>> comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers so that students get the tools they need to be ready for anything. >> comcast supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> coming up this morning, the washington examiner's anna giaritelli joins us to talk about border security and the decision by over 20 states to send national guard troops to the u.s.-mexico border. then journalists peter baker and susan glasser discuss their new book "the divider" about trump's four years in the white house. "washington journal" starts now. ♪ host: good morning. it is tuesday, october 18, 2022. we are now just three weeks from

election day. we are focusing on one stable of election season, candidates debates. do debates matter to you? let us know if there has been a debate this cycle or in a previous cycle has changed how you plan to vote. phone lines split a bit differently. if you say yes, debates do still matter, (202) 748-8000 is the number to call. if you say no, debates do not matter, (202) 748-8001. you can also send us a text this morning, that number (202) 748-8003. if you do, please include your name and where you are from. otherwise, catch up with us on social media. on twitter, it is @cspanwj. on facebook, it is facebook.com/cspan. a very good tuesday morning. you can start calling now or we want to know do debates matter? let us know which debates you watched this cycle, let us know if any of them have changed your mind. we have been airing a lot of debates on the c-span networks

care there was a trio of them last night, one of them the georgia gubernatorial debate. democratic challenger stacey abrams and george and -- georgian republican governor brian kemp squaring off. [video clip] >> i would let people know the largest, fastest growing segment of the population that is buying handguns and firearms is african-americans and females. you know why? because the criminals are the only ones who have the guns. you have local governments holding up concealed weapon prepping -- permits, keeping law-abiding citizens from using their second and limit rights to protect their families and properties. >> 30 seconds. >> let's be clear. i believe we can protect the second amendment and second graders at the same time. yes, more people are buying guns -- that is because they think

that is the only way to protect themselves because guns have flooded our streets. these are communities that want to be safe. they do not want to have to carry a weapon. i know how to shoot. but the person most responsible is the person who holds it weapon care that is why i will trust but verify. there is no longer a background check for those who have concealed carry permits. that makes all of us less safe. >> if i could respond -- >> we really want to move on. host: a scene from last night in the georgia gubernatorial debate. we are asking you, do debates matter? several debates going on across the country yesterday. here's one of the headlines from this morning's papers in ohio, where representative tim ryan, the democrat of ohio, and j.d. vance, his republican challenger, squaring off. we will be airing that debate today on the c-span networks. there have been debates all

season long, as we always do in election season. we ask do they matter to you? have they ever changed your mind when it comes to a debate? (202) 748-8000 if you say bates still matter. -- if you say debates still matter. (202) 748-8001 if you think they do not matter. we mentioned the ohio debate. here is one of the exchanges between tim ryan and j.d. vance. [video clip] >> people are tired of this stuff, democrats, republicans, independents -- >> this is -- >> hold on -- >> this is what happens when people accuse me of the great replacement theory. what happens is my own children, my biracial children, get attacked by scumbags online and in person because you are so desperate for political power that you will accuse me, the father of three beautiful

biracial babies of engaging in racism. we are sick of it. you can believe in a border without being racist. you can believe in a country without being racist. this just shows how desperate this guy is for political power. i know you have been in office 20 years, tim, but you are so desperate not to have a real job that you will slander me and my family. >> thank you -- >> hold on. i think i struck a nerve with this guy. >> you absolutely -- >> i was never -- i was never talking about your family. do not try to spin this because you do not want to talk about the fact that you are with the extremists. and that belief, which is rounded, going back decades, led to some crazy dude getting a gun and going to a black grocery store.

host: that is the ohio senate debate, hosted by wfmj tv in youngstown, ohio. it is airing tonight in its entirety on the c-span networks and about 8:30 p.m. eastern if you want to watch it. as we ask this morning, three weeks from election day, do debates still matter? (202) 748-8000 if you say yes. (202) 748-8001 if you say no. we would love to hear about the specific debates moment that sticks in your mind or a moment that changed your mind about how you voted for a candidate, whether it is this election or in the past. joseph in maryland says yes, debates still matter. caller: yes, i am for debates. debates reveal what the candidates are. i've been having a good time, i pull up a debate in georgia

between marcus flowers and marjorie taylor greene, talking about conspiracy theories. i also followed the debate in utah between mcmullen and senator lee. mike moreland brought out salient point about the january 6 insurrection that was quite specific. i also followed the debates between governor kemp and the democratic contender. those debates are important here that is no -- that is when you know the candidates really are. it is not just having them come on tv and talk -- repeat the talking points. i am surprised as well about some other debate where all the candidate was talking about was not answering the question, just

repeating the question. so i think debates -- host: you are a voter in maryland who watches a lot of debates out-of-state for elections you are not even voting in. caller: exactly. the debates here do not really matter, because democrats are the majority here in maryland. i also followed the debate between the potential governor, wes moore, and dan cox. but that was just a showdown -- i think wes moore came out pretty much on top. host: talking about the maryland gubernatorial debate. this is allen in new jersey -- new york, on that line for those who say, no, debates do not matter. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. my point is the debates do not matter as much as they should, because the condition in this country was so tribalized. we have this tribal mentality,

my party, right or wrong. they do not think for themselves as much. the proof of the pudding is, after everything happened with donald trump, he still has a sizable percentage of people who want him as president. and one last quick point, if i could. if herschel walker beats that reverend, all hope is lost. host: did you watch any of the georgia senate debate that you referred to? we lost alan. michelle in connecticut says debates still matter. caller: yes, they do. good morning. host: good morning. caller: i think they do matter as long as they keep them honest. i've been watching c-span, the debates from all different states. there is a lot of lying going on. talk about misinformation, right? but i think they matter. we get to see their character

outside of capitol hill. i like it -- host: you say as long as they keep them honest. you're talking about the moderators in these debates? caller: no, not the moderators. we are talking about the people running for office. you know, just this one is lying, stop this, that one is lying, stop that. if i did not watch c-span so much, i would be very misinformed, watching some of these people. you know, from joe biden's economy, right? a lot of people do not know the heavy regulations. i can see the oil industry and all the mandates. i think he can bounce back the economy, change it back. host: asking you, do debates

matter? a recent piece from the brookings incident to -- brookings institute. the worrying decline of the senate candidate debate, specifically looking at senate debates. here is some ofcolby gallagher writes. the supposed explanati for this worrying decline is that campaigns are more frequently ciding that debates do not benefit their candidates. theorists and analysts who -- campaign managers and staffers and candidates have one goal -- to win in november. if debates hurt or do not advance that overriding objective, they may be jettisoned in theame way a losing campaign slogan or policy plank would be. partisan attitudes are so calcified in america that the enduring question undergirding every debate of who has the best

idea may no longer matter to voters. from the brookings institution, if you want to read that full piece. asking you as we are in the heart of debate season, do debates matter to you? (202) 748-8000 if you say yes. (202) 748-8001 if you say no. jerry on that line for those who say no in georgia, a place where there are quite a few debates happening now. go ahead. caller: yes. unfortunately, debates do matter, and sometimes they do not matter. but if the truth does not matter, we have a serious problem. right now, unfortunately in america, we have been told time and time after time, if we see something, say something. have a documentary called 2000 news that specifically puts it all out in the clear for everyone to see the horrible things that happened during the

election. if that doesn't matter anymore, if we cannot report the truth, and if those who are responsible about the truth do not do something, debates do not matter. nothing matters in the country when people are saying something went wrong, we need this to be looked at, need this to be investigated, and when these documentaries are ignored, then what do you want the american people to do? how can we go forward if this is not being taken care of? host: that is jerry in atlanta, georgia. this morning at 11:00 eastern, the georgia secretary of state debate, raffensperger, eumbent there, debating with his libertarian and democratic opponents. again, you can watch here on c-span at 11:00 a.m. eastern. the georgia gubernatorial debate was last night. we played you some of that and also a key moment from the

