a two thirds majority. it passes the house by a margin very small. it passes the senate with only a two-vote margin. there are senators who are sitting after the house passes until1918, and it takes june 1919 before it passes of houses. then the senate knew they were sending it out for edification in the states, what is called an off year, when most state legislatures were not going to be in session. that was purposeful, to make it more difficult the suffragists had to can -- to convince 30 governors to call their legislatures back into session. >> elaine weiss tonight on c-span's q&a. host: a very good sunday morning to you. you can start calling in now.

we begin on john kerry's appointment to a position that is being known, at least unofficially, as climates are. here how the associated press puts it. the claimant envoy role has been made clear by the transition team to be a prominent role, with carrie becoming the first member of the national security council to focus on climate of biden's first steps on making good on campaign pledges. more broadly and forcefully than any previous u.s. administration. it is a sign of how the incoming administration is heating warnings the natural disasters from global warning -- warming will spur conflicts around the globe. named to that climate envoy position. this was john kerry's tweet, writing america will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the security

threat it is. i am proud to partner with the president-elect, our young allies, and the leaders of the climate movement. kerry'smore from john for marksman he was introduced by joe biden this past week. should doubt the determination of this president, vice president. they should not have the determination of the country that went to the moon. cured supposedly incurable diseases. and be back global tyranny to win world war ii. this kind of crisis demands that kind of leadership. again. and president biden will provided. -- provided. the road ahead is exciting. it means creating millions of other class jobs. it means less pollution in our air and oceans. it means making life healthier for citizens across the world.

and that means we will strengthen the security of every nation in the world. in addressing the climate crisis, president-elect joe biden is determined sees the future now. planet toa healing future generations. host: john kerry on tuesday this week at that event where joe biden introduced his national security team. reactions from democratic members of congress, plotting the move here. debbie wasserman schultz, democrat from florida saying, after four years of a current, the climate crisis will be a focus of this white house. with john kerry serving. mother earth could not wait a minute longer. this from the net barragan. the climate crisis is a national security issue, and a moral issue. as claimant envoy is an important first step in restoring american leadership

and global partnership in the fight against climate change. just some reaction from members of congress. speaking of the paris climate accord, president trump spoke about the reasons why he withdrew the united states from the paris climate agreement, about a week ago. the president speaking in a recorded message for the virtual g20 summit that happened last weekend. here is a bit of president trump. [video clip] >> to protect american workers, i withdrew the united states from the unfair and one-sided paris climate accord, a very unfair act for the united states. the paris accord was not designed to save the environment. it was designed to kill the american economy. i refused to surrender millions of american jobs and send trillions of american dollars to the world's worst polluters and environmental offenders, and that is what would have happened. since withdrawing from the paris

accord, the united states has reduced carbon emissions more than any nation anywhere in the world. host: president trump in his recorded message to the virtual g20 meeting. plenty of news this past week on climate change, and we are asking you, should climate change be a national security priority? the phone lines are split up as usual, democrats, (202)-748-8000 . republicans, (202)-748-8001. independents, (202)-748-8002. we are turning this first hour of "washington journal" over to you today. our first caller on the democrat line. caller: good morning. anwas so hopeful to have elite that is knowledgeable and educated. it is a problem that when you watched los angeles have a temperature before the fires of

120, that is not normal. been ine of us who have some of these extreme weather changes, it doesn't rain for months, it is incredibly scary. i was hoping that maybe they would do the roosevelt thing and put in a conservation corps of young people who need jobs, to go out and start doing hands-on , roots to shoots, and then clean the rivers and wasteters, and making more recyclable. those things help quality of life and health for people. host: come back to the word elite, that you used at the beginning of your comments, and

why you think having an elite in this position, i assume you are calling john kerry an elite, why is that a good thing? caller: we used to be proud of the elites. educated and knowledgeable. we wanted to be elite. we went to college and studied and learned,, so you could be a public servant. education, there is this thing now, there are elites and that biden-- appointed for his cabinet and i'm like yeah, we are america of the educated. we are america, not only of the free but of not stupid. elites fromeed more everywhere. not anymore, ever of donald trump. please don't play him anymore when he says things.

he doesn't know what he is talking about. host: that is margaret, in kansas. we will head to maryland. this is jean, republican. are you with us this morning? we will go to lewis on the line for independents. in georgia. caller: hello. that we have the solutions in front of us. the cost of fertilizer is anding very expensive, alternative crops that don't use fertilizer are going to be necessary for the survival of this country. grows upa tree that the eastern seaboard, and it covers several different temperate zones. a swamp widecalled

oak or a swamp chestnut oak. it produces acorns. it's got some problems, because it has -- in it, but those acorns have a cap, and that cap could be used as a biofuel to heat broader -- to heat water and roast the acorns. you don't need pesticides or herbicides or fertilizer. and the middle number in fertilizer is a limited resource. it is in all of your detergents and cleaning products. we are going to have to change. host: do you think this country is ready to change on a big scale? you are talking about doing away with lots of fertilizers.

do you think we are ready for that kind of change? caller: protein is what feeds the country, because proteins are fed to livestock. is looking at something that completely different. acorns have the same protein as corn. acorn.why it's called when you find corn weevils inside and acorn, that tells you something. joel inis is massachusetts. should climate change be a national security priority? caller: i don't know about that question. discovered science. we've discovered that education isn't something to spit on. i kind of cringe when you use

the word elite, because that is what the republicans have used, almost like socialism. i live in massachusetts, where we do have bluebloods. i'm not sure mr. carey is the -- mr.rson -- mr. erry kerry is the best person to lead this climate fight. he is a good statesman. i would like to see more progressive faces and voices because if we stand with the status quo and continue to use fertilizers and high maintenance crops, we are doomed. thank you very much. host: this is alan in arizona, republican. caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. i would like to say i am for clean water, clean air, and all those things. but we need people to have an

intelligent discussion, regarding several items. the first one is, and when john kerry can explain to me how he can control the sun, i am all in. without the sun, we don't have a planet, we are in ice cube. -- we are an ice cube. there are 16ng is off alls actively going the time. besides what is going on underneath the ocean. to control been able volcanic eruption's. the worst one that could ever go off is yellowstone. if yellowstone explodes, you wipe out everything from the west to the east, all the way to new york. we already know what it is like off likelcano goes

