watch the opening day of the 118th congress on tuesday, january 3, at noon eastern live on c-span and c-span2, on c-span now, our free mobile video at, or online at c-span.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 here or anywhere that matters, america is watching on c-span. powered by cable. host: a recent poll asked

members of republican and democratic parties what changes need to take place within the party of their choice. democrats responded the need for younger leadership and aggressive style virginia for members of the gop, a need a fresh basis with a concern and public and party to re-examine its relationship with former president trump. tell us what you need to change within the party you are in. for independents, how can the parties serve you better? republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. you want to tax us your thoughts on how you would change your political party, you can do so at 202-748-8003. you can post on facebook and twitter and follow the show on instagramming. a recent cnn poll ask people about their party of choice and

the question about what changes they thought it might be needed within the party. here are some of the responses. they say their party only need minor changes or no changes at all. there is a desire for shakeup in the gop. the party needs either major changes or complete reform it. for democratic, similar need for changes or reform in their party. adults younger than 45 to see the need for those changes. among those think it needs major changes 14% saying the party needs to recruit younger candidates and do more to appeal to younger voters. another top percent say the democratic party is not aggressive enough or needs to push harder for change. nine percent say it is insufficiently progressive. a percent say it is to liberal.

7% call out -- the party out of touch. in gop takes those musical under change, 50% thinks they should rethink its relationship with former president trump. some say has become too extreme or too far right. 6% of those republicans set the republican should compromise more. 4% want a party to take a stronger stand against democrats. 5% say more conservative positions. that is this cnn poll asking people on their thoughts on the party and what you would like to see change within the party. you can do so within this hour. give us a call on the lines. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. you can tell us we need to change within the demo -- the party you have.

for independent, how the party can serve you better. you can text us your thoughts at 202-748-8003. responses on facebook, steve saying, they do not need to change anything because being independent is the only way to go. benjamin sank, make it less dependent on corporations and more dependent on individuals. i would like to see mike party get the same support for rural. and, that is some of the responses off of facebook. you can post yours as well. within the party of your choice, what would you like to see change or if you see a need for change in the party.

todd in ohio on the independent line. what do you think about this idea of change in party? caller: what i believe should happen for the better interest in the common good, the democratic party, the republican party, and other parties relatively moving is for there to be an aggressive push, maybe a constitutional amendment, that we have a federally mandated curriculum on civics education. compulsory civics education, taxpayer funded starting at grade three studying government. for the greatest great relay study county. seventh grade and eighth grade with a steady state. ninth grade through 12th grade will be federal government in addition foreign government that influences our government

policy. this will build a better citizen. this will build up citizen that post longer. this will build a citizen that encourages more people to vote and most importantly, it will build a population of people that are more engaged in between votes for the common good of our country. that is the only way. that is the only way for this to happen. they should be pushing for that. host: ok. we are including independence on these calls. if you want to call and talk about the party you find yourself in as an independent or how other parties can best serve you, 202-748-8003. james in republican line. caller: i want to give a shuttle to todd. -- a shout out to todd, just now listening to what he said.

it is so true. it is amazing. as a republican, is there anything you would change about your party? caller: oh, yeah. get rid of all the haters. we got to admit. you got to admit -- host: haters within your own party? caller: yes. host: what do you mean? caller: well, i do not know i would get through. i do not have anything prepared. host: christopher in survey on the independent line.

caller: i am from new york. i would like to see more funding for independent party candidates. specifically for presidential. we do not get the funding we need. all the actual policies that the independent candidates take on are very good, but you cannot compete with the money that is getting thrown at the republican and democrats. host: as an independent do you see yourself more as a libertarian or the green party? where do you stand? caller: libertarian. little bit of both because i like the green party as well.

i am half and half. host: i get that. you are saying more funding. do you think people pay attention to the other parties other than democrats and republicans? if you think not, why and what needs to change? caller: the reason is they do not take -- pay attention to the independent party candidates. everyone is stanched in their political views, whether it is family, your mother is republican or democrat. it seems like everyone is taking on the party of their fathers or mothers or families. that is the way the country is. regardless of the actual policies. even if it does not align at times, but still they think among the same -- taking on the

same political beliefs and i do not know why. host: christopher ask it -- asking the question about your political party. what would you change about the party you align with? host: carry on the democrats line. caller: thank you for your time. i wish we could change all the parties the dark money. citizens united is terrible. that should not have been ok from the supreme court. that is ridiculous. host: do you think it has impacted your party in particular? caller: not really. more so republicans. host: what would you change about it? -- listing to your party. caller: we need to stick to the truth.