debates so far this cycle, one that got a whole lot of attention was the moment in the georgia senate debate, when republican needed herschel walker flashed a prop on stage and was admonished for doing so. here is that moment in that debate against democratic senator rafael warnock. [video clip] >> we will see time and time again tonight, as we have already seen, that my opponent has a problem with the truth. [applause] and just because he said something does not mean it is true. i supported our police officers. i've called with them and prayed with their families, like those officers lost in cobb county, when they were killed doing what police officers routinely do. you can support police officers, as i've done, through the cops program, through the investor protect program, while, at the same time, holding police officers, like all professions, accountable. one thing i have not done, i've

never pretended to be a police officer -- [cheers] and i've never threatened a shootout with the police. >> now i have to respond to that gouecke we are moving on -- >> no, i have to respond to that. i have -- and at many -- >> mr. walker. excuse me, mr. walker. please come out of respect, i need to let you know, you are very well aware of the rules tonight. >> yes. >> and you have a prop. that is not allowed. i asked you to put that away. >> this is not a prop. this is real. >> it is considered a prop. excuse me. you are very well aware of the rules, aren't you? are you aware of the rules? >> he brought up the truth. let's talk about the truth. >> thank you for putting the prop away. host: that moment getting a lot

of attention from the georgia senate debate cycle. asking you this morning do debates matter? (202) 748-8000 if you say yes, debates do still matter. (202) 748-8001 if you say no, they don't. this is john from texas, that line for those who say yes. caller: good morning. debates do matter. a prime example here -- greg abbott will not debate against beto o'rourke here. why is that? does he have a lot to hide? is he afraid that he will be called out on all the mistakes he made and how much he let texas down? you know, does matter. because he is not coming out and speaking out and he is spreading these commercial lies. people are smarter than that. and yes, it does matter. because it helps us, like the woman said earlier -- their

character. it tells us a lot about their character. host: to that question, do you are member a debate that changed your mind about a candidate? you are going to vote one way, watched a debate, and changed your vote, has that happened to you? caller: no, it hasn't. but i do pay attention to other debates in other cities. i often wonder why katie hobbs does not come out and debate against her opponent, because her opponent is basically a lack job. it is like, come on, katie, come on. i just do not know where she is at. if i were living in that state, it would be like what is wrong? why won't you come out and debate? host: john out of texas. (202) 748-8000 if you say yes, debates still matter. (202) 748-8001 if you say no, debate don't matter.

jakob -- of inside elections, he has been on this program, talking about race ratings from his -- asking his followers were are the best examples of a nonpresidential debate when there was a legit turning point in the race? getting a number of different reactions on twitter. one of those reactions was from one of his vault -- one of his followers, pointed to just last cycle in the -- not last cycle but last year, the virginia editorial race of 21, pointing to now governor youngkin, using a clip of democratic former governor terry mcauliffe saying that parents should not have a say in the classroom from that debate, and they hammered him through ads and interviews and political rallies afterwards on that issue on that comment he

made in that 2021 gubernatorial debate in virginia. here is a newsweek story about it from just about a week or so after the 2021 elections in virginia, saying mcauliffe saying parent should not tell schools what to teach was a big factor in the election polling on that issue finding that moment during that debate and now governor youngkin hammering terry mcauliffe about that for the final days and weeks of the campaign became a big moment in that election. so asking you, are there examples like that that you can remember that a debate has mattered? mike in reston, virginia, go ahead. caller: good morning. good morning to c-span. i do not think debates matter. i do not remember one time debates changed my mind. this time is really particular,

because if candidates do not sign a paper that they will accept the result of the election, then democrats should not debate them. election deniers should not be allowed because they will not accept an election, and if we debate them, we give them legitimacy for office. election deniers should not be debated, period. host: back to the peach state, this is mark in georgia. good morning. what do you think? caller: good morning. i say yes, they do matter. it even needs to be more detailed, more policy orientated , so that the voters were understand -- will understand exec of what they are getting. thank you. host: mark, if you are still with us, tell us the policy issue in georgia you wish they would talk more about. caller: mainly, it is about

safety, voting rights -- everything. we need to understand specifically what the candidate wants to do for the state. host: mark, let me come back to georgia. the issue of abortion has certainly come in multiple debates in georgia, but in that very high-profile senate race that could be the race that takes control of the senate chamber, here is one of the several changes in the debate between herschel walker and senator raphael warnock on the issue of abortion. [video clip] >> i have been very transparent. i like the senator. at the same time, i say that is a live. on abortion -- i am a christian. i believe in life. georgia is a state that respect life, and i will be a senator that protects life.

i am not backing down. you have senator warnock, people who will do anything as anything for this seat. by will not back down, because this seat is too important to the georgian people to back down. >> you have been vocally pro-life, supporting a ban on elections without exception. would you -- >> that is not true either. i said i support the heartbeat appeared i support the georgia heartbeat bill, because that is the bill of the people through governor kemp. that has exceptions in it. i am a christian but i am also represent the people of georgia, and that is who i represent. what the people of georgia stand for, i will stand with them. >> you said repeatedly the exam room is too small for the patient, the doctor, and the u.s. government. do you believe there should be any limitations on abortion set by the government? >> i think that the woman of

this country and the women of this state woke up one summer morning, and a corporate texan they have known for 60 years was taken from them by an extremist supreme court. i say what i've said in the past. a patient's room is too small, cramped a space for a woman, her doctor, and the united states government. we are witnessing what happens when politicians, most of them men, pile into patients' rooms. you get what you are seeing now. and the women of georgia deserve a senator who will stand with them. i trust women more than i trust politicians. host: again, if you want to watch that entire debate, the two times that the georgian senate candidates have squared off, you can do so at our website, c-span.org.

it is where we offer all our debate coverage, partnering with different stations from around the country to bring you as many debates as we can each cycle. staying in georgia on the phone lines, we go to emma, the line for debates do matter. caller: i would like to say i really do believe debates do matter in this country. thank you. host: is there a debate that stands out in your mind that mattered or changed your mind? i think we lost emma. but on this issue, this question we are asking, do debates still matter, it came up in a recent column from the tallahassee democratic columnist there. here is some of what he wrote in a column on this issues of debates as theebate season was starting. he asked has anything that any candidate has said in a debate

hang your thinking about hold public office?alification have you e supported nominee and then, when you tuned into a debate, switched another candidate because of some billions orpidi -- brilliance ortupidity displayed? neither, heays. candidates of all stripes say debates would make opponents address matters they would rather avoid. that is rare, he says. more often, candidates would hammer their own talking points and artfully dodge everything else. asking you, do debates matter? staying in georgia, we go to atlanta, calvin. go-ahead. caller: yes, debates do matter. because you get a chance to see the lies that people have told. and they change their mind when

the people -- you can clearly see it, because when you hear them on tv and the commercials and stuff like that, but i think one idea of a good job against herschel walker, and i know stacey abrams did a good job against brian kemp, and i hope they win. host: from those two matchups that you talk about, from the debates between those two races, what moments stand out for you as you look back on election 2022? was there a moment from the debates you think will crystallize this election for you? caller: well, no, not really. because i've been listening to both races throughout, and

herschel walker -- he was saying he was against abortion. but all he just said on the stage, that you would go with what kemp said for the exceptions -- that is a light right there. he is -- that is not what he said, because in the commercial, he said there would be no exceptions. so he will vote partyline. we do not need that right now. thank you. host: to the buckeye state. randy, did you watch the debate in ohio, that senate race last night? >> -- caller: yes, i did. host: what did you think? caller: leaning still more republican, i guess, because we need that change. we definitely need it.

