owens came back from winning more gold medals in berlin. he once said that hitler's shake his hand but fdr shook his hand. he was upset for obvious reasons. i do not know -- but i do know jesse owens was heartbroken and better that franklin roosevelt acknowledges victory in berlin. host: mr. shirley, thanks for your time. happy new year to you. caller: thank you. happy new year. host: we will turn the question to when it comes to your political party, what would you

change within that political party? republicans, (202) 748-8001. the democrats, (202) 748-8000. if you are a independent, (202) 748-8002. we will take those calls when we return. ♪ >> this holiday week explore the people and events that tell the american story everyday on american history tv. here the 1988 new year's messages about the nature between the soviet union and a possibility of another meeting during the two countries.

at 7:15 p.m. ajay, with her books rosa park, beyond the bus, where she recalls conversations. watch american tv at c-span3 and find a whole schedule on your program guide. >> gordon chang was born in long branch, new jersey and grew up between five miles outside of new york city. he spent almost two decades in

china were he practice international law. in the past 20 years, he appeared regularly in the american media. he was the author of the coming collapse in china in 2021. we discussed with him if he is still sticking by that prediction. both notes -- book notes plus is available on the c-span app or wherever you get your podcasts. the 118 congress is january 3 with many new members swearing in. get to know your representative or senator by reordering your copy of the directory, with the bio and contact information, important information on congressional committee, cabinet.

every purchase helps support our nonprofit operations at c-span shop.org. "washington journal" continues. host: how would you change the political party you belong to. we would like to get your thoughts on this for the remainder of the day. if you are a republican, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independent, (202) 748-8002. if you wish to text as, you can do that at, (202) 748-8003. a recent poll done by cnn talking about people about their parties in the changes they see necessary. the poll says with the democratic parties, accredited

online adults younger than 45 are likelier than those 45 and older to fill the need for those changes. among those who aligned the democratic party needs changes. 14% think the party needs to recruit younger candidates or do something to fuel the young voters. at 12% think the democratic party is not aggressive enough. 9% say it is not progressive. looking at the republicans polls also asked those within the party what they thought, saying 15% should rethink their relationship it has with former president trump. 7%, to extreme. 8% says the party needs to find new faces. 6%, the gop should compromise more.

cnn is where you want to read that. republicans, (202) 748-8001. it democrats, (202) 748-8000. independent, (202) 748-8002. caller: good morning, c-span. i do not like the democratic party after i saw the treatment of other progressives and bernie sanders. it would be nice for the republican party to kind of -- of people that are racist and not trying to move from their views. it would be nice if they were

the ones who are fiscal conservatives. it would be nice if the democrats would be more progressive and more for labor movements. a more for the working class and the middle class. be more progressive so we can move this country in the direction where equality and a people's income, wages, things like that were just better so that we can get the economy where it needs to be and gets americans back to where it needs to be. i really wish we can get to a point where america can come together and unify. as a african-american, i am just done with those bits of racism. more importantly, none without corporation control this entire country. host: you talked about the

treatment of bernie sanders as a point of contention for you. it you mean by that? caller: the way the dnc did a bunch of dirt while he was running against hillary clinton in the primaries. i remember he did a rally in new york and there was no coverage of it. there was like thousands of people there. because of young people being on social media, we can see live what is going on in our phones. there was a complete media blackout. i believe we are being divided purposely so corporations can continue to control this country , economy, wage cap. host: thanks for the call. republican line asking about how you can change your political party. go ahead. caller: i am mostly republican.

i have kind of flirted with independent because of different things with the republican party. i am informed some percent -- progressive ideas in the round of being a republican, i think it has to be fiscally responsible. one thing i think is a problem with both parties, their lack of knowledge to basic economics and fiscal responsibility. the second bush, you know he spoke on compassionate conservatives. with that, even if you look at the immigration crisis, we need more people over here working.

