congressional leaders reached agreement on covid-19 relief and government funding for 2021. the coronavirus portion is estimated to cost nearly $900 billion and includes $600 to direct payments for individuals who qualified in the march distribution, an additional $300 per week in jobless benefits, a one-month extension on evictions, small business loans and billions for schools, vaccine distribution and transportation. 2021 spending also in the plan. it funds the government through next september. the agreement is being turned into a bill before it goes before the house and senate. the house returns this morning at 9:00 eastern. watch the debate live on c-span. the senate is also meeting with live coverage on c-span2. watch online span.org listen on the freeze and radio. next.ngton journal" is

this morning, we hear from a political analyst. our conversation begins at 8:00 eastern. now, today's edition of "washington journal." ♪ good morning, it's "washington journal," for september -- december the 21st. a two hour program today, the house is in at 9:00. senate leadership announced that a deal was made for another round of coronavirus relief with expectations that they will be passed in the house and senate today. the $900 billion package includes a direct aim and for most families, extended unemployment benefits and other relief efforts. we will show you the details, but what do you think of the announced deal? here is how you can let us know. republicans, (202) 748-8001.

it democrats, (202) 748-8000 -- democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. our facebook page and twitter are also available. details some of the announced by senate leadership yesterday when it comes to the total package. billion is the approximate price tag for the new round of relief, including $600 of direct payment for every adult and child with unemployment aid for the self-employed and emergency unemployment compensation also extended for 11 weeks. when it comes to the paycheck protection program for businesses, 284 billion dollars in this new round of spending. when it comes to the $600 payment, here is what fortune magazine had to say about qualifications, quoting a spokesman for senator schumer

confirming that the base out would be similar to the spring stimulus package for 2019 with adjusted growth income host: so, that's just some of the qualifications. much more in this package, we will show you the highlights. this package, what do you think? let us know, (202) 748-8001 republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. independents2 four . you can let us know through other means, text and a post on our facebook page, twitter as well. other details when it comes to this package, that includes $82 billion for colleges and

schools. it would extend the eviction moratorium set to expire at the end of this month. for another month, 25 billion dollars in rental assistance. businesses can apply for $25 million in grants, setting aside $15 million for theaters, music venues and the like. including $9 billion for treasury programs that cater to low income and others -- underserved communities. when it comes to vaccines, those vaccines are expected to hit today and include a series of moneys specifically for vaccines. $8 billion for distribution purposes. $20 billion for state testing. $20 billion for health care providers as well. that's just some of the details in this bill. also expected to be included, funding for the federal government to keep running.

the president yesterday citing a 24 hour extension of federal funding to keep the government from shutting down that is expected to be rolled into this package as well. again, you can let us know what you think about that. and as well the package that was announced yesterday in washington, d.c., daniel on the republican line, what do you think of this announced deal? it's ani think immediate emergency situation, clearly. the first stimulus package, that was a huge amount of money to corporations. this package certainly needs to include help for the average person. that weecommending recall the house members and request they don't vote for nancy pelosi unless they bring to the floor medicaid for all. we need to start looking a little further in the future they in the immediate emergency, which the country is certainly

basically a failed state. this package yesterday, you are saying it doesn't address enough of the issue? well, i'm learning that losey and mcconnell basically control the legislation and we are not getting our representatives, our so-called squad, no one seems to be pushing forward. .e are stifled in the congress the progress of this country is in bad faith. why in the world would democrats in congress pass a 700 and $40 billion defense budget? that's obscene. allen, wisconsin, independent line, high. hey, how's it going?

really disappointed with the previous bill -- this stimulus bill. i don't know about failed state, but the student loan system in this country is catastrophic, it failed and that was true before the pandemic. host: what specifically are you disappointed in about the bill? they need to cancel student loans by executive order . the president can do this and there's no better opportunity to do that than this pandemic. it's by far the cheapest way to stimulate the economy. these ppp loans are going to kostas $1 trillion. the president can cancel all student loan debt, $1.6 trillion without meeting one dime of appropriation from congress and without adding a penny to the national debt. host: ok. that's alan, from wisconsin. when it comes to other opinions,

nate from facebook says $600 costs me $6,000 in the future. i would not have taken that deal if given the choice. no one saved -- no one sane would have. jeff from georgia says stimulus isn't even a drop in the deep could've need. carol and panama city texting us this morning saying it took them long enough and should have been done months ago. twiddling thumbs as people suffer, now the rush to get it done so that they can get home for the holidays is disgusting and not surprising as mcconnell has been the problem from the start. mcconnell taking to the floor in light of the announcement of this deal. both sides talking about how they are glad it was passed, but addressing the politics of the issue behind its package. -- passage. we will start with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. [video clip] >> from where i stand, from where senate republicans stand,

there's no reason this urgent package couldn't have been signed into law multiple months ago. for months senate republicans have consistently supported a targeted rescue package under $1 trillion focused on the same kinds of policies we have stumbled on today. as far back as july. republicans have consistently supported a targeted package right in the ballpark of this total amount, with exactly the same kinds of policies in the mix. the package that will shortly become law falls exactly within the ballpark of what senate republicans have been proposing and trying to pass since last summer. >> by all rights, a bill of this urgency should have passed months ago, eight months ago. the country needed it. we all know what happened. the republican majority caused

more than eight months of delay and rely -- delay and greed -- delay and gridlock. 20 members of the senate majority wanted no money. the republican leader cynthia forgets for months that he said we should examine the crisis, put it on pause while democrats were demanding more action. idea that this delay was caused by democrats is alice in wonderland history. it was caused by a republican majority the didn't want to vote for money desperately needed by the american people. host: and that was the senate minority leader, chuck schumer, also commenting on the passage of the agreement that was reached in the politics behind it. the senate and the house today in reportedly to vote on this package, with the house coming in at 9:00 this morning. texas,om brownsville, democratic line, you are next. caller: pedro, hello.

american people, moscow mitch, mitch mcconnell, with this stimulus bill, he basically wants to keep the power in the senate. he knows darn well that if all soft and warnick win in georgia, he's going to lose power. you have to understand, the republicans in georgia, they are corrupt. they are traders. i'm not saying traders like traders and becoming powerful. i'm talking about greed. host: you are saying the deal was done to help the georgia street -- georgia situation specifically? caller: of course. mitch mcconnell is corrupt. how many decades? host: what convinces you that

those things are connected? well, mitch mcconnell, , hehow long, 99 months didn't want to pass the stimulus bill. they are doing it because mitch mcconnell knows about georgia. off.i said earlier, also andll soft -- ossoff warnick win, his power will be gone. host: all right. republican mind, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. this should have been passed along time ago. pelosi the one that's been holding it up. not the senate. chuck schumer, he needs to get a new speechwriter. his speeches are getting really old, blaming everybody except to the blame is. do you blame speaker

pelosi on this one? well, she wants money for stuff that has nothing to do with this current situation. people are out there losing their businesses, they can't feed their kids. they need this money and instead she wants to prop up these failed pension plans in these failed democratic states and cities. they need the money and they need it now. host: are you concerned about the overall spending price of this package, almost $1 trillion? well, they supposedly put money in there that wasn't spent from the first bill that was passed. as a republican conservative, i am concerned that the republicans are doing for the democrats to, throw money at everything. but we got people hurt and --

hurtin in this country. they need the money and they need it now. about the passage of this bill, yesterday, "more will be looked at come the new year under a new administration with ."den harris thatwashington post" right there were some unexpected expenditures in the agreement, including border security technology." for an unexpected tax break corporate meal expenses lobbied for by the white house and strongly denounced by congressional democrats

host: more of that you can find in "the washington post." alabama, kurt, good morning. caller: good morning, pedro. good morning, america. i would like c-span2 do an entire show and make a comparison of what's supposed to be the greatest country in the world, america, and this economy and our wealth and make the comparison between what america has given its citizens as a plandemic,his scam, whatever you want to call it. compared to the rest of the world. canada, france, germany, italy, spain. they give their citizens up to $4000 per month.

