then, dan caldwell talks about veteran issues and his group's opposition. join the conversation. washington journal is next. ♪ host: it is somewhat of a rarity to see the light shining on top of the capital. an indication that congress is in session. they began to debate on a massive bill that democrats have labeled the inflation -- supercharging clean energy programs and rater taxes enforcement. an amendment votes overnight, this is just another massive spending bill absolutely the wrong time.

good morning. it is sunday, august 7. this first hour we will ask you which party you trust on the economy. independence and others can call (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text at (202) 748-8003. tell us where you are from and we will look for your posts on twitter and instagram as well. we will bring you some of the latest economic news and comments from republicans and democrats, including from the floor of the senate. we will hear from former president trump at the event in dallas from yesterday. some comments from members of

the u.s. senate and treats overnight. marco rubio tweeted this. they think it is more important than dealing with high prices, crime and an open border. a democrat from colorado. they want to let billion dollar corporations pay almost nothing in taxes. that is a fight i am willing to have. i introduced an amendment that would enact strong reform. senate democrats voted against my amendment. senate democrats are staying up all night to build resilience. it includes over $20 billion in funds for smart practices. saying no estimate for how long

it will go for senators because of the rules. it could go as long as senators have the energy. pretty ugly. at least a couple more hours. that is live over on c-span two, if you want to watch that this morning or today. which party do you trust on the economy? (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. for others, they can call in on (202) 748-8002. good news, in terms of the jobs report. president biden on the climb of the jobs right. here is what he said friday at the white house. president biden: 500 28,000 jobs were added last month to the country's employment.

520 8000 jobs. we have nearly doubled, almost at 10 million jobs since i took office. that is the fastest job growth in history. today we matched the lowest unemployment rate in the last 50 years. 3.5%. yes, 3.5%. today there are more people working in america than before the pandemic began. there are more people working in america than in any point in american history. what we are also seeing is something that a few years ago many experts said was impossible. revitalization of american manufacturing. since i took office, we have created 642,000 manufacturing jobs in america. we have seen the biggest and fastest job recovery since the 50's. some people may have given up on

american manufacturing, but the american people did not and i did not. that is why i made it, make it in america, the cornerstone of my economic plan. today's report proves that it is not just a slogan, it is my administration and a reality. host: asking you this morning, which party do you trust with the economy? one right after the other, you can track it, if you are really into it. gop targets vulnerable with tough votes in voter ramah -- vote-a-rama.

the lines for a republican is (202) 748-8001. democrats it is (202) 748-8000. others it is (202) 748-8002. in oklahoma, it is ronald. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: yes, we can. caller: thank you for c-span. c-span is one of the best networks i have ever listened to, but anyways, it is definitely the democrats. how can you trust a republican who -- trump spent over $5 trillion on tax cuts for his buddies. we are definitely going with democrats. that is all i have to say. host: florida on the republican line. caller: the democrat party

because they support roe v. wade. they protect civil rights. they support the veterans, the police department with lower prescription drugs -- the list goes on and on. republicans, they want to destroy. that is why i support the democrats. these days, the gop supports trump. host: all right. the lying for the democrats is (202) 748-8000. -- lying for the democrat -- line for the democrats is (202) 748-8000. caller: at this time, i would say the democrats, but i would say that i am not opposed to listening to the republicans.

i voted for reagan and for bush. i keep an open mind. whoever is going to help our economy. i am open to listen, but they have to be willing to help the people, in general. but in the upcoming elections, i'm going with democrats. host: he said he voted for ronald reagan and george w. bush . if you look at their economy over -- under their terms, do you think that was the right the? looking back on those votes? caller: yes. i was 18 years old in the navy when i voted for ronald reagan and he did great for the military. when i voted for gw the first

time around, i thought that he did well. i just thought that he did not handle the war, so that is why i did not vote for him the second time but i think he did well on his second term. host: next, on the republican line. go ahead. caller: i'm praying that trump may run again to get us back on the right road. democrats have totally destroyed everybody's lives. we need a republican back in the white house. host: what do you think donald trump can do in the office now that is not being done? caller: he will run the country as a company, which he did before. he has the nerve and the brains,

the willpower to go against our enemies, such as china and russia and put them back in the place that they should be, not coming after us. caller: i am a democrat and i will definitely vote democrat again. when a republican or whoever it was called and made a claim that was untrue -- we know it is untrue and we do a fact-check. in a world where there are different news stations, it is frustrating to listen to them call and say he is a christian and he has saved our country.

he did all of these things that made our countries less safe. we had covid under him. the economy was in shambles. all of these things. tariffs affect us, not china, in so many ways. we have farmers to had soybeans and all that. they just did not know what the truth is.

caller: i do not know where to begin. there is so much that needs to be challenged. host: will you please your volume on the television and then go ahead with your comment? john, you are on the air, go ahead. caller: democrats make me think -- they want to say trump is not accurate. he is a lot more accurate than biden. what upsets me about biting is that -- joe biden is that he does not pay his portion of social security and medicare. he gets his pay through llc,

said he does not have to pay. i have worked for 18 years and i had to pay both parts of my social security and medicare. sorry. go ahead. you have a question? host: john, were going to let go there. senate democrats killed themselves for a long night of gop sabotage attempts as they continue their long slog to pass their tax bill on the floor of the u.s. senate yesterday, the minority leader mitch mcconnell talked about the democrats bill. here is what he had to say. >> because of the stark failure on the economy, the american people have lost their patients. -- patience.

just 20 think that we will be in better shape after another year of democratic leadership. senate democrats missed meeting for yet another reckless tax and spending spree. mccance have already robbed american families once and now they are going to rob american families a second time. hundreds of billions of and reckless spending. and for what? for so-called inflation bill that will not reduce inflation at all and will actually make inflation worse in the short term? for so-called economic bill that will -- for a so-called climate bill that will have no meaningful

impact on what with the temperature is, whatsoever? some prescription drug bill that will result in medications at higher prices? every fact i have laid out comes from nonpartisan experts and academics. they will do nothing to cut inflation. tax hikes on a struggling economy. everywhere except the irs where the bill would lead to the hiring of 86,000 new tax collectors, new cars and new computers. host: the bill is called the inflation reduction act and some of the highlights include $500 billion.

300 billion aimed at deficit reduction. an extension of subsidies is $64 billion. an opening question for you. which party do you trust on the economy? tell us why. a couple comments on social media. the economic numbers are very good. richard shelby saying in an effort to lower infrastructure cost, my amendment would require the secretary of the interior to complete lending lease by the application process for metallurgical and this bill is a lot of fluff. it offers a lot of credit for rich people to buy cars, but it does nothing for the average

person. donald is on the line. >> i went to's -- caller: i trust the democrats because a lot of the districts in the country are so gerrymandered to the republicans. they do not have to listen to their constituents, if they do not want to because they can get a. i do i think that if people were to understand that people who can afford electric cars should try to go ahead and buy it. it would probably a lot of gas

for the farmers and other people who need a truck for their job and everything. it would free up -- and maybe drop the price of gas for them to buy and everything but overall, i trust the democrats over the republicans, by far. host: to miami, florida. robert on the republican line. go ahead. caller: i am calling from miami, florida. i would trust the republicans 100%. every time a republican is running the show, everything runs smooth. when democrats run the show, everything goes down the tubes. host: lenny is on the independent line.

>> i am a constitutional conservative. the big problem of our country is that america needs to wake up and realize that the democrats have become a socialist party and the right has become too far right. according to the constitution, it is 18 to be open party system that we must get along and meet in the middle. if it is too far to the left, we are socialist. too far to the right and we have gone too far. the republicans are fighting socialism, which is the direction that i am going in. host: so your view is in terms of the economy, the republicans have the right message? caller: absolutely. less government is better. the government does not belong in the -- an individual lives.

the purpose of the government is for the protection of the state and it is up to the states to govern themselves. host: we appreciate the call. in the washington post this morning, this is the headline. figure economy. friday's blowout jobs report. it did not end the mystery about the state of the economy or resolve questions. they had contracted for the second consecutive quarter, meeting -- meaning one was still fresh as employers added jobs in july. twice as many as economists expected. they seem to describe entirely different realities. the first showed a weak economy

and offered nothing but grief. it was minting jobs faster than they could fill them with an unemployment rate that matched the pdm -- pre-pandemic low. surely is in florida on the democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i just want to say that of course, i trust the democrats to do a better job with the economy because if it were not for president biden, he has been working very hard since the day he came in. president biden has -- is more

intelligent. he is already experienced. he has been the vice president and he knows what he is doing overseas. he has gathered the other countries to come around and help out with the oil. he has continued to pull us out of situation after situation, and he has been graded very unfairly. he is doing a very good job and i trust him. they care about us. they are going to continue to work. you could say goodbyes all the things that would get done. they are talking about socialism. we pay taxes and we do not get a

thing under the republicans. host: we will go to james and harvey, louisiana, on the independent line. caller: thank you for this open discussion. there was a gentleman about two calls ago that made me change my mind about what i want to talk about. i want to get it right. when the republicans -- when things are going smoothly -- my memory of history goes back to at least 1974, when i first started getting politics -- getting into politics as a teenager. tensions were higher than they were today. inflation rate was above 11%. when i first bought my first

house in 1981 or so, i had to pay 13% interest on my home. it started back in 1973, when we were in similar situation. we had a republican president. our first president that was not elected by anybody. he had to be appointed because of corruption in the 1970's of the nixon administration. republican, to republican, to republican, to this last guy that we just had. they went in with a decent economy or a floundering economy and left with a just as bad, including ronald reagan. even though we did better under reagan, we were starting to move better because we were moving

better under his predecessor. the facts are that, let's get out of this last guy. the longest recovery in our nation's history. some would say the second-worst economic situation that we experienced in 2008. when he left, during his mishandling of covid, the problems that we had -- they are talking about too much. there are so many things to deal with. the definition of inflation, too much money going out. the only people who can really introduce more money is the fed and our fiscal policy.