it was not as impressive as i thought it was going to be. host: why did you think it was going to be more impressive? what did you think would happen? caller: that they would cover more issues. like vance, he is taking on ryan with not a lot of ammo because r yan has done things over the last 20 years and has a set record, pretty much, and he just constantly says he is going to -- the other one, i am sorry. would vote with the democratic party, no matter how they stand. and i do not like that, not when you are not willing to go either way on which way it is going to go, regardless what your party is going to do. host: what you think about that quote that, a lot of play -- here's just one headline on the race. tim ryan quips that j.d. vance is an asskisser.

ohio, he says, needs an asskicker. what do you think of that language? caller: i thought it could have been more appropriate to that is the problem. we need to get him to be more honest and when they lie, they should lose something for that. when they start the mud throwing , they really divert the attention away from the debate. it gets out of hand. when he said i touched a nerve, i could see him getting a little heated, because we are aggravated, you know, with the way things are running. it seems everything is dead still up there. they just figure back and forth, no matter what the issue is. host: thanks for the call from ohio. let me had next-door to the keystone state, pennsylvania. a lot of focus in pennsylvania on the upcoming debate, dollars

and john fetterman -- mehmed oz and john fetterman. good morning. caller: how you doing? america, how you doing? ohpe no more cops get murdered. i want to see fetterman defend himself from pulling a shotgun on a black man in pennsylvania. he can't. he lied about it. number two, 6:00 this morning, a new rap -- from hunter biden dropped. everyone go check it out on the internet. host: back to georgia. james, go ahead. caller: good morning, how are you doing? host: i am well. caller: the debate matters. you get the opportunity to see more lies coming out of the

candidates than normal, than what you see on the ads. and then you also get to see the person fiddling around with their words as far as herschel walker. he cannot even pronounce the words correctly. when he gets ready to say something, he wants to say something that is spectacular, but he cannot, because his vocabulary is very, very low. and one more thing. all these candidates that they have our donald trump candidates. people, get out there and vote. thank you. host: just after 7:30 on the east coast, about halfway through the first hour of the washington journal this morning. it is a three hour program. i will note, at 9:00 a.m., we expect a brief pro forma session

in the house. it is only expected to be a few minutes. but we will take you there live for gavel-to-gavel coverage. when they do, we hope you stay with us and finish out the last hour of our program from 9:00 to 10:00 this morning. just some situational awareness about what is happening. we mentioned jacob rubashkin asking almost the same question we are asking this morning to his twitter followers last night. he asked one was the last time a debate made a difference or changed the outcome of an election to his followers? here is one of his followers, responding to him, pointing back to 10 years ago, the murdoch debate in indiana. if you do not member that one, here's one of the headlines coming out of that debate that turned so many heads 10 years ago -- indiana senate hopeful under fire for his rape

comments. that's the npr story. they write women's issues are back front and center after mourdock said in a debate that when a rape result in can see, that is something god intended to happen. democrats pounced, and mitt romney, the presidential candidate at the time, distanced himself from the remarks, but the romney campaign did not ask mourdock to pull down a tv ad romney taped. joe donnelly would go on to win that race. asking you, do debates matter? if you say yes, (202) 748-8000. if you say no, (202) 748-8001. we go to south dakota. doug, good morning. caller: good morning. i watched noem and jamie smith

-- jamie smith is a democrat and kristi noem is a republican who kind of followed donald trump around. that was a good debate. if you ask me, i think jamie smith won that. i believe in both parties. both parties got ideas. i should be an independent, but it is too hard to vote up here independent. but that debate was a pretty good one. noem, she is in trouble, because she used the state plane to follow trump around, i believe, and she got in trouble over that. also, she gave favor to her daughters or whatever. but i watched that debate between green last night, too. all she does is uses talking points, you know. and there is really no debate about it. host: you are talking about the democratic candidate winning that debate that you were referring to. what do you think about

candidates claiming victory in a debate? what does it mean to win a debate? most times, we see both candidates, after a debate or even maybe minutes before a debate ends, rush out email to their followers, claiming victory in a debate. how does one win a debate? caller: i would say just answer the questions truthfully. a lot of them avoid the questions. you ask a hard question, they will run off somewhere else. they do not even answer that. or they do not run answers i get asked. noem did not answer any of the questions that really did her damage. noem here, a while back, she had her campaign manager, there were rumors she was having an affair, so she fired him, and i think she rehired him, but i do not hear much about that. anyway, you guys have a good day.

i am more independent, but i believe people are right on both sides, and they are just stupid and follow one party all the way. host: we will head over to the beehive state. it was last night in utah, the senate debate there, between republican senator mike lee and the independent candidate, who has closed in in recent polling, evan mcmullin. here is part of their exchange from last night. [video clip] >> the job of a senator, especially representing our state, has to be to stand up to leaders of both parties, to joe biden and to donald trump. that is what is required, because both parties are spending recklessly. and you vote no -- and let me say, senator, i think it is right that a senator should be willing to stand, even alone, and vote no. and you are very good at that. but you know what?

it can't be the only thing you do. that is not the job of a senator up your the job of a senator representing utah is to work across party lines to solve problems. we have a legacy in this state of sending senators to washington -- senator bennett, senator hatch, now senator romney. they worked and worked together across party lines, to solve problems, senator lee. they don't only vote no. they are at the table, negotiating a better you for utah and our country, and i am committed to doing that on our spending in every other issue. >> senator lee, you asked for a rebuttal. >> we have long had a problem where you have at least 50 democrats willing to vote for any amount of spending. tragically, you typically had at least 10 republicans willing to across party lines to vote for the democrats' spending priorities. i called out donald trump all the time he devoted less for donald trump than anyone less

than rand paul. i called out president trump even one time specifically where he called me on my airplane feet i called him out in public and in private. in a train, on a plane, in a box with a fox. host: if you want to watch that debate entirely, you can do so on c-span.org. about 20 minutes left in this segment. do debates matter? sean in laurel, maryland. caller: thank you for having me on. good morning kate i think yes. if you had heard that herschel walker piece, when he hit warnock back with his rebuttal about the hospital room and babies, that was a changer. just like here in maryland, wes moore did a debate, all he did was ask questions and did not answer any questions. i did not even find contacts on his platform to try and ask a

question. they do matter. if you do not -- if the news would do their fax like they used to -- facts like they used too, we will be better off. this is crazy. i will have to watch another channel. host: eric in antioch, california. go ahead. caller: good morning. i do not know if they do make a difference, but i know they can. i think back to when reagan was debating mondale. reagan got really confused in the first debate, and he was just very disjointed and did not make sense, quite frankly. in the second debate, he opened up, saying he wanted to make clear that age would not be an issue in the campaign. he said he would not hold the use and an experience of his opponent against him, and the whole crowd busted out laughing, including mondale. he just cruised to reelection.

there are moments you can make in debates that can make a difference. it depends how they are accepted and how they repeated in society afterwards. host: are those moments happening less often than they used to? do you think debates are more scripted or there is less ability to have a moment like that these days? caller: i think, probably, but also, except for presidential elections -- i do not know if there is enough concentration, even if there is a real slamdunk moment to reverberate outside the context of wherever the elections are held, except for people like me, who love watching every single one of them on c-span. but it can happen, especially with social media now. if it is something that really catches fire. but so far, no fires. host: we have a whole webpage for people like you, who love

watching these things on c-span. campaign 2022, the webpage there has a lineup of all the debates we have covered, all the debates we will be covering, and you can check it out at c-span.org. talking about whether debates matter. we mentioned that brookings institution report on the worrying decline of senate candidate debates, written by colby gallagher of that brookings institution. here is a little bit more about what debates could do, writing debates heltoevel the political playing field. the debate stage help strip away the laurels candidates can rely on. the small business over and -- owner facing off against the governor or a billionaire revives the idea that any citizens may win the privilege to -- in doing so, debates can

humanize candidates, make it more difficult for candidates to make their opponents an existential threat to be countered with violence or insurrection. that is what colby gallagher notes that debates could you. if you want to read that, brookings.edu. to david, texas. caller: good morning. yes, i believe debates are very important. i listen to at least two or three recorded debates from c-span every night. and i try to catch up with what is there. i am sorry the ohio debate was not on the channels i have, but i find them online -- host: it will be available today. we will re-air that at 8:30 p.m. eastern tonight here on c-span. go ahead. caller: i have the debates on permanent record, so i get whatever you do. [laughter]

host: great. caller: i count on that delay as well. i kind of echo -- i like the hosts on your show. i particularly like you. and i call on a regular basis. but i call and listen a lot less. your show has become too much like dv twitter. i wish you would have a rule, both sides, where if someone launches into ad hominem attacks or whatever that you just shut them off, because it will change the nature of it. i cannot listen to most of what is on. there's no facts, no numbers. there is nothing to substantiate 95% of the opinions people want to talk about. and i've always got a lot of stuff to say. i usually get cut off. but the guy two calls ago said he would find another channel.