mount saint helens, and the amount of destruction it did. let's have an intelligent discussion. host: so one of the core promises of biden policy wants to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. that is the timeline that the biden administration is shooting for. past anybe long time biden administration. is this an achievable goal, or are there to money other factors that those kinds of policy-setting is not something that is realistic? caller: just like the virus we have today, i think the most important thing is, we are getting statistics every day on the virus. why don't we have an intelligent discussion on that side of it, where we actually show the

quality of air and water in every country and every city of the world, then have a intelligent discussion, because we know china, india, india 70% of then have -- people in india, in their own homes don't even have a toilet. let's talk realistically, with actual knowledge and facts, every day, and show how clean the united states is, in comparison to the rest of the world. inwe are leading the world clean water, clean air, i can tell you when i moved here to phoenix, arizona and i drove from the east side to the west side of the city, i couldn't even see south mountain. within five to six years, we

finally figured that out. we did so much building with dirt being flown in the air from construction that they came up , reduceimple solution the amount of pollutants from the ground itself. host: thank you for the call. you mentioned china. we showed a couple democratic members of congress, reacting to john kerry's appointment as climate envoy. here is one of the republican members of congress, tom cotton of arkansas, saying john kerry will jet off to beijing in pursuit of a climate accord with the world's biggest polluter, the chinese coming just government. ifjean ping plays along -- xi jinping plays along, he will demand concessions. more reaction this week to john kerry's appointment as climate

envoy. the question we are asking this morning, should climate change be a national security priority? john kerry will be reporting to president-elect joe biden, when his national security council meets. not will be his focus on the national security council. some reaction to that specific question. stephanie in michigan says absolutely, climate change should be a priority. there is no planet b. paul says not if the rest of the world isn't going to address the problem. sally saying the pentagon published a report about the national security risks of climate change back in 2014. mary saying climate change affects all life on earth. if not addressed, it will kill or displace aliens. there are no vaccines to cure this problem -- displace billions. there are no vaccines to cure

this problem. you can join in the conversation ext, (202)-748-8003. you can call like sally did out of new york, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. glad toi was just so see john kerry. i hadn't seen him for a long time. talk with mr. gore, who should have won the election years ago. as far as i'm concerned, he actually did. climate change is the biggest thing on earth. we are not going to have unearthed. we are not going to have any animals or birds. we are not going to have anything, if we don't do

something about the climate. places.ived in many and it has all been the same. that is sally in new york. former vicened president al gore, the former vice president tweeting about john kerry's appointment as climate envoy, calling him a superb choice. passion is exactly what we need to restore american leadership abroad. florida,arlos out of republican. caller: good morning. here is the thing. what we have done with the climate sector in the government -- first of all, this is an issue, but think about the

private sector and the government, coming up with covid vaccines with spacex. by reducing regulations, what we have done to this country as we have sold more new cars. people don't realize with gas lower and people buying newer cars, emissions have gone down. that is one of the big things by reducing regulations. -- we are 5% of the world in population and india and china have 10 times the amount of people we have. elitists think because they are right, everyone is going to follow them. china and india are going to look after their best interests while we are left behind. i want to know where the $2 trillion are being spent, how much is being allocated to sign -- being allocated to china? we are not producing them here. host: let me ask you, you mentioned car emissions. do you think the federal government has a role in setting emissions standards? you talk about it like a good thing that car standards are

being lowered. should that be done? is that example of -- is that an example of a good regulation? caller: by hitting it from a different angle and lowering the price, people will buy newer cars. a 2008 vehicle is going to produce much higher emissions than a 2020 vehicle. this year, we have sold more cars. this will be one of the best years for the environment ever, probably ever. host: that is carlos in florida. this is david in illinois. democrat. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. i am calling from windmill country in illinois. i recently learned, there are about 200 windmills in our county, and they have been around since 2007. climatey talks about and the economic issue being

linked, and i can speak from experience that our county has seen an extreme boost in the tax base for our schools, our local highway commissions, and all of these local entities that are being impacted by the placement of this renewable resource. our local paper is called the bureau county republican. get on boardmed to with these windmills when they found out they actually made economic sense. host: the president, president trump been pretty critical of windmills over the years. what is your reaction to how the trump administration has treated renewable power? caller: like a lot of things the president talks about, the observable facts won't back that up.

we have people in the county that go around and look for dead birds under the windmills like the president told them to. on the other hand, i have been in commission meetings where these things were permitted. , talkedd their piece about the effects of an up -- on animals and the environment. the effect for people living on earth is much better. host: that is david in illinois. this is nancy, independent. caller: good morning. i believe that climate change is not a national security -- it is a problem, but unless you can get china, russia and india to abide without us paying them to abide, and that is what happened with the paris climate thing. we paid them, they were more

than happy and then they didn't do it. what it becomes is he wants to go back to the paris climate thing. what is going to happen is americans lose again. we lose jobs, we lose anything. up until this year, i was actually a democrat. after this election, i can't be a democrat, because i'm tired, i'm tired of the american people's interests not coming first. we are always the one who loses. we payoff or lose our jobs to china. i have a nephew that is never getting a job back because of everything going on. it's just got to stop. john kerry is the wrong person to do it. he proved he was going to choose other countries over america. it's got to stop. host: i assume you are not a supporter of john kerry's presidential bid?

caller: i was not. host: as a former democrat, who was the last democrat you voted for? caller: truly, it was clinton. i have been independent for a while. this election just cinched it. i know there was cheating. i know cheating happened. it is not even to the point that if americans don't start standing up for themselves -- and trump was saying things he shouldn't say, but at least i gave the man credit. he actually showed a love for our country that we haven't seen for a long time. host: as an election judge, you know cheating happened. how do you know? caller: it is the way our rules are. we're not allowed to ask if illegal immigrants are voting. and youre coming in want to register to vote, all

you have to do is have one piece of mail with an address on it. whether they live in that address, we don't know, and you can't prove that they did or didn't. it is those issues. we need a better system, where we can actually check to see who is voting. id thingbody wants the but it is amazing how any people come and our district and they have their voter id card and they want you to know. i don't see why there is an issue. maybe even a drivers license. it shows us exactly where you live. i don't know. that is my opinion. i have been an election judge for years and i have watched certain things. host: do you think you will keep on being an election judge? caller: as of right now, probably.

