>> funding for overheard with evan smithhis provided in part by hillco partners, texas government affairs consultanny and its global health care consulting business unit, hillco health. and by the mattson mchale public television. and also by mfi foundation, immroving the quality of life within our community. and also by the alice kleberg reynolds foundation and viewers like you. thank you. >> i'm evan smith. she's a some time fox news contributor with a magnificent republican pedigree, but she's not your typical fox news republican. her new book is amerrcan individualism, how a new generation of conservatives can save the republican party. she's margaret hoover. this is overheard.

>> margaret hoover, welcome.ú >> thank you for having me. >> nice to see you. >> wonderful to be here. >> i want to ask you about the subtitle of your book. ferfirst of all, it assumes that the republican party needs this is not a view that a lot of republicans share, but you believe this is the case. >> the subtitle is now a new generation of conservatives can save the republican party. and of course republicans don'tt3 think we need to be saved from anything. and of course, right now we're coming out of of some pretty interesting victories in washington in terms of having 87 new members of the house of representatives have helped change and steer the course of the dialogue and the discourse of policy making in washington from just raising the debt limit over and over again to

actually reigning in spending. so that is a significant win for republicans. but i'm not talking aboutt3 what's going on in washington right now. i'm talking about the next generation. this book is about the millennial generation. they're the 30 and under, born at the beginning of the reagan era, through the end of the clinton presidency. and they're the largest generation in american history. they are civically eninvolved, engaged, they vote. and the problems for republicans or the challenge for republicans is that part of them identity in generational cohorts tend to solidify after three election cycle. >> you get brand loyalty basically. >> after you pass through the barriers to voting. and they voted for john kerry in 2004 and vottd overwheoverwhelmingly for bar in 20082008. so we have to get them now or we lose them. they will not identify with the republican party for the rest of their life. >> and the issue is can you persuade them that your yours are their issues. and i say that because you are a republican. >> i call myself a

conservative. iim not a social conservative. and the question is -- >> on social issues from the book you make john hunts plan look like rick perry. [ llughter ] >> well, because i'm in favor of same sex marriage, not civil unions. >> and you describe yourself as personally pro life, but polittcally pro choice. being politically pro choice and being for civil unions, and -- many of the things in this book peg you as outside whht we now understand to be the new mainstream of the republican party. >> well, but keep in mind what i'm doing is characterizing sensibilities of the millennial generation. and on the issue of morally equivalent with gay rights. the millennials have tte view. they believe that abortion is morally unethical. they not in favor of it personally or for their friends or for the people they know in their lives, but they are also not in favor of roe vs. wade being overturned. >> but some wwuld say there

is not a difference between the two. everybody wants to see a decreass in unplanned pregnancies and for government to stay out of people's business. >> but what mill les millenniale and this is one thing that talks bout their politics. connecting to them on a messaging position simply you can talk about how we pregnancies.nwanted >> but if you look at the republican presidential feel right now, it is basically every single within of them far, not just to the right, but far to the right of the position you're articulating in this book on that issuu. >> on abortion specifically. many of them have signnd an anti-abortion pledge and pledged to appoint only court who would overturn roe vs. wade. >> here is the thing about millennials..3 the reason i say a new generation of conservatives can save the republican party is because i am defiantly still going to call myself a conserve conservative even though i

am not a social conservative. they'reetuned out. they doo't think they're conservative. 40 percent of themselves call themselves moderate. their politics are again, not deeply ideological. they're pragmatic. they want to see policy solutions that make sense to them. conservativism is far more diverse than being socially conservative. and the republican party ought to -- think this generation is actually fiscally conservative. there are strong signs that thhy have tendencies towards the conservativism especially when it comes to deficits. while social conservatives they are not, i think they align with conservativism ii many areas. >> egg i think if you go back throuuh the historyy go back to barry goldwater. he would be much more with you on aborrion and same sex marriage than he would be with the majority of the party. >> his family started one of the first planned arenthood

places in arizona. >> and george hw bush before he was president was suuporter of family planning and planned parenthood. -ut you can't be thht person these days and get elected as a republican most places. >> increasingly you're starting to see some changes. i think especially in new york state we have pro choice and pro gay rights republicans who are elected in 2010. little told story, but it's the truth. >> do you know what we call new york republicans in texas, we call them liberals. [ laughter ] liberals.ey are not there is a new model for a northeast conservative. i'm talking people that you haven't even eard of who elected to congress that are fiscal conservatives, strong ú&scal conservatives, buu social moderate. nan hey worth, richard hannah. >> can they get elected anywhere else in the country? >> i'm with bill buckley. he said you vooe for the most conservative person that can get elect understand that egion. would nan hey worth -- maybe she would get elect understand austin, texas,

