time as a slave in baltimore, and his escape north in 1838. the book was widely sold and influenced the cause of abolition. our guest will discuss the book. watch books that shaped america featuring narratives of the life of frederick douglass monday live at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now come our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. also be sure to scan the qr code to listen to our companion podcast, where you can learn more about the authors of the books fead.tu >> the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the office of speaker of the house of the united states house of representatives is hereby declared vacant. >> stay with c-span as the battle over how speakership continues. follow every moment as this

election unfolds. watch on c-span, c-span now come our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. joining us this morning is simon rosenberg, democratic strategist to talk about the house speaker battle. how do you respond to the argument made by the former speaker kevin mccarthy when he blamed democrats for what happened, saying they sided with matt gaetz instead of the institution and they could've protected the institution? guest: it's a silly argument. the republicans have a majority, it's their responsibility to produce a speaker and pass continuing resolutions to keep the government open and they been struggling to do that all year. i think the democrats did what they always do which is no party

votes for the other speaker, that never happens, they want their own speakers so the issue here is that the republican party is collapsing and falling apart. we have a broken republican party and that's the story and hopefully they can put things together in the next few weeks and get the government working again so we can pass continuing resolutions and pass the year end budget and get back to the people's business. host: there is a problem solvers caucus in the house, republicans and democrats looking for compromise to move forward on debate. after what happened in the house, republicans in that caucus threatened to quit writing --

do they? guest: i'm astonished at these arguments. it's so partisan and political in terms of what's happened over the last few weeks. what would have happen, how would democrats have worked with republicans? kevin mccarthy was not offering any deals, there is no negotiation. on the continuing resolution that cap the government open saturday, there wasn't any negotiation. kevin mccarthy changed his mind saturday and went for a vote that day with no discussions with the democrats. they wouldn't have accepted the elimination of the ukraine funding if there had been negotiations. it was take it or leave it. he did that on the government shutdown and he did take it or leave it with no negotiations around earlier this year around the debt ceiling.

this was all legislative terrorism. he kept telling the democrats, take what i'm giving you or i blow up the american economy. this is not the way congress normally works. there was no possibility of there being some kind of democrat-republican coalition that does the people's business because kevin mccarthy did not have the legislative running room to give democrats anything they wanted. there was no possibility of a coalition. if kevin mccarthy wanted a coalition, you need to work for and there was no effort. the republicans are just trying to deflect from what is historic dysfunction in their own party. that's host: host: really the story here. we had a viewer earlier, a republican say democrats made a mistake here because it's going to take months to elect the next speaker. while they are going through that process, the government is essentially shut down and that's

what democrats voted for while they wait for the next speaker. no spending can happen and the biden administration cannot push forward their agenda. guest: that's entirely on the republican party who is in charge. republicans are in charge of the congress. they are the ones responsible for producing a speaker and running the affairs of the congress every day. the democratic party is in charge of the senate and the white house but not in charge of the house. the dysfunction we are seeing is entirely republican dysfunction. what's important to understand is this is going to be in normal sleep challenging for republicans to explain to the american people over the next 14 months. people are tired of republican extremism and republican dysfunction and this is why people keep voting because

people are tired about the stuff and republicans have to put their own party back together. they initiated the vote and they removed kevin mccarthy, it wasn't the democrats. they will have to put this all back together and you are right, there will be a week in speaker and kevin mccarthy allow the extremists to weaken the institution of the house, it never happened before in the history of the country because kevin mccarthy given to structural rules that allowed this to happen, gave into the extremists in his own party and now he has weaken the institution. those of us who have been doing this a long time, it is worrisome the republicans are so intent on weakening so many pieces that are critical to our democracy. they try to overturn an election in 2021, they are attacking the military right now by voting against ukraine and trump is attacking an independent judiciary every day, there's corruption in the supreme court. american democracy is better right now and it's important we

understand there is one party doing this, the republican party that's weakening institution after institution critical to our democracy. it's a major issue and something we need to be talking about. host: we want to invite our viewers to join in, republicans, (202) 748-8000 democrats (202) 748-8001s an independent (202) 748-8002 you can tax us -- you can text us at (202) 748-8003. there are some special elections coming up for vacant house seats, in rhode island, the first district and utah's second district, what you will will you be watching for? guest: it's very important to recognize that since the spring of 2022, there's been one political environment and that is democrats over performing their 2020 results in over performing the partisan lead in these districts, winning