pick a country. you could pick any of those countries and what they give their citizens is between $1400 and $4000 month and the richest most powerful country in the world with the largest economy in the world is scrimping and screw ching on our tax dollars, making it a priority as a last resort. to give us half of what they .ave us you starve us all summer, all fall. going out the door you decide to give the american people half the money that you gave them in was scheduled and .o to be re-up in the summer host: darrell, independent line, high. caller: it's too little money,

too late. we should have a pox on both houses. when something can still be done, here's the idea. when the billt it comes to his task, he puts it in and we basically only allow the senate and the house up top it with changes $600 per person to $1200 like it was in the early part of this year. he can force them to make a move. congresske a hint in don't have to change any articles here or there. just one. 600 to 1200. that's what should be done. host: on the president's twitter feed, he was talking about the efforts and for more to be done as far as direct spending. the caller referenced the $1200

check that went out previously, $600 past as expected by yesterday with the deal. alexandria, virginia, democratic line. carolyn, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. never have i seen such a mess. he don't care anything about people because they got money. i don't care what's going on on capitol hill. all because they didn't want to sue big companies for the covid? he's looking out for the big people. i'm not saying the democrat is right or republicans is right right now. nobody is right when they let the people of the united states

starve and be put in the streets with kids in the middle of winter in the middle of the street. something's got to be done. we need to vote all of them out. host: carolyn, alexandria, virginia, giving her thoughts. some of the thoughts from the facebook page, of you were saying 1200, 600, whatever, a short,e and a dollar just a couple of payoffs as if this really helps anyone. the process has been a litter sized and monopolized by politicians and the richest cronies. i will take your $600 and spend it towards a bill. now what? this from facebook saying that nancy pelosi held the american people hostage for six months for $600. why is broadway getting 12 million just to open up all the bills and says?

-- all the businesses? that this boost is supposed to make it even? these are just some of the comments from our facebook page if you want to post their. you can also text us this morning, as several of you have on this announcement that was made yesterday. --(202)8-8002, all 748-8003, all we ask is that you include your name, your city, in your state when you do that. tonya? caller: i'm sick and tired of hearing about the democrats, nancy and chuck schumer always complaining about them, yet our ordered when they were doing the compromise, nancy came down to 2000 -- 2 million -- trillion. onerepublicans had said

billion. she did come down, she tried to compromise. i agree with the other lady who said they are only looking out for the corporations. $1200 is not a lot of money. think about people's rent. that takes stuff right there. but our president held us hostage. mitch was not going to do anything until the president said he would do something. the election, he said he would come past the stimulus bill. that's holding the country hostage. the republicans need to pay attention to what he's actually saying. host: ok, that was tonya in rose hill, giving us a call and talking about her response to this package. it also includes and extends the

moratorium that was supposed to kick in at the end of the year. includes $25 billion in rental assistance. you can go to many websites, we took this from the hill. this announced package has an expected vote today. john, bristol, connecticut, independent line, next up. caller: there's still no plan for the states. the states were there on the front lines. this party that claims they are at the end of the day there's money that people are getting, they have to pay taxes on all this for the states to keep them going. i don't understand this republican party this president. thank god we only have one more month of this. editorial responses this

morning, this is from "the new york times" host: again, that's the editorial from "the new york times." the wall street journal this morning, this is what they write about the dollar figures, $600 to most americans who earn up to $100,000 with little or no economic impact since it won't change incentives with a focused on the neediest

both there is more to those editorials online this morning. you can find them if you wish. debbie, indiana. yes, $26 each, i don't think that is right. these people have more than others on social security. host: you are saying that you should get equal or more, that's what you are arguing for? >> i don't make that much money, i'm on social security. host: ok. everett, colorado, republican mine.

caller: good morning, pedro. merry christmas to everybody. the government works slow. they are mostly lawyers and their. if you have ever dealt with lawyers, you know how that works. everybody could probably use more money. this $600 -- the $600 probably doesn't help a whole lot of people with the amount of rent and food that they have. that lady who called who needed a spark plug changed on her car, i felt so sorry for her. everybody has different needs. know, it'same, you on both parties. when you have lawyers, that's how it works, kind of like grade school. everybody blames everybody else but doesn't take responsibility.

i would encourage people to read the conversation -- the constitution. comes to this it type of spending, and both sides have commented on it, is this type of spending sustainable? caller: it won't be for very long. this is a tragedy. the government has got to do what it needs to do and get the money out as quick as they can. it's really needed. thank you. host: to everyone who called in on the total price tag concerns when it comes to coronavirus relief, my rep from twitter added this morning that i don't need it and it stinks, for now it should go to small businesses and when it comes to what's been offered by the senate, it's too little, too late. sites, rickl media

in boston, massachusetts, independent line. far as stimulus, they should have done it six months ago. let me tell you, what they should do with a lot of the , so youthey should have have all these dummies trying to get rich in their, they don't need people like that. this guy doesn't do nothing. he don't see the people on tv, the people begging in the food lines and stuff? host: to the democrats have a role? caller: we ain't in charge. when you get that job that mr. -- mitch mcconnell got, you can talk to me about that. but they had that job he got, him and trump, they going down the pipe pretty soon. host: but they control the house, though. caller: next month if they don't

win those two states in atlanta they going to control nothing in mitch mcconnell should be in there no more anyway. he's been in there too long. people think they on everything, like trump. this dummy stole the election from hillary clinton and he's going to start crying? what's he talking about, this thing with this russian thing there's nobody there to help his stupid behind. host: all right, we will leave it there. this story looks at vaccinations, going on in the background as mentor and i had a rollout of vaccinations yesterday with the starting of that process today. pfizer already releasing what they put out into the market, the cdc taking a look at who should be next up and in line to get those vaccinations. this is from cnbc, reporting that the panel there voted 13 to the frontday that

line essential workers and people 75 years of age and older should be next in line to be eligible to receive the vaccine. b group,alled phase 1 according to the advisory committee, including a front line of central workers like firefighters, teachers, corrections officers, and others essentialup, and then ,orkers, that's phase 1c educational staff, daycare workers, agricultural workers, manufacturing workers, social service workers, and the like. it goes on from there. that's the announcement from yesterday when it comes to who will be next up in line to get a vaccine. president-elect, joe biden, according to the associated press, will receive his first dose on live television as part

of an effort to convince the american public that the inoculations are safe. this will come the day that the second vaccine will start arriving in states. the president-elect says that he doesn't want to get ahead of the line but wants to make sure that he demonstrates to the american and wants to thank health-care workers at the facility where they received the shot. that's what's going on on the vaccination front, when it comes to the distributions you have heard about. pfizer, moderna, wall street journal picking up a story on that, saying the government plans to distribute seven point 9 million doses of vaccine over the coming weeks from moderna and pfizer. it was during the first week of mass immunizations, according to "the wall street journal," that vaccine doses out

that largely went to health-care as they missed out in the rural areas because they lacked the freezer temperature capabilities. we have spent about half of an hour on your thoughts around congress reaching a deal over stimulus and we will spend the next half-hour until 8:00, if you want to call us. four republicans, (202) 748-8001 free democrats. r democrats. tony, tampa, florida, you are next up. youer: hey, pedro, i hear doing. everybody crying 600, 1200. this country last year had $800 billion in credit card debt. $900 billion in student loan debt.

