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 . movement that would go on

there were groups across the country that helped run that campaign initially. those groups continued for the most part into the formation of our revolution. people. a board of 10 like activists, people hightower,on, jim also local leaders. issues,on three things, how do we have world-class jobsh care, education, with the pandemic. issue work, issue campaigns. themose issues, you take into elections with candidates third,lot measures and

party building. working within the democratic party for democracy. , buildingroots there and transforming the party itself. talking aboutbe the democratic party and what it's going to look like in the biden administration. democrats, (202) 748-8000 is in a vertical. .epublicans, (202) 748-8001 independent voters (202) 748-8002. you mentioned the sanders campaign is the genesis of our revolution. do you expect to see bernie sanders in a joe biden cabinet post? guest: i think that would be wonderful. transitione how the folks feel about moving senators over and have senate elections for the most part.

i think either way, bernie will continue to help lead the country. his ideas will be more and more mainstream ideas. harris ticketiden progressive? guest: it was a successful ticket, which for all of us, that was the key thing. we had to beat what we considered a dangerous time, dangerous president as we just heard from the last caller, even republicans came to believe that. we need to go back to a more objective time or we could look at things and talk to each other and not just name it and nail it. from the headline outlook session, the price for getting rid of trump, a moderate president. i think that's definitely true. when you look at the democratic

platform, what senate and the campaign controlled the platform, there is plenty in it for a better america. progressives, it's not about my team versus some of the team. it's about working with millions of people to change the world so continue toes improve and we can think about happiness again rather than just beyond defense. host: coming back to the creation of that platform, what do you mean? guest: there were 200 people and that committee. are mostlyeople selected from elected delegates in proportion to the strength of the candidate. case, you had sanders delegates and a few others.

the platform committee was in proportion to those numbers. the biden people or in control of what the platform would be. from my point of view, it was a broad-based platform that we can rally around. host: joe biden wins the election. democrats down ballot in the house and senate do worse than originally expected. what do the results tell us about the appetite in this country for aggressive politics? guest: i think they are mixed. that's obvious by what you just related. theink it is fair to say republicans, suburban republicans crossed over to vote for joe biden because they had enough of trump. think also we look at things like the $15 wage when he was 60% in florida. we haven't dichotomy between

issues and electoral politics. the challenge for us is talking to people about issues, not saying -- labeling people. some kind of permanent divide. we are figured how to speak to each other and figuring out together what we have the health care care that the rest of the world has? why do we have the kind of early childhood education or senior care that every comparable country has? how do we get there if we are not talking to each other. there are starting points on issues that would bring us together. larry: is ourner guest. former president of the

communication workers of america, representing members of the u.s. and canada. he is here to take your questions. patrick is in pittsburgh. --ler: host: are you with this? started our program today talking about the priority that the by demonstration his put on the issue of climate change. whileeen new deal mentioned in joe biden's platform, he specifically has gone out of his way to say is climate change position is not the green new deal. what are your thoughts? guest: i'm a supporter of the green new deal. biden plan say the

is fine. the question will be either we get a democratic senate based on winning two elections in georgia, we have to work around the senate super majority rule just as mcconnell worked around them. then we can discuss how we can implement the joe biden plan. the key planks of the wind plan will be stop will be stop new drilling on federal land, it will be a massive jobs bill tied to covid relief that focuses on renewable energy and green jobs. most importantly, it would be good appointments in energy, in interior, in the epa commissioner. is fine,oiding labels because we need to bridge divides in this country. there is plenty of content to

the biden plan as far as i'm concerned. host: do you think appointments so far have shown a commitment to the issue that you are talking about -- issues that you are talking about, that our revolution has been championing? asry: we see our revolution a broad alliance that encompasses most of the democratic party. the only one that gets at domestic policy so far is his internal appointments of chief of staff and deputy. the treasury secretary i think janet yellin does have a broad view of the economy having been ahead of the federal reserve. i appreciate what powell has done at the fed and we will use our regulatory power to stimulate the economy when possible. biden's plan is fine and his appointments are

fine. are you excited about the biden administration? larry: i am. first of all i'm a realist. second of all i'm excited that we beat donald trump. that was a little bit of a nailbiter, more than i expected. with whoevero work the leaders are in the executive branch, and from my point of view, more so the progressive caucus in the house, which is almost half the democrats in the house, have shown what a progressive agenda is in america regardless of what the outcome is in the senate. i think we have to show what we stand for so we can attract new voters and get to the focus on core economic issues as well as peace in our time so we can speak to those voters regardless of how they did or did not vote in the last election. host: back to calls, this is dorothy from raleigh, north carolina a democrat. you are on with larry cohen. caller: good morning everyone.

