and i can't ever go to the bathroom, i won't go. i promise you i won't go anywhere. i'll just stay right behind them. >> presidential recordings, on the c-span now mobile app or wherever you get your podcast. >> download c-span's new hobble app and stay up to date with live video coverage of the day's biggest political events, from live streams of the house and senate floor and key congressional hearings. the white house events and supreme court oral arguments, even our live interactive program "washington journal," where we hear your voices every day. c-span now has you covered. download the app for free today. >> "washington journal" continues. "washington journal" continues. host: we're back and joined by retired lieutenant general ben

hodges the u.s. army europe commander and here to discuss the russian troops amassing on the ukraine border and what the u.s. and nato are going to do. general hodges, good morning. guest: good morning. host: you hold a pershing chair at the european policy and analysis. tell us what that is and what do you all do? #. host: cepa is a think tank that focuses on central and eastern europe and we're experts for several years particularly on the black sea and baltic sea region and expanded our attention to disinformation, digital domain and immersing and disrupting technologies but focused on the transatlantic relationship. host: where do you get your funding? guest: like most nonprofits from a variety of sources. we depend on government grants, on foundations who are

interested in the same priorities we are and of course we have corporate sponsors as well for different type projects. host: you were the top u.s. commander in europe as recently as 2017. what do you make of the recent movement of russian troops on the russian-ukraine border? guest: what we're seeing is a continuation of what started back in april with the first visible surge of russian capability. i don't think a conflict is inevitable but certainly all the pieces are in place if the kremlin wanted to expand the current kinetic operations they're doing now. host: what exactly should we be watching here in the united states when it comes to these tensions ratcheting up. what are you looking at and what should we as the american public be looking at? guest: three things. number one, i would continue to listen to what the kremlin says. the language coming out of there from the president putin and minister lavrov and some of

their representatives has been really harsh and the rhetoric has increased and i think that part of this is them testing us, testing the new german government as well but also preparing their own population. this is something that i pay attention to. secondly, i would watch for how our allies rally around the united states. the united states with all of our economic and military power cannot do this alone if the kremlin believes that they can ride out u.n. sanctions and ride sanctions out from germany and france. getting our allies with us economically and diplomatically is going to be very important. then of course the third thing, if there's going to be an expansion of the kinetic operations that are already happening, we're going to have to see some of the logistical

effort required to sustain land operations in wintertime. host: you said you looked at this as a way that the russian government is testing us. are you talking about trying to figure out what the relationship is going to be with the biden administration? guest: i was very happy when the biden administration -- when president biden in his first phone call with president putin several months ago said the sovereignty of ukraine is a priority for the united states. i think the kremlin is testing how high a priority that is and what we're willing to do to protect and respect ukrainian sovereignty. this is one part of the test i'm talking about. and of course i think president putin wants to distract his own population from the terrible conditions there inside russia, but i really think it's a test for the new german government that will be in place come wednesday. this is going to be a very important part of how this goes forward.

host: why is ukraine so important to the united states and nato and what's going on with russia right now? what's the strategic importance of the ukraine? guest: that's the perfect question. people should ask why do we care about ukraine other than the fact it's a great culture and people that have done so much to try to earn their own freedom and protect their own sovereignty? the fact is ukraine matters to us strategically because of where it sits on the map and part of the black sea region and we have three allies, turkey, romania and bulgaria in the region and we help nato protect those countries and there's significant economic potential as the east-west economic corridor between europe and eurasia that would run through the black sea and the kremlin doesn't want to see that develop because then you have western democratic countries paying more attention to what russia does in

the region. thirdly, it's important to us because you've got russia's use of their illegal bases in # crimea as a launching pad for everything they do supporting the assad regime, for example, in the eastern mediterranean and in the balkans and is only possible because of their attempted unfettered use of the black sea region and why ukraine matters to us. host: that's why it matters to us. why does russia want ukraine? guest: every now and then you'll hear some uninformed people talk about crimea was always russian or ukraine is actually always been a part of russia. that's exactly what president putin tried to convince us with his long essay. as you know, crimea did not block to russia until katherine the great and into the 18th

