♪ buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public service, along with tse other television providers, giving you a front w seat to democracy. ♪ >> this morning, on washington journal, we will start with headlines and take the viewer calls. then clarence page and cal thomas discussing the year headed -- ahead in congress. call us come a or engage on facebook and tweets. host: it is the "washington journal" for the first day of 2023. in this hour, we want to get your view of the year ahead in politics. some of you in the audience

might take a more optimistic approach when it comes to that view, especially as republicans take over the house of representatives this week. however, some might view that same event pessimistically, especially as it could impact president biden's agenda the next two years. we invite to you call and tell us why in this first hour. if you take an optimistic view of the year ahead in washington, 202-748-8000 is the number toe call and tell us why. perhaps you take a more pessimistic view, 202-748-8001. again, call that number and tell us why. if you want to text us, it's 202-748-8003. post on our facebook page, facebook.com/cspan. our twitter feed is @cspanwj. also follow the show on instagram. a couple of columns in most recent days taking a look at washington, various perspectives when it looks at a view of

washington, whether optimistically or pessimistically. one of those views is mckenna, writing in the 24, two major shifts in american politics vindicated the americans who still have faith in the democratic process. on that day, congress passed the most significant federal restrictions on guns in 28 on that same day, the s court in dobbs versus jackson's women'sh organization oved roe v. wade. there's a lesson from this single day, movement of committed citizens can still change this country's laws. americans can still bring abou change. evidence is mounting that americans are giving up on their ability to affect political change through democratic means if faith in the democratic process continues to decline, we should expect american politics to become more unstable in 2023. again, that's just one view from hillsdale college's thomas mckenna. find it in the "washington journal." here's another perspective from

bloomberg. inent days about the governntwrites this, the federal government is said to hit its borrowing limit sometime next year. a failure by ngss to raise the debt ceiling as it periodically does would cause the federal government t default, an event many economistsayould spark an immediaterisis in financial maet it could really happen, with republicans taking contl the house of representatives, g.o.p. is talking tough about using the need to increase the limits of force policy chans. the real problem isn't a tential bargaining break down, it's that a lot of house republicans won't vote for it regardless of circumstances. indeed, those republicans might be indeclined to punish any g.o.p. house speaker who brings that measure to the floor. again, those are the two perspectives. take a look at that and consider those as you tell us about your view of washington for the next year optimistically or pessimistically. again, optimistically,

202-748-8000. if you take a more pessimistic view, call us at 202-748-8001. one other perspective, this from "the washington post," take a look at the senate majority. he writes this saying forget about senator sinema's paperwork departure from the democratic party, the party senate majority secured by some kind of gravity to find political discoursery is a source of hope for toe 23. sure, the incoming republican house majority with the weak speaker promises to be quicksand in the road of governance, but the senate will continue confirming federal judges, will balance off the cadre of conservatives installed in the trump years. they'll be the front line in defending our democracy, the constitutional rights that make us a beacon for the world. again, jonathan capehart writing in the washington post. some of you posting on our facebook page this morning when it comes to their views that you

take. this is charles mcdonaldson saying to expect much of the same, looking at 2023. washington, d.c., he adds, the putrid swamp. one says i expect biden to keep getting things done. i expect republicans to keep trying to give millionaires more tax breaks. mary alice adds, when it comes to immigration, she believes immigration reform will be passed in 2023. and there's a pessimistic view, the republicans are so divided in the house, how in the heck can they do things to help the american people. republicans can't even agree on who is speaker of the house. again, republicans will take control of the house on january 3. that speaker debate still up for debate. you can see it play out and join us on that morning to get special programming five hours devoted to the start of the 118th congress. do you take a optimistic or pessimistic view? this is michael in woodbridge, virginia, on our pessimistic

line. michael, thanks for calling. happy new year. go ahead. caller: happy new year. thank you. i don't expect much to get accomplished because the one party controls the senate and the other controls the house of representatives. i see a lot of obstruction and, you know, it will just take a handful of politicians to settle any kind of progress. i don't see the two parties working together, and i don't see anything other than investigations, which is going to bring to light a lot of ugliness that's been hidden for so long. so just be revelations of the malfeasance that has been going on and no positive legislation done, and it's going to be, you know, just fight after fight.

and, you know, not professional or remarkable conduct on behalf of the politicians. it will just be a lot of mudslinging. and then with the closer dates to the primaries for the presidential election, there will be a lot of posturing by people that want to be a candidate. so yeah, i think it's just going to be another bad year, you know, and so it's going to take getting past this year and having one party in control to get things moving forward, so it's going to be another year of just ugliness. host: gotcha. clearwater, florida, next on our optimistic line. robert, happy new year to you as well. caller: happy new year to you as

well. i'm optimistic. prices sky high in food market right now, and everything is terrible out there right now. host: if you take a look at those prices and say they're terrible, what leads to your optimism then? caller: well, people coming from over the border, people left and right, and the president then mrs. harris doesn't even want by the border and shut that down. we don't know who's coming over here. it's probably terrorists coming over, and this war is cost ago lot of money, and there's no way of stopping it. that guy is crazy. he doesn't know what he's going to do, putin, going after kids and stuff and blowing buildings down. it's just ridiculous. host: for all that being said, what leads to your optimism then, since you called in on our line for optimism? caller: optimistic is just the way the country is headed.

that's how i mean by that. that's it. host: ok. robert there in clearwater, florida. the polling company took a look at some of the things for 2023. you can factor these in, especially in the realm of politics. but they also took a look at the economy. these are people being asked if they're likely or unlikely for a variety of things to see prices in the country increase faster than people's income, 79% said that. 75% said inflation in the country will be higher in 2023. 74% said interest rates will be higher. 60% saying unemployment will be high they are year. major stock markets around the world will crash, 50% saying that. 46% saying my country will need to be bailed out with emergency funding from the international monetary fund. that's the up psos pelicans. you can factor matters of the economy in in the world of politics as well on our

pessimistic line. this is washington, d.c., good morning. caller: good morning. happy new year to you. very pessimistic, and that's kind of an understatement. first of all, i think it's pretty ignorant for anyone to think we do have open borders. in the southern united states. there are no open borders, democrats, republicans, nobody wants that. here's the thing. very disappointed that the republican party is going to be given a chance to run the house of representatives. we have, the whole party, two impeachments, they did not convict. anyway, that's a long story. we've all heard that. 2023, i don't believe kevin

mccarthy, he is not -- and neither is-- you look at jordan, you look at lindsey graham. i mean, i don't know why, to be honest with you. the united states attorney, merrick garland, has not charged these people. any other american that has done the crimes, and they are crimes the republican party has done, they should be in prison, and they're not. we have a little bit of light time, and i truly believe in the constitution, in the rule of law, that merrick farland is going to step up the department of justice and charge these republicans. i mean, can you imagine? at worst, they are traitors. at minimum, dereliction of duty to the united states of america.

host: ok. that's d.j. calling in. this is a viewer off of twitter who says i'm optimistic by nature, however, when it comes to our representatives of government, i'm realistic, which means pessimistic about their ability to curb inflation, matters at the border, etc. tweet us, @cspanwj. you can also text us, 202-748-8003. again, on this idea of whether you're optimistic or pessimistic about the year ahead in washington, factor in a lot of things, which callers have already brought to the table, so to speak. illinois in rockford, this is mike on our pessimistic line, go ahead. >> good morning, yeah, a little pessimistic. if it was anything like last year when we had what i call the email journalism or journalism by cubicle, we had rent-a-general. we had rent-a-preacher. so hopefully we can turn things

around from that. if the fed would stop hiking the interest rates to slow the economy down would be nice. if washington, d.c. would stop doing false flags where he shot a missile to try to blame it on russia to start a world war, that would be nice. i think a lot of corruption that's in that building behind you would be taken out with one simple fix. campaign accounts that our politicians retire with, why is that not going back toot states on origination to help the states in the next candidate? why are those politicians making money representing the states, then retiring with all the profits instead of sending it back to the states? happy new years, everybody. host: this is from mlb off of our twitter feed, saying that i'm optimistic that "saturday night live" is going to have a very good year. april is up next.

april in illinois, also calling in on lines for pessimists. go ahead. caller: no, i'm optimistic. i'm not pessimistic. host: sorry about that. saw the wrong line. but yeah, go ahead. caller: yeah, i think people are getting really confused about what those two words mean, really. i have no word what "saturday night live" has to do with anything. but i'm optimistic. at least we have the house. it's all not just one-sided, judicial legislative, and the executive on one side. fence. so there's a little bit of wiggle room to fight back a little bit, because that's been going on, and the people calling in saying things like trump should be in jail, you know what, we got the house, so we can impeach people too. the senate may not, but the

house can. and they did it to trump twice. host: you talked about the republican taking over. do you have any thoughts on house speaker? that seems to be a point of debate, whether it's kevin mccarthy or somebody else. do you have any thoughts on that? caller: i like mccarthy. from what i understand, there's only five people arguing he should be. i don't know why that's newsworthy, because it wouldn't be in any other situation. he'll just get voted in, and that will be that. host: that's april there from rock island, illinois, calling in on a line for those who view the year ahead optimistically, or in this case, optimistically. some of you expressing some pessimistic views. again, call us on the line, if you say it's optimistically, 202-748-8000. you say it's pessimistic, 202-748-8001.

from the sunday opinion column here in "the washington post," when it comes to the year ahead, jennifer rubin takes a look at the justice department saying it's one who raised the alarm that the justice department was unduly cautious in pursuing former president trump, i'm increasingly hopeful, confident even, that those fears were misplaced. the justice department and attorney general merrick garland vowed to follow the facts of the law. we have every reason to expect the man who launched a big lie and incited a mob and made off with top-secret indictments will face criminal indictments in 2023. accountability is a critical component for democracy, and as the justice department pursues former president trump, we are seeing guard rails of democracy and the rule of law established. again, that's from 15 reasons you should be hopeful for 2023 from various "washington post" columnists making those points. in illinois, scott is next, pessimistic line, go ahead.

caller: hello, can you hear me? host: yes, go ahead. caller: happy new year to the country. let's have a better year. i'm pessimistic. i think people are going to look at the big problem, and i believe it's china and russia in cahoots with each other right now. i think this year china is going in to take taiwan, and i think russia is going to keep the eastern side of ukraine. i really don't know what congress and president biden will do. it's a scary situation. we have to take care of our domestic problems, but i think the world problem is the major thing of this whole world. host: if those things happen, what impact particularly for the united states do you think it has? caller: i don't think we can afford that to put in. i don't think biden would put in troops, but i don't think we can create a military complex for

the rest of the world. and as you see china already has bigger navy than us. they're amassing millions of soldiers on the border. it's only 80 miles to taiwan. i believe that they're not even going to fighting irish a shot because they don't want to ruin the infrastructure of taiwan. they want the monetary, and the problem is when china walks in to taiwan, they're going to tell the people you do what we say now, and if you don't do, they're going to exterminate them. of course the people don't want to lie, they'll say ok, we'll go with you, china. the u.s. does not have the firepower with china becoming buddy with putin now, and then you got north korea. he's going nuts. when trump was president, he went over the line, and that goof ball in north korea he stopped firing the missiles for three, four years. as soon as biden got in, look what he's doing. it's a fireworks show over

japan. these are just starts of everything. but it only takes one accident to create a world war. and we can't even handle ukraine. and how many more billions of dollars are they going to give ukraine? this is what i think is a major problem for the world. host: ok, scott there in illinois, let's hear from reid in virginia on our line for those who are optimistic about 2023 in politics. caller: what i'm calling about to say is america is never going to change. this is what i'm saying is only for blacks, democrats, and the black christians. america is never going to change. jesus is black. god is black. host: and what does that mean for politics? caller: yeah, god's people, the israelites, the chosen people, give me two minutes. god's people are the israelites, the chosen people. you black people, so-called black people in america -- host: ok, caller, only stick to

the topic. we're asking about why you're optimistic about politics. why is that? caller: that's what's wrong with america. they're never going to be anything done for black people in america, so y'all black people need to wake up and smell the coffee. they're never going to pass anything for y'all. y'all need to quit voting and quit doing all this stuff and get out of the ways of america. america was never set up for black people. host: louis on our optimistic line. caller: hello. i'm optimistic that they'll have trump in jail, because that's where he deserves to be, just like any other american. that's about all i have to say. host: why is that on the top of your list? caller: because there are so many people that, i don't know, just so many people in jail that

shouldn't be in jail for one thing, and there's so many people that's done a small crime that's doing years, and then there he is running the streets. and there's so many people if i got picked up for a traffic violation, like d.u.i. or something, i'd be in jail right now waiting any trial. and there he is out running the streets. when he committed numerous crimes, and&i mean big-time crimes, not little crimes. he created a bunch of crimes. that's all i have to say. host: that's loonies ohio. we'll continue on with these calls. call the line that best represents you. in the last couple of weeks c-span has had the opportunity to speak with members of congress, particularly those who are leaving congress, retiring or moving on to do other things, to get their perspectives, not only are their tenure, but what they think they accomplished. one of the interviews we did was

with oregon democrat peter defazio. he talked about his time on the transportation and infrastructure committee, chairing that committee. he also spoke about what he learned about bipartisanship on the committee and his concerns about the committee's future. >> once i was trying to ban smoking on airplanes in this committee. i had the votes. we were in the majority. and i was pretty junior. and going exactly as i predicted, but there's this guy sitting two seats after me. and we get to him, and he votes no. and i go, jimmy? he's like, things changed. this note comes down, and i get this little note, i hope it made it into my archives, the problem is he thinks this place is on the level. and so i've learned sometimes it's on the level, sometimes it's not. i've always tried to deal with people honestly, forthright.

