Their country great again, thank all of you who came out to participate and to listen, and to ask tough questions of the knowledgeable people we have. We are going to start by honoring the country that has been so good to all of us. So those of you who can, please rise, face old glory, hand over your heart, and join me in the pledge. I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, individual indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much, that is what unites us, what brings us here and motivates us for the future. It is my great leisure to introduce the national cofounders of no labels, dr. Benjamin chavis jr. , senator Joe Lieberman and pat mccrory. Gentlemen. [applause] good evening. It is wonderful being in New Hampshire. As one of the national cochairs of no labels, we believe that the American People want more choices and were more voices as we prepare for next year. The reason why we are in New Hampshire today is to rollout and give all of you copies of our common sense Public Policy booklet. Comes it covers a wide range of issues, we have assumed we have listen to the American People over the last several years. We believe in bipartisan, Common Sense Solutions to americas problems. I am from north carolina, my background is civil rights, i am a democrat. But i am working with republicans, with independents, i am working with americans. We are putting nation before party, democracy before party. I am pleased to be here for our rollout this evening. [applause] thank you. Amen to your words. This is a big day for no labels. I have been privileged to be here as a part of no labels since the creation in 2010. The result of the vision and persistence and hard work of nancy jacobson, lets give nancy a round of applause. [applause] she started it all. And throughout the 13 years, the mission and purpose has been the same. To reunite our Political Parties and our people, to stop the partisanship, and incivility and refusal to compromise that divided our country and disabled our government. And always to do it with ideas, ideas that would command the support of a majority of people. Throughout the last decade and the last few years, we worked hard not only give ideas to members of congress, but to help centrist republicans and democrats, and the occasional independent, to be elected to congress. And they were. They came together, and no labels encouraged the house Problem Solvers caucus, 60 members, 30 republicans, 30 democrats. The common sense coalition, with 10 numbers equally divided between the parties. It got up to 21 it was necessary. They have been responsible for the major accomplishments of the last five or six years. They broke the debt ceiling grid lock. They were responsible for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. They saw some of the difficult covid19 bills through congress. The record goes on. Some of the most important accomplishments have started in our no labels caucus. Now this year, at the request of our members, we have turned our attention for the first time to the National Election next year. It all begins today as it always has at no labels, with ideas. The common sense policy agenda we are releasing here in New Hampshire is not the ideas of no labels, the we embrace the concept and idea the parties working together. It is what we heard from the American People. What we believe in doing is what a lot of people in washington dont do anymore, we listen to the people we are trying to represent. You will find in this common sense program, much more agreement than you would normally here on a given day from leaders of both parties in washington. I want to quote joe manchin, i heard him say it earlier today, at least this time when i quoted i will give him credit for it. Which is, that the American People are not divided, the leaders of both parties in washington are divided. So i am very proud of this agenda, i hope you will be excited by its vision and its direction. We called it common sense to evoke the memory of Thomas Paines booklet which 350 years ago reenergized the American Revolution and led to our independence and the creation of our great democratic republic. This year we hope that no labels common sense division helps to bring our Political Parties back together, revives our government and we unites the American People. Thanks to nancy jacobson, ryan clancy, who listened to the American People and expressed their hopes for the future in this document. And thanks to everyone of you who are part of no labels, which give us the opportunity to make our country as good as the American People want it to be. I give you now governor patrick rory. [applause] thank you very much. We are here today because of you. The American People, and especially the people of New Hampshire. What an Historic Place we are in to start a movement for the majority of americans. That is why we are here today. But we are not just here today to have one function in which we have an overflow crowd throughout this building and we say hello to you. But we are also here to begin and continue this movement, i want to briefly tell you the steps that we will be taking after today. The first step we are taking today is because of the release of our common sense agenda, our first goal is to influence the agenda of politicians coming to New Hampshire and other states during this primary season. Because if we can influence them by this common sense agenda that we put forward, then we are making a difference in this election already. So we want to influence the agenda, and shape of the debate. It is needed now more than ever. The second thing we want to do and are continuing to do is, we are going to gain, as part of our insurance policy, ballot access. We have a team out there right now throughout all of the states trying to get on the ballot, following the laws of each of our states to get on the ballot. Have volunteers signing up people everywhere. And sadly, we have some operatives in washington dc who want to keep the status quo as it is in trying to stop our efforts. I am telling you right now, it will not work. We are going to get on the ballot. With your help, youve got to get the word out that anyone trying to block access to allow people to have more choice is unacceptable to our constitution and state laws. That is a major agenda we continue to have. The third thing i want to make you aware of, hope we will not have to do it, the fact of the matter is, if by super tuesday, we see the final two candidates being donald trump or joe biden and joe biden, the American People are saying loud and clear, 6070 of the American People are saying we could do better. That is not the choice we want to hopefully by shaping the agenda between now and then, things will change. For my party, the republicans, for bens party, it party, democrats and for independents. But if we do get on the ballot, which we will, we will