i want to make some quick comments about the democratic party, where we make a mistake, even the progressives. when we put bills on the floor to be voted on, we should not put a lot of stuff in it. we should let people see what the republicans are against. we should do social security, just that bill and put it through. move the cap and expand social security, and let people be able to buy into medicare before 65. i retired at 59. if it wouldn't have been for obamacare i would not have insurance. their andne bill on let the people see that republicans will vote against it . i'm not finished. another thing, tax reform. pensionng with a small and i still have to pay taxes with the tax reform because he got rid of the exemptions. it put me into a spot where i now have to pay taxes.

change, when he says security we should let them know what they mean. if all the land gets flooded where we going to plant food? we are going to get a food shortage. we are going to have water contamination from trump's friend you. nowhere to live because the land is gone because it is flooded. people want to get uncivilized because they need to eat. host: you bring up a lot of issues. want to give larry cowan a chance to jump in. n a chance to jump in. larry: you brought up some great issues. on social security, i totally agree with you that we need to on incomeap based inequality as much as anything else. i don't think the social security fund is in jeopardy. in terms of bringing down the medicare age to 60 that is part of the democratic party platform

that president-elect biden supports. to me that is a critical issue to put on the floor in the house, passing it in the house and bringing it to the senate. as you said, regardless of who the majority leader is in the senate which will be determined by the georgia elections. i agree with your basic premise, let's bring issues forward, they are simple and clear cut a $15 per hour minimum wage. it would change lives and stimulate the economy. it's the kind of thing we need. bring simple, clear issues forward and pass them in the house and bring them to the senate. can you talk about -- host: can you talk about the role you are playing in georgia? larry: our number one goal is to reach voters by email because it's simple to click once and request a mail ballot. second, we are calling all of them and they are calling each other. we have lots of volunteers in georgia and around the country to encourage them to get and mail ballots.

you can get a mail ballot in georgia and then we will shift to early voting. early voting starts two weeks before the january 5 runoff. you can do a runoff in georgia on november 1. back in the senate, early voting will be key. we want to maximize turnout of those 50000 and the folks in their household, that's our number one goal. host: joseph from fairfax, virginia. independent. you're on with larry. caller: i'm a first time caller. student, 2020y and this presidential election has been disheartening from racial unrest a constant's information. how can my generation be sure that both parties are willing to work to benefit all americans? host: the mind saying what university you go to? caller: i'm a senior at george mason university. on that bipartisan question, i would really focus on voting rights.

again, i return to this word, objective from the last program. if we are objective about voting rights in this country, we realize that we have blocked out tens of millions of people from voting like no other democracy in the world does. i think young people, all of us, but especially younger voters need to say "wait a minute, we need to get rid of the relics of jim crow. we need to go to universal voter registration so people are registered when they turn 18 and get a drivers license, when they use government in any way they are automatically registered." republican in the state so-called like alaska where everybody who dissipates in energy distribution, alaska's sovereign wealth fund is registered automatically in order to get that check. i think we need those incentives. ofyou said one wish in terms what should young people do, focus on democracy.

it starts with voting rights and goes to money and politics. it goes to senate rules where the senate actually legislates instead of putting everything on the shelf which is not in the constitution. it goes to judicial reform. democracy is the key. host: joseph, are you still with us? caller: yes. host: you said you are a first time caller, what makes you an independent? around foreignup service officers, so i was able to get both sides of the argument. i always thought there were two sides to every argument. i can't look at things in a biased manner. host: thanks for calling. hope you call in again down the road. caller: from texas, a democrat, you are next. -- host: from texas, a democrat, you are next. caller: good morning, thank you to c-span. a city council person came to me

and told me i could vote and i thought i could not. you have so many years to not vote. larry? larry: i think that's an important issue. our revolution was active in florida to get so-called ex felons, so-called return full rights to vote. that's absolutely critical for democracy that we consider everybody should have a right to vote and the issue of 4 million incarcerated people voting is against a bedrock of any democracy. a topic we touch on is trying to pull up the map of felon voting rights by state. i will find that for you. specifically i wanted to talk about texas.

