the condition with william arnone. and then, justin robert young and his politics podcast "politics, politics, politics." "washington journal" starts now. ♪ host: it is "washington journal" for august 20. a new research from pew research about climate change. the direct bearing on weather patterns seen in the u.s. such as droughts, wildfires and flooding. the majority said there were direct ties between changes in the climate and severe weather. for the next hour, we will show you those results and ask if you think climate change is

responsible for major weather patterns seen in the united states and the world. if you say it is responsible, (202)-748-8000 is the number to call. if you disagree that climate change is a factor for extreme weather patterns, (202)-748-8001 is the number to call. perhaps you are not sure, (202)-748-8002. you can also post on facebook, on twitter and text us at (202)-748-8003. you can follow the show on instagram. over 10,000 respondents asked about the survey that was taken in may of this year. here are some of the findings. it asked people about the types of intense weather they are seeing in their communities. under severe weather, like floods and intents storms, 43% of respondents saying they see that in their communities. of those, 49% say climate change

contributed to that. 35% say it contributed a little with 15% not at all. for looking at long periods of unusual weather, 61% saying climate change contributed a lot. when it comes to droughts, 31% of those taking the survey say they see that in their communities. 54% saying climate change is responsible for that a lot, 32% saying it is responsible a little. when it comes to wildfires, 21% experiencing that. 58% of those saying climate change contributed a lot. when it comes to the topic of rising sea levels that erodes beaches and shorelines, 16% saying they see that where they are living and 58% saying

climate change is responsible. we will show you more of the results from the survey taken by pew, but if you want to give your thoughts on climate change, if you think it is responsible for extreme weather patterns, (202)-748-8000. if you disagree with that, (202)-748-8001. you can also tell us if you are not sure, (202)-748-8002. you can text us at (202)-748-8003 and you can post on facebook and twitter. it was during the debate leading up to the passage of the inflation reduction act, which included several climate provisions, that dick durbin took to the floor, democrat from illinois. he talked about the pending passage of the bill and also talked about extreme weather and climate change issues. [video clip] >> the inflation reduction act will cut energy costs now and in the future by deploying

american-made clean energy and making the biggest investment to battle the climate crisis in u.s. history. you cannot miss on the news the terrible things that have happened in the commonwealth of kentucky in the last week. horrible things. 37 people, at least, have lost their lives with the flooding. they go to these remote, rural villages and you just -- it breaks your heart to look at the devastation. the reporters go to families still trying to get back on their feet, trying to imagine tomorrow and do these interviews. many times the people are clearly in pain and distraught over their personal losses. there was one man yesterday. he did not appear to be the kind of person that spends a lot of time thinking about

congressional issues or even great political issues. he was a hard-working fellow who just lost his home. you know what he said? he said, what you are looking at is climate change. i have lived in this town 40 years and i have never seen anything like that. i cannot imagine if it comes again. for him to use the words "climate change" really were an eye-opener for me. it means he is sensitized to the reality we face in this world. extreme weather has become the norm in our country. whether it is extreme drought, extreme flooding, more tornadoes than ever at different times of the year. the list goes on and on. some people think it is just god being restless. i think there is more to it. i think we, those of us who inhabit planet earth, bear some

responsibility. host: senator dick durbin from the senate floor. you can see more on c-span. let us know if you disagree or agree with climate change being the pattern. this is tom on the agreeing line. caller: good morning. i believe all weather starts with the ocean and the ocean is the earth's dissipater. host: can you expand on that? caller: the ocean gears are what dissipate earth's heat. this is what the problem is right now. the ph is changing, the carbonic acid, we need to pay attention to the oceans. host: what are you seeing about the impact in florida? how close are you to the ocean and what impacts are you seeing?

caller: 14 miles from the gulf of mexico. they are doing quite an extensive study of water rising. the atlantic -- the whole eastern seaboard is facing the same thing. host: that is tom in florida telling us about the situation where he lives. the question asked of the pew research respondents. we will hear from ben next on the disagree line. caller: at the beginning of the program you played a soundbite of dick durbin talking about how -- i don't want to say intentionally politicizing -- but he was politicizing the floods in kentucky. 37 people lost their lives. very recently, i think it was inappropriate to do something like that to score political

points when multiple people lost homes. johnstown, pennsylvania, very close to where i am from, flooded may 1, 1899, 1977. did climate change have something to do with that? i don't even know what to say at this point. i am thinking climate has fluctuated for millennia. the united states has been keeping track of climate since 1870. what happened before that? apparently, we don't know. host: that was ben in pennsylvania. robert in washington, d.c. on the agree line. caller: thank you for taking my call. the first caller talked about the water.

the biggest elephant in the room is that the united states is the only country that is known to have over 230 nuclear chests. now you have more positive ions in the air. the air has its own types of cooling and levels. but this is going to change the atmosphere. two nuclear bombs were set on japan but that does not include the other 230 aboveground. host: you are saying those

events are responsible for what we are seeing now? caller: very much so. very much. nobody has ever divulged that information. it came out about two years ago and they declassified about nine videos. host: that is robert in washington, d.c. more from the survey when it breaks down political opinions. the percentage of adults saying their community is experiencing certain events, severe weather, floods and storms, 35% of republicans say they experience to that. 24% say climate change could trip it a lot, 41% saying it contributed a little. democrats saying 64% saying it contributed a lot, and 34% a

little. the periods of long, hot weather, 29% of republicans saying they are seeing it. 30% saying climate change contributed a lot, 41% a little. 72% of those who are democrats or leaning democratic saying climate change contributed a lot for those that saw those weather events. you can find this online at pew research. over 10,000 people taken. call us and text us at (202)-748-8003. kelly in north carolina on the disagree line. caller: hi. since about 1961, it may be even

before that, we have an organization called haarp. you can look that up on google. many companies that do weather modification -- haarp belongs to the government -- but they see clouds, they do weather modification and has been doing it for years, almost 60 years. they have changed the weather and so many ways and i believe that has caused a lot of problems. china also has this technology and they have a major drought going on at this moment.

there was an article the other day that showed they are seeding clouds to stop their droughts. i am wondering why we are not doing that also since we have the technology to do it. they also were using it during the vietnam war for a weapon. host: that is kelly in north carolina. axios reporting when it comes to not only the u.s. but elsewhere, two heat waves an ocean apart are linked. these interconnected heat waves could become more extreme in the future as humans because climate change. the topsy-turvy undulations caused 115 degree high temperature in oklahoma. the u.k.'s breaking of the all-time high temperature with 104 degrees plus fahrenheit, the

same day the jet stream has come under scrutiny by climate scientists. the hypothesis is the change in temperature differences between the equator and the north pole could slow down the key weather makers, especially during the summer. about your thoughts on climate change, is a contributing factor to extreme weather? kathy in michigan on the agree line. caller: good morning. i live in northern michigan and the temperatures have been 80 or above very few days. it has generally been in the 70's which is nice, but we had very little precipitation. it is extremely dry here.

the waters are very dirty in the great lakes. i live in an area that has a lot of wells. what i have seen the last 10 years, particularly in the harbor springs areas, big houses being put on the water. 4000, 5000 square-foot homes. who needs that? no one. these are not homes they live in year-round. that is a big contributor, the mass consumption of products. host: as far as climate change where you live? how much do you think that is a factor? caller: oh, it is a big factor,

huge factor. i've put 14 new windows in this house and i had an airbnb and they wanted an air conditioning. i said why do i need one? air travels through the house. why would i put something in that i don't need? we need to look at the consumption and how we consume and consume and consume. walk if you can walk. ride your bike if you can. combine your trips. pay attention to what is going on around you. i put in 20 pushes and -- bushes entries since i bought this property -- bushes and trees since i bought this property. host: thank you. robert is next. caller: i think climate has a lot to do with buildings. i go over to clearwater and it

is a lot of buildings. hello? host: tell us why you think climate change is responsible for the connection to building. caller: all of these homes going up all over the place. the land is getting scarce and bears are coming into people's homes. i think they have got to stop building. rent is skyhigh because there is no room here in clearwater. i own a home so my rent cannot go up, but for other people it is ridiculous. thank you very much for having me on. host: that was robert in florida on the agree line. somebody who disagrees with climate change and extreme weather was former president

trump. he spoke at a rally back in july and part of the speech he gave was dealing with looking at issues of climate change in weather. [video clip] >> this week the white house has even threatened to declare a national emergency on what is going on. they used to call it, do you remember? global warming. but that did not work. now the great name is climate change. if it is too hot, like now, they say, climate change! if in august it turns out you are at 15 degrees in this state, they will say climate change. it took them about 10 years to get that right. they came up with all of the different things. they used to say in the 1920's they were worried about global freezing. they thought the world was going to freeze. now it is global warming and now it is climate change.

because with climate change anything can happen. it is raining like hell, climate change! it has rained in florida. it has never rained like this. [laughter] hurricanes are horrible this year! but the worst the state ever had were in 1888 where it wiped out the state. i ask myself, i wonder if they really mean it. host: that is president trump. you can see that speech on the website at c-span.org if you want to hear about those comments. a viewer says, the long, hot weather this summer is called weather. joseph say, when was there a time when extreme weather did not happen all the time? how do you know? have you looked at the data points? mark also say, one thing we can

all agree on is clean air and water. who cares why the climate is changing? let's restore mother earth and reduce carbon where possible. those are some other thoughts from our viewers. let's hear from gene in tucker, georgia. caller: good morning. host: morning. caller: i think we have been failed by politicians like donald trump, and even industry leaders. i went to a book signing once by jack welch and i asked him, was climate change ever on your radar? he says, it does not exist. people like that and people like trump who say it is not real, they are not living in reality. i think that it israel and they

are not going to do anything about it. -- i think that it is real and they are not good to do anything about it. host: do you think it is tied to extreme weather patterns? caller: i do. i think our pollution is causing it. if you look at the pattern of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it has gone up. it has shot through the roof. it has not been this high in millennia. it is causing it. the point is, all of this has been -- if you read the bible, it says there is not going to be one blade of grass left. you should have a baptist preacher on and tell us about fire and brimstone. host: corinne on the

agree line. caller: i do agree and i will give you the reasons for the extreme weather patterns. i live in door county, wisconsin, one of the wealthiest counties. i think it starts with the water. we have so many boats polluting our water. it is killing the fish. i don't have a problem with fishing but these huge motorboats dump sewage from the boat into the water. we do not reuse enough, we do not recycle enough.