if i put my money in somebody's hands today, it may transfer to three or four people, but as it moves through the economy, inflation does not start the day that mr. biden started his policies. it started before mr. biden got in office. host: he was talking a good bit about the former president, donald trump, who spoke yesterday at the cpac event in dallas. the internal poll that they do their at cpac every year. he won the straw poll. donald trump said this about the january 6 investigation. mr. trump: one of the things that we were saddled with, one

of the hardest decisions that i had to make when i looked at some of the cities run by democrats, i wanted to send in the guard and the troops. sometimes i did. in minneapolis, i sent in the troops and saved the place. i was getting ready to send them into seattle. i guess it was antifa, took over a good part. they took over a big portion of seattle. all of a sudden, they decided to leave. the president is not supposed to be doing that. the president is supposed to do it at the request of the governor. when the governor was a democrat, they do not want any help, under any circumstance. very much like on january 6, where i answered nancy pelosi and the mayor of d.c. from 10 to

20,000 troops because i thought the crowd was going to be very large, coming in. they turned it down and i think i can say you are a witness, but we had many other witnesses. they turned it down. had they not turned it down, you would not have had january 6 as we know it. the president is not supposed to be sending -- host: our opening question is which party do you trust on the economy? real clear politics with a couple numbers including on how to handle the economy. on president biden, the average

approval was 39 percent. his average disapproval on the economy is 64% and the direction of the country, 73 percent, saying it is going in the wrong direction. patrick is in charlotte, south carolina. caller: good morning. quite frankly, i have lost faith in all parties in washington dc. both parties are for the corporate welfare. the republicans and this gift that they gave to the industry over $100 billion is an example. i am fed up with the republicans. you need to stand for your principles. publicans used to stand for unfettered markets. the ebb and flow of cycles.

they pass a law and put the finger on the sale. the federal reserve and the confiscation of wealth through the money printing. this is who we need to focus on. jerome powell and the bond buying and the mortgage-backed securities purchasing, when inflation was heating up and he put more fuel on the fire and he is responsible. he needs to be impeached. we need to get back to a gold standard where everybody plays by the rules. this is where i'm looking at it.

i am with libertarian. we've got to let the free markets work. you were going to have winners and losers. the nation will be better off when we had that economy. that's the economy we need to get to, and unfettered economy. host: next up in tennessee. caller: good morning. i listen to these cliches by the republicans. they say democrats tax and spend. that may be true. i think they may tax and spend. republicans spend and spend and they never tax. that is not good for the economy.

maybe they need to redistribute once in a while. i think biden is doing that. i admire what he is doing. i hope he will -- people will realize we elect a government, our economy goes down. deaf it's go up. -- deficits go up. host: hello there. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i don't trust either party. the only speech that is relevant to me in the last 24 hours with senator sanders after the tie was broken. one that stated that the system is corrupt. the last caller had it right. let's put it this way. it's never going to work for us as americans as long as big

pharma, big oil, silicon valley is running the show and being subsidized. it's welfare for corporate america. we are paying the bill. host: a similar opinion reflected in this tweet about which party do you trust on the economy. this one just says simply:

janet in florida says: this is what the democratic leaders said on the floor the senate yesterday about childcare and the economy. >> when i was a kid, my dad had and exterminating business. my mom was what was then called a housewife. i got home from school and there was mom with milk and cookies, asking me what homework i had. she told me what time i had to come back home from going up in the schoolyard for dinner. that doesn't happen anymore. the vast majority of families in america are either single parents or to parents both working. the percentage of have two parents with only one working is

minimal. childcare is now a necessity. it's a necessity for families. the anguish people go through to try and find childcare and when it's not available or something happens, what are they going to do? they are both working? it is agony. it's not something that comes once in you get a serious illness. it is real agony and anxiety. we have to do something. our economy, you read all of the economic experts, we are short labor. go to any business, they are short labor. the number one or number two reason is we don't have adequate childcare. moms or dads don't want to go to work because they don't know who

is going to take care of the kids. moms or dads stay home or retire or whatever. our economy desperately needs this. when parents can't enter the workforce, particularly women, our country suffers as an economy and productivity is greatly diminished. host: as the senate debates the bill over in the capital, we are talking about which party do you trust on the economy. (202) 748-8001 is the line for republicans. (202) 748-8000 four democrats. independents (202) 748-8002. a caller had mentioned bernie sanders, praised his speech yesterday on the senate floor. another view in this tweet from michael:

let's hear from ed in ohio. caller: there's no way you can say the democrats run the economy better. i'm 63 years old. everything was greatest in my lifetime for years when trump left office. wages were going up. everything was going great. we are a nightmare today. our borders are over 100,000 deaths. loved ones lost, destroyed families. no media talks about it. not c-span.

the drugs, everything through the borders. that's economy. 800,000 no catches that we know of. there is another half million more. terrorism is coming back. the taliban is rebuilding. this new package is -- it's going to make hyperinflation more. they -- nothing is going right. my neighbors voted for biden. they are sick of it. host: finish your thought. caller: you just had schumer on. he's talking about these new entitlements for families. how about the major cities destroyed because democrats

destroyed and burned down, all of those states. they are not rebuilt, including cleveland. there are stores still not rebuilt. crime is up today. they won't put them in jail. host: a piece from the washington post about part of what is in the inflation reduction act. a bigger irs will be a better irs.

nicole is in milwaukee. go ahead. caller: i trust the democrats more than republicans. i remember my grandmother educating me about politics. the republican spend for the benefit of their donors and people in the top 1%. trumps tax cuts -- some people

got an increase in salaries. most of them got one time bonuses. the rich part of the tax break continues on until today. it is in perpetuity. right now, biden is having to clean up the mess the trump made. as far as people talk about trumping tough on china, his daughter and family raked in millions of dollars from a trade agreement with china. we remember trump going to vladimir putin and cumin tv looking like he was agreeing to everything putin said. democrats are trying to get the country back on fair footing by taxing the rich as they are supposed to be taxed. there was a time when rich

people paid a larger percentage. everything got done. republicans get in, they think of new tax cuts for the rich while people on the bottom end up paying more. host: we will go to harry in florida on the independent line. good morning. caller: thank you. of been a republican all my life. i consider myself a conservative. i recently identified as no party affiliation. i cannot vote for donald trump if he comes up again. i will just leave that question blank and continue to answer the rest of the ballot. i think the republicans would be the best for the economy. host: francis is in arkansas. caller: good morning.

the economy, it's crazy. people are going nuts. people are taking advantage of the economy. we have one side doing this -- host: you are on. caller: it's a tornado. i'm going to say this. this part is just ingest. it seems a little bit weird. it's like a tornado, starting with covid. we end up with donald trump, who looks like the scarecrow who thinks he's smarts but lacks brains. you have the 10 man who wants a heart but the 10 men doesn't get

his heart. we get the cowardly lion, all through biden's election. trump was out doing his thing, ranting and raving, making fun of this and that. biden is in his basement. then, it's just like the wizard of oz. we get the monkeypox. we get this crazy oz who is completely fake. host: who are you talking about as oz. caller: in pennsylvania. host: you were going with the

metaphor all the way through. caller: it goes a little bit more than that. right now, we are in kansas. we just had kansas do the big vote. the economy, we have to settle down on the economy a little bit. host: what you mean? caller: it's going to balance out. we have a major war going on. we have vladimir putin deciding he's going to hold us hostage with food and grain. the whole world economy is up for grabs. host: i will let you go there. thank you for the interesting that a four. steve is on the republican line in massachusetts. caller: host: you are on the air. caller: good morning. thanks for having me on. i enjoy the oz thing too.

i have a couple things i would like to address. the current education bubble that we have, what people don't realize is the history of the mortgage bubble. this precipitated from jimmy carter passing the community reinvestment act. this caused bill clinton to force the subprime mortgages, which led eventually to the mortgage bubble. president bush wanted to rein in fannie mae and freddie mac. it was barney frank that told him this would be mean-spirited. president bush did inherit a recession from bill clinton due to the.com bursting. the education bubble, this precipitated from president

obama having federal government taking over these student loans. we see what's going on. this is $1.5 trillion. we have president biden once the taxpayers to pay off -- they keep selling this. nobody told these people to go to college. one more thing, i would like to speak about gerrymandering. webster was predominantly blue. it went democrat by one vote in 2020. massachusetts is the most blue gerrymandered state in the country. he was a governor in the 18th century. we invented gerrymandering. webster is in the same district as amherst. we have a mill town called dudley.

they are in the district with williamstown. we have these far left towns that are negating the republican vote in these areas. i'm sorry to bother you about this. i'm not a student of the science of economics. i really enjoy your program. host: back to the bubble you mentioned, the mortgage bubble. how concerned are you that they will burst? is that going to happen in the next couple of years? steve? caller: the education bubble? host: both of them. we get another mortgage bubble going, i thought that burstyn 2008. -- burst in 2008.

host: how about the education bubble bursting in the next couple of years? caller: i'm 71 years old. i went to boston college, which was an accomplishment. my father left school at age 16. he was always at home. we did tuition the old-fashioned way. people have got to suck it up. you took out these loans. you pay for them. that's just how i feel. these are going to be high-paying jobs. i have two boys that are 30 and 32. they went to community college for two years. i think we are over pushing it. i would like to see more vocational technical education.

electricians make good money. that is how you rebuild from within. host: some comments on the green energy aspect of this measure being debated. lisa says this: derek says: this one says: fort washington, maryland.

mary is on the democrats long. caller: good morning. i would never trust the republicans. the republicans stand for racism , sexism, homophobia, cpac is nothing that clan meeting. all they do is get everything they need for their donors. i wish you would do a show on the far left. they have taught their supporters to hate socialism. socialism is your fire department and fema. shut down the red costs and every thing to do with socialism. host: this is from the warning consult. their headline, democrats are winning back trust. they write:

staten island new york, dominic on the republican line. caller: thank you. i'm happy you got me in today. i'm a republican. you have to be out of your mind to see what's going on. principles before personalities. you can make this a racial issue. the way i look at it is i am 80 years old. it's very simple. biden gave me $1400. i don't need $1400. what kind of leadership is that?