republicans sometimes find me difficult to deal with, but they respect me, because it's based in -- i've got a point. i'm based in what i deeply believe in and what i think needs to be done. i managed to work pretty well on a bipartisan basis. the only big fight we had in this committee since i've been chairman is over climate change and my transportation bill. we passed a water resources bill. we got the harbor maintenance trust fund unlocked. we've done other major pieces of legislation, coast guard bill and that. i mean, this has been traditionally a nonpartisan committee, but unfortunately now because things have become more polarized, we do have some of the you will can a radicals on the committee, and i'm hoping that they can continue the

tradition. he's going to need democratic votes to get anything done, because he's got six or seven republicans who won't vote for anything no matter what. host: again, representative peter defazio leaving congress, giving his thoughts. if you want to see those and other interviews, go to our website to get those leaving thoughts of some members of congress. optimistic or pessimistic about the year ahead in washington? malik in west virginia, our line for those who are pessimistic. good morning. caller: normally i'm optimistic, but nothing has changed. the status quo is still in place. you have looking out for the welfare of the emergency, and i'm going tock back to what the gentleman talks about. hey, china was doing its own business when we went there in

the 1970's. korean sales, that's why we were there, coming back here, get people decent jobs, and i'm also going to piggyback on what the young man was talking about when he was saying the situation with black people. black men are the most underrated people in this country, so that means they are arrested without cause more than any other people in this country. thank you very much. host: phillip is next, on our line for those who are optimistic. hello. caller: hello. i'm a little bit of both. i'm pessimistic about the united states government, because they want to change the law so that the conservatives and republicans want to have their way in congress. and unfortunately, when they do that, it may change the

effectiveness of government. it may not be much to be effectively passed for the people in the united states. however, i do know that the rule of law in congress and in the constitution, there's activities to do in the congress. i am kind of pessimistic about the world governments, about the world. because they look at us and see how divided we are in our activities towards the way they treat their own citizens. of course, we're supposed to keep our hands out of this. but my god, they're really tearing things up over there, and we have a lot of people want to come over here to be safe with that, and we're supposed to be a safe nation for everyone. unfortunately? people think the rule of law is this, if they're legal, you can't stay in.

come on. we're supposed to be a country that's open to everyone. i'm african-american. my son has been here ever since the founding of this country, but the thing is, some people think that we're invaders, come on, this whole nation is a nation of immigrants. the only people who are natural citizens of the united states are the native americans. they treat them worse than anybody else on this planet. and the chinese, i don't know. they can challenge this if they want to. host: ok. let's hear from kenny in north carolina, pessimistic line. caller: yes. four points pretty: there's a lot more, but i won't be able to cover that. some of my fears is liz cheney's head. we've just put the putin side of congress in the leadership in the house.

the democrats don't even say we put mccartney and gordon on the january 6. why? because you don't put people on the investigative body who are going to be subpoenaed. but democrats don't come out and say that. next thing, inflation, yeah, price gouging. it's globalization, and because we ended our 20-year war that we were making lots of money off of, both sides were taking the money, but then they threw down their guns and ran. globalization is part of that, but it's the multinational corporations and the banks worldwide are now deciding what level the rest of us are going to live on.

host: ok. that's kenny there in north carolina. let's hear from sasha in ocean grove, new jersey, on our line for those who are optimistic about the year ahead in politics. go ahead. caller: happy new year. i am an american optimistic. in science, they've discovered a meth of fusion that is safe and will provide energy in the future, which is wonderful. in politics, i am optimistic because joe biden is our president. what has he done? he has taken something they kicked down the road for a long time, which is infrastructure, and he's actually dealt with it. also, he has lowered, under his direction, lowered the cost of medicines including insulin for the elderly. also, the people on social security have an income raised

this year. there's a lot of optimism on what we americans can do when we work together. host: this is jodie from facebook saying i have to be optimistic, less than a year ago, i'm planting my garden for this spring. only sore losers will be pessimistic. complaining is easy, but solutions have to come with compromise. both my trump-endorsed senators signed onto the president's budget bill. that's optimistic. steve in tucson, arizona, texted saying he's pessimistic. republicans remain obstructionist, remain so since obama was elected. now they're also the most disorganized they've been in my lifetime. he has the trump campaign into the mix, and we have pure chaos. texting us, 202-748-8003. we've been going about this idea about whether you're optimistic or pessimistic.

text us, post on facebook or twitter. if you want to call us saying if you're optimistic about the year ahead, 202-748-8000 is the line that you choose. and if you're pessimistic, 202-748-8001. pick that number and tell us why too. again, scott in kansas on our line for those who are optimistic, you're next up, go ahead. caller: good morning, pedro, and happy new year to everyone. i'm basically optimistic. i kind of feel like the fed is doing a pretty good job in the sense that i think we're going to have a soft landing and not necessarily go through a recession. when farmers do well, the rest of the nation does too. the last two years have been good for the commodity prices. asset values to both land and machinery. i do think it's a global issue

that is difficult to overcome. but i think with the situation of europe and the world and global climate change, i think we're starting to recognize these problems and hopefully have more practical solutions to work on. it's cautiously optimistic, but the numbers that are out there are pretty good right now, and there are a lot of people that think this is going to level out. we won't have great growth because of the labor problem, and hopefully we'll see some immigration reform, because there is a labor shortage in the country, and not all the people coming over here are bad people, they just want to work. that's about it. host: scott there in kansas, giving us another perspective when it comes to his optimism about the year in politics. cleveland, ohio, is next, where

loretta is also, also on our line for opt mists. caller: hi, pedro. how are you? host: i'm well, thank you. caller: happy new year to everyone. my voice is really gone because i watched the ohio state game last night. yeah, i sound like scratch paper or something. i'm optimistic. i'm optimistic that the american people are going to wake up. i think that the recommend people that have been duped by trump, they are going to wake up. and a little tidbit that i have for them so that they can begin to wake up is to think back to the 2022 midterms and those

issues the republicans ran on. what do they do? they ran on inflation. they ran on crime. they ran on gas prices. they ran on all of the things that are not even in biden's control. that's how ignorant the people are. biden don't control the gas. biden don't control the grocery store. and so i'm optimistic that the republican voters are going to wake up and realize that the border is not their issue. everyone that's here came from somewhere. what gives republicans the right to say who can come and who can't? that's not even their job. host: ok, loretta, there in

ohio, giving us a call a day after watching the game. thanks for the call. this is jim saying i certainly don't expect 2023 to be one, and that's ok with me. congress can go home for two years and campaign for 2024. frank in bend, oregon, saying he's pessimistic. i'm not sure how much more president biden and the democrats can do to harm the american working class, but it seems like they can continue to destroy us on multiple levels. on our line for those who are pessimistic, bill in florida. bill, go ahead, you're next up. caller: yes, very pessimistic what's going on in washington t. seems like neither party can work with each other. we have a crisis at the border. we're let ago lot of people in here that have no kind of training or anything else. instead of doing that, why don't we go down to nicaragua and take out the dictators so people will not run away from their own

country? also, everyone says it's not the democrats' fault. well, since joe biden's been in, gasoline has gone up. groceries have tripled. taxes are going up. everything is going up in this country. and it's not democrats' fault. this didn't happen under trump. let's remember that. this did not happen under trump. not that he's the greatest in the world. he's not. but at least there was control at the border. there's no control any more. we need term limitations. that's number one. we need term limitations, and all people that work for the government should have to show their taxes. thank you very much. host: florida there, mix of congress on this new year's day, giving their thoughts as well. senator raphael warnock saying happy new year, georgia, thank you for an amazing year, and i look forward to continuing to fight for our state in 2023 and beyond. i pray each of you continues to keep the faith and keep looking

up. another georgian, marjorie taylor greene, happy new year, may god bless each of you and may god bless america. benny thompson, was the chair of the january 6 select committee, saying happy new year, may 2023 bring you more happiness, success, love and blessings. kirstin sinema, last year switching over to the independent party, saying happy new year, it's the honor of a lifetime to serve as arizona's senior senator. arizona and every corner of our state has my firm commitment to lead on the issues that matter most to everyday families. looking forward to deliver results for arizona in the new year. that's just some of the reduction from members of congress on this new year's day. some of you expressing both optimism and pessimism. this is kyle in new mexico on our line for those pessimistic about the year ahead.

hello. caller: yeah, thanks, pedro and c-span. the binary of it, i didn't know whether to call on the optimistic or pessimistic line. i'm kind of stuck in between. overall, i think that the biggest news story i'm optimistic about is medicine, and i hope that in optimism that a lot of people can focus on medicine and how we can heal see the best for each other in this coming year. and the pessimism, i think we all understand those concerns, too. but pedro, i appreciate you guys.

somebody once told me, funny anecdote. the optimist sees the glass half full. the mess mix half empty. and the pragmatist says we're going to need more water. host: got the point. the call there in new mexico, thanks for calling in. he talked about medicine. "the washington post" has their columnist talking about this year ahead. medicine, at least advances in medical treatments, one of those categories by columnist gary abernathy. millions of americans either deal with major illnesses or loved ones waging battles against chronic or life-threatening conditions. in recent years, especially through 2022, it's been striking how many diseases and conditions scientists find themselves on the verge of conquering. according to reports, scientists many types of cancers and heart conditions and more, when it

comes to modern medicine there's reap to hope that 2023 will be the year of miracles. factor those in the political realm if you wish or pick your own for the remaining time we have, about 20 minutes or so there. tom in phoenix, arizona, on our line for those who are optimistic. good morning, you're next. caller: good morning, pedro, thank you. i'm very optimistic. now that we made the venture into socialism we should all embrace it and move forward with the joe-bama agenda. god bless america. host: what do you mean by that? caller hung up. this is randy in michigan. hello. go ahead. caller: yeah, i am optimistic. here in michigan, we legalized marijuana. wisconsin, they made it illegal, and all the republicans voted it

down. governor evers run on legalizing marijuana, and republicans there put forth a bill that you can't get marijuana through their legislature, no way, no how, unless at least 75% of their majority passes it. with all the democrats here in michigan are going to do now is everybody, the only way marijuana is worth now is if it goes to states that are legal. all the democrats here in michigan are going to do, they set up smoke shops right along the wisconsin border. marijuana here, it's not worth no more than a tomato. you can get it for free here. but you go into wisconsin, it's worth $200 an ounce. across the border, now what we're going to do, every single republican that comes here to buy our marijuana, take it back to wisconsin and sell it, turn them in at the border. come on to wisconsin. we're loving it. host: that's and think in

michigan. the news nation website talks about what new laws will come into place because of january 1 with drug laws being part of that. they start with minimum wage. saying amid no changes, several states will raise their minimum wages. the federal rate in the u.s. is $7.25. that hasn't changed since 2009. of the states that increase minimum wages in 2023, montana will see the lowest rate at $9.95 an hour. washington state is the highest at $15.74. michigan and ohio will raise theirs to $10.10 an hour. california, connecticut, massachusetts, washington, and new york will all bump theirs to $15 an hour or more. when it comes to drug laws, six states are set to legalize recreational marijuana in 2023 or put it up for a vote. this does not include new york, which made recreation sales legal thursday. connecticut, maryland and missouri will roll out the rules and regulations for adults over