people really have to get with it. we are leaving our grandkids a total mess. that they know how to recycle better than we do. i feel so strong about this and i wish everyone would start doing their part. host: when it comes to issues of water, earlier this week cnbc reported on issues when it comes to the colorado river say, for the second year in a row the federal government said arizona, nevada and mexico will have to reduce water consumption. the worsening drought impacting the colorado river basin is driven by the effects of climate change, including extreme heat and low precipitation. the river is 1450 miles long. the hoover dam completed the reservoir. the grand canyon dam created the

artificial reservoir of lake powell. it has been in drought for 20 years. second year in a row this is critical reservoir conditions. in florida, this is rob on the agree line. caller: how are you doing? host: fine thanks. go ahead. caller: my reality is i live in florida. it is hot like you would not believe and it is quite clear from the numbers climate change is here to stay. we can let it kill us or we can address it.

it is up to us. other species have become extinct. it may be the human race's turn. host: why do you see a connection between climate change and the weather pattern? caller: why do i see a connection? icy temperatures we have never seen -- i see temperatures we have never seen in my lifetime. i am 65 now. in my life, we have never had temperatures across the country like we have. it is also happening in europe. it is also happening in china. they are all experiencing drought. we can accept reality or we can live divorced of reality. if we live divorced of reality, we will probably end up like that little lizard on the side

of the road that gets dried up. host: that is rob on the agree line. we also have a line for those who are maybe not sure, (202)-748-8002. casey is calling in from georgia. caller: i would like to know how come japan and the other countries are not pitching in on this? host: what you mean on "this? " caller: on climate. host: when it comes to the idea of climate change and extreme weather, you say you are not sure. caller: i am not sure all of it is going on. like the president said, president trump, we have had really bad weather before, worse than what we have now. this year there have not been big hurricanes and a lot of the tornadoes have calmed down this year but last year it was

really bad. host: and when you say -- you do not think the other countries are dealing with their own climate issues? caller: yes. not just climate issues. making an effort in cutting down on their part toward the earth. japan has got all of those manufacturers putting stuff into the air. they are not slowing down. host: that was casey in georgia on the not sure line. ap recently did a poll. they said of those that were asked, 35% of adults are concerned about the impacts of climate change on them personally.

that is down from 44% in august of 2019. another one third say they are somewhat concerned. only half say their actions have an effect on climate change. that is compared to two thirds in 2019. it was black, hispanic americans, women and democrats especially likely to be concerned about the impact of climate change and how their personal choices affected the climate. they also looked at climate change. we are asking if you think there is a connection. you can agree, disagree, or perhaps you are not sure. this is carol on the agree line in palm springs, california. caller: good morning, pedro. can you hear me now? host: you are on.

go ahead. caller: ok. climatologists, real climatologists, have studied this. the climate has been changing for millennia. the earth turns on a slight axis and when it gets to a certain point, it tips. the african deserts used to be jungles and swampland. this changes. it takes millennia but it does and it is inevitable. thank you. host: this is our twitter feed. every generation is filled with people who hysterically imagine the end is near and doomsday is at hand. they are always wrong in life goes on. tillman saying, i live in

florida. the hurricanes were worse in the late 1990's. bc venice, we are seeing record high temperatures all over. it is happening every year. i recall when it was every 50 to 100 years. that is twitter @cspanwj. president biden made comments last month on issues of climate change and the impact on the united states, and talked about weather. [video clip] >> we need to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger. and that is what climate change is about. it is not, figuratively, a clear and present danger. leading national scientists call the latest report nothing less then code red for humanity.

let me say it again, code red for humanity. these are the scientists. we have seen in america red states and blue states, extreme weather events costing $145 million in damages just last year. more powerful and destructive hurricanes and tornadoes have flown over the vast majority across america. it is amazing to see. ravaging 100-year-old droughts occurring every few years instead of every 100 years. wildfires out west that have burned over 5 million acres. that is more land than the entire state of new jersey, new york down to the tip of delaware. it is amazing. our national security is at stake as well. extreme weather is already

damaging military installations and our economy is at risk. we have to act. host: that is president biden from earlier this summer. the new york times with the story taking a look at next steps when it comes to climate after the passage of the inflation reduction act. executive actions, the latest weapon. mr. biden is on track to deploy a series of executive actions that would include new regulations on emissions for tailpipes, plants, oil and gas wells. you can find that at the new york times. the pew research has done a survey looking at issues of climate change and if people think it is connected to extreme weather. we showed you some earlier, 43% saying issues of flooding and intense storms. 49% of those say climate change contributed a lot.

42% seeing that where they live. 16% seeing rising sea levels, 58% of those contributing that to climate change. you may agree with that, disagree. you can call us if you agree, (202)-748-8000. if you disagree, (202)-748-8001. if you are not sure, (202)-748-8002. it massachusetts on the agree line, we will hear from stanley. caller: hello. we have been in trouble since we have seen the moon during the daytime. that is 35 years. we should never see the moon during the daytime. the reason we are seeing it is because the navy blue skies gone. we have a pastel color and that is allowing 99% of sunlight coming in. the oceans are off-line. the plankton is all dead.

china put so much salt up in the air when making steel the last 35, 40 years the pacific ocean is more dead than the atlantic ocean. we need to desalt the oceans and that is to use lye. nothing else will take out the sulfur. i sent to president biden, i mean -- in 2016 in november. i got a letter back from the president saying we joined the paris agreement. the paris agreement is nothing. that is not addressing global warming. our atmosphere is now only 30,000 feet or less. host: that was stanley in massachusetts. here is thomas in pennsylvania on the disagree line.

caller: hi there. people are calling in talking about this climate change and the scales they are working with are crazy. as human beings, we are a blip on the windshield in time. there was a gentleman speaking about being 65 and this being the worst he has seen it in his lifetime. it is ridiculous to make a statement like that. you can look on nasa -- everybody's heads will pop on this 1 -- every planet is heating up. you only have to get on nasa's website and check it out. were they running too many weed

eaters on uranus? host: tell me why climate change is not connected to extreme weather. caller: i think they blow it up, extreme weather. i do not think there is extreme weather. i can remember many times where it was a hell of a lot scarier than it has been in decades. if you look at the history in the last few decades, they have blown that out of the water. it is all a scam for control. the green new deal. they want to put us in a three lock box we cannot get out of. more alphabet soup three letter

outfits. host: that is tom is in pennsylvania. christopher in virginia on the agree line. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i am fine. how about yourself? caller: good. i 100% agreed climate change. i see it all around. the summers are getting hotter and hotter and longer and longer. i wanted to ask if you have heard of stratospheric aerosol injections? i read about it the other day and it was interesting arguing about the feasibility and whether we should do it. it would be interesting if you had a guest discuss that. i know it sounds like science fiction but it would be interesting. host: as far as the connection between climate change and extreme weather, why do you think there is a link?

caller: the summers are getting longer and longer and we see the rise in temperature and sea level. fishermen are losing their jobs because of these drastic storms. i think the correlation is too strong not to have causation. host: christopher in virginia. the new york times profiles what they say the three climateteers are. senator brian schatz, democrat from hawaii, as one of them. he is 49 and embodies a new type of climate hawk on capitol hill, one that resonates with the younger generation. he chairs the indian affairs committee, understands the people affected most must be

brought into the effort. he does not do it alone. he and his colleagues senator martin heinrich of new mexico, who is 50, and sheldon of rhode island, who is 66, have shown persistent activism in congress alongside growing climate focused advocacy. you can read about those three gentlemen in the new york times. kent, ohio on the agree line. this is david. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am a strong environmental person. i think that the facts are they are about global warming. some guy said we have had change before. yes, but never the rate of change being this rapid. scientists have techniques they can use to look back in time. they can take a boring of ice

and they can look at the different levels. the levels take them back in time. we have never seen carbon dioxide as high as it is today. yes, you have had fluctuations, but the rate of change has never been this high. personally, i think to deny it is to be a total fool. the fossil fuel industry has spent millions on sowing doubt about global warming because they stand to lose money if we start to change our habits. it has been proven they deliberately spent money to sow doubt and slow down the political change necessary to bring about a good response. mother nature is trying to tell us something, pedro. we need to listen.

this could be a unifying force. host: michael in maryland, disagree line. caller: hi, pedro. michael here. we live in a snapshot of thousands of years. i believe our argument or discussion needs to go back a step further. many of the folks who talk about climate change believe that the earth and everything started by itself, created itself. the the argument needs to be, do you believe there is an intelligent designer? host: how does that connect to weather patterns and climate change? caller: it is simple. over the years there have been all kinds of changes. back in the 1970's, they said we

were in an ice age and then it went to global warming. now it is climate change because it is convenient every time there is a change. we live in a snapshot of humanity. you need to ask callers, do you believe everything came to fruition by itself or was it created? host: if you talk about the snapshot theory, what do you think a snapshot of time going back millennia would tell us about what has changed? caller: we have had periods of ice, heat. it is constant changing. i believe we need to be good stewards of our earth but we do not have to have the hysteria of spending trillions of dollars to have the arrogance of putting a thermostat on the north pole and thinking you can regulate the earth. host: michael in maryland giving us his thoughts. this is cornell in englewood, new jersey. caller: how are you doing?