we have an election coming up next year in one area i want to see what happens. host: why do you keep doing it? think it isnd of what americans are supposed to do. you are supposed to stand up for your country and do the right thing. i watch a whole group of different people and you see things that you are proud of. host: how many years have you been election judge? on 11 years. host: thanks for the call. this is paul, in fort lauderdale, republican. caller: good morning. way to the intelligent approach climate change, i acknowledge that the climate is but it is the evolution of the earth that is

the main source. caulking, one of the most brilliant scientists -- talking -- hawking, one of the most brilliant scientists we have ever had said the earth had about 1000 years of existence left. that was pretty shocking. it was not publicized, but he didn't offer any lifeline, that would prevent this from happening. environmentalists need to take scientists like that into consideration. you can't find seashells in civilizationsried in egypt and not know that the earth has been evolving for billions of years. when people say the climate is changing, i think what they are talking about is spending $50 trillion trying to prevent environmental change, and the

earth will keep evolving, and you will still have the heat -- still have the earth heating up. host: if you think there is nothing we can do, is it worth doing anything? it might have a very small effect, but what is funny is the real solutions, the real things that would happen, nuclear power and green hydrogen, are problems for the democrat party. you never really get to the heart of what really would work. every time people try to do these things. more -- limited eliminated more -- and nobody talks about that it makes me so angry that the press is so invested in the

ideology that is going on and using environmental arguments, and suppressing people like hawking and other great scientists, that speak against what the ideology is, on climate change. host: would you be for that idea, that core idea of the biden administration about a net zero emission of greenhouse gases by 2050, if it was achieved through nuclear power and some of these other means you are talking about? not as focused on renewables or getting off of fossil fuel? caller: if we can get china and europe and all the other people to go nuclear, they are trying to go off of nuclear. germany is trying to close all of their nuclear plants. bute that would help some,

it won't stop the evolution of the earth. host: that was paul in fort lauderdale. it is just after 7:30 on the east coast. this first hour of the "washington journal," asking the question, should clement change be a national security priority? a lot of news on the climate front. the biggest news being the appointment of john kerry to serve as climate envoy in a biden administration. john kerry on tuesday after being introduced by joe biden for that post. joe biden promising more news on the climate front on the first day of his presidency, promising to rejoin the paris climate agreement on the first day of his presidency. taking your phone calls, the phone lines are split up by political party. democrats, (202)-748-8000. republicans, (202)-748-8001. independents, (202)-748-8002. members of congress being asked about it.

this is senate minority leader chuck schumer of new york in a recent appearance on bill nine's -- bill nye's program. [video clip] >> we can do this, everybody. andhe good news is, more more people across america are realizing we can do it. they are realizing it is tied to good paying jobs. they are realizing it is tied to economic justice issues. i have never seen more support or the kinds of changes you are talking about in brought american spectrum. whether it is transportation or heating and air conditioning or electricity or manufacturing. we are getting there. we just need to keep at it, to realize -- what you have is american optimism.

beenerica has always optimistic about solving our previous problems, we should be optimistic that we can solve this. we just need the will. my job as an elected official is to make sure that will is harnessed to do the kinds of things you are talking about. host: the senate minority leader, recently with bill nye, talking about the issue of climate change. house minority whip ski -- steve scalise was on foxbusiness, also talking about the issue of climate change and a biden administration, and the promise to rejoin the paris climate agreement. here is what steve scalise had to say. [video clip] >> here is why it was such a smart move for president trump to get out of the paris accord in the first place. we were losing manufacturing under the obama and biden years. those eight years we saw our middle class evaporate, we saw manufacturing leave america in stuff was still

getting made. they were making it in countries like china and india where they don't have the kind of standards we already have stop a lot of these people that love beating up on america, they fail to recognize that we have really good standards that are unrivaled anywhere in the world. when you exempt china from these kinds of standards, the steel will still get made, it is just in a country where they make four or five times more carbon than here in america. if you're are concerned about carbon emissions, getting into the paris accord will lead to an increase in global emissions because those things that are made in america in a smart and environment lee safeway will instead be made in other places where the team met more carbon. host: that was steve scalise on fox business on friday. taking your phone calls today.

should climate change be a national security priority? our next caller in virginia, a democrat -- in west virginia, a democrat. caller: i agree with some people well all the people who have said china and india and russia .-- i'm sorry i have sat on hold for so long. they should be in the climate agreement as well. alone.rica can't go we have to have all the other to push china and go for ad india to better climate.

the republicans do not want that. they are afraid of president trump. i have no idea why. if you think about all the hurricanes, all the floods, wildfires and i can't even think , if you add all and everybody is really ragging on this green new deal. maybe all of it won't work, maybe it will. i don't know. but if you add all those things up and what the federal government spends on all of those hurricanes, would it not interest to try

to do something like the green new deal? maybe not the green new deal. debbie it will have to be piecemeal. i don't know. but why not try it? host: you talk about the need for india and russia and china to be a part of it. they are a part of the climate spirit -- the paris climate agreement. criticism was what their levels of emissions were allowed to be, but they were part of that agreement that the united states has now formally pulled out of, that formal process finally ending and the u.s. is out of the paris climate agreement as of the day after election day, earlier this month. caller: president trump, does the person that has his own

times,nd he lies 2000 well i am exaggerating, a day. you don't know what to believe. these republicans, i guarantee that every time joe biden sticks his hand out to ask them for help, they are going to slap it like they did with obama. they are not going to give him any help at all. host: from the mountain state to the granite state. this is catherine in new hampshire, independent. caller: good morning. in iceland, yes to your question. and switzerland and other countries, they have been -- direct capture

machines. --e of them have designed definitely work to remove carbon dioxide. perhaps these machines will be dollar practical, and easier to provide worldwide. wind and solar are good, but they have quiet times. ,he economist magazine september 19, 2020, in the special report on business and is morechange, there in-depth information on this technology, and it would be interesting if c-span's "washington journal" have experts in this field on your show and take questions on global warming and this dac technology.