century and did that because crimea has these natural harbors that give it the ability to project power around the black sea. so it's been part of the great power competition for centuries because the ottoman empire and russian empire, the british empire. it's been a contested space for a long time because that's the warm water port that gives russia access into the mediterranean and then on into the atlantic ocean. host: you hinted towards this earlier but why do you think putin is making these type of movements right now? why now? why not next year or two years from now? why now? guest: again, a great we and -- great question, we heard senator blanken and secretary mili talk about we don't know what the kremlin's intentions are. as for me, i subscribe to the notion that president putin is looking at his legacy. he's a few years older than me

and i think he wants to be scene as the person -- seen as the person that brought back as much of the empire as possible, belarus, ukraine, georgia, and that's the type of effort he's undertaken now over the past few years. this particular time of year, of course, is important because it's getting colder by the day. russia provides most of the gas that europe uses for energy generation, power generation and for heat. so that gives him some significant leverage over europe should this develop into a worse crisis. host: i want to bring to you secretary of state anthony blinken who came out and talked about russia's troop buildup on the border of ukraine ahead of thursday's talks with foreign minister sergey lavrov. here's what secretary of state blinken said. [video clip] >> president biden shared with president pout within they met

in geneva months ago the strong preference of the united states for a stable predictable relationship between our countries. it's in the best interest of both of us, of our people and actually the entire world. but as we made very clear in recent weeks, we have deep concerns about russia's plans for renewed aggression against ukraine and would move us in exactly the opposite direction and it's simply not in anyone's interest. that's not just our concern. it's a concern that is shared by many in europe and i think sergei has heard that expressed over the last 24 hours here in stockholm. we have a strong iron clad commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ukraine. the best way to avert a crisis is through diplomacy. and that's what i look forward to discussing with sergei, including by both parties full

implementation of the mincing agreements with russia pulling back its forces. the united states is willing to facilitate that but in the spirit of being clear and candid, which is the best thing to do, if russia decides to pursue confrontation there will be serious consequences. host: do you think that meeting between anthony blinken and sergey lavrov did anything? was it effective? guest: i think it's effective for two or three reasons. one, i'm pretty sure that the secretary would have been very clear to minister lavrov what the u.s. is prepared to do. that's very important that there's no misunderstanding. everything i just heard from the secretary is the tone that our european allies would also expect. it's clear, it's diplomatic but unmistakable. so i think this was very important. now, as always, deterrence is

really based on does the other side believe that we're serious? and hopefully the secretary was able to convey a degree of seriousness in a way that's compelling to the russians that they know if they do cross whatever -- i don't want to call it a red line but whatever conditions were laid out, if they cross that, they will in fact pay a price. if they don't believe it or don't believe that it's only the u.s., that they don't think allies will help, then i'm afraid that they will probably continue forward. host: right now president biden has a video call scheduled with vladimir putin on tuesday. i want to bring a little bit from the associated press story to you here and want you to respond to it. presidents joe biden and vladimir putin will speak in a video call tuesday as tensions between the united states and russia escalate over a russian

troop buildup on the ukrainian border seen as a sign of potential biden. biden will press concerns about u.s.-russian activities on the border and reaffirm the united states' support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ukraine, white house press secretary jenpsaki after the first word from moscow, putin will come to the call with concerns of its own and tends to express russia's opposition for any move to admit ukraine into the nato military alliance. the presidents will decide themselves how long their talk will last said dmitry peskov. how important is this video talk between biden and putin and will we see any major decisions being made on this call? guest: two or three things here. first of all, it's very important that our president is telling the president of the russian federation directly what is going to be expected and that

is also unacceptable for what russia might do. this is very important and it's important not only so that the russians hear it and they can judge our seriousness, but it's also important that our allies understand that and they see this. our german and french and british allies and others would expect that the united states would go to this level to talk before resorting to some other means. and i keep emphasizing the importance of allies because the united states alone cannot deter the russians. this is going to require a unified front with our nato allies, also, frankly, with the european union which has the real diplomatic power when it's operating together. so i anticipate the president will convey to the kremlin that this is not the united states acting alone but that our allies are with us. and this is going to be a very important part of this. one thing, jesse, that i do want to add, of course the chinese

are watching this. the chinese communist party is watching how we deal with this particular crisis. i think if they see that the united states either by itself or with allies cannot stop something on the scale of russia's expansion of the kinetic conflict in ukraine, then i think they'll feel emboldened to do more as well. this is not an isolated incident. host: let me remind our viewers they can take part in this conversation. we're opening up regional lines and means if you're in the eastern or central time zones call 202-748-8000. if you're in the mountain, low pacific time zones, 202-748-8001. keep in mind can you text to 202-748-8003 and we're always reading on social media at twitter on c-spanwj and

