcconnell says a vote will happen in the coming weeks. democrats, (202) 748-8000.

republicans, (202) 748-8001. .ndependents, (202) 748-8002 you can text us, with your first name, city and state, at (202) 748-8003. or post your comments on or facebook,anwj, facebook.com/c-span. how does the supreme court pick impact your vote? we have divided the lines, democrats, rojo skins -- democrats, republicans, independents. tom cotton on the sunday shows yesterday, here's what he had to say. >> the president said that he's going to submit a nominee as early as this week and the senate will exercise our constitutional duty, process the nomination, conduct hearings, thorough, deliberate, careful, as we were with the nominations

of gorsuch and cavanaugh, moving forward without delay. >> does that mean that there will be a vote to confirm before the election? there are some cases, like ginsburg herself, where the process took less than 44 days. there have been cases where it took longer. too soon to say right now, but we will move forward without delay. the: senator tom cotton on sunday shows, sunday shows dominated by this topic yesterday. the new poll showing the majority of americans, including many republicans, say wait for the election to replace ginsburg. joe biden, the democratic nominee yesterday had this to say. >> to jim --[video clip] the nomination through the senate is an exercise in raw political power and i don't

believe the people in the nation will stand for it. president trump already made it .lear that this is about power pure and simple power. will make itoters clear on this issue, power in this nation resides with them, the american people. the voters. even if trump, even if president trump wants to put forward a name now, the senate should not act until after the american people select their next president. their next congress. their next senate. if trump wins the election, he should weigh the nominee he chooses fairly. if i win this election, president trump's nominee should be withdrawn. as a new president, i should be

the one who nominates the justice ginsburg successor. a nominee who can get a fair hearing in the senate before a confirmation hearing, vote i should say, after confirmation hearing. yesterday onen, the vacancy at the supreme court. how does this pick impact your vote? that's our conversation with all of you this morning. politico is reporting that mitch mcconnell, republican of kentucky, has the votes for the supreme court fight. this is after yesterday, lisa murkowski, republican of a -- alaska, became the second republican to say she would oppose moving forward with a supreme court nominee. for weeks, she said in her statement, she said she would not support taking one up this close to the election and what was now a hypothetical is now a reality, but her position hasn't changed

host: eyes are on the mar alexander, who came out yesterday saying this -- no one should be surprised that a republican senate majority would vote on a republican president supreme court nomination. even during a presidential election year. the constitution gives us the power to do it. going back to george washington the senate has confirmed many nominees during presidential election years and has refused to confirm several when they were of different parties. mcconnell is only doing what democratic leaders have said they would do if the shoe were on the other foot. lisa murkowski and susan

collins have said that they would oppose moving forward. some people are looking at mitt romney of utah, chuck grassley of iowa, and cory gardner, who faces a tough reelection battle in colorado to see what they will do on this nomination. cindy, connecticut, you are a republican. is this pick important to your vote? >> i think the vote was important aside from this. everybody was highly motivated before this happened. so, it's not going to change my motivation. however, i'm really not -- i don't like what lindsey graham is doing. i just have two words. term limits. i understand it's important to pick, because the selection, hillary clinton, she

said to joe biden to test this election a matter what. that scares me. it's why i'm not sure what to think about this. i initially thought it should wait. ferocity ofof the the democrats to try to don't know what, to mess with the election like they did last time , it's really, can this get any worse? motivate me. but i'm already motivated. host: you said you don't like what lindsey graham is doing, what did you mean by that? >> it is kind of a double standard. he said twice on tape that in an election year -- i think they made a mistake, they should have let merrick garland go through obama nominated him. that was a mistake back then.

you know? but it doesn't -- it's not going to affect my vote. it goes on both sides and i have two words for this whole thing, term limits. don't like the power that happens with, you know, mitch mcconnell, lindsey graham, chuck schumer. you know, they have been in office since i was a kid. i'm 58 years old now. this is really the problem with everything, not just the supreme court nomination here. all right, thank you. the associated press has this headline about lindsey graham -- challenging court keep -- court seat, saving his own. he's up for reelection. good morning. caller: yes. . really was undecided

both conventions and both of them didn't say anything to help the conditions of my neighborhood and my neighbors. i'm from new york. most of us have been unemployed. unemployment.om then it wasn't voted on. we had food shortage. most of new york was closed down. at ouru looked politicians, neither one was saying anything. but the reason why i'm going to vote for biden is because on

i can catch the president for today, trump, lying, i'm a person who hates liars. host: it doesn't sound like the supreme court is an issue for you. caller: i think that what ruth said in her last words, weight till we get a new resident and then vote. i'm thinking she wanted us to wait until biden got in to vote for a new selection. the fact that trump has been a liar from day one and i can playback his own words on my phone -- host: understood, understood. jean, good morning. caller: this doesn't really .ffect the way i vote

i will never vote for a republican again in my lifetime. this is not the republican party that i knew. yeah, they had differences in philosophies and they would go back and forth, but this is pure hatred, this is pure disrespect of a woman who served our country valiantly for many, many years. fairness disrespect of , honesty, and integrity, to quick try to shove somebody president, whois has lied to us every single day, i keep notebooks, i have about 50 notebooks of all the things that have been pulled on the american people and the republicans just sit there and praise him and they know he's been doing a lot of things that , includingur country

not responding to the coronavirus and cheering on the front line when he thought they got rid of the affordable care act. so, there's a lot of things here. those republicans better wake up. i used to have a lot of respect for the senate, because they used to work together. they used to have honesty and integrity. but they don't anymore when they pull this on the public. we will not forget or forgive this. thank you so much. jean, would you go, it help if the president nominated a woman to replace justice ginsburg. caller: absolutely not. she needs the time. she requested. her last words was a request for fairness. if trump wins, then he should get his pick. if biden wins, he should get his pick. what they pulled on obama wasn't fair.

they made the rule, they need to stick by it. the president saturday night at a rally had this to say about a potential pick. [video clip] in 2016 and 2018 elections the american people chose a president and senate majority, commitment tor selecting nominees who believe in applying the constitution as written. right? the white house in the senate majority have a moral duty to fulfill the promises they made to the voters. that is exactly what we are going to do. we said that if for any reason we have a vacancy on the supreme court, we will fill the vacancy. and by the way, we have plenty of time, there's a lot of time. you are talking about january 20, right?

>> [chanting] >> so, we will uphold equal justice under the law for citizens. i will be putting forth a nominee next week. it will be a woman. president trumps supporters chanting filled her seat. according to "the new york times," t-shirts have been made as well saying that. a fundraising effort after the death of justice ginsburg. "the new york times" says there has been a fundraising wave of both parties, particularly among liberals, who put forth $100 million through a donation site by noon. in terms of potential pix, the president said he would possibly be putting forth a woman. topping the list is amy barrett,

who serves on the seventh circuit court of appeals. politico says that this is what you need to know about judge barrett. a religious conservative, would have much to be pleased with her , a catholic, believes life be -- life begins at conception. she could serve for decades, at 48 she would be the youngest justice on the court, making it plausible that she could leave a mark on a swath of cases for a generation or more. a proud of -- protege of justice scalia, she clerked for him after graduating from notre dame university law school, is a strict originalist and would enforce her best understanding .f the constitution she could go toe to toe with democrats. during her confirmation hearing to serve in 2017 she engaged in a contentious exchange with top democrats, including dianne

feinstein, who pressed her on her deeply held religious beliefs and how they could impact her jurisprudence, leading to criticism that the democratic questioning was anti-catholic. if you want to see the moment, you can go into our video library archives on c-span.org and find that exchange in the rest of her testimony. another potential pick by the president is barbara look goa. a. lago a florida judge with cuban troops being considered for a seat on the court. what you need to know about her, a florida native, she was the first woman to serve on the florida supreme court and if be theed, she would second latino justice to ever serve. justice sonya sotomayor became the first. she has been vetted, she was nominated to serve the 11th circuit court of appeals in 2019

was confirmed by the senate in a bipartisan phot. it could help to ease the path to the senate. 54 in would be the youngest justice on the court with a deep legal background, foring as a pro bono lawyer elian gonzalez' family. she was picked by ron desantis to serve on the state supreme court. gail in new york, democratic caller. we are asking, does the supreme court pick impact your vote? good morning. caller: good morning. i'm a democrat. me, who who preceded nail on theit the head. i agree with her totally. as far as will this affect my vote? it won't affect my vote because i was going to vote for biden

anyway. however, the woman that just a wonderful person and a wonderful justice. of was on the liberal side things. days, only 46 days, 45 whatever, out from an election. we have had a chance to see how things have gone for the last three or four years. five years, really actually. i think there are a lot of people who feel differently now than they did four years ago, based on what's happened. you know, there is the right thing to do and there is what you are allowed to do. i don't challenge the fact that trump is allowed to pick a person. even if it's 45 days. however, it's not the right thing to do.

we are a torn country. important person. she's a hero to many. he is not a hero to lots of people. supported as he is. i can't tell you how much it hurts, the fact that she died. and then this is like salt on the wound. the woman before me, the democrat who spoke before me was passionate and that's how i feel . it's the wrong thing to do, to have trump be the person to select the next person. unless, unless, when we elect somebody on november 3 and it's trump, then i won't have a problem with that. but if it's biden, he should be the one to pick the president. i think that that is -- i don't us tothe justice wanted be at each other's throats. she could see what was happening

and she was trying to prevent us being at each other's throats and i think the fair thing to do is what i said, wait until the election and of trump is the person elected, go for it. 4 -- host: heard your point peeking -- point. speaking of the late justice ginsburg, following her death the entrance to the court was draped in black. "the new york times" reports that the justice will lie in state at the supreme court and a viewing could start as early as through and continue the week. more details on that to come. the headline, she's expected to lie in repose at the supreme .ourt rich, king fork, tennessee. rich, good morning to you. good morning, greta.

this is the number one issue for me, the supreme court. it definitely will impact my vote. last three elections i supported the constitution party. the last time it was darrell castle running for president. i remember speaking with you in 2016 and you asked me about the supreme court, why i wouldn't support trump in that case, because of the pro-life issue. at the time i said i didn't trust them because of his character. i still despise his character. however, as someone said, you don't hire a choir boy to beat back the barbarians. , toas shown that he will appease the base or whatever reason, he's going to follow through on his words. and so, i will be voting for president trump for that reason.

i would like to remind viewers of two things. i believe it is president obama who said elections have consequences. the senate, regardless of whether they are flopping and hypocritical republicans, they and the power to do so electorate put them there. they are using the power, the same way the democrats have changed rules, have lied to, have done things to, when they were in power. and they would do the very same thing. the other point is that justice opportunity,the when president obama was in office too, and she was already and wasealth issues obviously at an advanced age then. she could have resigned when he was in office. i believe that she, along with

most other people, evidently, thought hillary clinton would be elected and was waiting for that. are paying the price for that. so, i think it's -- i mean i am, i don't think it's fair. there andhing that is i would fully support any -- amy barrett for supreme court. lagoya?at about justice caller: same, yes. either one i think. host: do you think it is important the president nominate a woman? caller: for the optics? , i think principle it's ridiculous. i think the best person should be chosen. yet the day and age we live in, let's face the reality. every having to appeal to

possible constituency. it's the appearance that is often more important. and if they are qualified, i think it's good, it's good to have minorities, good to have women. i mean if it were half women -- i would still like to see a protestant, myself, on the supreme court. i think for that reason it would be, it's probably helpful to have a variety and diversity. although i would prefer to have the best person. if it's nine women, that would be great. right, rich. doug, florida, republican. is the supreme court pick important to your vote? caller: not really. this is another perfect example of a time for term limits. they should put it on the ballot for the voters.