present eight president and Vice President candidate on the no labels ticket. Only if we see an opportunity to win. We will be listening to the American People, that is how this agenda was formed, by listening to the American People. This is not our agenda, this is the American Peoples agenda. Isnt it about time we listen to the American People to shape our nation for the future and the next generation . [applause] we live in the greatest nation in the world, lets dont take it for granted. God bless you, and god bless america. Thank you very much. We have two special guests with us today, longtime allies of the no labels movement and powerful voices for common sense policy. Please welcome jon huntsman and senator joe manchin. Moderating todays town hall we welcome kevin cirilli. [applause] we are in the eyes of the storm, ha . Hello and welcome, i am a Political Correspondent with scripps news. To be clear, no labels has not told me what i am not allowed to ask or anything like that. And scripps news does not endorse any political candidate or movement. We have a lot to talk about and a lot of audience questions that i want to make sure that we get to. About what no labels says are Common Sense Solutions in their proposal. No labels has sparked a national debate. Because they are considering running a president ial ticket. They say unity ticket with a republican and a democrat. I see a democrat and a republican. [laughter] i will ask the obvious question, is this the president ial ticket . Do you want to answer that warming . Answer that for me . We need options, the options may be removing the parties that have receded to their extremes. That is not we are. Who we are. We are saying common sense, i appreciate no labels doing what they have done. I want to thank the college and the institute of politics or allowing us to be here, it is fantastic. I want to thank governor sununu, i know he is here somewhere. Thank you. [applause] thank you for allowing us here. To my two colleagues, we appreciate i can tell you i have been there for 13 years, people say, why are you here . We started this 12 years ago. He became the first cochairs of no labels. A democrat and a republican mirrored both governors, i was the governor of West Virginia, he was the governor of utah. How do you ring with parties together to make correct decisions . You can do it without an ally. Argue considering a president are considering a president ial run . Everybody wants to know what joe is doing. Kevin, thank you for sharing the stage with us. Thank you to all who have organized tonights event. Governor sununu, we love you, who are the best governor out there, should be up here as well. [applause] if that were the case, we can pack our bags and walk away. But i have to say, this is a special stage. For those of us who have been crazy enough to run for president before, not something i would recommend to anybody. [laughter] thank you, it is a pretty intimidating prospect. But what you learn from the people of New Hampshire is very real. They want substance. They do not want style, they want substance. You can ask about the horse race, i did not know i was going to be sitting up here until a couple of weeks ago. Joe called me. As he did 12 years ago. And said, we have both been governors, we have been practitioners of crossing the aisle, doing important things for the people who vote for us. And what happened then was interesting. Nobody paid any attention to it. We are here talking about a prospective unityticket. As you weigh your options, hugh said you will decide by the end of the year. Consider him a potential running mate . Jon is my dear friend. I think people are getting ahead putting the cart ahead of the horse. The are here to make sure the American People have an option, can you move the Political Parties off of their respective sides . They have gone too far right and too far left. That cannot be done unless they are threatened. The only way you can threaten us to have people out there who say, either side cannot win without the independent. The center left or center right. If they have another option, they are in trouble. Those parties are in trouble. They will have to look at it again. Unless we stay over here, they are not going to vote for us, we can move, lets see what happens. If you get in the race and spoil the election, with that factor in ive never been in any race to spoil it, i am in races to win. [applause] i have not made a decision, i have never made a decision early. The only place in the world in america is the next election starts the day after the last election. It is a continuous cycle, that is not with the American People want. If them a break. They want you to make sure you are going to answer the problems. Border security, you have to secure this border, but you have to have a pathway forward with work visas. We need workers in this country. You have to fix it the debt problem. When is the last time you heard anyone talk about the debt . When he and i both started no labels, the debt was for was 14. 9 trillion. Its a 30 trillion today. And no one has set a word. We started out at 5. 8 trillion in 2001. If you want to blame democrats, we are all lt. Blame republicans fine, we are all guilty. Everyone is guilty. They are not going to change their ways. If people make you believe you are divided, do not accept that, you are not divided. It is the politics in washington, the business of the democrat and republican parties that has a Better Business model. If you are divided, they get you all chained up, and nothing gets done. Their Business Model is it is better to be divided than united. Youre going to change that. I am going to get to audience questions, but i want to highlight this, there are a lot of americans that are independent voters. They are concerned if they are to vote for a unity ticket, it would hurt President Biden and help President Trump. What do you say to those folks as they are considering this . You just wont let this go kevin . [laughter] its important. This is the latest talking point. Forget about the issues, forget about the importance of expanding our democracy. If you live in a place like china, or russia, and i have lived in both, running both u. S. Embassies. They do not allow any choice, there is no participation. They are pure authoritarian systems. And i start hearing people here say, that is not a good thing, you should not expand our artistic patient in the system. It might result in a b or c winning or losing. Here we do it differently. [applause] this is the most innovative, creative, smart country in the world, ticket from somebody who has lived overseas. This is the most creative, smart country in the world. The only element of American Society that has not been transformed, every other industry has been transformed through technology. It is politics. It is the same old same old. If we end up in 2024 with