but i don't know if she would get elect understand mississippi. >> or in wyoming or utah. >> but you're building a coalition. there's diversity in the coalition. reagan, you don't hit the other republicans. >> that seems to have been forgotten. >> my 80 percent alll is not my 20% enemy. also completely forgotten. he called the coalition testifies just as diverse and hhrried as it is now, but we've turned into a circular firing squad&instead os us and dwwet divides. and the millennial are 37% underemployed or unemployed. understand the fiscal consequences going on. this is what i argue in my book is that we only have 15 this is a really important 15 months to make inroads because the timing is right and they have frankly been disappointed in performance of barack obama. >> let me stay with the new york republicaas. it was newwyork republicans who are ultimately

responsible for the ppssage of same sex marriage in new york state. >> they championed that. >> not democrats. it was several in the state legislature who supported it and pushed it over the edge. now, those guys again, elsewhere in the country it's get a rope, right? >> even for some of them in new york it's get a rope. they took very courageous ann bold decisions. and there's much criticcsm that only four new york republicans voted for this. far more were in support of this. lobbying in albany and being involved in the fund-raising. the first million dollars that came into the media campaign, came from republican money in new york. so there was absolutely a bipartisan, strong republican leadership for this. especially in new york, this is the party of an bow lition. this is the party -- we started as a party of individual freedom. it was the party that gave theme to the suffrage movement. when susan b. anthony cast her illegal vote in 1872, she was proud to cast a

straight republican ticket.3 the republican paaty has been the party of individual freedom, especially in new york, since its founding, and i believe that there are shifts going on beneath the surface that the national scene isn't seeing and we won't see in the 2012 presidential election, but we will fundamental shifts in terms of the directioo of the pprty in the favor of the course i outline in my boofnlgt. >> what you're saying is very forward looking and progressive position relative -- >> i don't like the word progressive. >> i know you don't. how about small p progressive. i have to tell you that this ú&s always een the fundamental question about republicans who on the one hand say we want the government out of everything, we want the free market, we want the 10th amendment. leave us alone. on gay marriage when we want to be totally in your business. >> i couldn't agree with you more. the democrats are the same give you all the freedom to make the choices for your body and make the choices in your personal life, but we'll tell you that we'll take x amount of taxes and we'll tell you that we'll &-in other areas of your life.

-> i'm not sure the democrats have been small government people. >> they have not. they've been intrusive government people which infringes on the individual liberty and freedom in the economic sphere, in terms of the relationship between the individual and govvrnment in other areas. so there are people who you have this radical movement of which we know many people who are involved, that say frankly both sides -- both parties are trying to control me. to control my finances, control my eccnomic mobility freedom or control mow a perssnal level. >> so fiscal conservative and social progressivism are the same in that respect? we were talking about abortion and the backdrop of the ddscussion of same sex marriage and you said abortion is nnt the moral issue that same sex marriage is. >> i think they are not morally equivalent issues. for social conservatives, there's this conversation, there's this discussion. ú& many of them are realizing that they're actually okay with freedom

for freedom to marry for gay individuals. they understand that it's not an issue of life and deaah. >> right, but for a lot of of a moral issue.s ven more it's more of a biblical plas fe my to can -- blas fe my to consider a man and a man and a woman and a woman to marry, wouldn't you say? >> i think there are some, but i don't think it is the majority. it is not the majority of americans. when you pull the millennial generation, by the wayy this is a ggneration who is least afill lated with religion. only a quarter of them identify with organized religion, but reader's digest had a poll in 2009, '08, that said that 67 percent of them pray everyday. they don't identify with formal religion. they, overwhelmingly the ones who are affiliated with religion, catholics, protestants, main line, the majority of them are in favor of acceptingú homosexuality in society and same sex arriage. so it is not viewed as a

religious issue. >> let me ask you about the politics before we talk about your great grandfather and before we talk about foxx3 news, both which will be interesting topics. you were a fund-raiser for the 2000 bush-cheney reelect. a campaign that was notable for among other things using same sex marriage as a ballot wedge in many states to turn out republicans against john kerry. how do you feel about that looking back ver your shoulder? >> as you know, the introduction of my book is about precisely that and a crisis of confidence that i haddbecause i call it my miss hoover goes to washington movement. because i of course, like to represent the sensibilities of my gay friends, want them to have the same freedomssaa i have and was troubled byy3 this strategy.3 and ultimately believed thatú george bush was the right man at the right time in the right job and i worked hard though i didn'ttagree with his position. and that's what happens when you're in washington. you realize that sometimes -ou're working for people who don't 100% he espouse

the same things you espouse, but on the balance you make a decision about supporting them. >> you don't expect that that will come back as we get into the 2012 campaign where the center of the republican party is being pulled further to the right and where the parties likely to nominate - tomikely to nominate someone who is ú&&-right than to the center of the party. don't you think we'll be fighting those same wars over again on some of these social issues? >> i don't. i do not think we'll see this as a national battleground strategy because it didn't work last time. and what i would tell you is that, look, you've got ken melman who has come out and is gay and working actively for same sex marriage. ted olson, the number two in ú&sh's justice department who was lltigated bush versus gore is partly responsible for president bush actually get to go the white house, he is part of a team that's litigating the prop 8. >> he's responsible for that in california. >> the most responsible person.