congress, the senate, and the supreme court. host: why? why term limits? how does that relate? -- caller: i just think like the earlier callers [no audio] host: doug? we lost you. are you there? apologies, maybe you can call back. james, good morning. caller: good morning. my name is james. i just turned 74 years old last week. i'm a vietnam vet. any. as i'm a big-time flag waver, but my flag has been upside down for three years now, the way things are running. this guy should not be able to justice.next on a couple of reasons. first of all, everybody he picks

, he's got a relationship with the last guy, cavanaugh, being a sexual assault or, accused of. -- assaulter, accused of. and all the negative marks against him. i think he knows he's not going to win and he's doing these ugly things against the constitution. those people are not speaking up enough. the second amendment is not in danger. host: james, you are cutting in and out. are you there? apologies to james as well. lost the connection with you. senator roy blunt, part of the republican leadership team, he -- here is what he had to say about nominating a supreme court justice. [video clip] 2016 you refused to meet with merrick garland and at the time you said that americans will be voting in just a few months and that alexion should

help determine the next member of the supreme court. why has your position changed? because republicans are in power? >> at the time i said several times what i just said to you, two things have to happen for a person to go on the supreme court. in the tradition of the country, when the senate and the president were in political agreement, no matter the election situation, the judges went on the court and other courts. when they were not, they didn't. we were in a situation in 2016 where the white house was run by one party, the senate by another and the referee in that case, that was going to be the american people. in this case both the white house and the senate have an obligation to do what they think in the majority of the senate is the right thing to do and the majority was put there by voters for reasons like this. i said that over and over again

in 2016. i checked the record on this. >> i'm sure you did. you are hearing all these cries of hypocrisy. assuming that we are charging ahead, as you laid out, voting is already underway in a number of states in this country. when it comes to the hearing, should the prospective nominee, should we expect hearings to start for november 3? >> i don't know. that will be up to when we get the nominee. >> it'll be this week. >> well, it depends on the vetting that needs to be done and what chairman graham decides he can do. this should take as long as it needs to take. senator roy blunt, republican, new jersey, yesterday pick -- missouri, yesterday. what speaker pelosi had to say yesterday.

>> you said get out there and vote but that's no guarantee that the white house and republicans won't try to push through a supreme court nomination in a lame-duck session, even if joe biden wins on november 3, even if the democrats pick up seats in the house and maybe even the senate. what can you do then? some have mentioned a possibility, if they try to push through a possibility in a lame-duck session that you and could move to impeach president or attorney general barr. >> well, we have our options, we have arrows in the quiver i'm not about to discuss right now. but the fact is, we have a big challenge in our country. this president has threatened to not even accept the results of an election. these are the statements that he and his henchmen have made. , andight now our main goal i think ruth bader ginsburg ofld want it, the protection

the election as we protect the american people. i have faith in the american people on this sunday morning. i hope and pray that we have a vaccine in that it will be soon, but it must be safe and efficacious when we get it, not one day sooner or later. the fact is that this administration has been a total failure in protecting the health and the well-being of the american people. the lives, the livelihood, the lights of our democracy are threatened by this administration. host: speaker pelosi, yesterday, on the abc sunday shows. we are asking you, does the supreme court pick and pack your vote? president trump is expected to announce his vote -- his pick this week. floyd, will it impact your decision in november? absolutely.

i hope that trump will go ahead and pick that, i hope he picks amy. i heard that she saves children, two of them adopted in one of them even handicapped. that's wonderful that somebody would do that. one tidbit i learned this morning is that they are all under the age of 20. seven children under the age of 20. yes, that would be wonderful. we adopted a little girl that could have been aborted. we adopted her and she was sucking a bottle when we got her. we love her to death. of course, i will tell you something else they done to us. a few days ago they passed a law

where homosexuals could sue churches. they could sue anybody. that's absolutely wrong. what came of that? bars in california. homosexuals could sue. host: regarding the new york times potentially picking judge barrett, some worry that her position might galvanize not just democrats but suburban women and independent voters who favor a more mainstream pick and that her nomination is hardly certain. he and his advisors may have to weigh how much support they would gain

host: if he goes with a more mainstream pick, does he lose your vote? >> he keeps mine regardless because of what he has done for the economy. i have got a son that runs a business and he absolutely has done good, even though we had this virus. this plague that came through. daniel, independent line, washington, hello. >> does the right to life influence my vote? of course it does. it's the right that all our rights are dependent on. what has happened in this country with the abortions, the

on thecing of life sacrificial altars of abortion clinics, it's a stain and a blight on people. this can't go on. innocence is being sacrificed. for what? essentialecious, it's . it's everything we should stand for as a people. i hope and pray that this nation will wake up and come to the realization that what we are doing is killing ourselves. right, richard, ellicott city, republican line, high. thank you for taking my call. i first of all wanted to give mike and told -- condolences to the family of ruth bader

ginsburg. and thisgreat example country will be greatly indebted ,o her and her memory regardless of how we feel on the issues. as far as when it comes to picking a justice, i'm 37. this country has been around for more than 200 years. but the president in my lifetime in a similar situation happening, where there is an opening in a presidential year, it was 1992 in my lifetime. chosen by no other than joseph biden. it's in the c-span archives, it's on youtube. you can see it for yourself where he is saying that it should not be, we should not nominate at all george h w bush then after the election, the republicans returned the favor in the last election, the most recent example of that.

it just goes to show that it is more politics than anything. it's not necessarily what's right or what's wrong. not trying to shame joseph biden, just doing what's in the best interest of his party. same thing i believe with the republicans, they are doing in their best -- doing what's in their best interest. host: well, richard, how will you vote and why? vote republican, but not specifically because of this situation on the supreme court nomination. it happens, whether it happens a few months before the election or after the election, there's always the possibility for that to come up. just philosophically at this point in time i would vote republican. i have voted democratic in the past, i voted for obama twice and for trump six times.

i'm just too i am and it depends on the issues at the time. all right, richard, republican line. ted cruz was asked this week if the senate has the votes to confirm president trump's potential pick before the election. don't know the answer --[video clip] >> item of the answer to that. i think it's particularly important that this is picked up and confirmed before the election. joe biden has been explicit, saying that if he doesn't win, he's going to challenge the election, going to go to court and challenge. he's hired a big legal team. hillary clinton told joe biden that under no circumstances should he concede. given that, there's a serious risk of a constitutional crisis >> i have to stop you, president

trump has been talking about hased elections, joe biden not explicitly said that. of course they will have teams of lawyers. everyone does. ?> it's true or false >> you said joe biden explicitly said it, he hasn't said it. i did not challenge you on what senator clinton said. senator cruz this week. former president bill clinton giving his take on what's going to come. here he is on "state of the ."ion [video clip] [video clip] [video clip] it?s superficial, isn't hypocritical. nomination't give a 10 months beforehand. this is what they do, guys.

they say vote for senator mcconnell and president trump, the first value is power and they are trying to jam the court that is many ideological judges as they can. there is a case to be made for the argument mcconnell made. in the middle of a presidential season, you should give the voters a say. that's what he said. when it was 10 months away. when the she was on the other , we and he wants a judge are fewer than 50 days away and the argument doesn't cut any mustard. it's going to further spread cynicism in the system. it.aid he wouldn't do it's very interesting. abraham lincoln, and the replay -- republicans occasionally felt --aim him, had a

similar situation. in october of 1864, justice passed away and president lincoln wanted to appoint the secretary of the treasury to the supreme court. but he didn't do it until after the election. he understood that it was very close, the election, and that he shouldn't do it. senator mcconnell said before that he thought the people were entitled to a say. i don't know what has happened to make them stop trusting the american people, but apparently when it's to his advantage, the people are not entitled to a say . it is what it is. it's politics. we should remember that. former president bill clinton, yesterday. kenneth, arkansas. caller: my main comment is

eyehole -- i hope the whole nation listens to what i have to say. justice ginsburg, she was a tireless fighter for human rights in people's rights and everything. the last thing that little lady to do thisfor them with her dying wish. you honor a dying wish. she said her last wish, if y'all would just wait until after y'all have the election to nominate somebody, put somebody in the place. she was, that frightened that lady, that they would come up and do this. those people trying to push this forward, they have no integrity. cruise down there, lindsey graham, mitch mcconnell, mitch mcconnell's wife works for the president. that's the labor secretary. for them to do that woman like that, it makes me cry, almost.

to see them doing her like that. she's not even in the ground yet and they going to do this woman like that? they have no integrity. y'all.present those senators represent y'all. these are the senators that you sent to washington to represent you and they have no integrity, to do this lady like this. thank you. host: john? good morning, c-span. do you know how many republicans voted against ginsberg when she was appointed? host: i don't know, go ahead and tell me. caller: three. three voted against her. she was a victim of her own egomania. she could have retired six years ago in 2014, when obama had a majority in the senate. judge,d have appointed a

similarly situated to her regarding her point of view. that judge would have been approved by a wide margin without any problems. but she had such an egomania problem that she decided to stay , fighting cancer all the way, knowing that death, which comes , at inopportune times. all i can say is it's going to be a wild and crazy 43 days and ipefully he will appoint -- hope he appoints the lady from south florida. i believe he will. do you like about her record? >> she's a constitutionalist. all the people trump has put on his list would be fine. but i like her, the fact that

cuban-american is very good, in my opinion. i just, i wish her well. host: ok. barbara look loya -- barbara lagoya is who he was talking about. town, maryland. hello. caller: good morning. i've never had much respect for cuban-americans. as an african-american i remember when they came over here after castro, they came here and didn't have to worry about their civil rights or their voting rights. they stabbed a black people in the back for all the hard work they did, supporting a political party that cares nothing about

them. that's another story. as far as the supreme court issues concerned, i think it's not even going to matter. when i hear these republicans talking about the abortion situation, you know, these republicans have a very bigoted, racist philosophy about how they treat the living. you cannot sit up there and act like -- you know, when you have these women that have to make that choice, they have to answer to god. i understand what they saying, but they have to answer to god. they do. as far as who they pick, let them pick him. trump's not going to win in november. and once that's over with, that's the least of his worries. after that he's going to really, really have a hard time. thethem go ahead and pick supreme court nominee, whoever they want, after that, when trump loses and we take the

senate, we will straighten the mess out. thank you. host: michelle, independent line. does the supreme court vacancy and potential pick by the president impact your 2020 vote? caller: what i wanted to say is that he should have retired -- she should have retired for five years ago and she would still have had input on what was being said, because of her status. instead she put the country in such a controversial situation. she was an intelligent woman that knew the country was divided. if that was what she wanted to do, she should have retired and given someone else a chance. that's how i feel about it. host: why do you call that situation controversial? what are your thoughts on republicans moving forward with a nominee? the presidentk has every right to pick somebody. then it's up to the senate. whenever president obama was in,

he didn't hold the senate. there wasn't the same, you know, same party. it wasn't anything anybody did wrong, that's just how it was. host: what kind of candidate to the court do you want to see caller: from the president? caller:i tend to lean more -- i would tend to lean more republican. i am an independent and i voted for obama and i also voted for trump. lagoya isping for who he would put in. host: is abortion one of your key issues? i don't believe in late-term abortion. i feel like that is the way the country is leaning on the democratic side and i'm very against that.