the same set of nominees that we had in 2020, is that insanity or what . That is why you have what has changed 12 years ago to today . No one cared 12 years ago. In these years, there has been an implosion in trust toward our institutions and leaders. People want more. Why is it that you have got three fourths of the American People who say if the outcome in 2024 is same old, i think i will want something different. That brings us to today. Why is everybody here . Joe, i understand. But for the rest of us. Most Americans Still believe in the american promise. Most Americans Still believe that you can be better and have a better life and better quality for your family. What they dont believe in is the promises from the parties today. The Political Parties have not delivered. They are separating further apart. Can you gain if the Political Parties stay where they are today . Will your family be in a better place . Other countries have outperformed us in education. That is not acceptable. Put on your ambassador haley, how do china and russia you hyper partisanship in the u. S. . They love it. If you were to look at their internal documents to say what they wish upon the people of the u. S. The answer would be division. Pitting american against american. Taking away any sense of E Pluribus Unum. Nobody even recognizes what that is today. Out of many, one. That is what our rallying cry has always been in this country. What they want to see in this country, other than financial failure, is for us to be divided and constantly at each other. Because if you could see what i have seen, living in beijing and osco, when you look and moscow, when you look at this beautiful country and its beautiful people. When we are together on the big issues of the day, shine and radiate, and we scare the hell out of china, russia and everybody else. When we are divided is the opposite. All of that sounds great. The fact is, people will frequently look at moderates and say the mushy middle, or the middle doesnt stand for anything. What is your response to critics who say this sounds like a great idea but impracticality practicality it cannot be executed . On the E Pluribus Unum noem, you put out of many one and free, that is who we are. That is what we want. We want the freedom that comes from us working together. The middle, why would no labels go to the effort to poll people from across the country and ask them. That is what we have been able to share. Why do we act on that . Do you think our finances are in good shape . Now. What do you do . There are so many things. Debt financing, but a piece of legislation out. I know all of the tricks that have been played, i have been there 13 years. It is time to speak up and make sure we are held accountable. I can assure you, both Democratic Party and the Republican Party have benefited by dark money. Everybody is talking about dark money. Everyone is talking about whether or not should groups like no labels have to be transparent about where the money is coming from. I should think the Democratic Party and the Republican Party be transparent. 1. 5 billion for the republican in the 2020 election. I can tell you, if you want change Citizens United, it can only happen in washington. Both parties will have to pass legislation to outlaw Citizens United, then you can stop all of the dark money. [applause] are you saying no labels should follow it is what everybody else is doing, it is the norm with 501 c organizations. If you are asking me if that is right or good, i say no, i do not. I think there should be transparency and accountability in all things. That is not how people play the game. Joe is talking about billions of dollars run through major parties, dark and all of that. I have heard that we are a dark money organization. The fact of the matter is the system socks system sucks, it is broken. You can get people in a room together and say, does the way we finance campaigns make sense to you . And nobody would agree that how we do it today makes sense. In the true american tradition, we will of all, i hope we heal our wounds and fix this glaring error and how campaigns are run by campaignfinance reform. I was with john mccain, campaign i cochaired. I loved him. I was a proponent of what he was trained to do with campaignfinance reform. Reviled and hated by a lot of people, but it is time we get back to our rational discussion of how we go forward. You said the middle is mushy . I can say that no labels would change Citizens United overnight if they could. I would vote to overturn Citizens United and 8 and make it the law of the land that you cannot have dark money and politics. I would like to get to the first audience question. If you could please state your name and where you are from, as well as your question. Thank you. I am em friedricks, i am worried about the flooding and tornado watch right here in manchester and all over new england this week. This extreme weather is from more carbon in our atmosphere it is caused by burning more fossil fuels like the Mountain Valley pipeline that senator manchin took as a special interest and fought for this past year. My question is, are taxpayers going to be the one burdened with this . Or do you agree that fossil fuel companies should be responsible for the mess they created and fund cleanup of climate crises or climate disasters . I believe in an allnew energy policy, this country cannot run unless we have an allnew energy policy. 75 of your energy comes from fossil. We have clean up the environment more in america in the last two decades than anywhere else in the world. Most of all air pollution right now will be 90 from asia, india and china are using more of this without the constraints have. With that we are investing more in new, clean technology. With the ira bill, we will have the fuel it takes to run our country, we are the superpower of the world, we cannot be dependent on foreign supply chains. With the ukraine war, it showed you what pollutant can use for energy, he used energy as a weapon. In a Perfect World you would have whatever you want energy wise. We do not have renewables that will run 24 7. You want electricity, heat, 24 7. The Mountain Valley pipeline has been held up forever. Here use pay some of the highest prices. Why should you pay more than those down in the southeast . Why are you paying so much out here . If we can get the gas to you. Yet you were getting propane shipped in from russia. We know the problems. That should not happen in america. It will happen, we do not have that technology, do not have the dispatch of all power that will run 24 7. But we are transitioning. It is an all in policy and i nobly we should leave the country. We are the superpower of the world. I want to follow up with what this platform common sense says. He mentioned geopolitics, china controls the production and refining of 80 of the rare earth metals key to direct