what kind of leadership is the border situation. more and more drugs are coming in. it's a fact. i come from an italian family, basically a poor family. we had a cold stove to get the shower going. i see where we are now. everyone worked hard. there is no free lunch. biden gave me $1400. that's a free lunch. host: you think there is more that attitude, that people aren't working as hard today? caller: that's for sure. giving people money for nothing, that's the way i look at it. that's insane. that's not logical. host: this is the new york times

this morning. there front page:

that's from the new york times. connecticut is next, sue is on

the independent line. which party do you trust? caller: i really thought of listening to previous people. one thing i came away with is there is a blame game. always looking backwards, never looking forward. always talking about when i was little, things were better, pull up your bootstraps, i live in connecticut. it's very expensive to live here. i one time had three different jobs. i barely saw my family. i was out the door at 6:30 a.m. and some days i didn't get home until 10:30 p.m. i had two kids. i had to make sure things got done. it wasn't easy.

i didn't get insurance from those jobs because they were all part-time jobs to fill the needs financially to make money to pay for mortgage. i end up becoming a teacher. i think i'm concerned if republicans take back the government. they are killing education. no one is paying attention to that. it's all nonsense, just a distraction. it's all distractions and nothing gets done. you talk about fake news, fake news is crisis after crisis created by the media. they are just keeping us fed. you don't even know what you should be worried about because there is breaking news.

another thing is i'm very concerned that when the economy is being run by the supreme court, corporate america, the irs is so shortstaffed that they can't close loopholes. these are great ideas. let's create laws and close loopholes. if you don't have that staffing because it's underfunded, you can't find that money. who is being audited? the little people. we are easier because we make the stakes because it is so complicated we don't know what to do. host: we are going to move on to the democrat line in virginia. caller: good morning. how are you today? i think democrats do a better job because they are for the

middle class people. the republicans have always been for the rich. they have been for businesses, they've never been for poor people. they are only looking out for themselves. i would like to say one more thing. this country is in the wrong direction. it's not so much financially. it's the culture wars. people have got to stop looking at a lot of television. you guys have a lot to do with it. you started this stuff about white people in a minority country. that is what set it off. people went crazy because they thought they would never see a

black president. now we've got our first black president, we might get an asian or hispanic or black woman. they are worried about these things. this country is never going to go back to the way it used to be. host: we will let you go there, irene. morehead on washington journal. we will talk politics with nicole bremmer and connor mcguire, talking about a very busy week and what's ahead. concerned veterans for america, we will talk about veterans issues in his opposition to the nato expansion.

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fast and easy way to watch you can't see it live. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are going to talk politics next joining us to do that is nicole bremer-schmitz, a democratic strategist along with conor maguire, a republican pollster. democrats are calling it the "inflation reduction act or go republicans have opposed -- "inflation reduction act." repugnance have opposed it when democrats look at it to lift their election hopes. what will this mean for congressional hopes? guest: they are hoping they deliver a bill that reduces the health care costs, deficits, makes inflation go down and

serves what americans are saying the issues are. the democrats need to get across what they have done to the public. their biggest problem their entire two years and there issue now is there has been a lot of focus on other things. they need to get this into the news cycle and get in front of americans and make sure they know what democrats have done in the senate and house and how this is positively impacting americans. host: three months to the election, is there a benefit to pass it or does it help republicans if it is just another as they say massive spending bill. guest: what we are talking about is how do people know this is going on this weekend? they were all night last night. most of america doesn't know this is going on, much like most of america doesn't know what the biden administration has done so

far. they don't know what they have done to help with inflation, the everyday cost of living. republicans see that one thing we need to continue to focus on is the cost of living and how it continues to rise. republicans have to focus on this going to elections. host: did the good jobs numbers on friday mean anything to people? guest: the numbers were better than expected, but one thing that happens is do people understand and feel that when they go to the gas pump, when they go shopping? this has been going on since glenn youngkin's when in 2021 -- win in 2021. it hasn't happened from the biden administration. republicans and independents haven't seen that, and still

they think is going to get worse. host: other democrats fight that message? guest: democrats are passing the bills and working hard. that pass the issues and don't share it with the american public. the positive impact is the democratic agenda. hopefully this vote they have been spending all night on is something that will reduce inflation and address those pocketbook issues. democrats need to get out of their own way and make sure people know they are responsible for these changes are the infrastructure built was huge. there is a reason you see the jobs number as it is. on a planet is at a record low but people don't realize that so much of that is because of the structure bill. this may sound silly, you know the big at mcmahon check, i think they should send people out with a big check.

this is what we are doing. get into the local news cycle, not just the c-span's of the world, but in their cities and make sure they realize who is responsible for these things happening. host: give us an idea of some of the specific you are telling the candidates on what messaging they should be having in their local races. guest: week talk about how is this affecting your daily life? people are expecting things to get worse paired something sweet talk about in the campaigns is is anything done to help you were changing and having tangible things you can do early on. if it is state-level things, what can you do to make life at her and make small adjustments going in the right direction. once you take a look at how many people didn't take vacations

they were expecting to take, didn't go on road trips because gas prices were too high and didn't take the money they saved spend it on a family vacation because they feared inflation was going higher and inflation coming in and losing that money and being able to actually help your family live a life you want to live. host: and some of the things you are advising? guest: is local. we need to make sure -- it is local. we need to make sure we are talking about what is happening to them. democrats need to lean into what is being taken away from you and what freedoms are being taking -- taken from you? it is real and on the minds of voters. we saw the registration and kansas go through the roof and we sell voting turnout with all-time highs and who was it,

under 40 females. that is real and something democrats need to continue talking about. when you give this issue to vote on, it is a pro-choice country. but you have to translate from voting for just the issue to that as a voting for candidate acts candidate why is the same as keeping this freedom for you. host: we are talking about politics, camping 2022. nicole bremer-schmitz is the democratic strategist. conor maguire is a republican pollster. we welcome your comments (202) 748-8000 four republicans. (202) 748-8001 for democrats. (202) 748-8002 for independents.

it is said they defy expectations to chart their own course. the motion -- the abortion rate feeding that referendum and those who supported donald trump and question the election of joe biden as president won their primaries. guest: in kansas, the democrats did a good job of making it seem like it was a total ban on abortion and they turned out voters and does that translate into support for candidates? very hard to do. we test this a lot and that is what is the driving factor in your vote? we see a lot of americans are very concerned and interested and zoned in on the abortion

fight but the most important thing is jobs and the economy. they sometimes cracked the top three but when people are given a choice between how they are going to vote and what is the major thing between abortion and the economy, it is always the economy. the numbers jump without question. i think kansas is one example of what people are motivated for. i think it will impact the election. i think people will vote on their hot button issues. host: it is said that the continued strength of donald trump, you consulted one of the senate candidates in the arizona race. tell us about the aftermath of that race. guest: president trump has a strong following in the publican party. -- in the republican party.

most after their term focus on other things. but donald trump is obviously still looking to potentially run again and is involved. when you are still involved in the party, they will want you. donald trump has support across the country. you have seen his candidates supported do very well. he gave the little bit of push that pushes the candidate over the top. host: was that the case in the arizona senate race? guest: yes, it was a very close race and very well run by multiple campaigns. but a lot of times the trump support level is what it comes down to. it is another thing we test is do people really make decisions just on donald trump? most people don't. but they do listen to what the former president has to stay. -- say.

host: at the democratic poster, what do you say? guest: i believe that the republican party needs to stand up and say, there are policy differences between republicans and democrats and we can have those baits but having someone be the nominate for secretary of state in arizona who does not believe elections are done fairly and does not believe in the democracy and how we run democracies in america is hugely problematic. it is no longer a policy debate about taxes how we address the problems for everyday americans. that is the crux of how our country is founded and operates and that is usually problematic in the party needs to have more people like liz cheney standing up and saying that if you were there as part of the insurrection you are not qualified to be secretary of the state. host: there were five primaries.

what wimmer of hope you take from candidates out of those five states? guest: we had some interesting situations happen in michigan. there is a democrat running in the open seat because the incumbent lost to a trump-endorsed candidate. this is somewhere where these people in michigan are going to look and say what kind of representative do we want in this state? they are going to want someone who will represent them as michiganders, not just someone touting trump lines. there are so many laces where trump has been written off and we can go and have conversations and talk to the voters about what it is democrats are doing and what these candidates want to do to address their lives and

how extreme these opponents are. it is crossing a line. we do not want to see you get prosecuted for an abortion. that is the deal. when you vote for gretchen whitmer versus tutor dixson, you are voting on that issue. democrats have to make sure the people of michigan truly understand what it means. host: it does seem like the cultural issues, like glenn youngkin, the tide is turning for cultural issues, certainly in the case of the abortion issues and concerns by democrats in congress over the potential gay ruling by the supreme court. that could be in jeopardy. what do you think about that? guest: i think democrats have

that playbook to play and it is expanding. the campaign arm spent $400,000 supporting the trump-endorsed candidates. i find it very interesting that democrats are going to spend a lot of money supporting a candidate they think they can beat and they believe they have a better chance of beating but what is that saying about our state of politics when the national committee spends the money and is open about spending money. host: the same thing happened in maryland with the trump-endorsed candidate in maryland who wound up spending money supporting him in the candidacy of several million dollars, i understand.

guest: both parties promote candidates and the opposite party we think in the general. this goes back to the senate race in missouri. this is a long used strategy. democrats think in some places having this very extreme candidate they're up against gives them a better chance? sure. they are not denouncing these candidates. it trump is embracing them and promoting them and welcoming them. there is no, this is a line and we are drawing it. you see very few republicans like liz cheney drunk that line and she has a very tough primary -- like liz cheney that draw the line and she has a very tough primary.