ok, alright, michelle, pennsylvania. lynn, good morning. caller: good morning, got bless you. will this affect my vote? yes. when i first started calling in and listening to you, especially, i would always call on the independent line, even though i'm a democrat, because i tend to be more conservative. until 2016i almost always, since i started voting republican, i didn't vote for donald trump. it won't change how i vote for president because i would've voted for president biden anyway. vote will probably never for a republican again in my life. in 2018 i did vote for governor hogan. , he hasce then kowtowing on occasion to president trump and what the

lady just said about judge garland and the senate and who was in the majority, that was not mitch mcconnell's reasoning that he publicly stated. it was so that we the people decide who we were going to elect. and then the president and senators that we elect, then they would go through with the nomination and a vote on the senate floor. that was the reason. he can't go calling it different now. do what he did then, that is what mitch mcconnell said. to do anything less would be unfair. .ust another distraction am i pro-life? yes. but abortion shouldn't be illegal because it isn't going to stop women from having abortions and i don't want anyone to have an unsafe abortion.

there are other options for women and let's help people. i don't make your choice of how to take care of your children or your body and i don't know why men always have an opinion on that. when it comes to the lives of people, let's look at donald trump's record. we can also -- why doesn't anybody, to tell you the truth, you can figure he's been responsible for quite a few abortions, i would imagine. he certainly has enough children all over the place. host: roy, jacksonville, you are next. me, notexcuse necessarily a republican, i don't believe neither party has served america. the parties are over, i tell my brothers and sisters. if you believe in a party, especially this court and this sister that just got off the phone, i'm pro baby. i'm pro baby. 40 million of them, y'all, they .ook to the graveyard

they said there was a decree to kill. i'm pro baby and anybody that vote on the democratic ticket, this is the foundation of the and the supreme court , itice that has just gone don't pass no judgment on nobody , but i'm going to say that this is the pinnacle of where we at right now. theithstanding the fact of assault on us in the prison system. the democratic party was in on that, to. i'm not in with the party. neither served america well. trump has been a mouthpiece for america. god bless america. right, joseph, tallahassee, independent line. caller: hope you had a good weekend and a good week. what i'm going to say is to stick with the question.

everyone is calling up in venting their frustration about a lot of different things. it's not going to affect my vote for 2020. the supreme court is different than the presidential office and the house and the senate. they can't seem to get together, but that's ok, you can't get everyone together at a family reunion. the issue i see here is we don't know for sure how the supreme court will vote on issues because we don't know what the issues will be in the upcoming. of time. the supreme court candidate should be put on the ballot because it does affect every american, whatever decision they make. my case in point, when they had prayer and the bible taken out of school, that affected americans. when they are still battling over abortion, that affects everybody.

the issue the way i see it is it isn't going to affect my vote. i'm going to vote for the president, whoever i feel in my heart should be the best one. thank you very much for taking my call and you have yourself a good day, today. host: i was just looking it up as you talked, one of the major newspapers this morning had a story about the cases that are what, you know, of justicecancy ginsburg would do on those issues. will try to find it for you as we continue here this morning, asking you if the supreme court pick impacts your vote. jason, gilroy, california, republican, good morning to you. >> i do think it will impact the vote. i just want to say i hope everybody gets along.

what do you mean by that? how can the two sides get along? what could happen to make that situation? >> i'm not too sure there. i'm just unclear on why we can't get along, you know? they should be able to have some tot of respect or see eye eye on something, especially at a time like this, you know? anyhow. all right. north carolina, felix, democratic caller. america, good, morning, how y'all this wonderful day? host: good morning. caller: i would like to switch it up a little bit. everyone is giving their political and emotional aspects. a brief history here of scotus,

1976 to the day, republicans have had control of the supreme court, meaning they controlled the entire court system, traffic tickets to treason. years,rough 2009, 11 they have had the super majority that only ginsburg and breyer, they were the only two on there. beennly that, there have presidents it didn't even elect to the supreme court. one quick case from the 1830's led to the trail of tears. one last comment here, conservatives seem to be not being conservative anymore. you know? they say one thing and all of a sudden they just want a power grab. they seem to talk like dirty harry until the trouble gets there. then they act worse than the liberals they despised by crying victim. first of all, we need to get back to reality so that we can

agree on the fact. then we can solve the problem. but we all want the same thing. we are just talking past each other. america, we love y'all. keep up the good work and godspeed to the military. your thoughts on the supreme court vacancy? thepic impact -- will supreme court picked impact your vote? caller: if the republicans put a hard right winger on the court and the democrats take the presidency and the senate and they subsequently failed to pack the court, it will create a golden opportunity for the green party. in what way? host: they will be able to say to the base look, when republicans want something they let nothing stand in their way. when there democrats gained power, they are pusillanimous. elect us and we will get you what you want. host: all right, those are

robert's thoughts, there. brad, hello there. caller: good morning, c-span, how are you this morning? caller: good morning. -- host: good morning. caller: i've been listening this morning, it's so true how the country is divided. elections have consequences. in 2018 the house picked up more democrats. but the senate picked up more republicans. president, ima was heard a bunch of people talking garland.rick well, the republicans had the senate. we had a lame-duck democratic president. the tables have turned. we have a republican president, a republican senate.

he has the constitutional to put , youer he sees fit in know, in the supreme court. it's unfortunate and it is true. nadler, number of the house, chair of the judiciary committee, sent out this tweet -- if mcconnell and gop forced through a nominee during lame-duck session before president can take office, the incoming senate should move to expand the supreme court. , clementso alyssa falls, oregon. alyssa, good morning. host: good morning, how are you doing? -- caller: good morning, how are you doing? host: i'm good. will this affect your vote? caller: i don't think that this should affect anyone's vote.

independent, i believe that we are an independent nation with an dependent thinking -- with independent thinking thoughts and desires to meet our agendas. in doing so, we don't look on this as something that we must follow. if we are going to follow anything ingrained into a stone, we do it by grace alone, for love conquers all. as a democrat or a republican, which have animals attached to them, i don't believe that a human life force is an animal. when i go to a public library and i asked where the nearest voting poll is for information where i can change my address and they say they don't have thatinformation, and then as a handicapped person, i am always

helping those that people choose not to help, not in a way where we are burning down mississippi orour neighborhoods attacking police officers. not all police officers are bed. host: we have reached the top of the hour. we are going to take a focused look at the latino vote, coming up on the washington journal, and then return to this question later on. pew research center's mark yugo lopez talks about -- mark hugo lopez, and then later more of your calls and comments and then look at the 2020 battleground state of wisconsin with a political science professor at the university of wisconsin, mid -- university of wisconsin, madison. we will be right back. ♪ > with the ongoing pandemic

in local schools switching to still learning, c-span provides a platform for national conversation where middleton high school students can produce a documentary, exploring the issues they most the president and congress to address in 2021. the framers of the constitution were working to give americans justice. present day, there are still issues with equality. >> when youth are given the opportunity in the skills to become informed voters and engage citizens, it helps because democracy must be learned. a to was pathway to citizenship for children who were born here but whose parents illegally migrated here, immigration has failed many. >> this year, we are awarding or

the $100,000 in total cash prizes, including a grand prize of $5,000. the deadline to submit videos is january 20, 2021. for competition rules, tips and information on how to get started, go to our website, studentcam.org. communicators,he federal trade commission commissioner noah phillips. >> one of the interesting things about the antitrust having a lot in washington is that all of a sudden, there are a lot of people who seem to -- they are looking at the world and they are saying if we had more competition or better be orition, they would firms in the market and we would see all of these improvements. i see everything from democracy would be restored to racial justice, the environment would be better, labor would get more

of the take of the growth of the economy. those are important issues, they are important policy questions. it is not clear that antitrust was designed to or would be effective at solving these problems. >> federal trade commission commissioner noah phillips, tonight at 8:00 eastern on the communicators, on c-span2. "> "washington journal continues. host: mark hugo lopez with the pew research center is here with us this morning, to talk about the latino vote in campaign 2020. he is the director of global migration and democracy research at the pew research center. mr. lopez, remind our viewers how large of a voting block latinos made up in 2016, how they voted, and what are the numbers as we head into november 2020. latinosn 2016,

supported hillary clinton over donald trump. donald trump won almost 30% of the latino vote and in 2016, about 12 million hispanics voted. interesting to note is that is less than half of the potential vote latinos could have had because the voter turnout rate was only 46%. by comparison, for whites, the turnout was more like two thirds. latinos traditionally vote at rates lower than others. there was demographic growth and record turnout in the number of raw votes cast. this year we look to see 32 million latinos who are eligible to vote, and that is actually a record, up from almost 4 million in 2016. the: pew research says latino share of the u.s. electorate is projected to reach 13.3 high in 2020,

million. possible we could have hit 13 million or so voters. appeal to theues latino voter? guest: this is where i think aspects reflect the u.s. over all. thees like the economy, response to the coronavirus, and racial and ethnic inequality have been the top issues this year. back in december, we did a survey asking latinos about the most important issues, immigration and the economy were the two top issues. with the coronavirus impact on latinos, both environmentally, economically and in terms of their health, we see it as the top three issues most important in this year's election. host: how does the supreme court

justice pick factor in? guest: in august we found that supreme court appointees were cited by 63% of latino registered voters as an issue important to determining their vote in 2020. that is way below the economy where 80% of latino voters rated it as an issue. the supreme court nominee question we asked which was before everything that happened recently with the death of ruth bader ginsburg, it showed latinos were already thinking about it as an issue that was important to their vote in 2020. host: is the issue of abortion important and the president picks in the record on that issue? guest: the latino public has seen little change in its views on abortion, generally split over being illegal in all or most cases versus being legal in

almost all or most cases. august,urvey we did in we found that the issue of abortion while important for some latinos, wasn't rating as economy, health care or the coronavirus impact. latinos, some who may be evangelical, the issue of abortion can be an important issue, and it has been in the past. host: we welcome our viewers to join in on this conversation. your questions and comments about the latino vote in 2020. isino voters, your number (202)-748-8000. all others, your number is (202)-748-8001. at can also text us (202)-748-8003. which states should viewers be watching on election night for the latino vote to make a difference? guest: every election cycle, the

most important state to watch has been florida, and it looks to be no different this year. recent polling from other organizations shows joe biden and donald trump are pretty close to splitting the latino vote in florida, while nationally, our research shows biden has a significant lead among latinos, in regards to the presidential race. other states to keep in mind, arizona. voters in thee state are hispanic. other states to watch include north carolina and georgia, both of which have about 5% of eligible voters as hispanic. those are just some of the states to keep and i on. texas may be another one to keep an eye on. we will see what happens. it remains to be seen what the final result tally will be, but latino voters could be important

in those states and maybe some others. host: we want to talk to latino voters this morning. your number this morning, (202)-748-8000. here is the pitch joe biden is making to latino voters. here he is at the hispanic heritage event in florida, last week. [video clip] >> in the midst of this god-awful pandemic, we have seen more clearly than ever, how much we rely on people of hispanic roots to keep our country running. that is not an exaggeration. so many of our front-line workers are hispanic. people stocking grocery shelves, driving delivery trucks, working in meatpacking -- meatpacking plants, staffing our hospitals. this includes 200,000 dreamers, working in those key roles, many of them -- many of whom are of hispanic heritage. we depend on them, and a lot of people who are recognized for the first time by what they truly are, essential.