the national council of state legislature is the best one i can find at the moment. in texas, voting rights lost until the completion of one's sentence than it is an automatic restoration after is how it works in texas. there are some states where felons never lose their right to vote, there are some states --re it is lost until while the person is incarcerated. we will find the easier to describe map for you as well and get that as we hear from mike from new jersey, republican. good morning. [indiscernible] are you with us? caller: yes i am. i would like to ask the gentleman on tv, you are bragging about joe biden. tell me joe biden -- one thing joe biden has done in his 47 years in the senate. tell me that his faculties are

there, that he is sharp in the brain and knows what he is doing. that's my comment. biden in thek joe campaign showed that his faculties are there. rantid not see joe biden and try to divide us up based on our race or our other beliefs. i think joe biden at every turn showed that he believes in bringing people together. he would be the first to say that it takes all of us. he is not saying he's a rocket scientist or that he is going to figure out infectious disease. he is saying that his best ability is to bring people together as he has done within the democratic party and now hopefully can help do within the country. to that collar, i raised my family in new jersey and know that area well. let's figure out how to talk to each other and discuss some of the issues that might unite us rather than worry about one candidate versus another. the issueng back to

of felony voting rights, the aclu with a map that shows it easier to read their, the states in red that all people with felony convictions are permanently disenfranchised, states in orange, people with felony convictions can vote upon the completion of their sentence. the blue states there on that map. recent ash people in prison cannot vote but everyone else can vote after they are out of prison. all available at aclu.org. issue of reform when it comes to prisons and felony voting rights i wonder your back,ts on the first step -- first step act, an act that the trump administration touts. larry: not familiar with the details. if we are going to talk about prison as a way for individuals to get a new outlook, how can you possibly talk about that without citizenship being at the core?

i think that is obviously a first step. i don't really know the details of that legislation. host: ottawa, iowa, randy, a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning, gentlemen. larry, i am a member of bernie's group. , and i havefor him known who he is and what he stands for for over 10 years. through the thom hartmann program.

it's going to raise taxes to help pay for things, and i think that's the right thing to do. that voices of normal american tradition and caring for those, all americans. when i saw a friend of mine that i have known all my life talking about war against the communists and socialists who are just

democrats who don't believe the lies, who don't like to be lied to and are tired of states like anducky, mississippi, alabama not paying anything in federal income tax but us yankee states with all the rebels, the insurgent party, are paying for them to steal jobs away from us so they can give tax cuts to corporations. host: that's randy in iowa. larry: randy, that was a lot. nice to hear a shout out to thom hartman there. i have spent a lot of time in iowa in the past five years. communities, river the industrialized parts of iowa and i saw the tragedy there over the loss of manufacturing jobs due to u.s. trade policy from republican and democratic administrations. in iowa inlearned terms of the mix of the economy there. you said a lot of things.

first of all, we have learned a new economic that in a time of this kind of unprecedented disaster federal spending is needed to keep the economy going and we don't need austerity at this time. what we need is federal spending to prime the pumps and stimulate the economy. u.s. can easily ask -- afford to expand the debt to save the country literally. i do think that president-elect biden will propose taxes particularly on billionaires, the new word we use instead of millionaires because of the wealth of the billionaires in the last six months, i don't remember that number exactly but it is tens of billions of new dollars just for around 100 families that have been accumulated as the stock market ran up while unemployment was running out and so many of us faced the loss of our homes,

loss of our jobs. i think taxes are about public spending and inequity and inequality. at all of will look that in the vita administration. host: a few minutes left with of ourohen revolution. what would you say to tony who writes in on twitter that "joe biden will harp on racial divisions at any opportunity. it is alive to say that his campaign was a unifying one." larry: i could not disagree more. that is what we are getting rid of, what we are looking forward to is a president that will talk about black, brown, and white together and we'll talk about how we built this country with immigrants and native worn and native americans in recent years

together, that we built this country in the last 50 years based on the milla -- illuminating segregation and racial hatred and that is the path to the future. most importantly that our children will fall in love with people whether they are black, brown, or white and if we have regards to our own children we better understand this is a multicultural society and that if we have some religious foundation in our lives that is based on love and not hate. is mary in las vegas, a democrat, good morning. caller: for the record, i have voted for republicans as well. i have some things to say. i don't see trump as a republican at all, he is a full-blown authoritarian. his mission statement was to deconstruct our government, and we don't even know what's going on in our government. many have been so institutions that have been gutted and he has fired all the

watchdogs, the inspector general's. we don't really know what is going on. my problem is with our bills. we have hundreds of bills out there, bipartisan bills that bench mcconnell does not bring to the floor. obstructing legislation for about 12 years now. we don't even know what the parties stand for because the bills don't make it to the floor. we hear the same old stuff on the media. rather than listening to the hearings and seeing what they are voting up and down against. host: mary, i want to let larry jump in on that about the bills on the floor. you mentioned that you have voted for republicans in the past, who is the last republican you have voted for? we lost mary. larry: mary, you bring up a major point that needs way more focus which is how the senate functions. the good news would be that