host: we will go to michael and chester, vermont. good morning. caller: i just wanted to say that at this point, given the revelations of the january 6 committee that anybody who actually still believes the election law is really trump and if you still support donald trump at this point, you are a trader just like he is. when he lost the election he tried to overthrow it using any means he could, which included defrauding the government, the american people. he uses the constitution as a doormat in the bible as toilet paper, page by page. not only that, but he is a

traitor and is betraying his own party and people and every man, woman, and child in the united states. host: conor maguire, the effects on the committee on the republican side are not having much of a difference. guest: a lot of people were not watching the primetime january 6 committee voting and hearings. it was not something people found interesting. they thought everyone was going to tune in and put it on prime time. it is a political tool they are using and that is understandable going back to after 2016 while doing the impact of the election, this is just one thing the house likes to do and they want to drill down into something that there is nothing there. that was $74,000 spent on

facebook ads yet we spent millions and millions of dollars investigating something that didn't happen. host: nicole, do you think the committee final report will have an impact on the election? guest: unfortunately we saw news outlets unfortunately not willing to cover the hearings. it is a shame that they decided they wouldn't want to watch it. this was an insurrection and it needs to be addressed but it is not some silver bullet and will not be what the democrats need and the midterms and they know that. they also know they need to be addressing and are addressing and why they are doing this infrastructure bill and they have passed comments and 90% of

americans support. they passed an act to form a union and that is the basis of having a middle-class or they are doing that work and need to be talking to the voters. host: let's hear from robert in bayshore, new york, on the republican line. caller: i am a longtime republican. this guy on the other line called trump a traitor. that is uncalled for. you have the democrats running this into the ground, wokeness in the school, open borders, teaching transgender in school, the fbi going after homebuyers and moms and dads going school and calling them terrorists. you have filed you with the virus. you know biden didn't win the presidency.

it was drop boxes because of covid. what did the democrats have to run on? host: let's focus on the cultural issues he raised, the discussion of gender in this country and school districts and the so-called "wokeness" that the color mentioned period of this to issues? guest: absolutely. talking about schools, parental control over schools. parents want more control over what their kids are taught in schools. that is the crux of the situation when it comes to wokeness, crt were board meetings have gone absolutely out of control. parents want to send their students to schools that will teach what they think are the basics. they want to have some control over that and they don't want school boards that aren't from

the town and come in a want to teach whatever they want to teach that doesn't line up with the things parents expect out of school systems. host: are those just primary issues? are those top issues? host: -- guest: we have one the war -- we haven't won a war. i am an active, vocal parent. yes, parents want to be heard and know that we are apart and partner in our kids' education. i don't know any parent who doesn't want the good basis of education along with teaching kindness, being part of a community, acceptance, all of those values and our kids, too. things like crt, these are not issues that are facing people.

these are words that the republicans are using to set off alarm bells. our kids need to know the history of this country in need to know how to move forward and be an america that all lives together and loves each other and respect each other and every parent wants that. host: your kindergarten in the dream room, do you talk politics at night? guest: i may get phone calls from the teacher saying, she said this today. host: we will get to lydia on the independent line from kansas. go ahead. make sure you mute your volume on the television and go ahead with your comments. caller: ok, i did. hello. host: you are on the air. caller: hi, can you hear me? host: yes, we can. go ahead with your comment. caller: [inaudible]

host: i am going to let you go. your phone is breaking up so much. try calling back. j on the -- jay on the next call. caller: by listen to the former caller and the trump speech on your network. i noticed that he has come out strong against vaccine mandates. my observation is that mccullough lost because of his stance that he took on vaccine mandates. i think it should be voluntary. forcing people to get

vaccinations is a lose for the democrats. i know the democrats are smarter than that. i would like to get some feedback. is that a losing position to force people to take vaccinations? you are losing independents. host: conor maguire, start on that. guest: it is still something that is coming up. most of it has settled down. we did see some across the country in 2021. i was in focus groups when this came up and i was surprised it was still an issue. i don't see it popping up high on a pole and you will not see that many candidates talking about this but it does come up, especially when it comes to parents and kids in the school

system on the day have -- whether they have to be vaccinated. i know many have moved to homeschooling and school of choice because of this. host: nicole? guest: i agree. i don't think it will be one of the top three things you will hear about. there will be some conversations in the fall but vaccine mandates are not new. this is something kids have to do and this is just added to the list. host: he had mentioned the race and he said that was the recent terry mcauliffe lost. glenn juergen -- youngkin steered away from donald trump's endorsements in that race and separated himself from donald trump. at the time people thought that

was the model for republican candidates to win. are we seeing those kind of candidates on the scene? guest: yes we are. we are seeing candidates looking to represent the district they are from. in some districts, that is the right move and who these candidates are. and we encourage them to be that. in some districts that trump won by triple digits is a different approach and a different type of people. voters want to see and hear about different issues. it does come back to the economy and cost of living. host: let's go to patrick in madison, connecticut, republican line. caller: thank you for having me on

and i'm worried about the direction this country is going with its security and open borders crime, inflation, gas prices. when trump left office i paid two dollars and $.26 a gallon for premium gasoline. gasoline was three dollars a gallon cheaper when trump left office. to drive my gasoline tanker trucks i have to have an fbi background check, transportation clearance from homeland security and i want to know where the protection is from -- for me with this clown running homeland security. i hope donald trump runs again. i'm going to vote for donald trump. we need to straighten up these

crazy democrats. the open borders in the fentanyl. host: lots of issues. he addressed to you if you want to start. guest: gas prices are out of control. talking about diesel gas after that, that price is another $.75 higher. democrats have had an opportunity multiple times to reduce costs domestically. and i don't think they've done that even last night. one of the amendments that was put forth was to not add attacks to gas and democrats decided not to do that. once again i think that's a bad idea. certainly there have been a lot of changes in supply and demand and a lot of people are really hurting because of that. host: nicole. guest: indulge me for two seconds.

glenn youngkin ran away from donald trump come the general and in the primary embraced him. terry mcauliffe made a huge mistake in seeming like parents shouldn't be partners in education. borders aren't open. they are not. there's lots you have to do to come into this country. lots of checks, lots of process. we do need to show kindness to people who are escaping countries with crucial issues in the biden administration is trying to do that. gas prices. the bill last night. amendments were voted down because they needed to keep a bill intact. lots of amendments on both sides of the aisle that lots of people would have liked to support but we had to keep the bill intact and move this important bill that was going to decrease inflation, lower health care costs, decrease the national debt and get it to the final stage. that means some amendments have to be dealt with. gas prices are going down. but this is not simply a situation that biden came into the white house and gas prices went up.

those things are not a direct correlation without many things in between. we have rest that invaded ukraine. that's a reality. we need as a nation to step up and protect democracies across the world to infect protect our own democracy in the long run. that is affecting gas prices. i hear you. i fill up my car, it's brutal. drove to long island a couple days ago. it hurt a little bit. but this is the situation. democrats passed a bill that said oil companies, you are still making record profits. let's bring down the price on consumers and may your profits come down a bit. host: that passed in the house. guest: passed by democrats, voted down by all republicans. so who here is trying to make sure gas prices are affordable for the everyday american, the democrats. host: i wanted to ask you about

the primary coming up shortly for liz cheney in wyoming. to cheney slimes trump a new tv ad for daughter liz cheney. let's hear your thoughts on that upcoming primary. >> in our nations history there has never been an individual who was the greater threat to our republic than donald trump. he tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. he's a coward. a real man wouldn't lie to his supporters. he lost his election and he lost debate. i know it, he knows it and deep down i think most republicans know it lynn and i are so proud of liz for standing up for the truth, doing what's right, honoring her oath to the constitution when so many in our party are too scared to do so. liz is fearless. she never backs down from a fight. there is nothing more important she will ever do than lead the effort to make sure donald trump

is never again near the oval office. and she will succeed. i'm dick cheney. i proudly voted for my daughter. i hope you will, too. host: conor maguire and nicole bremer-schmitz, let me ask you to respond. you are both strategists for democrats and republicans. the style and message of this tv ad and will it make a difference in her primary coming up in just over two weeks. nicole. guest: i unfortunately don't think it's going to put her over the top. although it is odd for me to feel that i am rooting for a cheney. so many years on the other side of the break i'll. but this is a great ad. her father is a known and twisted -- trusted quantity. it's honest, it's from his heart and he's not wrong.

there is so much chatter behind-the-scenes in the republican party about their issues with trump or wishing that the party was going in a different way or not so beholden but publicly you just don't see a lot of them stepping up and saying that. he appeared in the back rooms but not as much -- you hear it in the back rooms but not as much to the electorate which i think is a frustration of her because she knows they have this behind-the-scenes and they are just not stepping up like her. she feels she's being true to the constitution. her father feels that way. it's a great ad. it just might not be enough. host: conor maguire, the word coward seems strong for the normally taciturn dick cheney. guest: they are making a big play here. strong powerful play. it fits in with wyoming. but i don't really know how this plays out in a positive way for the cheney's.

there really isn't this pathway for an anti-trump republican to win a republican primary. host: who is her challenger in that primary in wyoming? guest: i don't recall the name, but it's a trump-endorsed candidate that has been in the state legislature and is somewhat known. when it comes down to it is not this pathway for this type of thing. republicans really do have favorable opinion. of the president. in the one thing you really can't do that makes it really tough to win is be anti-trump. you can still win if you are not his pick of our favorite person, but you can't be anti-trump. host: does that say something about the further diminution of the noon names in the republican party, the bush family, john mccain and now the cheney family which is still well-respected in wyoming?

guest: party changes. i have always found it interesting that so many of the newscasters and mainstream media would say when trump was elected, he controlled the party. of course. he was the nominee. he was the president. that is the leader of the party. they would never have said this in the way they said it about george w. bush. because it was trump it was like you couldn't believe that the nominee and the president of the united states was the leader of the republican party. they are. that's what their role is. as trump continues to be involved in election politics, he is still going to be seen as the leader in many situations. host: mike in ohio. independent line. you are on the air. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i have one comment to make about kansas. what happened in kansas.

i was raised catholic so therefore -- therefore it's not my job to say who should have an abortion. i love pope francis. i went to a jesuit high school. i'm proud to be a catholic but i can't force other people to have my same beliefs. i believe abortion should be safe, legal and where. that's what happened in kansas. i'm surprised at how many people republicans -- those bone spurs are very painful and went right to his head. i like donald trump myself. i've been to his casinos. i played blackjack. i can count cards. i don't hate trump but i don't think he's qualified for the

oval office. host: you pointed out something interesting, registration was driven by the supreme court decision. guest: saw a huge number of women under 40 register to vote between the decision coming down from the supreme court and primary day. that was very much a reaction to dobbs. and then we saw turnout in kansas that was 2008 obama levels in the general of turnout which for a primary in the summer is huge numbers and we saw 74% of new voters were women under 40. this is a reaction. they were turning out to make sure that the constitution of kansas kept their freedoms and kept them as citizens who could make their own choices about their own bodies. what your color just said is a very real situation. it doesn't matter what you would do.

