's part into people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law. the schork report cofounder and oil analyst stephen schork on the opec+ decision to restrict production and the impact it will have on gas prices. "washington journal" starts now. ♪ host: it is the "washington journal" for october 11. does a political candidate's character matter as to whether you vote for that person or not? there are allegations against republican candidate herschel walker. at other candidates who have undergone scandal have not only seen continue support from constituents, but in some cases, they go onto win a political office. tell us the degree that character factors into your vote.

republicans, it is (202) democrats, (202) 748-8000. and independents, 748-8002. you can text us your thoughts on how a person's character factors into your vote at (202) 748-8003. post on our facebook page, facebook.com/c-span, or on twitter at @cspanwj. "washington post" looking at matters of character and how people go on to win elections or not. let's find out about herschel walker. this was written, it is tempting to say these things no longer matter at all, especially after donald trump won in 2016 despite the "access hollywood" tape. he pulled a massive political shocker.

he recently contended that the electorate's view of personal moral failings have shifted so substantially that walker's problems are not a problem as much as they would have been. a look at recent history suggests these things of almost always mattered, at least somewhat. how much depends on many variables including what the alleged offense is, how vital the election is and whether it is federal, when the alleged offense occurred and when it was revealed, and how people felt about the politician before that. an example, aaron blake writes, the most clear-cut and fairly recent example of a scandal sinking a politician's representative todd taken, republican of missouri. in august of 2012, he led the democrat of missouri, but within days of a remark, his opponent

overtook him. the victory was bigger than any of the polls. late in the cycle, it was richard murdoch who gave his own thoughts on this, saying it was something that god intended. those are some of the sought -- thoughts from aaron blake. you can read more online on a banquet the washington post." talks about current races in georgia. when it comes to matters of political character, tell us your thoughts, how it factors into the person he will vote for. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, 748-8002. you can text us at (202) 748-8003.

when it comes to georgia's said it race, we will show you recent ads, this one from herschel walker's campaign. it was the first ad since the daily beast publish that story of allegations of paying for an abortion. here is herschel walker. [video clip] >> campaign perfect for washington, the reverend does not even tell my full story, my true story. as everyone knows, i had a real battle with mental health. by the grace of god, i have overcome it. that is a preacher who does not tell the truth, does not even believe in redemption. i am herschel walker. save my grace and approve this message. host: another ad in recent days, this one from democrat raphael warnock, this ad featuring herschel walker's fans.

[video clip] >> i have always felt herschel walker look perfect up there. >> i think he looks good here. >> i think he looks good there. >> but in the u.s. senate? >> we already have someone working for georgia. >> it is raphael warnock. >> republicans to improve roads and bridges. >> pushed the president to release -- relieve student loan deck. >> keep raphael warnock in the senate. >> i approve this message. host: matters of character and if that matters for your vote in a political race, let's start off in colorado. good morning. go ahead. caller: character, it does not weigh as much into my decision on who to vote for these days. i look back, for example, at former president obama. he seemed to have a great

character. but at the same time, he still had responsibility for drone strikes that occurred late into his administration. i believe a great deal was written about that. then you have some only former president trump, and we all know about his character. yet, he signed off on the -- act. so character does not weigh as much on me as how a candidate stands on the issues. host: that was on our independent line. next is milton in philadelphia, democrats line. caller: good morning, and thank you for taking my call. i always put my morals and country head of anything. i remember when bill clinton got into trouble, and he sent hillary clinton other and she defended him knowing that what he did was wrong. at that point, bill clinton lost my support.

these republicans, these evangelicals, they claim i am for jesus christ, but when bill clinton had his issues, they all turned on him. a president that -- here you have a president that bragged about grabbing women by the private parts, he got elected. herschel walker paid for a woman to have an abortion, had kids he did not take care of, and you don't hear nothing from the religious right. just stay in power, does not matter, morals be damned. it is so hypocritical of them. he character does not count anymore. but look how they be attacking biden. they for jesus christ, they have no problems with this. thank you for my call. host: when it comes to support for herschel walker, "washington examiner" has a story saying scott and kotten went to campaign with him today, hoping to boost his campaign.