from oregon and others are trying to work with republicans, hard to do in the mitch mcconnell years to talk about the senate that functions basin -- based on majority support not a senate where a bill never comes to the floor for a vote and less it has 60 votes for initial closure. i am confident that senator --umer, should really will help reform the senate muchdure so that it is more typical for bills to come to the floor for a vote with a majority for debate, amendment, and discussion. in the last 12 or so years with mcconnell as majority leader where if he doesn't support a bill it never comes to the floor for a discussion, amendment, or debate. you never hear from it again despite the fact that went

through the house of representatives and hundreds are not more cases. we need to look more globally at what the rest of the world is doing, not just looking internally at ourselves and say no other democracy in the world functions like this, not only a half senate and executive branch and judiciary that acts like a legislature but with senate rules that prevents legislation from coming to the floor for discussion, debate, and amendment unless they have 60 votes or 60 -- a senate that has constituted a way where a very small of the population elects that 40% of the senate that can block legislation from coming to the floor. host: from bills on the floor to bill in florida, and independent. bill, go ahead. caller: good morning. to help the prior collar and suggest that when your government is so vast that

you don't know what is going on in it than it does need some deconstruction. over 70 million people voted for donald trump. how do you think -- what would be the best steps for the biden administration to take in order to unite those people with the more than 70 million that voted for joe biden? larry: great question. if i may, sorry, i jumped in. i think that the key is to look for issues that unite us. and to talk about, start with the pandemic. hopefully an issue that unites us. manyuffering of so families suffering. how do we address that and how do we address the unemployment that resulted from it? how do we look at the health care crisis in a pandemic, one

of the reasons why we have had more people die per capita than any other comparable country is the fact that millions of americans have no health care. that still the case, despite obamacare. particularly in this pandemic we should have been able to extend medicare and medicaid to all americans. we are spreading this disease from those who have no health care to others. we should care about them as human beings as well. i think the key is to start with issues. the $15 minimum wage directly affects the pandemic in terms of people possibility to survive. also those people below $15 are the same people with no health care. i think we need to look at the issues that unite us and where we can quickly get an understanding that if we address those issues we will all be better off, we are all in the same boat on most of those issues because they are court our own happiness. host: those issues could come

before the supreme court, could be struck down by the supreme court. where do you stand on the idea of packing the court? host: i think court reform is important, packing is a word that is going to turn off many people. i don't mean to be disagreeing with the word you use. i think judicial reform is essential. where the only nation in the world that i know of, the only democracy where the judiciary acts like a legislature and the congress can act to change that. that is not in our constitution. i think the judiciary is way out of line in terms of what it does and how ed looks at its role in government. i think congress needs to address it. federal -- president carter expanded the federal judiciary. i think in terms of the supreme court we need to look at it down the road. that's where we start off -- i

don't think that's where we start off at all. i do think we need to look at ourselves globally. do we really want a judiciary that acts as another congress? host: how far down the road, what would need to happen for you to consider adding seats to the supreme court? think a judiciary that eliminates the economic progress, economic, domestic legislation would start to signal that. again, we talk about medicare for all. there is no way that our founders believe that the federal judiciary should play a role in whether people have health care or not, nor could they have anticipated what health care would be like 250 years ago, nor should they. i think that would be a classic issue that is before the court. we need to expand health care for all and not go backwards on it. the pandemic shows that. we have people that don't have health care and they will spread it to all of us. guest: jim wants to know more on the issue of health care.

how do you extend medicare and medicaid to everyone? talk about what you would add? fory: what i would advocate we are likely not to see in a biden administration. i would extend medicare, biden medicare and medicaid is the wanted ministry to function. the administrative cost of medicare and medicaid are 3%, ivan insurance is at 20%. isare paying 17% for what being -- 17%, the average of other -- every other country is 4%. i would expand medicare and medicaid to cover all of us and private insurance to go beyond that floor, similar to what candidates and many other countries have. that is a way to be sure that even in a pandemic we are all in the same boat and we don't have people who can't help but inspect other people.

democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. this is robert from randolph, massachusetts. a democrat, good morning. i like the temperament as you speak, mr. cohen, this is why we are saying that we cannot lead by power alone. we must lead by power of our example. this is why biden [indiscernible] shows people what qualifications that can bring the country back, that keep us safe and a proud legacy. it's just like mr. alejandro. he said the only insect --

have the division that we have to stay as a power. we cannot got all of our agencies and all the people that work for us who disagreed, and we call them all kinds of names, dumb as a rock. this is what we had for four years, and this is why most people cannot even celebrate new year's this year. wait until january 21 until we can breathe the fatigue of the gas lighting and the fighting. we need this country back. anybody who thinks wrong of biden, he can't run the country by himself. we need the world and our allies. the people who listen and disagree. we cannot go on like this.

that guy calling in saying biden can put two sentences together, we have -- i couldn't agree more with that premise, that across the world we are growing closer together. that's not just the internet, not just transportation. grow closer together, more dependent particularly in terms of climate change on each other. we need to realize a basic objective truth that wherever we live in the world, whatever we faith,ke, whatever our 90% or more of what we believe it is the same and instead of focusing on what divides us we need to focus on what unites those. i'm hopeful that the new government that we welcome in on january 20 will have that philosophy and that each of us as individuals will do our own part in listing -- i led the

union for 12 years. have two ears and one mouth and need to listen twice as often as we talk. by listening and then speaking we found out how we built that unity, whether we live in rural america or in urban america or in suburban america, if we listen more and figure out what we have in common and act on that we will increase our happiness and that should be the goal of the political process. host: georgetown, kentucky. this is fail, good morning. caller: i got a comment, a question, and hopefully follow-up question. you lie about president trump, you say he is divisive and biden is not. biden is the only one who kept telling the blacks and the latinos that trump was coming for them and all that stuff. you told lies about that. where do you stand on the second amendment, and do you really

think you can take the guns away from us out here? and then i have a follow-up question if he will answer that. larry: i live and vote in rural maryland and i would never start from a premise of taking away guns. at all. i think there is an issue between taking away guns and gun safety, and again this is an area where we should listen to each other and find common ground. that when we look at mass shootings in this country there is no reason why we can't have background checks on guns. and gun owners. the is not an invasion of second amendment. the second amendment was not based on at all first of the notion that everybody should have whatever armaments they want to have, automatic weapons or not. i think we need to look for common ground on issues like gun safety. we are not going to agree on everything in this country. we are never going to have a

congress or a senate or anyone else, even in my family we don't agree on everything. i think the key is not to take a single issue or a couple of issues and say i can't talk to -- we can't talk to each other anymore because if we agree on that we can't find anything else to agree on. when he to look at the things that we do agree on and change those things. host: we are running short on time, quick follow-up? caller: i believe you are lying and need to read the second amendment again. it is based on us being able to protect ourselves from the government. people like you who will come take our guns away so we can't defend ourselves and we become little sheep you can control. host: did you want to respond? larry: no, that's ok. host: we go to jane, democrat in illinois. caller: i was a member of the cwa in 1957, i was on the picket line and my husband was

picketing. i found him in the picket line. my question is, 70 million , ande voted for mr. trump i am wondering how we can reeducate those people so they don't vote for an unfit man and unqualified person? thanks for the phone call. what was it about your husband that stuck out in the picket line for you? caller: he was very handsome. host: what is his name? caller: i'd rather not say. host: that's ok. larry: that's a great story for me. i think that we have to talk in every community where we live across those political lines. i think particularly in terms of local government where we live, rural, urban, suburban, we have to look for issues that unite us like better education that we

can work on together, like how we can take care of our seniors if they need long-term care and need to be in a nursing home after all their resources are used up and only then qualify for medicaid. there are many issues across this country that unite us and where we can say to each other we can disagree on certain things. we could listen and hear each other on certain things. let's focus on things where we agree and let's look for our government at the local, state, and national level. even locally to do those things that can increase our happiness and can increase -- when we get make ad we can difference and improve the lives of our self and our children. host: thank you for your time.

about 25 minutes left in our program for today and for the remainder of our program we will be hearing from you, our viewers come about business and government closures across the country due to covid-19. a headline from the washington post "health experts fear the thanksgiving aftermath could bring a spike in infections." we want to hear what is happening in your town, you're part of the country. here are the phone lines. in the eastern or central united states, (202) 748-8000. in the mountain or pacific regions (202) 748-8001. in the wake of yesterday being small business saturday, we want to hear from small business owners and employees about closers and restrictions impacting you. start calling in now and we will be right back. ♪

♪ >> >> on thanksgiving weekend, we want to thank our c-span nurse who continue to provide you an unfiltered view of government and politics.