that is not because i am trying to find someone agreeing with me, i want to listen to someone who has actual thoughts who are important. i will not tell you who wins any of these debates. it is meaningless. one of the biggest reasons i watched c-span over the years is to get a feel for what public opinion is out there, because until the last year or so, i felt like the callers seemed to represent that. but there is a total disconnect between the callers' sentiments now and opinion polls. a complete disconnect. host: has the format changed or are using the types of caller have changed? just to understand what your concern is? caller: there with me just one moments on this one. this goes back four years. the republican national convention. i watched the call-ins at the end of each one. increasingly, as the nights went on, you had an approve or disapprove of trump -- or the

republican spirit almost all the calls were approved, because you do not break it down by republican or democrat. by the time you got to the third night, 80% or 90% of the calls were positive about the republican convention the last night, you switched it, and it was democrat and republican. naturally, people who called in on the democrat line then were all -- instead of getting the opinion of what the overall people got on the convention, you now split folks up into what we know was going to get a difference, and it totally changed the complexion of the type of opinion you got. it was a forced way of getting a different result or including a different -- i do not know, but i was really upset about that. that is not usually the case, the. you -- that is not usually the case, though. usually, people calling and are launching into this ad hominem thing, like we are all fascists or knuckle draggers were all that sort of stuff -- i am a

republican. i am a trump supporter. but the news is not reported. the focus on this january 6 thing is crazy and does not reflect the state of the nation, which you will see in about three weeks in the election, i truly believe. but the point is there has got to be some way to keep your station from becoming twitter. i beg you, please, because i do think it is important for people to be able to call in, but they have to be better trained. like that black guy who called in and commented on herschel walker -- host: i am not sure that caller at a five what race they are when they called in. caller: ok, fine. see, that's just willful -- i knew i shouldn't have said anything, but that's a fact. he sounded just like walker.

there is no reason for him to criticize walker and the way he spoke. walker is an intelligent fellow. i grew up in the south. i do not have much of a southern accent, i've been in california and other places. but that doesn't mean people aren't smart. i just did not think his comments -- i expect it it. walker exceeded my expectations, for sure. there has got to be more time to discuss more serious issues. there are so many huge issues going on. i watched cnn -- host: we are running short on time but i have a whole lot of other callers. caller: i understand. host: appreciate the time and your call. caller: watch cnn's report on

china this morning. cnn have the best things come out on china, a rocker cause him of all the crap that has not come out of china this year, it was an excellent report about 5:00 this morning -- host: all right. we will take the comment and go to joe in phoenix, arizona. good morning. caller: good morning. absolutely debates matter. i am a voter from arizona. we have watched things between kari lake and hobbes go down in the last month. i keep hearing you on the show saying they have not had a debate, but in fact, they did have a debate. but it was a controlled situation. kari lake just cannot behave. so it is not, from my perspective as a voter, confused by the fact that they are not having another debate, they just cannot get along. host: an interesting story -- not in arizona -- from the state averaging about not having a debate.

this came out last night. the virginia 7 race, the house race, where the democrat is trying to hold her seat. here is the story from the washington post. organizers of that debates between the two have canceled the event after stan berger indicated over the weekend she would not participate, citing multiple unresolved details and concerns. the organizers, the prince william committee 100, and the league of women voters in four here -- fauqier said there were disagreements over proposed moderators. plans for the debate scheduled for friday senator kumble after the committee lined up a conservative commentator and talkshow host as a co-moderator. spanberger objected to that choice, citing occasions when he

had -- more concerns about insufficient security planning before announcing that the debate would not happen for those reasons. that's the news out of virginia. on the issue of moderators of debates, some of our viewers on social media pointing to that topic as well, gary writing in on facebook, if we had truly independent and impartial moderators, like they had back in the 1970's and 1980's, debates would matter. now, it is all a joke. too much focus on personalities instead of where candidates stand. a few more comments, focusing on the georgia debate, saying raphael warnock was asked about any resurgence at all on abortion, warnock dodged, walker announced lily. george say that voters can tell something about a candidates'

mentality. we want to empty the mental institution and put people like lauren boebert and marjorie taylor greene in office? this is steve on facebook, saying of course they matter, it is the only time voters get to see the candidates speak as opposed to when they are hiding behind the propaganda and lies known as advertising. those are some of the social media comments. simply asking, do debates matter? david in georgia, what do you think? caller: thank you for c-span and "washington journal." i say they do matter. i gotten to numbness in 2016, when all the republicans were up there. i've been laughing, clearly a no trump are, then i saw the energy of this guy and how he clearly

demolished everybody. he was passionate. i was sitting with a friend of mine, completely liberal -- and i am a more of a conservative libertarian. and walker -- if you have played more of the film, the answer by the government being inside a doctor's office with the lady and her doctor, walker reminded him there is another person inside that doctor's office, and that is the child. it really stunned the moderators. it got cheers from the crowd and put warnock back. clearly, herschel walker unpolished, not used to this. he clearly won this debate. i think, when you can bring an outsider in, that is not a polished politician or even someone in the limelight that

knows all the talking points, that is when debates matter. host: thanks for the call. this is james, north carolina. good morning. caller: morning. thanks for taking my call. yes, i believe debates still can matter. just like the guy before me, when they do matter, it is when conservatives take control. and another guy said earlier that kari lake cannot control herself or whatever. it is because the moderators are leftist liberals. the media control our debates, and so they kind of protect, without it being too terribly obvious, sometimes, the democrat candidate. if our debates were on liberalism versus conservatism, not a damn one democrat would

win, because 70% to 80% of americans think like americans do. they love god, they love their freedom, they want the government to leave them alone. and they love the flag, and they agree on love the constitution. that is the majority of america. but these debates get micro down to these silly little points, like "this bill number 333" -- if you did it liberalism versus conservatives and, our country would be in a great state right now. but our media is so corrupt. r they get a hold of everything, -- like they get a hold of everything, and they control the debates. host: this is lynn. caller: yes, debates do matter.