facebook.com/c-span. ben, do we think economic sanctions in russia will affect their decisions on whether to go into ukraine or not? guest: yes, in two ways, if we continue sanctions and expand them, of course it's not just the united states but sanctions by european allies as well. that's an important signal of america's and europe's seriousness about ukrainian sovereignty and russian aggression. there's a symbolic aspect as well as an economic impact. what i'm also hearing and expect is that the level of sanctions, the type of sanctions that would be imposed should russia continuities kinetic operations in ukraine are going to be of a different type that are going to bring significant pain to russia's economy and hopefully significant pain to the

oligarch's around president putin keeping him in power. this is where i think targeted sanctions against these type of people would be most effective and not so damaging to the average russian citizen. host: let's let our viewers join the conversation. we'll start with chris, calling from north walton, massachusetts. chris, good morning. caller: good morning. it's 1991, then secretary of state james baker promised gorbachev that in return for the disillusion of the warsaw pact and the reunification of germany, nato would not take advantage of a situation and move one inch eastward. well, today nato is all the way to the russian border, courting the ukraine and also courted georgia and is a encirclement by

nato of nato. you tell me, who is the aggressive party here and who is the agriefed party? it would be a little bit like the old ussr having an alliance with mexico. so anyway, i'd just like you to know we're not all as dumb as you think we are. thanks and have a nice day. host: go ahead and respond, ben. guest: sir -- thank you. i certainly don't think this gentleman is dumb or anybody else in the audience but clearly the agrieved party here are the millions of people who have been deprived of their freedom or desire to choose their own future who have lost everything to russian aggression or under the old soviet union. i think if nations want to be a part of the west, when they see how much better life is as part of the european union or their security in nato, why should any

other nation say that they can't have that? and the characterization, of course, and i hear this occasionally somehow that nato is encircling russia, i would encourage people to take a look at the map and think about what does that mean, encircling russia? the so-called nato russia founding act i think the gentleman is referring to talks about given the current circumstances, we will not do things we won't base permanent forces in former warsaw pact countries. in fact what russia did with this invasion of georgia and its invasion of ukraine, that completely changed the security environment alluded to in the nato russia founding act. so it was the russians by their own aggression anker debated that agreement and -- aggegated

that agreement and they've lived up to that although russia completely disobeyed it. but if you ask people in ukraine and georgia and other former warsaw republics like estonia, latvia and lithuania what their choice is, it's a pretty easy choice. host: since we're talking about it now, should ukraine be offered nato membership? guest: as secretary austin said the other day during his visit to the black sea region, that should stay on the table. it should be -- it's something the alliance depends on or has always offered the possibility, the open door policy. but i think instead of talking about ukrainian membership in nato or georgian membership in nato which i also would support, we need to focus on the bilateral relationship with

ukraine. it needs to be recognized and i don't think people see it as a normal bipartisanship relationship. this is where our focus should be and then the united states, once we have this more normal relationship, we can work with our oral lies in the region and in europe and build consensus towards all of us having improved security if ukraine is a member of the alliance. there's so many other things we need to do first. of course ukraine has a responsibility building its own societal resilience with people trusting their legal systems, businesses being confident in the transparency of the financial systems. these are the things that need to be addressed before we get too focused on nato membership. host: let's talk to george calling from leavenworth, kansas. george, good morning. caller: good morning, general, how are you doing? long time no see. guest: good morning, sir.

caller: merry christmaso to you and your family and happy new year. here's the question i would like to see if you could share with the audience. i think people understand the business about sanctions. i think a lot of people think that sanctions are just lip tal. here's what i'd like you to share with the audience. what are we obligated to do, the united states states, not nato. what are we obligated to do if the russians decide to make a major move in the ukraine? thanks, ben, it was good to see you again. caller: thanks, george. guest: well, of course ukraine is not a treaty ally and there's not an obligation the way it would be as if poland or lithuania or romania were