$68 billion in snap program money. 880 billion dollars in overall welfare spending on welfare programs. with all that money out there, why should any of the low income need more money? this stimulus bill should have been for the taxpayer who goes to work every day and gets nothing from the government in benefit. they are the ones who should be getting the stimulus. they are the ones who are hurting. the middle class is getting destroyed in this country. under trump the poor got fatter and the rich got richer. the middle class got nothing. zero. to hear these people complaining about people standing in line with no food? i mean, i just don't see it. what i see when i go to the grocery store are people with two or three baskets with food

pulling out a card with the american flag on it. that's what i see. richie, massachusetts, independent line, good morning. 100%, he named all those programs, these people are getting that on top of what they are laid off and they don't even work. the truth is you could work 26 hours a week and stay on the programs. in thishe threat country. all this country is doing now is just printing out money, printing out money, and printing out money. these times it's just going to collapse. god bless you, sir, you are really right. thank you very much for listening to me. republican line, good morning. caller: good morning.

i just wanted to comment on the stimulus bill. on christmas day i would like to see people like nancy pelosi, chuck schumer, and the politicians going around on christmas day to meet some of these people in west virginia, kentucky, tennessee and north carolina, places like that, give them a $600 stimulus check when they look at the little kids that ain't had no christmas, no food, no jobs and they are hurting and they have been mistreated during the election and they are talking about taking gun rights away while crime is on the rise, defund the police, protesters in the streets. host: what makes you think that doing that would change anything? caller: everyone of them should be giving -- getting $2000 apiece, minimum. we've got it for the other countries, they don't need those $52 billion for united airlines.

these people in our country are hard-working people. in our state of texas the governor cares about the people and he make sure the people are well taken care of and governor abbott is a strong individual and i think that all politicians that work in d.c. need to get up on christmas day and put on the walking shoes and start going to people's houses, meet these families getting $600. that point.de serena, south dakota, democratic line. caller: i kind of agree with the last caller about the $2000 into it should be going to. i'm an effective family, i'm a hard worker that has been laid off a few times, trying to survive during the pandemic. they say we don't want to work? that's not true. every american once their job back. when you toss around a $600 payment after five months of the

back-and-forth? it's a joke. it's too little, too late. what are we going to do with $600 if we are already four months behind? host: the package includes unemployment extension. with that you out as well? caller: not really, it ran out for me back in july. i'm still trying to get paid from back in july. those families who are waiting to get their first payments from unemployment, it's a joke. host: serena in sioux falls, giving her comments on the announcement from yesterday. when it comes to those with covid and how it might affect how they get health care, "the washington times" this morning had a sign up -- had a story that sign-ups for obamacare are trending 6% higher amid the deepening economic misery and according to preliminary figures the centers for medicare and

medicaid say that more than 8.2 million people -- host: alonso, greenville, south carolina. caller: hey, how you doing? host: fine, go ahead. negotiator loses $1 trillion in the negotiation, how do they keep the position?

the one point $9 trillion that mnuchin offered, she was at 2.2. now we are at 900 billion instead of 1.9 trillion. so, how does she keep her speakership after negotiating one last thing, does the mrna vaccine have nanotechnology in it? that's it, i'm done. host: marian cushing, oklahoma, hello. 75,000 is too high. people cannot live within a reasonable amount, they need to move. oklahomamove to because i love it, i moved here because i could afford it. $35,000 and back to

anybody with an income of $75,000 made more than twice what i've ever made in my lifetime. two a year. so, you know, get over yourself. 75,000 is way too high. host: those are some of the limits that we showed you earlier from the fortune piece as far as who can all a five or the new round and you can find that online. a couple of people reaching out to us by text this morning. this from baltimore, maryland, saying congress makes 18,000 per month via a one-time payment, pathetic at best going to late payments and other bills. is congress willing to survive on that one time and if not, what makes them think i can? $1200 should be the minimum continuing through the winter and christmas won't be happening in this house this year. jean, al myra, new york, saying that this will be a bit of help,

better than nothing and my money goes to january taxes. many desperate natural disasters and we will get through this, to. we are america, strong, thank you. marion, lafayette, indiana, republican line. caller: i was a truck driver and last night i was loading up the truck on the moderna vaccine's. truck, i know a little bit about loading and i was concerned with how high they had it in the truck. did not put on any load locks or any kind of barrier walls between this to keep these , this packaging from shifting

or falling. someone may want to check on this so that we can get the vaccines to the facilities safely. we are talking about this economic aid, what do you think of this new round of spending? i live month-to-month on social security. i plan three months ahead when i do my shopping. this way i can afford my medicines, my household goods, my groceries. fuel in the car and everything else. the $1200 that we reached last time was a tremendous help. it put me ahead. so, now when things are short, you know, i have it. waiting for bathroom tissue, kleenex, paper toweling or anything like this.

my pantries are full, my freezer is full. i put in a garden this summer. another me will be tremendous help. host: ok. that's marion giving her perspective from indiana. charlotte, north carolina, democratic line, april, hello. caller: good morning. my comment on this subject is theirmocrats, they did , thisbut mitch mcconnell is trumps america. where is he at? thep is supposed to be on front lines watching all this? we have heard nothing from trump concerning this problem. people are suffering. host: again, the president sent out a tweet yesterday where he called for more direct payments. that was as of yesterday.

caller: tweet? a president tweeting? we want to see a president speaking to the american people. not tweeting. he's not a teenager. he needs to stop the tweeting. people are suffering, people are dying and the president is tweeting? it's a shame. are several people commenting on social media feeds this morning. mark linger says both sides are painting it as a bridging emergency relief package with needed stimulus forthcoming and from that lens, it's adequate at best, more in 2021 is essential and a better delivery, saying no but this is what happens when members of congress want you to think they have done something really good even though it's the bare minimum just because they couldn't wait to get out of town , something is better than nothing, happy holidays. toother news, when it comes

january 6, the next stage in the president-elect being confirmed, congress, 60 -- congress certifies the electoral college votes. on the hill, national republicans looking to avoid a floor fight over the certification and electoral college with mitch mcconnell intervening, asking members not to join the vote from alabama or from any other house members looking to reject the results when congress meets to certify the accounts. president trump is waging a pressure campaign to get senators to revolt. tommy to bernville will be sworn in on january 3 and the hill joins in for a fight with rand paul next to claim the election was stolen but trump is always a wildcard and republican strategists are hoping that they can squash the insurgency, relieving the debate that is

tearing the party apart ahead of that january 5 runoff election in georgia that will determine the balance of power in the senate. when it comes to the president himself, from yahoo! news recently on that certification day, yahoo! news reporting that the president himself promised reporters that there would be a wild rally in washington, d.c., the date when congress is set to quote convene and from his twitter feed he said that it was statistically impossible for him to have lost and that there will be a big protest that will be wild on january 6, with the tweet claiming something and peteralse, navarro included wildly debunked claims of election fraud. that is again from yahoo! news. also, the trump campaign again going to the u.s. supreme court with the inquirer reporting that

he's asking the court to step in and overturn several decisions that the pennsylvania supreme court made regarding the election saying that the court overstepped its bounds and that the outcome of the election for the presidency of the united states hangs in the balance. there's more of that there if you want to "the philadelphia inquirer." randy, illinois, independent mind. caller: can you hear me? host: you're on, go ahead. caller: to your callers this morning about the $600, you know what? those senators and what you call it from the house, the republicans, they are on overtime. they should have went home a long time ago. but because of this bill, you know what? mitch mcconnell is probably running this thing over at the white house himself for the president to sign it because once his signature is on there

they can all just run home real quick and everything. you know what? the president ought to do one right last thing and take his powerful pen and take that bill and look at it and look at them, scratch off the $600 and put $1200 underneath and say you can't leave town until i get the $1200. they won't know what to do for pete sakes, man, because they want to get out of town as fast as possible. the president could pick up that powerful pen and just do that and he ought to do that and i tell you, would they be surprised. host: marcus, pensacola, republican line. caller: i want to know about the 8 million people that didn't receive a stimulus check in the first go around. i don't think anyone should receive a check until congress straightens this problem out and go ahead and send out the 1200 to the people that did not

receive a check. host: was it a technical issue or a qualification issue? why didn't you receive one? do you know? caller: the people i have spoken with the did not receive them, sadly most of them are registered republicans. texas, next on the democratic line, talking from the announced deal yesterday on coronavirus relief. wanted to comment on the political aspect of it. the democrats are basically now accepting a deal that is half of what they could have gotten before the election. i was critical of pelosi and the democrats before the election for not accepting the $1.9 trillion deal. but in hindsight, it was obviously a political it might helpat