senator scott says democrats want to destroy this country and will destroy anyone who gets in the way. today it is herschel walker, tomorrow it is the american people. i am on herschel's team. i want to make sure georgians know he will always fight to protect them from forces trying to destroy george's values. that coming out from senators scott and cotton. teresa in tennessee, republican line. hi. caller: good morning. first, i want to say i have lived in georgia almost all my life. herschel walker has always been a hometown hero in georgia and was never in a scandal until he started running. and this is the ammo from democrats. they do it every time. roy moore, he was an abuser, and then they found that it was not

true. he was awarded 8.5 million dollars in a defamation case. look at all the ones that accused trump of abuse, and then we find out all that was not true. one case was just dismissed, that he raped a woman in the bathroom. this is what they do. and it is disgusting. they are trying to ruin a good man just for politics, because raphael warnock is going to lose that race. herschel walker is a good man, and if he did do it, so what? who cares? democrats love abortion, want everybody to have abortions. why would they attack a man that paid for abortion? it is so hypocritical. herschel walker is going to win. everybody in my family, white, evangelical, christian are still voting for herschel walker. they have not wavered one bit.

host: ok, teresa in tennessee. she brought up roy moore. aaron blake also brought up judge moore, saying the other key example of a controversy testing the gop a senate seat was the 2017 race in alabama, but it concerned the candidates personal contact. it was reported that gop candidate roy moore pursued teenage girls decades earlier, when he was in his there these. his democratic opponent doug jones had not led in any of the polls at that point, and he was suddenly up eight points in one pole and in another up three. jones won, and that was in alabama. let's hear from paul in kentucky, does a political candidate's character factor into your vote? caller: at one time it would, but the press and the democrats have gone insane, both corrupt

as hell. they will lie, cheat, do anything. failed to mention that warnock tried to run over his wife, tried to kill his wife. he made jokes about playing with a little girl when he was 30 years old and she was 12. he is a pedophile. host: so what changed in your mind, besides from the media coverage? caller: because the media and democrats are one in the same, no difference. washington post is nothing but a democratic greg. -- rag. just like c-span is. you talk about the president we cut, playing with the little 12-year-old girl when he is 30. host: like candidate walker, those are allegations. tony in florida, democrats line. hello. caller: yes, sir.

herschel walker is just like trump. the hypocrisy of the corrupt gqp. whether it is his lover, his girlfriend, not only once but twice, and he is denying it. come on, man. it is on record. when there is a record, you cannot deny it. host: aside from candidate walker, what do you think about character overall when considering who to vote for? caller: well, all i know is, like, i am going to vote democrat because they care. they care about the american people. i mean, people that have, like, cancer or diabetes, like, they

are paying $30 or less for once, and the republicans just want to pay like $2000 or more. it is common sense. that dude from florida -- i am not talking about the dude right now in charge, the other one, looks like skeletor, the skinny one. host: that is from florida. washington journal highlights a republican under scandal, perhaps the most knowledge of situation is a republican of did mis-c -- of tennessee in 2012, revealed to have emerged a mistress who had an abortion, among other messy problems. that person is still in the congress a decade later. but the margin of victory that year was just 12 points, despite

a heavily conservative district carried by romney by 32 points. that same day, desjarlais won by just 38 votes. mike in sun city, california. the question of character when it comes to political candidates and who you support. republican line. go ahead. caller: yeah, character is paramount, but the media engages in character assassination because they serve the defense team on the left, and the democrats serve as the offense team on the left. i am teacher. i vote against the liberal media and the rigged game. i don't care about the issues or anything else.

i go through the republican line so i get directly back at the elite liberal media. and senator warnock is on record for saying how much, he said, white people need to apologize for who they are down there, for crying out loud. he said something like that, generalizing it. that ought to be front and center, making a racist comment like that. you are on the verge down there. liberal media is trying to get a black racist through the backdoor by character assassinating the other guy so you don't look at warnock. that is the game, playing the offensive team on the left. what they do and what they don't do and what they don't tell you, and that is what is sickening. that is where character plays a part. host: jenny in michigan, independent line. caller: good morning, pedro. pleasure to speak with you again. i think character does matter. it weighs in, not the only

thing, but certainly weighs heavily in the people i choose. i don't really care what party they are affiliated with. he character matters, and then there policies. i also just wanted to say this whole herschel walker thing, why doesn't he just go and get a dna test with that child to prove one way or the other if he is the father him and then everybody would know who is telling the truth and who is not? it is simple. host: when you are determining matters of character, what do you look at? what is the standard to you? caller: well, you know, i am more concerned -- now i won't be able to remember the supreme court ruling -- but here in michigan, we don't have disclosure, although it sounds like maybe it is coming up on the ballot, referendum or something, i think? but somehow, you know, the affiliations and where people

