It will put your name on all their advertising. You guys ready for whatever happens . All right. Welcome, everybody. Not just those of you in the room but people watching live on cspan. We are glad to have you here. I know by now we have had in this generation long enough that i dont need to tell you to turn off your cell phones or turn off do if you dontyo mind. I want to welcome all of you here but i want to call special attention that we have two groups of students here here at the Aspen Institute. We have a very Exciting Program on youth engagement. We have students here from the beret school. Where are you . The Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for public part of see that public policy. School for public policy. Where are you . When we get to questions, we hope you will. Let me start with a little story to get us started. In this environment that we live in which is so constantly contentious and uncivil. I run a program that we started at the institute 12 years ago. It is called the rendell fellowships. What we do, i will be brief about it, but what we do is we go out every year and we find the 24 top Young Political leaders in the country. Some are mayors. Summer Lieutenant Governors, state treasurers, speakers of the house, what ever. In 2005. D this that is what we picked our very first class of fellows. Three of those fellows went on. O become members of congress one was a state rep from arizona, one from minnesota, one was a state treasurer from kansas. They came into the program. I found i was searching for people. I found the Lieutenant Governor of maryland and the president of the county consul in montgomery county, maryland, who you will know are really truly among the great young stars in american government, american politics, what we do is we are able we are aiming to create a bonding between people who do not join the same political club, so that we can look at what americans have in common, sit down and talk about aristotle and hobbs were not going to do that here. Good. [laughter] mr. Edwards the way that happens, the way it develops is when that state rep from arizona, who was in the first ss with tom and i was shot it was Gabby Giffords when she was shot, all the people in the program came together in their love for her. Nobody paid attention to what party she was in, and the story that means even more, though tom wolfe denies that tom is a liberal democrat when president obama nominated him to be head of the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department, the way that our politics works, obviously, the republican senators say we have to stop this terrible guy, and the republican members of the fellowship wrote to their senators and said this is a good man and they ought to support him. Tom and mike are good friends of each other. They are good friends of mine. They are good friends of the Aspen Institute. To me, they represent the very best in what american politics can be, so im really excited to have you both here together. You know, you spend a lot of time at the Aspen Institute. We have been very lucky to keep them engaged. Had them very lucky to keep them engaged. So we are going to have time for your questions at the end. I was reminded that there is a clock that i am looking right at so that i will know if we have gone on too long and need to get to questions, but i want to start a couple that i ask. Before i do, some of you have not been in this room before. This is a big new room that we have, and i want to thank Michelle Smith and the robert Smith Family Foundation because wey sponsor this series that are putting on, so we want them to be recognized for that. Tom and mike, i dont care which of you answers first i mean, we can fight it out. Mr. Steele well, hes the one with title, so he should. Im former, best title in d. C. [laughter] mr. Edwards we all want our friends to do well, and we do not want our friends to find themselves in a mess. I cannot imagine why either of you took on these jobs as national chairman. You are in a situation where there are great divisions and nasty divisions between the two Political Parties. There are very sharp divisions cause your party that people in your party to be looking over their shoulder constantly. Are you seeing compromising or searching for the common good, you will get in trouble. Money, which you both have to worry about, raising money for the Political Party money more and more goes not to the parties but to special interest groups. Talk a little bit about the challenge of being a National Party chairman and what you have to deal with and how you can make your party relevant, make it work, make it work for the good of the country. How do you do that . You want to go first . Mr. Perez sure. First of all, i want to say thank you to fellow republicans, democrats, independents, you have been such a great mentor to all of us. I know i speak on behalf of all of rebel fellows saying thank you. Michael was my friend in maryland. He continues to be my friend. We have a lot of conversations. That does not mean we have we do not have disagreements of significance. We do, but we understand the importance of that dialogue. You asked the question why would i have done such a seemingly crazy thing. Me, i really believe this is a where were you moment, and i say this respectfully. I woke up november 8 assuming that there was going to be a different outcome, that Hillary Clinton would be elected, and a differentd have pathway. President obama inherited a mess. Things got better. There was still unfinished business, and i was hoping Hillary Clinton could take this nation to the next level, and we all know what happened. For me, it was a where were you moment. I actually think being out there now is even more important, and the question that i ask is how can i make the biggest difference. What i love most about working at the Labor Department and the Justice Department is you got to help people at scale. When you pass a regulation that Health Million home workers, mostly women of color on food stamps, get access to minimum wage and overtime protection, that, to me, is the definition of a good week. When you are the successful chair of a party and you can help build strong parties in all 50 states so that you can elect people who share your