it's about do you think someone has the right to make a decision about their own body and their own choices with their doctor and their family. host: are there similar referenda on other states balance this fall? guest: there's going to be a host of different things on balance. washington and oregon make it very easy to have ballot initiatives. on a host of issues there's going to be things that have to do with choice, minimum wage, there's going to be a slew of issues and what breaks through. what democrats need to do and admittedly i think have not done the best yet is take issues like this that we know our winners. look at kansas. red townies voted for this ballot and record measures. this was a double digit when

because america is a pro-choice country. but does that translate you are going to the box and saying i'm picking john fetterman or new jersey and dr. oz. that's what we have to make sure americans are realizing that when they vote on an issue like this as an issue, it's applicable in some cases when they are picking these candidates because there is a party who has said we are not for any kind of choice no matter what and they are going to take it farther. if people think they are not going to take it to where they are criminalizing women for having abortions, they have said it. and believe him when he says this. clarence thomas has said look at birth control. look at gay marriage. they are going there. they are doing it. host: some of the senate races across the country where you think republicans could make an democrats could make inroads. let's get back to calls.

illinois, linda on the democrat line. we lost linda. we will go to anthony in new york. republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you. host: go ahead. caller: last time i watched donald trump on tv, i was enamored at his speech. i thought it was the strongest speech a candidate has ever ever done. i'm not really calling for republican or democrat. i'm a voting republican. i'm calling to talk about faith. our faith in god. ok. the constitution was written. -- with that in mind. currently i'm an ordained minister under a course of

miracles and a course of love and that is what trump spoke about last night. he spoke about love and the freedom of this country. it's not what the democrats are trying to tell us. it's about love and freedom. thank you very much. host: conor maguire. any thoughts on his view of the republican party and the strength of donald trump's speech. guest: i think he laid out his plan for what he wants to get accomplished and that lines up with what a lot of republicans want to see. it is fighting inflation, securing the border. it is continuing the promises that he made in his first campaign which he did follow through with quite many of them and republicans remember that. he did a lot of work with the supreme court that we really appreciate it. host: let's hear from tim in texas. independent line. caller: yes. i have a couple of things.

the insurrection of the capital -- at the capital and why an insurrection would people be walking around with cameras, taking pictures and then turn around and leave and give it back without taking any arms to keep it. i thought in insurrection is what you did. and why no one was prosecuted during all the insurrections while donald trump was president of the colleges and all the other things. in the second thing would be with the roe v. wade, they are basically saying you can kill a child as soon as it has a heartbeat. so if that's the case, why not let them go to preschool and if they are not being good just abort them then? what's the difference in that part? and that's my question. host: conor maguire do you have any response to that? guest: not the second part.

we hear a lot of comparing of january 6 to the riots that happened earlier on and there is certainly a disconnect between reactions on both sides. the situation that led to january 6 was upsetting for everyone. host: i will ask both of you, in terms of where you think democrats could make inroads in senate states this fall. guest: first democrats need to defend what they've got. we have some great senate candidates who are up. mark kelly in arizona, senator warnock in georgia. senator hassan in new hampshire. these are people who are representing the states and talking to their constituents about what they need. we have some great opportunities this year. pennsylvania. john fetterman. amazing union supported running against dr. oz who lives in new jersey and i don't know i had miracle pills 18 times to make you lose weight. and wisconsin. ron johnson who spent fourth of

july in russia. i don't know what ron johnson is doing these days. i'm not sure what he's doing in the senate, but it's not what wisconsin wants to see happening. we are to have mandela barnes taking him on. this is a wonderful opportunity for democrats to win that seat. we've got an astounding senator in catherine cortez masto in nevada. she is running hard. all the house members. that's the first state legislature it is female dominated. they have enshrined roe into their state. democrats have a great chance in the senate. we've got an amazing candidate in north carolina that is taking on the open seat. host: richard burr c. guest: there is a lot of opportunities for democrats in the senate.

we've got candidates come from these states, have backgrounds that are what people want to have represent them. they are not just random millionaires who feel like they should have a senate seat so they will run the state next door. host: let me get conor maguire in. arizona, how much of an opportunity to think republicans have to gain seats? guest: there is very good opportunity in arizona. a lot of the messaging that's been going on on mark kelly is continuing to set in. it's going to continue the idea that he is bought and paid for by china. but it's a tough race. i'm really looking forward to watching nevada play out. he's a phenomenal candidate, great guy. that is republicans best shot of picking up a seat. there's going to be some defending to do but there's

going to be some pickups across the country. nevada is where i want to spend my time. it's a great city. it's a great state. host: let's hear from paula in the nation's capital. democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i had a question for both. i am an advocate for women's right to choose, but i do want to say that while the situation in kansas was phenomenal, does that speak to what i guess the supreme court's was looking to do when they overturned roe v. wade, which is to leave it to the states to decide, and does that situation in kansas support that? not that i want it to, but i

want to understand what your thoughts are on that and how other initiatives might play out. host: nicole bremer-schmitz. you are first. guest: what the supreme court essentially said was they were taking it to the states. kansas then took it to their constituents. the entirety of kansas got to take a vote should this be protected freedom and kansans resoundingly said yes. and you have to remember because this is something that if women are affected by this, one in four women have had an abortion which means you know or love someone who has had an abortion and there are a multitude of reasons you may have them. they are doing this is a choice for themselves, their families. it's an economic issue. we are seeing what's playing out with this in places like indiana where there is employers saying

we might have scaled back. we don't know if we can attract the kind of talent that we need because this is a state that is now passing extreme laws making it impossible for women to have this kind of health care. so this is going to be something -- this is why the electorate is going to be affected and vote on this because it's happening in different ripple effects. kansas said ok, it's a state right. our freedom. guest: i do agree that moving things of the federal government and putting them to the states is a good idea. republicans generally support that quite a bit and we see this across the country. ultimately states making these decisions is a good thing.

i certainly support the supreme court's moved to do that. i think there's going to be a lot of different things that are results of that and we will continue to see how that affects going into this november. it is not going to be something that's on people's minds, we will continue to watch that. host: the court has said leave it to the states. the congress has said we want to enshrine roe v. wade in law and republicans at least in the incoming u.s. house could very well pass legislation to ban abortion outright or across the country. guest: i don't know what their prerogatives are going to be on that. we will see how things happen in november. guest: republicans are absolutely going to make that move the minute they are in control. so that is something we need to make sure men and women of america are aware of.

they tell you what they are going to do. donald trump delivered on promises. supreme court being one of them. he told us what he was going to do in the supreme court and we all said it a whole bunch of times and got called hysterical. on presidents delivering promises, in 2020 joe biden laid out an agenda and that is what he's moving on. america did vote for this and this is what americans want to see. so this is something the republicans are absolutely going to do. they have made it clear. host: let's hear from dennis in alabama on the republican line. caller: thank you for this opportunity. i just was curious. i heard nicole earlier say that our border is under control. i don't understand this at all. i see what's going on at the border. i don't know if she's been at the border. i don't know how the democrats

can say the border is under control. they were getting no help with all the fentanyl come with all the children abuse, with all the debts. and they are saying that the border is in control. new york and washington, d.c. is getting all riled up because they are getting just a small percentage of them. host: we will hear from nicole. guest: i hear you. i don't believe i said under control. the fentanyl thing i assume is the seizing of all of these drugs that happen, so brava to homeland security in this administration for seizing it because if they had not and you are not aware of it, it would simply be in this country. is it perfect at the border? no. but it's not a free-for-all at the border. there are lots of steps people have to take to come to this country and the biden administration is working hard to address different issues that

are happening at the border. it's a complex issue and something they are certainly prioritizing and working on. host: it seems like once a week somebody writes a column saying joe biden shouldn't run. the latest is maureen dowd. don't give it a go. a country really needs to dodge a combat by trump with the rise of the odious ron desantis. there is a growing sense in the democratic party that it will require new blood. if the president made his plans now, he couldn't leave time for a fresh and inspiring candidate to emerge. he and his team could do what they thought was right rather than what was politically expedient. i will start with you.

guest: with friends like these. i don't know why anybody would make themselves a lame-duck before the midterms have even happened. that's just not politically smart for the administration, for our party. it does not give us a chance to sort through a field. i think we have tons of talent in this party that could come about. what we need to do now is focus on these midterms. the pressures she's referring to , sometimes that keeps you on the ball a little bit. you have to think about what's your next election. nobody should make themselves a lame-duck at this early into presidency. people who think president biden is going to leave, the man has been running for president since 1987. host: do you think he will do it? guest: i don't know. i think he's got a lot of decisions to make an age is

certainly going to be a fact there. you have seen the number of democrats come out and say he shouldn't run have to backtrack and apologize. democrats are in a tough place. i don't see anything like this happening before the midterms. host: let's hear from howard in winston-salem. caller: yes. top of the morning. good panel. i have a couple questions for the republican and democrat. we do know that when 9/11 hit, there were some people in a plane trying to destroy the capital and those patriots on the plane made sure the plane did not make it to the capital. they gave their life to save the building. on january 6, we had the same people, al qaeda or bin laden

wanted to destroy the capital. for the republicans, since it really don't matter to the republicans, you guys go to sleep -- do you know who planted the bombs at the capital? if not, why you don't want to try to find out? and to the democrat, let me tell you this. i vote every time in an election when it comes around and i'm always motivated because i know i've still got to run to try to catch up with everybody else. let's say the white privileges they are getting. if the democrats got to motivate these white women republicans to go out and vote and keep their rights, if that's not motivation enough, i don't know what i can say to them to make them want to vote democrat to keep their rights. republicans don't have no platforms. they don't have anything to run off but critical race theory.

i call it crazy republican thinking. host: we will let you go. specific questions refer -- specific questions. guest: i believe there were two bumps that were placed at the rnc and the dnc and i worked at the rnc for many years. some of the best years i've had good i loved working there and a lot of my friends still work there. that was unbelievably upsetting for me to hear. just shocking. there is no evidence of who placed those bombs. so that is something that is fairly frustrating and would like to find out what actually happened. host: do you want to respond to his comments kirkuk just to his comments?