elections that nobody thought we would win. it could happen -- it happened in 2022. in 2023, we've seen the exact same environment across the country where special elections, democrats are above their 2020 numbers by eight points which is incredible. these are in dozens of elections across the country. they work mayoralty's in florida and colorado springs in the wisconsin supreme court's be -- seat. i think what we should anticipate his democratic over performance. we will have a lot of elections one month from now across the country including in virginia. there will be a test of the two-party strength. i like where we are and i think we are doing well and we have to keep going on offense and run up the score is much as possible. host: how do you square that

with this nbc poll? guest: all that is true and joe biden's approval rating in 2022 is in the low 40's and inflation was high and we still had an extra ordinary election. we've seen the same dynamic play out across the country in 2023 because the most powerful words in our politics today is

opposition and fear of maga that's what drove 2018 and 2020 and 2022 and 2023. even though the democrats are not where they want to be, there is something bigger than all of that for a majority of voters which is the sense that electing republicans could end american democracy. these are big states and people are acting that way. you see this over performance from democrats across the country while that polling is playing out. the same was true in 2022. we were told her red wave was coming and republicans were doing well in the polls and democrats over performed all expectations. that same basic dynamic is happening now and what's happening with house republicans will push the republican party further away from the electorate. host: let's get to calls, upper

marlboro, maryland, independent. caller: i agree with simon rosenberg. the democratic party, even though it may not seem in a very strong position, the chaos that has happened is really the republicans. matt gaetz really should be expelled from congress and he is the one who ousted mccarthy with democratic support, not republicans. he has caused the division in his own party. there are two things white mccarthy had a lot of support from the democrats. number one, he pulled the ukraine aid from the bill and then he pushes for impeachment inquiry on president biden when we are 24 hours away from a shutdown. that's not working in favor of the country, really, it's not. they want to divide and rule and be extreme and that will not work. host: are you truly an

independent, have you voted for both parties? caller: yes, i voted for both parties. host: what do you make of that from an independent? caller: i'm with sid. i agree with everything he said. tried to present this as something other than the most extraordinary dysfunction in american history and a party that can keep itself together and do the block and tackle of keeping the government open and using extremist tactics. there is an attempt to deflect and create other stories but it's all deflection. you are seeing it clearly,, sid and i appreciate you weighing in today. host: connecticut, republican, let's hear from you. caller: yes, good morning. my situation is what trump did

with the border and i disagree with him because we want freedom back. if they can do for one year, 12 separate bills and vote on that and pass a one bill solution for a law instead of 300 paces or more, if they can make child support tax-deductible, our economy would be so far better than it is now. you'd have men stepping up to their obligation and saying great, we will support this. host: we will stick to your first comment. guest: on the border, i think both parties have work to do here and i think there will be an opportunity this fall to work together to come up with a

longer-term solution to what we are seeing. democrats a been trying to update and modernize the immigration system for almost 20 years and the republicans can need -- continue the block the effort with more tools to manage the challenges of the border. i think democrats absolutely want to come to the table and get something meaningful done here. let's be optimistic about that. people are trying to look for bipartisan compromise and this is an area that would be doable the next few months. host: the front page of the washington times -- guest: i think it's a

demonstration that the administration is trying hard with one arm tied behind her back. there are some things they've tried to do that's been blocked in courts, legislation we feel is critical to manage the border has been blocked by republicans. i think the administration is trying their best. homeland security and the secretary of state are in texas now to work out a better path and dealing with the flow of fentanyl to our border. i think the administration is trying and it would be great if congress could step up and give them more tools to be able to tackle this. this is not a simple problem, there is no easy solution. this is something we will be managing for a long time. it will be part of our story in our conversations like this for decades to come but we need to do better. . host: louisville, kentucky, democratic caller. caller: yes. host: good morning to you, go