we don't just need to thank them, we need to pay them, pay them and treat them with dignity. host: mark hugo lopez, his argument there, what do you make of it? guest: latino workers are concentrated in fields and occupations like hospitality and janitorial services. also farmworkers and agriculture. much of what has happened with the coronavirus economic downturn and who has been identified as essential workers has impacted latinos. many work in meatpacking facilities and many did not have an option to take time off. when you take a look at those who have been impacted, working in hotels or in restaurants, you will find a lot of latinos did lose their jobs and we saw unemployment shoot up to over 18% in april. it has come back down since. it is still high as of august,

but it was the biggest increase in any group of americans, and notablyhe highest -- 20% of hispanic women were unemployed in april of this year. opentels and restaurants back up, we are seeing hispanics go back to work, but many lost their jobs as a result of the downturn. host: elsa is in florida, latino voter. good morning to you. how do you plan to vote? caller: i have no choice. i don't think we have good choices either way. i will be voting for trump, because even though i a bore the bhor theity -- i a personality, i think he has been making a lot of the correct choices for our country. i don't think latinos are a monolith that vote altogether --

vote all together. i think the lessons of cuba and venezuela are important. i came as a child in 1960. that thisnowing country was wonderful. got -- wee, we inrned english, we believed the values of this country. what has happened is there is no more civics education. people don't understand it is not about being hispanic or vietnamese or african-american. ultimately, we have to be one. if we don't become one, then we are going to go the way of cuba and venezuela, and for the people, my friends and citizens

on the left, those of you who don't like the right, you should go visit cuba. you should go be in venezuela, and see that your rights, your freedoms, all of that stuff you like to say is going to be taken away from you. but is a wonderful country, it is scary to see what is happening today. host: mr. lopez. guest: elsa is right that the latino vote is not a monolith, and it does contain people who have different points of view, just like the u.s. public. latinos have tended to lean more democratic party, but there has been a significant share, 25%, to nearly a third of latino voters might support a republican presidential candidate. in 2004, then candidate george 40% or republican won more of the latino vote. it is a diverse vote and it

depends on the candidates. your caller's comments about why she is supporting donald trump over joe biden are a reflection of what we see some latinos say about why they made the choices they made. host: she also made a comment about the cuban vote changing. guest: that is something we have seen over time. back in 2002, when we did a survey of the hispanic public, we found among cuban registered voters, there was a large support and identification with the republican party, about 60% then. vote was moreuban split, about half saying the identified with the republican party and about 45% saying the same for the democratic party. we are working on some new research that will look at this question, to see where cubans are today. shows that thene cuban vote is one that is evolving and changing as people

come of age or were born in the u.s. as people arrived from cuba over the course of the last 20 years. host: mary in florida, good morning to you. caller: good morning. i don't believe in parties. there shouldn't be any more parties. this is what is getting us in trouble. you should vote for the person. i cry every time i put the television on and listen. i am going to vote for trump. he may look like he is starting trouble but he is not. he is trying to correct this country. -- this is what is starting. she got everybody riled up. what kind of country -- i cry every morning thinking -- i'm 83, and i grew up in a beautiful country, and now -- and the funny thing is, -- who is

starting all this trouble? you don't see the chinese -- they don't cause any trouble in america. that is the greatest thing. host: i want to show for our viewers, the president's pitch to latino voters. he was at an event in nevada recently, and this is what he had to say. [video clip] >> many hispanic americans came here to pursue the american dream. we all want the american dream. you look at what they are asking for, it is like the american nightmare or whatever you want to call it. we want the american dream, having left countries that did not have safe streets. many of you or your family, your mothers and fathers left countries that were very bad, a i often sayems, and we will not be another venezuela. we love the people of venezuela,

we have tremendous support in miami from venezuelans and cubans. we will not let that happen to our country. nobody wants it. you know who wants it least is this manic americans. they want it less than anybody because they know about it more than anybody. host: does that argument resonate with latino voters? guest: it is interesting. we have been taking a look at how latinos feel about their place in the united dates since donald trump became president. typically among immigrants and those who are u.s.-born, we find that many, about half of all adults say they are concerned about their place in the country , since donald trump has become president. that number has grown since the last time we have done our look at that question when he first became president. crime, wef violent found that the issue of violent crime is important to 63% of registered hispanic voters. 64% said the same about supreme court appointments. violent crime and gun control

are also initiatives that many -- there is a diversity of views on this, not all latinos feel the same about this and when it comes to countries like cuba or venezuela, many cubans in venezuelans, issues that are very important to them about the relationship with those countries and what is happening in those countries. many other hispanics may not asessarily see the issues the same to their group like mexicans, who may the more concerned about issues like immigration. host: we will go to miami, a latino voter. caller: good morning. i am a cuban-american. i came to this country as a child. the reason my parents brought me here was because they took everything away from us, and they practically threatened my

father. as a cuban-american, i can see where the democrats are going. socialism will destroy this country. i have three sons and six grandchildren. where are they going to go? what other country are going to go to? socialism is destruction, and the people down here, the cubans, venezuelans, nicaraguans, who see what is happening in venezuela, are horrified that this country will become socialist. here, shes came down went to an area that is mainly venezuelan. the restaurant she was invited to go in, there were not even 10 people out. they kept it quiet, where she was going.

afterwards, when the people found out where she was, there was over 100 people outside with trump signs. why? because we are not voting for the democrats. thank you very much. host: mr. lopez. guest: among venezuelans, recent polling out of north florida finds there is very strong support, even more so among cubans for donald trump, among those who are eligible to vote. notably as your caller mentioned in florida, is a very diverse group of hispanics. you have cubans, and as villains, nicaraguans, -- nicaraguans, colombians. some sort of change has happened in those countries. when you look at the cuban-american vote in the -- they make up

about 5% to 6% of all hispanic eligible voters. because they are so concentrated making up in florida, about 30% of all hispanic eligible voters there, their impact on the hispanic vote is important in a state like florida. among venezuelans, we have about 60,000 or so who are eligible to vote in the state of florida. that gives you some sense of the relative size of these groups. host: ron is in texas. caller: good morning. i have a question. i would like mr. lopez to address this. i am so curious -- i live in south texas. i have been in construction for many years. you have mexican-american people living in south texas, they hated venezuelans, hondurans. they come up and say you guys all seek spanish, what is wrong with you -- all speak spanish, what is wrong with you guys?

the lady who got on recently, she hate socialism. if you are 65 and you hate socialism so bad, the next time your social security check comes, tell them you don't want it. the next time you go to a doctor and pull out your medicare card, say wait a minute, this is socialism, let me just pay for it out of my pocket. interstate highways, this is socialism. take these dirty back roads. i don't understand your logic. cuban, i amispanic, a republican, the reason why they nullify your vote is because you guys are so divided. like black people. isck people normally, it like ok, we want to be democrats. -- yougoing republican, guys are so divided.

togethert get themselves to see what they want. host: the -- guest: the latino vote has had an import -- has had a diverse set of viewpoints that has varied across the decades. this is a diverse population with diverse points of view, but also a group that in more recent elections, there has been more attention paid to it because it is a group that might support democrats and republicans at different levels from election to election. -- that is why you see a lot of discussion around cubans, venezuelans and others in florida. puerto ricans are a group we have not talked about yet, but they are just as large as the cuban vote in florida. puerto ricans make up about 30% of all hispanic eligible voters in the state. when we talk about the hispanic electorate, it is diverse, and one that at times might lean more toward one candidate or another, but the candidates do

matter and that is why you see support change over the decades. host: ruben is a latino voter in new jersey. do you know who you are going to vote for? caller: definitely not trump. biden, joe biden. host: tell us why. caller: when the storm, maria , at the end of everybody --, paper towels. ever since then, i thought he was not trustable. this country was made on greed, the more you've got, the more you want. i am very much independent but i

will vote for biden. host: mr. lopez? guest: as the caller just mentioned, and puerto rico, this is something that is an interesting story, partly because when you see what has happened with hurricane irma and maria, we have seen an increase in outmigration through 2018 in the number of people leaving the island in coming to the mainland, with florida being the largest destination for those migrants. it looks like migration has stopped in the last year or so. it looks like perhaps the economic downturn has had an impact on some of the decisions of people to leave or return, but because of the nature of puerto rico, people born there are u.s. citizens and are able to put dissipate in elections in the united states when they moved to a state, just like anybody who moves from state to state can. that is why people talk a lot about the impact of puerto ricans in central florida, and

what that might mean for the outcome of the election. it remains to be seen how that will go, but puerto ricans are growing -- are a growing number in florida and rival cubans in terms of the size of their vote. carol in atlanta, georgia. caller: high. hi.aller: host: a question or comment? caller: i am a 70-year-old white were i moveves because i am involved with a latino population, teaching kids after school to read. it is called agave. who are notpeople informed and say that this country is going to become socialist, this country, if they ink and study democracy

countries where democracy has failed, we are down that road. just listen to trump's own words. don't listen to people what say about him. bob woodward has written a book on every president since richard nixon. you can listen to trump, and you can look. my brother lives in atlanta, that he is in thailand right now because his wife and sons are there and could not come back. thailand has had 70 million people. look at national geographic. look at unbiased reporting on this. do you know they have had 58 deaths with 70 million people? they have had no cases because they still wear masks. when people are uninformed and don't want to be critical thinkers and look at the facts, i happen to be a christian but i have friends who are muslim, buddhist, i am especially upset because as a christian, there is no such thing as nonpolitical

christianity. when you refuse to critique the system or the status quo that is supporting it, it is a political act well disguised. i don't have many friends who are for trump, but when they turned to me and tell me they are because of the economy, i tell them what you care about is more money. ronald reagan, a staunch conservative stood on the grounds of character matters. he was in front of the statue of liberty and had immigrant reform. why don't these people listen to what trump says when he lies to them? host: mark hugo lopez, the issue of character and how does that reason -- how does that resonate with latino voters? guest: it does as much as the u.s. public and you will find that latinos care about the character of candidates. you will also see the past, latinos supported ronald reagan in the 1980 election, with about 35% of their vote at the time.

it was a very different hispanic population. your caller made another important point about the impact of the coronavirus on the united states. when you take a look at how latinos see how the united states has performed on that, hispanic public says united states is not done that well when compared to other countries. when you take a look at the impact of the virus, you will find that 70% of adults that tested positive which is higher than any other racial or ethnic group and 14% tell us that they are pretty sure they have the virus even if they did not get tested. or so ofbout a 22% latinos telling us they have the virus or pretty sure they have the virus. notably, the impact of the coronavirus and the views latinos have on this is an important part of determining their vote. that is what they tell us, according to our survey. host: we will go to a latino voter in florida.