donald trump win the election. and, and i think at this point now it was a wise decision. we couldn't take four more years of trumpism and trump arrangement. with biden coming in now after the new year, we should be able to get even more help than the current deal is going to provide. host: speaker pelosi saying as much, waiting on the incoming administration with more to be done on the topic of relief. of course, that also depends on what happens in the senate after the georgia runoff. speaking of, if you live in georgia, you are seeing a lot of ads about the runoff races to the tune of billions, according to "the new york times" this morning. "soaring and saturating the daysves, in the past seven campaigns and outside groups

spent more than $50 million on television ads across georgia, with some days in december more than one third of all ads in georgia were political during the local news broadcast with a target for political campaigns, 60% of all ads were political, outpacing the ad saturation in the general election with airtime races vying for ." john, michigan, independent mind, how you doing? caller: how are you doing? this is from kalamazoo, michigan, actually. i got my sunday paper yesterday and in the paper there was a full section similar to around 10 pages that had in the neighborhood of 1500 foreclosures on properties for failure to pay property taxes.

people will say that it had to be at least two years. a lot of of people that are cash-strapped will forgo payment until next year. this is, this is ridiculous. the $600 payment is really a drop in the bucket. it's not going to help a lot of people. i can't say it's not going to help at all, a little bit it's going to help. but people are losing their properties, getting evicted. it's ridiculous. like when these people are doing, when they rush this thing through just of that they can go home for christmas? some people aren't going to have a christmas or a house to spend christmas in. host: it also includes the extension of the mortgage -- moratorium and the rental assistance as well. that's a portion in there, too. get that, i get that, but all that is going to come

due. an extension simply kicks the can down the road. the bill also included the so-called three martini lunch for corporate. why? it just doesn't make any sense. in louisiana.next kenner, louisiana, democratic line, hello. caller: good morning. host: you're on, sir, go ahead. caller: no, i know, pedro. host: you're on, go ahead. caller: you can hear me? these people need to do the right thing. it's just amazing a lot of, how this stuff has been handled. 2020 has been a mysterious year. host: when you talk about finger-pointing, you mean the politics behind the deal being done? yeah, they are playing

politics and i feel like upon in a chess game. it's just ridiculous. , it like my grandfather say took them this long to do that? that means they don't want to do it. kenner,at's william and louisiana, giving his thoughts to the process playing out politically behind this announced deal, "the washington post" saying that when it comes to the mechanics of what's next, even if they are able to resolve the sticking points from yesterday it may take more time for congressional staff members to resolve the agreements in the house in the senate and lawmakers have not yet released the text of the agreement between senior democrats and pat toomey over the federal reserve, sticking point as of saturday

unemploymentcludes benefits for gig workers and the like. a lot of things that you can find online and we showed you some of those things in the features of this proposed spending plan or proposal. catherine is in louisiana, democratic line, hello. caller: how are you, sir? host: i'm fine, go ahead. caller: people should be happy that we are getting the $600, ok? older people, their social security is going up a small portion. plus our government is raising the food stamps up for louisiana. so, why is everybody complaining over this? why shouldn't they be complaining? let me ask you that.

at least we are getting the 600 dollars. we could be getting not anything. host: that was catherine in louisiana. $600 in unemployment aid for those who are self-employed and an 11 week extension under emergency unemployment compensation, all in all $284 billion set aside for the paycheck protection program. from fortune as far as who is going to qualify, this quotes a spokesman for chuck schumer, saying that the phaseout for this would be similar to the spring stimulus package, the cares act stimulus increase for 2019 adjusting to federally taxable income with 75,000 per individual or qualified couple and the checks completely phased out for individuals earning above $99,000 in joint filers .ith no children

more there at the fortune story, if you want to see it there. elaine from florida, independent line, high. caller: that fellow that call in about the food stamps and every free thing given to them and nothing to the middle class, he ought to be in washington. i have a neighbor that works in the school system and in the summer she had to be in their to pack their breakfast and lunch. they don't check who is coming in. all they do, they found out that these people were going around selling the packages they put in. they are right across the street from a housing project funded by the government. and you know they are all on food stamps. why are they getting free breakfasts and free lunch? where is the mother to take care of these kids? i'm disgusted with this system and i have called our washington congressmen on this.

that man in washington, he should be there, whoever it was that call in with all the figures. host: henry, we will hear from you, next. hello. they can give the folks more money at this point in time. these folks in there are two old. they need some youngblood to bring it into the 21st century. this is ridiculous, man. 700 and $40 billion? and you can't give people just a couple of dollars? they can't even stop them from hacking the systems and everything. you that aconvinces change in leadership would have resulted in a different outcome? these old guys, i'm 71, i'm one of them, but these old

guys, there's no way that they can think the way they used to think. there's no compassion for nothing. it's about them. i'm a combat vet from vietnam. i never seen anything like this in my entire life. you can't even help your own people? really? that was henry in virginia. wendi is in roseville, michigan. caller: good morning, pedro. merry christmas and all that. i'm happy we are getting $600. that's going to help a lot. this year was kind of a rough year. i lost my mom, 94. she had dementia and she was, you know, suffering. that $600 is going to help a lot. to hear these people that are complaining, come on, people, it's money. you, spend it the way you want to.

did you receive the previous payment? caller: i did. host: how did it help? caller: it helped a lot, i was trying to behave bills and things like that and this one will help, too. host: what do you expect to do with this round of money, if i may ask? caller: i'm trying to buy a house, so that money's going towards downpayments and things like that. in roseville,endi michigan, democratic line, the final caller talking about this effort from congress. say close to c-span and c-span.org for action on the house and senate signed around the potential signing of the deal announced yesterday. house comes in at 9:00 this morning and we will take you to that session when it comes in. but we will start off by continuing on with authors this week.

joining us today we are going to sellers aboutri his book, "my vanishing country." we will hear more about that book on this program when we continue. ♪ >> tonight on "the communicators," zoom head of public policy on their growth during the pandemic. >> it has been a transformational year for this country. we went something from the order of 10 million daily meeting participants in december to something north of 300 million in april. prior to the pandemic, we were focused almost entirely on business customers. of course, all of that changed. when the pandemic arrived, we understood that we had the opportunity to connect not just families, but people,

faith institutions, schools, health care institutions. it's just been extraordinary. we announcer: tonight at it :00 p.m. eastern on c-span two -- at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span 2. listen to c-span's podcast "the weekly." we are talking to political scientist robert browning who directs the c-span archives about congress' increasing use of lame-duck sessions to tackle big legislation. washington journal continues. it is office week on washington journal, we are going to hear from authors including investigative journalist joe but duringmorrow

us today, author and seen in political analyst on his book my vanishing country: a memoir. thanks for joining us on the program today. guest: good morning and happy holidays to everyone watching today. host: what do you mean by that and where did you get that perspective? guest: thank you for asking the question, thank you for having me. it is twofold for me. i'm from a big city in south carolina where we have three stoplights. my mom and dad would always tell me the two most important words in the english language were the words thank you, so i want to begin by thanking you and all of your listeners and viewers today. but this poor town that i grew up in is now a food desert where you can't go and get access to fresh fruits and vegetables. the small businesses which are the backbone of this country, which were once flourishing are no longer there, not getting the support from the government like they used to. it is a city where kids go to

school and their heating and air don't work. 90's, they began to see manufacturing plants changing and moving and picking up to go overseas. and so the rural areas that we once knew to be vibrant, it was a decently well-off small town because it had railroad tracks that went both ways, it was very rare to have railroad tracks that went north, south, east and west. these small towns that were the backbone of our country, that have the hustle and bustle are now banishing before our eyes. that is one portion of the title. the other part is from a very 50,000 foot view. when you are talking about the ideals of this country, things like love, truth, justice,