host: find thank you. caller: to me, both sides have no real clue what goes on on this earth. none of us do. the earth is so unique and we just don't have a clue. but we do know this -- certain things we do affect all of us. there is nothing wrong with saying, ok, let's not do this, let's don't do that. but the idea that any of us really knows how the earthworks, when it is going to do what it is going to do, is ridiculous. no scientist, no group of scientists know matter how far back you go with understands. and it happens every day. host: you are calling in saying there is some type of connection between climate change and what we are seeing as far as extreme weather. how do you make that connection? caller: i don't mean that. we don't know enough to make those decisions. host: you probably should have

called in on the not shoreline but thank you for -- not sure line, but thank you for calling in. the issues of climate change coming up during this one minute speech. [video clip] >> the democrats are determined to make inflation worse by continuing their disastrous policies that caused it in the first place. do they not understand the concept of pouring gas on a fire? beyond the reckless spending of another $1 trillion on top of the $30 trillion in national debt, there is no climate crisis. it is a hoax. this is the one crisis even democrats could not create. they have been crying about the climate sky falling 40 years now, predicting the world would end in 12 years. it is a lie. we are the cleanest large energy producers in the world of fossil fuels are wonderful.

they are essential to our economic security. host: gina is up now in alexandria, virginia on the agree line. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say i saw a movie, "elysium," with jodie foster. all of the wealthy people live on another planet and they only came down to earth to work and it was filthy and nasty. the type of jobs you had to get, you had to wear these nuclear reactors suits to do your job. it was saddening but it opened my eyes to where we could be heading. rich, wealthy people live in the serene place where, in your own home, you could climb into a pot and be cured -- pod and be cured

of disease. host: do you think there is a connection between climate change and extreme weather? caller: that is what it was about. host: that was the movie. what do you think? caller: i believed it after i saw the movie. the poor people were trying to speak to the other -- sneak to the other planet. it was a tremendous movie. the budget had to be big but it made you think. elon musk said he is going to use a planet for waste management. i do not think they are going to let that happen. a nice, clean planet like mars, they are going to move a lot of rich people that can afford the trip. host: fredericksburg, virginia,

the disagree line. caller: years ago they were putting salt on the roads that would go down into my creek. i had a beautiful collection of malts. i would wake up in the morning and there was a giant light on the side of the house. i would have moths that were so unbelievable, it was incredible. i had butterfly bushes everywhere. i had butterflies everywhere. i would walk through the drain fields and tons of tiny frogs all over. they are all gone. i might have one or two moths in the morning with the spotlights. host: are using extreme weather is the cause of that?

caller: i think that man-made environments create a domino effect that damages things. whether it is making the weather the way it is, it would smack of being so. if you take a plastic bag and you fill it up with something that took 40 million years to create underground and you put in the bag and put something in the bag with that, everything will die. it just smacks of common sense. host: let's hear from alan in michigan, agree line. caller: thank you for taking my call. the one thing you're going to want to note and one big number that affects us all, in 1900, we had 1.2 billion people on the planet. we now have 8 billion people on the planet. if you add 6.8 billion people to the planet, sucking all of its

resources, you're going to change the climate. it gets warmer and we use of all the resources. it is dry out west because we moved 150 million people west of the mississippi in the interest of saddling the country. and yet, there was not enough water to do it. that is not going to work out well in the long run. host: what is that mean for weather today? caller: with a warmer climate, and we see all of the dryness going on, there is not enough water to plant crops. the hotter the weather, the more violent the storms. host: and if people are the cause what is the remedy? caller: i think it may be too late. i am not sure we can do anything about it unfortunately. i know that sounds pressing, but i don't see how we are going to fix it. we are just a few people on a baby planet. host: becky up next for massachusetts.

caller: the gentleman before me who said some of the problem was the man-made environments. i totally agree that that is causing problems. think about this, folks. thousands of satellites in space, no wonder the weather is changing. thousands of islands being built, no wonder the sea level is rising. bringing in animals, insects, plant, trees that are not natural to the area. host: you are saying as far as changes in climate, there is not a contributive factor? caller: we are causing the change in climate by putting these satellites up and building thousands of islands. of course it is going to change.

the oceans are changing. host: when you say building thousands of islands, what do you mean? caller: china is building thousands of islands. we have built islands. in florida, they are building canals and land and changing the sea. host: that is becky in massachusetts. let's hear from house speaker nancy pelosi. it was on the debate on the inflation reduction act. one of the final speeches before the vote, talking about the importance of the passage of the legislation, particularly about the weather. [video clip] >> the climate provisions will make a meaningful difference for americans and working families. i will put that in the record if you promise to read it, but it is about clean air and water for our children. it is about 9 million good union paying jobs.

preventing conflict over habitat. it is about values. values espoused by pope francis when he said earlier, our planet has reached a breaking point. extreme weather continues to wreak havoc across the country, around the world. it is clear the cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of action. save the planet while keeping more money in your pockets. working families will save the average of $1000 a year in lower energy bills. underserved communities need $60 billion in environmental protection and justice initiatives to ensure that everyone enjoys the benefits of a cleaner, greener economy. host: lawrence off twitter says, climate change has been part of life since the beginning of time. the glaciers, asteroids, now the burning of fossil fuels.

when the atlantic slows or stops, it will not be about money or religion but basic survival. another viewer saying, if climate is changing, it will change despite our actions. democrat politicians are using it as a political tool. they have been doing it since they scared people with acid rain. on the agree line in illinois, david, hello. david in illinois, hello? caller: hello? host: you are on. go ahead. caller: yes, i would like to remind people how far we have come. i saw all five of the great lakes cleaned up through conservation programs. unbelievable. we use to here, in the chicago area, be inundated with -- i

lived in los angeles where it was difficult to walk a couple of blocks. i lived at the base of the san gabriel mountains. i did not know they were there until two weeks before it rained. all of these things are possible. we can do it. there is a political pushback and hopefully, that will go away. these things are good for us. thank you very much. host: alfred from compton, california on the agree line. caller: good morning. it goes back to the tsunami in 2005. that was when there was an increase in the global warming.

you saw the increase of how the weather was changing to the alignment of the calendar. here we are in current date and with all of the fossil fuel drilling, they are destroying the planet. we need to decrease -- during the pandemic, that one month of shutdown, the earth healed itself. if we did that more often, we would see this planet recover. but there are people and individuals who do not care and they are destroying our country, our planet. it is china, it is russia, and it is america. we are just as guilty as the rest. host: let's hear from conrad, pennsylvania on the agree line. caller: good morning. i have been on your show with

other moderators three times already. i agree that we have been modifying the weather. weather modification is a program we have been conducting thoroughly since at least 1966. it was an experiment many years ago by a german. i discovered all the weather modification programs and all you have to do is go into google and google weather modification. you will find the program i was involved with with the u.s. navy in 1966 when we made it rain down the ho chi minh trail for five years. it was called operation popeye. what took place in 1976 was the united nations got hold of the experiment and called it a

weapon. we are using weather as a weapon. we have in pennsylvania, it makes it rain 36 hours to 48 hours. host: that is conrad in pennsylvania. this is from the debate over the inflation reduction act. republicans gathering for a press conference and among them bill cassidy talking about the climate provisions. [video clip] >> the bill says they are going to reduce emissions by 40%. that has not been independently verified. the organization said it is more like 35%. but they don't tell you we have already reduced emissions since 2005 by 17%. we are halfway to the goal. under current law, we are

scheduled to reduce emissions 34% by 2030. the improvement is marginal. but they are only speaking about u.s. emissions, not global emissions. since initially they are going to be driving, manufacturing in asia, particularly for ev's, we could have global greenhouse gas emissions get worse. if they really want to totu the climate benefits -- tout the climate benefits, they should include other countries in this policy. host: this is from caller: all right. do you think in the 1990's.

bill clinton stop the underbrush burning? did that have something to do with global warming? host: i don't know, do you think that? caller: yes i do because i am 75 years old. when i was a boy, they used to have controlled burns. that would burn the underbrush. in the 1990's. bill clinton stopped it. then 20 years later, california is about to burn up. host: donald in georgia. thank you to all of you who participated. up next, we will talk about the state of social security with william arnone.

hours bought light on podcasts, with justin robert young the host of "politics, politics, politics" we will talk about his podcast. that is coming up on washington journal. >> today colorado's secretary of about voter suppression tactic s such as eliminating drop-off stations. that begins at 10:00 a.m. on c-span. or online on c-span.org.

american history tv exploring the people and events that tell the american story. mark clegg professor of musicology recounts the history of the star-spangled banner. also latrice donaldson talks about how black soldiers from world war i use their service to promote civil rights. but tv every sunday on c-span two features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. at 3:00 p.m. project veritas

discusses his journalism career. and then at 9:00 p.m.. fox news host david goodwin argues that our school system teaches our children to hate american. or watch online any time on book tv.org. nobody really thought that this was ever going to happen that paris was going to succumb to the nazis. the city of lights was supposed to be this bastion of enlightenment and freethinking. when the nazis invaded poland, there were mass executions.

they executed liberals, they executed freethinkers. everyone was scared as they came towards paris. that was supposed to happen in paris as well. martin dugard, on the nazis for years occupation of paris and their liberation by the americans in 1944. watch on q&a, sunday night at 8:00. you can watch on c-span now. host: this is william arnone. guest: we have existed from the

mid-80's in our is to educate the american people about medicare, social security. why do we have them, what are they mean for you so that is our purpose. host: who financially back see you? guest: we have members who pays dues. host: if i understand it correctly. social security turned 87 this month. how is it doing? guest: remember henney young men. how is your spouse doing? compared to what? it is doing well compared to other government programs.

it is the largest creditor to the federal government. from that perspective it is doing well. from the perspective of beneficiaries, it is leaving a lot of people with economic insecurity. host: you are talking about the monthly benefit people would receive. guest: it really affects about 6 million children. host: the social security administration said the trust fund has a depletion date of 2035. what is that mean? guest: when the trustees issue their annual report, social security will run out of money by 2034, 2035.

even in the worst case, depletion occurs, it will pay about 80% of benefits. but that is not zero. those are misnomer's. if you look at the program as a whole, too often we just look at the trust fund. when the trustees report is negative, it gets widespread coverage. this last report was rather positive. you know the story, the media loves bad news. too often, the report can be negative. host: what are the positives? guest: in 87 years it is never missed payment.