those people who are coming over here willing to work and some of the things with the progress of the democratic party, their heart is in the right place, they want to help everyone and give everyone everything. as my grandma and father in law, they came from small humble beginnings with nothing. they said if we do not work, we do not eat. to some degree, everybody has to have a fire in their belly to get out of bed and do something. when icl of this mental health. if people do not have a purpose, if you can lay around and watch netflix, what is your purpose. the purpose is, i want to feed my family. if you do not have to, you are not going to do it. i would like to see both parties change, so they are looking at things in a balanced way where

they are not looking at being compassionate, but the fiscal response abilities of the realities. host: ok. we will hear from linda. democrats line. caller: i am a lifelong democrat, even though way back when in 1972i was very disillusioned by my party in the governor nixon election. my problem with the democratic party now, basically what you were reading before, i do not believe they are aggressive enough against the republicans. it seems to me the republicans say and do whatever they want with no repercussions. i think we need to vocalize about this. i think we really need to drum

it into people's heads exactly what that party is composed of. i do believe it is a party of liars. other people are people of self interest, that is all they care about. they do not care about the american people. i do think democrats historically have. i think they continue to do that. i think they continue the need of the american people. host: democrats line. you may recall the work of thomas frank wrote a book. it populism, he has a recent piece taking a look at the democratic party. he was saying in the new york times, the 19th of this month

saying the democratic changes were going to gild future majority by implication that nothing missionary or transformative was a part of the. democratic constituent groups seem that they can easily satisfy with no rhetoric. majorities desperately want liberal measures like universal health care and economic clarity . these things are obvious when it is viewed from a certain distance. again, that is author thomas frank. we are asking you about how would you change your political party. you can post on facebook, twitter, sent as a text at, (202) 748-8003. in missouri, independent line.

george. caller: i was a democrat for a long time. these democrats and republicans go in the house and argue with each other and curse each other out. walked out the capital and she said, using the same to republican and democrats hand and hand holding the cards off to each other. she says, they want their constituents. the only time republicans or democrats either constituents, every six years when they vote. after that they never see each other.

there were there for their selves, money, that is all it is. they are going to wind up like russia, north korea, china, somewhere like that. it is ridiculous. i am 75 years old. it used to be the world's leading country. it is getting bad. host: republican line. go ahead. caller: i think the republican party is doing what it should do. it is recruiting conservatives, black, minority candidates. it is an assumption that we are a party of racism. if that were true, how did jack james get elected.

there are several others. if this were true, and we were a party of racism, would these true americans, would they represent their party? if you listen to him talk, articulate, smart. i think what we are doing -- i was on the line because i got caught up. thankfully i got in. host: thanks for calling in. would you think about this george sancho story -- what do you think about this george sancho story? caller: i am sure you can find it throughout the system.

i do not know how he can attend continue. he is a embarrassment. host: david in new york. republican line appeared columbia, south carolina. democrats line. caller: i am a longtime democratic voter for a number of years now. what i would like for my party to continue to do is stand up for integrity for the january 6 committee is doing and pull -- hold our economies for holding up. it we cannot have elected leaders leading without

integrity. how can you legislate and devote of the issues for the people called integrity -- without integrity. it is impossible. we do need to consider our working class, our economy. so people can provide for their families. they need to continue with that. our health care system, need to focus on that. i do think we are in the right direction. they come together and devote and legislate and work together for the people who voted him in office. thank you. [indiscernible speaking] joy in fort lauderdale, florida. caller: thank you for taking my

call. i wish i was as articulate as the last color. i want to comment about linda. i wish i could have said what she said. i took some notes. someone quote about --. i was a democrat for a long time. i changed my affiliation so my phone would stop drinking because i am on a fixed income. what i would like to see the democratic change is to get back for standing up for moral justice, social justice. top down moralism, that is just a messaging problem. social justice is what democratic party stands for and integrity like your last c

aller said. they idea -- the idea of someone bussing migrants. host: i'm going to stop you there. pick the best line that represents you. if you called in the last 30 days, if you can hold off in doing so today. i would suggest that both parties promote term limits, get in work towards your goal, no more career politicians. phone calls go unanswered and orders aren't placed.

i also want the libertarian party watching local and state governments. let's hear from mike in louisiana. republican line. caller: good morning. i got to know quite a few politicians in the area. some of the key players in the republican hierarchy. i think at the grassroots level, we need to put better people in place, people who are more representative of the country as a whole. in my case, i got interested in

the politics of it because of some changes in various providences in our area. and the lack of legitimate time limits by the government. the republican party put the wrong people forward. they do not move aggressively to endorse people who are looking for true good government. i think their fiscal policies are good overall up and down the line. they need to move more towards the middle and show compassion to all people. that is my comment. host: that is mike in louisiana calling on the republican line. it was senator josh hawley who

wrote a piece in the washington post. he writes this, we can start by stoppinghe bleeding, no more talk of grand bargains turbocharging iigrations making us more dependent on foreign adversaries. all of that should be clear enough. it is time for proactive policymaking, no other naon got strong by pursuing staff other people make. taking the shackles off u.s. energy producers, that means new antitrust laws and restoring competition to the marketplace. there is more on the op-ed from josh hawley. it was published on november 18 of this year.

