sincerely yours, diane feinstein, united states senator -- dianne feinstein, united states senator."applause] >> i don't know what to say. i'm so overwhelmed. it really feels good to get some recognition from the politicians and top politicians. i'm glad that i lived to see this day. [applause] and i want to thank all who have made this day possible, including all the people at the library that put this event together. thank you very much. [applause] >> now, i would like to introduce the driving force behind this program, and award- winning, internationally known storyteller, recording artist, and educator. she is a truth teller and an artist for social change. she has made it her life's work to tell history through the words of its off forgotten witnesses. zero two one-women shows -- she wrote two one-women shows. she told the true story of the 1955-1956 montgomery bus boycott through the eyes of four women. please help me welcome her. >> i guess you are wondering why i'm standing here. [inaudible] my teachers have been teaching me a lot about standing up for what is right. it was a

much time as i spent with david during the confirmation process and visiting members of the united states senate, i was not surprised at all by -- i had not been surprised by any of the decisions of the votes he cast while a member of the united states supreme court for 19 years. likewise, i am not surprised by any of the votes that clarence thomas has cast during that time. one of the biggest hurdles we had is the words that the president used to describe clarence thomas when he sort of announced it. my view is he's my guy and that's the way it is. it set a standard that made it a little bit more difficult. clarence thomas was a great nomination. he'll have a longer lasting impact, i think, upon the domestic policy agenda of the president of the united states than anyone left behind despite the great efforts that we made during our time there. i'm done. thank you. >> was i right or not? these are the people that make representation work in this country. if you were president, wouldn't you hire them first? we actually started late. and so there is some time for questions. yes? it's not really a

if you are a united states senator, unless you are under indictment or detoxification, you automaticallysider yourself a candidate for president of united states. i cannot conclude without mentioning that my beloved friend warren rudman who we cherish his continued service and hope and pray for his good health as we know, he has been having those problems lately. hugh gregg is an institution in new hampshire and is a great guy. walter peterson continued to give me and all of us leadership and guidance throughout the years. we had a wonderful opportunity of being in his press. since -- his presence. i can only say to you from the bottom of my heart that i have been probably the luckiest person you'll ever have the opportunity of knowing. i have had such great good fortune in my life to be able to be a part of this great nation and a part of the incredible experience of running for president of the united states but my fondest memories, quite frankly, would be of the experiences i have had here in new hampshire. it is such a unique place and the people are so you need. they believe a live

in any event, a senate judiciary committee report from 1905 does not govern the united states senate in 2012, 107 years later. the senate as constituted today decides its rules and proceedings. the department is on shaky legal ground when it claims that -- quote -- "whether the house has consented to the senate's just remember the of more than three days does not determine the senate's practical availability during a period of pro forma sessions. and, thus, does not determine the existence of a recess under the recess appointments clause." end of quote from the department's opinion. there is no basis -- none -- for treating the same pro forma sessions differently for the purposes of the two clauses. the department simply cannot shr it both -- cannot have it both ways. yet it tries to. and the justice department's opinions contain other equally preposterous arguments. for instance, the opinion claims that the administration's prior statement to the supreme court through former solicitor general kagan that recess appointments can be made only if the senate is in recess for more than thr

my guest tonight, the junior united states senator representing the great state of south carolina, hisnew book is called "now or never: saving america from economic collapse." please welcome to the program senator jim demint. sir. >> hello, jon. >> jon: nice to see you. >> good to see you. i think i'm afraid to go home to south carolina now after i've senior report. >> jon: i don't blame you. we'll get to the book in a second, so how do the people from south carolina feel about the change in at most fear every year? it goes from field of dreams to "the shining." south carolina is always the bloodbath. >> it's kind of the last stand for a lot of the candidates. so i think there are some that are desperate and in south carolina guess the brunt of it. but it's a rough and tangled political state, and after lookingwhat you showed tonight, i wonder how i ever got through a primary in south carolina myself. but i'm going to stay in new york a couple days. >> jon: i think you should, where people are kind. [laughter] >> no commercials. >> jon: no commercials. now before south carolina in 2008

on tuesday, it will be 1,000 days since the united states senate passed budget.and district attorneys and they have yet to pass a budget. how do you deal with a long-term fiscal problems if you refuse to come to an agreement on the budget. >> chris: there was thought that because of the hits you guys took last year you were going to pass the budget this year. >> guest: of course we are. >> chris: how do you get the democrats from turning it into a political punching bag like they did last year? >> guest: if you do the right things for the right reasons. don't worry about it. >> chris: at a retreat you house republicans held in baltimore. you talked about oversight and holding the president accountable and making the next year a referendum on barack obama's policies. it sounds to me and a lot of people. saying that this whole year is going to be politics? >> guest: not at all. i think it is part of our job in the congress to hold the administration accountable. his policies have made our economy worse. in order to change those policies is to help people to underst

amy klobuchar is one of the toughest senators in the united states senate. michele bachmann has gone around the country and embarrassed the state of minnesota. >> she barely won her seat last nig time. >> if she can stay disciplined, joy-ann, i mean, she gets the camera time. she has the camera moxy where she could get out there and really beat somebody up on camera and start the narrative that, you know, mitt's not the guy. >> yeah. i mean, you know what, she was actually pretty good in the last few debates. she actually stepped up her performance, but the problem is, there's so much youtube history on michele bachmann that she does sort of come across as a bit of a joke. i think had she just done the really good debate performances she might be viable. maybe they'd think of her as a vp candidate. right now she's going to fade away. >> running you can't get kicked out of your health care plan as a result of -- >> republicans never seem to mention those things. >> there's something interesting santorum said on this. he actually believes you should be able to

united states house of representatives. after serving 12 of those 14 years in the office of the illinois state senate parliamentarian, i cannot describe to you the heady feeling when i went on the floor of the united states house of representatives, they handed me the gavel, and i actually presided over the u.s. house. after 14 years of silence as the illinois state senate parliamentarian, i was speaking before one of the greatest legislative bodies in the world. so i have some appreciation for the role of the parliamentarian, and particularly for the contribution of people like alan frumin. in some respects, it's a thankless job because you're bound to make some people upset. as the majority leader mentioned earlier, we respected alan's impartiality as senate parliamentarian, but many times would go back to our offices and be very critical of it at the same time. we had hoped he would rule in our favor instead of the other way. but i can tell you this, he has been faithful to precedent, he has been faithful to the rules of the united states senate, and that is all we can ask of a person who serves in his position. he has had

it was the united states senate who decided we are just going to do it for two months we can't agree on how to off set the costs and so we will kick the can down the road. we have done our job for the american people and the fact is this, chris -- the president's policies have failed to get our economy moving again. an as a matter of fact, it is the president's policies that have actually made our economy worse. >> chris: okay. >> it is time for a new direction. >> chris: here is the problem. several studies found that the congress this last year, 2011, has been one of of the least productive ever. let's take a look. you passed and i say you i mean the congress, the house and the senate 80 laws last year and 20% of them were to name a federal building or other house keeping measure. here are the latest polls. the president's job approval at 46%. congressional republicans, 19%. isn't mr. obama rightly or wrongly isn't he winning the battle for public opinion? >> is the measure of the job that congress does the number of laws that we passed? >> chris: it as measure. >> no, it isn't. mo

have united states senators elected in 2006, we have united states senators and the president elected in 2008 and we have united states senators and the house of representatives elected in 2010. what happened was tt that the public more than at any other time in american history made a drastic shift in their views they elected decisively the democrats in 2008 and then shifted-- at least the peopl who voted-- shifted in 2010. so what you have are t incompatible groups of people in office. so the paralysis is not a case of personality. it's not a case ofechacs, it ishat's the way the american system works. and until you get an election which brings more harmony, people say "why can't you work together?" i will be honest with you, charlie. i have served on the committee on financial services with michele bachmann for her entire service here. i do not se a way for me and michele bachmann to work things out. we have very fundamental differences. and the problem is now... because john boehner has made tentative efforts to work things out. but he gets pall pulled back by his caucus because t

united states senator.ause] start with the man who most recently left this job and went on to become the lieutenant governor of california, gavin newsom. [applause] frank jordan, former mayor frank jordan, former police chief of the city of san francisco. [applause] and my colleague from the legislative years and mayor of sanford says go, are new and tho san francisco. [applause] now that the stage is set, it is time clearly for prayer. reverend james, please come and give us the invocation. >> the per i offer todrayer i os on behalf of the more than 800 organizations in the city of county of san francisco. many of the agencies have served the people of san francisco for over 100 years. let us pray. got we come to you and prayer for our mayor, and when we. edwin lee. -- god, we come to you in prayer. as he renews his commitment to serve as our mayor, we ask you renewal his zeal for public service. grant him good health. give him the gift of patients, care for all people, but above all, the gift of wisdom he

the welfare bill on the floor of the united states senate. bill clinton vetoed it twice and we had to change it to make him happy. and clay shaw was in the house while i was in the senate. the washington post justed a fact check on the statement and they said it is a japan no, not a pinocchio. it is true. -- it is a giapetto, not a pinocchio. we were able to get bipartisan support to do something that had never been done in the history of our country. and a broadbased federal entitlement -- end a broadbased federal entitlement. [applause] president clinton vetoed. we communicated with the american public. we told them what will there was doing and how much harm was being done. we can and we must do the same thing. go out and communicate to the american public that these programs, as well-intentioned as there, are not helping people as much as they could. and we need to give the flexibility to the local committees to make sure that these programs are not dependency programs. do what we did with welfare, give them back to the state with two requ

unfortunately that stuff gets to the floor of the united states senate or gets to the united states senate and gets put on a shelf. we're not talking about the types of things that guess people back to work. that's what has the american people most frustrated. that's why i hope democrats will change their ways and work with us in a constructive way to enact legislation that will address basic fundamental core problem most americans recognize is getting people back to work and growing our economy. >> the comments of senator john thune, a republican from south dakota. the president taking senator thune up on that offer focusing on jobs and the economy he held a cabinet meeting at the white house. the washington times has this story with this headline, the president serves up a package to aid small businesses. susan crabtree writing the president is trying to slice through partisan divisions on capitol hill and urging congress to swiftly take up taxes for small businesses encouraging startups in an effort to spur new jobs. the president sent the message to congress that draws on various propo

i believe also swrel 51 republican senators in the united states senate next januaryth. i believe every one of them will vote to do so, and i think it's imperative. the fact is there's a dangerous precedent here. this regulation of nonactivity. if you can -- if the federal government is powerful enough to say -- not say we're going to regulate what you do when you spend money but we're going to regulate you not spending money. today it might be health care. next time it might be green energy. if you don't buy green energy, we make you buy green energy. that way seo liolyndra wouldn't gone out of business maybe. there's no holds barred and no limitations on the federal government going forward. from a more specific perspective it's clear the effect that this bill is having on job creation. a lot of small business owners in particular are leary of hi hiring. we see people are losing coverage. a friend of mine is a car dealer in harrisburg, pennsylvania. my best friend i grew up with him. when the bill was moving through the congress, he called me and said i did the math on

when i was in the united states senate leadership, every group from the nra, the national rifle association torques the nra, the national restaurant association, from social issues to business issues, national security issues if there is with a conservative agenda item that they wanted to push and get in front of the united states senate, they came to me on the leadership. i was the guy. i was the conservative guy. in case of newt gingrich, there was a conservative coups against him three years into his speakership because he wasn't doing those things. look at the record of leadership and you'll see a big difference. >> schieffer: we thank you very much, senator. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> schieffer: now for his take on how it's going joining us from greenville south carolina senator jim demint who is the author of the new book "now or never" and is a leader in the tea party movement. senator demint, let me ask you first about these charges that are being leveled. newt gingrich says that republicans in south carolina-- and he suggests republicans in general-- will be very uncomfort

if i might, kind of set the stage here with some references to people who have served as united states senators, some who i have great respect for. then-senator barack obama, when a recess appointment came out of the bush administration, referred to recess appointments as the wrong thing to do. we referred to a recess appointee. not necessarily that specific appointee, but a recess appointee as damaged goods. that's his words. and then he referred to the situation the country would find itself in, and he said, quote, we will have less credibility. because that recess appointment. the majority later, minority later at the time described it as an end run around the senate and the constitution. called it an abuse of power. senator john kerry, again a gentleman that i've worked with, have a lot of respect for, referred to recess appointments as an abuse of power of the presidency. sometimes in this business there's a certain amount of political push and shove that goes on, obviously. i don't think that's what they were talking about here. i think they were talking about genuine issues of constituti

and i wasn't as a united states senator -- and i was representing the state of pennsylvania going do down and by federal vote change the law in the state. i believe the state has the right if they want to have a union dues requirement that the state should be able to do that. as a president i have a very different point of view. i already signed a letter and sent it to the national right to work that i would sign a national right to work bill because now i'm no longer representing that state. and by the way, the same thing with respect to davis bacon. my feeling was, again, representing that state which has a large segment of that -- of contractors that work under those provisions that i would protect that right within that. again it, as the president i would have a different view. but i did represent a constituency and one of the things that is important is to listen to the constituency and respect the rights of my state. >> how is that different than mitt romney who took some positions when he was the governor of mass and changed some of his positions since then. >> if i was govern

record, no one worked more on poverty and with the african-american community than i did in the united states senaten the inner city. major cities in my state, like chester, that are heavily african-american. i have to believe -- look at what i said, i believe every american should not be dependent on government. that they should have opportunities. we're not doing anybody any favors without. i am very proud of the work i've done. talk to anybody in pennsylvania, philadelphia, the work i did in the city and the urban areas, we did more than any republican. thank you. >> there you go. >> thank you. how are you? all right. there you go. there you go. >> we do not have the high-tech stuff. >> ok. >> good deal. thank you. >> you are a good man. that is why we are going to vote for you. >> god bless you. ok, what job. -- watch out. >> i think we have a great record and i'm willing to go out there and compare it. thank you very much. yes, good, good to see you here. oh, thank you. how are you? yes, yes, yes. ok, terrific. hey, bob. >> senator, how are you? >> thank you so much. my pleasure. happy to do it

check and see who is the majority of the united states senate. harry reid and the democrats. president mitt romney, and a majority in the united states senate, we will get things done. [applause] i know that jobs and the economy will be the dominant theme in this campaign. in arizona, people are hurting very badly. houses in my state are under water, worth less than their mortgage. i guarantee one thing, no one will ever say that mitt romney will lead from behind. he will lead from the front like what ronald reagan did. we are believed to be weak, in decline, and that is not the case. mitt romney and i and you believe that america's greatest days are still ahead of us. it requires the kind of leadership to put us back in the position that made america the greatest and noblest experiment in the history of the world. that person is with you here today, president mitt romney. [applause] by the way, we forgot to congratulate him on his landslide victory last night. [laughter] [applause] >> ok, we are going to take some questions from you. raise your hand. occupyare you, i'm from