you brought up reagan versus mondale, when he made that little quip, and that put away mondale. also, i remember recently, in 2021, when the governor of virginia said parents had no right to things. and even though i did not see it, i saw the clip later on, and i thought he lost the election, right then and there. and i noticed that debates do matter. a number of democrats are refusing to debate, because they are scared. you mentioned ms. abigail spanberger. it was one of her protégés who was pushing to arrest parents for refusing to agree to the sexual mutilation of their children. when that came out, she backed away. she does not want that question to come up in the debate, so she backed out of the debate. debates do matter, because many

people are refusing the debates because they are scared. host: virginia, good morning, robert. caller: good morning. good morning, america. i think debates should matter. but they don't anymore, though. i've never voted for a president or congressman or senator or governor or anything. i tried to vote one time, and i was rejected, though. host: do you plan to vote this time? caller: no, it wouldn't do no good. host: but you still like watching the debates? caller: yeah, i like watching the debates. host: what would it take to get you to vote again, roger? caller: well, when i said i was

not going to vote this time, i think i probably should vote this time. host: why is that? caller: because i am seeing my country die. it's just plain going the way of the devil. it is getting so hostile out there anymore -- i never did pack a gun or knife or anything. i think i will start carrying one now. host: roger in virginia. this is greg, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a lot of things to say, but in the last 15 minutes, they have all been said. in particular, the caller from georgia who criticized c-span specifically for its coverage. he is exactly correct. and the caller since then who

echoed that message. debates matter to me. i remember reagan-mondale. i remember -- they are important. they should continue to happen. i do not think you should mandate them. that is part of the overreach by the government that is supported by the liberals, including most of the moderators at c-span, because it makes all of the moderates -- i mean all of the limousine liberals feel good about themselves while they live in gated communities. it is an opportunity for people to listen to the candidates and

for coverage off whatever happened or did not happen. but, again, kudos to the caller 15 minutes ago from georgia. i hope someone at c-span reviews all of the performances by the moderators and says that was good, that wasn't -- because if you're -- because you're leaning left. there is no doubt about that. i hope that changes very soon. have a good day. host: our coverage today. here are some of the debates we are airing in their entirety today. the live georgia secretary of state debates, 11:00 a.m. eastern. at 7:00 p.m. tonight, the vermont of renner -- governors debate. then at 8:00 p.m., a re-air of the georgia secretary of state debates. 8:30 the night, we will be air

last night's ohio senate debate. then 9:30 tonight, the florida u.s. senate debate. time for just one or two more calls here. here is joe from virginia. go ahead joe. thank you for taking my call, i believe debate should matter but they are not being used properly especially by republican candidates and i will explain why. a lot of things are not local anymore. local issues do matter, but with mass media and information being distributed in different ways, i believe the candidates, republicans in particular, need to give concise statements on what you are voting for is the democratic party. i would not be debating my actual appointment -- opponent.

the democrats vote lock stock, and barrel together. this is about inflation, not just about my opponents. you are voting against the democratic party. it is about inflation, your children being confused about their sexuality and schools. it is about the war in ukraine, gas prices, the war on fossil fuels. it is about your retirement accounts being depleted because of the biden administration's -- the democrats, is the democratic party and there are candidates that will vote lock, stock and barrel together. host: that was our last color in this segment. there is putting want to talk about including up next, we will get an update on the order in immigration policy. we will be joined by anna giaritelli who covers immigration and security at the washington examiner.

and later on, husband and wife team peter baker and susan glasser discuss their recent book "the divider: trump in the white house." stick around, we will be right back. >> c-span provides extensive coverage of campaign 2022. on this episode of c-span podcasts weekly, top 10 moderator moments from the house, senate, governor and mayor debates from last campaign seasons. do the people believe we should tax? we already are. >> you are not taxing them that much because they are based in texas and oklahoma. >> we are out of time. why did i tell you guys at the beginning? no booing. now you are directing it at me. >> governor, your closing remarks. you can find the week the on

c-span now our free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> middle and high school students it is your time to shine. you are invited to participate in this year's studentcam documentary competition. in light of the upcoming midterm elections, picture yourself as a newly elected member of congress. we ask this year's editors what are your top priorities why? make a 5-6 minute video that shows the importance of your issues from opposing and supporting positions. don't be afraid to take risks. be bold, amongst the $100,000 in prizes is a $5,000 grand prize. videos must be submitted by january 20, 2023. visit our website at studentcam.org for competition rules, kids, resources and the step-by-step guide. >> washington journal continues.

host: we return now to the topic of the u.s. border. the biden administration aggression policies. anna giaritelli covers those at the washington examiner. i want to start with a headline from one of your stories last week, or again among the states deploying the military amid this crisis. explain what is going on? guest: this deployment has been years in the making. it dates back almost two decades to the bush era but the biden administration has continued to ask for states to pitch in and said their own troops, their national guard, soldiers down to the southwest border. the u.s./mexico border. it has been capped quiet unlike under president trump who was very vocal about sending troops to the border.

the biden administration has kept this on the down low. states, including those with democratic governors are pitching in and sending troops down. they are sending helicopters, all to assist border patrol with apprehending people. i should clarify that soldiers will not be making any arrests. they will not be detaining people unlike in texas, where governor greg abbott is having soldiers detain people. host: how many troops are we talking about, how long of these deployments and what will they be doing if they are not actively stopping and detaining people? guest: these are 400 day deployments. these men and women will be gone about before thanksgiving of next year. it is a fairly long deployment for being domestic. 400 days, they will be assisting border patrol with administration, menial stuff and

especially the aircraft, the air force national guard will be going down and pitching in flying those aircraft's. it is a way to help out in some of the processing centers. it is a way to give border control back out into the field. yesterday, the former act he director of i said that 70% of the 20,000 border patrol agent's have been pulled from the field and are helping process transport and watch over people in custody. that is a huge number in this is trying to lessen that and get ages back in the field where they can be apprehending people that are of a serious concern. host: here's a story from cbs, and you will border arrivals top 2 million. being fueled by record migration from venezuela, cuba and nicaragua. why those three countries specifically now?

guest: since covid, we have seen a change in demographics at the border. we have seen the numbers go up in different people coming from different countries than normal. covid has fueled migrations from venezuela, cuba and nicaragua. these are authoritarian governments. unlike mexico, or other countries in central america, they are not taking back their citizens from the united states. it was not an issue when you have 1000 cubans get caught. it is an issue when you have 100,000 people from a country as we are having now come across. we have had more than 100,000 from venezuela. the border patrol is a force to do, they can't return them to mexico or venezuela under this covid policy that we are still under 2.5 years after covid began. they are having to release those

people into the united states and say, please show up to court one day and the republicans are using this to say the biden administration has an open border. they are just releasing people. that is only half the story. host: some of the numbers from customs and border protection, and you were just going through them, 2 million immigration encounters throu t past 11 months, of those unique encountersn gust, 35%ere from venezuela, nicaragua in cuba. that is so 170 5% increase f this time year -- a year ago. migrants from mexico and central america are down from a year ago. we are talking about immigration issues and asking if you want to join the conversation you can do so on phone line split as usual by political party. it is (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 democrats, independents (202)

748-8002. in a special line if you live in a border state (202) 748-8003. the border and immigration policies are a topic. anna giaritelli as our guest this morning. you mentioned the covid policy we are still operating under at the border that is title 42, correct? guest: at the recommendation of the center of disease control, the cdc, they recommended in march 2020 that the government stop taking migrants who come across the southern border into custody. what that meant, border patrol agent's at the ports of entry where you or i would drive across mexico and back, if they catch someone coming into the country illegally, they can take that person, turn them around it's in the back. it is a very short process, less than an hour. that has not been the norm.

under trump, we were seeing 80-90% of people turned away. i just want to say, since bud and office we have seen 3.6 million people encountered at the southern border. that is more than president obama's eight years in office. that is more than president obama's eight years in office. i have been down to the border 46 trips in the last five years, i have never seen anything like this. that is without being given access inside border patrol, ice and health and human services facilities where unaccompanied children are kept. president biden has not been down to the border once in his five decades in office. it is hard to understand what it is like in less you see it. host: what does the term unique

and counter meanness we talk about these numbers? guest: encounters, they can be someone who crosses illegally across a port of entry or someone who goes to a port of entry and says hey, i am here to get in and they say you don't have a passport or you are from this country so you need a visa, we can't just let you in. those are lumped together. there are far more people crossing illegally then admissible at the port of entry. unique encounters means a person who has tried to get in, and captures a total mean someone who has tried to get in, and that includes multiple times. in the 2000 when mexican men were the primary men coming in cross the border illegally, they would see the same person three or four times a day. we call that recidivism, the number of time someone tries to get in. the same agent can rain -- run under title 42, let's say a mexican woman comes across the

border, she has apprehended by into the same person. border control. they immediately sent her back into mexico and an hour later she goes a mile down the road and tries to cross again and gets caught. that would be to encounters which means that the 3.6 million encounters since biden took office, it does not factor in the 25% of repeat encounters. so someone who has tried multiple times. host: talk about immigration and border policy. anna giaritelli has been covering those issues of the washington examiner. some 45 trips to the border in just the past couple of years. we are here to take your phone calls. we will start on the border, and a border state of new mexico with brian in albuquerque. caller: hey good morning. the reason i'm independent is because both parties are dishonest on the immigration

issue. especially republicans, they like to focus on the border in the out-of-control nature but we never talk about the american employers that break the law and hire all these people. i have worked in construction my whole life and seen all of this firsthand. it is mostly american employers are breaking all kind of task laws but the government never looks at that. another problem, half of the illegal immigrants, to my understanding, come through the airport. what are we doing about people that violate and overstay their visas? we don't even talk about it. if you focus on the border and how it is out of control, yes it is a huge mess. but it is a huge issue, -- the democrats are playing racial politics. we just let a ball in. -- we let them all in. that is the democratic policy.