21. voters in maryland and missouri, which currently offer medical marijuana to adults, pass los angeles measures in november that approved the change. read more about laws that come into effect, do so at the news nation website. we have about 15 minutes left if you want to call and let us know what you think about the year in politics, whether you view it optimistic or pessimistically. 202-748-8000 for democrats, sorry, for those who view it optimistically. 202-748-8001 if you take a more pessimistic view. while you're waiting, one of those retiring member interviews that we had a chance to do was with outgoing congressman, senator from ohio, republican rob portman. he talked about his time in congress, talked about bipartisanship, and also talked about the political process that he sees as a help and a hindrance. here's some of his thoughts. >> doesn't mean we agree on everything. in fact, there's spirited debate

over pretty much every issue around here, you know? but the question is, at the end of the spirited debate, do we try to find the common ground to move the country forward or stay in our corners and continue the partisan fight. on issues like immigration, the southern border, perhaps the best example this year, as we have more and more people flowing across the border in record numbers, more and more drugs coming in, it's very easy for both sides to take a partisan position and not to focus on finding that common ground and solving the problem. and the country suffers as a result, including my own state of ohio, because we have not just illegal immigrants coming in, but a lot of fentanyl, which is the synthetic opioid streaming across the southern border and killing more people in ohio than any other drug. it's important that those who do want to find that elusive common ground, do want to deliver for their constituents and the country, are rewarded in the political system.

one of my fears is that when you try to find the middle ground, try to make progress, sometimes up don't get the reward you would get if you were sticking to your position and throwing out the red meat on the right or left. both in terms of fundraising and politically. that's the question we have for the country, how in this era of social media, where everything happens so fast and you can get taken into the rabbit hole, on the right or left so easily, in the era of broadcast cable tv, where the ratings seem to be based on controversy, not on substance, or trying to find solutions, how do you get back to a place where those who are trying to find that common ground and who are actually accomplishing things are

rewarded? host: again, more of that interview available at our website at cspan.org. a viewer from twitterless the direction we're heading gives little room for optimism, as long as politicians are beholden to corporate america, they never care about the people who put them in office. donna in new hampshire saying i'm pessimistic because 2023 is another year of our leaders not working for the american people. it will do nothing except to make sure that their respective parties gain control in 2024. carl in new york city, thanks for waiting. caller: good morning, pedro. i like to say two, three things. the reason fentanyl is so famous is because all those kids out in the suburbs is buying it. they're not giving it away.

they're buying it. the cartels is selling it, and guess who's buying it. i don't know nobody using it. and the border, people come in, put ankle monitors on them. you got tax, but the republicans are trying to get everything in hands so they can do what they did. they paid the cartel, they paid the companies their money back, they turn around and now they go to the company, i don't care what you trust. host: all that being said, you called saying you were optimistic about the year ahead in politics. why is that? caller: because joe biden is still in office. they passed 87 bills, y'all don't even talk about that. host: john in california. on our line for those who are pessimists. hello. caller: good morning, pedro.

happy new year to everybody. i wonder you asked some of the people who are optimistic if they own stocks, because the stock market has taken a huge hit. next year with the interest rates going up, it looks like it's a recession or there could be a recession. so what's happening here is that rich people are getting poorer. why are you going to get the money when rich people aren't paying as much taxes? what happens to social security? so all this war against rich people and stuff like this is really just a democratic ploy to confuse people like this previous caller, and the reality your follow-up question should be, you know, do you own stocks, what do you think of the stock market, what do you think of the real estate market, and so for those issues, economic issues,

rich people aren't going to be paying as much taxes. and so there's not going to be a lot of money for all these spending bills that they're doing. it's a vicious cycle is. it's joe biden that's responsible for it. next two years, potential recession. so happy new year. host: let's go to george, albuquerque, new mexico, on our line for opt mists. hello. caller: hello, good morning. i'm optimistic, because first of all, personally, i've been working on a solar lighting and power system, and i finally got the final part. it concentrates sunlight into a focused beam. and so is it's cheaper by square footage. but anyway, i'm going to

california, where they've been on the front line, and the west coast, where they've been on the front line of higher prices for gases, because they've been punished because they're going renewable. i respect and honor them for that. they're not the only ones in the fight. america, once we get over our fears of each other, we can start fighting the greater war of the things that divide us, which are usually just fears, too. once we get over our fears, start loving one another again and start treating each other with compassion, i think everything will be ok. host: let's hear from lance, sterling, colorado, on our line for those who are pessimistic about the year ahead in politics. caller: hello. i'm pessimistic. my family raised me as a democrat. but when round reagan came along running for president, i turned.

my wife and i, we turned republican. all these people saying to the republicans should open their eyes and quit being asleep, i think completely wrong. i'm not a liberal at all. there's too much liberalism. i'm sad for this country, the way it's headed. as long as joe biden is going to be chief liar in command, we're in trouble. i don't see how they can be optimistic with joe biden lying with a smile on his face, and thank you for taking my call, and happy new year to everybody, i hope. but troubles ahead, i think. host: ok. that's lance there in colorado. this is rich in massachusetts,

teching us, saying i'm optimistic, but that may change on tuesday. congress has a chance to elect a speaker who will govern based on facts and objectivity, instead of a trump apologist or, worse, a far-right radical. that would ruin ron desantos' chance to win the white house next year. again, text us at 202-748-8003 when it comes to the congress on tuesday. tune in on this programs at 7:00, finishing at noon, to talk about the issues ahead facing the 118th congress, not only when it comes to the speaker fight that you've been probably reading about over the last few weeks, but also other issues as well. stay close to c-span on tuesday for all of that and ahead as we cover the house and senate and the white house. michael is up next. michael in pittsburgh on our line for those who are pessimistic about the future.

caller: happy new year, and i am a little pessimistic about this country, because i do feel there's not enough people that are as concerned about this country or willing to stand up for it as there hasn't been in the past. i feel the news is controlled. the information is getting out there is so biased and so pointed, and i thank c-span for the information that they tried to get out there to everybody. i think you look at what's happening in brazil, for example, and brazil, all the people got it there, there's been huge protests since they tried to install somebody in opposition to what the people wanted. they stood up there in the face of government with police shooting at them and things like

that, and yet in this country we're afraid to stick our heads above the ground other than to watch a football game or check out the next sale at target. that's how i feel. host: yolanda in new jersey on our line for those who are optimists. caller: i'm very optimistic about the year ahead. over the last two years, we've seen government in action. for that i've been extremely grateful. i'm someone who's part of the millennial generation. being someone who was exposed to and affected by a lot of the resessions that happened in the early 2000's and things of that nature, having difficulty finding jobs after graduation, i just think over the last two years with the new administration things have improved significantly. there's been a lot of investment in rebuilding the american workforce, and there's been a

lot of advancements made across all sectors. i think we should be very optimistic about what will come over the next couple of years. host: new jersey giving us her thoughts. a few must not left if you want to get in your thoughts on whether this idea of politics in the year ahead in 2023, if you view yourself as an optimist when it comes to those events in politics, 202-748-8001. if you say you're more of a pessimist when it comes to those things, 202-748-8001. many of you texting us this morning at 202-748-8003. in tennessee, this is jay. caller: good morning. i find it amazing people are optimistic.

i don't look for republicans to get done, because all they have power of is the house. i think where they need to start is by finding out really what happens with pelosi, she didn't want the national guard coming in. and to deal with hunter biden and his daddy. i think them guys are in deeper than what we really know. and what the media is really telling us. i think this next year we're heading for really bad times. they ain't done raising interest rates, and food prices ain't coming down, so i think it's going to be a rough year. thank you. host: ok, let's hear from

anthony, statin island, pessimistic. caller: good morning, and happy new year to you. i really enjoy your show. i just want to comment. i'm not a pessimistic guy, but when a come from ohio calls in about the border is nobody's concern, we're all from immigrants, it's just crazy. i'm kind of surprised you didn't say anything. i'd like to ask someone like her, five million, 10 million, 80 million, 150 million, how many? how many do you want illegally to come into your country? it just amazes me. i'm just going to leave it at that. host: so the source of your pessimism is exactly what when it comes to politics? caller: the border. the crisis at the border. it just blows my mind. and the democratic party has become the party of free things,

and there's a lot of cities in america that love free things. if you look at every election, it's the cities throughout the country that put these democrats in. you have a great day. host: one more call. this is from jenny. jenny in germantown, maryland, on our optimistic line. hello. you're on, go ahead. caller: my name's kenny, by the way. host: kenny, sorry about that. go ahead. caller: i'm optimistic. the reason for my opt mismitchell is because you never know what you can do until you try. my issue with republicans, democrats need to take a long stare in the mirror and realize they're both ruining the country. independents need to step up and say look at what the democrats are doing, look at what the republicans are doing. they're both guilty. you can't sit on your hands and let the things that are important to this country and the citizens, and don't do

anything because the other party is involved. it's something that they've been doing for years, and as a man that's aging, there was a time i respected the republicans because i thought they enforced the laws, they upholded, they were distinguished gentlemen. after trump, they take a few turns. democrats, they need to realize they need to stop being the gift that keeps on giving and get extreme. both parties are extreme. everybody needs to listen to that and stop overlooking what they're both doing wrong. happy new year. host: one more tweet to share, this is from sandy off our twitter feed saying when she looks at the year ahead in politics in 2023, adding i'm trying to be optimistic, hoping that hakeem jeffries can bring peace. i hope we can rise above such nonsense. again, that finishes out the first hour. thank you for all of you for participating on this new year's day broadcast ofhe program. in our second hour, we'll be joined by two columnists to talk

about issues of politics, and you can ask them questions as well. "chicago tribune" columnist clarence page, and syndicated columnist cal thomas to talk about the year ahead in politics. we'll have the conversation when "washington journal" continues. >> the 118th congress convenes tuesday at noon eastern. for the first time in two years they'll return to washington as a divided government. the republicans control the house of representatives and democrats retain 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. the new congress will also be more diverse with a record number of women serving, including more women of color.

watch the process as the 118th congress gavels into session with a election of a new speaker of the house. new congress, new leaders. watch the opening day of the 118th congress, tuesday at noon eastern live on c-span and c-span 2 and also on c-span now, our free video mobile app and online at c-span.org. >> live todayn n depth" author and pulitzer prize winning journalist chris hedges will be our guest to talk about political revolution, war, incarceration in america. the presbyterian minister's books including "our class," an american priso and recently, "the greatest fissile war." join the conversation with you phone calls, face book comments, tes and tweets, "in depth"

with chris hedges, live today at noon eastern on book tv on c-span 2. tonight on q&a, we look at education in the united states and talk about political correctness and multiculturalism and the importance of western civilization courses. >> we talk about abraham lincoln and not that i believe everything has to be a debate

but i do believe in multiculturalism of viewpoints and ideas about important things is crucial. >> "the death of learning" tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's q&a. you can listen to q&a and all our podcasts on the free c-span now app. "washington journal" continues. host: on this first day of 2023 we invited two syndicated columnists to share their look ahead at politics. clarence page, the syndicated columnist for "the chicago tribune" and joining us via zoom, cal thomas, joining us from coral gables, florida. thanks for joining us and thanks for giving us your time on new year's day. guest: glad to be here. host: we started talking about optimism or pessimism in 2023

and want your take on it as well. how would you view the year ahead, mr. paige? guest: my dad always said if you expect the worst you won't be disappointed and helped me a lot in washington over the years. but i feel better than a year ago because i think there's a lot more uncertainty about things, as much as we have gridlock still, i've been surprised at how much president biden has been able to accomplish and how often they've been people across across the aisle to get things through as far as pandemic relief, for example. there's a couple dozen of republicans in the house and senate who have crossed over once they can reach an accord. the hard part is getting to that middle ground. i think we know how to do it in this country but have to do it more often.