also out ofside, thatsity, i am pretty sure our next ice age could occur in 1000 or 2000 years. will our dollars -- it could be longer than that. will our dollars be needed for different environmental concerns? government,r private businesses throughout the world should all work dac soundsnd this terrific. host: this is keith from florida willg biden's climate plan cost the average citizen the most. the elitists won't care if gas is six dollars a gallon. misty in ohio, if we do nothing about changing in the

environment, we will all pay the price. scientists are pretty much unanimous about this. fightstop this political and please wake up before it is too late. this is george in montana, republican. good morning. caller: good morning and thanks for c-span. this climate change problem has nothing to do with the climate. it has everything to do with moving money from the united states into foreign countries like russia and ukraine and other countries, so they can launder them and give them to the political elitists such as joe biden's son and john kerry's son that will reap the benefits and put more regulations on the middle-class in the united states, to keep our economy down. please expose the swamp. if the reporters in these new outs -- in these news outlets would do some investigative

reporting and find out where this money is going, we would understand what these climate change priorities are all about. host: how do you think we are doing on the environment? caller: better than any country in the world, and these other countries are just taking our -- working to our political elitists to move money into their countries and they can blackmail them to make the political elitists the most richest people in america. host: that is george in montana. back to west virginia. this is carol, an independent. caller: good morning. up, itstion you had brought me back to 2018. we were told for 2019 that we only had 12 years before we were at a point of no return. now we are hearing china is going to get good with us in 2050 and 2060.

there are so many messages all over the place. i agree the oceans need cleaned cars,d these emission when they change them over to the electric and they put all of these stations and infrastructure, who is going to give us all of these cars? how are we going to get these cars to drive to cut down on emissions? we are just told this is what is going to happen. we live paycheck-to-paycheck, and there is no way we can afford another car, just because it runs by electric. what are we supposed to do with all of these cars emitting food -- emitting fumes and stuff? we werest concern is, told we were going to hit the ice ages way before now. it is up and down. who is lying? that is my question. host: can i ask you before you go, about the coal industry in

your part of west virginia? caller: in the beginning when trump took over, they were supposed to open up, but i believe there is a sinkhole. coal jobs come back, or have they gone down in the past four years? how has the coal administration -- coal industry done under the administration? caller: i think a couple opened up. i am not sure on the situation. myon't keep up because grandfather was a coal miner and my dad was a coal miner, and i haven't really been into all of that lately, but i know there is a way to make clean coal. there has to be, because we hear about it all the time. thank you for c-span. you have a great day. host: you have a great day, too.

this is jackie, new york, democrat. caller: good morning, how are you? host: i am doing well. caller: i would like to say that the climate control issue is important, but it is not top of the list. top of the list is dealing with this coronavirus. as far as the jobs and stuff, what they don't tell you is when these big companies were here, a lot of chemicals and a lot of the waste that came from them had gotten people sick. systemle government failed to inform people of the land being polluted and people getting sick. they was one particular case, where a child got sick from the water, because of where they lived. no one was ever informed of that and because the mother and the

child lived in the house by themselves, when the child died, the mother went to jail. when it came down to it, the evidence was the land being polluted and she was never informed of it. climate control is important, but right now we need to focus on real problems, and that is people dying. they say trump did a lot. trump did do a lot, but people fail to realize the real price mitch government and mcconnell was able to accomplish a lot where obama and biden couldn't because mitch mcconnell was quoted saying that he would never approve anything that obama put on the table. host: this is richard in arkansas, independent. caller: good morning. they keep telling us to talk about the science when it comes to covid and stuff, but they don't talk about the science when it comes to climate change.

there is such a thing out there called precession. it is a 26,000 year wobble of the earth. society the audubon field guide, for astronomers. it has major changes on the earth, because it affects the equatorial bulge. our northstar, was in draco. it was not polaris. this has large effects on the climate. host: so, do you believe there tonothing humans can do impact climate change? caller: not to the extent of spending that kind of money. you must learn to live with it.

it is going to take a lot of energy to get through this section of the wobble. itself, it flat out says this relationship plays a role in triggering ice ages. host: that is richard in arkansas. writes climaten change should be a national security priority. i suspect the same folks who did not believe scientists about covid are now not going to believe the scientists about climate change. this is probably out of oregon. out of oregon. you are next. caller: thank you for taking my call. mi on the air? host: yes, go on. inler: i just wanted to say, relationship to climate change being a national security

priority, i have read that there is a naval base on the east threatenedis being workers cannot get out to the base, because of flooding. that is one issue. the second issue is what happened in syria, i'm told is a result of climate change. there was drought and then food riots, and then people went to food over -- went to war over it. i think continued drought, continued fires will -- will totally destabilize populations and cause chaos, which can lead to national security threats. it is a national security priority, as big as almost any threat to our national security.

polly, out in oregon. trying to find the specific naval base you are talking about. i assume it is naval station norfolk, out in virginia. a navy times story from 2016, rising oceans will swallow parts of the world's biggest navy base by the end of the century, according to experts who worn it will take billions of dollars to upgrade those facilities. and 17tation norfolk other military institutions are sitting on waterfront property and looking at hundreds of floods a year and in some cases could be mostly submerged by 2100. according to a report from the union of concerned scientists, they say a three foot sea level rise with threaten 128 u.s. military bases, valued at roughly $100 billion.

that is a story from back in 2016, navytimes.com israel can find it. -- is where you can find it. randy is in wisconsin, republican. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. is what is climate change? let's get the definition of that. to me, climate change is mother nature. you are not going to change mother nature. you will have a bunch of hurricanes, and climate change is the cause of it but you will not change mother nature. changey, your climate should have something to do with pollution. should pollution be a national security priority? let's stop driving cars and have no more garbage and no more airplanes.

this money that is supposed to be going for climate change, how is that money spent? where does that dollar -- whose hand does it end up in? that is the question you should answers to people can understand better, what real climate change withd how it is associated our security. that is my question. host: is it worth doing anything to try and lower greenhouse gas emissions? percentoh sure, one her -- 100%. it is all helping our air. how about the rest of the world? the united states cannot take care of the whole world. you don't hear about this in other worlds, in europe or china. in germany, i believe.