caller: my issue is one country, one rule. we come to this country for opportunities, but those are created by the rules. changing the rules of the senate for the confirmation of a judge and using a cuban-american on the shortlist is an insult. it will change the elections. i am an independent voter. the majority of the latino voters in florida are independent. i voted for trump. he doesn't stand up and put forward one country, one rule, he is done. he will lose florida, and if you loses florida, he loses the election. host: mr. lopez, we want to get your thoughts on latino voters in sorta being independent. -- in florida being independent. guest: this is one of the states that gives us a look into the registration of voters by race and ethnicity. the single largest group as your

caller just mentioned are called no party affiliation, neither identified with democrats or republicans. that is the largest group among hispanic voters in florida, and the fastest growing group as well. in some polling that has come out in recent weeks, it is clear the hispanic vote is split between biden and trump, although again these polls are relatively small sample sizes and have large margins of error. past, florida hispanic voters have tended to support republicans and democrats just about equal shares with obama winning the hispanic vote in 2012 and 2008. host: mark hugo lopez in our last hour of the washington journal, kicking off our battleground say a reason -- battleground series in wisconsin. talk about the latino vote in states where people may not suspect they can make a difference.

guest: one of the big stories about the hispanic population in the last 30 years has been its dispersal across the country. wisconsin, while it may not have the size of an electorate of hispanic population that matches florida, it is one where a number of hispanics voting in the state has grown and hispanics make up about 2% to 3% of eligible voters in the state. that doesn't sound like a lot, but in a close election, it can be important, and it is a growing population. the fastest growing hispanic population has been in north dakota and south dakota over the last 10 years. host: you can find more of the research done by mark hugo lopez and his colleagues at the pew research center, if you go to pewresearch.org. we thank you for your time this morning. guest: thank you very much. host: we will return to our question that we began with this morning. does the supreme court pick impact your 2020 vote question mark the president says he will

announce his nominee this week and majority leader mitch mcconnell says the senate will move forward. that is our question for you, coming up. later, we will turn our attention to the battleground state of wisconsin and talk to david canaan, professor of political science at the university of wisconsin addison -- madison. we will be right back. ♪ >> with the ongoing global pandemic and many schools shifting to online learning, c-span's studentcam competition continues to provide students with a platform to engage in the national conversation. we are asking middleton high school students to produce a five to six minute documentary exploring the issues they most want the president and congress to address in 2021. >> choose fact or reason. the framers of the constitution wanted to give american citizens justice, as shown in the fifth and eighth amendments. present day, there are still issues of equality. it needs reform.

>> when youth are given the opportunity and the skills to become informed voters and engaged citizens, they vote, because democracy must be learned. >> from iniquity and decades long waits for legal documents to a tomato's pathway for citizenship repair -- for children who were born here but had parents who migrated here illegally, the immigration system is a mess. >> we are awarding over $100,000 in total cash prizes including a grand prize of thousand dollars. the deadline to submit videos -- of $5,000. the deadline to cement videos is january 2021 -- two submit videos is january 2021. >> president donald trump and former vice president joe biden are set to debate tuesday, september 29. >> biden supports putting police funding, and he has pledged to end cash bail.

he proudly accepted the endorsement of the anti-police portland district attorney. >> he lied to the american people. he knowingly and willingly lied about the threat imposed to the country for months. he had the information, he knew how dangerous it was. while this deadly disease ripped through our nation, he failed to do his job on purpose. it was a life or death betrayal of the american people. >> watch live coverage of the first presidential debate at 9:00 p.m. eastern, and watch all of c-span's debate coverage live or on-demand at c-span.org/debates. quickly find all past presidential in vice president jeweled debate in c-span's video library, and there is a link to our campaign 2020 library with

videos, information and results. go to c-span.org/debates, or listen live on the free c-span radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. "> "washington journal continues. host: welcome back. president trump has told fox news this morning that he will announce his nominee to fill the vacancy on the supreme court by friday or saturday. this morning, we are asking you, will his pick impact your vote in november? of arkansascotton was one on doubt -- was on one of the sunday shows yesterday. here is what he said about what will happen in the coming weeks. >> the president said he is going to submit a nominee as early as this week. the senate will exercise our constitutional duty, we will process the nomination, conducting rings, we will be thorough and deliberate and careful as we were with the

nominations of justice gorsuch and cavanaugh. we will move forward without delay. >> does that mean that there will be a vote to confirm before the election? >> there will be a vote. there have been some cases like justice ginsburg herself in which the nomination and confirmation process took less than 44 days. there have been other cases that took longer. it is too soon to say right now, we will move forward without delay. host: senator tom cotton sunday, the republicans are moving forward and the president will announce his pick friday or saturday and will this nominee impact your campaign 2020 vote? the supreme court readies for the body of the late justice ginsburg to lying in repose inside the supreme court. they have done the customary draping of black over the entrance of the supreme court, as well as the chair that the

justice sat in. the new york times reports this ceremony for the justice ginsburg could happen as early as tuesday, and that there will be a private and public viewing of her body as well, as she will lie in repose at the supreme court this week. daniel in california, independent, we begin with you. could the presidents pick impact your vote? caller: yes. i'm sorry, they started doing -- wasfore she got trying to do it anyway. they blocked obama, and now they are trying to rush through some other person, to get rid of abortion and equal rights and gay rights and everything else. people, i'm going to talk to

you. republicans who want this, your rights will be diminished as well, trust me. you need to pay attention and see what is going on, and vote. if you want this to be the way it is, it is, and they keep talking about the second amendment. democrats don't want to get rid of your guns. they don't. we don't. rights,ing you, voting civil rights, women's rights, everything. in the 50's, women couldn't vote. all these people who is voting for trump, i'm sorry. get off the high horse. america is america. get on the same page. us byyou can also join

texting with your first name, city and state to (202)-748-8003 . you can go on twitter and facebook as well. donna and pennsylvania sends thus -- sends us this text. i will not -- this will not affect my vote. if the issue was the senate majority, why even raise the subject of it being an election year? we are not all fools. dan from los angeles, and my opinion the election is already over and trump will win, but i guarantee he will pick a judge in florida and put a final nail in his reelection. moon cat sends is this tweet, was voting gop before scotus and now it is even more imperative. impact w says for the best chance of an accurate representation of the people, the makeup of the court should be a balanced -- should be as balanced ideologically as possible. our next caller, democratic, how

will this vacancy impact you and your vote? caller: it is not going to affect me. i will be voting for joe biden. i will not be voting for trump. it seems like a lot of people for some reason think that abortion is the thing that is going to change their vote. i say no, vasectomy is the answer, vasectomy not abortion. the mail is just as responsible as the female. if a male has follow -- has fathered two children, then can't house,ou feed or educate the child -- the: abortion isn't one of

issues at the center of the president's strategy. politico says one of his top picks could be amy coney barrett, who is serving on the seventh circuit. politico puts together what you need to know about judge merrick -- judge barrett. --e this conservative according to a notre dame magazine article. and also says these justices should be strict lee bound by supreme court precedent -- strictly bound by supreme court precedent, meaning she could vote to overturn roe v. wade. she could serve for decades. she is a protege of the late justice antonin scalia. she clerked for him. she is a strict originalist and would enforce her best understanding of the constitution, rather than a president that you think is clearly in -- that she thinks is

clearly and can't -- precedent that she thinks is clearly in conflict with it. another pick mentioning is pick worth goa -- goa.ioning is barbara la she was the first hispanic woman to serve on the florida supreme court. if nominated to the high court and confirmed by the senate, she would be the second latino justice to ever serve. trump nominated her to serve on the 11th circuit court of appeals in 2019. she was confirmed by the senate and a bipartisan vote which could help ease her past the court. you can2 years old, and find more on these potential picks if you go to politico.com. does the president's choice impact or 2020 vote? joan in silver spring, maryland. good morning to you. caller: good morning.

[inaudible] i think the court should be balanced, very balanced. -- the that is what other thing i don't like is when i came to this country 40 years ago, and this country is a wonderful country. i don't understand why the country is so divided. there is no peace. there is no peace. you cannot say hi to your neighbor. you cannot talk politics. the country is upside down. host: kevin in san antonio, texas. democratic caller. caller: thank you. it won't affect my vote. ethic it is a great question

because it points to why people vote. you've got people out there that -- because -- a judge is going to be fair, how can a person that has a preconceived notion be fair? her, sheyou put before has a preconceived notion. how is that fair? it is about power. they want power. they don't want to move forward. trump saying once she wants to make america great again, but it isn't about fairness, it's about power. it does motivate people. it should motivate people that have not voted before to understand what is going on. host: listen to the former vice president, joe biden at a rally, he spoke about this issue yesterday. [video clip] >> to jam this nomination

through the senate is an exercise in raw political power. i don't believe the people of this nation will stand for it. president trump has already made it clear, this is about power, pure and simple. power. whether the voter should make it , and so many issue others, power in this nation resides with them, the american people, the voters. even if president trump wants to put forward a name now, the senate should not act until after the american people select their next president, the next congress, their next senate. if donald trump wins the election, then the senate should move on his selection and weigh the nominee he chooses fairly.

if i win this election, president trump's nominee should be withdrawn. as a new president, i should be the one who nominates justice ginsburg's successor. a nominee that you get a fair hearing in the senate before a confirmation hearing -- confirmation vote. host: joe biden, yesterday on this. the question of whether or not the senate moves forward, the majority leader said he would move in the coming weeks on the president's nominee. where did the vote stand to do so? the washington post puts together a count, where the votes are, and they note that two republicans, senator lisa murkowski and susan collins have said no, that the senate should not move forward. they oppose filling the vacancy. one is recently opposed to this idea, senator chuck grassley.

he said that before ginsberg's death, that he would oppose filling the vacancy in the months before election. he has not did his position sense ginsberg died. yes,publicans have said they support filling the vacancy quickly. unclear orosition is unknown. people likeo senator mitt romney of utah, senator cory gardner of colorado, who is up for reelection, as well as senator chuck grassley for his statements before. let's go to tony in sugar land, texas. will be president's pick have any sort of impact on you in november? caller: good morning. may i ask you a question first? please don't cut me off.

does c-span track callers? host: in what way? caller: i never told them where i am from. the know i am from texas from my area code, but you just said sugar land. this is the last three times i have called. i came fromwhere but i must be getting tracked some how. host: it is your zip code. caller: my zip code. host: it is a system that populates based on your phone, so let's say you lived in minnesota and you had a minnesota area code and then you moved to another state, you could still show up as coming from minnesota. caller: i don't believe that is true. host: we are not tracking, don't worry. caller: i waited all day video of -- to play a

what biden said in 2016, and i didn't think he would, based on the fact that he used to work for biden. would you mind playing the video from biden's supreme court comment from 2016 at georgetown? seconds, hest 45 with a has no problem supreme court picked by a president within two months of an election. host: you can find that on our video library, very easily if you go to c-span.org. that has been played in many places over the past 48 hours, and we certainly played it in 2016. we have it. let's listen. [video clip] >> if a supreme court justice

resigns tomorrow or within the next several weeks, or resigns at the end of the summer, president bush should consider following the practice of a majority of his predecessors and afterme a nominee until the november election is completed. considere, too, must how it would respond to a supreme court vacancy that would occur in the full throes of an election year. it is my view that if the president goes away -- goes the way of residence fillmore and johnson and presses an election year nomination, the senate judiciary committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over. president,dict mr.