host: on visa overstates, on that topic? guest: up until the biden, these overstay's made up all of half of the immigration. we don't know how many people are making it across. we only know those who agents apprehend. with visa overstates, we know you were supposed to leave october 1, 2022. what congress has done is that mandated customs and border protection, the folks who work at the airports, seaports, land ports can track you. when you come into the country on a visa. ok anna has arrived it is past october 1, she has not departed. there are all kinds of biometrics, scanning so that the government knows, she has departed, she's good. but with that, it comes down to

ice, immigration and because -- and customs enforcement. they are responsible for arresting and detaining and deporting people. of course, an immigration judge has to sign off on all of that. it is not like i says we will deport you today. you will be detained by eyes, they will facilitate the deportation. the removal, but at the end of the day, ice can actually do their job. they have issued priorities for eyes saying that aggravated felons are priorities, people who are on the terror watch are the priority. millions of people who are unlawfully in the country have nothing to worry about. they are not a priority for the biden administration even though they have been blocked from the courts from implementing that. i says not knocking on over 10 million people stores anytime soon.

they are far understaffed and there is no will. host: to franklin, pennsylvania. this is jim, a republican. caller: good morning. i agree with the first caller, i think one of the biggest problems at the border is the drugs. our southern border with mexico as a failed state. it is run by drug cartels and somebody in this country is making a heck of a lot of money from all the drugs that are coming in. if we look back in history to see what the british did to the chinese with opium, the chinese are using that same tactic in america. it is all over the country. governor abbott have the right idea, someone twisted his arm and made him stop. he started searching every truck that came across the border.

if we started doing that, and started taking away all the business that we send to mexico to be done there, maybe mexico would govern themselves and take care of the cartels. but this cannot go on. this is totally ridiculous. guest: i think jim, i'm glad you brought up drugs on the border. we have seen pounds of drugs seized at the border drop. most people are seeing, there are fewer drugs coming across. the issue is, we used to have one million pounds of marijuana seized every year. now, we are down to less than 200,000 pounds. the big change is that fit no -- fentanyl. it is extremely

powerful. it is not like marijuana where you need a lot to make up profit. tiny bits make a huge profit. what the cartels have transitioned to our synthetic drugs. drugs that they can manufacture and sell from their labs. these are not pharmacist or scientist making the substances. these are desperate people who are desperate enough to be around a very lethal substance and cooked that up. fentanyl specifically being smuggled into the united states and it is not being smuggled with migrants. there has only been two incidences where it's been found on someone illegally. it is all coming through points of entry. california and arizona are seeing the most. the opioid epidemic in this

country, that does not stay at the order. it goes on to denver, seattle, all over the country. it is dispersed like pot has been for the last several decades. when you say coming through ports of entry you mean our trucks and vehicles? guest: i just spoke with the port director in tucson for cdp in the top two spots professional --fentanyl come through. they will tape it to their stomachs, legs and also passenger vehicles. we are not seeing a taunt on commercial trucks. if you can think of a spot in the car to hide it, i have seen it. women are placing fentanyl inside their body as our men. you can imagine where. those are things that officers at the border have to deal with.

when they find someone who admits that they put it up there, they have to take them to the hospital to have it removed. it is extremely dangerous for the carrier, for the right amount of money the cartels can get people to smuggled drugs. they can get teenagers here in austin, go down to the border and drive a pickup truck and smuggle 11 people from the border to san antonio. a 17-year-old, a 17-year-old girl from austin here got roped into smugly people at the border. she died when the vehicle crashed in uvalde. the cartels use people to run drugs and people like it is nothing. they will just hire someone new to do it. the bottom line is to make money and fentanyl is the way to do it.

host: two richmond, virginia, travis, and independent. caller: i did not realize that immigrants could not go back to their own countries. what i am thinking is that for ice and the dea to stop the drug smugglers we cannot support these people over here. they my -- may not have jobs, they may not have entitlements. life will not be better here than where they were originally. guest: thank you travis. with people who come across the border and are released into the country, you do not have to seek asylum to be released into the country. democrats refer to immigrants like that as asylum-seekers. everyone getting bussed to new

york city. they are not necessarily asylum-seekers. they have five-eight years before they have to appear at immigration court. any point they can claim asylum. part of the issue with that, unless you claim asylum. say i cross the border, they released me the next day because i'm from venezuela and they can't get me back there. if i say, i have a credible fear of returning, i am being persecuted for my religious beliefs. that is exactly six months after that date i will get a legal work permit so that i can work at mcdonald's. i can work at marriott hotels anything like that and it is completely legal. unless you seek asylum, you do not have documents to work in the country. what this is doing, we have re-released over one million people in the country under the biden administration. you are setting up people for

failure. you are setting up people to be marginalized, taken advantage of, working under the table. venezuelan women who lost their dog at the border, i helped get her dog back. i kept in touch with her through the bus after that. i facetimed her a couple of months back and she said, i said did you end up applied for asylum? i shared with her organization's i could help her. she said no, i am just working cleaning houses. are you planning on applying for asylum in any point? she said no. she does not see the need because she will be fine. which is startling to hear. but that just goes to show, democrats want to help immigrants but by not letting them work legally during that process you are creating other issues.

host: the words you just mentioned a minute ago are the credible fear of being persecuted for religious beliefs . those are the magic words to automatically trigger this process? is that all you have to say? guest: yeah, the credible fear is step one of the asylum process. when you come to the border, let's say you go to the port of entry are you crossing legally. you can say i have a credible fear of being returned to my home country. and you can say i am scared of being persecuted or whatever. things along those lines will trigger the asylum process. that first step is then for u.s. citizenship and is. another dhs agency should be screening you are border patrol will because they are there and available. they say ok, is this person -- does this person seem like they

have an asylum claim? then you will be released into the country for sure. host: the next color is from littleton, new hampshire, karen and independent. caller: hi good morning, thank you for taking my call. i would like to just out on to what i forgot your name man but you are very intelligent. host: it's anna giaritelli of the washington examiner. caller: you are talking about people trying to claim asylum. i am sure that i heard about two years ago when it all started, they were all coming across with the yellow shirts on that said something like biden said we could come. do you remember what i'm talking about? guest: yes, i remember the picture. caller: it was aired and whether

it was i hate to say the name, it was soros or other people going across the border and telling them exactly what to say in order to be able to cross. have you heard that? they were given instructions as to what to do. guest: i would not blame george soros for this. i have not heard that in any of my -- speaking with migrants, speaking with the anybody. the two major factors why we are seeing such a surge of people now, covid devastated latin america more than any other region of the world. you are having already poor areas of that region desperate to get jobs. to go somewhere safe. when the economy falls in the country, the cartels move in and take advantage of that. let's say there is nowhere to

work, it is awful. the second factor is, the biden administration, a lot of the things that biden administration said they would help immigrants, help legalize people here. put a ban on ice deportations the first 100 days, stop building the wall. i just did a story two weeks ago, immigrants and analysts are saying to me, those are the biggest things. president biden did not have to open the border. it was his messaging and all of those things that people heard. even president trump saying, he is going to open the border. people do not know the difference. if you are in peru and thinking of coming up, you are not sure what it is like in roma, texas, you just show up in cartels will facilitate that. does that answer the question? host: i think we lost that color

but we have carolyn in hyattsville, maryland on the line for republicans. caller: hi, good morning. what better way to destroy a country? i see in my neck of the woods, the migrants are in this country and they are shopping heartily during the day. eating free, hotels which are filled every night paid by the government through my tax dollars. i am just sick of it. the biden administration is a total failure. with the workers coming over here, yes, it is. the managers, most of them are immigrants as well.