we've definitely trot -- we've definitely got to try and keep cleaner air and water. host: all the countries you brought up signed the paris climate accord. caller: and how are they doing? let's have a report. where is that money going and what are they doing with the money they get? those are the kinds of questions i would like to have answered. host: this will not be the last time we talk about this and maybe we can do that for you, down the road stop about 10 minutes left in this segment. asking you, should climate change be a national security priority? the editorial in today's washington post on this issue. here is how the editorial board of the washington post begins today, the day joe biden became president elect, he listed climate change among his top priorities. last week he named john sec -- john kerry to be his climate czar. it is crucial they follow through.

the united states has squandered too much time. the world has almost none left to avoid extreme consequences for generations living and those only just being born. the editorial board of the washington post today. a frequent guest on this program, his recent column on foxnews.com, on the issue of the biden administration and prioritizing the paris climate accord and climate change. here is what stephen moore wrote. over -- world leaders are overjoyed that under a biden administration, the u.s. will enter the paris accord. why wouldn't they be? we pay the bills. we hang our economy on a cross of climate change regulation. we pretend the world is complying with their actions speak much louder than the world -- then their words. we trust but don't verify. firstis is one of biden's acts as president, he will announce to the world that putting america first has been

replaced with putting america last. back to your phone calls. this is devon in pittsburgh, independent. go ahead. caller: i think it is obvious that the department of defense, if you would just look, they declared climate change as a major security threat to the united states. i don't think we have to ask. our own military understands that this is a major threat. i don't think we have to wonder, because when we look at things like the over 30 hurricanes this season, a first ever, it is because the gulf of mexico is so warm right now that when hurricanes move in, they rapidly intensify into three and four category storms. we don't have to ask if climate change is happening. all we have to do is look at the wildfires on the west coast. what has happened is there is not enough -- not as much

moisture in the soil anymore because the heat is baking the moisture out. that means all the trees get dried faster and that means when a fire starts, it goes really fast and gets really big and kills lots of people and lots of property really quick. when some of your callers are asking where is the money going, it is hard to believe that people could be this naive. the money isn't going anywhere. what is happening as people are trying to get us off of energy sources that are destroying the planet that we live on. the money is to create jobs creating windfarms, like right now, farmers in iowa who had the derecho.hird, it destroyed so much of the corn crop in iowa, a direct result of climate change.

those people could be putting in windfarms and some of them have. their was actually a special about that. we don't have to ask is climate change happening? all you have to do is look outside the window. we don't have to ask if it is threatening our country. all we have to do is look at the death toll and the financial cost. this is a real serious problem, and it is not some kind of liberal hoax, any more than covid was a liberal hoax. someone that you read earlier mentioned that if we don't start accepting the reality of what is happening, it is going to be much much worse. host: you mentioned the iowa derecho. post, sort of postmortem on that storm and its impacts. it was the most costly thunderstorm disaster in u.s. history. estimating damage at $7.5

billion. rob is in california, democrat. caller: good morning. a newkind of hoping that awareness and movement forward to just completely restructure the way we think about the weources we have, packaging, can save so much resources with reduction in packaging, and looking at how we use things differently, wind power, solar power, all of that is great. shift toeed a titanic realize that a capitalist system , there is a lot of money to be made to restructure the way we use our resources, to help save our planet and everything. host: you said you were hopeful

that there would be this awakening on that issue. what made you hopeful, and have you found your hopes disappointed? caller: there hasn't really been any awareness. going to the grocery store, and piece of meat on a big styrofoam tray. things like that, there are so many things we can do to reduce the amount of resources we use. that weeems to mention have to get grips on the population of our planet. it is kind of the root cause of a lot of issues, with just the ever-expanding population. we are an extremely successful species, and we have to start acting responsible in a way that we take care of each other. that is my two cents.

host: it might be a whole other quotas -- argue for but are you for quotas for have any children you can have? how do you control that -- for how many children you can have? how do you control that? caller: you can't. you educate and make people aware of all these different things we can do, to >> it's a continual soft drum beat of awareness. there are new ways to package things. there is a way to transport ourselves and get around. we need to be aware of that. the population, has increased fourfold. educate andsoftly

give more awareness and education to people. call, ellen has been waiting in florida. thanks for waiting. caller: the last color was the one i most agree with about not looking out what the government can do, what can i do. inraduated from cornell 1972. i'm a nurse, a phd nurse. i'm also an environmentalist. i studied ecology at cornell. everything that was predicted then is occurring now. the scientists were correct, are correct. it's too late to legislate enough change to save the planet. moneyt like the waste of and what goes back and forth between the politicians while nothing gets done. that money can go into creating

local gardens, local distribution. we don't have to drive food all across the country. like a lot of people are setting up, local farms. personal choice, personal action, personally creating a world where we are not killing off every species. the rate of death of species is the highest it has ever been. let's take self responsibility, not look to the politicians. they will do what we want when we are doing it ourselves. host: are you still a practicing nurse? how are you doing right now? caller: i cannot believe it. onan go either way depending the person involved. trump i think is an absolute horror. people in florida say to my face that this is a hoax.

that it doesn't exist. that it's created by the democrats as a hoax. amazing, the consciousness that's going on. they say there is -- people are dying. that's the reality. host: we will talk a little more later in the program about the coronavirus in this country. there are more restrictions. that will come up in the last half hour. up next, we will talk about the future of a post-trump republican party. we will be joined by pete wehner , the senior fellow at the ethics and public policy center. we will turn our attention to progressives and what they may what to see from a joe biden administration.

stick around. ♪ >> 2020 was a historic year for women with the election of the first woman vice president. kamala harris. it happened in the year we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the women's right to vote. journalist and author elaine weiss on her book, "the women's hour." about the ratification of the amendment that granted women the right to vote. >> >> it passes the house. it has to be two thirds majority. it passes the house by a very small margin. it passes the senate by two votes. after the house passes it in 1918, it takes until june 1919 before it passes both houses. the senate knew they were sending it out for ratification in the states. in 1918, it takes until june 1919 before it passes both houses.