♪ >> washington journal continues. about whatnt to hear is happening in your part of the country when it comes to covid-19 closures and restrictions, having this conversation at the end of the thanksgiving holiday. today expected to be another heavy travel day around the country for those who did not

abide by recommendations of public health officials to stay home for the thanksgiving holiday. millions expected to go through the airports once again this sunday at the end of thanksgiving. here are some of the latest numbers on covid infections and hospitalizations and deaths. some 4 million americans have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in this month alone, twice the previous record which was set last month. more than 2000 people dying every day. over 2 million people past three u.s. airports the day before thanksgiving. on thanksgiving day, hospitalizations in the united states exceeded 90,000 people. the following day the country hit 13 million cases, at least nine states have seen one in every 1000 residents die of the coronavirus. in the wake of those numbers, the ongoing spike. we want to hear about what is happening in your part of the country when it comes to new closures or new restrictions you are seeing.

in the eastern or central united states it is (202) 748-8000. in the mountain or pacific regions (202) 748-8001. small business owners and employees (202) 748-8002. want to hear from folks on that line in the wake of yesterday beings small business saturday. what you are seeing in your stores and what sort of restrictions or closures might be impacting you. several of the major papers today also focusing on tiptoeing back into classrooms as the new york times puts it in school districts around the country, the efforts to get children back in school to get schools opened again. the washington post also open -- focusing on this topic as well. they write in their story that the question confronting many school districts that offered in person learning this fall weeks before the coronavirus surge

start whipping before the united states, as more data suggest that schools do not appear to significantly's -- significant fuel committee spread, elected and school officials who favor open classrooms are contending with the spiraling virus threatening to overwhelm the threat joe staffing systems and contact tracing that keeps the -- let us know what is happening in your part of the country when it comes to closures and restrictions. this is frederick from florida, good morning. thank you for taking my call. comments on a couple of the -- the past couple of guests you have had on. first of all, a political comment. that theyks saying are hopeful that the trump supporters will become more

politicse and approach from a more accepting open-minded standpoint. i think it's going to be hard trump see them and the supporters and trump himself nonstop attack for the past four years and then to quote unquote forgive that and behave differently is going to be really challenging and difficult. , your as covid goes speaker, your last guest was commenting on how bad we have handled things in the united states and why our mortality rate is not the worst in the country -- in the world per capita, but is certainly not anything to be proud of. one thing folks don't realize is our behavior and our overall health in this country is obesity, type two diabetes. we also treat our elderly different than they do in you can countries

receive dialysis or go on a ventilator if you are 80 years old or 90 years old in this country. we keep people alive much longer by supporting them, and we don't see that in other countries. these folks are very vulnerable. see not unexpected that we the mortality rate in a country and we look at -- you can look at infant mortality is also terrible in this country. it's not because we don't do a good job in our neonatal intensive care units, we have a huge problem with drug addiction in mothers. it's complicated and it's not being a physician. i feel offended when we are criticized about how quote unquote terrible health care is in our country when we are fighting an overall battle because of the general health of our population. host: what kind of doctor are you? caller: a gastroenterologist. host: what is happening on the ground in milton, florida. caller: it's right outside of

pensacola, a suburb of pensacola. a have a 700 bed hospital and 750 bed hospital. we have a lot of folks getting tested positive nowadays. you can look online and look at the statistics of our area, the mortality rate is about average with the rest of the country. working in the hospital every day, the people that are dying, there are exceptions to that. yesterday, onet of our recently retired anesthesiologists who is very fit and healthy unfortunately passed away two days ago. there are exceptions to what i'm saying, i don't mean overly generalized, but if you look at the folks that are dying in the hospital, most of them are very unhealthy people and they are challenging for us even before covid. they spend a lot of time in the hospital and we take care of the complications associated with

their chronic illness that is primarily due to the choices they make in life, either too much food, too much smoking, too much alcohol, or too much drugs. host: a few other folks waiting to get in. heading to the land of lincoln, this is james, a small business owner. what kind of business? caller: good morning. number one, thank you for what you do and god bless america. i own businesses and have been an employee of them. i've been my 70's. i did dignitary security for the greatest people in america. number one, i want to tell you, performance, your it's fantastic. people need that, and americans have to come together as one. i have risked my life my whole

life as a bodyguard for the greatest people in the world. and for the average guy and woman. as one.to come together there is always going to be anger, there is always going to be differences. you wanto choice, if to keep america we have to come together as one. james in illinois, this is casey in oregon. what does it look like in that area of oregon when it comes to closures and restrictions? restaurants are closed and the schools are mostly closed. host: what about mask mandates restrictions when it came to thanksgiving? per house, people nobody from outside your home.