the drive from wind turbines. Half of americas uranium comes from russia and kazakhstan. As we are trying to address climate change, how do we not negate National Security . We have to prioritize. And National Security is a top tier priority. But the comments made a moment ago are important. They should be recognized. If it results in coming up with a price on carbon, which i have been for dealing aggressively with methane releases. This is the all of the above strategy at we ought to be talking about. But right now we are at polar ends of the discussion. As opposed to saying, where do we agree . What are the overlapping elements of an agreement and where does that take us . Instead we are starting with the absolute endpoints of policy. Where nobody agrees. As opposed to the initial steps, it might take a summer. Anyone who has been a governor knows that is the way business is done, state. You have to bring together a coalition of the willing i was part of a carbon racing initiative with them a credit governors in the western part of the United States. My own party thought i was crazy. But i thought, if we can get out ahead of this issue and define possibilities, that will be good for the American People. As opposed to fingerpointing. He all of the above strategy we are advocating is important. You said something that i want to underscore. 80 controlled by china. All of the Critical Minerals that will fuel some of our most Important Technology developments. I would tell you stories about being in indonesia recently at a nickel site. Where i saw firsthand, the chinese have complete control. Indonesia is 18 is one example of the critical material that will go in the next generation of electric cars, the chinese have outgained us. This is what is beautiful about it. We have a different opinion, but there is a pathway forward. I have never supported a price on carbon, because i never saw the proceeds from the price in use to find out how i can make this table with less carbon. Perfect case in point. I am in new york, you are taking all of my businesses away, my investments. I said, i can assure you we did not write a bill saying, how can we harm our allies in france and england . You all have used the stick, you have been sold on carbon pricing. You have never come up with new Innovative Technology because you never put the money or resources there. We take a piece of legislation and we use the carrot. To use the stick. If you are upset with me, you have to can with us now. There is more competition in the world today from what we have done in america. He frogged we leapfrogged everybody. It is a powerful tool we can use. More of our batteries and storage that we need, we do not have. We are not getting what we need from the renewables. But we can get there. I want to get to another question. But it is a good point to zoom back. Here is an issue that you disagree on. Do you want to know where the balances . Laissez say we have a new technology, lets say we have a new technology, and we show them how to use these technologies. We are capturing the methane. When other countries want to sell a product into america, and have not adapted into the new technology, we charge them a carbon price. I want to zoom back. If there is a republican and a democrat, are in the white house together, how would that work . That is the question i have been asking. Hell of a lot better than what we have today. [laughter] [applause] practically speaking, if we are as polarized as we are now, how would it work inside of the white house with two opposing parties in power . Nobody knows, we have never tried it. We tried in 1864. Abraham lincoln, andrew johnson. Are you talking in 1960 1860 or 1865 . I am not trying to offer speculation about what joe is going to do, i have no idea. But if you were to get a republican and democrat Problem Solver that have experienced running a state, and building coalitions with the willing. And if you were to take the document that we have presented here today, the common sense majority document. The common sense majority has no voice in this country. They just watch the three ring circus play out. Where do you want to start the conversation, you want to start with a template of ideas. What is on the minds of most americans . We had tens of thousands of conversations of what people feel about the most important issues. We are not making it up. That should inform whoever is elected president what the priorities should be. And then building coalitions of the willing around those priorities, just like states have to do. The power of the moderates is unbelievable. You know that, this is one of the cradles of democracy. People are coming here because they know you are independent, and they expect you to answer the questions. Lets get to another audience question, the state your name and where you are from. My name is ken from new jersey, i drove up with my family this morning. We wanted to drive yesterday, but except for the tornado warning. [laughter] my question is this, i want to thank no labels for organizing this event. As a father of a threeyearold and a fiveyearold, i am concerned of the outofcontrol federal spending, the Interest Payments and how it will affect my daughters and future generations. What will the no labels candidate do to solve this political problem that has both parties kicking the can down the road in regards to entitlements . A balanced budget would do that. Can you imagine that governors of bylaw have to project have to balance their budgets . Every week we have the finance team come in. We know what it is like to live within that framework. We could not get financed at all. That is exactly what is happening. I know what is being done right now. Thats go to the financial responsibility, her children will not be taught any civics whatsoever, understanding how the government works. I doubt if your children will have Financial Literacy taught in their school, to teach them the value of a dollar, what the risks they are taking. The u. S. , we put so many regulations on banks, we saw what happened to cvb, we do not have a risk manager at all. Have the Treasury Department that should have a Risk Management team in telling us we are getting ready to go over the cliff. We are at 135 of that to gdp. We were fighting for survival in world war ii, this is sales this is selfinflicted. If we do not change, 170 trillion by 2050. The interest on that will be 5 trillion a year. There will not be a superpower of the u. S. It is not sustainable. Nobody is talking about that. Every bill that we do should have a cap on that. And how do you protect subsidies . Social services and medicare is a lifeline for people. If we do nothing, in 10 years, if you are getting 1000, take 24 off of that. That is what is going to happen. It has been your fault because universe because you never did anything. We have some people who say, if you are under 400, you should not pay anything. We have some people on the top of the food chain that could get away with not even taking their cola. But you are not going to fix Social Security or medicare unless you have more workers. I am concerned about my grandchildren and your children. I can assure you, mike mullen told me this, the joint chiefs of staff, my first meeting. I am trying to learn about all of the different concerns of the world. He got up and gave a statement and said listen, the greatest year the u. S. Faces is the debt, it will take you down quicker than anything else. My grandfather always said, debt will lead you to make that decision. We are robbing peter to pay paul, your children will be left behind if we dont do it and do it now. One of the things says that no one in tyrant or close to it should face benefit changes, and no middle class or lower income americans should face a benefit cut. How do you do that . Everybody has to pay into the system. In West Virginia, 160,000 is the income level. 