attacked by russian forces, an armed attack. however, i think our administration has made it clear that ukrainian sovereignty is a priority. secretary blinken just talked about the commitment of the united states and ukrainian sovereignty and that does not mean armed forces would be used but i would anticipate this means we will in fact impose real serious crippling economic sanctions against the russian federation, and i think also the support on capitol hill from the congress has been so important to also make sure that we are providing our ukrainian friends with materials with intelligence, with capabilities that would assist them in defending themselves. but i think it is really important that we keep thinking strategically. take a look at the map, the black sea region, and think about what kind of a strategy do we have that includes not only

military support but also competing in the information space, economic investment and diplomatic efforts to ensure respect for international law, ensure respect for sovereign borders, and attracting western investment in the region and finally, i think one of the most powerful things that we can do would be to see a strong vibrant democratic and economically prosperous ukraine. that would be did not only for ukraine's ability to protect its sovereignty but when russians, russian citizens look into ukraine and say why is it so much better there than what we have here? what is it about ukraine? and i think that would be a powerful way to compete in this information space. i mean, i think ukrainians saw how much better life became in

poland as they became a member of the european union and member of nato. so this is important but of course for our information signaling to be effective, we in the united states have to live up to our own talking points as well, that we have to demonstrate we have these strong democratic institutions, the pillars of democracy, and people are watching that. this is also important. georgia, what are our obligations? for us to set the example and live up to our own talking points, to show continuous support, to follow through on whatever the president is saying to president putin, but also to have a strategy for the region. host: let's talk to chuck who is calling from jefferson, georgia. good morning, chuck. caller: how are y'all doing this morning? guest: good morning, sir. caller: you said something about thinking you said something abot thinking strategically. why in the world did biden allow

the gas line or, you know, to be opened up? that will allow russia to just blackmail europe. plus the fact about four years ago everyone was complaining about trump making nato mad. isn't nato much better off and country's paying more for their own defense now? guest: chuck, thank you for the question. i am with you when it comes to nord stream 2 which is the pipeline project between russia and germany that is just about at the point of being completed. i was disappointed the president decided not to sanction -- to impose sanctions on the companies responsible for this pipeline. i think it was done for the purpose of protecting the relationship with german allies and we had a new german government coming in.

we wanted to protect the relationship because we need a strong relationship with germany and the european union. having said that, the previous german government has not responded in a way i would have expected to something like that. i do hope this pipeline, that the new german government will not complete the pipeline until we are confident russia is going to live up to its international obligations and respect ukrainian sovereignty. if they don't, you are right. they will have significant leverage. they already have significant leverage over europe and so, thinking strategically, hoping someone in the administration says, germany, netherlands, don't worry. we will find a way to make up over the next few months any gaps that occur if the kremlin

begins to turn off the gas during the winter. us being able to counter what the kremlin might be able to do. clearly they are always going to use gas as a weapon. this is what they do. for any of us to believe for a second when they say, we are not going to do that, we are being very naive. frankly, i have little confidence in anything the kremlin says. they are a member of the osc and yet, they are actively resisting and preventing the osce mission in ukraine from doing its observation job. they are bringing down the drones, stopping observers from going into areas, clearly this is not something just happening at the local level. this is being orchestrated by the kremlin. that does not give me confidence in anything they say. we have got to think strategically in terms of working together with our

european allies. to your last point, for sure more and more countries are investing more in their defense and if the former president deserves credit for encouraging that, he should get it. i would say also to expand that just a little bit many countries were already investing more in their defense because of what they were seeing coming from russia. secondly, never in my life did i imagine an american president would question america's pledge to nato. that was a gift to the kremlin. hopefully the current administration not only through words but action will make clear the united states is committed to our other 29 allies. host: let's talk to david calling from plainsboro, georgia. good morning. . caller: hey, mr. hodges. how you doing? guest: good. caller: i will talk global

politics for a minute and then get down to your part of the world. for 50 years the communists have used a gambit to destroy america. i mean, the communists in china use jobs to prop them up and we turn our backs when the communists stampede into georgia and recap it -- wreak havoc. this is who they are. on this gambit thing, and this is a strategy and what we need is a real strategy, to give them something to worry about they have not had to worry about. now with china all we have got to do is say, well, we are going to make all these islands in this archipelago a state. that will give us greater territorial leverage over china. and there in the ukraine, that

is a very hard-core, almost no way to give an answer. they are going to do whether going to do. they have done proven that. are we ready to take back all the things we have allow them to do with energy and jobs? because those two things they are holding us hostage with and unless we are prepared to take them back right now and say, no, you not going to do that. just like in a pen stroke undermined their economies, their way of life. hey, people. he stole $220 billion, here it is right here. just let them know what putin is doing. they will get fed up and do something. host: go ahead and respond, ben. guest: the gentleman brings up a good point.