during covid, 100,000 children who lost parents got a social security check. the spotlight is always on the shortcomings and we want the american people to see the positive. we must take action. we don't think you need to wait until 2033. we need the political courage to address it. host: you say we need to take action. what parts of the program need the most attention at this point? guest: you look at the program in terms of financial viability. it must be supported with adequate revenues. you look at the benefit structure and it is fair to say for low-income older people, it is not doing enough. it used to have a minimum benefit, no matter how little you earn, no matter how little

you worked, you would get a benefit that was a certain floor beneath which you would not fall. and across the board benefit increase. there is a group called the national council on aging. the best measure of screening on older people. we have to get real and beneficiaries are the first ones to tell you, can i live on this? in some parts of the country, 1400 a month is not bad. but in new york, you can't survive on that. host: if you have questions on social security, you can call (202) 748-8000 for those of you in the eastern and central time zones, (202) 748-8001 from the mountain pacific time zones, if you receive social security

(202) 748-8003 and you can text us on (202) 748-8003. for the monthly benefit how is that calculated? guest: they will index it to average wages. based on the age on which you receive it, it is a certain amount. people born 1960 or later. if you wait, you will get a hundred percent of the benefits. there are proposals that would raise the retirement age. how many members of today's congress were there in 1983? a half dozen. we don't have that legislative memory. we try to educate members of

congress about the key aspects of social security. host: the money paid out month by month, is not covered by money coming in? guest: last year, some of the interest on the trust fund securities, they had to use some of the interest because the money coming in from our paychecks was not enough to cover it. one of the things we think needs to be looked at, we don't recommend, other countries have a stabilizing mechanism. it would trigger an adjustment to what we pn. we asked the american people twice in the survey would you pay more to keep social security secure and the responses and overwhelming yes. they would add another percent.

think of another tax where the americans would pay more. it has a unique role in the american spectrum. host: the house democrats pass legislation social security 2100, it would change the cost of living, set at 20% above the cost of living. a five-month waiting. for disability. what do you think about those? guest: we don't take a position but i would commend the author. he has been the most forceful

champion on acting for social security. could that pass in today's congress? maybe you could get by the house but it would never pass the senate. social security requires bipartisan support. congress would have to to pass one mom. this would provide a financially secure law. canada does it, sweden doesn't. when you talk about other countries, people say well this is america. the guess what, social security was based on what other countries did. host: why do you think there is hesitancy there? guest: a quote that is been misunderstood, tip o'neill many years ago, he said cutting

social security is the third rail of american politics. we need to have the courage to address it. i think that momentum will build because we can't do what we did in 1983. this is a political program and we must act we can't wait. host: our first call is from bridget in fort lauderdale. go ahead with her? comment. caller: social security would not be cut, is that right? they can't cut your social security, do i have that right or not? guest: let's say the worst case, we get to 2030 4, 2035 and no action was taken, there would be an across-the-board 20% cut. do i think that will happen, no.

host: do have a follow-up question? caller: as people age they have house issues. -- health issues. when you think about cutting it you would have an older person that might be relying on that for medical things that come up. to cut it would be really bad for any senior who would have a health issue. guest: the program that deals with health is medicare. it is an offshoot of social security. medicare is the program for health insurance. host: here is mike from montgomery, alabama. caller: i have a question for

your guest on taxation. people who will be 70 years old next year and have waited to collect social security and are still working full time have paid in all these years to the fica deduction on their check. so now at 70 years old you will be getting this extra income in but the government will tax you again. that is double taxation. so basically, what i have read so far is that 85% of that check will be collected back in taxes and brought back into the government. it sounds like you need to dump tea back into the boston harbor. guest: close but not quite. before 1983 it was tax-free. let's apply income taxes to some

of the benefits. 85% of the benefit is subject to taxation. some people look at that and feel like it is double taxation. it is a contribution but it feels like a double tax. that mindset is important. just like you would contribute to a pension, an ira. we should look at it that way as opposed to attacks. host: if someone gives social security and medicare doesn't get deducted from social security? guest: you will have to file quarterly premiums. every october, social security announces the new adjustment. odds are it will be a record

between 8-9%. the medicare premium will probably go down because it is excessively high this year. think of the politics. the people of the midterm, older voters, they turned out. it will be interesting to see how it turns out. host: when it comes to the amount they will get, how much of it is factored and turns of the cost of living and how much of it is affected by inflation? guest: it does not reflect how older people spend their money. when you look at how older people spend their money, they spend it on health care, transportation, food. the basics that people working

don't have their income skewed that way. the cpi undercount inflations. it has been minimal in the past six years. they compensate for the missed poles. next year could be eight, 9%. host: we have maria from miami, florida. caller: good morning, thank you for your guest. i am 75. i received my benefits when i was 66. i continued working sometimes. i am still working now part-time. i don't see my benefits increasing even though i am contributing.

and then they increase the benefit for medicare. after the deduction for the medicare premium, it is 16 something dollars. i would like to mention that a lot of people that come to this country from other countries, if they are over 65, they start collecting benefits even though they never worked in this country. they never contributed. i would like to mention that also. host: could you respond to that? guest: as long as you are working your benefit will go up. at some point, you're working

will improve your benefit. when it comes to undocumented workers, they are not covered by social security. some of them are paying in and they will never get a benefit because they will not qualify. social security will not prevent undocumented people to receive benefits. host: when i was forced to retire, as i understand it, i get a check for life? guest: disability is something you have to certified. once you get to retirement age or converts to a retirement benefit. when you revert to it, there were rallies where someone were saying to keep the government out of my social security. yes it is a government check but it is not a handout.

that is one of the genius of the program. no darn politician kid play with it. -- can play with it. people will sometimes say with it, are they worthless ious. these are real securities. a trust fund. there have been some proposals -- host: ron johnson was on the regular joe show that wanted to

approach social security with more oversight. what's mandatory are things like social security and medicare. if you qualify for the entitlement, you get it no matter what the cause. the problem in this country, our federal spending is mandatory spending. you don't do proper oversight. you don't fix their programs going bankrupt. what we ought to be doing, we should turn everything into discretionary spending so it is evaluated. we can't fix the problems that are broken. as long as things are on automatic pilot, we can't fix them. guest: automatic pilot is viewed negatively by one and positively by another.

they are protected from annual discretionary allocations. that is the essence of social security. every year congress decides how much we should put in. that is the consequence of a proposal like that. that has been a theme. the programs need to be weathered away is what they're really saying. then what we do? host: i know senator rick scott had a proposal like that. you are saying, that is a possibility. guest: we don't know what will happen. let's say we end up in 2024 with the one-party government. here is my concern, millennials

and generation z, today's workers. a lot of them look at social security is not relevant. what is it do for me? we try to let them know, you will need this program is much as your parents. they had pensions, you don't. i must admit, that is a big concern for our academy. william arnone national academy of social insurance with national academy of social insurance. caller: my name is manny. i went to yale i used to sue lawyers. i missed a million-dollar benefit from my stepson and my wife.

i get $2000 a month. i have a stepson that is three years old. it is called survivors benefits. if you are looking to die, you look at survivors benefits. why is it called survivors benefits when it is benefiting my stepson and my current wife? they should call it something else. guest: words matter and sometimes we label programs that affects the people who receive them. they receive the benefits while they are still alive. host: people on twitter are

asking how those means testing effects social security. guest: this is a common question and this comes from a misunderstanding. this is not a social assistance program. it is deliberately designed to not affect your income. it may reduce your value. when you go to apply, let's look at your bank account, your real estate, your stocks and bonds. host: richard from maryland. caller: you have been giving us great clarity so far and we appreciate it. i have two quick questions.

you spoke about undocumented people, people who come and get jobs here and who are not yet citizens, do they pay into social security and our social security benefits tied into citizenship? i never hear politicians when they talk about job higher positions, they never tie that into talking about social security solvency. i feel that would be an automatic next step addressing those issues tied to social security. doesn't increased employment help social security? guest: if you are employed, whatever your status is, that would pay into social security.

last year, there was $13 billion coming in from people who are not documented who will not get a benefit but that help social security. is that right, that's a question but that is a fact. earnings are the lifeblood of social security. the more people work, the less unemployment and the higher wages grow, that is music to social security's ears. one of the most important variables is called the real wage differential. productivity is 1.5%. if workers are paid 1.5% in terms of inflation, that is something that is what we need to focus on. social security is an engine for the economy.

social security checks are not saved they get spent. it is of value to where the beneficiary lives. host: are there enough workers working? guest: worker to beneficiary ratio, it could go down to two to one. fertility is at an all-time low. there is no question there could be a constellation of factors that bode poorly for the program. the trustees report focused on this. we have to look at the evidence and decide what action must we take to compensate for those shortfalls of the demographic factors.

host: leddy from taxes. - from texas. caller: i understand there's like cap on paying, would that not benefit the program if it continued. if it continued to pour into the system and those people continue to get it anyway, is that correct? guest: the cap this year is 147,000 they stop paying into social security. they get a 1.6% bonus. it is the reverse of income tax which is progressive and

aggregated. they should bring back the fica tax, between 147 and 400. democrats said they will not tax anyone making less than 400,000. if they were to remove the cap completely it would not solve all of their funding programs but it would go a long way. the actuary doesn't analysis of what it would need to remove the cap. people who are multimillionaires are paying in the same dollar amount as the same people who make up to 140,000. fica applies only to wages. host: how was that calculated as

far as social security is concerned? guest: if you make 20,000 year you are paying 1.2%. host: the larson bill, the mena fit of 25% talk about that idea? guest: assured income, this comes from the 1935 of roosevelt. a floor of income below which no one should go. we have a program called ssi that attempts to do that but it is not reached its goal. we have to be careful that we don't give a benefit and then

you end up losing other benefits. the larson bill would protect people from unintended consequences. host: from joe in connecticut, go ahead please. caller: i am talking about the windfall elimination benefit. i am retired from 40 years of teaching but i have worked all summers and i paid into social security. when i retired, i applied for social security and found out that i had a substantial reduction. i am a frugal person and social security covered me fine. my wife retired at 70 and she died.