people have conspiracies theories as such. there are search engines out there. you have to google something and can find out the election was fine. host: john in ohio on the republican line. caller: good morning. i called the end. will poulter was you using to get things started? host: a cnn poll associated with the polling company. caller: i seen it. very few republicans ever go to see an end for anything. you can tell by his popularity that is down to almost nothing. host: what would you change within your party? caller: get back halfway back to trump. the way he did things was kinda meh but what he got accomplished

was great for yet -- he slowed down junk at the border. he put north korea where they wrong. he did a great thing in the middle east with the of course. that is the best thing that has happened there since carter did the thing with egypt. the republican party, the democratic party is running this thing to the grave with money, money. it is all identity politics. host: when it comes to your party you set a halfway to trump? does that mean adhere to the principles? caller: the style a little bit because he was honest.

he was not a politician. he does not have the politicians rent or tendencies. host: that is john in ohio on the republican line. you can talk about republican party if you think changes are there if you are a member of the republican party. if you are a member of democratic party you can talk about which changes is needed in the party. if you're independent, you can talk about if you belong to a third party and how the parties to serve you better. that is how we are going to go about this hour. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. if you take a look at how partisanship and those issues within party might affect the new congress coming in, another poll takes a look at that.

america setting modest expectations. saying they are less optimistic about the party features say to third of republicans and a 72% of democrats are optimistic about the future of their own party. this is after the 2020 elections. republicans saying they are pessimistic about the gop future. the highest share saying a quarter of democrats are pessimistic about their party's future. higher than both 2018 and 20 lower -- 2020 but lower than a 2016 election. factor in those thoughts of how your -- party could change. host: omar in new york on the independent line, hello. hello? one more time for omar, go

ahead. let's go to leo in massachusetts, democrats line. caller: good morning. all i have to say is, president washington warned us about parties on the way out the door. jefferson and adams immediately disobeyed him. that is where it started. host: what does that mean for the democratic party as you see it? caller: there are limits. -- they are all a mess because they want to battle each other instead of working for the country. both is bad as each other. host: why do you think it is bad? caller: because all they do is

count the money for 11 months, argue, try to up one each other and then end up with a on the bus -- omnibus. congress does not do anything. they just fight because of the parties. host: let's go to robert in virginia on the independent line. caller: good morning, c-span watchers. i would change the people reelecting to each party, democrat and republican. anybody over 65 years old or 70 years old should not be reelected and then we turn around, we put the people and their that do not want to do anything. let's put people in there that want to have some.

host: why is the agent issue? caller: you cannot get a job out there if you're 70 years old so why should we keep electing politicians that are 70 years old? it does not make any sense. they have a different frame of mind. they come from different backgrounds and educational level is different. host: as far as that desire for those who really want to be involved in politics? how do you determine that? caller: look at the guy from iowa. he is 83 years old and look at biden, i lean more to the democrat than i do the republican because all of the republicans that are in the party came from the democratic party back in the day. they are just too old to make

their decisions that should be made for the population as it is now. host: agent factor -- age is a factor for that caller. cnn poll cited high for some of the participants something they would like to see with changes in their party. there are other things you could choose as well. from of you are in washington state saying i would like to see the republicans try to change and become more open-minded on political topics. the could get a broader perspective -- we could get a broader perspective on a given topic. tony, independent saying that he is he needs to stop reelecting our candidates, they control the primaries. they should also pass higher minimum wages and improve health care instead of have helping.

they are becoming more of a corporate on the party. if you member -- may share those stop -- thoughts, you can contribute contacts at -- 202-748-8003. changes you like to see in your political party? calvin, go ahead. caller: thank you for having me on the. i would like to see more education and outreach to the common person on the grassroots level. our country as a constitutional republic, not a democracy. we need to get better messaging at creating a talent from the local level to represent the community. we are losing locality.