that this is going to be one of bitterestest -- campaigns we have seen in modern times. host: tony that is not what you were referring to. caller: know, it is a 2016 video. all you have to do is google biden comment about supreme court 2016. it is a short video. just play the first 45 seconds were you see he says he has no butlem within two months, now all of a sudden he flip-flops again. my other question for you is the media, and i am not saying c-span, but the media has not challenged mr. biden on his lies. trump does exaggerate. i would be the first to admit. joe biden exaggerates a lot. all you have to do is google where he exaggerated the fact about his wife, which i think

was very low life of him, where his wife died and he blamed the driver, saying he was drunk, even though the news outlet said it was not true. mr. biden has lied continuously. he said on day one he is going to do something, that is not true. that let me just clarify steve interned in his office for then senator biden. he did not work for him. david in oakdale, republican. caller: good morning. trump is definitely on the side of the people. all he is trying to do is save the constitution that is written. these politicians are just playing a game with the supreme court justice.

they did it with cavanaugh. they beat him over the head and accused him with alleged accusations that weren't true. the democrats keep doing this over and over, with every single thing. i really think with the media siding with the democrats, trump has to blow his own horn. he has to pat himself on the back because no other news media is doing that for him except right wing radio or some of the right-wing media. very few. it doesn't get across. you have riots in the streets that the democrats never came out and condemned. they are blaming trump for the riots, but they don't stop them. they want to defund the police. they don't care about planned parenthood, how much money goes in there. they don't care about all sorts of different issues that the people do care about.

there are some people still left in this country that want their child to go to school and to be educated. they want to take an sat test and score high so they go to a good college and get a great paying job. nobody wants to be a laborer. they want to be professionals and business owners. host: joel in michigan, democratic caller. we are talking about the supreme court vacancy left by ruth bader ginsburg, who died on friday. the president says he will announce his pick friday or saturday. will that impact your vote? caller: if you are talking to me, ok. because impact my vote, i know what is going to happen. mitch mcconnell, he said in 2016 that he would hold it up and it was aould because

thete issue, and that republicans have the senate and the house. 2020, it is a different issue, and that the senate is still owned by the republicans. did not pushll garlands nomination through and it was owned by the republicans in 2020 and now mitch says we've got to do it. it is two different rules. it is the rule for under president obama and now it is the rule under president trump. it is the same thing. is a republican dominated senate in both cases and it you have two different results from mitch mcconnell. he flip-flopped.

,ost: juanita in south carolina independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. thatoblem with this is most of us did not vote for mitch mcconnell. millions of here, voters are once again being disenfranchised. as far as i'm concerned, when the popular vote was lost in bush v gore, and we were ruled against and again when hillary clinton actually won the popular was seatedump against the wishes of many voters, how long do you think , millions of angry voters are going to put up with being disenfranchised? venezuela today, united states

of america tomorrow. this continued bullying and disenfranchising of so many voters is going to lead to either violence, extreme violence or the dissolution of our country. thank you. host: our next caller in alabama, republican. caller: good morning. can you hear me ok? host: we can. caller: i will be voting for trump. i think he should put the supreme court up. i think they should get a vote. court votes one things, they are affecting disenfranchised people as well. that is what i have to say. host: patrick posted this on our facebook page. it doesn't impact my vote because joe biden was going to get my vote anyway.

it may be more resolved to convince others to vote democrat because if the gop goes back on their words in 2016, and the democrats control both the senate and the white house, everything will be on the table. we are tired of gop hypocrisy. jesse in kentucky, democrat caller. caller: hello. that just wanting to say it doesn't affect my vote. i am still voting for joe biden. me want to vote for him that much more. we are going to kick off our week long campaign 2020 battleground states series with david cannon, political science professor at the university of wisconsin, madison. ♪ discusses this year's presidential campaign in the battleground state. announcer: but the pandemic and the shift to online learning,

the conversation continues with students. we are asking students to produce a documentary exploring the issues they want the new congress and president to address. the framers of the constitution were invested in providing justice, as shown in the fifth and eighth mms. but today there are still issues with equality. it needs reformed. >> when you are given the skills to become informed voters and engaged citizens, there are results, because democracy must be learned. quity toan equity -- ine a pathway to citizenship for children who were born here, the immigration system has failed many people. announcer: we are awarding

$100,000 in total cash prizes, including a grand prize of $5,000. the deadline is january 20. for competition rules, tips and information on how to get started, go to our website at studentcam.org. tonight, federal trade commission commissioner, noah phillips. >> one interesting thing about the antitrust debate, certainly in washington, is all of a sudden people are putting a lot into the vessel of antitrust. they are saying, if we had more competition or better competition, there would be more firms in the market and we would see all of these effects. i have seen everything from democracy would be restored to racial justice, the environment we wouldbetter, and

get more growth in the economy. those are important issues and policy questions, but it is not clear at all to me that antitrust was designed at solving those problems. announcer: noah phillips tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on "the communicators" on c-span2. "washington journal" continues. host: over the next six days, we will be focusing on key battleground states this election year with political reporters and analysts. we will examine what has changed, what public policy issues are motivating voters, and we will look at recent political trends that could give us clues on how the states might vote. tomorrow, we will focus on florida. on wednesday, pennsylvania. thursday, north carolina.

,oining us today is david canon a political science professor at the university of wisconsin-madison. walk through wisconsin's record on presidential elections. guest: wisconsin has been a battleground state for quite some time. we had been in the democratic inumn for over 20 years, but 2016 donald trump surprised the nation by taking wisconsin. , and obviously, the presidency. hillary clinton did not even come here once to campaign in 2016. polls showed her ahead of donald trump in wisconsin, so nobody thought that wisconsin would go for donald trump and he narrowly carried the state. it went from going a reliably blue state, but then also quite

competitive, both in 2000 and 2004, close elections. but than barack obama carried the state in 2008 and 2012 pretty handily. and then clinton ended up abpout a bout 2000 -- 2000 fewer votes than obama in 2012, leading to the victory of the republicans in 2016. host: where did he win and where did she lose? guest: the biggest change was in the drop in turnout in the democrats. donald trump got nearly thattical number of votes republicans had gotten in 2012. the numbers were very close. what happened was a real fall off in the votes for hillary clinton compared to barack obama. then the big difference was the turnout in milwaukee. i think that is the biggest change in what accounts for the

surprise when by donald trump in 2016, but trump also did better in rural counties. he carried quite a few counties in northern wisconsin that obama had carried in 2012, but then donald trump carried in 2016. the combination of hillary clinton underperforming in milwaukee and trump doing better in rural counties. host: let's talk about the ones that she underperformed will. the new york times wrote, "in deep blue milwaukee county, where statewide democrats run up the score for rural areas, clinton had one of the largest earnings in 2016, 40,000 fewer votes than mr. obama did four years earlier. the estimate was 64% of eligible black women said they had not

voted, compared with 54% of eligible black men, a larger gender gap for white and hispanic voters." who did not vote? guest: it was the african-american vote in milwaukee that fell off for hillary clinton compared to barack obama. and there wasn't a big difference in those two elections. on the flipside, for one thing people are looking at for 2020, looking at what happened in the midterms. the governor's race. imageappened was a mirror of what happened with the democrats in 2016. the suburban vote for the republicans really fell off. you look at the surrounding counties for milwaukee, the base of the core republicans in the state, that really fell off in 2016, so more of the suburban republicans either didn't devote

orended up voting -- vote, ended up voting for the democrats. so you had the mirror image of 2016 happenedin in 2018. host: if you are supporting the democrats, 202-748-8000. if you are supporting the trump-pence ticket, 202-748-8001 . how is november shaping up in the state of wisconsin? guest: it has been incredibly stable in the polling, all through the summer and into the early fall now, joe biden has .aintained a ledad it is around 6.5% right now, according to most poll aggregators. so that is a comfortable lead, but not one that would be insurmountable if things tighten up with uncertainty, like with

the supreme court. they could galvanize the republican base. and that could definitely turn things around in wisconsin for trump. at this point, joe biden has what is called a comfortable lead. most people put them in the category of democrats. leaning toward a democratic tossup, anyway. what isth campaigns, there get out of the vote effort like? guest: that is an important question. wisconsin is a state that is very polarized right now and it will all come down to turnout. who turns out there base. there are not many undecided voters in the statement so it will come down to who can get their voters out. both sides claim to have a strong ground game right now. bankss a lot of phone

operating around the clock. also, compared to 2016, we are seeing the candidates more. donald trump has been here five times. joe biden is coming again this week or a second time -- for a second time. harris has been here, pence has been here. we are getting a lot of attention. host: what about the rural, suburban and female voters? guest: when you look at 2018, that was probably the most troubling signal for republicans in the state, to see the turnout in the suburbs, eseeing it decline. white suburban women are the ones that appeared to be turning against president trump. that appears to be the case here as well, to some extent. so i think that will be, for donald trump, if he is going to have a chance to date wisconsin again, he will have to get those

suburban voters out to the polls and make sure that they do not have too many defections to joe biden. the thing that is important to recognize about the state is wisconsin was one of the -- it was the last state to vote against donald trump in the primaries in 2016. this was the core of the never-trumper segment of the republican party in wisconsin, so that is something that might be soft. i think it showed up in the midterms in 2018. host: why do you say soft? what did the voters, some of them, say about voting for president trump and 2016? -- in 2016? guest: for those who did not vote for lumen the primary, the -- for him in the primary, they

voted more for hillary clinton than donald trump. themrepublican voters, for i think it was the supreme court that played a role, because they were not donald trump fans, but they stuck with the party because of the supreme court and other policy considerations. but not only is joe biden a safer alternative for some of those voters, some are much more willing to vote for joe biden than they were hillary clinton. host: william come you support the former vice president. good morning. caller: how are you doing? host: fine. what are your questions and comments about wisconsin and the campaign? caller: i have a comment on the situation with ginsberg. the thing is -- well, when obama was president he had days left on his presidency and mitch

mcconnell blocked him. now, the republicans are trying to push through a nominee. why are the democrats not doing something about that? host: how does that play in wisconsin? on thepublicans did issue in 2016 and what they are doing now? guest: this just happened a couple days ago, so we cannot say with certainty how wisconsin voters are responding yet, but i think the reaction will break down along partisan lines. that is what we have seen on issues like this, it depends on where your leanings are. democrats will be outraged. they will say, how could you do this to barack obama?

and now ruth bader ginsburg dies and you are going to ram this through? republicans will say, this is why we voted for the man. we wanted him to be president because we wanted him to be able to have a conservative federal court, especially the supreme court. this is exactly what we want the republican senate to do. so you will see the breakdown along partisan lines. the critical thing will be what happens when those few leaning republican senators, two so far have come out, now all attention on mitt romney and saturn are -- sender chuck grassley -- and the senator chuck grassley, so at the that most of the nation will be like the rest of the country in how they respond. host: how would you describe the president's base in wisconsin going into november? guest: it is similar to his base in the rest of the country.