she had cancer, and two months later she was gone at 70 years old. she worked over 50 years, her social security which are much higher than mine. because of my pension and the government pension offset that i would get nothing more. it seems quite unfair to me. i would like to know your opinion on those programs. guest: my heart goes out to you. the larson bill would eliminate the penalty. it is a feature of how social security calculates benefits. you appeared to be a low-income person even though the benefit is high. this is an attempt to give you

more if you have less earnings. that was the reason for it. it is very unpopular as you might expect. host: you speak about supplemental security. in september, recipients of that income will get the first to september payments and just two weeks and they will receive $841 on the first and 30th of september. can you explain what they do? guest: it has not had increases since 1974. there is an asset limit as well. there's is a tremendous support for getting ssi up to speed. a floor of income to reduce poverty. the poverty rate among the elderly is twice as high.

talk to the beneficiaries you are hearing from and they are struggling. host: do you get a sense that congress kicks the can down the road when it comes to this and they will have to make a decision on this? guest: the last time congress acted on this was 1983. what other program has been left alone? we can't continue to kick the can down the road. it is an obligation we have two millennials and generation c. boomers have left them with a situation that needs correcting. it is not that difficult. it is much harder to tackle medicare.

social security is manageable. we can do this. have courage, have confidence. do it in a way where we can fix it once and for all. you can get financial sustainability once and for all and leave that legacy for future generations. host: this research look at millennial workers. guest: we learned a lot about millennials. i am a father of a millennial. they have a lot of issues to deal with. it is a question of trust. there's a trust fund, a trustees report. we have to look at it through the lens of trust and do what is right. host: this is from kentucky, gary is next. caller: when social security

bill was written it was based on the workers, what they were paid on and also the future workers are what they would pay in. in other words, over 60 million workers through abortion are not there in the workforce is not there. my question is, those that are working are going to have to pay more in social security to stay afloat and that was my comment. guest: adjusting the amount that is paid in is one option. it should not be a large adjustment, maybe 1% more. when social security began, this did not include all workers. it excluded domestic workers,

farmworkers, many jobs held by people of color. we got off to a shaky start when we look at any quality. that is something you have to be honest about. it did not cover everybody. host: from linda in missouri. caller: i just have a couple of questions here. whose idea was you had to be married 10 years before you could get your husband's benefits for survivors benefits if he made more than you did? i don't understand either, the social security you do receive people really can't live off of it, it should be based on your salary when you last worked. guest: they index wages to get close to what your pay was at the end. with some pensions, you look at your last five years. as far as the genesis of the 10

year marriage requirement. i don't know. knowing how things work in congress, it was probably some member of congress sees marriage was 10 years. i don't know the basis of the tenure requirement. -10 year requirement. guest: widows that are in economic straits. single women in general, rates were very high. the other aspect of people who live long lives. 85 or older. larson bill encapsulated it. let's bring in more revenue, and let's expand the program. the flipside was congressman sam johnson, it was the last time

republicans went on record. you have a real divide. they will have to meet at some point in order to get bipartisan support. host: any is in north carolina. caller: hi, yes good morning. my comment is, paul ryan, his father died when paul was 15 or something like that. his mother received social security benefits. my question is i am a recipient and i'm retired federal worker. when i turned 62, my federal pension dropped $8,000. not just the year i turned 62

but forever. i am trying to do research, i keep finding different information. it seemed to be linked to what reagan did in the 1980's. i just think it is disgusting that i am being punished for working. it dropped $8,000 when i turned 62. it is been like this for the last five years. was it reagan administration? guest: i can't speak to the federal benefits. if you are under the normal retirement age. you have a one dollar suspension. you end up getting that back at some point. social security is a rule

ultimately, you don't get hurt by working. it always helps you. host: on twitter, social security was made for the life expectancy at 30. we have never properly address that. guest: in 1983 they addressed it. 1960 and later, there is some that the age should continue to go up. the problem is, life expectancy data are very misleading. people glibly say we are all living longer. well guess what, we are not all living longer. guess who is living longer, high income people. you have to be really careful when you glibly save we are all living longer.

raising the retirement age cuts benefits. host: one more call and this will be from candace in the bronx. guest: the boxes where i'm from. hello bronx. host: candace, go ahead. caller: near yankee stadium. guest: yes, i know it well. caller: go yankees. i understand the social security trust fund has been used to fund wars. is there anyway way to get that money back? and also, collecting corporate taxes and congress members,

they should not receive social security. elon musk and zuckerberg's of the world they don't need it. guest: there are questions of equity. host: william arnone from national academy of social insurance. thank you for coming. later on in the program there is our spotlight on podcast. we will talk with justin robert young and the host of the "politics, politics, politics".

you can call in for the next half hour (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8002 for independence. >> over the past few months the january 6 committee has conducted a series of hearings. all week, watch c-span as we look over the six hearings. on monday, former justice department, watch monday on c-span or anytime on demand on c-span.org.

live sunday, september 4 on in depth. uc berkeley governmental studies scholar will talk about ronald reagan's political career in the american conservative movement. about the scholars who change the curse of the conservative movement in america. in depth with steven hayward. live sunday, september 4 on book tv. at least six presidents recorded conversations while in office. here many of those conversations during season two of c stands podcast -- c-span's podcast.

>> let me say that the main thing is it will pass and my heart goes out to those people who with the best of intentions as i'm sure you know, i tell you if i could've only spent a little more time being a politician last time i would have kicked them out but i didn't know what they were doing. >> there are a lot of places to get political information but only at c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues, c-span is america's network. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. if it happens here, or here, or

anywhere that matters, america is watching on c-span. founded by cable. "washington journal," continues. if you wish to text us on open forum you can do so on (202) 748-8003. republicans call us on (202) 748-8001, democrats on (202) 748-8000 and independents (202) 748-8002. there are several as out from the democratic national committee. its passage here is the ad [video clip] >> the american people one and powerful special interest loss. it lowers prescription costs on the american family. mecca republicans want to

jeopardize american health. they are just too extreme. host: again, that is the democratic national committee. it takes a look at house republicans. they target jared golden. here is that ad. [video clip] the economy is weak, may families are drowning. instead of helping, jared golden cast one of the deciding votes on bidens massive bill. times are tough, when maine's

families needed help, he threw us an anchor. ron in pennsylvania starts us off. caller: i was just wondering about the gentleman of florida who threatened 12 people to shoot fbi agent's on-site. i was wondering why he was not in jail. host: linda in new jersey. caller: good morning, i just wanted to make a comment about former twice impeached, defeated loser trump and his call for transparency. i wanted to know where his call for transparency is and was when

he was called to answer questions and pleaded the fifth for two hours. i don't understand why people can't see through him. thank you for your time. host: when it comes to matters of ukraine, the new york times reported on a new aid package going towards their ability to fight against russia. that assistance package brings the total of military add to 10.6 billion dollars. that is the 19th package since the conflict began. it will send reconnaissance drones as well as new types of

howlitzers, rifles and includes ammunition, that is some of the international news going on. this is ed up next on our line for independents. caller: i am wary for my social security. this guy from florida is trying to jeopardize our social security. they are trying to attack us. host: from tom in baltimore maryland on the democrat line. caller: i live in maryland and the maryland port of administration is trying to buy cranes from china for the port

of maryland. we received economic stimulus money for port improvements. i was wondering how much of our stimulus money is going back to china? host: you would see that type of equipment bought in the united states if it were available? caller: it puts american workers out of work and also, the economic stimulus money is supposed to stimulus the economy of the united states, they are using that money to buy equipment for china. that money is going to china. host: the associated press reporting that lindsey graham cannot put off his appearance before a grand jury.

that president trump tried to illegally influence a grand jury. his attorneys appealed that decision. that appeal will play out, under the circumstances, a further delay of that testimony will compound that investigation, the court therefore finds that delay will hurt the court's decision. caller: i just want to say it is really hard to wrap your head around the fact that people don't separate good from evil,

all of this lawlessness. crime doesn't have any consequences. when you see the way our country was when trump was in. americans were better off. good versus evil. it's not democrats versus republicans. it is people on the democrat side. you just can't wrap your heads around it. they were interviewing, he was talking about, i am just going to use these words. he was demonic.

it was quite scary to think about it. people aren't using their head and thinking about what is good for their children, family their country. host: that was sandra and kentucky. let's hear from mike in ashburn, virginia. caller: good morning pedro. i just wanted to say, you hear a lot of old people that are supporting this man. let's drink this kool-aid. host: we will leave it there. the hiring by the irs. 80 billion buys the irs is the title. it talks about the number of reported people that will be

hired. there will not be 87,000 people hired. part of the new funding will go to hiring 87,000 people over 10 years. it doesn't take into account more than 50,000 retirements and departures are expected in the coming years. 87,000 hires will be armed. the only people allowed to be armed are special agents. the audit threshold of those making over 400,000. janet yellen sent a letter to

the irs with more specifics. it shall not be used on small businesses and those making under 400,000. the bottom line, honest taxpayers making less than 400,000 the chances of being audited are going down. you can see more of that on the website for the wall street journal. this is nick from michigan on the republican line. caller: my question was on social security. a lot of people don't understand very low income person can receive up to 90% of the salary that they put in over the 10 years. a very high income person only

receives only about 15% of the percentage of their earnings. social security is going broke. in 1965, we decided the rate had to be increased by 1%. now it is over 12%. social security needs to be adjusted. no one wants to talk about it, but they need to start. host: about an hour from now, the network will show you a presentation instead -- stemming live coverage on the topic of voter suppression. it features a panel discussing voter suppression tactics, such as police at polling location,

earlier hours, and the removal of drop off boxes. you can follow this on c-span our c-span.org. margaret, hi. margaret in texas, hello. caller: hello to you too, and good morning to everyone. i have just a couple comments. people who complain about the money going to ukraine, they ought to realize that all of those aren't -- armaments are manufactured here in the u.s. those are going to corporations and workers here in the u.s. and it's u.s. transportation, so the money is going to that. it is not like it is just a giveaway.