how would you change your political party. we have given you lines to call. pick the one that represents you. matt from dallas, texas. democrats line. hello. caller: good morning. i like this question because there are two things that comes to mind. house leadership. i was one of those democrats for a wild who i respected nancy pelosi, but i was glad to see her finally step down and i understand because she wants to be with her husband. you have new leaders coming in. i think that is one change. senator schumer consider stepping down and letting new democrats take over. the other thing that i consider, we need to reach out to rural voters. republicans who control

redistricting the state has made it very clear, they want to slice and dice all of the emerging suburban and urban counties where we control. the only way you combat that is reaching out to rural voters. one of the reasons, beto o'rourke got so close to ted cruz is because he reached out to world voters about world broadband, health care, i think some of those issues still remain. we as a party, specifically in texas, we need to go out and talk to world voters. host: ok. matt in texas giving us a call. michael. michael in new york. independent line. caller: thank you very much. good morning to all. i would like to see as an independent, i would like to see more viable third parties be able to participate.

what we need is election reform towards ranked choice voting, open primaries, proportional representation through fair districting. that is what i would like to see in the future. this two-party system is too close to. it should be more open. host: you talked about the forward party. what do they establish? caller: the election reforms, open primaries and fair districting. along with that, they are starting to build a party as a

grassroots bottom up as opposed to from top down. going forward, they would be endorsing people from different parties. host: michael in new york. we have done plenty of segments on this program taking a look at third parties and others. if you're interested in viewing those, go to our website at c-span.org. there is a search engine for our video library if you are interested in hearing some of the segments we have done during the year. you can go to our website. republican line, west virginia, this is james, hello.

caller: hello. let me get you off of speaker. why are we having to hire lawyers to get compensated for something? why do we have to hire lawyers? no compensation in sight. host: from bowie, maryland. democrats line. caller: how are you doing today? great job. i am calling in reference to on what this country is built on. it is built on in god we trust. every person who calls never

talks about the whole point of the united states. they lived by one nation under god. host: since you called as far as the democratic party, what needs to change, do you think? caller: focus on good and bad. you cannot have a third party out here. people talking about third parties. caller: [inaudible]

you know, for the first time we have a new attorney general a new secretary of state. a new governor. you have a great day. host: that is ted in arizona. we have 20 odd minutes to have you talk about us on how you can change your political party. it is, (202) 748-8001 republicans. (202) 748-8000, democrats. (202) 748-8002, independents. we will hear it next up from mike. caller: thank you for taking my call. in my opinion we should defund political parties and ban and prohibit them. no matter how good intentions

their representative is, when they find their way to washington, they end up not representing their constituents. i think there is a need to do this. that is to change campaign-finance. when you make a campaign donation, it is for a single donation for a single campaign. any money not spent during the campaign and goes to pay down the national debt. that will deplete parties that are representing themselves and not representing the people. host: mike in florida. this is glenn testing us saying the democratic party -- texting us that a democratic party should have a age limit of 70. dorothy in florida says both parties should be open primarys. it at least that is the way it was when i lived there.

many and most educators are on a professional salary has to spend our money on the classroom. please help by paying a fair wage. this will help with the teacher shortage. steve from twitte saying i would pass the torch to the next generation of leaders. from john in illinois, democrats line. one thing i would change is cost

efficiency. caller: teachers need to get paid more, especially when it comes to health care. our politicians with health care. it than you. [indiscernible speaking] host: tim on the republican line. caller: greed, money, power. we need to get rid of it. they are not helping us. host: you are saying that exist in the republican party as you see it russian mark other