it's largely white. rural and aong suburban component to it. think thereerence i might be is they may be softer than in some parts of the country, for two reasons. never-trumper base who have been skeptical from the beginning. aand a tradition of -- and a tradition of wisconsin politics, before scott walker, in 2010 it got more polarized when he was elected, but i think there is a strong group of republicans that are more like the tommy thompson republicans. they go back to an earlier generation of bipartisan politics. i think there is a desire here to return to the more normal state of politics. and i think some of them see joe biden as a man of the station of

that, where they see donald trump as more of a voice for division and polarization. conroy, texas, supporting the biden-harris ticket. good morning. go ahead. supporting helping joe biden because i am tired of the chaos. i've heard it is all about money, all about the economy. i've had my income cut. children are trying to work from home and they do not have the internet that they need. and people are afraid to go shopping. i would like for the chaos to stop. and i would hope wisconsin would feel the same way. wisconsin feeles

the same way? guest: i think she speaks for a lotto voters right now who want -- lot of voters right now who want to get back to normal. the extent that voters blame the national leadership and donald trump for not resolving the pandemic more quickly, and trying to pretend it would go seems many voters will take that vehicle and it could heard -- view and it could hurt the president. it is top of people's minds. you check the numbers every day into wisconsin was one of the better states in the country, down around 35 or 40 in the number of new cases per capita, but right now we are at like number three. the cases have been increasing in wisconsin, so this is something that will even get more play now than earlier in the summer, when things seemed

to be more under control. now the cases have been exploding in the last couple weeks. again, we are up to number three in the country with cases, so no doubt the pandemic is something that will play a big role here in wisconsin. host: john in massachusetts, supporting the president. good morning. caller: good morning. yeah, i support donald trump. that former democrat totally disenfranchised from the way that they are running things now. and i just think that the voters of wisconsin are known to be very strong with their manufacturing jobs, but all of those jobs got shipped to third world countries, especially china, and american investors are supporting the media. and the democrats and

globalists, like george bush who set that thing up. and donald trump is being called a racist, when it is racist to employ cheap labor, people labor that is really slave labor when nobody is looking. i think that donald trump is right on the mark. he is in touch with the people. he goes to rallies when joe biden is hiding. and they are using radical tactics to rent riots. um, whatthis whole, would you call it? host: i want david to jump in on the manufacturing, and how the president's arguments about manufacturing resonate in wisconsin? guest: he makes a good point about manufacturing jobs, that

did help donald trump get beendd in 2016 an it has a constant theme in his first term, that is hitting the goal of america on trade. trying to bring jobs back to the united states. i think that is a message that has resonated with people in the parts of wisconsin that have been hard-hit, especially the fox river valley in central wisconsin between appleton and green bay. that part of the state is a part that has been hit especially hard with the manufacturing turned down. the paper industry has been big there, and that has been taking a hit. so it resonates with parts of the state. on the other hand, there has not been a lot of success in bringing manufacturing jobs back. talk has been tough, people like the tough talk, but in terms of

results, especially if you look at other sectors in the economy, like agriculture, there there is no doubt that the trade were tariffsna, with huge from china, the farmers have taken a huge hit. they have had a tough four years. the dairy industry has been helped a little bit with the new trade agreement with canada, especially the bigger players, they have been helped by that. but the average family farmer has had a rough four years. so that, along with the inability to bring manufacturing jobs back, i think the best way to summarize this is people like donald trump's talk on this, but results have not been strong in terms of agriculture and manufacturing. host: linda is in germantown, wisconsin. who do you plan to vote for? caller: i will be supporting joe biden.

i think that the professor's comments are spot on about our state. woman who hasold grown up in this state and i have seen the change in the voting. it was democratic. but in addition to the loss of the agricultural jobs, i think the message that's being promoted all this time about gun rights being taken away by the republicans and president trump is resonating where i live. i have seen big banners saying, no, do not take away my second amendment rights. and the signage for president trump is just prevalent where i live. so, i am a tiny blue dot in a red area, but i want to say that i believe the voting process in

our state will go ahead ok. only speak for myself, but our village has done a tremendous job in getting out the ballots. i will be able to drop mine off today. our, unfortunately, see state trending more republican. and i can only hope if joe biden is elected, that there will be job initiatives that people will be hopeful about. host: go ahead. guest: she raises two important points. one is the gun rights issue. she is right that that is a key issue for many rural voters, something that has helped president trump quite a bit. this idea that democrats will take your guns away, even though joe biden says that's not the case. but the belief that the democrats will take those guns

away, that is definitely motivation for voters in rural parts of wisconsin. the second point she makes is something we have not touched on yet, it's the early voting process, the voting by mail. i do not know if you remember hearing about the april election we had, we elected a state supreme court justice and had other local races -- we had an unprecedented number voting by mail. we had over one million ballots, about 1.7 million that were requested by mail, which is more than double the amount we have ever had for an april election. the courts were overwhelmed. they could not keep up with demand. so, many people ended up not voting because they did not get their ballots in time. linda mentioned that in her

town, they have gotten it down now. and i think people learned a lesson from the april election primaries, so i think that they are working more smoothly now for the november election than how it went for the earlier elections, when we were getting used to the huge volume voting by mail. so that is a good signal, at l east, that this election will go more smoothly. host: donna, supporting the president. -- don, supporting the president. caller: good morning. i had a couple comments. i will try to keep it quick. i want to say, even though this gentleman seems to be unbiased, he is definitely a joe biden

supporter. and with him being a professor, i would assume he should probably be more not so obvious. i would not want somebody who comes on the show who is supposed to be someone of education and just showing viewpoints, and is viewpoints are definitely joe biden's. i would ask that he buttoned his shirt. -- button a shirt. -- his shirt. what he says about the second amendment, we know that is false. off most of our second amendment rights. and to that lady that called in. are in washington, we primarily democratic voters. however, i would like to say that most of the cities here, and even seattle when i went

there a few weeks ago, joe biden will have a problem. the american people are tired of the b.s. i will be honest and say that my town does have one joe biden supporter. you. guest: i have never been accused of being jim jordan before, so i guess i will button my shirt. he did say that second amendment -- he said i made a false claim, that democrats do not want to take away guns. what joe biden and other democrats have been proposing are things like universal background checks. which is supported by 80% of americans, including republicans. restrictions on sales at gun shows, limiting assault weapons.

the nationalnow in leadership of the democratic party is talking about getting rid of the second amendment and taking away all of your guns. that is a scare tactic and it is simply not true. there are things that democrats want to do with gun control, but it does not amount to taking away all of your guns. from we have a caller florida supporting joe biden. caller: yes, i do. donald, i voted for trump. i didn't know that he was a liar. mind,w i have changed my i changed my mind two months after he took office. i'm a scientist. andve a degree in science

agriculture. i'm a scientist by education and work. and if we -- if the government of the united states -- in january. again inps flights january -- if he had closed flights, he would've saved thousands of people. 200,000 people have died because of donald trump. continue.see him i would like to see him on trial. what about the president's character? guest: it sounds like what he is most concerned about is the response to the coronavirus, not responding sooner. this has been getting a lot of attention since the publication

of the bob woodward book, where you have the president talking about how he knew about the coronavirus early on and wanted to downplay it to not make the country panic. the claim the president could have saved 200,000 lives had he acted more quickly, i do not think that is something that would be supported by any health expert. if you look at the death toll around the world, you know, there still would have been plenty of americans that would've died from the coronavirus, even if we would have responded more effectively. you compare our death rates to canada or other european countries, maybe we could have had about half of the lives saved, that is 100,000 people. but the claim nobody would have died, i do not think that would have been possible, even with the best possible response.

zealand,t like new where we can shut down the entire country. that's not feasible. laying blame for the coronavirus, you need to look at what could have been done more effectively, an lookingd be done more effectively now. saving 200,000 lives would have been not feasible. caller: as a professor and educator, do you think it is an educator's job to inform or should you be thinking them how to think? i like his opinion on how kenosha affected wisconsin's voting, it caused wisconsin to look at what happened in kenosha. and i want his opinion on how he feels about joe biden not taking

questions from the press? outin kenosha, handing questions to answer. and i have a concern. chris wallace was going to do the first debate. and every other week he has donna brazile on there. she said the questions to hilary. what is to say they will not be fed to joe biden? i really wonder if joe biden could process the questions, even if he did get the questions up front. -uest: the reason i smile is - my teaching mantra is what he said. michael as an educator is to as an educatorl is to teach my students how to think not what to think. i want my students to be able to

think critically about issues. the most important thing is to be able to present what is actually happening with objective facts and let the students sort things out. the biggest challenges we have right now to democracy is the idea that we do not have a shared reality anymore. and we do not have the ability to agree on the facts and what they are. so my role is to try to help present those facts, and let the students sort things out, given their value system. so, i do not indoctrinate a value system into my students. kenosha is also a topic that has not come up today, so i am glad he raised it. something there were that got international attention. it was a very terrible thing for

our state to go through. but oddly, and i think it comes as no surprise to those on both sides, it really did not change the voting numbers at all. before those events, joe biden had a lead of about 6% to 8%. me numbers. sa they have not budged. that indicates to me that the focus on law and order from the president is resonating with his base, making his base stick with him on those issues, but for those who do not agree with the that hasn'there -- moved them from their positions. -- andseems like kenosha i would have expected the events of that magnitude and the i would haveaw --

expected that to have more of an impact, but it didn't. and the final point about feeding questions to joe biden, i cannot address that. one would hope that would not happen. there's nothing obvious that i would have inside information on about that, but let's hope they stay honest and do not help with questions on either side. it would not serve the public. y carewhat issues do the about, the undecided? guest: it is very small in this election, like low single digits. so, we are pretty much locked in on the pro trump or pro biden side. the two things that are at the top of people's minds are the

pandemic and the economy. those are the two things that matter the most. now maybe the supreme court. we will see how that plays out. but those top two, and the third thing as well. host: edward in wisconsin. where do you live? caller: northern wisconsin. do you need to know the name? it's near superior, way northwest. former resident of illinois, chicago. and i have been a be for 27 years. i think i have a good opinion of what happens in the world. thank you, professor. i know you are a democrat. i used to be a democrat. inived in chicago, i worked

chicago. madison,in kenosha, milwaukee. and i have been traveling back and forth for 60 years. 'm already older than 60. idon't have to tell you, but am older than the former chief justice, so i think i have been around for more than a few years. 4-5ain comment here is years ago, when i really got involved in politics, prior to that i paid attention but i was not really astute in politics, but -- uh, i voted my conscience. i tried to. chicagop in the old area, the downtown chicago area. i was raised a democrat.