also -- oh there was something else, about social security. to the gentleman who was recently talking about it, yes, social security has gone up for the lower income, but it is still a very, very small percentage. i am 94 on social security, and that is what i live on. except for that, the environment is my number one issue. if we don't have a livable world for human beings, what does it matter about anything else? social security, ukraine or anything? host: margaret there in texas. youngstown, ohio, democrat line. sheila, you are up. caller: my sister, she is a republican, she believes in every conspiracy theory that presides. i asked her, i am a democrat, do

you think i eat babies? she said well, i am not sure. she has spent her whole life wanting to get rid of social security and medicare. unfortunately, she needed brain surgery because she had a tumor, so now she is desperately trying to get on medicare. i would never vote for republicans. they have been wanting to get rid of these programs since they started. remember young people -- if your parents don't have enough money to live on and can't get a life-saving surgery, you are going to have to help them or they die. this is a very serious thing and i hope people take it seriously. host: that's sheila in youngstown, ohio, calling on the open forum. 12 minutes left on this segment. the front page of the washington post looks at spending by the republicans when it comes to senate races leading up to november, a pulling back of some spending, saying the national

republican senatorial committee in a highly unusual move canceled bookings worth about 10 million dollars, including than critical states of pennsylvania, wisconsin, and arizona. they say they are not abandoning those races, but prioritizing ad spots shared with campaigns that benefit from discounted rates. they save better budgeting could have covered both. renee in west chester, pennsylvania, democrat line. caller: hi, i want to say something. i thought it was disgraceful how the republican politicians behaved after that warrant was executed down there in mar-a-lago. now, a lot of those people in congress, they have law degrees. not all of them, but quite a few. they know how a warrant is executed. another thing -- they say oh, he

came in, you know, trump, oh, i am a victim, oh, poor me, they came and raided my house. no, warrant was executed. along with the warrant, he knew they were there. he was watching them on video, then pretended like he didn't know what happened and what was going on. then, when everything came out because they force the hand of the justice department, they had to come out and give information, and you found out trump, white, lied again? he knew, -- trump, what, lied again? he knew what was going on. there are rules that even the president has to follow, and trump doesn't want to follow anything. he doesn't belong in public office. i don't care if it is a mayor of a city. host: sarah is next in -- -- is next in sarasota, florida,

republican line. caller: i try to call in every few days. my first suggestion, do something about the phone bank equipment. when i get a busy signal, i understand that, sometimes it will ring through and hang up on the first ring, and then it will ring until the phone times out. i don't care if i have to wait in a queue, but there have to be something that picks up calls that come through. would it be possible to get a conservative rotation host in there? just a little equal time. finally, like i said, i call in every 30 days and listen to a lot of these democrat callers. a lot of them sound like, i don't know, hired callers or something, because they are way out there on what the facts are than people who keep themselves informed. host: rhonda is next, kansas

city, missouri, democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. listening to the people before, the lady before stated how a lot of democrats feel, as far as calling the raid a raid when it was not. the gentleman before me, he led up to where i am going, because i think we all lack respect for each other as americans, and we cannot embrace the whole idea of a civil war. that has got to be the craziest thing. for one man to have brought our country to its knees like this, i am begging and asking, not only for democrats, but for republicans, to accept what is truthful is still truthful. to stop creating issues that don't exist and to be about unifying the united states of america. the last thing -- i am so tired

of everyone ragging on joe. joe is doing a fine job. we don't want to give him credit that unemployment is down. we are working through the pandemic, and i know a lot of people did. he is doing all any man can do with the mess that he inherited. thank you for taking my call, and i will say goodbye. host: rhonda in missouri. the hill reporting that the justice department and properly portions of a memo that concerned whether president trump obstructed a counsel probe into --. the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel affirmed that a federal judge in may 2021, the doj had improperly redacted part of a memo that should have been made public as part of a government watchdogs records

request lawsuit. this was in march of 2019, sensibly to provide legal advice that would go on to guide barr's decision to not charge the president. that is in the hill, if you want to read it there. one need a, from south carolina. hi. -- juanita, from south carolina. hi. caller: hello, thank you for c-span. i wanted to make a couple of points, if you will give me time. people assume that those who don't like trump hated him from the very beginning. that's not true. i did not vote for trump for president, but i wanted him to be a good president. i wanted him to do well for the country. but after the first debates,

when i saw him belittling and brutalizing people, i began to dislike him. his further behavior only offended me more. i am a christian. i don't like bullies, i don't like injustice. to people who want to say, well, he did a lot of good things for the country, i'm sorry, they say the same good things about hitler's and mussolini. they did good things for their country, but we need moral leadership as well as financial leadership. if a person loses its soul, what good is anything else? if the country loses its sou, what good is anything elsel? he did good things for the country, but does not offer the moral and spiritual leadership that we need. we cannot call ourselves a christian nation anymore when so

many christians are -- or so-called christians are taken in by this man. they might want to move to guyana and take trump with them. host: our next caller in georgia, independent line. georgia, hello? caller: hello? host: you are on, go ahead. caller: you know, i used to be a democrat. i am now republican. but i want to make a comment about donald trump. host: you are calling on our independent line, so are you an independent or republican? caller: republican. host: i'm sorry about that, i apologize. as many people that tried to get in on the proper line, for republicans, it's (202) 748-8001 .

democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. gary in columbus, georgia, go ahead. caller: [inaudible] i wonder why they put pressure to allow them to go out. another question is about the nuclear plan. the u.s. secretary said it would be suicide for russia and ukraine to allow the settlement of this plan. i wonder if they will continue to do that and if there will be a reason to stop the war? host: gary in columbus, georgia. the wall street journal looks at new estimates from brookings institution, taking a look at the cost of child rearing over the life of a child, the first growing years of a child. a married middle income couple

with two children will spend $310,605 for an average of 18,000 plus a year to raise their child born in 2017 through age 17. adjustments were made for inflation trends, but the multi-year trend is up $26,011, a calculation from the inflation rate made two years ago. diane from new jersey, democrat line. hi. caller: hi. i called to make a short statement. wake up, america. our democracy is at stake. thank you. host: why do you think that? caller: why do i think that? [laughs] i am 71. i never saw anything like this going on in our country until

trump took office. everyone had anxiety and stress and were like, let's go fight, let's go fight. we have to look at our politicians. host: with president trump no longer in office, why do you still feel that way? caller: i have a funny feeling that he may be up again, and if he wins, my daughter wants to move to canada. host: diane in new jersey. one last call, mary in new jersey, republican line. caller: yes. this is mary stamp? host: you are on. go ahead. very, are you there? caller: yes, i am here. i am a retired labor and delivery nurse of 40 plus years and live here in louisville. the crime has never been so high

as it is now. my husband and i are both retired and live on social security, and we are thinking about moving out of the county, the only democratic county in the entire state and it is terrible here, like across the united states. we are big republicans. we were democrats for 40 plus years and no longer are. my husband was a union man and no longer is, of course. we are very fearful here for crime and the high price of food and gas. it's gotten to be a -- be terrible here. we were thinking about moving and leaving the county. thank you. host: mary in louisville, kentucky, finishing off this time with open phones. for those who participated, thanks a lot. most saturdays, we feature a

segment called spotlight on podcast. this year, we will hear from justin robert young, a host of "politics, politics, politics." we will have that conversation when washington journal continues. >> today, colorado secretary of state janet griswold and other panelists discuss voter suppression tactics. hosted by net roots nation, our coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span, and our free mobile video app, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. ♪ >> c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in washington, live and on demand. keep up with the day's biggest

events with the white house, the courts, campaigns in the world of politics and more. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of "washington journal" and scheduled content on c-span networks and radio. c-span now is available at the apple store and on google play. download now. your front row seat to washington, anytime, anywhere. >> nobody really thought this was ever going to happen, that paris would succumb to the nazis. it was unthinkable when it finally happened, because the city of lights was supposed to be this bastion of enlightenment and freethinking. an open society. when the night -- nazis got

into poland and warsaw, it was terrible. they executed liberals, scholars, freethinkers, and everyone was afraid that was going to happen in paris as well. >> the author of the book "taking paris," on germany's brutal four-year ocular -- occupation of paris. you can listen to q&a and all our podcasts on our new c-span now app. >> c-span has unfiltered coverage of the house january 6 committee hearings, investigating the attack on the capital. go to c-span.org/january 6, our web resource page, to watch the latest videos of the hearings, briefings, and all of our coverage on the attack and subsequent investigation since january 6, 20 21. we will also have reaction from

members of congress and the white house talking about the investigation. go to c-span.org/january6 for more. host: joining us this week, justin robert young for his "politics, politics, politics" podcast. tell us about the genesis of the podcast. what got you interested in doing it? guest: i am a lifelong political junkie. when i was in high school, the fate of the free world was determined on whether my teacher could count dimpled or pregnant

chads. what i like to do on my show, i look not necessarily at the issues underlining the races, but rather, try to accurately forecast who is going to win and why, the strategies they are employing and whether or not they are being effective or detracting. host: how successful have you been at that attempt? guest: well, i have had my hip and my misses, but i think trying to look at it from a strategic point of view -- what i like to say on the show, politics is, in reality, a game of predetermined fate, how many people can you get in a booth to hit your button versus your opponent? everything else goes into it, from the messaging and the issues -- that's not to say they are not real, but they are all in service of that goal.

exploring it through that lens is something i don't think a lot of people are doing. host: how do you determine what races to watch, and the data you used to make the calculation? guest: that's more of a got news judgment kind of thing. some are more fun took cover than others, like dr. oz and his opponent. the audience plays a large part in that, determining what they want to see and what they are curious about. host: when you do this coverage, do you sell finance the way you look at this, or do you go to a place to report on this? how do you do that? guest: everything is financed through the podcast. we have a patreon where folks can support the show.