host: mr. thomas, same question to you. guest: this is a historical event in this new congress because representative elect santos from new york, long island, has managed to become corrupt before he got to congress and something very surprising. i'm optimistic in the sense the founders built a great system with checks and balances and didn't really want political parties but we've got them anyway. most people are coming around to the idea we cannot survive and no nation has been able to survive with a $32 trillion debt. immigration without assimilation. we have an open border no matter what the administration is saying. and the loss of a shared moral sense. there's an old cole porter song in olden days the glimpse of shocking and now everything goes. and we have teachers teaching everything that won't fit anybody for a decent education or decent job. i think here in florida, you

talk about ron desantis in the previous segment, he clearly is even more fit to gain the republican nomination than probably anybody else but it's a long way and anything can happen and probably will. i remain optimistic because i'm an american and if you can't make it here to paraphrase the song new york, new york, where are you going to make it? host: both guests with us for the hour. democrats 202-748-8000, republicans 202-748-8001, text us at 202-748-8003. and the speakership yet to be determined in the house. he campaigned on the idea of a uniter. now what phase is it now in a divided government? guest: republicans have said they want to reign in spending and get rid of these 87,000 i.r.s. agents.

ronald reagan used to say it very well, we have a debt not because the american people are taxed too little but because the government spends too much. if you look at the analysis of the latest $1 .7 trillion omnibus bill it has more than the kitchen sink and it has the bathroom and rec room and all the bedrooms and everything in it. and some of the things are just totally ridiculous. the frustration for many people i think is that everybody knows what needs to be done but when you won't do it, that adds to the frustration. so we've got to get spending under control. under bill clinton we had a balanced budget. under calvin coolidge who took office a hundred years ago this year 1923 we had a surplus by the time he left office. his budget was lower than what he came in. this can be done but we have to tell the american people to be more responsible for themselves and stop looking to government as the first resource and look at it as a last resort.

host: mr. page? guest: we've known each other a long time and delight to be with him will on the air again. things haven't changed and that's good. he's a conservative and i'm a liberal and that's how we have developed in this country to find common ground. but, you know, the optimism that i share is that we eventually do reach agreement on a lot of these items once we put our minds to it. on government spending i hear a lot of complaints on government spending and hear that on programs we don't need but everybody needs something and you find more spending under trump in a republican congress example than we did beforehand and even john major came a economic philosopher of f.d.r.'s

administration and new deal in response to a crisis you need more spending. seems to be the s when you get down to it. we have the pandemic beginning to fade and hopefully will continue to do so, we don't need as much spending as before but we still look at the budget and find that most of the budget besides defense, medicare, medicaid, social security, let's do what the public likes on the whole and long referred to them as third rail issues, test them and you die but now i hear congressman mccarthy possibly going to be the next speaker of the house talking about looking at social security and medicare, medicaid and those are expensive programs and i want to see where they go with that because i'm

medicare age now and i'm finally paying attention to these issues and so are a lot of other americans out this and i frankly don't see that coming. i don't think we'll see the kind of cuts a lot of these folks are talking about because there are some things too popular. but nonetheless we need to talk about these priorities and sometimes you hit people over the head with something and once word gets out that they're looking at medicare, medicaid, nondiscretionary spending, we're talking about programs people really like, then it's going to be an interesting debate, i'll say it that way. host: mr. thomas? guest: thomas may be medicare age but he's a wealthy and successful man. and he really doesn't need it. you know what we're lacking in this country, republicans an democrats. we used to have real intellectual debates in this country. you remember the old william and buckley jr. program "firing

line." he'd have on people like john kenneth couple breakthrough and many others who -- kenneth culbraite and many others who knew the issues and we think of daniel patrick moynihan of new york and on the right you had all kinds of -- on the democrats side, also, henry "scoop" jackson and they put the country first before everything else. if you look at the spending bill which i guarantee you most if not all members of congress have not read and many voted for it in absence yeah thanks to nancy pelosi's program of you don't have to be there in order to vote which is terrible, you have millions for woke causes, lbgtq+, centers in new york and money wasted on all sorts of things that are not part of the federal government. so i think we can start there in those things. you know, barbara bush, the late first lady had one of the great lines of all time about this and

she said, it matters less what happens in the white house than what happens in your house. i think we need universal school choice especially for poor children and need to attack this crime issue which is lavishing our nation's cities and last night in new york a man was attacked with a hatchet and they think it's a terrorist incident and every night people are getting shot or stabbed and homelessness worse than it's ever been in los angeles and san francisco and major cities, all this stuff needs to be addressed. while yes, i think there needs to be accountability in the biden administration and investigations, i don't think republicans ought to major on that because those problems eventually go away and don't really touch most americans. host: we'll continue on with our guests, call in and give your contribution as well. brian in new mexico, independent line, you're on with our guest today on this new year's day,

brian, go ahead. caller: happy new year, gentlemen. i worked most of my life in construction in the chicago land area. so my issue is immigration. i've dealt with it on a firsthand basis many times. it's not just south of the border. we have people coming from all over the world. from eastern europe, all over. and let's be honest in a debate and widen out the immigration issue just a little bit. nobody talks about enforcing visas. we have a tremendous problem with visa overstays. half the illegal immigrants come right to the airport and nobody checks to see if they leave. and of course the huge issue no one talks about is american employers that break the law and hire illegal immigrants. i never hear republicans say a peep about that. that is a huge problem. you know, republicans and business owners are making

millions and millions off illegal immigrants and then they dump the social costs on to the taxpayer and then say hey, look over here at the border, look what's going on over here p. so a lot of people are getting really rich and republicans don't talk about that, cal. let's hear some conversation on that one, cal. guest: sure. i'm going to do more than a peep, i'm going to do a squawk. you're absolutely correct, the chamber of commerce wants cheap labor and a lot of businesses want cheap labor. you are right. and that is all part of the reform that needs to be done by any congress. you know, when reagan and the reagan administration did the immigration reform, the one thing lacking was what was called a secure identifier. and now we're just letting people in, maybe we give them an ankle bracelet, maybe we give them a phone but they're never going to show up in court to have their claim of asylum properly adjudicated so the system is broken. when you look at the picture,

especially on fox news, much of the media is not covering it to the extent, you see thousands pouring over the border. no other nation allows this. if you take a cup of coffee some of us are drinking this morning and you pour milk in it or cream, it's going to dilute the coffee and if you pour it long enough, it's going to replace the coffee. our country our fairs and great grandfathers established and fought for and sustained during war and depression and economic downturn is being threatened by a lot of up skilled people and probably some terrorists and criminals and sentinel people and all the other things we know about. it's got to stop or we are not going to be able to hand down to our children and grandchildren the kind of country we inherited from our parents and grandparents. it's just as simple as that. you're right, republicans are just as guilty. host: we saw several attempts from bipartisanship legislation leading up to the end of the year, kristen cinema working

with others and could it be something that they come together on immigration? guest: the fact is no. we've had ample opportunity to come to agreement around immigration and we did have, as cal mentioned, the craig an reform in 1980's since misolie and there -- mizzoli and there was a attempt of passing a bill with ted kennedy and john mccain, b.e.t. deceased, back when alive they had improvement on mazzoli and never got to a vote and was polarized in this country and we're still polarized around immigration. what we have, i'm sure cal will share with me, the frustration of columnists talk about immigration and only get about 700 words and that doesn't even begin -- i did a piece on the current immigration debate and the complaints cal is mentioned

is a concern about when is it going to stop? how many people can we handle? we were saying the same thing back in the day of the no nothings and abraham lincoln's campaign. americans have always been a land of immigrants and a land of nervousness about immigrants, the whole know nothing movement that came out of that race, anti-immigrant. we're hearing the same things today and the fact of the matter it is true, the immigration we do have, the unlawful immigrants we have now are mostly people who have overstayed their visas, more than those who are gathering at the border coming across. and those who are coming across at the border to a large degree, they are indeed seeking asylum, which is an international agreement we have, international principles, etc.

and we do have -- i'm concerned about those out on bond awaiting their asylum hearings. but every source i've gone to, government and university studies, etc., etc., a very small percentage don't show up at court and largely a large percentage do show up. so i don't see that a real crisis developing there. nonetheless, immigration, especially for tv is the easiest story to get viewers. just show pictures of all the people trying to get into the country. we should feel optimistic more people want to get into this country than want to get out. but the fact is that debate will go on. i don't see much light at the end of the tunnel as far as congress really dealing with it. host: from florida, james, democrats line, you're on with our guest. caller: good morning and happy new year to you all, gentlemen. talking about the border crossing and all that, we've been dealing with this over a hundred years.

and cheap labor coming in and these people, hard-working families come and work in the groves and the farmland to harvest the field. and no american, first, second or third generation is going out in the farm and pick the fruits of the labor out there. these people are willing to do it. it's just amazing how much -- how many people do this. i'm going to jump around in all this. but the fact is the ones with the green card to work in this country legally, they have a problem at the court system to renew their green card and it's a backlog on that.

and everybody that does work in the field, a very small percentage of them are criminal, tremendously small. when i heard the last time it was .006% out of 12 million of them. really? host: continue on the immigration debate, mr. page. guest: it's a small percent of it and former president trump announced his candidacy was to land base all these immigrants, rapist and murders coming across the border, blah, blah, blah. not true. the crime rate among immigrants is lower than that among people who are americans. folks have a hard time accepting that fact but it is a fact. most immigrants have been very productive citizens or very productive residents that became

citizens later, they have helped our economy and been a source of growth and suggestion tannance in the country. and also a source of great argument. all you have to do is take video of people trying to get across the border and suddenly the caravan is coming in to invade us. i'm not losing sleep over that. i'm more losing sleep over the demagogue issues divide our country further. host: mr. thomas. guest: i was on the phone with governor abbott and he's sending a bus of illegals to come live with you. guest: we've been taking care of them in chicago. guest: these laws were passed by republicans and democrats in various congresses and signed by republican and democrat presidents of different parties. do the laws mean anything? we have immigration laws and

have a system where people can come in and they can do the farm work that people want done and need done and nobody else wants to do and then they go home and apply to come pack in during the next season to do that. i'm all for that but we don't have that right now. the biggest cause of death among young people in america is fentanyl coming in by the thousands and millions of pills, probably from china through mexico. this is an invasion of another kind that needs to be stopped. you have a lot of unskilled people. the administration wants us to give immediate benefit, including schooling. how are the public schools going to take people from a hundred different nations speaking a hundred different languages and educate them and what about american citizens children, don't they have first right? no nation once again can survive and no other nation has this kind of policy in the world. no nation can survive unless it controls its borders. we had a pause between the

1920's and early 1960's so that immigrants could fully assimilate into this country. we don't have anything like that now and if we don't do something to regularize the border and enforce our laws and to allow in those people with legitimate asylum claims, we are not going to be the nation that we've been for over 200 years. host: our two guests joining us for the hour. let's change topics a bit, taking a look at tuesday with the 118th congress being seated. i want your thoughts on the current debate over who should be speaker of the house. where are you on that? guest thomas: i was communicating with newt gingrich, the former speaker of the house yesterday, there's been a slight upsurge of people that think he should return and be speaker and he says no, no, mccarthy is the man. he thinks these five superconservative members will come around because they don't want to be accused of destroying a moment the republicans have as slim a majority as they do have.