? other sources have reported this. anyone flying into china, the new policy comes amid a surge in covid cases as a new concerning variant could emerge. we will have reporting on that and other stories. let's hear from st. petersburg, florida. independent line. good morning. caller: thanks for what you are doing. the duopoly that we have represented by the democratics and republicans have run their course. we need a new party. we all know what our country is thinking. we are suffering from both democratic and republicans. the patriotic duty is the coalition in the middle and take

the country forward. no need to reach across the aisle because we are standing in it. how could we spend all of the money when more than china and russia and we are the only ones that do not have micro sonic missiles? it is a shame what is happening. we the voters have to take back. we need the leaders to come together and formed a new party to take the country forward. host: dave on the independent line. there was a story shortly after kyrsten sinema announced she will go to independent. he was asked a similar question. he was paraphrasing he will remain in the democratic party. let's hear from robin in jacksonville, alabama. democrats line. caller: thank you.

i think obama, --. host: are you a democrat? caller: no. host: i'm going to stop you right there. anthony in texas. democrats line. caller: democracy, i think it just runs around in both parties. the democrats on one hand, they are election deniers. republicans, they thrive off the deficit.

hypocrisies come on sides need to just stand for something -- hypocrisy, both sides need to stand for something. host: you gave an example of supporting the wrong person. what do you mean by that? caller: i do not understand. host: you said you have to support -- the democratic party has to stop supporting certain people. correct me if i'm wrong. caller: this past election, there were a lot of elections in myers that were running for office. even in the democratic party. because they were like pulling money into certain states to try to get election deniers to run for office. they thought that they were more easily to be defeated. host: yeah.

caller: both parties need to stand up, whether it is going against the party. if it is wrong, it is just wrong. they just need to take a stand and just take a stand. host: anthony in texas calling in. the detroit free press reporting the prime mover in a violent domestic terrorist was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for plotting to kidnap governor gretchen during the heat of the pandemic. 82 35 month or 19 years nash 230 five months or 19 years. cnn highlighting the fact that the january 6 committee is withdrawing its subpoena to former president donald

trump. the select committee can no longer pursue specific information covered by the subpoena. that was the chairman of the committee, who wrote a letter to trump's attorney last wednesday. i notify you he is no longer obligated to comply or produce records in response to said subpoena. political reporting the fact that, the abiding white house launching its major broad site in response to and coming likely to spearhead republicans. oversight demands by congressional republicans will have to be started over. white house special counsel

since the biden administration had no immediate plans to respond to the request. those records were obtained exclusively by political. o. more of that if you want to read it in politico. or a femur minutes left on the topic on how you would change your party -- a few more minutes left on the topic on how you would change your party. caller: i think with james madison, it is literally impossible not to have faction in society with freedom of expression. similar to the man who was talking about gerrymandering in texas in the democratic party reaching out to rural voters. i think that there's a breach in

the social fabric of society in part by misinformation but also can recredit elitism -- democratic elitism. progressive hike yields are popular amongst the american people in our just about messaging. progressivism is more popular in nature. it is about explaining it in a way that is successful and not nash. i think if you can find it what to do that, which the democratic party failed, you can build a broad coalition that -- a huge -- of the electors would be unstoppable. host: richard in arizona. independence line. you are on. caller: hello there.

my thought process, i will keep it simple. remember the old toy the kids have, the top that you had on the floor and the colors went all the way to the top. i can argue both sides on a lot of issues. host: what number one change would you like to see? caller: more critical thinking by everybody. host: richard in arizona. chip in colorado, the democratic party needs to focus on getting our tax rates back to where they were when america was great and strong from 1940 21980. the tax rate on the super wealthy were doubled and tripled. that made america a great country. this is wendi from new jersey

saying, as a lifelong republican i would like the party to take on more moderate thinking. the party could attract those in the middle. democrats line. south carolina. good morning, your next. caller: i would like to say for the democratic party, i would like them to stop taking a knife to a gunfight. we must be as vicious as the republicans have been in the last two years. thank you. host: what do you mean by that? caller: the republicans fight everything that the democrats do. we must stop trying to get along with them because they will never try to work with the democrats to accomplish anything. host: ok. jesse in new mexico. republican line. i am sorry i pushed the wrong button.