when that money started coming in, my immediate thought was to reinvest it and become an independent, traveling reporter. that's what i did through the 2020 race, before covid shut most of that down, and i have done in intermediary time, like the first trump rally in tulsa, covered the new york mayoral primary, and since then, the primaries in georgia, ohio, the governor's race in virginia and i was in wyoming, covering the liz cheney primary. host: how would you describe yourself politically and how does that influence your podcast? guest: i would describe myself politically as interested. my personal ideas on things, i am sure they come through on the show, but ultimately, i am there to serve the listener and i am there to break down things that, if i am not actively looking at them objectively, i am not going

to be able to do as good of a job. host: our guest with us until 10:00. if you want to ask him questions. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. for independents and all others, (202) 748-8002. what is your sense of, as we had to november, where control is on capitol hill? guest: i think the republicans are favored in the house, but it will be very interesting when we look back at this moment in about two months from now and see whether or not this was kind of a rise in democratic optimism that stayed around, or is something that is going to be a bit of a flash in the pan. obviously, the economy is king here. i am very much a believer that

it's the economy, stupid. if we go into a recession, i think that would probably be enough to tilt some of these senate races in arizona, georgia, and pennsylvania. right now, i would still probably bet on the republicans, not only taking the house, but probably taking the senate, because right now, those are the sweet odds. host: we saw some take a look at the passage of the inflation reduction act, the increase polls for joe biden. democrats hope and a net will widen out in november. what do you think about that factor, weighing in on that? guest: that's the question -- has dark brandon really risen? yeah. i think now we have seen a little bit of a break in some of the most painful elements of inflation -- gas is down, food is down for now -- it is still

painfully high, but at least we saw an end to the runaway inflation on the consumer end. that has probably done as much as anything to help abide in. as for the ira -- look. god bless everybody in our political media industrial complex, we will talk about it a lot, but i don't hear average people mentioning it much at all. if inflation goes down and joe biden can say look, i passed the thing and now inflation has gone down, then yes. that will tremendously benefit him. as it stands right now, i think it is something for all of us to talk about. i don't know how much it reflects at the ballot box. host: you mentioned pennsylvania, the pennsylvania senate. your podcast has dealt with this a couple of times. a political report saying when it comes to that race, it shifts

the democrats in that. let's talk about what you are seeing there and the main players there. host: it's so funny. all the things donald trump has changed about politics, one thing that is under mentioned, the fact that celebrity candidates never really ran all that well. actors and public figures. when you are really, really, really well decorated in certain fields, i don't think you necessarily have to hunger like a politician does to go out at 5:30 in the morning and shake hands at a grocery store, because politicians have done that for their entire career. dr. oz has not. he has been decorated in both medicine and television, but i don't think he took this race seriously. or has not taken it seriously in the initial offering, when he

really has an advantage. don federman was laid out for months and instead of dr. oz hitting every single giant eagle in pennsylvania, he reportedly went on to vacations. he had the opportunity to really cement some momentum in this race. since then, i think he has had a hard time finding his message. he has had a hard time defining john fetterman, and so far, federman has really done what i thought was very, very hard which is the fact that a man had a heart attack and a stroke right before his primary. host: one of the focuses on dr. oz was crudites, grocery shopping, and vegetables. those kinds of things. do you think he is sidestepping serious issues when it comes to campaigns like this one? guest: i think stuff like that

is obstructive, because it shows you how much the campaign has a control of the narrative. if you are running a better campaign, he would be able to spin things like this into a positive. he would be able to make it less fun for his opponent to poke fun at him. i do think the more we are talking about dr. oz being rich, the more that john fetterman is winning. if we are talking about crime or inflation or socialism, dr. oz is winning. so far, a we are in the crudites metaphor, that's where we are. host: an john fetterman, what do you think he's doing right? guest: i think he is authentic. he has done a great job of being able to satiate the left while not running headlong into areas that would turn off the very purple electorate of pennsylvania.

he is able to lean forward on his union vibe in a way that seems like a winner as of now. i still do think for oz, he can define him as more leftward leaning, but he hasn't. host: john robert young, the host of "politics, politics, politics, joining us -- politics," joining us on our spotlight on podcast segment. caller: good morning. one thing that is sticking in my mind is afghanistan. it sickens me, the way we moved out of afghanistan, and what the law seems to be in our country going down to the pitch. i wonder -- i know that we as african-americans vote one side, and i know that whites will control it when they vote with

african-americans, they may be able to pull off a lead, but i wonder what would happen if whites would vote more on the republican sides and with that kind of, would it make a difference, if they pulled on one side like african-americans pull on one side. it seems to me, we have of these problems in this country, that some whites are responsible for these problems because of the way they vote and put people in office. i have been seeing things like that. i am not sure, but i would like to ask what would happen? host: carol in georgia. guest: issue still on the line? host: no, i am sorry. guest: oh, ok. i tell you what, it is interesting, especially in the south, to look at races like raphael warnock and herschel walker.

that is another gigantic race that i feel like, for a while, especially in the early offering with warnock, it was fascinating to watch him be very sunny, very personable -- he is a charismatic guy, and did everything but mention the word democrat or biden. maybe if we had seen joe biden numbers raise, i wonder if you raphael warnock will mention him in november. . host: in declining invitations to debate the senator? guest: that has gone back and forth. walker said warnock won't debate and warnock says walker won't. it is a fascinating, fascinating raise, because both of the candidates have issues outside of politics, personal issues that have entered into this race. at the end of the day, you also

have to wonder about the other races that are happening in that state, specifically brian kemp and stacey abrams and how that will direct. host: what does your gut say on these races? the senate in georgia, how do you think that will fall? guest: you know, everything to me hinges on the economy. if we are exactly where we are now, things are uncertain, inflation is high, but we are not in a recession by the time election day rolls around, warnock has the advantage. if we are in a recession and herschel walker is able to pin that pretty cleanly on the democrats in the mood sours a bit, then herschel walker has a shot. i would push that against the notion that these races in georgia and pennsylvania, regardless of what you think about the failings of these candidates, i don't think they are laggards. i think like media wise, we are

trying to treat them like that. host: the governors race there? guest: i think that is kemp. kemp is very popular. stacey abrams came very close, or, according to her, won last time. but i don't think the mood nationally is as strong for democrats now as it was then. host: let's hear from florida, on our line for democrats. david, hello. caller: hello. you know, trump now has life-and-death power over every american in america now. his supporters have given that power. if trump doesn't like somebody or an institution, he will lie about them, like the fbi agent that was recently attacked. all these people are being threatened who don't agree with him. nobody in america i can think of

ever had such power to do that. such power has people like stalin, kim in north korea and many others over the years, but now we have a person who is not even in the office who has that power, to have anyone eliminated he doesn't like by making lies about him. his followers, thousands of them, will go out there and most likely listen to him and try to get them eliminated. host: david in florida. go ahead. guest: can i ask you a question, sir? are you voting in the primary on tuesday? if you are, are you voting for -- caller: no, i voted for governor. guest: the democratic primary that is happening on tuesday? caller: yeah, i voted for the

democratic nominee. guest: ok. do you remember if it was charlie crist, or are you supporting one of those two? caller: charlie crist, i am supporting him, yes. guest: charlie crist -- do you think he can beat desantis in november? caller: no. guest: there you go. you are honest. that's great, that florida spirit. as a fellow floridian, i appreciate it. host: david in florida. anything else from you, mr. young? guest: no, please. go ahead. host: i know some people think this race is already a lot, but as far as senator marco rubio against val demings and florida, have you been following that? guest: not particularly close. if you look at that race and the way we look at the georgia one,

it is that kind of ticket pulling but on steroids. desantis is very popular in florida. he is going to bring out every republican voter and they are going to vote read all the way down. that will include marco rubio. what is interesting, the margins there, specifically for somebody who is a favorite son of miami, are we going to see a red miami-dade? when things like that happen, it goes along way towards the idea that florida is not the battleground it was in my youth. host: pennsylvania, bloomsburg, independent line. caller: good morning, good topic so far. but you brought up to interesting points. one, joe biden. inflation is a runaway at 9.4 percent, if not even greater. prices are up 26% over last year. food prices, gas are still more

than doubled and when joe biden took office. he is not doing a very good job. in the upcoming winter months that are coming here, even though we have some hot days, it will affect him and the democrats. and our state's senatorial race -- now, i am a libertarian and him interested in the constitution. john fetterman turns his back on the american flag every time he opens up the u.s. senate, except the day he was pushing for recreational marijuana. on that day, he wore a suit instead of his cutoff jeans shorts. he disrespects the flag and constitution of the country. also, john fetterman is the only senate candidate to ever point a shotgun at a black jogger's chest too was walking in his own neighborhood. he is a straight up races and has talked about this, and talks about braddock. it can be considered a third

world country if you drive around. unemployment aside, i'm is high. just because you make fun of dr. oz's description of a salad is not a reason to not vote for him. he is absolutely against the constitution. host: hold on the line for a second because the guest might respond and want to ask you something. guest: do you think dr. oz has done an effective job highlighting the things that you just highlighted right here on c-span? caller: yes. he has been out and about, campaigning throughout the state. i have seen the reports, he tried to get to every county in the state and going around. john fetterman has some serious medical issues for five years that he has hidden, and if he is hiding his personal medical information from the voters, what would he do for the country if he was a u.s. editor. -- senator? guest: do you think they are

going to debate? the big question is whether or not they are going to debate each other. caller: federman is saying i have my scheduling and everything, and i don't think he can handle the stress of the 60 or 90 minute debate. same thing with our governors race. josh schapiro and doug mas triano. democrat schapiro said no, i am not going to debate. schapiro is the chief law enforcement officer in pennsylvania. rhyme is rampant in the state. murders, deaths, rapes, carjacking, everything. host: got it. david, we got the point. mr. young, would you like to follow-up on any of that? guest: no, no. i do think the mastriano and schapiro race is stronger than

many are looking at. host: let me ask you, what are senator warnock's personal issues in the georgia senate race? guest: he has a contentious relationship with his ex-wife and there was a report that he ran over her foot, that the cops were called. host: the viewer follows up -- i don't know if this is referring to warner, but did he offer to blow anyone's brains out? guest: i low say, there are a lot of issues in this race, including herschel walker's own domestic violence issues in the past and the number of children, for which was an issue in this race a few weeks ago. "mary ball washington: the untold story of george washington's mother justin robert -- host: justin robert young, joining us on this segment.

how did the name come about? guest: mel brooks. it part of the movie, history of the world, part one, where mel brooks is playing the part of standup philosopher. he is trying to put ability -- pivot to politics and uses the line, politics, politics, politics. host: i guess you are looking at in texas, beto o'rourke challenging greg abbott? guest: you know, beto o'rourke is, to use a sports analogy, somebody that has a lot of natural gift that does not quite have the discipline. in my opinion. if you were somebody that were a little bit more precise in what he wanted to talk about and how he wanted to message, i feel like he could be the kind of candidate that he is often covered as.