i think mccarthy will be elected. i think he's already given in to some of them, congressman biggs and others who want certain guarantees including the right to remove the speaker by majority vote of the caucus. i think the alternative is complete chaos and the democrats will love it but i think mccarthy will be speaker and they can move on to appointing committee chairman and getting some of these investigations going. host: glad you brought that up. do the investigations in your mind they've talked about or scoped out, do you think it gets in the way of other legislative process that they can be doing while they have power? guest thomas: i think they can investigate and chew gum at the same time. they have more than house members now and their various oversight committees and there are lots of things that need investigating. human beings are not perfect and sometimes they do bad things when they have power and there are legitimate questions after being denied by social media and a lot of people about not just the hunter biden laptop but his

business dealings and the so-called big guys was he getting a percent imof the money and the president claims he didn't know about his son's activities. i don't believe that and it's not credible and needs to be investigated and why we have this second party to hold the other party accountable. host: speaking of the other party, mr. page now, hakeem jeffries becoming house minority leader and what faces him not only in dealing with republicans but his own caucus away from nancy pelosi guiding them and being their leader? guest page: a big sound of nancy pelosi's high heels and will now be in that kind of position. he's very capable, a promising young man and i am very eager to see how well he does. he's kind of getting a break by being the leader of minority because it gives them time to get used to the position and all the various votes he'll try to

corral in the future. i'm looking forward to the transition. i agree with cal that mccarthy probably is going to be the next speaker, and it is indeed like cat nip for the minority factions, whether you're in the far right or far left in congress, you want to have a speaker in the house like mccarthy who is answerable for both sides and will be trying to get every vote he can find and that empowers folks like marjorie taylor greene on the right or a.o.c. on the left and that's a farther debate. host: from the independent line, scott, good morning from new jersey. caller: good morning, thanks for taking my call. i want your opinion on time limits. i feel nothing is going right until we limit time limits from the supreme court to congress. right now congress no longer

works for people they represent and just work to get re-elected. the next two years will be the perfect example. the republicans will make sure nothing gets done so the democrats look weak for the next election. i'd love to know your opinion on term limits. host: that's scott from new jersey. term limits being the topic. mr. thomas, what do you think? guest thomas: the people who would benefit least from term limits are the people who have to vote to eliminate them and i don't see that happening. the ultimate term limiters are the voters. you've had some people retiring, patrick leahy brags he's been in the senate for 40 years. that's too much. my favorite story about this, the late george mcgovern, 1972 democratic presidential candidate and senator from south dakota, when he lost in the reagan landslide in 1980, he hadn't done anything but public service since coming back from world war ii so he decided to go up to connecticut and buy an inn and run it and it went bankrupt after a couple years and "the wall street journal" called him and wanted to know what happened

and the only thing you need to know is what happens to members of congress who stay too long in washington, george mcgovern said gee, if i knew how difficult it was to run a business i might have voted differently in the senate. that's a good laugh line and people get it but it's true. they're out of touch so often and stay too long. the founders never intended to make a career out of politics. they wanted people to come to washington, serve their country for a limited time and then go home to their law offices, their farms and businesses and go home to real life but now, you know, they stay forever. again, reagan used to say the only proof of eternal life in washington is a government program and it's true for members of congress, too. but we are the ultimate term limiters and need to get these guys out that stay too long. the supreme court is another issue. i know democrats would like to see more people recycles, even have people on the left right now asking for sotomayor and

others to retire in their 60's to get other people in there but the supreme court is a political football like everything else and that's tragic. guest page: it's always a political football and we notice it sometimes more than others but i agree with cal, we voters are the term limiters. everyone wants term limits for the people they don't like in congress but the ones they do like they want them to stay around forever and that's what elections are for. i understand the nervous anxieties people have about having somebody in office who you can't kick out. that's why we have limits on the president after f.d.r. and now are limited to two terms. i wonder how donald trump would feel about being able to be able to challenge elections more than one time in a row? but seriously, though, we do hear this all the time from

folks, what about term limits, and you might want to ask them, who would you like to see serve indefinitely? and again think about it a little more and realize it's a great advantage to leave things as they are on that front. host: this is on the republican line for guests, wanda, go ahead. caller: i'm ashamed and hopeful for this year but ashamed of the democrats and republicans because they just blame and confuse the issues and the media is a big part of it because it's where they report it and they give one title for a day and every news show says the same thing and they twist and it's a sham because most americans are not -- what they're starting to read and get stuff for themselves because people just lying. a lot of people are just saying they're sick of the division and sick of the lies on both parts. nobody it doing anything but

they getting paid. how much money they spend for all these trials? how much does that cost, tell me that, do you know that, for all these hearings and investigating and they're not doing -- and they say they don't have anymore money, how many hundreds of thousands or millions does that cost? host: wanda about the sentiment nobody does anything in congress and nothing is getting done. i'm sure the sentiment has been around as long as you two have been covering this but what's the perception of people of congress and are they interested in changes that, mr. page? guest page: the public isn't paying attention. the hearings are there for a reason for people to learn, whether you're talking about january 6 or benghazi or whatever. they're there to learn and try to get to the truth. i think we as the media ironically have helped to facilitate the degradation of

information and words by getting people to think in terms of sound bites and bumper stickers and not in terms of reading or listening to any issues in depth. i'm sounding like a grumpy old man because i've been grumpy this way for a long time. i'm a great practice at it. this comes back to complaints about the media. yeah, i don't like the media that i don't agree with, simple as that. but we have a lot more media and going to have more media and the great thing about the first amendment, to get more voices out there. the sad thing is the disinformation mixing with good information. that's not new but just faster because of electronics and because of the internet age. no, i don't oppose a hunter biden hearing and don't think it will get any place like benghazi didn't but folks on the right need something to respond to the

obvious trials we see that went on around january 6. bring the gavels. host: cal thomas? guest thomas: i think we need to get back to the schools. this is where initial learning begins. how many people are studying the constitution and the federalist pages instead of gender reassignment surgery and lbgtq+ and some of the other craziness going on in our public schools and universities these days? i guarantee you the chinese aren't doing this, the russian schools aren't doing this, the iranian schools aren't doing this. we need to get back to some certain fundamentals that make a well-rounded educated american citizen. it all begins in the schools, not the media. and if we don't teach those kinds of things we used to teach starting with the old mcguffy readers that combined a understanding of mathematics and

u.s. history and world history and respect for elders and love of country and respect for each other as american citizens -- there's too much of this stuff. clarence and i wouldn't be on abc, nbc or cbs because we like each other and respect each other. clarence is an accomplished columnist and won a pulitzer prize and overcome many obstacles and is a good guy and fun to be with and introduced me to president obama which i should be eternally grateful but this kind of thing, this combat is a cruise to the benefit of the fundraisers and people who want to keep us divided for their own reasons. host: guests with us -- you want to follow up? guest page: the wonderful words from cal. can i return the favor? guest thomas: it's all designed to fool you. guest page: the thing i hear from folks who get to know me at all and are part of the mclachlan group i used to be on

for a long time, gee, how do you get along so well off the air but at each other's throats on the air at the theater? this is the thing when you have a limited amount of time to say something that's really important. you have to jam it together and be loud and overbearing and besides that it makes great television. and that's an actual fact. but the reality is that we need to stop shouting at some point and start thinking. i agree about students and our education system out there. but also the complaints i hear about gender education, etc., etc. are horror stories that come out of the manhattan institute or other conservative establishments or fox news that look for horror stories and some of the stories aren't public schools but actually private schools that are talking about the whole scandal about the teachers telling the students to

categorize yourself by race and blah, blah, based on an anecdote that occurred in california at a private school but hear it pop up at every p.c.a. debate and every group of irate parents that come in. the schools have alcs been a point of contention but schools are very valuable. and our public schools but our suburban schools are very often models for the country, and a school in north suburban chicago which everybody knows from the movies about teen life, etc., etc., the american dream. but we have a very inequitable educational system for people who are in disadvantaged neighborhoods, disadvantaged districts, and disadvantaged

education and schools. and what parents need to do to encourage kids to know more than one or two amendments. young people i talk to think the constitution ends after the first amendment and others think it ends after the second amendment, guns. we have the press kids versus the internet kids and further kids i call them but the gun kids. governance is more complicated than that, ladies and gentlemen. and dealing with questions of liberty in this country are more complicated than that and they require some sane debate and sane answers and why we need to have a good education system. host: here's rochelle in washington state, democrat line. caller: hello? i'm with cal that our children are not taught well in schools here and i think they're making them like little soldiers for their democrats.

and it's a nightmare here in washington. i've never been so terrorized in my life here. i grew up in seattle and was lucky enough to go to shoreline schools which were one of the best school districts in the nation. you have no idea what's going on here in the northwest. people on this tv show just don't seem to know. seattle is a nightmare and tour resists on the street. host: what would you like to ask our guests directly? caller: what i really need is a number to call somebody that will help in your side of the territory because i cannot find one good attorney here in

washington, nobody who will go against this global realtor clan that's on my computer? host: we'll put you on hold and see if we can provide that information for you. mr. thomas, he property it up the story intriguing us in washington is george santos as far as how, first of all, his background and how he got elected and how he's facing creeding by the congress. where do you take on the story as far as what is the biggest story in your mind? guest thomas: lying is not new. you don't need a degree to know that. number two, gas lighting was word of the year this past year and there's cases like santos that this is about. the word pops up a lot in our political discourse now but "the

washington post" kept a running tally of president trump's lies in office and trump supporters told me i don't care, he's still representing me and still my voice up there and that, too, is what democracy is about. i think the whole question about santos is the voters did choose, the voters should be the ones to decide whether he stays. and also, the members of congress, if they decide to kick him out, they have the mechanism to do it and don't think it's going to happen. i think right now they may just settle on letting him stay out the rest of his term and be a walking investment and go quietly at the end. we will see. host: mr. thomas you mentioned to start off so finish your thought on this. guest thomas: if lying is a sufficient reason for people not to be in congress that's one way

to get a much smaller government. i agree with clarence, i think the democrats would love to see him stick around and make an issue out of him. the great hypocrisy of this, and it's with both parties but republicans are supposed to be the party of morality and family values and all of these other things we heard for years. so they were all over bill clinton for his alleged and actual extramarital activities but then when it comes to donald trump they're all fine with that because policies mean more than character but during the clinton era we were told from preachers to academics and average people, character is everything. if you don't have characters none of the rest matters. this is among many that turns people off to politics. my old friend chris plant the talk show host said if the left didn't have double standards they wouldn't have standards at all but that's true of the right, too. this contributes to the citizens and pessimism you were talking

about in your last hour, pedro, of the american voters and why a lot of people just don't vote because they don't think it makes any difference. they may be right at some level. host: in virginia, this is randy for our guests, good morning. caller: good morning, mr. thomas and mr. page. let's stick to this education stuff. we got real issues with management. and with jobs. none of these employees or clerks have demonstrated that they can reduce costs or improve service or move the dial academically. we've been taking a nosedive in education the last 20 some odd years. one of the big issue with that is outside influences. we have a develop they're wants

to piggyback on a public school sewer system which means poop pools going from 400 students to 400 students plus a huge public housing development, we're going to have these huge poop pools. we're spending 50,000 more for an electric bus. that bus if they turn on the eat heat they send it out on the shortest route and if you turn on the heat the bus may not make it back and if they pull over with 20 kids in there and here in our rural community, corn and lumber. those big trucks, they can't stop soon enough for uncharged bus on a rural community road. but another thing i'm concerned about is there's never been any after action report with the schools.

we hear of building hundred million high schools and $50 million middle schools and $25 million elementary schools. well, it was just shown to us they can just close those things down and we've got all this money in these schools and they're useless and that's what they just did. guest thomas: public education is the last monopoly in the country. the courts have broken up many monopolies, at&t and many others but this is the last one. and it costs less to educate a child in a private cool -- school. you have unions involved and they're not delivering. 37 states i last checked have

some form of school choice program and it's been amusing and amazing to me people on the left are for choice this comes to abortion and against choice when it comes to education. you can't have both. so i think a more competitive education system would work. i think parents and grandparents need to pull their parents and grandchildren out of underperforming schools. i think we need school choice beginning in the major cities with underperforming schools with poor minority students who don't have a chance and are trapped in these underperforming schools to get them out to schools when they have a real chance at a good education and good life. it's not that the solution isn't known, this is one of the frustrations about washington. there are solutions to a lot of things but the politicians won't give them because they prefer the issue to run against the other party than they do an actual solution to a problem. host: mr. page? guest page: there is a lot of truth to that. at the same time, though,

schools are primarily a state and local function. let's be straight on that. as much as we hear national politicians talk about it, it's really the state and local municipalities that really decide where the planning is going to go and how it's going to be used. they had very successful school choice in the district of columbia for years and in fact privately -- i'm not sure about the current status of it but privately funded through folk who believe in choice in education and every time they have a registration day, the line is down the street and around the block because parents like choice, too, and not just wealthy parents. parents of limited means want to have some choice and competition for their education and we've seen teachers unions around the country who have accommodated in finding some common ground with

charter schools and other alternative programs like that. one thing single parenting taught me is something my grandmother who was a school teacher who tried to teach me a century ago, every child learns differently and you're absolutely right. you can have a houseful of kids and every one will be quick learners or slow learners and some will have disabilities, some will be prodigies and we have to have a education system that accommodates that variety and diversity. always listening through experience or trial and error because some ideas work and some ideas don't. this is an important one and we have to pay attention to it. host: joe up next, independent line. hi.

caller: we just got a raise on social security but if they would put $5 trillion back into social security the treasury department akonze with off the books -- asconds with off the books that say you have to put it back and they don't and the retired people and disability people and the children and everything else would have the proper care that we have put in, so social secured is not a retirement. it's a ponzi scheme. now i look up and find the e.b.t. cards in 10 states are going to go ahead and be done away with. now, what are these people going to do that you get a 8 .5% raise and have food that went up from 39% to 40%? you need to get to the ear of the people and the congress

because you're either loved or you're hated by them. do your job for the people. don't do your job to keep your job. host: mr. page, you target programs like social security and everything else and saying in large part changes are needed. what do you think? guest: page: my church says now you've gone to preaching and gone to middling. all those working years i wasn't paying attention to social security but now i do and a lot of other people do, too. is it a ponzi scheme? yeah, it's structured in a similar fashion but is it safer than what they call virtual -- what was the scandal we just had with the virtual currency? host: bit coin.