we are not getting our best positions to serve the communities. more education on the process to get involved in the political process as well as more messaging to everybody from democrats, independents, and everybody in this country. we are a constitutional republic , not a democracy. more education, more presence. host: democrats line, pall from the united kingdom. caller: happy new year's next few days or so. make sure -- [indiscernible]

host: we continue with the cause, 40 minutes or so. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. if you want to texas your thoughts, you can do that at 202-748-8003. some of you posting on facebook and you can post on twitter. in a recent interview with the new york times, in a podcast, former michigan republican talked about his decision to leave the republican party and declared himself a member of the libertarian party. he did that april 2020. he talked about what happened on capitol hill, leaving the house

freedom caucus, and how it impacted his decisions after that. here is part of that interview. [video clip] >> i did not resign from the freedom caucus. they did have a stern talking with me -- >> i cannot even imagine a stern talking. >> they called me in and they said you are betraying us and they compared it to a marital relationship where i should've kept my mouth shut about certain things. it was an awkward moment, i said, ok. i'm going to step away from this now. this is not the freedom caucus i started. they wanted to describe it as a marriage. we separated, we love each other. what really happened is the house freedom caucus over time forgot why it was formed. it was formed to open up the house of representatives and to

push back a centralized power. instead of her time it became a place to apply -- applaud centralized power interleaving donald trump who are concentrated power within the party and the country. >> it sounds familiar. >> they lost sight of who they were. libertarian party is not at that point. if you asked me which one i feel more comfortable, i feel more comfortable within the libertarian party because i run into libertarians who i do not have to persuade about a whole bunch of points. when i go to the convention, i feel like these are people we disagree on things, most of them disagree on strategy. it is not so much on policy. a lot of what you see is the

strategy-based issue, where they think strategically this is the way to get ahead. i disagree with them. host: if you want to see more of that interview, he did it for the new york times podcast called the argument. you can find it online at the new york time website. you can factor that into where you want to see your party go as far as changes is concerned. the lines on the screen. murray saying as an independent, i say both parties set the radical members adrift. also, the two-party system has two heads of the same monster. we need other viable parties to choose from. @cspanwj is how you reach us on twitter. george on the independent line, go ahead. caller: i am 92 years young and

what i want to talk about is our policy regarding taiwan. not too many weeks ago, nancy pelosi went to taiwan. she was followed by a senate committee that was led by a senator from massachusetts, a democrat. the one china policy is an important policy. i fear any involvement with taiwan at this time would be nothing more than a saber rattling. the one china policy has served us well over the last 25 years. host: in charlotte, north carolina on the democrats line. caller: good morning. i think we need to get rid of the lobbyists. we have too many lobbyists

affecting our country and it is time for the government to shut a lot of them down. host: why is that? caller: they got too much influence on the legislature and too much influence on our president. we got to change that. they are the biggest problem. host: elaborate on that. where have you seen as the says work lobbyists have effective policy, particularly in the democratic party? caller: they have laws where they change them and they come up there and they, you can see the influence and a lot of times it might be what they businesses want, but not the american people. host: ok. barbara from michigan, republican line. caller: i am a republican and i

would like to see mitch mcconnell go bye-bye. a lot of the senators that voted for the bill need to be put on check. i would likei would like to seee within the republican party. i think he did it for negotiation purposes. he wanted to get his vote in one way or the other kind of like to make him seem more powerful within his party. just so people back the vote, kind of like cinema but i do think she is more independent. host: let's go back to mitch mcconnell.

why do you target him as need for change within the party? caller: as far as the elections go, i do not think he supported people fairly. he could have supported people, the fellow running in arizona, and i do not like what he did in alaska. i do not think, since he holds the purse strings, i do not like that. i do not like the fact that he felt there was only two ways you could devote for the bill -- vote for the bill. i would like to see the senate republicans worked as hard as they can with the republicans in the house as well.

i believe you blamed lindsey graham for it. i kind of wish people understood whatever changes you want to make within your own party, lobbyists are not a part of a party. some of these people calling, not my right to tell, but the changes you want to make within your own party. host: ok. bob in washington state, independent line. caller: just a strange, to start with. defection of people from one party to another, in my opinion, they are not satisfied with the goals of the other party. i called to you have a soundbite from republican senator who was

saying congress actually did something and the crazy idea came to my mind that, why don't we have a congress meets one day a week for eight hours and they have to get what they want done in those eight hours? you identify as an independent, how do you think the parties could better that goes you talked about? caller: everything has gotten better -- centralized as far as parties. people were a republican or a democrat or an independent and they are not satisfied with the goals of those parties.

host: how can they improve that as far as helping individuals like yourself meet those goals and desires? caller: if i had a solution, i would be a rich man, but it is a case -- donald trump, i do not want to dump on donald trump, but he got this whole thing going. a party has his goal and if you do not believe in the goal, you should not be a member of the party. host: ok. a half hour done of your calls on what would you change about your political party. we will continue until 8:00. if you want to contribute. if you want to call in and tell us what you think on the phone lines.

republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. you can text us at 202-748-8003. you may want to post on our social media sites. our facebook page open to you at facebook.com/c-span. also on artillery speed -- our twitter speed @cspanwj. saying, democratic rural areas are nonexistence, that should change. also, democratic party should oppose gerrymandering which is nothing more than nick leaving the vote camp -- count. call us and let us know. james in michigan on the democrats line, hello. caller: i would like to see give

less to the military and take better care of our elderly and disabled americans. they are in poverty wages. host: do you think your own party does not focus on that enough caller: no, i do not think they do. host: why do you think that is? caller: i do not think they are important enough to them. these people work all of their lives. they say they can live with dignity, but living in poverty is not having any dignity, at all. host: ok, james there. let's hear from bruce in alabama, republican line. caller: hello. the biggest thing that needs to change is the republican party

at the top -- got to start telling the biggest lies by the democrats do. the biggest to lies in the past election was paperwork student college loans which ended up being a lie to get them to vote. another, the republicans was going to shut our social security. that was the two biggest lies and obama and biden went over the country preaching that's everybody. host: why would you advise the republican party to lie? caller: the democrats do it. we ought do the same. host: what benefit do you think republican party would gain if they started lying as you would advocate for? caller: now we got more control.

that is all the democrats care about, having the power, and impeaching, and light, and light. host: stick with your own party. what would you see changes in your own party? in other news about a member of congress, congress jamie raskin making the announcement that he is being treated for a form of cancer. a press release from his office sank after several days of tests, i have been diagnosed with a serious incurable form of cancer. prognosis for more people in my situation is excellent after performance of treatment, expect to be able to work through this. but i been cautious to reduce unnecessary exposure.

in addition to destroying cancer cells, chemotherapy undermines the body's immune system and causes hair loss, weight gain. although i'm still holding out hope, it goes on from there. changes you need to see within the party? let's hear from south carolina on the independent line. caller: thanks for c-span. i think what i would like to see is some serious discussion on citizens united. the amount of money spent on this past election and previous elections, especially with the democrats who are hypocrites when it comes to their -- there are opposed to simpson united but in this -- citizens united but in georgia they spent three or four times as much and it

made a difference in a close election. i'm concerned about gerrymandering. illinois was obscenely gerrymandered. we do not talk when the democrats do the gerrymandering for you we did straighten it out in pennsylvania and north carolina causing republicans to lose a lot of seats. then in new york was the opposite where the republicans gained because of a fair thing was done to make fairer congressional seats. but illinois you have to look at. only three republicans were elected in their representatives. it is obscene and it should be corrected. host: have your office twitter sank, i would join the gop if they would man up for small

government. a viewer of of text, republicans need to change convenient donor money independent to get money out of politics would make all of the parties better. maybe monday is the issue you take when it comes to how the parties can change. george from tennessee the democrat line. caller: i do not know enough about of the laws of this country, like the previous caller, i do not see why the democratic party do not fight back harder. the other caller talking about the age position, the ages for

different people. my dad was 97 years old when he passed away. no dementia, no nothing, and he passed away from the coal mines but he was sharp as ever. come to joe biden, he stammers and i am sure he did have a problem with stuttering when he was younger, but that has nothing to do with -- you look at his mother, i think gees has a lot more to do with that. host: go back to the democratic party it needs to fight back harder. what do you mean by that? caller: one of the new congress, how are they going to look when they start indicting people? they refused to testify.

how are they going to look? they are not fighting back hard enough, democratic party. host: ok. george talking about the need for more fighting. and in ohio on the republican line. caller: this is for both parties and the continuity of united states of america. how about a real free press that is honest, not bias? i media that holds this administration. the journalist today day in the white house, they do not take any answers to the questions. all of those different channels. host: how does that impact the republican party? caller: honesty along the. our borders are not secure. the media does not cover it.

if the country -- both parties, saw the truth for this country, i know how they would vote. if you do not have a d or r, republicans would win over when the link in every house, senate for the next 50 years, but people blindly both because they listen to what the journalists. host: soma say the republican party has fox news to turn to or conservative media? caller: we bless our own more than anybody.