the senate knew they were sending it out for ratification in the states. mosts an off year, when legislatures would not be incessant. -- in session. convinceagists had to 30 governors to call their legislators back into special session to consider the amendment. >> tonight it :00 eastern on q&a. 8:00 eastern on q&a. topped nonfiction books and authors every weekend. open markets institute director sally hubbard and her book. you'd by david mclaughlin. judge douglasrmer

ginsberg and his book voices of our republic. it looks at the constitution through the eyes of judges and legal historians. in-deptho watch sunday, december 6 at noon and chairest author of african-american studies at princeton university, eddie glide junior. >> washington journal continues. host: a conversation on the future of the republican party. pete wehner worked in the reagan and george h w bush administrations. did you ever consider or want to work in the trump administration? guest: no. they wouldn't have me and i wouldn't work there. my tracker with donald trump has

been on the critical length. host: why? he's a malicious force in american politics. i think he's a conspiracy monger. i don't think he's serious about governance. i think is a pathological liar. damage he is doing great to the republican party and to the country. the reason i was critical of , that specific issue i was concerned about was he was peddling a racist conspiracy theory about barack obama not being born in the united states. he knew it was a lie. he peddled it anyway. my warning to the gop is don't

play footsie with people like this. it will come back to haunt you. it is hot of the republican party, it's more of a concern that it did great damage to the united states. host: there is a lot of attention on joe biden's 80 million votes. trump got 10 million more votes in 2020 then 2016. guest: people like him and wanted to vote for them. a lot of people who were hostile to the democratic party and to joe biden, it's a deeply divided country. since thelarized civil war. we are in a try ballistic politics. it.al scientists refer to it's a negative polarization. the ties that bind you to your own party are less affection and

affinity for your own side then hatred and hostility to the other side. our politics really reflect that. donald trump is the cure for what ails america. a lot of them are good people who are badly mistaken in their judgment. actedd and did things and in ways that appealed to millions of people. time thane votes this he did in 2016. on the other hand, joe biden got 80 million it, which blew away all previous records. host: what lessons should republican leaders take from election 2020? guest: i would say several things. an incumbentg is president doesn't lose reelection.

did, heon the scale he was thoroughly repudiated. you've only had four incumbents in the last 100 years lose. to put something like donald trump whose temperament and and corruption at the top of the ticket is problematic. the republicans are leading among suburban white voters in particular. it's a toxic party right now because of trump. on the other hand, trump geared his message in 2016 and to some extent in 2020 toward working-class white voters. there is an appeal he has had because of that. you have to figure out what are the parts of the message the

trump foot forward and improve on it and refine it and try to figure out what it is that resonated with people. you have to jettison the worst aspects of who he is. the presidential level, the republican party did reasonably well. we will see what happens in the two georgia runoff states. seats.ined several house if not all been decided yet. they were not wiped out. it wasn't a blue wave. the republican party speaks for a large number of americans. right now, more people don't like the party. i think trump has formed the party. it will take real effort to repair that damage. you expect trump a

liver concede? guest: nope. i don't think he is capable of doing that. i think his narcissism among other things will prevent him from doing that. is as easy to read psychologically as you can find in terms of his pathologies. they've been playing out on stage for five years. this isn't rocket science. host: what does that mean for what you are calling for, to jettison the worst aspects of trump. you wrote an article for the atlantic. what does not conceding for the ability to do those things? going to try to freeze the republican party and own it. this pathological need to be in the limelight.

he has to be the center of attention, even if it's negative. he has to be there. i imagine he will try to freeze for 2024. maybe he will do it on inauguration day. he's going to continue to tweet from the outside. he will feed his supporters the stuff they like, conspiracy theories. he's going to do a lot of work on the right wing ecosystem, maybe even supports a media outlets other than fox news. he's going to make his presence felt. he's got a lot of supporters. can they break away from that? with theave the people wisdom and the skill and the courage to go in a different direction? i don't know. the last five years have not been hopeful because the

republican party has been supplicant to trump. they never really stood up to him. sanford,ey, mark justin amash. that's about it. everybody else has collapsed before trump. our guest wehner is on watchmen journal. we appreciate you joining us. he is at the public-policy pender. we should mention his book. our topic this morning is the republican party after trump. the phone lines are split up as usual. democrats (202) 748-8000. (202) 748-8001 republicans. pete wehner will be with us for the next half hour. kenny is up first in virginia. good morning. you are going to get

mcgill off off my chest. i turned republican again. you said some nasty things about trump, i can understand that. bush is undoubtedly the stupidest president we've ever had. my mother was cared for with health insurance. my dad retired to make sure he got the medical care from the company she worked for. bush made that illegal. that was despicable. the stupid war he got into with a rack. -- iraq. i will never forgive him for taking that medical insurance from my mother did you are probably going to say it's not true. i am living it. guest: a couple of things.

he is wrong about medicare part d. that was one of the achievements of the bush residency. i understand that his supporters like him. they consider ad hominem. when you say he is a pathological liar, that the description. this is a matter of public record. the conspiracy theories that he peddles, that is a matter of reality. that is objective truth. is peddlingat he about the election being fraudulent is simply not true. if you say it's not true, it isn't a personal attack. that is describing the reality of things. because of my own criticism of donald trump, i think they are rooted in reality. i don't deny that he has done

some good things if you are a conservative. supreme court nominations i think of been quite good. if we stick with policy, if you are intellectually honest, you should be honest and say she is ethically -- he has ethically mishandled the coronavirus. tens of thousands of people are ,ead because of his mishandling from testing to mocking of masks and being indifferent to attacking the scientists like , the leading epidemiologist in the world. you can go through his record. it's mixed. trump, the donald way to understand him is not as

a governing figure or a political figure. he is a cultural symbol. i think he is transgressive. i think he is corrupt. that's a matter of public record. i understand his supporters disagree. i think i have quite a bit of evidence on my side of the case. host: this is amy, a democrat. caller: good morning. . have more of a comment it's an observation really. the republican party has shown anti-democracy. they do not have any belief in the constitution. of the republican party has to be that of a minority party. they can't govern. up -- a desire