ted is fightiig this fight. dick cheney is in favor of same sex marriage. nobody questionss-- >> he's not in question of anything.3 >> nobody questions his credentials. and lawyer bush as well. >> laura bush is publicly for it? >> she has said it publicly, marriage.r same sex and here's the thing. there are really fundamental shifts happening underneath the surrace in the republican party hat are -- that we're not going to see innthe 2012 election, but i think are going to have a real rooe. i think the reason they're so significant, that's why you'reeseeing the national organization for marriage and tony perkins coming out so strongly right now. i genuinely believe this is their last gasp. >> one more question on this because i an'ttresist. 2012 coming up. given margarrt hoover style conservatism, can you cast a ballot for rick perry, can you a cast a ballot for michelle balkman, even for mitt romney, who is now back to his days before he was pro choice, beffre he was

for same sex marriage? >> of course i can and here's why. i don't think any informed vote certify sam issue voter. conservative, national security conservative. i believe there are hundreds, if not thousands of decisions that happen in the executive branch. yoo will not agree with everybody 100%. perfectism isn't on the ballot. i will support the republican no, ma'am neevment. >> regardless who it is. >> i will support the republican nominee. >> who will it be? >> it looks like rick pprry has the edge right now, but it may be mitt romney. we'll just have to see. it is still early. i had a fantasy that paul ryan was going to get in the race and it appears that he's crushed my dreams. >> anybody that fan t fantasizes about paul ryan is all right with me. let me ask you about your3 great grandfather, herbert hoover, president of tte united states and who you refer to as a mythicú villain. he is one of the mythic villains in the american

historical landscape. have we not hought well enough of him in retrospect? >> he has absolutely been the victim of real personalizee political slander because of the politics of the new deal and the politics of the great depression. and that has obscured his contributioncontributions to hu. and he lived for 90 years and those four years in office, which i believe those years in and of themselves are due for a reevaluation. only -- he was an extraordinary commerce secrrtary..3 he was a great public spicial. >> his contemporaaies called him the great humanitarian. he saved bell janes from starvation in warld war one. he set up soup kitchens in russia. he hated less than anyone. and everyday for two years they fed 11 million russians, saved russia from famine. this has been wiped off the

>> why do you think? >> bbcause they didn't want to say they weren't going to win. >> but we can read. we know what he did. why are we still talking about him? >> because this is the power of narrative in american politics. herbert hoover is brought out as the whipping boyyin every election and it has gotten worse lately. >> one of the republicans compared obama to herbert hoover. maybe they're talking about the vacuum guy, how about that? >> i wish you were right. it's willful ignorance and it's lazy. it's lazy and it -- this is-- herbert hoover has an incredible legacy. the master of emergencies. he had so many contributions. and frankly what i argue in this book is he was a ma lesmillennial 80 years before the first millennials were born. technologies. he had that world view. >> he believed the

government could be made to work and this is all values of the millennial generation. in him i think it can -onnect the millennial generation. >> why don't you write about your grandfather? that would be a great book. >> i would say the only presidential descendent that has successfully written family is david eisenhauer in terms of an objective, historical look at t. he has an incredible mind and afs professor of mine in college. i will tell you that this book, the genesis of this book was in david eisenhauer's class in college and it was a paper i wrote called american individualism. >> i think you have a pretty good basis for aabook here if you decide to do one. we have a few minutes left.ú i have to ask you about fox news. if you live in this country you are either in the owe riley camp -- the o'reilly camp or the jon stewart camp. i want you to play margaret hoover and go down the middle and tell me about why the perceptions abbut fox news are wrong. >> here's what i will say first about fox news.

when i grew up we had three channels, abc, nbc and cbs. and if you wanted another editorial remember specct active you had to listen to rush imbaugh on the radio. that's what i did growing up. fox news, firsttof all, their news is excellent and you actually can't -- one of the shows thht i watch every night is brett farris at six a.m. >> he is the guy whh has no partisannhip. he just does the news. >> and it's very claire. sean happenty, bill o'reilly, their news,,3 entertainment and they'reú opinion editorials. they report the news, but their opinion editors as well. one thing i love about o'reiily and you do not see this on other partisan channels. is he will drag out people &-with and put them on.pearss3 >> nsnbc has michael steel. >> never got air time on

keith oberman's show. he would never put on people that he deeply disagrees with. i think it has been -- i presence of fox and the media, there is now almost an acknowledgment that you have to have a conservative point of view, even in mainstream audiences. in meet the press every week on meet the press there's a conservative voice at the table. and that would not have happened if not for fox news. >> that doesn't go back too3 the earlier days of prefox news? they doesn't have somebody on there? remembbr this.enough to &-almost a cognizant is recognntion that there has to be at least representative of some -- >> steven hays, the standard &-that rogram.brought on >> i think so. &-balanced as more than just a >> yeah, actually, i do. yeah..3 >> explain. >> well, i mean, i don't know any other news -- cable news network.