the democrats did wonderful things for us. i remember as a young boy, our precinct captain came over with bod and gave us coupons for uying shoes. thei appreciate what democrats have done in the past. but i think the party is turning bad now. i hate to say it this way, but years ago i got more interested startedics, so i listening to all of the news channels. it was like night and day. it is worse now. i do not understand what is happening to people. their should be voting conscious, not their party. host: what do you make of his comments? guest: the last thing he touched

we the media polarization have seen. he has a really good point in terms of if you compare with the media was like when i was growing up. networks, abc, nbc and cbs. and there was a half-hour nightly news show. it was very mainstream. walter cronkite would tell you the news. they were right down the middle. it was all mainstream kind of news. that's the way most people got there news. -- their news. with everything on the internet, we have seen the polarization ,ow, where we see these silos and people do not do what edward said he did. they do not look at all of the

stations. bu het tried to find out more about what politics was trying to do. but too many of us live in those media silos where we get one perspective that reaffirms the biases we already have and leads to more polarization. that's important to think about when we try to bring the country back together and heal divisions. do wef it has to be how consume our news and how do we get away from just looking at those views that confirm the biases we have. host: what impact is governor evers having on the democratic party in the state? guest: he was as a prizewinner in 2018. surprised not think -- winner in 2018. thele did not think that

incumbent was going to lose. the state legislature, which is still controlled by the republicans, they do not ci to eye with fevers -- see eye to so iith fevers -- evers, do not think he has been able to overcome that degree of polarization in the state. i think he has been trying his best on the covid response, but even there was a difference of opinion. should it be more local based? or should it be a state-based response? so this has been not an easy couple years for the first years of his administration. host: indiana, heather, supporting the former vice president. caller: hello, professor canon. i have a comment and a question. i believe with the previous caller that you should vote your

conscience. but the problem is we have a lot of politicians but not statesmen. rgb, her dying wish was not to be replaced before the election. that is disrespect, whoever they are nominating. becausepect for her, she was a judge for some many years. if that was her dying wish, to disregard that shows character on behalf of the people who are trying to replace her in a hurry. the question i have is, as a political science professor do you think the electoral college is unfair to the popular vote? if everybody voted in the u.s., could it still be pushed to aside because of the way that the system is set up for the electoral college?

that's it. guest: yes, i am not a big fan of the electoral college. i think it has the effect of producing winners that do not have the support of the popular vote. and i think that is a problem for our system. there are solutions. one would be the only surefire way to get rid of the electoral college. anothere is also mechanism that has passed in quite a few states, where the casts agree that they will their vote for the popular vote winner, not the electoral winner in their statement but that has also taken on a partisan twinge, because the democrats, lately, have been the ones hurt by the electoral college.

and the republicans are the ones who have benefited from it. i do not think they will be changed, until you have a republican win the popular vote and lose the electoral college. until both parties are hurt by the electoral college, i do not think it will be changed, but i agree and has a certain unfairness to it, to have the person who wins the most votes actually lose the election. it seems inconsistent with every other election we hold in the country. presidentelecting the against the idea of whoever gets the most votes wins. host: bob in ohio. caller: thank you, professor, for stating facts. i want to ask about the demographics in was content relative to the percentage of the voting population that is on social security.

and as much as donald trump has come out and said, if reelected he will eliminate the fica tax, the result of which would be social security checks would stop flowing as of 2023. yourld like to hear comments. nation isady said our in a state of kairos -- chaos. imagine the state of chaos in wisconsin if this social security checks stop flowing and all those people looking forward to to retirement, those dreams would evaporate. thank you for your time. guest: the specific question in terms of the demographics of the state and or the percentage of people in wisconsin who receive social security checks versus the country as a whole, i do not

have that figure at the top of my head, but i think we would be close to the national average. it's interesting, in addition to being a battleground state, wisconsin is a median state in so many measures. you look at economic measures, all kinds of different indicators of federal policy, we tend to rank in the 20's on a lot of things, so we are a median state. i would guess we are close to average in terms of demographics with age and a social security. thing payroll tax, one the president tried to do with his executive order, when the house and senate deadlocked in terms of the next covid relief bill, one thing the president tried to do was to do the payroll tax holiday for this year, then have it pushed into

next year, but states have not supported that because it would lead to a big increase in in taxes next year. so, both thought it would not be effective. now, the question of eliminating the payroll tax entirely the caller is right, it will lead to the money dedicated for social security not being there being. -- there. there was still be the obligation to fund social security for retirees. but it is not clear how it would play out, where they take the money from the general revenue versus the payroll tax? that would be a battle. it's not entirely clear that the checks would stop being mailed, but it would create chaos, that is for sure. host: cheryl in pittsburgh. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. address i'm going to

him being a professor. and the meaning of education to our country. we've had a number of republicans as president, throughout our state, and it seems like they do not put much importance on education, not as much as the democrats do. they did not invest the money in education as the democrats do. do you think this may be the result of the chickens coming home to roost? if you are not educated, you are easily led and do not think for yourself. i have something else to say. we have had these suspicious supreme court stepdowns and deaths. with ginsberg, she has been seriously ill for so long.

she has tried to hold in there for all this time. luckilys just convenient that she dies right now. the nation was shocked. everyone was shocked. the media was shocked. but when they told president trump, he did not look shocked. host: do you want to take the first part of the comment? guest: on education, she has pointed to an interesting thing that has been evident in exit polling in the last two cycles, and it is something we had not really seen before in previous elections. it is called the education gap. we have heard about the gender gap. at there is also opening up large education gap in terms of how educated people are much more likely to vote democratic than republican, and that was

not true, even 10 years ago. so in terms of where there has been a policy difference for many decades between the democrats and republicans on education, where the democrats have favored more spending for public schools, republicans favoring more private programs and trying to have more of a focus on competition in public education. so that has been a policy difference, but now it is showing up in the voting, where we do have this education gap that appears to be driving which party people end up voting for. host: we will go to menomonee falls in wisconsin. who do you plan to support? caller: i support trump. host: tell us why. caller: i support him because i feel like i do not always like the things he says or the way that he acts, but at least i know him and he is genuine.

and he has done a lot for us. a lot. joeif i was to vote for biden, the problem i have with it is that i would think i am actually voting for kamala harris, instead of joe biden, because something is actually health.th biden's and i want to know why it is always ignored. it seems to be said, then somebody gets cut off. it isn't talked about completely. obviously, there is something going on there. and i would like to know at what -- it we let it go and just would not want to vote for kamala harris, but joe biden would have been something i would've thought about. k, how doesatem -- o

the vice president pick play in wisconsin? does it matter to most voters? guest: i think that the vice presidents are getting more attention in this election cycle than they typically would, because we have the orders nominees we have ever had, so age is a factor on both sides. the trump campaign has been trying to raise questions about joe biden's health and his age. and teresa is concerned about that. other people have pointed it out about donald trump too, and the trip he had to the hospital last year that was never talked about. it was not a normal hospital visit and they have not exactly told what happened t with that. so there are questions about age, in terms of them being the orders nominees we have had for st nomineess -- olde

we have had for both parties. so the vice president nominees are getting more attention than they normally would, for that reason, but having said that in an election nobody is basing their vote primarily on the v.p. they are looking at the top of the ticket. the vice president could be a secondary consideration for a lot of voters, but will not be the main thing that leads somebody to vote for or against one candidate or the other. host: we will hear from louise next in virginia. caller: i wanted to point out that for 40 years, we have heard from the democrats that social security will be cut, medicare will be gone. for 40 years we have been hearing this. we saw the teachers union push the children out, saying the ourdren -- the children are

future, but the point is that is not true. in west virginia, only 46% of the students graduate. that's in the country. in the cities it is just as bad. future,hildren were our what has happened for the past 40 years? why is there in education gap? when the man from ohio gets on tv and tells people that by 2023 social security will disappear, that is not the thing about the taxorary relief on the fica that expires in december of this year, on the 31st. that does not affect social security. host: ok, we will have mr. canon respond.

guest: 40 years of not having a federal education policy, i think that she is right, our schools have been having a a tough time. this is an issue that both the democrats and republicans can be criticized for. another thing to keep in mind about education policy is in our system of federalism, education is primarily a state and local matter. it is your local school board, it's your local policies, and state policies, that have much more of an impact on your school than national policy. that is one thing that education gets attention for, but it is not really an issue that is fundamentally dealt with at the national level. it really is a state and local concern, not so much a national concern. on the point about social security, social security is not

going away, so she is right. it has been a fear tactic depending on who is making the argument. and then having the holiday for the fica tax does not mean social security will go down the tubes, it means we will have to find additional money if they end up not having those tax pieces go through next year to make up for the holiday. host: market in wisconsin. -- margaret in wisconsin. caller: i want to make the comment that living in wisconsin i feel that if we were a red or blue state, if you are a blue state, obviously trump does not feel like we are americans or we belong to america. that really bothers me. he is a law and order president, but it seems to be only his law and his order. if in america, we have so many great minds, i do not understand

why he thinks that if he is gone that this whole world will fall apart. there seems to be a lack of fact checking in many of the things that he says. and it bothers me. so i hope people will think about their choices and look at the facts, not just the rhetoric that comes out. thank you. host: mr. canon? guest: that is consistent with the points i have been trying to make, which is that in order to have a functioning democracy we need to have a fact based discussion of the issues. we need to have a shared reality we can agree on. that's fundamental to being able to have good political discourse. if you cannot even agree on what the basic facts are, that makes any political discussion, especially when you are talking about reforming important

policies, that makes it difficult. so, i agree with trying to stick to facts and having policy discussions based on that shared knowledge. host: what regions of wisconsin will you be watching on election night? guest: it is a battleground. milwaukee county, they have a democratic base. the suburbs around milwaukee, that is the republican base. so they will be looking for turnout, what will their turnout look like in those base areas? but the battleground within the battleground, that is the swing part of our state, that has gone both republican and democratic over the years, so whoever carries that area is likely to win the state. it also depends on the turnout. it really is which side will get there based to the polls -- base

to the polls. host: where is the fox river valley? guest: just north and east of madison, from appleton up to green bay. that is the paper industry part of the state, so it has some rural and smaller cities. it's a very competitive part of the state. there have been some election cycles where the fox river valley has more tv ads per capita than any other media market in the country. so it truly is the battleground within the battleground. host: the state is largely white. give us the percentage. but how could minorities impact the vote? guest: the minority vote, especially in milwaukee, is the largest urban area in the state, and that is where the turnout in 2016 compared to 2012 was a big

problem for hillary clinton, where she was not able to attract as big of a percentage of the african-american vote that barack obama had gotten. so that is where the majority vote could come into play -- minority vote could come into play. but in the northern part of the state, there again the turnout will be to see if they can get people to the polls in the rural counties, that could put president trump the top potentially. host: what are you watching in the coming weeks leading up to election night? and what do the campaigns need to do to seal the deal in the state? guest: i will be watching the early voting. one thing that happened in april is that, along with the pandemic we had precincts closed on election day, so you had lines forming in the bigger cities and clerks could not keep up with

the mail-in ballots, like we talked about earlier. so watching the early voting. are the ballots coming in early so we will not have a big crunch the week before the election. the other thing, do we have adequate staffing of our polling places for election day. that has been a concern nationwide, because many poor workers are people who -- poll workers who are people who are retirees and are more susceptible to the pandemic. and the and are not really too excited about working on the polls on election day. we have had a shortage of poll workers in wisconsin as well. will the courts be able to staff the polls so we will have full access to voting on election day? host: david cannon, political science professor at university of wisconsin madison, thank you very much for your time. >> good to be with