99 of West Virginians pay hundred percent of it. Pick a high income state, only 50 pay. Changes have to be made so everyone is participating at the same level. They are not doing that now. Can i just say that this is a mindnumbing conversation because we are playing this loop over and over again, here after year. Same questions from 2012. We are not doing anything about it. We talk about the debt, did anybody here what joe just mentioned in response about our best existential threat . 21 trillion we have spent since 2008. It was only 10 trillion from 1787 to 2008. We are not talking about the most fundamental and a sick threat to our wellbeing in our system. I dont know why we are talking about cocaine in the white house more than we are about the numbers. Maybe because they are mindnumbing, the same through with entitlement reform. Talk about it year after year. I am led to believe that a Statutory Commission that can jump into this with authority to make tough calls what are the calls they should be given the authority to make . They can figure that out, testing can be a big part of this. Stress testing two. There is a big part of the public it part of the population that doesnt need any of the above. Let me give you one so you know the scope of what we are talking about. For the last 21 years, we have spent more money than we have taken in. Can any of you, any business, any family, survive spending more than they have to pay for, 421 years straight . That puts everything in perspective. Another audience question, we have one right over there. Stephen from New Hampshire. From my personal Campaign Expense from running as a independent, many people are voting against, not four. If we want the government to work for us, how can americans be convinced that now is the time to be brave, knowing the Downside Risk of the side they fear the most winning . Nothing will change unless we do things differently. How can these common sense conditions get the American People to finally be beat be brave . By doing what you are doing tonight, showing up, doing something. Look at all of the chatter, why are people scared to have an option . Why are they scared to say, you are too far to the left, we do not give our lives over to extremes. I have to make decisions for myself and my family in the center. The republicans, i have never met the first person is always wrong. I have walked away sometimes thinking that because i never spent enough time to extract the value i the value they had. We can disagree or agree, but we will find a pathway forward. If my Business Model is more of you will support me or will give more money to my campaign if i dont work with john, pretty soon the Business Model becomes the driver. It is not rewarding for working together in solving almonds. We are expected to do that. This is a democracy. If i was ever in your classroom, i would say, what have you done today for your country . He says, why would you ask a question like that . I said, its yours, you own it, it is a republic. What have you done . And they start thinking, i said, anything. When you open when you own something the value is how you take care of it. The polls suggest the majority of young people are trending downward if they are asked if they feel patriotic. They dont know how we got here. If they dont teach in school, they dont understand the value of what we have. [applause] why do you think that is . Why do you think more americans feel that way . It is because i have had seven kids. I have two in the navy who are terribly patriotic. Good and courageous people. Have another who is a Foreign Service officer at the state department, a young girl who be adopted from china when she was quite done people do not when she was quite young. People do not feel invested in their country, to protect it, to get out and vote how do change that dynamic . One of the reasons why they feel connected is because they have to serve, they have to put skin in the game. We advocate in this document for some kind of National Service for young people, which i think would be a great thing to do. [applause] i have lived in multiple countries, almost every country in which i have lived, there is mandatory surface of some kind. I am not just talking about military service. How about teaching, the most noble career in the world. How about working problems we have around the country in terms of giving kids an opportunity to have ownership and reflect upon what the ideals and values of this country mean to them. Then we are going to get around to the earlier question, which is, one of the reasons we are not getting these big issues on the to do list, is because we have not made problemsolving a value among voters. Politicians respond to signals. If the signal is, you are not going to get my vote unless you can figure out how to solve this on a bipartisan asis. When is the last time you heard a candidate even mentioned the word bipartisan . It is a term that may suggest you are weak. But that is how is this is done, you have to have a coalition of the willing in the middle, usually, that gets things done. The onus is on many of you in this most innovative state called New Hampshire. When people come through here, you need to make it a point to say, what will you do to highlight these issues that are the important ones to us . We value problemsolving, we value bipartisan interaction. That is when you are going to see it register. I would like to followup on the trust in the process. When you have former President Trump saying the results of the 2020 election or not legitimate, and a large portion of his supporters who believe that, how do you get back the trust of all americans in to the democratic process . It is so sad to live in a great country such as this where people are led astray for either social media or other ways they are receiving their information and get confused. The bottom