guest: i think we all want to find out who is responsible. host: the message about motivating voters in kansas. guest: i think what we are seeing is it is a motivating issue. if it's not something that necessarily they are broadcasting to their neighbors and friends, they are going to the ballot box and taking the boat. i think what he's touching on is something that is a true factor which is that so many people are disgruntled with both parties and their frustrated with money in politics. they are frustrated that dark money that we don't know where it's from comes in, dumps in these states, spends like crazy and they think politicians on both sides of the aisle are bought and paid for by a lot of corporations and large individual donors and what the democrats need to make clear isn't doing things like passing hr one and working on these types of issues that they

believe this dark money should come out of politics. they believe that things should be about what the people want and they think some measures should have been in congress and they need to make a distinction that it's not everybody is the same but who is standing up for people and who is not. host: nicole bremer-schmitz, also joining us conor maguire republican pollster and strategist. wings for being with us on washington journal. more of the program ahead here on washington journal, we will be joined by concerned senior advisor and marine veteran dan caldwell to talk about veterans issues and his group's opposition to the nato expansion approved by the senate last week. ♪ >> live today on in-depth,

columnist and talkshow host larry elder will be our guest to talk about political correctness, the left and racial politics of the united states. he is the author of several books including 10 things you can't say in america. in-depth with larry elder live today at noon eastern on c-span. now available in the c-span shop, the 2022 congressional directory. go there to order a copy of the congressional directory. this compact spiral-bound book is your guide including bios and committee assignments for every member of congress. order your copy today at c-spanshop.org or scan the code with your smartphone. every c-span shop purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. c-span brings you an unfiltered view of government.

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caldwell, marine veteran and vice president of foreign policy for stand together. he is also a senior advisor and longtime associate with concerned veterans for america. thanks for being with us this morning. guest: thanks for having me on. host: tell us about the groups you are involved with in their mission and what they focus on. guest: stand together is a community that aims to create a society of mutual benefit and equal rights for individuals can realize their full potential. we do this by partnering with other individuals and organizations that share our goals. one of the organizations part of the stand together community is concerned veterans for america, whose mission it is to advocate for the freedom and prosperity we fought for while in uniform. concerned veterans for america does this by educating and activating veterans, military families and patriotic americans to achieve our policy agenda

focuses on foreign policy, veterans issues and getting our national debt under control. host: as a marine you were involved in operation iraqi freedom. he joined the marine corps in 2005. tell us why you wanted to serve. guest: it was something i had always been interested in doing. i was interested in military history and i got interested in history in the marine corps and thought they had a unique history, heritage and i really wanted to be part of them. quite frankly i spent about six weeks in college before i joined the marine corps and really realized i was a little burned out from school. i went ahead and enlisted and served for four years. i had a great enlistment. i got to do a lot of cool stuff. i served at camp dated -- camp

david and deployed to iraq. host: after you came out of the marines, what made you want to get involved in veterans issues? guest: once i left the marine corps i went back to school. my last semester in college i got an internship with my local members of congress office. almost right away i was hired to fill a role working on veterans and defense issues from early focused on helping our constituents deal with problems they were having with the department of veterans affairs and the department of defense. that was a real eye-opener to me about a lot of the struggles that veterans were having the department of veterans affairs. in particular getting disability benefits but also gaining access to health care at the local va

hospital which was the phoenix va hospital. several years after i started working at the congressman's office it was revealed that the hospital was using secret weight lifts to hide the amount of time it took for veterans to receive care -- wait lists to hide the amount took -- of time it took for veterans to receive care. it was a real motivator to get involved in concerned veterans for america which was out there pushing for systemic reform and trying to fix some of the problems i saw firsthand both as a veteran and someone working to help veterans get access to their veterans. host: dan caldwell this for about a half hour. we welcome your calls on veterans issues, military issues. for republicans (202) 748-8001. free democrats (202) 748-8000. independents and others (202)

748-8002. if you are a u.s. military veteran, (202) 748-8003. i wanted to ask you about the opinion piece you had on fox news about last week's approval by the u.s. senate of finland and sweden joining nato. the headline says finland and sweden joining nato won't make u.s. safer. why won't it make us safer? guest: in washington, d.c., nato expansion is the closest thing to a foreign policy holy sacrament. as a result a lot of policymakers don't want to have a substantial conversation about and just assume that it's an unquestionable good. the reality is it's not in the united states interest to extend our security umbrella through nato to wealthy european welfare states that have been prosperous outside nato for seven years. the reality is despite what some

policymakers here in d.c. will say, expanding nato to finland and sweden will come with real costs to the united states. it could cost up to $8 billion up front for the united states and up to $2 billion annually. it will require the more regular deployment of true's to support -- troops to support finland and sweden. we have record inflation and other foreign policy challenges in other parts of the world. there's also the risk that by extending our security umbrella to finland and sweden could dis-incentivize them from doing what they need to do sis -- need to do to secure their own countries. neither meets the gdp threshold that nato members have agreed to in terms of defense spending and we have seen this dynamic play out in other parts of europe where a lot of european

countries assume that because they are under the american security umbrella that they don't need to invest in defense and instead invest in their welfare states. it's also worth noting that this expansion is being justified as a result of the russian invasion of ukraine. i would argue that because of the russian invasion of ukraine finland and sweden face less a conventional threat from russia than they did prior to the invasion because russia has lost so many troops, so much topline equipment and is currently tied down in ukraine. for me there is no reason to expand our security umbrella and that's what happens when we add members to nato. it's not just something that they join the club and everybody is all happy. this requires the united states to defend two more countries and for me it was disappointing that there was not more opposition to the treaty and we have what some

people call zombie nato expansion that has been occurring since the end of the cold war. host: let me point out how it was framed. in the new york times they wrote that the vote margin reflected a striking repudiation by republicans of the american first philosophy espoused by president trump who was openly contemptuous of nato end of america's commitments to international organization. the overwhelming tally was one of the most forceful rejections yet of that isolationist worldview. do you agree? guest: i think that is very lazy framing and i strongly disagree. it's worth noting under president trump, two countries were added to nato. montenegro and north macedonia. it's also worth noting that president trump focus mainly on getting nato members to spend more money. i know there's a lot of discussion that he might pull

out of nato, but you need to look at what actually occurred during his presidency versus what some assumed what happened. i think it is understandable for us why finland and sweden would want to join a collective security alliance, but when we are thinking through what is best for the united states which policymakers should be doing, it makes more sense for finland and sweden to join a non-nato european security architecture whether it's through the eu or some defense pacts that already exist. they should be strengthening those as opposed to adding them to nato which means extending a security commitment to them. the use of the term isolationism is just a lazy smear. nobody that i know that it poses nato expansion is an isolationist. they want to look at alternative means to secure europe but that doesn't involve a heavy

commitment. the reality is we face real constraints on airpower and we need to prioritize our military economic resources elsewhere and that is primarily asia. this is about recognizing we need to make trade-offs and prioritize and that we don't live in the world where the united states is the unquestioned economic and military power. we are facing real challenges and we need to be judicious in the use of our power going forward. it's really disappointing to see that framing. but seeing that kind of explains why so many people have just been robotically supporting nato expansion for so long. host: on the concerned veterans website there is an extension -- extensive peace at a look at why withdrawing from afghanistan was the right decision. explain some of that for us and how do you think the chaos that happened at the airport, the deaths of u.s. service members commented that the withdrawal at

all in your view. >> first and foremost you need to separate the decision to withdraw from the actual conduct of the final phase of the withdrawal. particularly the last 20 days. the loss of those service members was absolutely tragic. most of them were second battalion first marines and for me that particularly hit hard and it was incredibly difficult to see that. i think that if you're looking at the 20 years of war in afghanistan and you can't just look at the last 20 days of the war, you have to look at the whole 20 years of the war. it was incredibly mismanaged war where we had unrealistic goals that were disconnected from what was needed to keep america safe and what we needed to do after 9/11. and that's why we got to where we were at the end of august of

last year. in my mind there was really no other choice than to withdraw from afghanistan. it's important to remember that the taliban had been slowly gaining ground in afghanistan since 2015 in spite of the fact that the united states has surged in more forces in 2017, had conducted a record number of airstrikes. the afghan government did not have the support of its people. so we could either continue to double down spending tens of billions of dollars every year, losing dozens of troops to death or injury and continuing to prop up a failed state that eventually would have collapsed anyway and even opponents of the withdrawal admitted that likely at the end of the date the result would have been the same. host: what did you think about the u.s. drone strike that killed al qaeda leader

al-zawahri last week? guest: i think there's a lot we don't know about it. i think there's a possibility that certain factions of the taliban may have essentially dined him out to the united states to stir up problems with other factions. it does show the united states has an ability to conduct over the horizon long-range strikes against terrorists that pose a threat to the united states. it also shows that we don't need a large permanent ground presence in afghanistan to conduct the strikes. host: let's hear from our callers. we've got that veterans line at (202) 748-8003. cornelius from alexandria, louisiana. go ahead. caller: i want to thank c-span and everything. i was a military police officer and we helped train the marine corps mps and stuff at fort mcclellan alabama.

i served from 79 1994. my question for you and i was telling the call screener, we have the alexandria v.a. here and i don't know if you know this, but they want to close it. our representative has been fighting hard to keep this veterans hospital open. it serves over 100,000 veterans and it employs about a 1000 employees and stuff. does your organization try to help keep va hospital's open? thank you c-span and god bless america. host: dan caldwell. guest: our organization is focused on ensuring that veterans get access to the best health care possible and that they have control over their health care. whether through a va hospital or private provider.