peace, things that young folks tend to believe to be more tangible than some of our older citizens. those ideals are vanishing as well. empathy are vanishing. challenge.of a the meaning is twofold. but i believe that in the 240 pages i was able to clearly articulate both the challenge of a vanishing country and the perseverance that we all have. host: you start talking about your father, an event that happened to him. can you describe that? guest: most people don't know about it, which is the largest tragedy. a lot of people know about jackson state, but not many people know about south carolina state. my father was a member of the student coordinating committee. he served under both

coordinating committees. 1968, the students at south carolina college --anized a protest of it all of an all-white bowling alley. the students that day, they went down and protested. the police ended up coming, state troopers ended up beating many of the students witwith leather, rawhide whips. students had to go back to the campus to heal their mental and physical wounds. and then came february 8, that fateful day were students came back and protested, this time when state troopers came and they went back to their campus, they built this huge bonfire. and build a huge bonfire the state troopers wound up along the embankment below the campus and for eight seconds,

they fired shots into students, and killed three. they wounded 28. night,er was shot that and was arrested as well. he was charged with five felony counts, looking at a maximum 75 years in prison. his bond was denied. fired shots who into the group of students were tried and they were all found not guilty. i father subsequently went to from february 8 to february 6 and he was charged, tried and convicted of rioting. somewhat jokingly the with a great deal of sincerity that at the same time, he became the first one-man riot in the history of this country. night, justice left the pages of my state's and it left my sister born without her father. she was born while my father was serving his sentence.

host: as a result of that experience, in your book you describe yourself as a child of the civil rights movement even though you were born well after that. how do you make that connection? guest: it's an easy connection to make. my father, growing up in this "it takes a village nash,se a child," diane we learned from them, we looked up to those individuals who paid the last full measure of devotion. the henry smithd samuel henrs, and governor middletons. my father nearly paid the ultimate sacrifice, but gave up so much. theother was a part of first integrating class of hamilton high school in memphis, tennessee. i am a child of that movement, i

am someone who grew up understanding the price that was paid. understanding and being able to look at your hero every day the kitchen is something that i recognize. i stand on his shoulders and so many more. host: if you want to ask questions about his book, his father, the things he writes about, you can do so. (202) 748-8000 eastern and central time zones. (202) 748-8001 mountain and pacific time zones. you can also text us and post on our facebook page and twitter feed as well. our guest also serve as a scene in political analyst and was a former south carolina state representative. when did that happen? guest: that happened relatively one. i always joke that i am the best state legislator. i am retired now. i got elected when i was 21 years old to the south carolina state house of representatives. june 13, 2006.

it was 21 years old. i beat the 26 year incumbent who was 82 years old. i ended up serving for eight years in south carolina state, the best experience i've ever had in my life. i gave up my house he to run for lieutenant governor, the youngest nominee of the state party. i was the democratic nominee for lieutenant governor back when we ran separately. i was defeated by henry mcmaster. 42% of the vote. experience,amazing and just for the record so everyone knows, henry won fair and square, we don't need to recount that at all. i'm not filing lawsuits over that one. it was a great experience to serve. i tell people lebron james is he and i had the coolest jobs of any 22, 23-year-old in the world. host: when you made that

decision to run, you got a reaction from your mom and your dad. guest: when i came downstairs and told my mom and dad i was going to run for the house of representatives, my mom said she would vote for me, of course. my dad said he would think about it. i knew i had a long way to go. we knocked on over 2600 doors in my district. i know people watching might say 2600 doors, that is not a lot. but in the rural south, you knock on a door, drive one mile, and knock on another door. experiencescinating of learning about politics, learning how to run, learning how to win and making history along the way. host: part of your book you talk about your challenges with what you learn from your father and his experience. challenge is broader than that of my dad's generation. they wanted to empower their communities economically, politically, and socially but they also wanted to sit at the same lunch counters, drink from the same fountains and go to the same schools.

i want to atone for slavery, for jim crow, for the industrial complex, and for the ambivalence where there is violence against unarmed black man. can you go from there? i, and manyther and people in his generation when we have these conversations, we have the benefit of hindsight, i recognize that. power,re chanting black it was a purifying phrase that sent ripple effects through many throughout the south. they weren't talking about any type of black violence, they were talking about black sustainability, they were talking about self sustainability, they were talking about building up economic power in their communities, political power in their communities. and so when i look at some of the things they were doing and how equal access to accommodations was somewhat of the endgame for them, i look at

the challenges we face today, and what i always tell people is that if that movement had not ended, that movement had simply continued, and someone morphed into the new challenges we face today. whether or not we are talking about breonna taylor or george floyd, tamir rice, the list goes on and on. whether or not we are talking about the systems of oppression, because i really don't get caught up in people calling me the n word because that happens, i don't get caught up in the ignorance that sometimes envelops our discussion, but i am caught up in trying to deconstruct the systems of oppression. not just the criminal justice system, but the environmental injustice where you have hundreds of students and cities in the nation states -- in the united states, that don't have water. these educational injustices where kids go to school and they are punished because of where they were born into. those are the challenges of the day.

i don't want anyone to think that the generation before us, their efforts were in vain. by no means. however, those challenges, those generational challenges have changed and we have to be ready to stand up to those today. host: so the best avenue to make those changes, is it political, from your experience and what you talk about on capitol hill? guest: no, it's not one or the other, it is both. it is not either/or. i tell people that we need protesters in the streets, we need those individuals who are pushing and applying pressure from the outside. we need those civil rights organizations who are putting pressure and applying pressure on our elected officials, and then we need people like myself and try to go in and change the system from within. we need young people who have a vision for reimagining what this country should be. it is a both. we need people from the inside of the system applying pressure and we need people externally,

even if you are just sitting at home dialing from washington, d.c. or even if you're a part of a sorority or the naacp or whatever it may be. both of those things are required to reimagine what this country should be. host: we have because lined up for you. the author of is "my vanishing country." ci is in north carolina, democrat line. go ahead. caller: hi, thank you for sharing your story, it is so very interesting. i can remember back in the 60's, the civil rights movement, the freedom riders. my grandma said get down, grow, there is going to be shooting in the town today. we were so scared, we didn't know. we had robert williams, the activist, we grew up on the same street with him. fascinating, the things we've seen in this country.

but it is getting better, like you said. there is a long way to go, but your story is so interesting. i can't wait to get your book. thank you so much. guest: well thank you so much. people like robert in so many we madei tell you this, a lot of progress in this country. anybody who tells you otherwise is a liar. i think the challenges we still have are a ways to go, so that is on my generation, on the generation coming behind us, to make sure that we are dedicated and applying the same pressure and dedicating yourself to the same causes that a lot of these heroes, they don't write about it. that is one of these reasons i love this book. teachers usually don't teach us about the other names that when you peel back the layers of the onions, you see that they are just as important as anyone else. i want to give those individuals a voice. you may recognize some names in

the book. thank you for your support, and god bless you. host: give us examples of some of those names. guest: i talk a lot about julian bond. julian is one of my heroes. talked some about jubilee jackson. a name who is not that well known, who was assassinated in the movement. i talk about the role of women, particularly ella baker, the role in my father's life. we don't just talk about the individuals who the history books to just elementary school. we dig a little deeper when it comes to those heroes. emma mccain, for example. we talk about all of these individuals who just played a role in my life, my father's life. emmett's mother, who had the audacity to see what happened to

her son by having an open costed when he was -- open casket when he was brutally lynched. hopefully people will be able to share their stories and give them voice as well. host: you talk about when the phone would ring at home and you would refer to them as uncles and aunts when they would call the house. guest: uncle julian, uncle marion. those were our family. when you were a part of this i spoke to bernius you are just a part of this network of individuals who some paid the ultimate sacrifice. to see bernice, with so many people whitewashing her father's legacy, to still remain true and still lift him up in his revolutionary truth, i talk about that in the book as well. it is a powerful thing to see.