ahead. caller: i agree wholeheartedly to what your guest just said. the way they frame the argument is the democrats started this argument which they did not and republicans are saying they voted with the democrats. it was a republican argument. the concern of the economy part of it can go back to history and you will find out how the republican party how'd just how they diss a mental the -- they dismantled the economy and the democrats had to repair it. i would suggest that republicans have an argument within their own party. it's deafly not the democrats arguing -- argument now and i think hakeem jeffries should be the house speaker. host: what are the chances of

that happening? guest: not high. hopefully he will be speaker in 2025. he has incredible grace and capacity since he become the democratic leader. i want to reflect them one other thing. i think democrats field kevin mccarthy did a bad job. he capitulated to the extremist in his party and was unable to keep things on an even keel and did something that was unprecedented and threatening to blow up the economy with the debt ceiling and use another extreme tactic in the last few weeks of shutting the government down. this was not slow and steady and sober leadership. this was brinksmanship in an unprecedented way and we were disappointed that the speaker was so aggressive about using things that were threatening the how -- the health and safety of the united states. democrats feel he was a bad speaker. that's one of the reasons he was unable to get democratic support. he had not done a good job and

didn't deserve their support primarily. host: he did avoid catastrophe on both the examples you gave. he did negotiate with the president guest: i understand that, but there's never been in the history of the country a threat to breach the debt ceiling. even president trump did not contemplate something like this and our credit rating was downgraded over those tactics so there was a penalty to that. it cost the country money for what he did. no democratic congress has ever threatened to shut the government down. it's only been a republican tactic. the idea that i will pull the pin on the degrade -- on the grenade is not the way congress was set up. the reason why these things don't happen as they are outside the scope of how legislatures are supposed to work. this cannot become normal. shutting the government down and breaching the debt ceiling are dangerous tactics that even donald trump denounced while he was president.

i think that's part of the reason why we felt kevin mccarthy had blown it by repeatedly giving into the most extremist elements of his party and destabilizing congress and the united states. i don't think he was deserving of democratic support over the last few weeks. host: arizona, independent caller:. hi, i happened to go by alex wagner's show last night and some of the republicans had said donald trump should be speaker of the house which you don't have to be a member of the house to be the speaker. rule 26a of the house rules, anyone under indictment for a felony that carries more than a two-year sentence cannot be speaker of the house. the republicans probably have to drop that notion of having donald trump be speaker of the house. host: simon rosenberg? guest: i don't think that will happen. just reading the tea leaves, it

looks like jim jordan has got a leg up over steve scalise but we will see. it took a long time to let kevin mccarthy and i think whatever comes out the other side, you will see a republican party where the speaker will be institute -- will be weekend and the institution will be weakened. host: tell us what you are reading that gives jim jordan the advantage? guest: the fact that kevin mccarthy's staff is working for him not first police is a significant development and that was reported in politico this morning. i read everything i could this morning. i think it was in politico but it felt to me, everything i was reading, that today it seems things are leaning toward jim jordan but we will see. we've got a long way to host: host: go on this one.

today is thursday, october 5 and the speaker raises on and they're coming back next week and that is their first order of business. mike in bessemer city, north carolina, republican. caller: good morning and if you allow me time to make a couple points -- your guest there with a straight face can say that the border, the biden administration had one hand tied behind her back. they had both hands open and they just follow the laws and cap what trump had in place and continuing the border wall and quit giving -- what did they get, 2000 -- 200,000 people coming to this country. do like canada, you can only come into the country if you serve a purpose. it affects americans, black, white and another thing you're talking about maga extremist, what about the democrats?

the whole republican party got -- the whole democratic party good demonize. democrats won't step out of line because they are afraid their constituents will right in front of their house like they did in front of the supreme court. guest: i think the case we will make over the next year is that joe biden is a good president, the country is better off, the democratic is strong and winning elections all over the country, beating republicans even republican areas and we have a strong case to make on reelection. i've been doing this for over 30 years and seeing many presidents going back to bush. joe biden has done a good job and they will have a strong case to make next year. i know there will be lots of squabbles here and other places but at a time of enormous challenge with covid and

insurrection and political instability in the united states and an attempt to invade a foreign country and cleat creating global inflation come i think were reluctant just lucky to have one of the most experienced people in the white house to guide the country through. we are getting through to the other side of the challenges we had when joe biden came to office and i think the country is far better off today. that will be our argument we have certain things we want to do. i am confident right now about our position. i feel the president has done a good job and i'm excited to come back here as often as you can have me over the next few months. host: what are his vulnerabilities? guest: i think his assets are that the country is better off and he still has a lot of things he wants to do and is been a steady leader during a challenging time. the thing we've had to deal with during his presidency have been significant.