they hire their own people, people who look like them. they say that they are seeking asylum, it is so bad in their country. but they are sending money to their country every two weeks or every week that they get paid. what is so bad about their country? host: on the caller's comments, if someone is going through the asylum process in this country, are they entitled to anything, any government benefits as they go through that process? guest: they are not entitled to federal benefits. here's the difference. there are refugees and asylum-seekers. a refugee has sought asylum while still in their home country or before getting to the country they want to go to. oftentimes, they don't get to pick the country.

you never get to pick your country. it is open to a number of them and there are global initiatives in the u.s. government, you might get allowed into the u.s., canada or england, etc.. with asylum-seekers, they show up at the border saying they have a claim. if you are being persecuted for religion, for a number of reasons, those sort of things. your political affiliation which in venezuela is a big thing, those -- that is not a reason for asylum. we are kind of left at that point. one of the things i wanted to add, one of the reasons we are seeing people move throughout the country. this initiative from texas and

arizona and now democrats in el paso are pressing people up to northern cities. it is because the border cities, the border towns cannot handle how many people they are getting. they get 4000, 5000 every single day on the southern border. a town of 30,000 like eagle pass, texas. it just got a starbucks which is the most exciting thing in that town. it cannot handle this. for years, out of 254 counties, the second poorest county in the state. the governor they are in taxes and arizona are trying to lift some of the pressure off of these towns. get people off the streets when they are released and get them to where they are going because nobody is staying at the border. they are all going to other places and if the government is paying for that, fema is reimbursing on the border.

city governments for all the work they are doing, all of the costs involved. to an extent, people have criticized it as facilitating the last part of the human smuggling process and the government is paying for it. host: we just have a few moments left with anna giaritelli. i want to step away from the border specifically and appear to capitol hill in a story you read about what could be happening in the upcoming lame-duck session after the election. senate democrats according 10 republicans to legalize daca. explain what is going on to viewers. guest: it was created in 2012 by president barack obama and it was after years of failed stalks to legalize about 10, 11 million people in the country. they wanted to help children who

came across a border with their parents or by themselves and were brought to the country by no fault of their own and are now living here. they cannot work legally. there is a number of hurdles they have to go through. they could be deported. daca was created by executive action to give them away to work now that they are adults. the biden administration, the trump administration did move to end daca. it is been caught up in the courts. congress has never taken action in the last 10 years of daca being on the books to legalize it. the issue we are seeing in the senate is that they need 60 votes to pass any kind of legislation that would make it

official. it will not be taken out. the republicans have about 50, 55 people who would support that. the idea of a lame-duck session is that after the election, before the new members are sworn in in january, members of congress are not as vulnerable. they don't have an election that they need to worry about appeasing voters. republicans could say they are going to support this without getting hit too hard. host: we will get one more call from asheville, north carolina. sabrina has been waiting on the lines for independence. caller: my thing with immigration, i see a lot of different people. i see people out on the streets with no identification.

i see people that are coming in and they have enough money to sustain them but they have a distinct dislike for american people which concerns me. i don't really like that. second of all, our economic relief packages for 9 trillion for immigration and we are still talking about immigration. we cannot get economic relief to the american people but we can sit and talk about how many people are coming across their borders and we need to pay for their money. but we are not concerned about her own people. it is frustrating. when i go to the mall and they have enough money to sustain them and they are looking might my people like we are nothing, like we are trash. that bothers me. it also bothers me when i see elderly immigrants that have been here for a long time and have not been able to get ids. while process are we looking at

these people to see how they feel about the american people before we let them in our country? that is my question. host: anna giaritelli i'll give you the final few minutes here. guest: there is no government process to consider someone's opinion on america before releasing them into the country are providing them different visas. i think it would be considered discriminating against someone. i think those who are coming to the u.s., the best way to deal with it is through the courts. as for an immigration judge to decide. it is a great place to leave out. there are 500 immigration judges in the country. there are more than 2 million cases pending before them. every year it is like a new

record high of immigration cases and it keeps growing. until the biden administration does something like a promised to reform the asylum process, the surge, the immigration judges, and other folks down to the border like it says, you will not see anything change. you will see the number coming across continue to increase. two years ago, 2.5 years ago we saw the number of people arrested on the border dropped 17,000 a month. we are now seeing 150,000 -240,000 every single month since march 2021. we have not seen this crisis die down. it is been normalize. migrant children are in custody right now down on the southern border. nothing is changed, it's just been normalize. i think that is the point i want to get across to the viewers especially as we head into an

election. i think these will be top issues, especially down here in texas. host: anna giaritelli is a homeland security reporter with the washington examiner. you can find her on twitter. come back again to talk to us down the road. thank you so much for your guest: time. guest:thank you very much. host: at the top of the hour we will be joined by husband and wife team peter baker and susan glasser to discuss their recent book "the divider: trump in the white house." until the top of the hour, it is our open forum. our time of the show where we let you leave the discussion. any public policy or a she wanted talk to. go ahead and start calling it now. we will get your calls, right after the break.

>> c-span provides coverage for election 2022. we have the top moderator moments from past campaign seasons. >> to the people believe that we should tax? we already are. >> most of them are based in texas or oklahoma. we are out of time. we are out of time. what if i tell you guys in the beginning? no booing or hissing. >> governor, your closing remarks. youind the weekly on c-span now, or free mobile app or wherever you get your podcast.

>> this election day, november 8. the power of congress is at stake. will republicans retake the house? can democrats maintain control. find coverage of key house races with candidates events. ents as they happened on tv and the c-span now cap on demand or on our we >> c-span now is a free mobile lab featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up on the events with hearings from the u.s. congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns and more. all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal and find

scheduling information. plus a variety of compelling podcast. now available on the apple store , download it free today. c-span now, your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. >> browser latest collection of apparel, books, home to and accessories. there is something for every c-span fan. shop now, or any time at c-spanshop.org. 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 washington on c-span. powered by cable. "washington journal," continues. host: it is time for our open forum, any public policy issue, state issue. the phone lines are here to do so. for republicans it is (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) 748-8000, independents (202) 748-8002 a look at some of what you can watch later today on the c-span network. including on 10:00 a.m. eastern, the heritage foundation hosting an event with congressman mike gallagher. a conversation about military readiness and threats posed by china, russia and north korea.