i had a collection of uncles and aunties who helped raise me, who were part of that village it takes to raise a child. host: new jersey, this is don, independent line. sellers, do, mr. you know a lot of white people? we basically have the same kind of struggles. for you to keep on -- i mean, it is nice that black people have their own particular take on what the struggle is all about, but believe me, brother, it is happening all over. yeah, i've got a few white friends. i know a lot of white folks. i understand the struggles of many others. in fact, i think the country has been asking for empathy. one of the things i try to do is empathize. i think when we talk about the stories of being rural or we

talk about the stories of being working-class, we only refer to white people in this country when we are having those conversations. most of that is not our fault, most of that is attributed to the media and have a separate us through those labels. what i tend to do is raise the voices of the people of color in this country who i know to be both rural and working-class, and give them a voice. it is a voice that has not been heard that often. i hope you don't take offense to me sharing the struggles and toils of someone else. and while there is a hillbilly elegy, there is a "my vanishing country" to tell the story of a black working-class. i don't have any shame, i don't make any apologies for raising that voice and lighting that candle and shedding light on the struggles of people of color in this country. i think then and only then will we be able to learn from each other and be able to have that level of empathy that is wired for us to get out of the ditch together. host: missouri, good morning.

st. louis, missouri, joran. -- you are on. caller: this is what i'm calling about. theew up in st. louis in 50's in the 60's. i grew up in an all black community. andnt to all black schools, i think integration was the worst thing. we had a real good black community in south st. louis and north st. louis with strong teachers and everything. we had control at our kids back then. once we started integrating, everything seemed to change. i can see integrating maybe for jobs, but socially, no. it was a very strange experience. in our own black communities, we had control of our kids and everything. we didn't have anybody telling us how to discipline our kids or anything. that is what i wanted to be said. thank you. guest: that is a unique

proposition that many people do raise. one that says that maybe the goal of the movement should have been to ensure that you had the resources necessary in your own community and integration would have come eventually. but again, that the benefit of hindsight. when we are talking about brown v. board of education, chief justice warren had a unanimous opinion in which he held that segregation causes a system of inferiority in children and environments not conducive to learning. and you think about that separate but equal, you realize that chief justice warren was very true in that voting and actually calling and holding together a rare nine-zero opinion in the united states supreme court. i hear you, i understand what you're saying. but i do believe that the benefits of integration, and we see that, especially through the judicial system and a lot of the legal proceedings emanating from

that, have benefited our community greatly. is there a question that we lost some of the things? of course. but the resources that we gained were necessary at the time. host: when you were talking earlier you said that we had made progress, but we still have a way to go. are the progress we have made so far, and where do we have to go? guest: the example of progress of the representative democracy that we begin to see. people like barack obama, the ,umber of elected officials come alaris, seeing the confederate flags come down in south carolina. although that took the deaths of nine individuals. a lot of the change we've seen in this country has come because of blood that has flown in the streets. you start to see some of the things that occurred. when you still look at things

like access to quality care or you look at the fact that college has become not an opportunity, but a luxury for many, recently look at this pandemic. this pandemic has ripped the band-aid off the ugly face of any quality we have in this country and anybody wants to debate that, we can. how black andee brown communities in this country are struggling and when you overlay it with the pandemic, it is no wonder you have black folks who are dying at a higher rate. you have black and brown and native american small businesses which are shutting down at higher rates. these veryve tangible inequities in our community. i haven't even gone into the very sensationalized, the very real struggle we have in our criminal justice system. i mean, look. i'm friends with tim scott. i say that often. he is one of the 101 most

powerful men in the world. you have to acknowledge that. and i do. but to say that is enough, i think that is just silly. from this is anne louisiana, you're next. caller: good morning. how are you? guest: is a pleasure, good morning. caller: you did wonderful, yes. heralding from the south, louisiana, as you may be aware, we are one of the topmost impoverished states of all of the states and then, of course, there are very antiquated ideas and things of that nature relative to color and race. i'm sure you're familiar. but relative to something that you mentioned earlier, relative to your father and the bonfire and on the campus, i wanted to ask you, was he the only one

of the protesters who was arrested, tried and can did? i know you made that comment speaking,, jovially that he was kind of the one-man protester that you know of. i just want to know, brothers arrested? if not, -- were others arrested? and if not, why did not that occur? the things you're trying to do along that path is amazing. my father was the only protester arrested. i really don't think any of the protesters should have been arrested, but he was the only protester arrested. one of 27, 28 wounded. three of the young men who were shot were killed. none were over the age of 19. henry smith.

it was the first time in this country's history that federal civil rights charges were brought against law enforcement for killing unarmed lack folks. and i guess that is a step in the right direction. although none of them were convicted. they did convict my father and many of the history books consider my father to be a scapegoat for the events of that night. it was just tragedy all around. was actuallyir being considered in february and in 1968, he was being considered for vice president at the time and because of the incident, many folks attribute that uprising and the riots or whatever they wanted to call it to be the reason that he wasn't chosen. 1968 was a fascinating year.

boom 1968 calls it because of many of our military men and women coming home being treated like second-class citizens. you had the assassination of king and the assassination of kennedy. it is kind of wild. 2020 is somewhat of a conversion from 1918, 1919. the flu pandemic. 1928, 1920 nine, the recession and depression. 1968, the racial reckoning. this is a fascinating year to be alive and we just have to be grateful that we made it through. host: when your father talk to you about the events that happened to him in orangeburg, what were the lessons you learn from that? guest: it is tough because i find myself to be angrier about that night and the injustice of

that night and even he is. the area tangibly, my father is someone who always told me, when i have my friends who are in black lives matter or organizers across the country, he is the one to pick up the phone and be like because such and such and tell him to stop protesting at night. he would always admonish young folks from protesting at night. he says people do under the cover of darkness with a would not otherwise do it during the light. you just learned that people at that time were willing to speak out and speak out for what they believed in. you've got remember that this all started because they wanted access to a bowling alley. but it was more than the bowling alley. it was young folks raising their voices. my father was actually there to help start teaching these africanism classes at south carolina state. thehing individuals about history of the african-american and black experience.

and he got caught up in what was a massacre. for some very grateful who wrote this book and continue to tell the story. and natalie if jack are watching this morning, but we are very grateful for them remaining steadfast. book is called's "my vanishing country." it is bakari sellers joining us for this conversation. he also is a former south carolina state representative, and has run in politics. what was your first time running for politics, and can you tell us a story about an attempt you made? guest: i actually ran for sga president. i'm a firm believer that if you have young folks and your families and households who may not be watching this morning but will be joining you for christmas or spending time with them or even you talk to them on the phone, make sure they get

involved in the process. even if it is middle school student council or college sga. i was the class president in college and i decided i was going to run for student government association president, which was a heck of a race. i had to run four times because my -- this is going to sound insane -- the first time i ran, they actually throughout the race and throughout all of the outs -- thrwe out -- threw all of the votes because they did not open at 7:00, they opened at 7:30. i write about how complete the dumbfound that i was. equalaid he created disadvantage for everyone. which makes absolutely no sense. and so they threw those votes out. i won that race. and then we had a parent complaint. sounds a lot like today. and then i went out and won the race again.