i am confident that if is -- if it is biden-trump which seems likely today, we be trump and 2020 and i think we should be able to beat him again. i think the court case and everything that will happen to him in 2024 will make -- will push them further away from the electorate. it gives an opportunity to win again and the house as well i hope. host: that was the next question. guest: we need the economy to be strong and we need the war on ukraine to be successful. those of the two things more than anything else will shape the public's understanding of whether he's done a good job next year. host: roger, fort wayne indiana, democratic caller. caller: thanks for taking my call. i have a couple of comments on the question. could he explain to the american people what is the biggest cause

of our debt of the $33 trillion we have? can he explained to the american people what is there that gave us this humongous debt? the comments that i have concerning ukraine -- the only reason these maga folks want to terminate the help in any way for ukraine is because it will only help trump and trump's friend putin. as far as the border, how about we keep trump on it? he said he can get mexico to pay for the wall so until mexico pays for the wall, the wall should not get built. don't try to stick it to the working class taxpayers to build donald trump's lego wall. stop make us working-class folks

pay for your wars and your tax cuts and your wall street bailouts. then you holler about we don't want to do anything. you pay for your own stuff. stop trying to make the working class pay for all of you all things. we are paying enough already. host: simon rosenberg? guest: i will give an answer that is probably not what people expect which is that the debt we have is because of the republican party. the last three republican presidents it dramatically increase the annual deficit on their watch. the last two, very significantly in the last three democratic presidents have reduce the deficit. the party that is loan the debt through the roof has been the republican, nothing democratic party. we have made the fiscal imbalance we have better every time we been office and every time republicans have been in office, it's grown. there is a lot of bad information out there about what

has happened in the time of been in washington. i've been around during these debates. i've been here 30 years. the party of fiscal responsibility is the democratic party and the party of spending too much is the republican party. in part, is because they're so focused on cutting taxes without cutting spending that every time they get into office, the deficit goes through the roof. that's number one. i think we've covered the other two subjects with the exception of ukraine. we got a strong case to make on ukraine. we need to bring the american people along. the idea that of russia was to be successful in invading another country and taking their territory, the entire system we have today globally is predicated on the idea of independent countries not being invaded by others will be dramatically weakened on our watch. it's not just about ukraine and arms, it's about whether we will have a peaceful and prosperous world mostly over the last 80 years.

russia is threatening that an object ukraine, it's an attempt to weaken the international order in america from the 1940's. we like to see our european allies come together in such an unprecedented way to back ukraine. this is a titanic vitamin e to make sure we bring the american people along. i think we are doing the right thing here. host: daniels watching from texas, republican. good morning. caller: i was thinking about whenever biden got into office, the first thing he did was he quit the border wall and he closed our pipeline and he closed the russian and chinese pipeline. it looks to me like the democrats are turning to the communist side. they call it socialism, it's the same thing.

guest: quick answer -- i think there is also a lot of noise around what's happening with energy in america. you hear republicans say biden has made us not energy independent. america's more energy independent than we've ever been. we produce more oil this year and during the trump presidency. we are producing more renewable energy than we ever have. we are producing more of our own domestic energy this year than any time in american history. under the biden presidency, we become more energy independent, not less. i wanted to say that because i think the deficit and debt, there is a lot of misinformation out there from people. i'm very proud of the presidents energy strategy.i think is been very successful . if you are upset about your gas prices, you should be matted saudi arabia and russia.

they raise the gas prices, not joe biden. he's done everything he scans a lower energy costs for the american people. host: the argument by republicans that democrats are socialist, who is the audience for that and how effective is it? guest: under the last three democratic presidents, we've seen enormous strong growth with american prosperity and out of the last three republican presidents, we've seen recession, higher deficits and decline. the democratic party has been good capitalism and the other parties not so good. since 1989, there have been 49 million jobs created in america, 47 million have been created under democratic presidents. to me, the socialist argument is silly. we have different views have to manage the economy. our views have worked and