at 11:00 a.m., here on c-span. yowatch the georgia's secretary of state debate. the incumbent there brad ratzenberger facing off against a democratic and libertarian challenger. here on c-span.org, anthe free c-span app. the president today set to offer remarkatvents hosted by the democratic national committee. that happening at 12:15 p.m. eastern. at 2:00 p.m. eastern, the assistant attorney general christopher schroeder testifies about the cooperation between the legislative and exited -- executive branch. you can watch that on c-span.org and on the c-span now video out. a full plate of offerings for you here on the c-span network. and now to your phone calls. the time where we let you

guide the conversation. caller: good morning john, it is time for my monthly call. you had a lady on three months ago who said everybody is entitled to their own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts. i thought that was a great statement. i think that hit it on the head. host: that's a famous one in politics. caller: oh really, that's a first time i ever heard it. i wonder why when new stations and journalist are only reporting the truth and the facts against trump lies, he turns around and calls him an enemy of the people and i am oppressed. i want people in the united states to realize, that is a page out of hitler's and stalin's playbook. i don't understand how that can

be when all you are doing truth to the facts of his lies. i did want to address everybody out there who is on social security. if the republicans get control of the house and congress besides all these impeachments, they will try to mess with everybody social security out there. the other group of people i want to address are the strict democrats in our country. the fact that there are more registered democrats than republicans, that is why they are gerrymandering because they know every single democrat came out for every single election they would not have a chance to win another seat. do you have any questions for me? host: that is michael in san diego. we will check in next month. david is a republican in auburn, new york. good morning, you were next. caller: i want to make a comment about the intensity of this particular election. i have been a contributor,

politically, i sent some money. but have never gotten the amount of mailed like i did this time. i am not exaggerating when i tell you, there were two bushel baskets i could not respond to. i put a lot of money into this one, but i cannot believe the amount. it is confusing, it is overwhelming. the amount of mail that you get. and it is everything. host: do you think those mailers make a difference? do you think candidates would spend money on it if it did make a difference? caller: because you get repeats. i am not against that, but it shows that these people are fighting. it is the survival of the fittest of who will win.

this is a landmark or a seachange in your first program this morning was really good. i appreciate the colors in that first segment. they were spot on. i appreciate the girl from the washington examiner. you have a good program going today. host: do you mind if i ask you how much you contributed the cycle since you brought it up? how much money have you given to candidates? caller: i put about $6,000 then. i spread it out. just locals from new york. host: what is the most you've ever given, is it the cycle? caller: yeah, i am very concerned. i think there is a lot at stake here. education, the border, inflation , you name it. it is all there. i think there will be a pretty

big red wave in the house, i don't know about the senate. i think overall, it is interesting. i am looking out a pile of it now, there were only about 16 or 20 solicitations. that's a lot of mail. anyway, i just wanted to throw that out there and i want to see if anybody has the same comment. host: that was david in auburn, new york. my producer del stairs sent me this picture up from the new york times article about daniel patrick moynihan in one of the things he is known for is that famous comment you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts. some political history for you there. samantha, and independent from portland, oregon. caller: good morning.

host: turn down your television it's easier to chat that way. caller: oh, ok. ok hello. host: what's on your mind? caller: i am concerned about the supreme court because i know the republicans worked 40 years to get that supreme court conservative. the thing of it is, even justin robert said that we live in a colored society. i knew they would overturn roe, i was just waiting. i knew they were going to do that. that was not a problem for me but i know that they are trying to gut the section of voting rights. i am at the point now where i

don't vote at all anymore. i don't really care. this country is going to be under authoritarian control anyway. the republicans get back on, they will impeach joe biden about his side and all that stuff. this is what they want. i am just going to sit back and watch it happen. and then, all of these white conservatives and white americans will be up in arms. they put these people in and this is what they get. host: that was samantha and portland, oregon. he mentioned the president. he made news on this topic, they are launching their online portal that will allow individuals with student loans to apply for up to 20,000 in debt forgiveness formally kicking off the program threatened by an array of legal challenges as the wall street journal writes, 5000 people seek relief after the portal

launching. president biden officially kicking it off yesterday. it will forgive up to $10,000 of debt. up to 20,000 that receive pell grants. borrowers who make less than 125,000 a year or less than 250,000 in a household are eligible for that program. anthony and pikesville, maryland, your next. caller: yes, good morning to you. you always have a good show and your guests. i am sorry i missed your last guest. i was unable to get in a comment. i would like to express that now. i also have one thing i'm worried about. the upcoming election in november. about the immigration problem along our southern border. yes, we are all concerned about it. i am thinking we are looking trying to solve that problem the wrong way.

we need to find out why the government in south and central america are failing to support their people and give them the desire to make things happen for them. they are looking for that opportunity like any other individual. there is a lot of space in the western states that people can take advantage of if they wanted to. the resources that they are looking for are in metropolitan areas which makes it very crowded and people get upset about that. that's all i wanted to say about immigration. i want to talk about the november election. looking at georgia being an epicenter of how america will go. that is a good point because if anybody is looking at that, it has to be the republican party. they have some very good candidates and then they have

one or two very blowsy candidates. we are looking to see how the republicans do in georgia. we know the democrats will come out strong, but we are not sure if they will be able to carry the day as they should. we want to see what happens with that, especially with the ballots being treated the way they are by the governor. he has literally had them under his control, or at arms length that we think that will be a great race to watch. also the one in arizona is not going to be a great race. i think republicans have a slamdunk there. unfortunately, the gentleman running for governor in pennsylvania is not well and i don't think he is going to win because people understand what is stroked us to you. it makes them look ineffective as far as a candidate. now his opponent is probably not

qualified is much as he is trying to lead people to believe he is. we will have to wait and see. it will be a great opportunity to see how politics really does work post the trump era. that's all i have to say about that. host: that was antho a pikesville, maryland. you were talking about the georgia governor's race. if you missed it last night, you can watch the debate that we aired, it is still on our website seep span.org. a trio of debates we aired yesterday evening all above -- all available on our campaign webpage. the house comes in for a brief pro forma session. we hope you stick around afterwards. another session of washington journal after they gavel out. we will be talking with peter baker and susan glasser about their boat "the divider: trump in the white house." it came out at the end of september and they

will be here to talk about it and take your calls. stick around after the pro forma session. as we wait for that session to gavel and, this is france, new jersey, republican. caller: good morning john, how are you. host: doing well sir. caller: i've been watching for years and i keep hearing your speakers and listeners they always bring up the word democracy. i am curious to know what their single word would be as a definition for democracy. what does democracy mean to them? it seems that every body is all over the place. for me, the word democracy means liberty. what does liberty mean? freedom, freedom to go by what i want. freedom not to be told by the government i have to buy this.

freedom for me to choose to get something or knock at something. or the freedom to move where i want to move as long as i can pay to live there. i am curious to know what the word democracy means to the average viewer of the show. hopefully, you could do a whole segment on what people believe is democracy. host: cecil and alexander, virginia on the democratic line. caller: in my estimation, they do a very good job gerrymandering and we are faced with the cultural depravity.

no one expressed concerns for the children that are separated from the latino community. i know during slavery, they transported cotton to england, then they sent it to indians. then they paid indians with cocaine and force it into the chinese communities. in addition, we see clearly that businesses are hiring these laborers coming across the border. that is the main source of their labor. couple that with american policies and a lot of these conservative dictators in those countries causing massive chaos. why doesn't the church ever confront the businesses that

depend on that labor? host: this is bill and bryan, ohio, republican. it's open for them. caller: ida question -- i had a question about bob woodward and trump telling him the revelations in 2017 how serious this coronavirus was. he sat on that information for two years. we consider the guy who drove the car to the bank robbery as guilty. if he told us trump was lying, he could've saved a lot of lives. i just wonder what someone might think of that. host: that is something we can ask our next guest. on the line for democrats, good morning. caller: why is united states

letting donald trump run all over the world, and then herschel walker, he don't know no more about being a senator than a public citizen as me. in fact, he doesn't know as much. he laid with all of those women. i am not pleased with all the stuff going on in the united states. so many catastrophes going on here. thank you for talking to me. host: the house about to come in for this pro forma session as we wait for the house to come in. a reminder that we will be joined here after the house comes in by journalists and husband-and-wife team peter baker and susan glasser. a discussion on their book "the divider: trump in the white house." 2017-20 21.

this pro forma session will include a prayer in a pledge of allegiance. there may be one or two members speaking at that time. we will all find out together and see you on the others that pro forma on the house floor.