so not once, not twice, not three times, but four times. i ran against some brilliant folks. a great comedian and writer right now. attorney fors people like botham jean, ahmaud arbery. i ran against some fascinating, strong brothers who are still contributing to society today. host: jeffrey in montana for our guest. jeffrey, good morning. caller: good morning morning, thank you. so i was wondering if you are familiar with the term hyphenated americans. apparently not. this is a term apparently coined during the first world war to designate those americans who were overly conscious of their ethnic origins. for former president theodore roosevelt and president woodrow

wilson, a hyphenated american was no patriot. part,w wilson said for my i think the most un-american thing in the world say--- is a hyphen. he said i don't care what comes before the word american. he said it doesn't make any difference what comes before american. every man who comes to take iunsel with me with a hyphen, take no interest in. my point, there are no african-americans. there are only americans of african descent. my ancestor is european, but i am not a european-american, i am first and foremost an american. so if you want to continue to divide us, keep doing that. host: you made that point. guest: i would love to ask him what part of europe he was from or how he got here. it was hard to hear, that's why

i wasn't being too responsive, there was something going on in the background. host: some interference in the background, yet. guest: i appreciate the comment, i appreciate the history lesson, but i'm not going to -- i find that often times, people confuse prejudice with patriotism, which is what just happened. you cannot question the patriotism of someone else for appreciating from where they come. and i think that understanding that there is an entire culture of individuals who were enslaved and in bondage, lived through slavery, oppression which we lay out in this book, lived through jim crow, to question their patriotism of those individuals is more divisive than anything. that i find say individuals like my father, i

find individuals like emmett patriotic thane you probably will ever be. a lot of these individuals, they gave what lincoln called, since we are quoting old presidents, a last full measure of devotion. i think it is important that we recognize the struggles of everyone, and we have empathy which is why i wrote this book. i understand your point about us all being americans, and i am proud to be an american. i am proud to understand that this country is the greatest country in the entire world. i am also so proud of this country and find myself to be a true patriot because i push this country every day to live up to it from us and to be better than it was. i think that is a challenge that because i am an american, because the blood of my family literally runs in the soil of this great place, my grandfather was in the military. my father was in the civil

rights movement. you become no greater patriot than those things. so with all due respect to the history lesson that you gave this morning, i would ask that you check your prejudice that you are equating with patriotism, and we try to begin to have some level of empathy so we understand the plight of us all. the greatest thing that makes us americans is not diversity. -- is our diversity. what that means is that you have your european background, my family coming in from the west coast of africa, individuals who come from the north and individuals who come from the south, all of us come to this great country to make a more perfect union. i am not going to allow you or anyone else to question the patriotism of someone else simply because they want to recognize from whence they come. host: talk about your relationship with president obama. a coolwe have relationship. two weeks ago i had the opportunity to sit down with him

and have a podcast. myself and bill simmons sat down with the president for an hour. the first time i've seen him since 2017. believe he gave his last speech as president of the united states, we were in chicago. inas one of the first people south carolina to endorse and to be president. i was 22, i think when i endorsed him. he was another tall, skinny guy with a funny name. it was an amazing experience. i became pretty close and will tell you this, that my final two choices to be president of the united states or to endorse to be president of the united states for john edwards and barack obama at that time in 2008. i remember him coming to my district, we had a huge event in january of 2008, right before

the south carolina primary, and it was myself and kerry washington, chris tucker. we all know him from "rush hour." usher raymond, and barack obama. we just tore that place down, it was such a fascinating experience. he went on to win south carolina and the rest is history. he is such a fascinating human being. i always will tell him, though, it is kind of weird that he is probably the fourth most fascinating person in his own family. behind michelle, saw shane and malea.-- sasha and host: here is what you wrote about him in the book. you said barack obama was way too cautious and continued on by saying the thorniest issue for mr. obama was the black lives matter movement, particularly the police attacks confronting and the white resentment

probably attributed to donald trump political victory. a great deal of weight frustration stems from the rise of black lives matter and tepid dissent. if you are going to go in, go all in, because you're going to be blamed for it anyway. guest: even his advisors will tell you that there is always a hesitancy to embrace the 44th president of the united states and his blackness. and the reason is because they would argue that people couldn't see it, that it was more a political thing than a cultural thing. i felt as if there were something that could have been done, especially embracing a movement that was growing which we now know had a 60% were 70% approval rating. even met is saying black lives matter. and you can have problems with the organization, but i am just

talking about the phrase, what it means. going all in. when you try to dance around it, you're going to get crucified for it anyway. defense for individuals like myself wasn't good enough and for individuals on the right, he got blasted anyway. so you might as well say nothing or go all the way in. you can't dance and politics -- in politics and he got caught in between. who, i want to say friend of the 44th president, i admire him. i believe he did great things for this country. if wehink, though, that are honest, as we all should be, on the issue of syria and historically black colleges and universities, i was expecting him to do more, do a better job. that is my humble opinion. host: what do you think of the incoming president elect when it comes to matters of race and how he has to deal with these issues?

the because he dealt with the issue of criminal justice. guest: he's being pulled in so many directions. i am somebody supports kamala harris in the primaries, but joe biden is the only person who could have won this race. of the 50 people running on the democrat excite, joe biden is the only person who could have one. he is going to have to be pushed and prodded, but we all have to be pushed and prodded. he has the most diverse cabinet in the history of this country. a cabinet that comes with experience. advisors,or familial no big money donors who are in the cabinet. it is a cabinet who has a level of expertise about the issues at hand. i think that his first challenge, though, while we are in the moment of this racial reckoning, his first challenge dealing with this pandemic.

thei think understanding justice aspect that goes along with that, you see that in some of his appointment on the coronavirus task force. he is going to have an uphill battle, but it is going to be one he can overcome. host: bertrand in rhode island, you are on, good morning. caller: good morning. a pleasure to talk with you. one thing i see is vanishing from the country that the founding fathers believed in, science. they were radical in doing so. is over. project it is already established that all human beings share 99.9% of the human dna. don't go running down that .01%. we all are african, we all are out of africa, and what is vanishing is that e pluribus unum is being ignored.

that the founding fathers, who were radicals, by the way, not conservatives, they were radicals, they were for nonbelievers and believers. motto ofs unum, the our country. race is an illusion. there is no such thing. those small genetic differences you followple, if history and science which of founding fathers supported, you would see that race is an illusion. that we all share the seam dna. host: we will leave it there and let our guest respond. rocking with you at the beginning of the phrase we did have founding fathers and believed in science and ironically enough, we now only have one party that believes in science. i thought that was where you were going, basic things like climate change is real, or wear a mask so you don't get sick and callous all.

i thought that is where we were going with that. -- kill us all. ... ais an illusion fascinating yet somewhat intellectually dishonest paradigm, i guess. we probably don't have enough time to explore that. i think that you just have to look at the history of this country and the complicated relationship with the issue of race. this,t have to harp on ,ut we had slavery, jim crow you have even today, the number of unarmed black man who are murdered. you saw george floyd, you saw these things. that -- theg overarching reason, and i'm glad you called, the overarching reason that we have two embrace this is because diverse thought is why this country is so great.

diverse opinion. coming from these various backgrounds is why this country is so fascinating and so great. and i think that we are able to have great conversations when we don't attempt to be intellectually dishonest about lines and we begin to see people for their full and entire being. sayingping on it and not it is worth more than anything else, but at least seeing it and understanding the value of that diversity. i'm somebody who believes that one of this country's greatest values is that of diversity. with the see that mantra of colorblindness. voices in the background, tell us about your family. guest: i was going to apologize when we started that were still in the back. yes, you hear twins. with all due respect, you've got to hear them when we are working from home. they are 23 months old, they will be two years old january 7. they are excited for christmas.

i'm not sure if they are excited when the boxes they come in at this age, but my wife and i were just talking about this morning, hoping that we can bring our children the same joy that our parents brought us on christmas eve. just trying to make sure that all of the family is around, even those who don't have the same opportunities or fortunes. that is what the season is about. you will hear the pitter patter of little feet and you will hear the outburst of future voters in this house, as we call them. 15-year-old, because it is not even 9:00 yet, she still has probably another three hours before she graces us with her presence. host: how do you talk to your 15-year-old about the experiences you have dealt with, especially with your father, and how was she responding to that? guest: it's crazy. story, it just a had me conflicted.