what is happening in ukraine is not an isolated situation. it is tied to a large russian effort. i think the awful, inhuman use of migrants as a weapon in belarus, this is all part of a larger effort to destabilize europe and put pressure on ukrainian government to present ukraine as a failed state to the west to prevent western integration. but also i think president lukashenko's days are numbered. the kremlin is getting weary of what he does and he has outlived his usefulness soon. i can imagine a scenario where belarus becomes annexed or at least a new government is installed that is even more friendly to the kremlin. i think these are connected.

and i did allude earlier to the fact i think beijing is watching all of this and they are watching, number one, our resolve. our capability, they are watching the challenges associated with if you don't have energy independence, which the gentleman correctly referred to, but i think is also looking to see how well the united states and our allies are able to stick together. i keep going back to this point because there is no way we can successfully deter russia, contain china by ourselves. our economies are too interconnected. the diplomatic requirements or the diplomatic strength of comes from all of us working together and competing in all the different domains. so this is a global situation and i think the administration and congress are working to make sure we have the strong foundation we need but also

encouraging strong alliances. host: let's go to bill calling from new jersey. can you give us a quick question or comment? caller: yes, sir. i am interested in how much the russians are rushing ukraine because of the giant underground submarine base they built during the cold war? it gives them access to the waterways they don't have in their own country. do you think that has anything to do with it? can you educate me and the people about it? guest: bill, thank you. of course, the russians have their biggest naval base there. it is illegal because they illegally annexed crimea but that is part of the reason they did it, because of the naval facilities that are there, the port gives them access through the straits to the atlantic and

otherwise. there is no doubt their interest in crimea is directly related to their need for access to the ocean. they also have a river system that allowed them to move from the black sea all the way to the caspian sea through rivers and canals they built over the decades. so it is more than just crimea itself that gives them naval capability. but this highlights something i think is important, and this will be one of the more difficult challenges of the situation. when we talk about a black c strategy turkey -- black sea strategy, turkey has been a good nato ally since 19522. they have also been frustrating allies and i don't defend bad choices they have made or the terrible conditions for journalists operating in turkey,

but nonetheless if we are thinking strategically, we have to look at turkish allies. we have got to fix our relationship with turkey in part because of its sovereignty over the so-called turkish straits under the monroe convention of 1936. this allows them to control what goes in and out of the black sea, particularly warships. it would be nice if we could work with our turkish ally and offer that as a way to get the initiative over the kremlin that under this turkey could restrict what russian warships might be able to do coming in and out of the black sea. for example, to go to syria. this is part of our strategic thinking and unfortunately we are not in a place with our turkish allies to be able to do that. but this is what strategic thinking is all about. i would add, if you move the

black sea up to the middle of the map, you can see more clearly turkey is so important for us as a bulwark against iran. this entire situation is more than just whether russian troops take control. host: we want to thank lieutenant general ben hodges to talk about the ukraine, u.s. and nato. guest: thank you to you and your team. you provide a wonderful service for the american people. host: we are going to move to the open forum where you can talk about whatever political topic you are interested in. you see the numbers on screen. start the calls and we will be right back. ♪

announcer: >> monday more than, delaware senator chris coons and texas croppingman michael mccall take part in a conversation on promoting democracy, hosted by the center for strategic and international studies. live coverage begins at 10:00 eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or watch full coverage on c-span now, our new video app. on monday, a discussion with connecticut snore chris murphy on congressional war powers and potential presidential overreach. live coverage from the cato institute begins at noon eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or watch full coverage on c-span now, our new video app. monday, vice admiral john hill, director of the u.s. missile defense agency, talks about u.s. missile defense strategy and growing threats. the foundation for defense of democracy's hosts watch at noon

eastern on c-span2, online at c-span.org, or watch full coverage on c-span now, our new video app. >> tuesday morning, the known general of the u.s. capitol police, michael bolton, testifies on the january 6 attack at the u.s. capitol before the senate rules and administration committee. watch live at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3, online at c-span.org, or watch full coverage on c-span now, our new video app. washington journal