guest: page: it's not backed by anything and whereas social security is backed by the full faith and credit of the united states government. that means something and is a lot safer than bit coin. i'm kind of glad we got social security around as a safety net. yeah, i have an i.r.a., too, but not everybody can afford an i.r.a. and not everybody can afford the kind of savings to take care of them in retirement. and that's what social security was invented for and same with medicaid and medicare and these are safety net programs ronald reagan called them, among others. that's all. i think we're going to be -- people are going to be paying attention to this now once again because we just won elections and now getting ready to go into another one but i have a feeling the programs are safe as far as the public knows. host: from thomas?

guest thomas: these programs should be mean tested. when paul ryan was speaker of the house, he came up with a credible plan to reform social security and medicare so it can continue to exist and the democrats response was to create a campaign commercial showing a ryan look alike pushing a old lady in a wheelchair over the cliff. it wasn't responsible to a responsible legislature. it was a starting point. the current rate, social security and medicare are going to go bankrupt unless you do one of two things, raise the taxes on people now working or raise the retirement age of people so they can't get it until later. those are just chute facts that nobody can credibly deny but we've seen in the last election once again, president biden was out there along with other democrats saying don't vote for those evil republicans or they'll take away your social security and medicare. they're not going to do this but

the democrats have used this effectively for many, many years, decades now to scare people into voting for them because those evil rich republicans who had corporations, white people, all the rest of the stuff they throw into the mix are going to take away your social security and you're going to starve in the streets like homeless people in los angeles and san francisco. host: mr. thomas, let me follow up on that, the debate whether to use the decision to raise the debt realing to take on some of these spending issues, is that an appropriate forum? guest thomas: there's no debt ceiling and hasn't been for years and all fake and put in place to fool a certain number of americans that members of congress are responsible in spending. if there really were a debt ceiling we would have hit it long ago and would have kept them from spending even more money. but they come up with these budgets which are not really budgets at all and are extensions of spending under the

current budget. we haven't had real budgets with real hearings going line by line on what is being spent in years. they do continuing resolutions and kick the can to the next congress and hope people will forget and get their little pet projects like libraries and roads named after them and look at senator shelby of alabama who fortunately is retiring and i think has more buildings named after him in alabama than the late robert byrd had named after him in west virginia. this is the kind of stuff that people don't really know about him and costing money and doesn't need to be spent. host: mr. page, to the point congress returns to some type of regular order when it comes to passing budgets and things like that, would you say your optimistic or pessimistic? guest page: return to regular order, pedro. you want to explain what you mean by regular order? ask that of any topic which is regular order? we've had lots of irregular order for quite some time now but when people really want to

get something done, they get it done. yeah, there is no debt ceiling except under law and members of congress passed the debt ceiling mainly as a reminder to people hey, money is limited and we're putting a legal limit on how much you can budget and spend and we always raise it and will be raised again this time and just been more fuss made because some people like senator ted cruz and others have used this as a whipping tool, if you will, to try to draw attention to their agendas. as long as it's the stuff public wants, we'll find the money to spend it. and that is for be a endless debate itself and i won't spend the rest of the day talking which i could. host: let's hear from joanna from indiana, democrats line. good morning.

caller: i want to push back at cal thomas a little bit on two things he talked about. the first thing when he was talking about immigration and the pause between the 1920's and the 1960's as being a time for people to assimilate. that's not the reason the ban was put in, in 1924, i think, because i studied this, it was all about bias. they didn't want any more people coming over from southern europe in particular because they weren't considered, quote, white enough. you have to remember there was a big eugenics push in the teens and 20's and 30's and they were trying to keep people out of these countries and thought eastern europeans were, quote, dumb, and didn't have the same brainpower as northern europeans. that was the real reason and had nothing to do with giving time for people to assimilate. that's number one. the second thing, when we're talking to school choice vouchers, what the public doesn't understand is that the

vouchers are only worth so much money and then parents have to come up with the rest of that tuition and books, whatever it costs. and what happens is it you've got, for example, people with modest income or people that live in poverty, ok, they get the school voucher, they don't have the same choice as those people that have more money because they can afford that extra tuition. so if you want to send your kid to a private school where the tuition is $35,000 a years for example, like a lot of catholic schools and other private schools, christian schools and such like that, you can't afford to do that so you wind up in the same situation where you've got either -- you know, poor kids still put in interior schools, public schools that are not doing well, and so those are the two things i wanted to push at and wanted to hear what his response is to this. guest thomas: you are very

articulate and appreciate your call p. to your second point, it's not just limited to private school, school choice. can you take your voucher in these 37 states, most of them, as i have read up on them, and go to a better public school and it costs the parents absolutely nothing. there are many private schools, not just religious schools, charter schools, other forms of private schools that do not cost as much, especially in the big cities as the public schools. so i think you have to shop around on this. and the homeschool movement especially during the covid crisis has grown exponentially. there are a lot of people who found they could do a better job in educating their children intellectually and morally and spiritually some of the things they weren't getting to public schools. to your first point, yes, there was a part of racism involved in that pause in immigration between the 1920's and 1960's

but there also was the motivation of assimilating people. we have too many hyphenated americans. i was in a restaurant the other day and i always ask the background of people who do not look like they were native born because i'm interested in their stories and the woman said i'm cuban-american. i said were you born here? she said yes, then you're an american of cuban ancestry but don't say you're hyphenated. if you're born in america, you're an american. thomas is a welsh name and i don't go around saying i'm a welsh american, i'm an american. and we've gotten away from that and it's dividing us and some of the politicians are using that division to keep us at each other's throats. host: we've got on our republican line, south carolina, this is susan. hi. caller: hi, good morning. the one thing that i'm concerned about, and you never hear anybody talk about it is when twitter was uncovering about the

laptop, they happen to come across a bunch of things where f.b.i., d.o.j., the government behind it and they sent out the republicans and if they said anything they didn't like, and they were doing that on the 2020 election, too. and then later on when he started finding out more, it was defund the c.d.c. and the pentagon and just, you know, it's just -- that is the biggest issue, or it should be right now that the government in all is just taking away our free speech. so i'd like to know what you think about that, mr. thomas. guest thomas: haven't taken away

my free speech, we're on c-span today saying what do we want? a lot of this stuff is being revealed now on what the people from mark zuckerberg had a face book and the people of twitter being taken over by elon musk maybe and some of the other social media. democracy is not a constitutional republic and is not something that's a automatic system of humankind. you have to work at it. it's like trying to get in shape. you can't get in shape by watching an exercise video of somebody else sweating. you've got to go to the gym yourself. you've got to lift the weights and get on the treadmill. and i think you have to do that in a country like ours. you have to understand the issues. you have to take the time and use your brain cells. you don't just assimilate things that are coming from the two parties. go out and find the facts yourself and you'll be a better educated person for it and the country will be better off when you vote intelligently.

let me say, because i think we're getting ready to wind up here about my friend clarence thomas. this is one of the things that's missing in this country. i respect clarence. he's got a great sense of humor. we used to do standup comedy together in washington. we don't know each other where we used to in this country anymore. we label people and either praise or criticize them by the label. if we could get to know each other better, i think we'd have a lot better chance of making this country stronger and better and able to face the enemies from without whether they be russia, china or iran and from within. i want to salute my friend clarence page and ask people to get to know people on the so-called other side. he's not on the other side, he's my fellow american, russia and china and iran are on the other side. i salute you, clarence, my friend. guest page: thank you, cal. too bad america can't get along as we do. the fact of the matter is there

is profit to be made by turning people against each other. the last caller made a reference to the dustup over whether or not twitter fairly handled the early reports out of "the new york post" about hunter biden and all. the fact of the matter is, there are profits to be made by turning people against each other. the last caller made a reference to the desktop -- dustup over whether or not twitter fairly handled the early reports out of the new york post about hunter biden. a big controversy -- before i let you go, you can find his work on the chicago

tribune.com. how often -- how do you decide what to write? guest: i open up the papers and see what is happening in the world, newsradio, and i go down to my local favorite and see what people are talking about. that is the joy of making up by wiki -- biweekly column. host: what advice would you give anyone who wants to go into the columnist business? guest: it is just another line of work. guest: he beat me to it! [laughter] guest: i was 16 years old when i decided i wanted to be a newspaper columnist. that is when people used to read newspapers. for young people, if you're interested, be flexible because the media are changing. i never thought i would be doing tv.

i find it to be very exciting. i think free speech and the free press are alive and well. host: you can find cal thomas's work on calthomas.com. same question for you him, mr. thomas -- you, mr. thomas. guest: the late mike reiko wrote five columns a week. i could probably do that too, but they wouldn't pay me enough. i'm entering my 39th year as a syndicated columnist. where else could you go to get more than a penny for your thoughts? host: advice to anyone who would pursue your line of work? guest: i think the industry is changing. not only do you have to assess your own skills, i couldn't start out today as a syndicated

columnist for newspapers because they are not hiring anymore. at the height of my success, i was at 500 papers all across the country, down to 250 now because of the state of the industry, but i can put columns online and they can be seen all around the world. host: clarence page and cal thomas, thank you for your time today. happy new year to both of you. we will finish off our program the way we started. we want to ask you in the audience, if you are optimistic or pessimistic about the year ahead. (202) 748-8000 if you are optimistic about it, (202) 748-8002, if you are pessimistic about it. we will take those calls here on washington journal as the day continues. ♪

>> all this week enjoy book tv on c-span two along with our featured programs every sunday with the leading authors discussing their latest nonficti books. on in-depth author and pulitzer prize winning journalist tas your questions on incarceration in america. his books include america : the farewell tour and our class. most recently, " the greatest people's war." a science writer recounts the efforts to create a vaccine for the covid-19 virus. watch book tv all this week on c-span 2 and find a full schedule on your program gui or watch online, anytime at book tv.org. ♪ >> the 118th congress convenes

on tuesday at noon eastern for the first time in two years they will return to washington as a divided government. republicans will control the house of representatives, while democrats retain control of the senate by a slim majority. new, incoming members are younger with an average age of 57 compared to the previous congress, which was 58. there will also be more women in this congress. there will be an election for a new speaker of the house. new congress, new leaders. watch the opening day of the 118th congress tuesday at noon eastern live on c-span and on c-span two, also on c-span now our free mobile app 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 in 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. host: on this new year's day i am looking ahead to 2023 when it comes to washington and politics in washington. we want to ask whether you are optimistic about the year ahead or do you think more pessimistically? (202) 748-8000 if you are optimistic about what you are expecting in the year of politics ahead in washington, or (202) 748-8002 if you -- or (202) 748-8001 if you take a more pessimistic view.

you can also text us at (202) 748-8003. president biden talked optimistically about the state of politics as he views it. here is a portion of that. [video clip] >> our politics has gotten so mean, so partisan. we see each other as democrats and republicans, not as fellow americans. as tough as these times have been, we see bright spots all across the country. the strength and determination, the resilience that has long defined america. covid no longer controls our lives. kids are back in school, people are back to work. in fact, more people are working than ever before. americans are building again, innovating again, dreaming again. my hope this christmas season is

that we take a few moments of quiet reflection, find that stillness in the heart of christmas that is at the heart of christmas and really look at each other, not as democrats or republicans, not as members of team red or team blue, but is who we really are, fellow americans -- as who we really are, fellow americans. i sincerely hope this holiday season will drain the poison that has infected our politics and to us against one another. i hope this christmas season marks a fresh start for our nation because there is so much that unites us as americans, so much more that unites us than divides us. we are truly blessed to live in this nation, and i truly hope we take the time to look out for one another, not at one another, for one another. host: that address may just

before christmas. go to our website at c-span.org. when asked about being optimistic or pessimistic, a viewer on facebook said, "trump 2024, keep draining the swamp." " large companies are closing, moving out of the country, illegals are flooding the country, the stock market has not taken this kind of loss in years," also saying the housing market is bad." mike says, " we are in big trouble with the house under republican control. they will do nothing constructive." the house of representatives is set to change hands this week. if you are optimistic about that and other things in politics,

