last year's supreme court's citizens united and united decision here to offer his take on this is jim dean the chair of democracy for america jim welcome. hey todd thanks for having me if i could just make one slight correction at the polls are open for another hour until eight o'clock central time and i just want to make sure that any listeners out there have not voted and live in these six districts this is a great time to go out because your vote is really going to matter we should have told you before you came on the air jim we prerecorded the show an hour earlier so . this will play at nine and by then it will polls will be closed so any i want to look like on the ground. i don't it looks pretty good i get up i must say the folks here i mean our staff that's been here for six weeks as well as a lot of great organizations that have been here are very very pleased with the way the field program has gone with the way they get out the vote has gone with the dollars that they've made but the fact is that these elections really really are close and every vote really does better and i apolog

jim dean joins us now. he is the chairman of democracy for america. jim, good to have you with us tonight. >> ed, thanks. >> how would you characterize what you have seen on the ground here in recent days leading up to the turnout? >> well, i think intense is a very good word for, that ed. the strength that all of the folks that are here tonight as well as all over the state have shown has really been remarkable. you know, as we've said, these are republican districts, and yet we've seen people coming from all over the place out of the woodwork. i've had the pleasure of being on a lot of these canvasses myself. and the kind of intensity that they displayed, the kind of passion that the folks have displayed about getting out to vote has really been remarkable. and again, these are republican districts. this has always been an uphill battle. it's always been the beginning of something much bigger. but it's really been awesome. >> but it should be pointed out that these are districts that were won by president obama in 2008. correct, john? >> that is corr

. >> jim dean, if the recall is not successful for the democrats, the magic number is three.e, what does it mean nationally? >> we keep fighting. the fact the races are as close as they are now, the activism among the voters in republican districts. the fact they are closed is testimony. we need to keep fighting this battle here during the recall election for governor and especially ohio in november. >> a loss is a loss. how crucial is this to the progressive movement across the country. >> this is important. i'm not going to lie to you about it. i'm confident it is going to go the right way. we are going to be in the battle in ohio this fall and in michigan and a lot of other states to get it right. >> you know -- you know, what kind of influence have the brothers had on the voters? have they been a motivator? do you think they realize who they are and what has motivated them? >> i think it has. you are talking to a really wisconsin badger here. we don't like being fooled or having our democracy taking care of. it is not the end of the world. i think we are going to win. it'

dean in 2007. it serves and a public-interest law firm associated with the claremont institute. in the role of moderator, and jim newton, the editor at large of "the los angeles times." i am sure you know his wise boys. it has worked as a reporter, editor, bureau chief, and presently editor of the editorial pages. he is an author and he is the minister in a presidential biography of dwight d. eisenhower and we all hope it will be published this year. please try and me in welcoming our guests to the los angeles public library. -- please join me in welcoming our guests. m[applause] thank you. [applause] >> good evening. my name is jim newton. welcome. it is a special tre to have my call panelists here. as noted, these are two eminent constitutional scholars to disagree about everything in the constitution care -- constitution. i would like to admit that i am not completely neutral. my biography is entitled justice for all. it is safe to say that if i were forced to write on justice scalia, i would not give it the same title. [laughter] that said, i will do my best not to gang up. >> i was looking at who was not ap