vision, then they can do good things at scale, if they are the mayor, on the county council, in the state senate, in the u. S. Senate. That, for me, is the definition of a good week, and we have to be honest with ourselves as it regrets. We not only did not prevail in the november election, but when you look at the last 10 years, we have lost roughly 900 seats in state legislatures. We had 60 democrats in the senate when barack obama took office. We have 40 now. Governors inso 2009. We are in the teens now. The list goes on. When we build strong parties, when we build a strong Democratic Party, when we build those strong partnerships, we elect democrats who share that vision of opportunity for everyone, and not just opportunity for a few, and that is why i decided to get in. I am excited about being in a 14se right now, i was year veteran at the Justice Department. I am proud to tell you i serve as a career person under George Herbert walker bush and bill clinton. Independence was our most important currency, and when i see what is happening today, that ee a tweet today i used to prosecute obstruction of justice cases, and when i see things like that today, that is a threat to our democracy. The beauty of watergate in the end was that republicans and democrats put nation above party , so i got involved in this because i really do believe that this president is a dangerous person, and we need to make sure we have a strong democratic we go throughd when strong parties, i think we really can make progress. Edwards the Republican Party was starting to become two parties. You really were taking on something that was falling apart. Steele it is good to be back with you and to be part of the aspen family. I really enjoy these conversations and to hang out with my buddy over here, which we go back to our days in maryland, and it really is about the one thing if youre going to look at what we have in hairstyles is our that we are grassroots guys. Come from thaty space where real people live out their lives every day. Philosophicalrent tom has a different philosophical approach on how to best help and be part of those communities of people grow and prosper. My view is different as well, and that is the sweet spot where you go to compete around ideas and policy and things like that, so that, for me, has always been a foundational idea. I learned that growing up in washington, d. C. This is my home. One of the things i learned very early in life that you have to be not just smart about your goals and aspirations but a ,ittle bit fleet of foot particularly when you are a black, Roman Catholic conservative growing up in washington, d. C. Not the easiest thing to do. But you also learn in those environments about people. Getting involved politically for me was something that began early on and stayed with me throughout my life. The fortuitous opportunity to become Lieutenant Governor of maryland and then to become chairman of the republican were notcommittee political opportunities for me, but they were an opportunity to, to, point, to effect change , to effectint change. To be able to put the machine of government to work on behalf of people was a good day, good week, good month, goodyear good year. And we were able to do that. As party person, the opportunity to involve communities of people politically the one thing that always got me a lot of things got me in trouble when i was chairman. The one thing i could really appreciate down to the core was this concept that at the end of the day, its not about where you lineup or what side you are on. It is that whatever field you decide to play on you have full access to the field. If the parties do their job the right way, youre going to get the recruits, the converts. People will come to you. You,t need to come to because you are a black, sundaygoing social conservative , you should be a republican ok and then what . Because when i look at these other things about your party, im not happy with nice the with what i see. Nor should i look at a community and say because you are a prolife or prochoice person, you should be a democrat or not be a democrat. Onn we start putting labels peoples livelihoods, it becomes very difficult for parties to grow and be successful, and that is one of the things i learned very early on. Going into Republican Party leadership for me was about aching irrelevant to people, inheriting a party that had and you know this very well now aat has a real safety sucky namebrand, that is struggling internally with actions. Your progressive wing that has emerged is no different than the conservative right wing that emerged on the republican side. The challenge is how do you get everybody to play on this field in a way that you advance the ultimate cause of empowering people politically to engage and be part of a process . It is about winning elections. We did a very good job in 2010. But as i look back on that, the question then becomes what did we do with that . What did we learn from it . That is the space we now find ourselves in and the challenge. Oth parties have to realize mr. Edwards as things have developed more recently, you have chosen to do those jobs from the top of the establishment, right . The head of the party. We had on the democratic side the virtual anointment of all the Party Leaders, all the establishment that Hillary Clinton was going to be the nominee there was no question about that, and she spent the next year fending off an attack from someone who wasnt even a democrat, and you had on the republican side somebody who had never been really a republican, and everybody knew it was going to be jeb bush or marco rubio, depending on which won the florida primary, and neither of them came close. Be anhow you can really advocate for points of view, as you both pointed out, but does the party itself in this age still retain the ability to shape what inns up on the ballot representing the party . Do people at the grassroots listen to or care what you think . Are they going to do what they are going to do, and thank you for whatever you can do to send support out to whoever we finally choose . How does that work . Mr. Perez mike referred to it, and i dont know exactly the word he used, but if we were in a marketing class, we would talk about brand degradation. We have done a lot of focus groups and housecalls. Ive been traveling the country. Asking what they stand for. You did not show up in my community. You cannot show up every fourth october in my church and call a planning strategy. Or i feel politically homeless. These are real quotes i heard. We have to do a better job of articulating what we stand for. We went apart or that always stood for what ted kennedy called the common man in the common woman, making sure people have access to economic security. And continue to be. That is why we are the Longest Party in the history of our nation, a party that embraces everyone, regardless of where you were born, regardless of who you worship, regardless of who you love, regardless of your first language. What i and others have been trying to do is make sure we put our values into action. There is a Tremendous Energy across america. Theres all of these groups that have been emerging. Donald trump has been a uniter in one sense because january 20 was important undeniably, but in my mind, january 21 was far more important. Women across this country in the millions came together. You see this unity expressed in so many different ways, so the challenge for the Democratic Party is to work in partnership with all of these allies. Repeal ofagainst the the Affordable Care act is not simply democrats. Republicans have preexisting conditions. Democrats have preexisting conditions. Have preexisting conditions. Those town Hall Meetings in utah and elsewhere those were not paid political operatives. Those were organically arranged people who were about to lose their livelihoods and potentially their lives, so i think a big part of what we have to do is lead with our values, demonstrate who we are and not in a political way. This is about us being there in partnership, and that is what we have been trying to do. I met with a group in phoenix when i was out there. I knew a lot of the folks arizona is a full employment act for civil rights lawyers. Most about theme meeting was the energy in the of purpose. Unity when we lead with our values, and when we are a conspicuous presence on issues that keep people up at night, that is how i think we are in that trust back. We earn that trust trust is not something you are given. It is something you earn, and a lot of people have lost trust in the party, and thats what we have to do make sure we earn that trust through our actions, if its the afford will care act repeal efforts, immigration, fighting for good jobs and good and studying this socalled skinny budget, which i think is morally bankrupt in so many ways. We are a compassionate nation and a strong nation because we are compassionate, and i think we can afford to fund meals on wheels and Legal Services and other services, workforce services. When we are doing that i think that is when we are at our best, but we have undeniable work to that trust in urban, rural, suburban pockets of the nation. The kid questions that come to my mind in that regard are is there in that process a litmus test for who fits within iss scenario, and the second who will make that ultimate . Cision about who you are will it be who the establishment wants or who the grassroots choose and say that defines the party. So muchle you were more polite about that than the way i was going to respond. With the chairman just said its not reality. I dont know if you have had this experience yet, but here is a taste of the reality i had a month into my job. I and down in florida meeting with grassroots activists. In the morning, im meeting with a group of people who tell me that the most important thing i need to do as chairman of the Republican Party is to be the leader on the fight against gay be the leader the party needs to lead in the fight against abortion. To make veryds clear our social conservative values and principles. We need to be strong advocates for the second amendment, you know the litany. You know the list. Literally three hours later, im in the meeting in the afternoon, and im told that as Party Chairman, the party needs to be focused not on social issues but on the economy and growth and jobs. Two very different meetings, two different groups of people who will stand up and where on a stack of rivals that they are cardcarrying, hardcharging conservative republicans who have two very different views of. Heir party and their country that was the precursor to what we saw play out in 2016. , in that moment, you can wax poetic about what we isuld do, but the reality ultimately going to rest with what the people want to do, and the challenge for a Party Chairman and the challenge for a National Party is to recognize that that is not where the action is where you are. The action is in every individual community, and what you have to try to do, and i think this is why we were successful in 2010 is to link those communities with a common thought, a common theme. For me, it was not challenging barack obama, despite the fact that i had every brother and sister in the world coming at me going, you need to talk about barack obama. Im like barack obama is not our fight. Some things we can nationalize. Others we cannot. We have to recognize where the fight is. Exactlyto understand what we have to do on the ground because the ground is where the action is, all right . So what we did was we nationalize, in a sense, nancy pelosi, all right . Because everybody relates to their congressman, close to the ground, and what you do is you make of the argument a little bit more personal. You make it a little bit close to where people are. I would go into communities and if you want a better dogcatcher, if you want trash pickup service, fire nancy pelosi. Itother words, you bring into an area because the president was the president , and this was the mistake you guys were going to make im giving you a little advice. You may not want it. Focus all day on donald trump, and you will lose. That means you are not listening to what people are saying. Chairman, you just had that reality hit you on the abortion question. Everything you are saying, you want to reach out to folks. Challenge i really tried to avoid. You have to recognize that your party is bigger than what you think it is and includes more people than you may ever know who have come to your table with ishole lot of ish that important to them. There are prolife democrats just as there are prochoice democrats. There are prochoice republicans just as there are prolife republicans. As a chairman, if you do not recognize that, you will fail. Just as i learned in those two and isations in florida, finally had at a cocktail gotption that evening members from each of those groups in the same room, so we are standing around having tricks, and it occurred to me as i was listening to their conversation here we go. So i sent to one who was all about the prolife and the conservatives i said, you dont like abortions, do you . Absolutely not. And a turn to the other gentleman and said, and you dont watch a pay for them, do you, and he said, absolutely not. What i needed them to agree, or what programs have instilled, is that you begin to find a thread where you have a different conversation than you begin to gave. Moment where they looked , somethinger changed. It was not that important to talk about that anymore. Are your kids . It was not always that simple, but in these times, this election was more about donald trump and Hillary Clinton. It was really about bernie sanders. It was really about republicans and democrats, and these individuals who brought something to the table that resonated with voters. They have to figure out how to navigate this new water. Its bumpy, its calm. I did not change that as chairman. And ryand mcconnell had no impact on that. Had 150 million. It wasnt he money, it wasnt these hard edges, it was what the voters wanted. Who is the president of france . A guy with no political experience and he is not aligned with larger of the major parties, which got kicked to the curb of the primary two weeks ago. They were not in the final running for president. Why . That is how the people wanted it. You have to decide how you really grow the parties around this new environment. Michael said a number of things that i think are important and interesting. And i agree with some of. Do Democratic Party needs to an better job of making house calls. We spend more money buying Television Ads than advertising. Than organizing. Youre just not listening to people. I believe in dana analytics. That modeling cant supplant doorknocking and listening. You have your finger on the pulse of communities when you do that. One thing that is true for both republican and democrats, and i think is a bad tendency for id like some to way, for you to identify what kind of republican or democrat you are. I am tom perez, a progressive democrat, or conservative democrat i dont know what the word establishment means. I think ted kennedy would have been establishment under the definition of some. In my view he was under the accomplishments wing, he got stuff done. That is why he has a museum of accomplishments to talk about. We have to move away from talking about those questions, which are rorschach task kind of questions. Are you lifting people up . When we did in overtime rule at Labor Department, to allhat gave leverage the employers and leverage away from workers. When you bring together Police Departments and communities that have been torn apart by unrest. I spent a good part of my career doing that. You are lifting up both. When you dont ask those false choice kinds of questions. And i hear people like donald trump asked the question in the context, whose side are you on monday police or the community . On, the police or the community . Frontline officers have told me time and time again, you are most in currency is the community. Are asking that question, are we lifting people up as opposed to burning people down . That is the question we need to ask. Too frequently we get away from this. We summon our better angels in 2008 democrats did pretty well. There is a lot of understandable economic and the that people feel. Economic anxiety that people feel. I am not just talking about 2016, we are losing elections up and down the ballot. I talk about getting back to basics. , it hasr pipes corrode lifethreatening consequences. When you were public infrastructure, roads, it can have consequences infrastructure corrodes, it can down the road. We should be building the infrastructure to have that. Essage relate you know the worst thing is to get all of your supporters in the same room at the same time. There are 40 that call themselves independents. They dont want anything to do with your parties. Is that the future . Our Political Parties going to be a thing of the past . As you both point out for reasons about what the parties have done over the years, the American People are saying, we dont want this. They are moving away from the Party Structure and emphasizing i will pick the candidate one at a time, or i will lean this way, but i represented oklahoma, but i have a house in massachusetts. I went in massachusetts. Enrolled voters voters outnumber both republicans and democrats. Mr. Steele when i was state Party Chairman in maryland, one of the things we did for antielection cycle was to open up our primary to independent voters. Why . At the i articulated time, they are voters. [laughter] mr. Steele imagine that. A very good rationale. I thought it made sense to me. More importantly, lets get than in the game. Lets engage them. Why should they said on the sidelines s it on the sidelines and watch them from afar, then try to corral them into an election . You want to engage them as much as possible. I have always been open to the idea of, the more the merrier. I think the country is beginning to move more in that direction, where they see the efficacy of having someone outside the system challenge the status quo of the system. The establishment, which is why term has become such a pejorative term, is because that protectilds a wall to the interests of those inside whether it is the moneyed interests, political interest all of these folks are in a combo altogether a whether it is the moneyed interests, political cabal together, and we are living with the consequences of their asininity. Maybe i made up that word. They are not getting empowerment from their parties. They are angry and frustrated. I can speak clearly about the republican side. I cant tell you how many folks have expressed over the years their disdain for the direction the party is going. A a lot of people think the tea party, which occurred in my first few months as watch of national chairman, was was happened in 2009. 