continues. host: we are back with our open forum which means you can call in and talk about your most important political topic. we open regular lines. republicans (202)-748-8001, democrats (202)-748-8000, independents (202)-748-8002. keep in mind you can always text (202)-748-8003. we are always reading on social media on twitter @c-spanwj and facebook at facebook.com/c-span. for the first order i want to bring to you the story coming out of michigan following the school shooting. i will bring you that from the new york times. in a tense arraignment saturday morning james and jennifer crumbley listen by videoconference from separate jail cells as they were charged

with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of four oxford high school student who the police they were gunned down by their 15-year-old son, ethan. as the john's red ethan's charges, one for each of the four students, she asked if she understood. i understand, she said. they entered pleads of not guilty. the crumleys, considered fugitives, were captured in detroit and placed in the same jail facility in oakland, michigan that held their son. their arrests and arraignments only began to answer some of the questions about who the crumleys are, how they got to this moment, and what could have prevented the tragedy of oxford high school. that is from the new york times. what is your most important

political topic this morning? let's start with homework calling from shreveport -- homer calling from shreveport, louisiana. caller: good morning. i was sitting here thinking am i right or wrong? in order to fight unions we sent everything overseas to the third world countries and stuff now we are going to make china and them rich and everything else. justified against ourselves -- just to fight against ourselves. that frustrates me. i am a vietnam veteran and disabled veteran. at the point when i went in i had a different outlook. thank you for letting me expose myself. thank you. host: alicia calling from

columbia, maryland on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning, jesse. i am usually busy with a very important part of my life which is going to church. jesse, good morning to you and to america. my question is how much land does russia and china own in america? and is there any way we can change that so they don't buy any more of our land? that goes for other countries, too. why do we buy land in other countries? and also, it would be very nice

if you would include independent on your line. host: kelly calling from garden grove, california on the republican line. good morning. caller: i did not think i was calling on the republican line. i was wanting to talk about with general hodges what the consequences were with regards to if the russian federation is successful, what will that look like in other regions and in regards to china? what will the consequences be if they were successful? thank you and thank you for giving us this forum to discuss. host: bob calling from raleigh, north carolina on the democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning.

there is a piece of misinformation that keeps floating around on mainstream media and c-span constantly and i heard it this morning. it is that russia invaded and annexed crimea. they didn't. they held a referendum at 85% and the crimean's voted for russia to stay. they voted to stay in the russian federation. thank you. host: let's go to steve calling from robertsville, missouri on the independent line. good morning. caller: appreciate you taking my call this morning, jesse. i wanted to talk to the general and say we have to support ukraine and taiwan because they are the lines to keep us out of world war iii.

they are being bullied by russia and china, putin and the chinese leader. we have to support them anyway we can. quick little comment, biggest problem in our country's right wing media. they call in every morning, they listen to this 24/7 and they are brainwashed. i appreciate c-span and thank you for taking my call. host: harvey calling from dallas, texas on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i enjoy watching c-span because there is no commercials, you speak the truth, and you get to the core of the problem. i get daily multiple calls saying this is so and so on a recorded line, can you hear me? it goes into a pitch for medicaid part c or advantage plans. they are telling people about

the free things they can get and what they don't do is tell you the downside. for example, if you sign up on the advantage plan, you are not happy with it? and you leave the plan, you cannot get back on the traditional medicare. the other thing with all the freebies and discounts, there was a law of antigovernment abuse which included discount coupons for medicare. my most recent survey i answered and the question started out, did i have part a, part b, did i have any other assistance plan like medicaid, which i said no. then i was asked of my annual salary was above $10,000 a year. i said, no. they said, sorry, you don't qualify. goodbye. if they are talking about saving money and saving medicare, the

government, including our illustrious attorney general, should be going after these companies preying on people, abusing the system and draining the medicare fund. host: eduardo calling from laredo, texas. caller: good morning, sir. i am calling from laredo, texas. my concern is concerning the russian federation. where is the u.s. spending all that financial budget through the year? host: aaron calling from upper marlboro, maryland. caller: i would like to highlight the absurdity of vaxxers versus non-vaxxers. here is my example.