mandated supposedly when you go into businesses and most people are wearing them. host: you get a sense that people are ok with the restrictions that have been put in place? caller: no. i don't get that sense. i get a strong sense people are not ok with it. they are going along with it for now. hopefully it ends soon. there is a lot of controversy over these masks and mandates. host: how much longer do you think people in your area will be generally ok going along with it? caller: not much longer i wouldn't think. there is a lot of controversy over this from what i've been hearing from people. it does not help that you go on the cdc and they state that they have never once stated that masks do any good for you. that doesn't help things.

there is a lot of controversy and that's to be expected. that is casey with a view from oregon. this is ken from golden valley, arizona. caller: good morning. i don't believe we should ever shut down the country because of the covid, businesses or schools. i don't think anybody really knows from what i have listened to i don't think anyone really knows how covid spreads completely. outink we are going to find that shutting the schools and shutting down businesses in the country has done far more damage than probably the covid ever will. thank you. host: we have that special line in this segment for small business owners and employees. , the day after small business saturday. if we talk about covid closures

and restrictions on the local and state level, let us know what is happening in your community. yesterday in d.c. vice president-elect kamala harris was visiting some businesses in d.c. and chatted with reporters about the issue of small business closures. here's a bit of what she had to say. here with a great mayor of washington dc, marriott bowser to celebrate the small , but toes that are here celebrate small businesses all over our country. they are suffering and we want to support our small businesses. they are an essential part of the lifeblood of the community, part of the civic and social fabric of the community. started one and for small businesses in our country have closed. we know that we are going to get beyond this virus and we want to make sure that we sub stain the

small businesses that help through this moment so they can continue to do what they do which is about being not only business leaders but civic leaders. they are part of the culture and part of the vitality of communities. we are here to celebrate our small businesses and we want to thank the mayor for hosting us. vice president-elect kamala harris in washington, d.c.. back to your phone calls, let us know what closures and restrictions look like in your part of the country at the tail end of the thanksgiving holiday. this is sandra from florida. good morning. caller: it is pompano beach. host: i always get that wrong. i apologize, i will do better. to make a quick comment on your guess that you had when the caller called in and as far as the division between different parties. i wanted to let you know that he never addressed the one, the

color did make as far as with biden saying about, if you're not a democrat -- supposed black you are to be voting democrat. fault as farare at as dividing this country. now for your topic as far as the covid, i went out on black friday, and i'm in south florida. it's very sad. the mom-and-pop shops are closed up and boarded up. the only things they have to offer are the big-box and franchise stores that are open. than a quarter of what we are used to seeing every year for black friday. . we are doing such a disservice education --in the

they have probably been put back a year or two years in learning, it's really terrible. they are depressed. i work with special needs children. it's affecting the kids who are not special needs and the adults. we need to stay open. i'm a firm believer in that. if everything is shut down, what is going to happen? host: are you talking specifically about school staying open or in general? caller: small businesses, schools, we have to keep going. we have to, we are america for crying out loud. we cannot just shut everything down and expect the government to be paying a love our bills. i understand the people who have lost their jobs and they are in dire straits, i get that. going. to keep

we cannot just shut down, and i'm not trying to belittle all the deaths in the united states and around the world. that people find are trying to wear the masks and trying to socially distance when they are out? caller: in my area, yes. when you go in the store we do wear the mask. like myself and many others, as soon as we hit the exit door those masks are coming off. you have to figure, we are in florida. it's warmer here than up north. it's not there to keep our face warm. florida isno beach, where sandra is. a few more folks want to get in with less than 10 minutes left in the program. fulks sending text messages as well. albany, banks did not close, real estate did not close, landlords are going to get a tax cut for the money they lost on rent, all of them have their hands out for government money.

this is bill from ohio. good morning to you in the buckeye state. caller: morning. there is nothing here i have noticed that has changed. want to doything i and go anywhere i want to go. i have not seen a store close. host: are schools closed? caller: no. no. host: what about mask mandates? they haveeryone says them, but what are you going to do? get in a fight with someone? about 75% of the people wear them, but you will get the ones that just refuse. you can't say anything, what are you going to do? host: still with us? caller: yes, are you there? with the college football situation, i happen to usher at a major college football venue.