to wield power. joe biden will be wary. he needs to do them with caution. i would like to hear your comments about that. guest: let me divide it. i certain thing the republican party needs to be reformed. i think some of those charges about being illiberal during the trump years is correct. take a step back. you had an american president since november 3 in a full-scale assault on our electoral system trying to undo election. the good news is our institutions of held up. he never had a chance of pulling this off. enoughd and not nearly national republican figures stood up to him. level, some state

local figures in georgia and michigan did stand up. the courts have held up. i think the republican party a malicioushas been instrument in many ways. people who knew that were silent. others defended him. i think donald trump committed impeachable crimes and so forth. parties can reform. they need to reform. america needs healthy parties. act, even a patriotic if you are a democrat or republican, that the other party is responsible. i'm hoping it happens with republicans. i am hoping when trump exits the people upt will free in the republican party to take

things in a new direction. i do know that if you talk to a lot of republican lawmakers quietly, off the record, their views of trump are no better than mine. they are just afraid to speak up. they have made calculations it would be unwise. point, it's not a minority party now. both sides have to jettison this notion that we hate the other side so much that we are going to vanquish it. neither party is going anywhere. the people on the other side are going anywhere. we have to navigate our differences and away. it's been impossible with trump. hopefully we can find some ground, butcommon

to be able to get along and listen to each other and have american politics work as it once did. host: you say republicans should have spoken up. who specifically should have spoken up? whose silence most concerned or upset you? guest: gosh. was a hugeham disappointment as a person who knew better. supplicant, so obsequious when it came to trump. he's an obvious example. ohio,d say rob portman of a traditional republican. he worked in the bush administration. responsible voice in republican politics most of his life. silent during the trump years.

jordane people like jim in the house, mark meadows became chief of staff. republicans who are either silent or uncomfortable. , lamar alexander. everybody knows when an offense donald trump had to of been. he wouldn't speak up until the very end. he nudged things along to say you need to concede. the trouble was a few people did it episodically. romney. they really need to stand up to him much more collectively. they didn't want to do it.

they rationalized why they didn't do it. ultimately, i think those arguments failed. back, whatalfstep happened was the republican party through their hat over the trump wall early on. i think they thought they could control him, that he would grow in office. understand wast the fundamental thing you had to understand about donald trump. he is a man with a disordered personality. from a person who suffers socio-the fee. if you understood that, you knew there was no line he wouldn't cross. do, nos nothing he would place he would go. because they made that link with him so early, it never broke. placesrought them to they never imagined they would

go. host: san diego, california. richard is a republican. you a: i was going to ask question. what have the democrats done for the last 50 years? i live in san diego. herek at the democrats out who are running the state. i used to go all over this country. i was in the military. i will be honest with you. i looked at other countries. when i pull into their ports, it looks like -- it's beautiful. it's bad. let me tell you something. california, i used to go home.

me i wishused to tell i could go to san diego. weather,most beautiful the most beautiful place. now i go and they tell me they wouldn't come here if we paid them. guest: i'm not a liberal. i'm a conservative. conservative in spite of my criticism of trump. i'm critical of trump because i am a conservative. if you're looking for a liberal who is critical of trump, you have to go elsewhere. i have worked in three republican administrations. i was in the white house for seven years. i have my differences with the democratic party. it's not as if they haven't achieved anything. both parties have achieved things that are good and bad.

both parties have endorsed the earned income tax bracket. didought barack obama reasonably well with the financial crisis that happened. i'm not liberal. i understand california has problems. modeldn't hold it up as a in many respects. that's part of the reason why the trump years have been difficult for some be like me. waset took a party who certainly not perfect, that he made it worse. he turned it from a conservative party to an ethnic nationalist party. it is consumed by his grievance and's. -- grievances.

i think he has damaged the party. i hope it comes back. i hope it becomes more conservative. i think it's in the good of the country to have both parties responsible. the one thing i will say about joe biden is in that field, he was not the radical figure that bernie sanders and elizabeth warren others are. his appointments may not have been mine, they've been pretty responsible on the 40 yard lines of american politics. withstandis able to the leftward pull of the party. there is a lot of energy on the left. steve is an independent in maryland. he tweets this question to you.

guest: it's a good question. i think there will be eight trump allegiance test with some people. my suspicion is what you are outlines ofe early what this is going to be. i don't think there are going to be a lot of lawmakers who do a frontal assault on donald trump. they are still afraid of upsetting his supporters. there are a lot of them. i think they will try and go yonder donald trump and not talk about him. i think somebody like marco rubio is the person you will see. supplicant during the

trump years. he doesn't really believe in trump. politics and his views in light of the trump years. chartnfident he wants to his own path. i don't think there will be a loyalty test per se. i think they will try to be cautious in how critical they are of trump. host: to michigan, this is linda. good morning. good morning. i am one of those deplorable's from the midwest. i have seen firsthand the devastation going on in michigan. how the in real time

people that were at the polling .ites were left out they were putting up cardboard. how you can say that the elections are rigged and our afraid that our country is done because of the corruption that is going on. in a wayhe democrats that is nasty, do you watch the hearings? how they treat the people they are asking questions. it's just ridiculous. kamala harris is our vice president. you saw how she treated kavanaugh. of being a rapist. it's a joke. that's what i am concerned about. i feel bad trump's had to fight for four years to get something done.

host: i will let you jump in. guest: several things. isn't deplorable. she's a human being. she deserves dignity like everybody else. i think she's wrong. that doesn't mean she is deplorable. on the question of the elections, a two point reality has to intrude. there is not a single instance of widespread fraud. they've been thrown up by republican judges, other judges, the trump legal team has produced no evidence. the kind of fraud claims they are note, there conditions of fraud. there are legal consequences to say things they know not to be true.

thisnk you have to accept reality. i hope you accept this reality. joe biden one the selection. he won it easily. he didn't win because of fraud. that's a fact. i know facts can be inconvenient. facts are stubborn things. they are not going away. this is one of the real dangers we are in. there is no truth or everybody gets to come up with their own script. this is always existed. i think it's amplified and accelerated by social media and the various platforms. self-governing country can't arvive if we can't agree on common reality.