the v.a. should be looking at hospitals and clinics that are over capacity or under capacity and the ones that are under capacity should look at downsizing. the ones over capacity should expand the. this is something that was supposed to be done through the commission that was unfortunately shut down by the united states senate. i think that's a real disappointment that that isn't going forward because ultimately at the end of the day it's just going to allow resources to continue to be wasted on va hospital's and clinics that really aren't set up to serve veterans the best. in closing, even if the va hospital is shut down, it doesn't mean the services are going to go away. they will likely be shifted to a clinic, private public partnerships with other medical facilities in the region. it doesn't mean the access to care and other benefits would go away. host: we welcome your calls and

questions for dan caldwell. (202) 748-8001 republicans. (202) 748-8000 democrats. independents and others (202) 748-8002. on the republican line in ohio. jim. you are on the air. caller: my name is jim. i'm just calling to see what your guest would think about the reduction of our satellites. since china can shoot those down. it would shut down about half of the power of the united states grids. -- if we have protected satellites. host: if you want to expand that to the military ability of china especially as we are seeing on display clearly in the

surrounding of taiwan. guest: in regards to satellites questions, i am not an expert on antisatellite weaponry or space warfare. i would say that both of the united states, china and russia have antisatellite and space weaponry. in regards to the larger question about china's military, they have become much more capable over the last 20 years. they have enhanced their nabel cape abilities, air warfare capabilities. they are much more capable military than they were 20 years ago or 30 years ago when the last major taiwan straight crisis occurred. and this has occurred while the united states spent 20 years bogged down in the middle east fighting endless counterinsurgency wars and building capabilities that were more suited to fighting those wars as opposed to conflicts against great powers like china.

i don't know if china is ready to seize taiwan. i don't know if they've been able to adapt the military to the lessons learned from ukraine. it's worth noting that the conflict in ukraine showed that how certain sets of weapons can slow down and army. and that was occurring in a land invasion. taiwan, any invasion of taiwan would require a massive amphibious and likely air assault and that would be much more difficult than conducting a land invasion. clearly the chinese military is much more capable, but i'm not sure if they are quite ready yet to seize taiwan in a military operation. host: question from tony in florida who says every time on country joins nato, we give one

more foreign government the ability to declare war on our behalf by invoking article five. do you agree with that? guest: article five is a defensive article. it would note that most nato members didn't join the united states invading iraq. the larger point that the individual from florida is making is 100% correct and i'm glad he brought it up. adding these countries to nato can encourage something called reckless driving where they could undertake actions that start a war that is not in the united states interest. this is somewhat what happened in georgia in 2008 where they took actions that many believe actually provoked russia into invading and georgia wasn't a nato member at that time. but this was right after the united states that they wanted

both georgia and ukraine to join nato. this is a real risk and it wasn't discussed a lot during the debate over adding finland and sweden to nato. host: let's hear from patricia in california on the veterans line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. host: go ahead with your comment. caller: i have a question for dan caldwell. i would like to know how to proceed. i am a homeless disabled veteran of the u.s. army. i'm 61 years old. i was recruited out of my college preparatory catholic high school where i was a national honor society member and my scores were in the high 90's across the board and my composite was 114, four points over what was required for officer training programs. but i was put in e1, a job i was

overqualified for. basic training. i did hometown recruit her duty and then my 13th day i was deceived by a staff sergeant in order to be raped. and that i was left for dead in the morgue unconscious. the rape was covered up. i was chaptered out of the army. and was forced to find -- sign a document waiving my right to see a doctor at exit. not understanding that was to establish the percentage of disability. i've been chronically homeless since i was raped. and it didn't have to ruin my life. if i had been acknowledged, had the rape acknowledged and treated in the er. host: what's the question you

have for our guest? caller: the question is how do i proceed to get the justice i deserve -- but most important of that justice is that my claim needs to be backdated to the day they decided not to acknowledge and treat me in the er. host: we will hear from dan caldwell. guest: that's an absolutely horrific story and i'm very sorry that you had to go through all of that. the military has really struggled with how they handle sexual trauma and sexual assault and unfortunately stories like this have been too common. i would say there is an acknowledgment now that the military has failed and they are going back and looking at discharges related to these incidents and i would really encourage you to reach out to your local member of congress or

your senator's office to help apply for -- it sounds like you need a discharge upgrade and then work with the v.a. to get access to the benefits that you earned. again, i'm very sorry that you've gone through all of that. but there are resources available. i would start with your local member of congress and then your senator's office and the v.a. also has resources that can help to get your discharge changed and get you access to your benefits. host: on our veterans line, mike in new york. caller: good morning. thank you for your service. 23 years myself. my question to you is how do you feel about the service members that because they are refusing to take the covid vaccine are being forced out? the reason i say that is during desert storm, i went to call the

first sergeant pill. they looked like birth control packets. supposedly we had to take one every three days to protect us against chemical warfare. it never went into all the medical records. that's the reason they call it the first sergeant pill because he was the one walking around passing them out. afterwards we saw all of these female soldiers had miscarriages, deformed babies. we even saw men that went from bulked up strength built men deteriorate do nothing. how do you feel about this now with these guys not being -- not wanting to take the covid vaccine and being forced out because of the past history of stuff like this? guest: i think considering the recruiting crisis the u.s. military is having and the fact that the vaccines aren't as effective as they once were against current strains of

covid, the military should re-examine its policy on covid vaccines and really take a hard look at is this absolutely necessary for the help of the force to continue to force service members to take this vaccine considering what we know now about their effectiveness. i want to say that overall i think that vaccines -- there is still benefit for many people to take them. but the reality is is that they clearly aren't working as well as claimed when they were first rolled out against these current strains. it definitely is a policy that should be reconsidered and if there were service members that were forced out and want to come back in, that should be looked at as well, too. host: the senate last week passed a measure that extends v.a. health benefits and health care eligibility to post 9/11 combat veterans.

it adds 23 burn pit and toxic exposure related conditions to the list of service presumptions. did concern veterans have a stance on this bill? guest: we did not actively support or oppose it. when i was in iraq, i spent time on multiple bases where there were open-air burn pits. and at one base i literally slept next to an open-air burn. in a 10 -- burn pit in a tent for a couple of weeks. if a veteran has an ailment related to exposure to open-air burn pit, it is our country's obligation that they are taken care of. it was passed into law. i hope that it is able to create a system where those veterans

are cared for. but there were some legitimate concerns about the bill that were raised by people like senator toomey, senator rand paul and congressman chip roy. it does add a significant amount of money to our national debt and deficit. concern the v.a. system is currently struggling to serve its existing patient and beneficiary population. opening up access to more health care and benefits, which again, may be necessary without a conversation about systemic changes that need to occur within the v.a. to serve current and future populations could be setting us up for disaster. earlier, if you recall, when i joined the congressman's office helping veterans with benefits a lot of the challenges at the time were created because of

the backlog. this had to do with vietnam veterans exposed to agent orange as a result of their service. we want to avoid repeating history and we want to avoid another health care crisis or massive benefits backlog. for us it is about going forward. we think it is important to pass reforms that expand health care choice for veterans and we are constantly looking at ways to better adjudicate v.a. disability claims so we do not get another massive backlog. host: thomas in hickson, tennessee on the democrats line. caller: i wanted to ask the question, without this voting going on in the senate today and last night, you are supposed to be present.

is dianne feinstein -- she has been out sick for a long time -- is she going to be present to vote? that is my question. guest: i cannot tell you because i do not know, but you can follow the debate. host: that is over on c-span2. we are speaking to dan caldwell. we talked about the withdrawal from afghanistan. what is your view on the biden administration's handle of the russian invasion of ukraine? guest: my biggest concern is the biden administration has not clearly articulated what the end state is they want to achieve and how that is in america's best interest. you heard fake talk of achieving victory -- vague talk of achieving victory, but those

words could mean many different things to many different people. i think the lack of clarity in the open ended support we have is disconnected from any objectives and is potentially creating a dangerous situation. i do give the biden administration credit for making clear the united states will not get directly involved either with ground troops or implementing something like the no-fly zone. but this open ended support, these mixed messages they are sending to russia and ukraine creates the risk there could be escalation and the united states could get sucked into a larger concentration with a nuclear armed russia. i don't think i need to tell you or the viewers what that could lead to. fermi, i think it is important -- for me, i think it is important to go forward seeking a diplomatic solution. that is the best way to limit the loss of life.

it would limit the damage to the world economy and while it may seem distasteful to talk about diplomacy with a gangster russia, that is the reality facing the war right now. and the reality is neither russia nor ukraine appear to have the capability or ability to achieve decisive military victory anytime soon. host: let's hear from susan in revere, massachusetts, independent line. caller: hi. mr. caldwell, i am thrilled i was able to catch you this morning. i agree almost 100% with what you are saying. i believe it was time to extricate ourselves from the debacle and the financial and human waste of afghanistan. i think iraq was a debacle too.

you may have a different opinion on that. i agree we are spending billions to shore up wealthy progressives in europe that can pay for their own defenses. i believe veterans need to receive the care and support they are promised once they leave military service and come back stateside. many times we fail to live up to that promise. and i believe that all of the waste and the overexpansion around the globe weakens us terribly. if you look to history, and the time i went to school in the dark ages, we studied the fall of rome. you can see how a nation is not strong internally will fail. host: thank you for your call, susan.

any final thoughts, dan caldwell? guest: i think the final caller summed everything up well. i encourage her to get involved with concerned veterans for america. we would love to have her support. host: senior advisor at concerned veterans for america, dan caldwell, thank you for being on the program. guest: thank you for having me. host: we opened it up for the open forum. a chance for you to call in and talk about the items in the news, public policy issues, political issues you are following or reading about. it is the same phone lines. (202)-748-8001 for republicans, (202)-748-8000 for democrats, and independents (202)-748-8002. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ announcer: at least six

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to with dan caldwell from the new york times, black officer with four stars marks first for marines. there have already been countless military promotion ceremonies this year, held on army bases, aircraft carriers, and in one case, a and escarpment overlooking omaha beach. but on saturday was one for the history books. michael langley, 60 years old, became the first black marine to receive a four star. the landmark achievement in the corps' 246 year history. in an emotional ceremony at the barracks in washington, general langley, whose next assignment will be to lead the united state's africa command, acknowledged the promotion before saturday. the marine corps had never given four stars to anyone who was not a white man.