we have fans at the games, not a full crowd, then there is the big ten, i watch the michigan game and it's pathetic, there is no one there. there was no one there. what is going on with that? why is there no uniformity to that at all? that is bill in ohio this morning. to the land of enchantment. this is rod and gallup, new mexico. a small business owner. what kind of business? , c-span.ood morning i'm a small business owner. i'm a one-man shop. and --re commercial tire repair. host: how is business going? downr: business is up and due to covid. i am classified as an essential business because of the work i

do. i work with the city and the county to do repairs and stuff. for: what has that meant you and your employees? what sort of precautions does that mean you have to take or changes to how you do your business? caller: i don't have any employees. i'm a one-man shop. precautions i deal with people that come off of i-40, it's a major thoroughfare. i have contact with people all over the country. i have found that i wear a mask. i take care of myself and i work alone a lot which is helpful. because of the shutdowns, everything is reduced. i live near the navajo reservation. we are a border town out here.

they have been doing what they call the lockdowns from the beginning. there is really not any lockdowns. people are getting really tired of it. stores andown the small businesses and construction sites and things like that which has a direct .mpact on what i am doing it makes it more difficult. now and i it is right would like to see people use some common sense here. i have been working every day since the beginning and i take the precautions necessary when they are necessary. if generally people would do that you will be all right. host: when is that, just wearing a mask, washing your hands, social distancing? don't go to crowded indoor facilities? caller: basically. i wear a mask, you take the

normal hygiene that's always good, it doesn't matter if it's cold or anything else? it is difficult with the lockdowns here. the governor just did another one. the problem being it's not because they are funneling people into places. walmartot a big city, is the biggest store. home depot -- all of the smaller shops, everybody cannot go in there now or they have closed them down, but the box stores like some callers have mentioned they are full. there are 50 people standing in line before you can even get to the store. everybody intoed that one location instead of leaving things open and letting

the business owners take the precautions they feel are necessary and spreading out people. host: thank you for the call from new mexico. kenneth is in florence, oregon. you are next. caller: i would like to comment on the doctor that was on earlier about that we have requirements in the united states and we keep people alive a lot longer. what are we supposed to do, let all of our old people die? kenneth, do you want to add anything about what you are seeing in your part of the country? caller: yes. in oregon, every time we try to open schools two to three kids get infected, and they are in ,ontact with their whole class

and before you know what there is no one there to go to school. host: that is kenneth in florence, oregon. time for one or two more calls. ellyn, illinois. caller: the gentleman two calls the point.ting near what is happening here is you have the globalists and the oligarchs stand to benefit from the demise of small business. small business is the engine of this economy and it's quite an impediment to the oligarchs and the globalists. and donere shut down away with they stand to gain the most. you can see the pressure coming down from on top. we have a billionaire governor in this state, he is all over shutting everything down and it

makes total sense, the more they can shut down the more they stand to gain. it's pretty simple. from barbarae call in north palm beach, california. everything is working fine. the closing businesses and schools is not the answer. why can the big stores be open and the small stores not? it makes zero cents. it's a way of destroying the country and destroying the education. kids are never going to get up -- catch up. it's ridiculous and it's never going to improve. i'm a former democrat and i changed when it became obvious that the democrats don't care about the people. i don't understand what their motive is, children need to be in school and people need to keep working. the country will be destroyed

and go bankrupt. it's not a solution. >> on monday, lee druckman will share his proposal that would increase the federal government's role in the election process. then dr. david gifford, chief medical officer of the american health care association on the impact of covid-19 on nursing homes and assisted lipid -- assisted living facility. be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, texts, and tweets. >> here is what is coming up on c-span -- next, look into the rise of scription drug prices. then we hear from african-american business leaders on race and economic opportunity. afterward, a review of national security threats against america and what policies president-elect joe biden might announce to address them.

>> 2020 was a historic year for women, with the election of the first woman vice president, kamala harris, and it happened in the year we celebrated the 100th year of the -- 100th anniversary of the woman's right to vote. -- >> it passes the house and gets a two thirds majority. it had -- it passes the house by a margin very small. it passes the senate with only two vote margin. arehere are senators who sitting on it after the house passes it in 1918 and it takes until june of 1919 before it passes both houses. knew they weree sending out for ratification in the states and what is called an off year, when most state

legislatures were not going to be in session. that was sort of purposeful, to make it more difficult. so the suffragists had to tonight at 8:00 eastern on cspan's q&a. >> next we hear from pharmaceutical executives on why the retail price for their drugs frequently increases. they spoke before members of the house oversight and reform committee. this was the second day of a two-part hearing with the xecutives.