line is, a person who believes the only Fair Election is one they win, is not real good. The only law that pertains to everybody but me. The rule of law is what makes us different. When you seek madame justice blindfolded, she is blindfolded for a reason. She doesnt know what color you are, where you come from, but you all have will access to the law. It is something that gets me, i was there on january 6. It happened. It was an insurrection, it was not a visit. If it was a visit, i would have talked to all of them. It was really an insurrection. I spoke to people in georgia, the officials in georgia, republican officials, the governor, the secretary of the attorney general. Those elections were accurate, accounted three times. They said we never count elections this much. The one thing about the political process, when the race is over and the people have spoken, on. That is democracy. Or the transfer of power. That is what the world is watching. If they see they can divide us, when they can divide us, they have conquered. They do not need to take us to war. They can see us fighting ourselves, they have one. Are they leveraging that, the division via social media platforms in the u. S. To drive the division amongst race, Sexual Orientation . Are they trying to instill hate into my chrissy . Into democracy . So the name prighozin, the person who ran another insurrection in russia. He was who in he was he was putins shaft, but he also ran some of the darker operations that putin sent him to do. The black box operations that he was famous for, including the control farm outside of st. Petersburg. When we read facebook, twitter, a lot of social media, and we see these extreme commentary on both sides, seeking to divide we as americans around race, gender, anything else that can be exploited. After school shootings, unfortunate incidents, guess who is at it . The russians. They are pretty good at it. They have been doing it for a long time. I wish more americans were aware of that, realizing that the damage we think we are doing to one another has a fellow american behind it. Not always. Let me just say one thing. As americans, when you asked different generations, my simple answer is this, i was raised to believe that every american should have the opportunity to have a quality of life. I dont care who you are, like, what you are, you should have the opportunity for the quality of life. That is my job to make sure you have that access. The love of america, the whole world is watching us, one final thing, i was in china one time. We wanted to figure out how their Education System work. My wife is an educator. There was a 12yearold girl there, we asked the question, what do you think about america . She says, i wish i could think like americans. Think about that. I wish i could think like americans. She told me everything with that statement. They do not have the ability to be anything they want to be, have any education opportunity, we take all of that for granted in this wonderful, free country. And you are going to talk about guns now. [laughter] respectfully, we have been talking about Mass Shootings in this country, one of the most concerning issues in the u. S. Right now it is also one of the most will arising. How do you address the real Mass Shootings that are occurring . Congress has not done anything after the sandy hook shooting i realized i come from a gun state. In West Virginia, if you dont have a on they will give you one when you get there. We were taught common sense. How to use a gun. We were taught we dont loan our gun to strangers. We dont loan to a Family Member who is not responsible. You never sell your gun to somebody dont know. Thats gun sense. Thats gun culture. Im thinking where did this happen . Ive got 10 grandchildren. And i have my daughter, who flinches every time she sends her kids to school now. School should not be the killing fields. We should not allow this to happen in america. With that being said, the people we know and that we should know are criminals or will do heinous crimes or have Mental Illness should not be allowed to have access. Basically i will give you the gun laws of 1934. Your member machine guns in movies . In 1934, you could still buy one. It was difficult, costly. You could buy one if you are a sportsman. We have never had a mass killing with a machine gun. There are things we can do to make sure the most dangerous people dont get their hands on it. And the people that want to buy as long as they are the right people. Everyone is talking about elimination, this, that, Everything Else and the Second Amendment comes up at the bottom line is we must protect our children. And to have people saying across the globe whats happening in the streets of america is they are winning a battle, the same as drug cartels and china is winning sending fentanyl precursors and killing 60,000 americans every year. Kevin there is such polarization on an issue such as this. This is a heartbreak of an issue. The violence, the tragedy, the way it plays out and impacts we as americans when it happens. It is a heartbreak. Were not speaking at about seriously enough is a Mental Health crisis that exists in this country and it has only been supercharged by covid. Im involved in building a Mental Health institute out west in utah. We have a big problem on our hands. How we get more Mental Health awareness into schools. How we get it rural areas where we have suicide rates sadly among some of those who have served in uniform, our veterans. It is off the charts. A lot of us over time could be avoidable, but we need Early Detection and recognition. We need enough Mental Health support to deal with serious cases when they have been identified. We need insurance policies that recognizes Mental Health on the same plane as physical health. Right now there is a huge gap. A lot of untreated cases, things people dont want to talk about because of the stigma kevin i want to get to another audience question. Yes, right over there. My name is jeff, i currently live in beau, and like governor huntsman i am formerly from murray, utah. Over the last decade, we have seen many, many enlisted Soldiers Pass on renewing their contracts, as they dont see the military as a viable career. For people who want to serve get turned down because of a broken appeal system to get waivers for certain medical conditions. If either one of you were president , how would you come together with both Political Parties in order to fix this issue . K i ca sen. Manchin i can speak on the military. The greatest recruitment i have seen is the rotc system paying for education. A lot of military families served by family traditions. You might have second, third and fourth generation. But we are having a challenge right now. The bottom line is education attainment, terminal codes, sometimes a violation as a you cant get you into the military arena, all of those