you have two people that meet at a bar, they hit it off, they have social lubricant. they decide to socially associate. she is a couple of blocks away. host: let's go to jeff calling from maine. caller: good morning. host: it is nebraska. caller: it is nebraska. my important issue is the politicalization of the supreme court. that is the number one problem facing america today. current justices are not standing up for super precedents at the supreme court and i will use the current roe v. wade issue as an example. the supreme court and the justices not standing with justice sotomayor when she gave her dissent the other day about

justices not being unified and the people losing faith in the institution of the courts, that is the number one problem facing america today. people losing faith in the institutions that are the building blocks of america, that make us different from everyone else. host: let's talk to ronald calling from florida on the republican line. good morning. caller: yes, sir. my complaint is the biggest problem i think we have is the open borders. letting people come in here and take advantage of the american people's hard work and's taxes they paid. it has been given away to all these people coming in here illegally. our administration is supporting them with power, tax paid dollars. our costs are going up and we are losing. the next thing i would like to say is as far as getting into

combat with russia and china, it would be a big mistake. biden has depleted our oil supply and they are about to cut me off. thank you. host: let's go to willie calling from sarasota, florida on the democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning. i just want to let people know i am a soldier, a veteran. it disappoints me when i see people walking up and down the streets with firearms. if we go into civil war, we are going to be speaking a different language. i do appreciate c-span because you do have a fair and balanced. host: richard calling from nashville, tennessee on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning, jesse.

i think the biggest thing that bothers me is we have always had conflict in this country. we are a very versatile country, different races, different everything. the thing that bothers me as we fought russia when i was a kid. we went through drop and roll in schools. we end up in a situation now with china. we really need to get our jobs back in this country and put all americans back to work and protect ourselves. that's the bottom line. russia, germany, all that, they are going to pay for it. thank you. host: ed calling from georgia all the democrat line. good morning. caller: hi there. i want to complement the general . he mentioned about the journalists in turkey.

i have been waiting to hear that on c-span for months. i want to complain you don't ever get to hear about important things like that because people insist on taking up time about how much they love c-span. you have to say good morning. jesse, bless your heart, but you don't have to tell us the next caller is calling. it is a phone call. every second counts. and then you are going to cut off them while they are saying something important so can have the next caller ask you how you are doing? maybe they can say what they had to say if you told them to go ahead. host: tim calling from lakeview, arkansas on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. host: tim from albany, new york, sorry. caller: i want to make an

observation the news is not talked about and that is the proud boys. they are getting the same old thing about -- this is what is creating problems. i don't approve of any one of them but, you know, they should think about the larger issue at hand. host: let's go to tim from lakeview, arkansas on the independent line. go ahead. caller: thank you and likewise. the biggest issue i still have is truth in the media. we just forgot or don't want to talk about -- we still have americans in afghanistan. we don't want to talk about how many "new voters" are stepping

over the border, unencumbered by the rules people empower want to put on the rest of us. host: we would like to thank all of our callers who called in for the open forum and we would like to thank our guests, viewers, and social media followers for another great addition of washington journal. stick with us. tomorrow morning we will be back at 7:00 a.m. for another edition. everyone have a great sunday. ♪ announcer: former senator bob dole died today. he was born in kansas and served

in the army during world war ii. he was injured in 1945 in northern italy and received two purple hearts and a bronze star. he was elected to the house in 1960. in 1968, he was elected to the u.s. senate. he was gerald ford's running mate in 1976. he served as senate minority leader until 1995 and senate majority leader from 1995 until 1996 when he resigned from the senate to focus on his presidential campaign. he was the republican nominee for president in 1990 six, losing to bill clinton. announcer: the house returns tuesday at 2:00 p.m. eastern time and plans to take up legislation to raise the nation's debt ceiling. members will also debate abuses of presidential power and protection against foreign interference in elections.

the senate is back monday at 3:00 p.m. and will vote later in the week to confirm several of president biden's nominations, including jessica wurtzel. senators may also consider the climate and spending plan. watch live coverage on c-span. you can watch online at c-span.org, or our new c-span now video app. announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more including sparklight. >> the greatest town on earth is the place you call home. at sparklight, it is our home too. right now, we are facing our greatest challenge. sparklight is working around the clock to keep you connected. we are doing our part so it is easier to do yours. announcer: sparklight supports c-span as a public service, as well