(202) 748-8000 is the number to call. if you are pessimistic, (202) 748-8001. byron georgia, calling on our optimistic line -- byron in georgia, calling on our optimistic line. caller: there is no use in being pessimistic. the year just started! whoever is saying there talking about -- they are talking about draining the swamp, they didn't say anything when the large alligator in the swamp was in there. now is not the time to be pessimistic. be optimistic. we just got -- georgia just got a new senator. joe manchin isn't going to be running the show anymore. when these taxes that the swamp master passed start hitting people this year, when people

start noticing it, then they can understand what optimism is and pessimism is. they don't have to deal with that no more. host: virginia, pessimistic line, hello. virginia? one more time. let's move on to michael in sterling, virginia on our line for optimism. caller: hello, c-span, thank you for taking my call. i am definitely optimistic. the reason is i have great faith in the youth of our nation and kids. i'm old enough now to have grandkids, and they are really smart. that actually creates a lot of optimism for me. i have to agree with the callers

that do not have too high of hopes for the coming congress. as a local matter within the next couple of years, i think we are in for some rough waters. i keep my optimism at a high level because of my faith in the intelligence and cleverness of the youth of the world. host: if i may ask, have young people taught you anything about politics particularly when it comes to how you view politics or how it works? caller: i'm not so sure about that, but i feel like the youth have a much more -- for lack of a better term scientific view of the world and are more willing to see the world as it is and make judgments based on what is best. does that make sense? host: yeah.

the journalist e.j. dion, they asked columnists what they were looking forward to in 2023. the theme was young people. he wrote, " their commitment to social justice and political reform is inspiring and their role in our public life will only grow. the small d democrats showed their vitality l around the world. let's cheer democratize asian powered by the energy of the young. that is the columnist e.j. dionne. optimistic about the year ahead in politics or pessimistic? that is what we are asking you.

in indiana, this is gary calling on the line for those who view the year pessimistically. caller: happy new year. excuse me. i'm pessimistic because well, hey, pessimism is on a roll. it has been for a long time. just look at the results. two quick points i want to make, one who tweet -- one to the guy who tweeted that republicans have taken over the house and will do anything constructive. my question to him is what constructive got done when the democrats were in charge? last thing i want to mention is on the previous segment, mr. thomas talked about disenchantment with constituents. i was always against people who were qualified to vote but didn't vote.

now i understand why. a vote is something you throw on a wall and it does not stick. host: why specifically are you pessimistic about politics? caller: it is not about politics -- well, ok, nothing ever gets done. i'm pessimistic about the year because it will be more negativity than anything. the people as a whole will not get anything out of it. let me go back to my point about the vote, ok? host: we're going to move on to north carolina optimistic line,. caller: good morning, good morning, good morning. host: you are on. though ahead. -- go ahead. caller: i am optimistic, but i am pissed. why? because of this economy --

because this economy is backwards. we have money going to china, we have homeless, we have kids lacking education because teachers aren't teaching. i need some help. why is so much money going across seas. gases hi, food is high -- gas is high, food is high. this economy is going downwards. let me know when it is going back up. host: that is dairy in north carolina. when it come -- gary in north carolina. economists gave their impressions for 2023. 79% of those believing that prices in the country will increase faster than people think. interest rates being higher, 74%

saying that. 68% said unemployment in my country will be higher. major stock -- 46% said my country will need to be bailed out with emergency funding. those are some of the views not only in the united states but worldwide. you can factor that in as well when you give your assessment of whether you are optimistic or pessimistic. in tampa, florida, for those who are pessimistic about politics, this is mary. caller: hi. thanks for letting me talk. basically we saw president trump spend money on defense. it is constitutionally correct to defend the country, but he spent a lot of money.

now we have a democrat who came in and ran up a lot of money. at the end of the day, this money is being stolen from people not even born yet, and basically everybody 20 or younger who do not really have representation. the government figured out how to take 10% from everybody without a vote, taxation without representation. i'm pessimistic because the democratic process is not seem to take into account feelings from the unborn children and future generations. this money the politicians passed, mostly to pay off people to get voted back in, is not the correct national interest. deliver the mail, defend the

country, and get your nose out of everything. it is not affordable. host: victor in stone mountain, georgia on our optimistic line. hi. caller: how are you today, pedro? host: i'm fine thanks. caller: bless you and your family. i'm optimistic. i believe that -- i don't know that the country is so much going in the right direction, but i'm optimistic because i am grateful for the position i am in. i think people need to be more positive. they need to be more optimistic. they need to be more graceful. it could be a lot worse than what it is. i just think we need to be a lot more grateful, a lot more positive, and i think that will push this nation forward. pray for the politicians.

god will bless their heart for them to make the right decision. stop being so critical all the time. that is the way i look at it. may god bless you all. host: let's hear from joe in west virginia calling in on our line for those who are pessimistic about the year ahead in politics. caller: it is kind of crazy. i'm listening to these people who are optimistic. math doesn't lie, and that is what we are dealing with, basic math. the last two years my stock, the stock of everyone else's went completely trash and it is a mess. what would give me the impression to be optimistic when all i see is the exact same people in office that are destroying this country, and they are doing it willfully? these bird brains out here, " i'm optimistic, it will be a

great new year." no it is not if you have the same people running the system today. how can it be better? that is insane. host: joe calling us on one of 2 lines we have set aside this morning for those of you when taking a look at politics in the new year for 2023, whether you look at that year optimistically or pessimistically. if you look at a optimistically, (202) 748-8000. (202) 748-8001 the number to call if you look at it pessimistically. if you want to text us you can do that at (202) 748-8003. you can always post on our social media sites, facebook.or twitter several of you are posting means this morning. this is a viewer who writes in, " i am pessimistic near term because it looks like a recession is on tap. meanwhile, i am optimistic about

the long-term owing to the recent advances in clear, fusion energy, which will change everything for the better." another view were saying, " i will predict there will be billions more in aid to ukraine. i'm pessimistic about the prospects of a lasting peace." a viewer said, " the u.s. wants to start the war -- a war with russia or china. it would end the world. i am pessimistic about that." let's go to r.g. in north carolina on our line for those who are optimistic -- archie in north carolina on our line for those who are optimistic. caller: thank you for having me on. i am optimistic because of the house not being controlled by republicans. republicans don't really know how the economy works. they don't really know what

needs to be done to put the country back on the right track. i'm pessimistic though about the senate. i believe that the house can kill it. democrats have good ideas that need help, but in order to get them you have to be able give them. they don't understand -- get how the economy is pulled along. individuals should be optimistic, if you follow the rules and laws of almighty god. it is the perfect handbook for living the best life you could possibly live. host: do you think there are areas where republicans in the house and democrats in the senate can work together on things you find important? caller: i do. i really do. if they would set their own personal interests aside --

everybody who does something does it for personal interest at first, but if you set personal interest aside, -- if they would think about how things really work, they could work together. like i said, democrats only have -- host: matt is archie -- that is archie. next we go to the pessimistic line. caller: i'm pessimistic. i believe we will get better and better this year. we have a new congress coming in. i think the way we are going right now, the price of stuff is high right now, but i think we will get better because this congress is a lot younger

and a lot smarter. they will be able to come to some kind of agreement on a lot of issues. my main issue is this gun control. i think they need to do away with them off the street. i would like to see congress do that. there were too many young folks losing their lives. foolish they are killing each other like flies with the flyswatter. i hope congress will work on it this year. i hope president biden will sign a bill that would help. have a great day. host: john there in memphis, tennessee talking about his views of the year ahead, painting them pessimistically. some of you have mentioned the house going over to republican hands. that is january 3 on capitol hill, a whole day of events.

stay close to c-span on that day, starting with this program from 7:00 to noon. we will talk about the seating of the 118th congress. on a future decision of who the leader will be and other things, yet to be determined on the house and senate side, continuing to work on legislative activities, the appointment of judges, all of that plays out on tuesday with the appointment of the 118th congress. stay close to c-span on that day, starting with this program from 7:00 to noon. let's hear from dorothy in baltimore, maryland. caller: good morning, everyone. i'm optimistic because i pulled myself up by the bootstraps and i take care of myself. that is why i am optimistic.

a young fellow called in a little bit. a lot of republicans called in and complained. they are all probably -- privatized companies. look at who is -- the milk carton tells you where it is coming from. none of it is made by the federal government. that is because there are no federal government factories. everything is privatized. if you have a problem with prices, you need to go to the farm and hold up a picket sign. it is they who own it. even those who drill on federal land, the gas companies own the gas. the oil coming out of the ground. the federal government does not make things. none, zero.

don't keep asking for handouts, republicans. you won the business -- host: also on our optimistic line, this is lee in south carolina in charleston. caller: i'm optimistic. we have a new congress coming in. right now, you get a lot of complaints from republicans in regards of money and spending, but i am trying to figure out with all of the investigations why spend all of this money, if they went to investigate hunter biden, the president joe biden, when we just found out that president trump has accounts open in china while he was still president? that is a conflict of interest. what about top-secret documents?

these are the things i am trying to figure out where their thinking is. what is going on? why is he getting away with all of this stuff and i'm worried about government spending? they want to investigate hunter biden, his laptop, joe biden and it will not yield anything. the last five years of the trump administration, taking money from the secret service, overpricing things, things like that, these are the things they need to get to the bottom of so we can have a positive future. i don't care republican, democrat, you have to set good examples for the young people who were coming right now in our

era. host: we have spent about a half-hour taking a look at this, and we will stick with this until the end of the program. if you are optimistic or pessimistic about politics in 2023, particularly in washington, if you are optimistic call us at (202) 748-8000. if you are pessimistic, (202) 748-8001. you can text us at (202) 748-8003 and post on their social media sites as well. there have been responses from resident biden and -- president biden and how speaker pelosi on the passing of pope benedict xvi. " jill and i join catholics from around the world and so many others in mourning the passing of pope benedict emeritus xvi.

you will be recognized as a theologian guided by his principles and faith." nancy pelosi wrote, " paul and i join our fellow catholics in mourning the passing of pope benedict xvi, a global leader whose hopeful message comforted the hearts of all people of faith." jeff and misery on our line -- in missouri on our line for those optimistic about politics in 2023. caller: i'm optimistic of the fact that maybe the revelations from twitter will reawaken the true democrats and libertarians to the power of the man, the man being the deep state trump told you the election was rigged. if we do not call what twitter and alphabet networks did to

manipulate the election using the federal government as the blunt weapon to steal the election, from the american people the truth of the matter is the federal government has been doing this since probably the 1960's. it is probably -- it is time for america to awaken him the lies the biden administration towels,, that the obama administration tells -- tells, that the obama administration tells, that nancy pelosi perpetuates, then we can get back to real america. host: usa today reports on a report released yesterday by justice john roberts. it is a year-end report on the federal court. the usa today report, rights " after telling the -- writes, "

robert has turned his attention to modern-day judges, their staff, and law enforcement officers." 'the law requires every judge to conduct their job without favor but we have to ensure their safety.' he goes on to say, 'a judicial system should not and cannot live in fear.'" if you go to our website on c-span.org, we published this year-end report from chief justice john roberts. if you want to hear what he concluded over the year when it comes to the supreme court and the judiciary, you can find that

on our website at c-span.org. let's hear from michael in south carolina on our line for those who are pessimistic about politics in 2023. hello. caller: i agree with every word that last caller just said. our government is nothing but a corrupt, fascist institution that colludes with the media to rig elections every time they can get a chance. we know donald trump is the real president. i am pessimistic because of morand's like the caller before him said donald -- morons like the color before him who said donald trump has accounts -- ca ller before him who said donald trump has accounts in china. they call us nazis! host: let's go to annie in illinois. caller: hi. i have a problem with buttigieg charging that southwest airlines

debacle. i think he was in charge with transportation and should have called out the air force. having children in an airport for a day is very difficult. sitting for more than a week in an airport with a family is very, very difficult. host: you called on this idea we are talking about as far as whether you are optimistic or pessimistic. you say you are optimistic. why is that? caller: i think we could solve problems, if we work together and bring these problems out like you are doing now. i think your show is just wonderful because we can discuss these things and maybe come up with some solutions that are viable for everybody. host: that is annie there in illinois, calling in.