it is one that i did not tell in the book that i will probably tell in the next, but it embodies this entire process that is that during the protests, i daughter got a few of her girlfriends, they put on all black and they put their masks on and they had these signs that were talking about black lives matter, etc. and they went out and protested. during the day, of course. for me, i was so, so proud, but i was conflicted because i also just wanted my daughter to be able to be like baron trump, be a teenager who doesn't have to go out and wear a sign that the basic level of her humanity. and so i'm so proud of her because she is growing up into a strong, strong woman. she recognizes she is a strong black woman, she recognizes the lineage of that. she reads and she studies. she knows the name of kathleen

cleaver, she knows diane nash, she knows ruby bridges. she knows fannie lou, she knows shirley chisholm. she loves hillary clinton. back in 2016 on the campaign trail i was with hillary at an event in ohio, i was able to face time i daughter and have hillary on the phone together. great knows all of these heroes. she cand is her oyster, be anything she wants to be. she told us the other day she wants to go into pediatric dentistry. just watching her navigate that but still have that kind of activist strain that comes from i guess isen or fascinating to watch. host: shall be in georgia for our guest. go ahead. caller: yes, good morning. thank you so very much to c-span and thank you for having this who i thinkung man,

brings a real view of what we are facing right now. this reckoning. i've been reading your book over the past four or five months that we've been having injury reading ande really have the opportunity to have a reflection time which we normally do not have. the attempt to achieve in middle america has been challenged. with that renewed purpose that you talk about. i think that because you are from the south, you are also gifted, educated. now, i thinkight that you talk about been mark, south carolina -- denmark, south

carolina, the institutions there. my family represents that area. i think the promise that you bring this morning, that you can bring to the country is your spitetary, that even in of the anguish, there is still a sense of renewed hope. there is an integration now that i believe young people such as are purpose-driven to create the history that we face. on on the opposite side, january 20, this country will have a new america after this trump era and hopefully we can come together and joe biden, i agree, was the only person they could bring this -- when this.

a white man who had a black experience with a two-term president who has had a long career of service himself. host: we will let our guest respond, thank you for the call. guest: thank you so much, thank you for your prayers and thank you for absolutely everything and lifting me up this morning. i appreciate that so much. that we, even the 10 minutes left in this conversation, got to this point were we can talk about what this country should be. that's what i talk about in the book as well, we imagine what this country is. i tell people all the time, my twins deserve to grow up in a country that is better than the one we inherit. young people are always at the forefront of every ounce of change we have ever had in these united states of america. whether that is a civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, it doesn't matter. young people have always led the charges. it is kind of fascinating to see

when you talk about gun reform in this country, who is that charge led by? just recently we memorialized and remembered the anniversary of the sandy hook shooting. i was someone who said that if you kill 26 citizens in this country and we don't have any gun reform, it's never going to happen. jaded bywas just being reality. the young kid at parkland, a bunch of teenagers got together and have been able to push at least the edge of common sense gun reform. i just feel like the country that we want to see, i'm always somebody tells polk that got to reimagine. as we deconstruct the systems of oppression, as we move away from systems that don't work, let's reimagine what this country is and what it should be. it is the greatest country in the world. that doesn't mean that we can reimagine what it should be in the future, and that's what i

try to do in this book. host: since we are running short on time, i want to address one chapter of the book that you write about and you write it under the title anxiety: a black man's superpower. guest: one of my favorite chapters. especially for black folks, particularly black men, mental health is an issue that really doesn't get talked about that much. wanted to say i have a beautiful family and a great job, but i still struggle with anxiety, a generalized anxiety disorder. and so my talking about it, by saying that you've got to get there, you've got to get counseling, you've got to be able to have these real conversations with folks about these issues, not just your barber. that is going to create a healthier environment. we've people know that got to be healthy, mentally healthy. especially going through this. if people don't have some level of anxiety living through this

to come out of this emotionally, mentally, physically, stronger than they went in. that chapter was very special to me because i talked about the very real moment that i go through and that lineage of trauma. some of the issues my mom went through and the issues i go through, and my trigger points. when you write a memoir, you've just got to be 100% honest and that is what i continue to do throughout this book. host: it bit of breaking news well you are speaking, the u.s. capitol, a statue of general robert e lee was removed from the capital building and virginia's governor is saying the state is going to have to seek to replace the statue with barbara johns. guest: that is an amazing moment. shout out to the washington journal this morning for breaking news as we go.

me, i am someone who will appreciate individuals who are on the forefront of doing things like maybe taking down a confederate flag in south carolina. for others, it may be taking down robert e lee. always felt that taking down statues is not the end-all be-all for me. that is not my thing. for who it is, that is fine. i don't want to just take down the statues and i don't want to -- we have got black lives matter painted on all the streets. i did it, that is beautiful. but i want substantive policy change. this is great, this is fine, but i also want to see some politic changes that improve the quality of all of those in this country. that theseake sure

representational, performative type changes are also a company by policy changes. host: just a few more minutes with our guest. donna in westerville, ohio, go ahead. appreciate, i really the way you talk. i'm a white woman. i lived in a white neighborhood in ohio. it was working class he returned black. i went to a southern college after high school and had a handicap son. we had to fight for the rights of the handicapped and the blacks because they have different challenges. there are prejudices.

host: ok, we will take your thought, we will let our guest respond to that. guest: thank you for your activism. i always tell people that we don't all have the same struggle, but we cannot be selfish in our struggle. and so for me, while i may be out protesting or whatever it may be, i can't forget about protesting for your family, i can't forget about acting up people like your son. those individuals who have some disabilities. you have to begin to understand that we are all in this together. so i can't be so focused, i can't be so narrowminded or focused on what is going on in my life. i also have to hear your voice and to hear the pain in your voice. because i don't understand every issue that goes on in different communities. but i have to be willing to read, learn, listen.

understand, empathize. and then go out and lift your family up as well. i tell that the folks all the time. i'm not someone who is just focused on improving the plight of black folks or rural folks. i want to improve the plight of us all. i want to share my story so that you understand it. i want to share my story so i can get more people on the battlefield, lifting up the voices of people from eric and unity. but just know that when you are going through something, or your family is going through something, i have a fire in me, too. that is what makes this country so great. i think sometimes we miss that, even in some of the questions i've gotten this morning, people missed that. book, i don'this want to just have people focused on me. i don't want to have people just focused on one thing in particular. but i do want that to be able to open their horizons. i want them to be able to say that, at the end of the day, we

can all get there. but we are going to get there together and it takes all of us, shoulder to shoulder, to do that. host: rhonda in sacramento, i apologize, we are going to have to jump in really fast. go ahead. caller: it is an honor to speak with you. could you please address our black youth today who have no sense of identity or direction and to look toward wrappers as their heroes -- rappers as their heroes? i am looking forward to reading your memoir, your perspective on the color of our youth who are disenfranchised and just lost. host: thank you, we will have to leave it there. i apologize. guest: i will be quick. not going to i'm knock anybody for living up to a rapper or athlete or whoever may be their hero. but i will say that we have to do a better job. people of my generation, the generations above, of being examples.

one of the things i try to do is go back to my community often a just talk to kids. night i talked to million people. on a channel where we have 3300. i try to let them know that i am do thesecal, they can things, too. the more examples they have, the less they have to look up to people who maybe don't have as much. host: as far as you talk about the idea of writing another book, do you have an idea of what you're going to be working on? guest: ironically enough, january of 2022i have a children's book coming out. i've been waiting to do this for so long. i don't even know if i'm supposed to tell you, but whatever. it entitled "who are your people?" it talks about wherever you are from, just giving kids a sense

of where you are from. and that i have another adult book coming out in 2022. political things, the issues of race, especially as we seen in this year, 2020 involving so much. due to bet is not turned in until may, so we still have some time with that. but i'm excited. i never thought i would be an author, i never thought i would be sitting here on washington journal, but i am thankful for your support, all of the callers, from idaho to rhode island to sacramento, the democratic line, republican line, independent line. i am just happy that people take time to talk to a kid from south carolina. i'm so grateful for this moment and this opportunity. sellers, the book "my vanishing country." thank you so much. guest: happy holidays, merry christmas. host: again, we will take you to the house of representatives. they plan to gamble in wipro