we ask democrats the, that, none of them do. republicans love to go on msnbc. the guy that married the woman on msnbc, he was never republican. the lies that the media -- fbi it was weaponize. host: mary in new york on the independent line. caller: good morning. we need integrity back in our country. people of color need to be independent. we need to hold our people accountable especially when we only care about power and money and consider candidates. we have to a seachange in this country. the courts are conspiring against the people. people need to pay attention to that.

all politics is local. powerful -- partially vote. -- powerfully vote. host: you said people of color need to move to independent party? caller: absolutely. host: why do you think that is? caller: we have been taken advantage of both ways. everyone talks about the republican party that help with emancipation of slavery and then they got everybody to vote then they abandon african-american issues. they started focusing more on business than the democrats came and said we will take all of those those and have not done right by african-americans ever since. we have got to be the independent powerboat, that is going to make these changes but until we get what we need.

host: is there an independent party that meets all of those needs? caller: the working families party in new york is doing a lot of that, but even they got hijacked. not really focus on the needs of the people like they were from the beginning. we need an independent party. there needs to be a more moved from these parties because democrats and republicans both take advantage of the minority vote. we have to be independent to get what we need in our community. host: mary giver her thoughts on changes as an independent, you can call into. one of the most famous parties which are stories of the year

was kyrsten sinema, the decision of her to move from the democratic party to become an independent in the senate. she was on cnn and talked about the decision why she did that give input about the democratic party. [video clip] >> please say the parties being dragged to the extremes, what have you seen in the democratic party that made you uncomfortable with the direction? >> generally speaking, the national parties are spending a lot of time thinking about how to get one over on the other party. how to win in the next election. how to use talking point or an issue, not to solve a problem or make a difference in people's eyes, but to win a point. that is not what i'm interested in. i think that is what most americans are not interested in either. the movement to highlight how

the other party is better wrong, both parties do this, i find that tiresome and exhausting, counterproductive. it does not help us get to the solution we subjectively need in -- desperately need in our country. host: noun independent of arizona serving in the senate. if you want to see more of that it is available online. lewis in illinois on the democrats line, what would you change about your political party? caller: i wanted to speak about the lobbying. in the 1800, sent funds to d.c. to lobby. people were making lower quality . he changed the law.

another one as amazon, they change laws so they do not make up whatever they want done. they get into the government, change the laws, get it done. look up amazon, routers and how they are invading americans privacy. host: what does it change about the democratic party? is it lobbying or the influence of lobbying? caller: they have to both get rid of it. it is ingrained. host: octavia, republican line in las vegas. caller: good morning. i would like to see the republican party to reach more to the hispanics. actually, to reach more to the grassroots, to the middle class,

especially to the hispanics and the conservatives -- i think that conservative like voice is essential to get the grassroots motivated. host: what kind of message do you think the republican party needs to deliver to these groups you talked about? caller: all they have to do is show them that that the democratic party is a danger. the middle class is having because of the far left.

the solution to that is to get the grassroots motivated and get involved and the lack of conservative voice. host: do you think they do a good job say, about election time, do you think there is more outreach during that time then the rest of the time when there is not an election pending? caller: no. needs to be done right away, not even from election. we need to get involved and start showing the people how much danger the middle class is under the democratic party. i would like to see the republican party to speak to and

get the conservative hispanics and the conservatives blacks to get involved and start because right now, the way things are going we are not going to have middle class in two years. host: ok. news regarding republicans, something you're going to see play out as the new congress is seated next year, it is about the stay of investigation towards the door santos, the new york republican representative elect. he fabricated his history saying federal and -- prosecutors are looking into him after he lied on his resume. pbs newshour confirming they're examining his finances. the district attorney office looking into his admitted

fabrication. defending his representation on fox news, pbs says the attorney office of new york is looking into his finances as you wake of his public admission to a lying raise -- about his resume. you will see that play out, particularly as the congress get seated january 3. be sure to watch c-span on that day. special programming to talk about the 118 congress you can call in and talk about the seated of the new congress. republicans will hold the majority in the house of representatives with democrats holding on for the senate. sharon in maryland, democrats line. caller: good morning. i was calling, what about the democratic party that i'm in? at the do more better and be

stronger -- they have to do more better and be stronger, come across party lines with republicans. republicans have to stop being hateful, people party, and stop this lying to the people. when i cast my vote, i cast my vote for the person who is going to do the right thing for me. i do not want nobody i cast my vote for it to be a lying person. host: since you are a member for the democratic party, what do you mean democrats need to do more to reach across the aisle for republicans? caller: i want them to work on the george floyd bill and of the john lewis bill and voting rights. get rid of the filibuster. that is what i would love to see as an african-american person. i want politicians to start thinking about family, family

values and how we are raising our kids and everything. having these guns out here and killing our kids do not make no sense at all. if we would do the right thing, our country would not be in the chaos it is an now. thank god i carry myself as cap manor with my -- in a manner with my family. my family is doing good. everybody is educated. everybody got good jobs. i do not be with people who got people, hatred thing going on with them. i do not want to be involved. i do not want politicians like that to be calling them representing me. politicians have to represent people more better stop lying and get work done. host: michelle in maine, independent line. caller: good morning. i have been a democrat since