jesse in new mexico. caller: good morning. thank you so much. i just wanted to talk a quick second about why i am a republican. i changed because now my stay is entirely blue and we have a close primaries. i wanted to be able to vote in the primaries that were actually happening this year. i was able to vote in the republican primaries. that is why i am a republican. i am a republican, i am also republican pro-life completely. i have a history teacher also. i really think that both parties should be forced to nominate a woman for president. we never had a woman president. i do think it will be a symbolic

change for our students and kids to see in america. i do not think -- i do not think just by having women is great for women. it is about making these parties change. host: what woman would you nominate for the republican party nomination? caller: i like blackburn from tennessee. amy klobuchar is outstanding for the democrats. i think we needed. it appeared we have to force these people to change -- parties to change. host: jesse is in albuquerque, new mexico. calling on a republican line. good morning. caller: i would like to give a shout out to jesse for picking a party. i think that is a part of the problem with people being independent.

they cannot vote in the primaries. can you hear me? host: if i had one thing for the democratic party, with that other lady, not taking a knife to a gunfight. to reach out to the rural people or the truckers, we used to have a station radio station called air america. you know, i guess it was not profitable. if we can get a voice out on air radio or something that they listen to, that is where you can have your talking heads and perhaps get out of the dark money out of politics. host: it is a nuanced question. you do not have to answer it. why do you think air america did not work from the progressive views that they offered on air ?

caller: i do not think we have enough backing. propaganda works. what i have noticed with republicans, it is the loudest voice -- it works. we need to counter it that way. maybe they will be a part of a 50 state strategy. host: humble curfew, new mexico. -- albuquerque, new mexico. independent line. caller: i am a volunteer. i want the parties to promote volunteerism. can you hear me? i am a member of a rotary club. i have been a member of reliance club. many of your people who listen to the show might not be aware of those organizations. we are all volunteers, none of

us gets paid. we are not political. what we do, we get together and raise money and do good deeds in our community. in fact, as a weeklong celebration in september, it is called celebrate community week, september 11 through 17th, there is a resolution at the house -- was introduced in september. we are trying to get all americans to work together. i think that is the answer to our country. volunteered to help people in our community by working together. we are working with the american legion, the veteran of fallen wars. those that matter your political party, this is working together to help people. volunteer. none of us are paid. host: we got your point. let's hear from another independent line caller. greg in florida. hello.

caller: i think what we really need to do is to rewrite the constitution. we are living in the 21st country and distill motoring on the mindset of the 18th century. host: what do you mean by that? caller: the constitution was written in 1787, with all of the policies, a mindset of the 18th century. we are living in the 21st century. for example, what is the qualification for being president -- qualifications for being president? you could not even get a job anywhere without more qualifications than the age. we are talking about the president of the united states. if that was in place, than a person like donald trump could

never run for president. host: bill is in new york on the independent line. go ahead. caller: i am registered -- i would like to see the party get organized on the state level. further your greens, i would like to see them risk a contact person for every county in new york state so we can better work to get back on the ballot again. thank you. host: what would you recommend people? let's go to one more call. this is surely in chicago. -- shirley in chicago. caller: all of our politicians should be working for all of the people, not just the people that they believe will bring them the most votes.

crime is getting a all-time high. i have never seen it so bad. christmas eve, our vehicle got stolen in front of our house. my husband is a senior, i am a senior. this is terrible. these criminals are getting more and more involved. they feel like they can do anything because they have this new no cash bail law coming. it is going to get worse. it is meant to be like the wild west. i am afraid. this is bad. host: before we end the program, a few words of a colleague of ours, if you watch this program for a wild, you may remember he was a host of it as well as others. over 1400 appearances that he made in our network. he was a driving force and it

had a dedication. he was remembered as a kind, nice and decent human being. from his family to our family, our deepest condolences. that is from our -- that is it for our program today. another addition of "washington journal" comes tomorrow morning. we will see you then. ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: this week, watch washington journal's author series featuring live segments each morning with any writer. coming up friday morning, the former assistant secretary for homeland security under

president barack obama, julia k., shares her book, "the devil never sleeps." watch friday morning starting at 7 a.m. eastern for our special authors week series on c-span or c-span now, our free mobile video app. ♪ announcer: the new 118th congress convenes on tuesday for the first time in two years, they will return to washington as a divided government, republicans control the house of representatives while democrats regain control of the senate by a slim majority, the new incoming members are younger with an average age of 47 compared to the average age of 58 in the previous session. also more diverse with a record number of women serving.

follow the process as the 118th congress gavels into session. new congress, new 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. ♪ announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> oh, you think this is just a community center? no, it's way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1,000 community centers to create wi-fi enabled listings so students of low income families, can have the tools they need to get them ready for anything. announcer: comcast supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. ♪ announcer: