Transcripts For CSPAN2 Cal 20240704

Or anytime online at booktv. Org. Television for serious readers. A healthy democracy doesnt just look like this. It looks like this. Where americans can see democracy at work, where citizens are truly informed. A republic thrives. Get informed straight from the source on cspan. Unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. From the Nations Capital to wherever you are. Because the opinion that matters most is your own. This is what democracy looks like. Cspan, powered by cable. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Heritage Foundation entered morley. Its great to see so manyr friends in the audience with us today. For those of us, those who are n in person watching online or viewing this on cspan, we are grateful that you are interested in with us today. I robert bluey, Vice President of communications at heritage and is my pleasure to host the great cal thomas for todays event there as one of americas most red columnist with a distinguished career in mediacom theres not a lot i can tell you about how you probably dont already know but ill start with his new book which is called a watchman in the night what ive seen over 50 years reporting on america. The book takes you on a journey through his time as a syndicated columnist from the start in 1984 with the Los Angeles Times syndicate to presentday. Have a limited number of Copies Available for sale after todays event which cow will gladly sign for you. This book is his 12. Is a remarkable achievement even for a writer and i can say that as a writer for myself who has not written a single book, his other titles include americas expiration victim the fall of empires and superpowers, and the future of the united states, what works, comments and solutions for a stronger america, the things that mattern most, and Common Ground, how to stop the partisan war that is destroying america before he turned the state over to cal who make remarks and answer your questions, just a few words about his career and the lessons hes taught us through his humor and common sense. He started his career in journalism at the age of 60 and would eventually have his collar printed by hundreds of news outlets including our own daily signal. When that column started he was in fewer than ten papers nationwide, and although he wasnt the only conservative voice appearing on americas editorial pages, cal distinguished himself each week by focusing on objective truth and serving as a watchman for americas founding principles. Cal9 was also a commentator on Fox News Channel for 19 years hosting his own showne and servg as a panelist on others. He has worked for kb or ctv in houston, abc news in washington, and hosted a program cnbc. In 2011 cal received the william f. Buckley, jr. Award to exct from the Visa Research center at the 20, and 2022 the william l l armstrong award for vision theership and service to american idea as a Centennial Institute although cals social political and religious views closely aligned to those we sponsor at the Heritage Foundation he long ago developed a reputation for forging relationships with people who didnt always agree with him. The late bob beckel was one of them cal and bob like the Common Ground column for ten years at usa today. Such an idea might seemli like a lost cause in todays divided country but we could all learn a lesson or two from cal. Was something private dinners of the press and members of congress or bring people together for the National Prayer breakfast needed to enter, trembling and respected and from all walks of life different political beliefs. He was guided from a young age by his faith in jesus christ and has enduring faith a in god. Hes a proud father and grandfather and good friend to many of us here at the Heritage Foundation ladies and gentlemen, please welcome cal thomas. [applause] well, thank you very much, rob. It sounded like you were reading my obit. Appreciate it. You may wonder why more people have not shown up. We had to turn away the the. Because it was so fast. And there are fire regulations here so thats why you see these. But i want to thank everybody for showing up, especially granddaughter crystal, who flew in from san antonio. She will be first female president of the united states. Write that down. Now i confess to a little nervousness being here because the last prominent to speak here got fired. But im going to forge on anyway. 39 years, two columns for week, 4056 columns and counting. I reread every one of them while compiling this book now its not a collection but a road map or diary of what ive witnessed over the decades reporting on this wonderful city and to which i happened to be born. I couldnt help it. My mother was here at the time, so i used to say on the lecture circuit. Im happy to be here tonight from washington where the only politicians with convictions in prison. But im particularly thankful that people with such a wide range of political beliefs offered blurbs for this book and especially honored and pleased that tom, who opened the door for me with the Los Angeles Times syndicate when he was publisher of the l. A. Times, wrote the foreword to it. You cant have a wider spectrum of political positions than henry louis gates, jr from harvard and the host of a wonderful series about an African American to pat sajak of wheel of fortune. I tune in only to see what he is wearing each night. I thank them and the others for honoring me in this way. I thank my longtime who are watching by live stream, connie pollak from the los angeles syndicate and now tracy clark of tribune in chicago. Connie and tracy would have been here but the crime is so bad their cities that they felt it was unsafe them to leave. Its only joke now when you go to the store, buy groceries, assuming you can afford them. In this time of high inflation. You dont argue with the checkout clerk about pounds and gallons and other measurement. You dont stand in line with two jugs of milk and say my standard is this is only one jug or you £2 of meat and say no my standard is only £1. The next voice would hear would be security and yet that is precisely what the loudest voices in our culture are saying. They want to create their own standard switch, and reality are not standards at all. They have their economic standard spending and taxing as if there is no end to it and ignoring what Massive National debt has done to other nations. Are Foreign Policy standards which this administration and the entire left increasingly ignoring that have put our nation at risk from china russia, iran and other forces that see us as weak and indecisive. Only a few years ago, they feared us. Now chinas president xi jinping believes america is in decline. Is there evidence to counter his diagnosis. I just returned from israel, my 27th visit. I may be an honorary jewish, which was very nice, and i met my longtime friend benjamin netanyahu. He told me that israel has managed to delay iran getting a nuclear bomb but only a delay someone will have to stop it. Who might that be . Meanwhile the Biden Administration continues to push the socalled two states solution to palestinian problem. I presume at least they have tabled the crazy idea of a treaty with iran as a regime, as if a regime that claims their god wants. Israel eliminated in us too would abide by anything they would sign with infidels. Must i mention moral standards which are not only being violate but rejected in favor of what is now called woke drag. Storytime 56 labels of gender identification on facebook same sex marriage, puberty blockers, and the rest of the secular progressive agenda. Once people who favored such things were ashamed to say it in public, now they shout it from the house tops. Once such people thought or were told to seek counseling, now they not only seek permission, but approval and demand. You give it to them or they will picket your business or home. See Brett Kavanaugh and other conservative justices. See those who are standing up for womens sports against transgender males. And the hail of criticism that has rained down upon them. The city council of somerville, massachusetts has enacted an ordinance protecting in polyamorous from discrimination. In 2020, the city became the first in the nation, but im betting not the last to recognize polygamy risk relationships as legit domestic partnerships. Romantic relationships are three or more in the city. Well, have many of the same rights as traditionally married couples. Whats next. And there will be a next because without a standard there will be no stopping anything to. What would anyone who says no this too far. Appeal you know reminds me of what mitt romney said after the not so Supreme Court ruled on the legitimacy of same sex marriage. Next, theyll be allowing you to marry your dog. He was. Not so funny, now, is it . Government schools teach a type of reconstructionist. History or herstory that seeks to children with a leftist point of view whose goal is to create a new generation of secular progressives dedicated to envy the success others greedy for what they have and entitled to their money during the last open season on medicare ads ran on tv stations in florida and elsewhere that contained forward free dessert of benefit and entitlement free deserve benefit and entitlement. Now when i was growing up in suburban washington, the standard was inspiration, followed by motivation, followed by perspiration can improve any life. Calvin, our 30th president , said it best. It comes to economic success. You dont build up the weak by tearing down the strong. One of my favorite quotes of his. Other than that to a standard that has been lost in our time. Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men. Talent. Genius will. Not unrewarded. Genius is almost a proverb. Education will, not the world is full of derelicts. Persistence and determination. Alone. Omnipotent. Today if you are persistent and successful, you are be taxed and regulated to death. To subsidize others who have been less so. Consider the Biden Administrations proposal to increase rates for people with good credit, to subsidize those with bad credit. And yet, there are as many poor people today as there were when the Great Society in 1965. According to heritage figures, our government. Spent 11 trillion fighting poverty, and it hasnt. There are roughly the same number of poor people today as were 60 years ago. Poverty is more than a lack of money. It is a lack of other things that lead to a lack of money. Do reasonable people think his long time past for approach. Were knee deep in the big muddy and the big fool to push on. With apologies pete seeger recall the Clinton Gingrich welfare reform law in the nineties. The left scream people would starve in the streets if they didnt get welfare checks. They didnt. When they realized the gravy train would no longer be stopping at their mailboxes. Went out and found jobs. Interviewed later, many said they were living a fulfilled life. Welfare was an addictive drug. And when wean themselves from it, they discovered what freedom looks and feels like. And then there is the open border, which is contributing faster to the expiration of america than any foreign power could dream up. I recall the words of Moammar Gadhafi who said that islam will dominate europe without a shot being fired through immigration. The same is happening here. If the government schools dont finish, the job of indoctrinating young hearts and minds with secular progressive progressivism by the time they graduate from high school, you can count on the universities, the job. It make it makes me ask, why are we sending our and grandchildren to these Indoctrination Centers . We dont send our troops, russia, china or iran to be trained. Why do we then send our children to places that teach the opposite of what many of us believe . Thank Goodness School choice spread now to more than 37 states. It needs to be national. It has always amused that those who are prochoice when comes to abortion are antichoice when it comes to the schooling of children enough to have been born. Anyone who reads my columns knows, how much i like definitions. They help focus mind. Heres how dictionary. Com defines standard a rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment an average or normal requirement. Today, who can define a without being labeled a racist . Who dares to assert a rule or something normal for being called any number of phobes. What groucho marx said seems applicable today. I have principles. And if you dont like them, i have others. It reminds me of a verse from the Old Testament book of judges in those days, israel had no king. Everyone did as he saw fit. Another says everyone did. Was right in his own eyes. Paul, the apostle of jesus, it a similar way. Speaking of the times, he said people, will believe whatever their itching ears to hear. But these definitions, america and the rest the world have reached, or are very close to reaching the end times or end of days. This apocalypse is more certain than the many by Climate Change alarmists, none of which have come true. Have you noticed miami is not underwater yet. In my column and in this new book, you will shortly be able to purchase and have me sign for whatever that is worth. And by the way, i have a money back guarantee on this in all of my books. If you dont like it, i guarantee you not to give you money back. I have sought to assert a standard in this book that is fading from our culture nation, a standard that is always not only in america but in other nations, wherever and whenever it has been applied. There is little literally new under the sun, as solomon wrote in ecclesiastes, a book that the rock group known as the byrds. Just wanted to let you know i was hip everything we think has been thought before. Everything we do has been done before. Repeat histories, mistake x. Y. The answer is. Were too often ignorant of history and so are necessarily doomed to repeat it. Look at the kind people who are elected as mayors in high crime cities. People claim to be fed up with crime, and yet they vote for candidates who want to defund or even eliminate the police, or they reduce felony charges to misdemeanors and, release offenders to commit new crimes, including murder. What is with us . The late Roman Catholic Bishop Fulton j. Sheen said so many wise things. Here are a few which were uttered more than six decades ago, but still apply today. America it is, is suffering from intolerance. It is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong. Truth and error. Virtue and evil. Christ. Chaos. Our country is not overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with a broad minded or the refusal. Take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The tragedy of time is that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passionate conviction or moral principles do not on majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right. Even if no one is right or. Civilization is always in danger. When those who have never learned to are given the right to command. Hmm. Or there is no word more dangerous than liberalism because to oppose it is the new unforgivable sin. And finally. Which sums up everything bishop sheen said, modern prophets say that our economics have failed us. No, it is not our economic which has failed. It is man who has failed. Man who has forgotten god. Hence, no matter of economic or readjustment can posses save our civilization. We can be saved only by a renovation of the inner man, only by a purging of our and souls. For only by seeking first the kingdom of god and his justice. Will all these other things be added unto us . I can think of nothing more profound than that, rob. Wild applause. Thank you. Thank you, cal. Were that. Youre here with. With heritage today. The book officially comes tomorrow, right . A sneak preview. A sneak preview. We want to take your questions. And i know the last time that cal was here, we certainly filled up the whole whole time answering your question. So i want to start with just one. And ive plenty of others to ask him. But but you prepared . First of all, cal, you i mentioned in the introduction, have long spoken about your Christian Faith. How have you been able to find such success in a media environment that seems hostile to the values and beliefs that you have personally . Well, basically i have spent most of my career denouncing other people and later linking up and that help seems to help a lot. No i joined the organizations. I went around the country and met with editors who had never been visited by a columnist. And i genuinely care about my colleagues i admire their work. I, i tell them so they dont necessarily only admire mine, but thats their problem. I you know, when beckel and i wrote this column for usa today called Common Ground it shocked a lot of people including newspeople because is there is money and ratings and confer and you look at whats on tv these days and you have a host and two guests and one of the guests says youre ruining america. You know, youre ruining it. Well, youre a secular or youre a bible thumping bigot. And the host says. And well be back with more discussion after these messages. Well, you know, real people dont do that. And so i try to burse the stereotype of what a conservative and a christian is like. And the secular eyes sense of humor. And i grew a mustache once. Somebody said, i look like saddam hussein. I thought that was nice. And youre i find that, you know, like mary poppins said, a spoonful sugar helps the medicine go down. So you make friends and its hard to resist loving on somebody else, you know . Then first they wonder what your motive is. And then when they see you dont really have one, then they open up. You mentioned sells, though. In todays media environment. Do you think that the approach that you to overcome some of those divisions is is possible. Obviously not okay. Know it would have been widely accepted. No look, theres money and theres ratings and theres fame and conflict and in this town, Everybody Knows the solutions. But nobody wants to arrive at the solutions because then they lose the issue. Social security and medicare being perfect example. Everybody knows what needs to be done. Social security is going to be bankrupt in ten years. So you have to go up on the tax or reduce the benefits. Everybody knows that thats just beyond debate. But they wont do anything because lose the issue and. Government grows and becomes more intrusive and more expensive and the debt grows. You know, reagan used to say the only proof of eternal life in this town is a Government Program. Its true. Its easier to kill a vampire. The analogy is a good one because both are blood sucking thing thing i should mention our online viewers that we are monitoring questions if you have any and we have somebody in the room here and the fbi is monitoring them very carefully, watching. Questions the room. I will go here and we have a microphone and tyler in the back. Lets start over there. And if you could just state your name if youre affiliated with an organization, when ask who you voted for in the last election. I this is tyler oneill. Im managing editor at the daily. This some foundation and named heritage or something. So i wanted to ask you, you know, you mentioned the fbi listening in and been writing a lot about the southern law center. Branding conservatives and christians hate having trouble hearing you. Oh, i been writing a lot about the southern poverty law and responding to the vitriol of the left. And id to hear your view of whats the most effective way of you know, despite some of these accusations of hate of bigotry that you might have also run across. Well, remember something ted koppel said years ago, truth is, is not a polite tap on the shoulder. Truth is a howling reproach. So i think truth has a of its own and but it must be spoken kindly. And mary poppins had, a great line. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. And im going to talk to the Communications People with some senators after this event. And of the things ive got to say to them is those of us who are conservatives need to get off defense. These are not our policy and beliefs and philosophies that have brought america to the edge of financial ruin and have caused other nations to have such a low regard for us now and an inability to keep our promises. So we need to get off the defense and Start Holding these secular progressives, as i call. I dont even call them the left anymore. The secular progressives accountable, for what theyre doing to this country, whether its the schools, whether its the economy, whether its the military. Look at the military. I mean. Joining the military used to be something incredibly admirable. And now youve got all these woke policies from the Defense Department and theyre counting race and gender and trans this and that. And theyre theyre theyre hurting recruiting. And its the same the police. Police are quitting in cities like chicago and san francisco. And los angeles. They cant stand it. Anything they do is going to be record guarded and taken out of context and. So i think speaking the truth yes and love but also with conviction is probably the most powerful thing we can do. Second row here, the. Thanks. Youre talking, mr. Thomas. You have written after. 2016 pulse nightclub shooting and also at other times that there should be a ban on building new mosques in the u. S. Until we can an upper hand against islamic terrorists. Im presuming that thats still your view was wondering if you would also be in favor of repealing the First Amendment freedom of religion and if not how you would reconcile your view with the freedom of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment. Well, first, that column was written right after 911. And clearly, if you read the sermons by some of the mullahs throughout the middle east, you will hear what their agenda is. They want to destroy israel and, then they want to come after the great satan, which is us. The leaders of iran have said that they have sent people to infiltrate the united states. Look at our open border. Nobody whos coming in. Nobody knows what their agenda is. So i think that certainly i dont want to the First Amendment, but i do think that if you are going to promote the general welfare, provide the common defense and ensure tranquility, you have to know whos coming into this country. There is no right to come to america. Theres nothing in the constitution that says people have from other countries have a right to come to america. Were very generous and compassionate and we are a nation of immigrants. But we want people who embrace the american way who embrace our constitution, our laws and who practice diversity and dont want to impose their own worldview on others. And that, sadly, is what im seeing now. You take a look at minneapolis. Theyve just passed an ordinance that over overcomes noise ordinance to accommodate the Islamic Community with their five day calls to prayer over loudspeakers. Now im all for freedom of expression and and all of this other stuff. But i think making exceptions, one group is is not the way to go. And i would say that for any group, by the way, front row, do you want me to. Yes. Hi, barbara wittman. Im an economist and a retired Foreign Service officer. My question comes something i postulated eight years ago and january i was having breakfast with a republican friend and i said, i think parties are going through such upheavals and realignments that in ten years we may not recognize either of they might not even have the same names. And we dont know whos going to support which side. I said ten years. Do you think well get that process in the next two years . Well, its kristin, said the senator from arizona was on face the nation yesterday and she had said she believed that both of the political parties, basically dinosaurs and need to go away. Shes an independent now she was a democrat. And i think theres a lot be said for that. It almost doesnt matter in some whos elected anymore. People come to washington, oh, im going to change washington. No, youre not. Washingtons got to change. You you know, they i mean, theyve been here a lot longer than you have. And a lot of this has to do with peoples attitude toward government. We have moved from a time of personal liberty and freedom to a of tremendous dependance government. I call it a perversion. The 23rd psalm. The government is my keeper. I shall not want. You know, walked through the valley of the shadow of poverty. The health and Human Services department will be covering me with eb cards. And, you know, always say i always thought of government as a last resort, but now its promoted as first resource. Where the people who used to be idolized in our country. People who worked hard. Who got married before. Had kids who. Who didnt take drugs, who were honest. Their business and personal relationships honored their marriage vows. All of these things used to be taken for granted. Our country and upheld through the mcguffey readers. Back in the old days in schools. Remember, they had to, you know, respect parents, love your country, your flag. All these things are now gone. Now, what are the fly . Were supposed to salute the rainbow. And were. Were supposed to, you know, not have prayers in schools or. And how is that all working out . You know, what kind of country do we have now . Wasnt it better then i would argue that it is. It was. Good question, barbara. All right. My name is bob athar. I live in scottsdale, arizona. Nice. And i and i am involved, moved as rob knows. My question is, youre experience and travels. Our problem is community with the voter. Your neighbor neighbor who has no clue about anything were talking about here today today. How can do a better job of reaching to the voter . Only important is the voting and supporting party because this is what costs the election in. Arizona. It was not democrat. It was not rigging the machines which happened. But it was the fact that seven and a half to 10 of registered republicans who voted did not support the key candidates of party in the state. And thats why i carried lake last, secretary of state lost, etc. How do we do a better job . Well, you on it in your question you talk about talking to your neighbor. Now this may seem like a small thing but one neighbor talks to another. Have a little organize a town hall meeting in your community might be your local school might be at your civic club, whatever and invite your friends and, have them invite their friends and say, were going to have a serious discussion about the future of america dont make it partizan, but make an oriented, if you like, the way things are going. Are you happy with the amount of taxes paying . Are you happy with the way that your government representatives are spending your money . What is free to me . To you . And how do we attain it again in america . These all things that that that or use to define the united states. Now it may seem simple, but as you indicated, you know, most of these electoral election victories are a very small are very small margins. And so you dont have to persuade a lot of people. The democrats are very good at this. Theyre going after students now using a. I. And other factors that theyre really big on. I dont know why a lot of people are surprised about a. I. Weve had a. I. In washington for many years. Its congress, but, you know, the other thing is, you cant you cant get into shape watching an exercise video. Youve got to go to the gym and you preserve a Constitutional Republic by just paying attention. The week before the election or watching ads on tv and let them in influence you. You have to work at every day. You have to be involved. You have to be a knowledgeable point out my granddaughter has been very active in her local school races in san antonio in the last election, won two out of three. Yeah, one, two out of three. And a lot of the people she talked to had never even considered what was being taught in their public schools. And when she told them and formed this group to has an online web page, they were shocked. Some had pulled their out of those schools. Others have become more active now. And what is being taught. So these things may seem small, but small becomes big. And we cant focus on the national. Were going to have less influence than if we focus on the local. Mr. Yes. Down here, this young man down here next to the much younger and much prettier person sitting next to us. And cal, i think ive known you longer than anyone else. Thats depressing it. So, cal, youve been writing. Youve been a watchman for 50 years. And over that time, you seen any time in, those 50 years that america has gotten and. If not, what is your hope in the context . A declining civilization . Well, you know, come and go. We had the civil war, of course, which was a horrible time. We had vietnam, which was very divisive. And the civil rights movement, all of those demonstrations and other things. So things have come and gone. But obviously, i mean, in my lifetime, the collapse, the berlin wall, the opening up of eastern europe, the fall of communism, the old soviet union, although current dictator is, you know, certainly a reincarnation, that ideology and worldview. But i mean, the world has fallen to use a biblical word. And if were looking government to solve it, looking in the wrong place. I think this is what bishop was getting at in the last quote that i that i used. Its matters of the heart. And we who are followers is not of religion, but of a person named jesus nazareth. He has the only power to actually change your life. You certainly change my life thanks to your father and hes changed millions of other lives. Well, and i think thats the greater message. Have republican and democrat arent going to save us . Liberal, conservative arent going to save. Theres only one person who can save us and feed us from heaven. And thats jesus of nazareth. And my hope is there are nothing less than his blood and righteousness. As the old hymn. Back. Yeah. Hi. Thank you, mr. Thomas howard marks. Im a former journalist and i think i start reading your columns 50 years ago. Im very depressed now. Ha ha ha ha. But once i hit the bulls eye, grandmother was, a fan of yours. Oh, youre. Youre defined iconically ism. You know, my question to you, i think you just touched on it briefly, just previously what shaped your views . I mean, tell us a little bit more about yourself i mean, ill pretend im one of these talk show persons. Where did you grow up . Where did you go to school . How are your your views shaped against the majority culture . Wow. And add to that pastor halvorson the influence on your life. Yeah, well, i mean, this is this is usually a 30 minute talk. And if i it id have to charge you. But. Well i born in washington, d. C. , i couldnt help. My mother was here at the time and grew up in the area, went to public schools, montgomery county, maryland, and graduated from American University in washington and i wrote a book a few years ago called. What works . Rob mentioned it, and i think thats the standard we should use. If a program is and if it cant be done better by private sector than we keep it, if its not. We get rid of it. Thats what businesses, but only in government do things that i said. Reagans line about life is a Government Program continues on and on and on. And then if you try to cut even the rate of increase, its much less an actual cut in spending your demagogue in. His hating old ladies are racist. Then you know eddie, the and all the other stuff. Its the same old line over and over. This has been going on. The Franklin Roosevelt administration and b the rich hate the success so subsidize the unsuccessful well what you penalize you get less of what you subsidize you get more of. So if you can take the ideology out of it and say, is this working . Is promoting the general welfare, is this achieving the objectives that the legislation was designed to achieve . And if it is, we keep it great. If not, we get rid of it. So my bottom line is what works . I went to Walter Johnson high school for a started my career as a jockey at an radio rockville where my wife also worked. We were high school classmates. People said, did you date in high school . I said, no, i feared rejection prettiest girl in school still is. And she back in miami, we did a thing in yesterday, but shell be back up later in the week. So thats basically my story, i grew up in a. Traditional two parent home father working a homemaker and a neighbors. You know, didnt know anybody who was divorced growing up. I didnt know anybody who was criminal other than, you know, a politician or two. And so it was pretty traditional for me. And i didnt meet any africanamericans except the maid that had until i started playing basketball and was invited to one of my teammates houses once. And then i went to i was a copy boy at nbc in washington then, and i was at Martin Luther kings i have a dream speech, along with jack perkins, who was covering it for nbc. And that had a major effect on view, on race, the and. And the lives of of africanamericans in this country. So thereve been a lot of things im not a im not your predictable conservative i mean i you know i care about some to the left cares about to but i want to i want to embrace things that promote the general welfare do you want to touch on pastor halvorson and your well, your Christian Faith . Yeah. Yeah. Well, i went to a building called church up, but i never knew anything. You know, sunday morning you do go to church for an hour, then youre on your own the rest of the day. And rest of the week we had a bible on the shelf in case pastor came to visit and. You know, i didnt. I didnt know anything. Anything. And then youre going to a church in southeast washington. And the pastor said, we were commuting all the way from rockville. And the pastor said, you know, i think youd be happier you went to this fourth presbyterian church. And the pastor. First time ive ever been asked to leave a church and and the pastor wasnt there that sunday. And i said, well, know. But we thought wed go back again. And thats when the canvasing it was a preacher and then i got invited to a bible. I didnt know you could study the bible. And he was the leader. I said, man, i got to get one of those. Id never read it really before. And it was like scales begin to fall my eyes. And i realized that god loved me and had a plan for my that was better than my own plan, which wasnt working out all that well, by the way. And so out of that night i was invited to a little Prayer Breakfast where a federal judge named, oliver cash, some of you older folks may remember, stood up and talked about the possibility of everybody having a personal relationship with jesus christ. And id never heard of that either. And one thing led to another. And then 1973, when i was fired by one of the greatest things that would happen to me, i out of that came a commitment of my life to, christ. And then things really interesting, which again, if i told you, id have to refer you to my agent based out him in the back room. Tim goeglein from on the family. Its great to see you, carl. Congratulations on your book what about the wall street journal survey that came out regarding a constitutional historic illiteracy among the generation of Young Americans questions of patriotism, what they know of the country. We know that you care deeply these issu we know that you care deeply about these issues, your wonderful granddaughter is here. What are your thoughts . Should we be hopeful Going Forward despite these numbers . I think most people never even read the constitution, and ignorance creates a vacuum into which other thingshi can rush se of you may remember the old Jason Sanborn coffee and vacuum packed, and they in the tv ad they demonstrated the freshest by taking a little tea that came with it and opening the can and you would hear the air rushed in. Re thats where we are today. We have created this document most people cant even define the constitution republic, that you see the surveys. Some people think the First Amendment, other amendments should be abrogated. They dont know. Markel a veins show last night of foxs really good. He had a copy of the constitution is hand and he went through just article one, just article one, showed all of the times for current president had violated the provisions in o article one. All these executive orders, all these spending things that they are doing that are supposed to come out of congress, not the widest or nobody does anything or says anything because they are ignorant of article i and article ii and the bill of rights and all kinds of other things, much less the federalist papers. S of these things are not taught in school and if theyre not taught in schools that people are ignorant and if there ignorant they could be let anywhere which is why im announcing this morning. Guest no. [laughter] came over me. Do we have anyone online . Anyone here . Over the last couple of years ive heard the term that we live in a postpersuasion society. We have of course all heard that facts dont care about your feelings, but also peoples feelings dont care about our facts. And when we think about the ability to persuade someone, what is the best way we can leave those things together so we not only share with them the truth, the truth of the data, the truth of numbers really the truth of the heart and whats going to connect with them at a hard level . I think you begin, that song some years ago you probably too young, feelings, nothing more than feelings, thats the kind of culture we live in no. I think you start first by building a relationship. We come in with our own agendas that we want to impose on other people. Get to know the other person who may disagree with your first. You first. Find out how he or she or whatever came to the point of view. And then you can claim the right to be heard as well, and ask them is that working out . Feelings are wonderful but you know i tell young women an fbi background check is better before you get married. So build a relationship first. We are a tribal nation now. Our National Model is out of many one, no, we are out of one many. Where hyphenated americans that we see each other ass part of races or gender identification or whatever thats not what the founders wanted. Whatever happened to the melting pot . Now its bouillabaisse everything youre floating around without melting at all. Get to know them, find out how they came to the point of view that asked them hows it working. Bob beckel once said we were wrong about welfare but our intentions were good. Well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and the left wants to solve a tollbooth. Install spirit i think with time from a question appear in the second row. My little margie. Mentioning bob bechtel. I margie, and it was chriss dad that challenge you to befriend ted kennedy which you did so well. And bob beckel, i remember hearing you both