are getting their money, i just think that should be an open book so that people -- this dark money and all this other stuff and these campaign contributions, you can't tell me that people that are funding significantly, especially some of these candidates, that they don't expect to in return. and i know it has always gone on, but there are some real issues out there with big money and if the influence it is both parties. it is not just one or the other. that is all i have to say. thank you. host: let's hear from aaron in alexandria, virginia, democrats line. caller: good morning, early in the morning, pedro. to answer your question, character, to me, does weigh into my vote. i know there are moments when you have hot mics and people say

things that they were not expecting the public to hear. but when it comes to candidates, i am looking at their track record of their life outside of service, as well as what happens if they are going up for reelection, if they blatantly lie to their constituents. another caller really hit the nail on the head where she said if herschel walker did it, who cares? and that really tells me about the character of the people voting for those who are running for political office. i mean, we have people who are completely denying truth. and so what can i expect from anyone else voting for other people with low moral character, who are liars, cheaters, scammers, what have you?

we have someone in office who said i don't believe russia did do it and backtracked, oh, i misspoke, which was clearly a blatant lie to cover their own stories. so character does play a part. and i believe if we are not looking at the character of the person running to represent you, then you are judged by the company you keep and the company you elect. host: in texas, republican line, on this question of character and how it factors into your vote. caller: you mentioned the words political character, and i would say that the measure of a political character, to me, would be a person who makes a mistake and comes clean and owns up to it, as opposed to a person who either puts out wrong information or does a really bad political act. just take adam schiff, i would say a guy like him who says we have all of this evidence, knowing that there was nothing like that in the russian collusion or any of the other

stuff, i would say that that is political character. that is a bad political character, because you have people who are trusting these politicians to make good decisions on their behalf, as the representatives, and they come up with that kind of stuff. so herschel walker, in my view, is a guy who made mistakes and owned up to it. he wrote his book -- oh, by the way, quickly, take a look at raphael warnock's wife -- the film clip of the news media when the police went to his h ouse. chief lee explained what that guy is all about, and you do not hear it -- she fully explained what that guy is all about, and you do not hear it on the news. host: if you want to comment on matters of political character, how it factors into your vote, it is (202) 748-8001 for

republicans. (202) 748-8002 for independents. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. and that and pennsylvania looking at the democratic candidate, john fetterman, about an instance in his history. here is that ad. [video clip] >> john fetterman chased down an innocent unarmed black man. >> he says fetterman followed me and aimed at my chest. >> fetterman falsely accuse the man of triggering a confrontation with police. >> cops surrounded me. what else could i do? >> i believe i did the right thing but may have broken the law in the course of it. >> john fetterman, reckless, risky, wrong for pennsylvania. host: here is ken, washington, d.c., independent line. hi. good morning. caller: good morning, pedro.

how are you? host: well, thank you. caller: to piggyback off your last caller, something that reflects a person's characteristics, patterns, thoughts, feelings, or behaviors, if you oppose any of those things, meaning, if you are thoughtless or you have no feelings or you seldom show any behaviors that are conducive with growth, one of which being truth, then you will do anything or compromise your own thinking just to vote in a particular certain way. so when you have a person like teresa, who says she is from georgia but is now in tennessee, like the previous caller just mentioned, she would contradict all morality to vote for someone, which she cannot vote for him anymore anyway if she is in tennessee, but why would you do that?

america is built on a certain amount of obedience, and you cannot be successful without obeying somebody else. for someone to be so naive and foolish as herschel walker's -- look, if you wanted him to coach a football team, i would consider that because that is what he did, but there is no way this man is professional, let alone has the certain amount of intellect to run for an office and hold a position were other people's lives are at risk. i mean, i would not give somebody like him an opportunity. anybody that buck dances for money deserves what they get. host: that is ken in washington, d.c. recent comments looking at this issue in the columns, this piece on the washington post saying herschel walker is hardly the only candidate in the cycle trying to live down embarrassing past acts, assuming the report is accurate. john fetterman detained an

unarmed black jogger in 2013, but no sign democrats are abandoning the nominee of her neck where they would surely lambaste a republican. there is also bill clinton and ted kennedy. bill clinton lying about a relationship with an intern, democrats scurrying for cover. ted kennedy driving a car off a bridge, killing a pregnant passenger. let's not forget republicans defenses and the extremely flawed donald trump. that is henry