nsnbc doesn't do this. i think cnn tries to middle, but their viewership of course ii lagging. they -- fox is presenting, as they see it,,multiple sides of the sttry. they're not just telling one side of the story. they have -- there are just as many democratic strategists. >> no, but again -- >> michael steele is nsnbc's idea of a republican. bob diikkmorris is fox's idea of a democrat. >> no. bob beckle. >> i guess dick morrrs. >> he's a conservative now. dick more sis is not a democrat anywhere. >> but he was. when dick morris started going on the programs he was still -- >> i think he already recanted. >> he was a former strategist. >> everybody understands where. >> can we agree that nsnbc should have paul ryan on and you should have sheila jackson leon. >> she comes on.

she's invittd: >> but you make fun of her. >> no. the show that i'm on, bill o'reilly. bill actively tries to get every perspective oo. show, he's ffir. >> they call you culture warrior. you're o'reiily's -- >> i'm on his show -- >> would you go on the other shows? >> i woold do some of the other shows. >> is it good for american journal ifl or for the engagement level of the public -- i would grant you msnbc ann fox, there's not much different in the way ttey do their jobs. they both approach the stuff the same way. is it good? because jon stewart and others complain, and i'm not sure that he's better than they are in this respect, but they complain that ultimately what the cable spectrum does is divvde us further. it doesn't solve the problem, but accuse 17 twaits the problem? -> and i think jon stewart is part of that, frankly. to suggest that jon stewart is the fair arbitor in the middle and doesn't have his3 own ideology is bogus. >> but he has on on

republicans. he has on a whole range of people. >> ut let's be honest. he's an entertainer with a point of view.3 and he's funny andda fabulous entertainer, but that's what he is. he's an entertainer.3 >> and you consider o'reilly to be more of a news man than jon stewart is? >> his background is. >> what is he doing now? >> yee, o'reilly is reporting news, breakingúú&newsg in-depth interviews with a spectrum of guests. >> yeah. >> who reppesent a spectrum of different views. >> so we have a minute left. what will you do next? what is what the next act here? >> that's a great question. somebody askeddme that last night and i turned it around and said what do you think i should do? look, i'm promoting the bookk3 and i actually really -- i didn't write this book as a next step to anything. i wrote it because i genuinely believe in the country. i do care about the country and i also care about the direction of the party and i want the party to represent me and the next generatton and i want to be able to be part of the party. and i'd like to be able to

be part of the change. >> have you thought about taking up your great grandfather's old profession and possibly running yourself? >> god, no. absolutely not. >> why do you say god no? >> here's why. and this is what i told --3 bill asked e this one time. it was on an ooline tting. and i said, the hoover tradition -- and this is what hoover believed deeply and this is what i believe. is that you owt not to join had one or two or three other careers because the idea of public service is not a profession. you offer your sefses to thee3 american people when you have a set of skills that you can offer. and i believe that you go out and get experience and build a nest negative and have a family and for me, i think maybe when i'm 50, 60 and done something else that's quite meaningful andd3 worthwhile in my life and i actually have wisdom and perspective, then i would be open to sort of, wow, is this something i want to do now. do i want to offer my services? and i do aspire -- iiwish more americans aspired to public

service. it's become such a nasty business. >> we innthe world contribute to that by that go into public office and make it the most unpleasant experience in the world for them. >> that's true, but this is the first amendment, this is the free press, but of course it should be more civil. >> it should be. >> and it should be more respectful. and you know, so i can't say -- the nancy pelosi model, which i absolutely love in terms of herú personal life. when her last kid was in high school is when we ran for public service. >> so it's a maybe. >> i' 33 years old. i have a lot of livinggto do. i wouldn't burden the american public with my unwise candidacy for >> is that right? okay. just stick with the book then. well, mar get, thank you very much for being here. great to see you. good luck with the book. margaret hoover, thank you very much.

>> funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by hillco partners, texas government affairs consultancy and its global health care consulting business unit, hillco health. and by the mattson mchale foundation in support of public television. and also by mfi foundation, improving the quality of life within our community. kleberg reynolds foundation and viewers like you. thank you.