speaking, grant is needed more than ever, so could you find yourself a new bob bechtel whose life you change really saved as i recall . Because we needed more than ever. Thank you, margie. People asked, how do you and bob beckel get along so well . Neither of us are in a run for Public Office you cant do that anymore in washington unfortunately. All these little cameras you carry around, you are seeingot eating dinner with somebody of the other party, somebody will take a picture and use it in a campaign ad against you. And they have the meetings. They have the meetings, republicans, democrats having meetings at the get the talking points for the day to go out on various tv stations or get interviewed at all say the same thing. People like Rush Limbaugh and others just to put together these little clips of members of Congress Going on different shows, and the sentences were virtually the same, and thats not coincidental. Thats what they do. And a lot of them dont even believe what they are saying for some dont even know what they are saying. I think its really, really difficult. I see fox has picked up a brick bear show, opined about Common Ground and have republican and democrat working together on a piece of legislation. Its that consequential legislation. Nothing to do with the border, nothing do with human life, nothing to do with male and female, nothing to do with our education system. Its terrorist or Something Like that there okay, l anybody can agree on the little stuff but what about the big stuff . You cant get elected on the big stuff if youre not, educate get money from the donors and thats the big thing. Who was it, two or three president ial elections ago it was the first 1 billion election 1n election campaign. Thats a disgrace, a billion dollars. And the tv ads. Acidity elections oh theyre talking about the next election, within the one after that and just never ends and the problems increase. 31. 4 trillion that we have. Whos talking about that . N nobody. Or if you are but theyre not doing anything about it i think its very, very difficult. Im against cloning but if you want to clone bob, id be open for expert i see your hand right there. Sport i would appreciate your thoughts on the weaponization of the Intelligence Community and the fbi. Oh, boy. Yeah. Well, i go back to the days of the fbi story, where everybody had great care and everybody was honest, they cared about america and all these other things and that whatever j. Edgar hoovers shortcomings without a certainpr image he promoted. Despite the shortcomings there were some at the cia i think most people especially coming out of world war ii and the oss i think it was knew that we needed people who would put themselves at risk by gaining intelligence on what our enemies were trying to do to us. K i just think, in football its called scouting. You scout with the other team is doing and you find your strong points and weak points that you can exploit the weak points and defend against the strong points. Faintingre intelligence peer the have been some that thoughg over the top and off the rails, but by and large i think the fbi and the cia in the past have done a good job unfortunately right now as you suggest it has been recognized and politicized along with the irs and this is not good for a stable nation people are losing trust in their institution at a level ive not seen in my lifetime, that is bad for america. It really is. Gallup has shown the media especially are down at the love of congress. You cant get much lower than that. And all of the institutions are being challenged now and we need more men and women of integrity headings enter i still think we have a leftover portion of dna, as puritan dna that appreciate honesty, integrity, patriotism, and all of those other things that used to go along with a wellrounded and patriotic american. I dont see that happening now. We so grateful to carry your column at the daily signal and i know youre doing an interview with the daily signal podcast. So if you want cal thomas there lots more to come. But in the spirit of, of our Heritage Foundation, kevin roberts, who hosts his own show and always asked his guests this question to conclude why did you wake up optimistic today . Because i knew i was coming here and seeing some friends. I mean, look, america has always been a idea in search of the ideal, but it has to be preserved. It has be renewed like we used to renew a library books, or it will expire. And the values and virtues made this country great that values and virtues that established and men and women who establish everything and the woman asked in 1776 was asked and he responded republic if you can keep it. We have to keep it, if not the natural state of humanity. Otherwise nations in the worldce would embrace it. We are an oasis in the midst of best desert and if we do not promote this country, who else will . I know how it turns out with the leadership we have. You will be demagogue and suggestions for running for office about a press release. Pressing on and talk to neighbors and friends and how the ideas are working. [applause] weekends on cspan2 are an intellectual piece every saturday American History tv documents american stories and on sundays, book tv brings the latest nonfiction books and others. Funding for cspan2 comes from these Television Companies and more including cox. When youre connected, youre not alone. Book tv is live with the library of Congress Book festival. Complete National Book festival schedule online. On cspan2. Healthy democracy doesnt just look like this, it looks like this