things. The bottom and top line is we cannot allow readiness and quality of the men and women who serve to be relegated to a lower standard. Thats what keeps us different than any in the world. We have the most professional military. When i was going through the town, everybody was getting drafted but they have come to the conclusion that we are going to have a professional military, welltrained, wellpaid, well disciplined. The only people meeting their quotas right now are the marines. They are still very attractive, macho marines. But we are having trouble on all our others but we are still doing well. With that being said, the National Guard of today is not the National Guard of your grandfather or father, these are professionals. And they have been feeling a come all over the world. There is the thing called challenge academy, i dont know if you have heard of this. But challenge academy is where they take wayward children and put them into basically a boot camp run by the National Guard. Im part of this because i was a proponent as West Virginia governor. We had a kid going to juvenile now end up at west point. It is unbelievable as far as turning people around. We have to make it the patriotic duty that we all have to serve. When jon talked about National Service, every 18yearold should give service of some kind to this country, somewhere, somehow. One year of service. [applause] it could be military. Health care, education, welfare work, an awful lot of things where we have a void all over the country. Especially in rural states. Kevin i want to recognize admiral blair who is here, as joe has. One of my heroes and somebody who has served this country so valiantly. [applause] as with Joe Lieberman and so many others, it is such an honor. I would say that first of all, we should not let recruiting and retention become a crisis within this country. As it was after the vietnam war. Im old enough to remember the post75 period, and the rebuilding that had to occur. A lot of people in this country are weary of 20 years of war in the middle east. Failed deployments. Execution of strategies that went nowhere. In some cases, it has been a turn on to people because we have not deployed wisely. And we have squandered resources and lives have been lost. We dont need to go more into that but what i hear from my own sons who are well into the system, from their colleagues and sadly, many of them are thinking about leaving early. Not because they are the best in the business but because sometimes the military doesnt do a very good job of connecting talent with opportunity. You are stuck in a pipeline. You have to do your time. You have to check the boxes as you go. It is sometimes a bureaucratic exercise. In a time of war you cant do that. There are battlefield promotions where things move expeditiously. But i fear we could be entering applicable of downturn. One that were seeing on the recruitment side, and the numbers out of the army recently have been alarming. But i think the military needs to reform itself within. Its a great meritocracy. Its a colorblind organization. It does greatly innovative things, but moving people along, matching pellet with opportunity sometimes is not done in ways that key people in the system when there is so much outside pulling them away to more lucrative ventures. Kevin we have one more audience question, then i want to wrap things up. Right at the back, please. Thank you for coming back to New Hampshire, governor, senator. I am from hollis, New Hampshire but i grew up in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. So you are like a beloved neighbor. Sen. Manchin close to me. Do steelers fans say that . [laughter] i claim the fifth. I am a clinical psychologist. I appreciate what you said, governor, about the Mental Health crisis. As you all know better than anybody, so Many Political discussions revealed partisan ideology we will say. And we all know that the issues were talking about belong to all americans. As a clinical psychologist of 40 years in the granite state, i sit with people who are struggling with Mental Health challenges. They are not talking about whether they are republican or independent, or a democrat. They are talking about their Mental Health concerns. Heres my question, which im going to tweak a will because youve answered some of it, governor. As a country that has a national Mental Health crisis, and i would say it is profound and we are in it on a marathon level. 22 veterans a day plus are committing suicide. While we are here two hours, thats two veterans already gone. And one out of three adolescent girls in high school are considering suicide, and are depressed and anxious. I was going to ask some of your concrete plans from a common sense perspective, but i guess i want to ask, would you be willing to start or create a fouryear Mental Health commission with the option to in you and have a renew and have a middle health czar . Kevin from congresss standpoint we should, because when i grew up there were institutions. They d institutionalized in the late 80s. They went to group homes. They said it was not humane having people in a institution. Then the money ran out. Then came crimes. It continues to flourish today to the point where we have not done anything about it. How do we basically get by hipaa laws to the point where we are trying to save a persons life but cant get the necessary information to intervene to save them because we cant get medical records. It has to come from a commission. Dhhs, for what they have inside dhhs now is not working because it doesnt put all this energy towards Mental Illness. And it is rampant everywhere. A lot of our homelessness is Mental Illness, and a lot of the crime. Most of the jails are filled up with Mental Illness. [indiscernible] sen. Manchin i love independent everything. [laughter] if we could talk after this, id be happy to take your information. It is very helpful and needed. [indiscernible] this is a nonpartisan issue. Sen. Manchin with medicaid we have made that more of a payment. We have trouble getting clinicians all over the country. Again, this would be one year of some type of National Service. Kevin if you love an independent everything, are you an independent or a democrat . Sen. Manchin im the most independent democrat you have ever met. [cheers and applause] sen. Manchin hes getting closer to the edge, as that great yes album used to say. Kevin final question, for you governor, i wanted to ask about congresswoman Marjorie Taylor greene. She proposed the United States withdraw from nato. Given you are a republican, you obviously have served our country as ambassador to russia, china, singapore and other titles. What is your response to Marjorie Taylor greene . Jon part of the problem with Politics Today is that we are even talking about this. [applause] if you want to give me some serious commentary, as opposed to just continuing the fun and games of the three ring circus, that im happy to talk about. When we go back to the same old flamethrowers, thats part of the problem. Lets keep the Entertainment System alive and well. Wrong on our part. [applause] i will answer by saying i think people are waking up to the importance of the notion of collective security. And how it multiplies and enhances our capabilities abroad with likeminded countries. Do i wish that more nato members paid up 2 of their gdp in support of their defense . Of course, that should be mandatory. But i think there has been a huge wakeup call in recent months. I never thought i would live long enough to see finland get nato. Or live long enough to see sweden in nato. This is mindnumbing. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin wakes up every morning and says my Worst Nightmare has come true. That front doorstep that he hopes to keep independent through his black box tricks, so he can control them, much like is happening in ukraine, moldova and georgia. Nato plays a role. It is recognized more than ever the Important Role it plays. I hope through this chapter that the good people in europe, members of those nato countries, will see fit to start funding some of their own defense. Sen. Manchin high truly believe that all 435 people elected to washington want to do good. It is too hard to not do good. Why the system rewards bad behavior is beyond me. Thats the problem. I think there is good there. Fred upton has worked with everybody and knows what is going on. Weve got them all here. They truly have a lot of good to offer. But if you continue to reward people for bad behavior, it is like having a kid. The harder they scream and the more that you reward them, they are not going to get better. Stop all this. Come on. Im at the age that i remember, and everything that i read about john kennedy, ask not what you can do for your country. The psyche of the nation is how much more can my country do for me . We are not going to make it. Your children and grandchildren are not going to live in a country where there expecting someone else to do something for them. Thats why we are talking about common sense. Andy has worked so hard on all of this. I cant thank all of you for having this discussion. Because we can talk about the real problems. We dont have to villain eyes the other side because they might think different than i do. I will not campaign against [indiscernible] you have two great senators. I will work with whomever you send. They are here to represent you, and im here to represent West Virginia, but i am truly an american first. If my country does get my staple do state will do pretty good. Kevin you have said you are considering running for president. [laughter] sen. Manchin up to give him cre ive got to give him credit. Kevin this is the most important job in the world. What goes into that decision . Sen. Manchin if we are able to show with how many responses, what was it 10,000 surveys across the country 50,000 . We will do 50,000 more surveys. If we are showing the common sense most americans want to be governed by, and we cant push it back to the middle, that is time to make a decision. Whether it is me or anybody else. Im not here running for president tonight. Im trying to basically save the nation. I am more concerned now than i have ever been in my life. I have three children and 10 grandchildren. A tremendous amount of colleagues. Im concerned that they are concerned. I said, you dont know how bad things look. You are sitting at home after a good dinner watching television and saying, my god that is awful. Try it from my seat. [laughter] so yeah, i want to do things. My vote is unpredictable because i vote on the facts. If i cant explain, im not. Theyve done everything they can, they cant do it. I told him one time, we will play russian roulette. Im not changing. You have to have the background. You know why . Im not afraid of losing. [applause] thank you all. [indistinct conversation] this is about a movement to bring this country back together. Does that give either of you more inspiration for 2024 . Theres a lot of pent frustration about the state of politics. When you attack from a different angle of problem solving and bipartisanship people wake up and say, thats whats missing. Thats what ive been waiting for. This will be a yearning that will only build over time. Who knew . What you have to say about the new groups that are standing up to china . The business of politics is big business, as long as you know that. People want good policies that they have the chance to live the american dream. People believe in the american promise, but they dont believe in the promise of the politics anymore. Washington is making you believe you are divided. This country is not divided. Its a Better Business model if they can keep you divided. Were trying to say hey, boys, get off your high horse on the right and left, come back together and lets do our job. [indiscernible] he says the only reason you would run is to get an appointment in the abiding or trump administration. [indiscernible] talked about being the most independent democrat. Why have you not thought about leaving the Democratic Party . Sen. Manchin my dear friend jon has an r by his name, i hav ea d by my name. We looked at bringing different sides together for solutions. Thats why he and i teamed up 13 years ago. We believe it is more needed today then when we first started. Senator, we heard repeatedly today your potential to run for the presidency. When will you decide to run for reelection for senate . Everyone thinks it is all about politics. I had a chance to team up with my body again. Why New Hampshire . This is the no labels state. This is one of the cradles of democracy. The people here, as independent and demanding as they are, jon can probably speak to that better than i can. I have a couple of pairs of shoes worn out from walking that state of New Hampshire. Its a special state. Were in the preseason. Therefore, the people are thinking in real time about what options there will be. How do think about politics. You dont find that in most other states. This is very unique because the people are so connected to the process of rolling out the next generation of leadership. Do you think biden should withdraw [indiscernible] nomination . I voted for marty walsh. He brings people together. He comes from labor. He brought business and labor together to make decisions. Julie doesnt have that experience. She is competent. But to be the secretary of labor, you have got to bring people together. And coming from one side and the other side being disconnected isnt going to work. [indiscernible] these markers appear on the righthand side of screen when you hit play. This timeline makes it easy to an idea of what was debated in washington. Spend a few minutes on cspans points of interest. Addresses a report