we have to come together on that last thing. idling the democratic party has acted honorably all the time. there are things they've said and done that are problematic. if you are attacking the democratic party on treating people poorly, at least use that same standard for donald trump, whose corruptions are boundless. is cruelty and viciousness unlike anything we've ever seen an american president. theories,onspiracy he's peddled more than two dozen of them as president. many of them have done deep harm ,nd damage to innocent people the mocking of reporters with disabilities, mocking women. theou're going to use standard of corruption and indecency, if that matters to you, have the intellectual

honesty and integrity to use that same standard against donald trump. don't be selective about it. it weakensselective, the case and that means that's not what you are driving your views. it is political tribalism and use whatever club you can against the other side. we've got enough of that going on right now. host: we are joined this morning by pete wehner, from the ethics and public policy center. we should mention his book. topic this morning is the future of the republican party after trump. scottsdale virginia, thanks for waiting. it is so great to be able to call into washington journal. let's remember who took out a credit card to maximize tribal is asian after -- tribal is

asian. the ronald reagan organization. it was the founders who said parties were dangerous. we are no longer separated by party. we are separated by people who and nature instinctually people who view nature as through science. remember what john kerry said. we are going to view nature through god and science. tribalism through party is going to destroy this nation. we've got to start viewing nature through science and only through science. i'm all for viewing

nature through science. i think you can view nature through the front ways. in terms of appreciating nature and reveling in the glory of nature, i'm all for that. it's an interesting question. didn't really envision the parties we have today. edmund burke was one of the key figures in conservatism in the 18th century from england. he was born in ireland. politicalink tribalism that we have today is explained primarily by the parties. what the parties have become as an outgrowth of this tribalism driven by other things. if you consider the history of

the united states and its falls -- flaws and glories, the united states has been by large a force for good in the world with some problematic times. malevolent of our failures. if you believe the has been the, it's a country that is product of political parties. if you are a democrat or republican, they have impressed some impressive people. democrats can go to john kennedy and frankland roosevelt. -- franklin roosevelt. ronald reagan among republicans. the political parties can function. our friend jonathan rauch made an interesting critique, the gatekeepers of the party, ones

that used to control the party cap people like bernie sanders and donald trump from gaining power. have grown. the primary system has opened up. with trump it turned out to be a wild west show. host: we talk about faith and politics. your observation on joe biden's catholic faith, his relationship to that faith and its influence on his politics. guest: i'm not sure. let me start i saying i think the way to understand joe biden as a lifelong catholic, it's in his person. impressivemost quality about joe biden are not political, they are personal. is it's beeny that

well-documented that he has suffered in norma's grief and loss and tragedy in his life. his wife and daughter were killed in an accident, his sons were badly injured. diedyears later, his son of brain cancer. blows toe tremendous anybody. this is a man who deeply love these people and lost them that way. it was tragic. it's been said that parents shouldn't bury their children. that's not the right order of things. he's had to do that a couple of times. what struck me is how his faith has sustained him through processing grief and sorrow. he has never given up hope. i think it has changed him into an almost pastoral figure.

at 60 given eulogies funerals. you can see from the accounts of his life that he is somebody who's empathy and sympathy has theloped because of suffering and how he is leveraged it. sayink he himself would that his christian faith has been the primary reason he has done that. whatever you think of his being, heas a human is an admirable person. i think that temperament and disposition, that life story is what this country needs. our country is broken. it is exhausted. healing,a figure of

someone to repair the breach. helps inis life story that respect. host: this is betty. good morning. pete wehner good morning. around thee been world for 75 years. the time when newt gingrich was a congressman, i lived in georgia. went to to town hall meetings given by newt gingrich. i sat there and listened. cnn, they totally misrepresented what he said. fourhas been going on for years under president trump. everything he says is mischaracterized and it's not true.

abouthat you just said the handicapped person. that was photoshop. my son does photoshop. misrepresentation again. liberals lot of closet that portray themselves as republicans. coming from maryland, i believe it. that's all i have to say. host: what would you say to betty? guest: congratulations on 75 years. i appreciate the question. charge ofith the media bias, i think there has been a liberal slant to the media. i don't think that's a question. a lot of journalists have a

liberal bias and that shows up over the years. it doesn't mean there haven't been terrific journalists over the years. the media has done a lot of good in a lot of ways. i think that explains how you ended up with the right wing ecosystem. frustrationlot of among conservatives that we can't get a fair shake. that, even as i would say the right wing ecosystem is off the rails. to to thee injury country. i say that a someone who was originally supportive of that effort because i felt like it could bring balance. aboutms of the claim trump being misrepresented and mischaracterized, it's simply not true.

i can soft pedal this. i'm not going to. it is simply not true. what he says is a matter of record. it's not misrepresented. you can watch them for two hours when he gave these speeches at his rallies. you can watch as debates. you can fact-check them. you can measure them against reality. mocking oft that the the new york times reporter was photoshopped, it's not true. he really truly did that. he did it at the time. there were people there that saw it. about, what i'm talking this danger for the country this anarchy were people say any fact that is

inconvenient to my case is fake news, the starting point is donald trump is a terrific president and he doesn't do anything wrong and anything that shows the mistakes he's done, the lies he has told is by definition fake news. that's a problem for the country. it's a problem for individuals. we have to live in reality. made to live in different worlds. froms that are detached the reality of things. that's true if you're liberal or conservative. ultimately, objective truth exist. theuld also say that one of pains for me as a republican prior to trump is it was the republican that stood for

objective truth. professor wrote a new york times best-selling book. that was the case for objective truth. thing you can be guaranteed of if you come across a student is they believe truth is relative. conservatives argued against that. fundamentally rooted in the true nature of things. party have the republican as the vanguard for a person who is engaged in a full-scale is really aruth tragedy. this, i don't believe

knows the individual full spectrum of truth. that's why we need people with different cultures, it's whiny to read old books. we are all formed and shaped by our experiences. they are going to cause a stigmatism when it comes to how we see truth. we need other people to help us. truthoesn't mean the doesn't exist. we've got to double down and try to pursue it. if we don't, we will be in a bad way. we will have to end for now. a senior fellow at the ethics and public policy center.

we always apprec livetch washington journal monday, we will have earphones, -- a look now at the progressive movement and what it should expect from the joe biden demonstration. larry cohen is our guest. islain what our revolution and how it was born. the 2016 evolved from bernie sanders presidential campaign. the premise was we are building a