we will go to charles next. charles is in tennessee on our line for those who view the year ahead optimistically. hi. caller: hi. host: you are on, go ahead. caller: i view the year quite pessimistically. i think to the way that congress right now is split, i don't think they will -- there will be very much progress made. it looks like quite a nasty, slow year as far as politics go. i think it will be pure politics as opposed to the good of the country. host: you mean as far as things legislatively being done? caller: that is correct. host: why do you specifically view it that way? what led you to believe that from the way -- to believe that? caller: from the way things have gone over the last year.

republicans would just constantly vote no. it took a lot of persuasion to get some of them to come around, and it was not until it became very obvious that things were going to -- they needed to do something to be able to get more voters on their side. until that time, things were just sliding downhill. host: are there areas you think where democrats and republicans can work together on? caller: i think there are a lot of areas where they could work together on. i don't think it is going to happen. host: caller, you there? caller, sorry about that, you dropped the call. c-span has been conducting a series of exit interviews with members of congress who are leaving office. one of the ones we talked to was

kevin brady, the ranking member of the ways and means committee. one of the things we talked about was his time in congress and his hopes for the future of congress. here is a portion of that. [video clip] >> i am leaving congress the way i came in. you see it every day. if you turn off the noise, turn off the tv, set the phone and ipad down, and look around you and you will see communities where everyone is involved in volunteer efforts, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, helping veterans coming back, church civic clubs. we raced to each other's aid in crisis. politics, color of skin,

religion, no one cares. that is who america is,. that is why i am still very optimistic about who we are and where we can go. host: the exit interviews, if you want to see all of them with democrats and republicans, you can go to our website at c-span.org and view that. in new jersey, for our line of those who view the year ahead pessimistically, this is thomas. caller: how are you doing? i just got over a cold. i just want to -- hello? host: go ahead. caller: i just want to say all of those people who have been there for a while like nancy pelosi, schumer, vote them out of there this year. let's talk about brand-new. thank you. host: that was thomas.

this is tom, tom and kansas -- tom in kansas on our line for those who are optimistic. you are on, go ahead. caller: i hope it will be optimistic. the previous caller a few times ago, i wonder if he ever watches the house in session. when it comes to the vote on the floor or committees or anything else, they do account. -- they do a count. the democrats have had control, so it always comes out in the democratic favor. they have more democratic members. i am optimistic they can get some of these investigations done early like hunter biden and the other thing on the doj and what is going on with trump. use that time to do something for the american people. supply the people with the

truth. somehow we have to have the truth. people do not have the time normally in their lives to search for themselves. if you are a reporter, maybe you do. the media needs to do fact-checks until the people what is really going on. that is all i have to say, and hopefully we will have a better year. host: that is tom in kansas. president biden is currently vacationing in st. croix, sending out a series of tweets on his twitter feed, saying " happy new year. some of the things kicking in that this very moment -- " starting right now you can get tax credits to install electric ovens, heat pumps, you need it. save money while fighting climate change."

he goes on to say, " we are putting the brakes on how high big pharma can raise drug prices. starting right now if they raise prices faster than inflation, they will face penalty fees." " you will see tons of good paying manufacturing and construction jobs open up. just getting started. here is to 2023 and the work we will do together." host: let's go to david. david is in texas on the line for those who are pessimistic about the future in politics. hi. caller: hi how are you doing there,? host: find. caller: i'm starting a new political party. it is called the u.s. prosperity party. anyone who wants to find it, google u.s. prosperity party.org. they are horrible. they have all these people

pouring across the border. there is not enough water left in the country for the people who are here. california wants to build up hype from california to the great lakes just so they can have the water -- build a pipe from california to the great lakes just so they can have the water. we are running out of land to build on. all the good land is taken. it is getting more expensive. it is going to get way worse. host: how does your party propose to change that? caller: we have a lot of ways to do it. we are going to close the border. we are going to build 40 to 50 foot border walls. we will conserve the last of the water that is left. we will be a lot less wasteful. they are so wasteful. like i said, supply and demand. we will close the borders so that housing costs will

stabilize. host: in your mind, is everything that is currently going wrong have to do with the border specifically? caller: they don't do nothing but take bribes all day and embezzle money. 90% of them are corrupt, and they spend most of their time trying to steal taxpayers' money and taking bribes. they don't get nothing done. they don't care about the american people. the schools are horrible because they don't care. host: let's go to john in new jersey on our those were optimistic. caller: thanks for taking my call. i have to work hard to be optimistic, but the one thing that makes me optimistic is how much effort the party has put into buying our votes. that makes our votes important. they are trying really hard to get us to vote their way, and

they try to distract us with all sorts of things, both parties. it is an art. host: when you say trying to buy votes what do you mean specifically? caller: spending on campaigns and advertisements and things like that. that is a lot of money that goes into getting our attention, getting us angry in the hopes of getting us to vote their way. that means they need our votes that is the most optimistic thing i can say. take it seriously. it gets harder to sort through all of the baloney on the internet instead of having not enough information. you are flooded with infinite amounts of baloney mixed in with the news. our votes still count. host: johnny new jersey there.

massachusetts, this is ryan, pessimistic about the year ahead, ryan, good morning. caller: good morning, pablo, how are you? there are reasons to be excited about the new year, especially in terms of politics. w wille still have corruption amongst public officials. they will still be taking campaign donations, etc. we will still have horrible race relations. speaking on that i have a good friend who was actually black. he says the way he hears his parents talk about white people is the way the nazis talked about the jews. host: what's go to mark. mark in georgia. optimistic. caller: how are you doing? host: fine. thanks. go ahead. caller: i'm optimistic about the future despite the rain clouds

on the horizon rolling in. there is a quote, it goes "hard times make strong people, and strong people make -- and good times make weak people and weak people make hard times." it depends on how you look at it. i say take the opportunities that you can. i have been through a lot in my life. what i have always done is when hard times come in, i always look for the best opportunity and go for higher grounds. i believe in america. i see people leaving their countries and coming here, so i must to be in a good place. is it going to get rough? more than likely it will, but there are always opportunities. during the great depression a lot of people lost money and a lot of people made a lot of

money. it depends on how you look at it. when times get hard, work out. if you hold on long enough, the clouds will part and the sun will come out. host: that is mark they are a lot of optimism from georgia when it -- there expressing a lot of optimism from georgia when it comes to politics. the chair of the infrastructure committee -- [video clip] >> once i was trying to ban smoking on airplanes in this committee. we had the votes. it was going exactly as i had protected, but there was this guy sitting 2 seats after me. he votes no! eyes go -- i go, "jimmy!"

things change. i got this little note from norman that says, " he doesn't think this places on the level." i have learned sometimes it is on the level, sometimes it is not. i have always tried to deal with people honestly, forthright. republicans sometimes find me difficult to deal with, but they respect me because it is based -- i have a point and i am basing it and what i deeply believe in and what i think needs to be done. i have managed to work pretty good on a bipartisan basis. the only big fight we have had in this committee since i have become german is on climate change. -- become chair man is on climate change. we pass to the coast guard bill

on a bipartisan basis -- passed the coast guard bill on a bipartisan basis. this is historically not a partisan committee, but we have become more polarized. we have some of the radicals on the committee. i'm hoping that sam graves can continue the tradition. he will need democratic votes to get anything real done because he has 5 or 7 republicans will not vote for anything no matter what. host: a democrat from oregon leaving congress. conducting an exit interview, if you will. you can see that online. abby from facebook ads when it comes to her pessimist on == adds = -- adds when it comes to her pessimism, she is pessimistic as long as president biden is in charge. stephanie helton saying, " i'm

not even optimistic that republicans have enough votes to elect a speaker of the house." let's hear from dayton in the glade spring, virginia. you have called in on a line for those who are pessimist. go ahead -- who are pessimistic. caller: go ahead -- who are pessimistic. go ahead. caller: i am pessimistic about the media. i am really concerned about that. i don't think our country will be able to go in a direction when we do not have media on both sides reporting all the. facts and figures it is not right that we criticize some like ted cruz when he went out when texas was having their troubles, and then president biden getting a pass when we are having a snowstorm. the bias, the agenda of the rest

of the media has, pro-choice, pro-lgbtq, and anti-christian, i just hope the media would see the light and start reporting all news. i think you very much for your time. host: indiana, the line for those who are optimistic, this is don. hello. caller: i'm optimistic in a backhanded way. i am optimistic in that i believe the american people will probably see in the next few days when the republicans try to vote for speaker of the house how disorganized they are, and the american public will understand how they are not fit to be in power. i just want to say one more thing. you had cal thomas on. he said something about something to the effect of a

hyphenated america. this is the second time i heard a republican say something like this. as a black man here in america, i am not the one --there is a town in central indiana, i actually just found this out, it is shall we saya not a friendly place for someone who looks like me. whenever i hear someone like cal thomas and other republicans say, " i'm tired of hearing about this hyphenated america!" sundown towns still exist in this country! host: timothy in south carolina, line for those who are optimistic about the political future in 2023, go ahead. your next. -- you are next. caller: i call on behalf of the

country -- where is all of this money coming from? you have 5000 or 6000 people coming across the border. i would love to know how our country is going to pay for all this money that is being spent for these people to come across. i'm not a hateful person, but i don't yet understand how this happened. in south carolina several weeks ago, they had a trucking stop over there. a guy, green card, stole -- caught him with $170,000 cash, cocaine and stuff worth over $1 million. how are we going to keep people straight? where is the money that will keep this country going? caller: let's hear from -- host: let's hear from cindy in

new jersey. we have devised the lines by optimism and pessimism. she is calling in on the optimistic line. caller: i am very optimistic. i believe joe biden has done a great job considering the republican party are a party that will do nothing. they talk about hunter biden and that laptop. what about jared kushner and the $2 billion he received from saudi? that needs to be investigated also. i think donald trump also needs to be indicted. i'm hoping he goes to jail this year. happy new year, everybody. host: diane in st. paul, minnesota. on our line for those were optimistic, go ahead. caller: this is a good new year. one thing i am optimistic about is our young people. i i have lived through a lot. i am african-american.

it seems like i do not have a place anywhere in this country. can you hear me? host: go ahead. caller: my people, the native people do not have a say. my african-american family, i have went through them not allowing us to vote. the vote has always been stolen from us as african-americans as now we -- and now we do have a vote. the senate did not pass the voting rights act. i'm really optimistic about our young folks, black, white, native, all people, because they are getting the true history in america. they will not make the same

mistakes that we did. host: i will leave it there. david is the last call on this topic from fort lee, new jersey on our line for optimism. caller: they you for taking my call. i am optimistic about the coming year. i am optimistic about national politics. i am optimistic about the world's opinion of the events in ukraine. i am optimistic about the soft fall into a softer recession. i like what the fed is doing with the economy. i i'm optimistic about young people and their opinions of what is going on. i hear a lot of pessimism coming from the right, and a lot of what i think is baseless criticism of the biden administration continuing to bring up the infamous laptop, but i do not think there is much to that. i am optimistic there may be a

third-party bid by trump and his allies, which may splinter the republican party and allow the left an democrats to continue the work that is being done to rebuild infrastructure and education. host: i will have to leave it there. i apologize but to all of you who participated in this hour, thank you for giving us your time and your voices. you can continue posting on our facebook and twitter feeds, if you wish. thank you for watching. our program coming on the second day of 2023 comes tomorrow morning at 7:00. we will see you then. ♪

>> c-span's washington journal. everyday we are taking your calls and we will discuss policy issues that impact you. on monday morning, david parker director of the -- david barker talks about the 118th congress. then philip wallick, senior fellow at the american enterprise [captions copyright national cable satellite corp .2023] >> coming up, david barker talks about the 118th congress and prospects for a divided government. then phillip wallick, senior fellow on the history of divided

government and his upcoming book, "why congress." watch "washington journal" live at 7:00 eastern on c-span or on c-span now, our free mobile app and join with your phone calls, text messages and tweets. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government and we are sponsored by these television companies and more including comcast. >> you think it's a community center? no. it's way more than that. >> students from low income families may have the tools 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. ♪ >> tonight on "q&a" former

college president and professor shares his death of learning which looks at the state of liberal arts education in the united states and also talks about political correction on campus, multiculturalism and the importance of western civilization courses. >> critical race theory should be taught in at least colleges, maybe even in high schools, 16, 19 project, yeah. so long as you have them also read thomas paine, jefferson, martin luther king, abraham lincoln, that if you have -- not that i believe everything in it to be a debate but we talk about multiculturalism before and the multiculturalism of viewpoints and ideas about important things is crucial. >> "the death of learning" tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's