1990, are registered in my high school government class. i just went down yesterday here in maine to change my political affiliation to independent. it maine was interesting, i wasi cannot. i had to be unaffiliated, and i said i want to be independent. but they said i had to be either independent green party or unaffiliated. i thought that was interesting. i would unaffiliated. the last two years were enough that i cannot be a part of the democratic party. crushing the middle class. the stance on abortion was too much for me to take. i am not opposed to it but when people were saying they are proud of the abortion, i said, i have to get out of this party.

that is where i am at. host: as an unaffiliated voter, where do you turn to than as who you will support going forward? caller: i know. she told me, i cannot be a part of the primary, which i do not like that. i want to be a part of the primary process, at the same time i thought i needed to make a stand because of how i was feeling the democrats lost me as a middle-class voter behind. i'm just going to vote for the person i feel is the best candidate. i always voted across party lines. i several -- support janet yellen. i will continue to support her. as far as the national, i will not vote for joe biden.

it is almost impossible to live here. $1200 every six weeks. i cannot support that. host: is your family majority democratic members or a mix? caller: we are split. my dad is a big democrat. he is old school democratic, social justice. he marched with martin luther king jr.. he will never change. he thinks the democrats are still the old democrats. we have had some discussions. my sister is a big democrat. my mom and i are like this does not feel like the place that feels comfortable for us. i think we are on the fence. we do not have a political home to be honest. host: michelle telling her story

out of maine as far as how decisions are concerned. from virginia, republican line, we hear from jennifer. caller: from the day it is signed, give the people amnesty and then cut off for five years. let americans get back on their feet. that would be a party i could continue to vote for. i'm about to change my party. host: tell us a little bit about immigration when it comes to daca, why include these folks? caller: i work with people that have been here. why do you -- they do not have a social security number. you are older than me, what do you do? well, my mom brought me over here from jamaica or somewhere.

it is time for us to let these people live. they are paying taxes, let them live. cut it off and and everybody else has to go back to the front of the line. host: on top of that, you said make changes to the workpieces permitted into the united states? caller: we have too many people out here with the degrees that are at walmart. master's at walmart because they are saying there are so many jobs out here, but if you have student loan bills, run your credit up a try to get to the government, they tell you, you have too much debt for us to hire you. they'll be forced to higher educated people that are american citizens and the ones here. host: we will take one more call

in kansas city, missouri on the democrats line. caller: good morning. i am a proud democrat and have been since i was 18 years old. we need to unite more. the one thing -- to stop nitpicking at our leaders, learn to pick them up. democrats and republicans stand behind each other even if they have a full in front of their ticket. stop bringing a knife to a gunfight. we need to unite in the bills we have, the naacp, the court system. we need to reform the electoral college. one man is not want to vote. something is wrong with that

system. be fair. i will us -- wants us to stop being so extreme. far left versus part right. we are better as united america. we have fought the civil war. as far as immigration, we are a country of immigrants. how can we all of a sudden hate anybody of immigration status? asi want truth to still matter. and accountability. even things we all have in common, host: thank you for those of you participating. it is authors week. we spend one hour with an author with others of varying political perspectives.

our next guest is craig shirley . the author of "april 1945: the hinge of history". johnny is next on -- joining us next on washington journal.

the new 118th congress convenes on tuesday, january 3 at noon eastern for the first time in two years a return to washington as a divided government. democrats retain control of the senate by a slim majority. the new income members are younger with an average age of 43. the congress will also be more diverse including more women of color.

new congress leaders. watch the opening day of the 118th congress tuesday, january 3 at noon eastern live on c-span and c-span2. also on c-span now our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. >> there are a lot of places to get political information. 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 here or anywhere that matters. america is watching on c-span powered by cable. washington journal continues. we are continuing our annual authors week.