kingston, new york is first up. lee, go ahead. caller: this is deborah in maryland. host: go ahead, deborah. caller: i would like to make a comment on the economy and what does better under democrats or republicans. host: you are on the air. go ahead. caller: you are on the air? host: yes. caller: sorry. i would like to make the comment donald trump in 2004 -- and i am sure you have the clip -- when asked if he was democrat or republican, he said he leaned democratic because the economy did better under democrats. i am sure you have that somewhere. i am not sure why you did not play in this morning when that was the topic. i want to make that comment.

i also wanted to say i am 72 years old, born in 1949, and every republican administration i have experienced is either a crash or recession. and then the democrats have to clean it up, of course. even donald trump thinks -- host: lee in kingston, new york, independent line. caller: thank you. i am someone who has lived in many countries and locations and in light of the conversation with ukraine, i lived in taiwan many years. i found it to be a fantastic place. it seems like it is a well-developed, strong, democratic capitalist country. it seems like a situation we should be more strongly supporting the van many of the other countries we seem to be spending money and support on. i am curious if anyone has an

opinion. thank you. host: texas, the democrat line. caller: good morning. i am almost 90 years old. we never had a wall on the border before and we do not have any of the people trump said were rapists and killers shooting up our schools. i think everyone who broke into the capitol are completely stupid and would jump off a cliff for donald trump. that is all i have to say. host: bridgewater, new jersey on the republican line. ben, good morning. caller: i have listened to

democrats and republicans debating all day today. i am so flabbergasted and i think it was you this morning had two strategists. there was nothing concrete in what they said. the same thing on all these programs, all day. the public is getting turned off because there is nothing concrete, nothing engineering of the issues. just engineering of the campaign strategies. until we start to be a serious country engineering the issues instead of the campaign interests, we are going to be a loser. we are losing more and more and more and the enemy is getting closer and closer to the shores in all sorts of forms. we cannot get our politicians to discuss the issues concretely by us discussing them concretely. as an example, we are just going the way of the roman empire.

host: over in the u.s. senate they continue voting on the democrat's legislation. the inflation reduction act is what it is called. live love here. you can follow our continuing live coverage on c-span2 and the c-span now mobile app. if you look on the hill this morning, alexander baldwin has been covering this through the night. senate democrats kill off amendments as a vote-a-rama goes all night. they are killing amendments as part of a marathon that started after 11:00 p.m. saturday night and will stretch toward midday sunday. the senate has not taken a break overnight with senators from both parties mingling on the floor as they consider one amendment after another. maryland is next. joe is on the independent line. caller: good morning.

i am a dmv and i need a couple of seconds on this beautiful sunday morning. i live in dmv. i've traveled to texas, florida, denver, and for me there are three things. one, the money game is killing everybody. this is a feeling of mine. this is a serious thought, the most important thing i think i will say. we have people fighting over abortion. we have people fighting over gun rights. we have people fighting over sexuality. we have people fighting over every one of the most important causes and deepest things in our lives. kind of strange to me. i don't think it is a coincidence. but what i will say is this. you want to have the right to a gun? i think you ought to have the right to an abortion. both are killing.

you want the right to the death penalty? if you believe in god so much, let god be the judge. you are not god's soldiers to kill anyone. the killing is the problem. and it is for money, power and respect. i will get out of everybody's way but i live in washington, d c this is where they found the fbi guy floating down the river by my house. it is a divide and conquer game. ask rockefeller. he said in the 1920's we are getting divided and conquered and the devil is winning. that means there is a god. i don't care about that. i am going to heaven if there is one, and if not, i will rot in the dirt. host: greg on the democrats line. caller: i appreciate how good a job you are doing. do not let people discourage you doing what you are doing to make

everybody listen. you have people calling in, like when i watch tiktok, they have a lot of shows speaking the truth. they will talk about politics from the republicans and democrats side. and then republicans are calling in talking against this country. they talk against this country. are you hearing me? host: we sure do. caller: they talk against this country and then they try to start of drama, like black folks cannot munich a good. -- cannot communicate good. they are not talking about these people -- these big corporations buying these homes and kicking out of people in the street. schoolteachers got jobs and cannot afford to pay the mortgage. the republican party never

accomplished nothing. they just want to have a good time and don't worry about nothing. thank you for c-span for doing such a good job. people calling in saying you not being fair, those of the same people on tiktok trying to distract black folks trying to make this country better. host: another story keeping an eye on the violence and conflict between israel and the palestinians. the headline, israeli airstrike kills second top islamic jihad commander. israel settled sunday it killed the senior islamic jihad commander in a crowded refugee camp the second such targeted attack since it launched its military offensive against the group before the weekend. they fired hundreds of rockets at israel in response and the

risk of cross-border fighting turning into a full-fledged war remain high, says politico. we go to jacksonville, florida to hear from wanda on the republican line. caller: hi. i am tired of hearing about the black and the white when we should be praying as one, not an independent. this is not a democrat, republican issue. the issue is coming together. we have fought together for years. my family has fought against black and white but we are still alive because the ones who are still alive belongs to the congress of god. this is getting ridiculous. it is black against white. this is not what we are from. host: sheridan, oregon.

virgil, hello on the democrats line. caller: yes. i would like to make a comment on abortion for all of these states that are antiabortion. my question is, or would like to have an answer at some time, everybody complains about the democrats spending too much money and all the stuff. how many orphanages and adoption clinics are these dates going to start running? who was going to pay for them? is it going to come out of the state's budget or federal budget? there is going to be several children in the next nine months that are going to be born, they are going to be unwanted, and they are going to need homes. a lot of them are going to be drug babies, babies with problems, mothers that were on drugs. i had two adopted sisters that were drug babies. needless to say they have had problems from the time they were born until the time they were 18.

i do not believe they still have jobs. they are part of the system. with the antiabortion rules going into play who was going to pay and furnish all of these children and the care they are going to need? or are we going to ship them into other states because we do not want them in the states that are antiabortion? my other comment to the lady just on the line, i appreciate her call because i believe everybody's blood is red according to god. the color of the skin makes no difference. if everybody would start believing everybody is red-blooded, we would all get along and quit trying to put people in separate categories. host: as we have been talking a number of times throughout the morning, the senate continues its vote on the inflation reduction act. it is now on the floor of the senate. amendment vote continuing through the morning. couple of comments by senators via twitter.

jon tester of montana, good morning. we have been voting all night and the inflation reduction act pays down our debt, cuts health care and drug costs, boosts american energy so we are not rely on foreign nations. without raising taxes on people but holding corporations accountable. this from senator rafael warnock, the people of georgia sent me to the senate to fight for them. that is why i went to the floor to urge my colleagues to support my amendment to close the medicaid coverage gap. i will not stop fighting until it is done. this one from senate republicans, we are in a recession. inflation is out of control and democrats want to raise your taxes, spend your money and make the cost-of-living worse. in lakeview, oregon, james is on the independent line. james in oregon, go ahead. caller: yes. host: you are on the air. caller: ok. i have been an independent voter

the vast majority of my life, but at least the last 35 years, and i voted for [indiscernible] -- there are so many voters like me that we will not vote for anybody else but trump. we will go back to the third party. i would say 20% of the party is like that. that is all i really wanted to say. host: this is the headline this morning in the washington post. trump targets top wisconsin republican lawmaker. one year ago today this month assembly speaker robin voss sat

on a private plane with donald trump and updated the former president on the investigation he launched into the 2020 election, even though there was no evidence of widespread fraud. instead trump has pressured him privately and publicly to find a way to overturn the election results, which the state lawmaker has said is impossible and illegal. 2020 results in wisconsin stand, showing that joe biden won by more than 20,000 votes. the alliance between the two came to an end friday night as trump held a rally in milwaukee and urged supporters to vote for voss' challenger. adam steen is running to defeat your rhino speaker, using the acronym for republican in name only. in elgin, illinois this is karen, democrats line. caller: hi. i wanted to make a comment. earlier on the veteran segment,

i am a veteran. i served for the u.s. army active duty from 1989 until 1993. the lady that called in that was 61 years old, homeless and had been raped. that was really hard to hear. may be in the future may be something more consolatory and not interrupt and ask what her question was. i know you have to manage the time but when it is a story like that, it is pretty rough. it would be better if you could let her finish. it is obvious she needed help. that is my comment. i am a fellow veteran trying to help another veteran. host: i hear you. i appreciate that. we will hear from grace in

newton, new jersey, independent line. grace in new jersey. caller: my call might be similar. i am a jersey girl. i am agreeing with the gentleman, the last independent that called that was talking about what is happening in wisconsin with president trump. i am a senior. i have been a republican my entire life. in may, when -- i was gradually leaving the republican party. i am a big supporter of helping ukraine. but in may, when cpac went to budapest to honor victor orban

as their keynote speaker, i left the republican party and became an independent. i don't believe the election was stolen. i am a senior. i spend every night on the internet doing research. i believe what happened. president trump is ripping the gop apart. president reagan had what he called his 11th commandment. his 11th commandment was never speak ill of a fellow republican. and president reagan won in a landslide. he won 48 states out of 50. president trump is doing the opposite. with his rhino purges and his

revenge rallies, disenfranchising any republican that does not agree with him or bow to his issues. those people, i believe, there are many articles showing where people voted down ballots for republicans but did not vote for president trump in 2022. host: thank you for your call. an update on president biden's condition. this was the headline from politico. president biden to end isolation after testing negative again. president joe biden will resume public engagement and presidential travel, the white house announced sunday morning. this morning his covid antigen testing was negative for a second consecutive day, said his physician, in a statement

released earlier today. john in baltimore, maryland, republican line. it is open forum. caller: thank you so much for c-span. i am in maryland. we just had a governor election and there were two establishing candidates on the republican side. kelly schultz who governor hogan endorsed. and peter franchot who was the popular comptroller. they lost to wes moore and dan cox. i do nothing anyone that wants to hold onto the establishment is really going to be carrying any energy. president trump is antiestablishment. he has always been. do you remember we had a whole year of the golden showers being reported? from that dossier?

host: we will let you go. we wrap it up on washington journal for the sunday morning. thank you for joining us. we are back tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern and we hope you are too. have a great day. ♪ announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including cox. >> homework can be hard. but squatting in a diner for internetwork is even harder. that is why we are providing lower income students access to affordable internet, so homework can just be homework. cox connects to compete.

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