as it is right now, he is all over the map. i don't think in this environment he has much of a chance. host: when you say he is all over the map, give me an example? guest: for a guy who ran for president and then decided to say, hell yeah, we are going to take your ar-15's, you think that would be a passive sign that he was done running for statewide office in texas. that's not the case. he is running statewide currently, but aside from the power grid, which i do feel like he has effectively made his own issue, i don't see another big wedge for which he is going to be able to either suppress republican votes enough or turn out the suburbs here in austin, dallas, and houston to make a dent statewide.

host: let's hear from teresa in little rock, arkansas, republican line. caller: good morning. i wanted to ask you about this right to voting. more and more cities or counties are looking to do it. when i was reading about the senate race, i saw it went down to four electorates instead of two. i wondered how that was shaking up the election results, if it was going more democrat or republican or staying in line? another question i want to ask about, they have moved from california to texas and bring a lot of their same ideology. if they vote the same way, do you think it will become a new california? guest: i can speak to this, because i was in california and recently moved to texas. i will say, i don't think it is 1-1 and the way that you are describing are you people leave

states for a lot of different reasons. for us, me and my wife, we left california because we simply could not afford a house there. the reality of how you are going to vote depends on the candidates that are going to bring out that vote. if you are talking to and elevating that electorate, i think it will benefit you. what was the first issue again? host: are you still there? guest: oh, ranked choice voting. in oakland, we used to have ranked choice voting, and i don't think it is the total game changer that a lot of folks, specifically andrew yang is very much for ranked choice voting. i don't think it is this harmonious panacea that people often talk about. but it makes for an interesting senate race penthouse race in

alaska -- and house race in alaska. host: the recent wyoming, what did you gather from that? guest: the way we talk about wyoming is very myopic. i think the outside view is that the wyoming republicans are very homogenous and they have indeed gone ultra maga. being there, you realize there is a civil war amongst the wyoming republican party, the wyoming republican party itself says you have a lot of liberal republicans there that understand a democrat can't win, so they run as a republican and caucus with whatever democrats have made their way to the statehouse. it shows you that donald trump is more of a crossover

politician then i think a lot of people think of him as. he is able to draw people from places that the republican party wasn't talking before and obviously is very popular in wyoming. as for this chaining, the republican party there told me she had not been in contact with them in over two years. she did not hold a public event during this campaign. every time she went to wyoming was for a private fundraiser. before we get into whether or not donald trump has the entire republican party under his heel, i think we should also acknowledge that liz cheney did not try to run that race. host: as far as to what's next for her. she was asked about her future ambitions. i want to play you will little bit of what she had to say to get your thoughts on it. [video clip] >> spend the next several months completing my work in congress

and representing the people of wyoming. we have a tremendous amount of work left to do on the january 6 committee, and i will be making sure that people all around this country understand the stakes of what we are facing, understand the extent to now which we have one major political party, my party, which has really become a cult of personality. we've got to get this party back to a place where we are embracing the values and principles on which it was founded, and talking about fundamental issues of civics. fundamental issues of what it means to be a constitutional republic. i will do whatever it takes to keep donald trump out of the oval office. >> are you thinking about it? are you thinking about running for president? >> that's a decision i will make in the coming months. it is something i am thinking about and i will make a decision in the coming months.

host: mr. young, the future of liz cheney in her role? guest: it's amazing how many words you can use to say yes, right? she's running for president. before that, she is going to run a pac that according to politico will be called the great task, a quote from abraham lincoln's gettysburg address. it is kind of like a name for her, a project, kind of like the lincoln project. caller: yes, i would like to know how you projected the trump-biden race, and if the race finished outside of your projection, and why you might think that happened? guest: my projection from the 2020 race was from the very beginning, if the economy was

good and there was not a gigantic shakeup, donald trump would win reelection. honestly, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum between me making that initial projection and election day. we had a worldwide pandemic, and economy that briefly c osplayed as the great depression , and donald trump still very narrowly lost. but yeah, i was initially on the side of donald trump winning reelection, because it is very rare that a sitting president does not win reelection. that was my projection and it did not turn out the way i thought it was going to. then again, i don't know. i think i should get them all again on that one, right? who could see the pandemic coming? host: how often do you release a podcast and how do you determine what your topic will be?

guest: the podcast comes out on wednesdays and fridays, and the topics are determined based on what people are talking about. we usually cover one or two stories each episode and then have a guest to either talk about the state of play or other elements of politics that i find fascinating. host: we will hear from john, democrat line. go ahead. caller: the pennsylvania race between federman and oz, oz has dual citizenship in turkey and also owns a house in turkey, and is also a carpetbagger. he just bought a home in pennsylvania just for this race. federman never turned his back on the flag. i watched channel 17, a pcn network, and he always has his face forward to the flag. i would vote for federman even if he was in a wheelchair over

oz. i will say another thing to -- i think jim ryan will win ohio. i think warnock is going to win in georgia. i think the democrats will keep the senate. also -- what was i going to say here? host: it's funny that you mention tim ryan in ohio, because i don't share your optimism in that race. i think that vance is going to win, but i think when tim ryan looked in the mirror, i bet he wishes he saw john fetterman. he has the authenticity that tim ryan wishes he did. guest: and inflation is f -- caller: and inflation is everywhere in the world, so you can't blame joe biden for that. you can't blame him for high gas prices in the world. guest: we have to blame somebody though, right? that's just caller: how the world works. host: that's john in pennsylvania. tim ryan, is it the inability to

connect with voters or other issues? why do you characterize him that way? guest: i don't think tim ryan has the same kind of connection with voters that john fetterman does. i also think tactically, he spent a lot of money on television ads early in this race. we are approaching labor day, traditionally when the vast amount of voters begin to care about these. obviously excluding people like me, you, and everybody watching -- we are tuned in all the time. but for average voters, it now that will start to pay attention. he burned a lot of money on television ads before now, but historically, that is not a super wise and it has not made a meaningful difference, if you look at some of the current holes. host: from bill in albany, new york. go ahead, please. caller: i do want to ask about

the local board of elections in different states as pertained to the 2020 election. mostly because of covid. this is my question. the state constitutions, from what i understand, the ones that were in question, that was pennsylvania, georgia, and arizona at the time and there was another state. they say the state legislature, constitutionally, in order to change any kind of voting amendments, has to do it and then it, the governor gets involved. in these three states, i understand it works the opposite. it was unconstitutional. the governor said no, we are doing it this way. you can mail in your votes, they could come after the election, etc. do you know about that? if that is true, constitutionally, the current president is not -- he is not an

appointed president, not an elected one. guest: i know what you are saying. i am not a scholar on the state constitutions in the state that you mentioned. however, it was very clear that during the covid-19 pandemic, there were a lot of decisions made about people gathering and giving boats away to interact with our democracy that would not put their health at risk. i do think going forward from that, we need to understand that there has to be a meaningful conversation about which of these ideas that were put in place a -- in an emergency situation need to stick around, keep people informed, or be pulled back entirely. whether joe biden is or isn't an elected president, at the end of the day, there has not been an

election in our country and probably in the world that has not had somebody mad about some element of some kind of the rule. you win or you lose. unfortunately for donald trump, the scoreboard is the storyboard -- scoreboard. he is in mar-a-lago, joe biden is in the white house. host: jim on our twitter feed, saying at least for him, i don't care if we see republicans take back the senate. as far as where the biden administration goes, if you see the way ins are playing out, what do you think about the next two years of the biden presidency? guest: that's an interesting question. are we going to see joe biden announce reelection? you have maloney in new york calling off the record and saying that joe biden isn't going to run, not realizing that off the record is not a magic

harry potter's l that you can just announce and have everything that you say be disappeared into the wormhole. i don't know. my guess is that he will not run. you certainly know from being in d.c., there are conversations that happen behind the scenes and there are certainly seen where there is a lot of smoke in the fire where he will not run. if that doesn't happen -- sorry, if he decides to not seek reelection, boy, this entire top part of the democratic party is going to break loose into a thunderdome. it's going to be wild. host: our caller in north carolina, you are next up. hi. caller: [inaudible] then i will talk to you about something. people are trying to act like they don't know why the world

has gotten like it is. it's because of the kkk, and he let the kkk come out into the world. black people are getting killed. the police department -- they could kill people and nothing would be done about it. host: aside from those accusations, what do you have for our guest? caller: trump, again, when everyone wants to put in their mail-in voting, he went to the post office and had the post office man move the mailboxes so you couldn't mail any of your mail-in ballots. those are the things that he's doing that's preventing democrats to do what they need to do in order to get our votes out. host: ok, thank you. guest: what's funny about that,

when you look at mail-in voting, that was a very reliably republican -- demographic until recently. it's interesting to see that has become a very, very blue issue, if not talking went or something to fight on. host: one more call. we will hear from barbara and washington, d.c.. go ahead. caller: ok, comment and question. donald trump is the person that was elected and tried to dismantle the policies that obama had put in place to fight pandemics. then he lied to the american people about, oh, it's a hoax, when he knew he was on tape, saying this was the most deadly thing he had ever seen. he told the american people after that interview that, it's a hoax. he marinated this virus here.

how are we going to take it higher if our leader is a liar? host: we have to leave it there, caller. anything for that, mr. young? guest: boy, 2020. what a crazy year, right? i am glad we are in 2022. host: before we let you go, how can people find your podcast? guest: you can find "politics, politics, politics" anywhere you get your podcasts. justin robert young is my name, i would love to have many of you folks who are watching and calling in on c-span, one of the great treasures of our television landscape, to come join me on the show and tell me that you saw me on washington journal. host: justin robert young is the host, joining us in our regular spotlight on podcasts feature. thank you for giving us your time today.

guest: thank you so much. it was a pleasure. host: that's it for our program. another edition of "washington journal" comes your way tomorrow morning. netroots is holding its annual event, and voter suppression will be a topic on a that is it for our program today, we will see you tomorrow at 7:00. [inaudible]