2004that have gone back to. Net seed was planted long before 2010. Why . Because you are talking about people that have been lied to. I dont know how many of you covered the closing down of the department of education. We were going to shut that down. We ran campaigns on closing the department of education. We are going to reverse roe v. Wade, give us the supreme court, let us get the leadership in the senate and the house and we are going to do these things. What happened . Those things didnt happen. Voters had relied on the promise that, if i commit to you, i vote for you, then you are going to live up to the commitments that you set in this campaign. When you are going to close down the department of education, onove roe v. Wade, pushback gay marriage and all of this stuff socially. At some point voters go, am i stupid . This is not happening. And what do they do . They respond in kind. Why was donald trump successful . What is the one thing you hear about him to this day, despite all of the crazy that is going he his voters are saying is doing what he said he was going to do. That matters to a lot of constituents, and how the parties this is going to be a challenge. God love him, but it is going to be a challenge. [laughter] mr. Steele the voters are restless. Those who theyto feel that took the that tote the independent spirit. Who are willing to lose an election for them. That is an important piece. They are willing to lose an election for them. And if that candidate or candidates emerged, watch out. Both parties will have a real challenge on their hands. The system is designed to prevent third parties from theing here, but i think grassroots could have a different mindset in 2020, even beginning in 2018. Look at some of these races and see how the candidates make the case for the future. You will get a sense of those listening to where voters are and those that are still playing the status quo because they want money. I was with governor hickenlooper of colorado and we were having a similar conversation. I looked at the data recently and colorado. I think unaffiliated voters are the largest percentage in colorado. Having said that, here is the reality when you walk into a voting booth today in most States New York has a working and other lines but when you walk in in most places, youre going to vote for r or a d. that is why i have spent the first few months not going to democratic dinners, but going to communities. Folks that are not majority registered democrats. I believe our keys to success is that we understand and persuade them that our values are in your values. You have an epa administrator who denies that Climate Change is a problem. Contrary to what the majority of the American People think. Millennials. Three that is a foreign concept to them, that Climate Change is a hoax. Climate change is a reality for them. When we are there sidebyside for this, i would love to get back into the fold for the Democratic Party. My part is to earn that trust. Is thatn the short run on the issues you care about the most, we are aligned with the. With you. I agree with michael that what we have to do as a Democratic Party is not simply say what we are against, and what donald trump is doing wrong. Totally agree we have to articulate what we are for and what we will do. Where i think the challenge is very interesting, totally agreeo articulate what we are for and what we will and this is one of those to be determined moments, michael said, donald trump in the eyes of some voters, is doing exactly what he said. I am not sure about that. He said, i am going to bring you health care endangers everyone ensuresss care that everyone has access, and will be cheaper and better. Donald trump said on day one, i will label china a currency manipulator. Did he do that . No. You know why that didnt happen . His Family Business has been trying for years to get trademarks in china. They were denied, denied. And guest what just happened . They got them. I was just talking to some steelworkers. Some of them voted for donald trump because they wanted change. Losing your health care is not the change they were voting for. Business as usual with china china over produces steel. This isnt something that donald trump caused. This has been going on for a long time. There over Production Capacity exceeds their over Production Capacity exceeds the amount of steel produced in the u. S. , canada, japan, and all of europe combined. They are exporting lowcost steel and exporting their unemployment to the United States. Donald trump said he was going to do something about that. Do you know who else is a big steel producer in the United States . Russian. You think he would stand up to them. Part of the challenge moving forward, and this is to be determined. He promised change is this the change you are looking for a chancetalk a took on the guy . Mr. Steele i appreciate everything you just said. Sexually you are spot on. Factually you are spot on. 40 of the electorate do not see it that way. You have to put on hteir on they lenses and see what see. 34 to 40 depending on what you are looking at. In many pockets of the country you are not winning in. I appreciate the east coastwest coast view of america, but the reality is where moms and pops are in the middle of that. That was Hillary Clintons problem. That was Bernie Sanderss strength. That is the problem you will have negotiating going forward. You are progressive wing is making it very clear you used the term litmus test. The same problem that we saw on the right. I had people come to me and wanted to codify a litmus test in the Party Platform. No, we are not doing that. I am not going to stand there with a clipboard, are you this . Are you that . That is where the extremes want to go. How do you have that discussion when you have this Group Pushing in this way, and everybody else is over here . The question to me, how do you translate into that where it moves me off of trump. That is what you have to do to win in 2018 and 2020. You can get your question in however i ask. We will turn to q a. One question id like to ask that i hope you can answer briefly. Before we do that i would like to introduce two people. This program does not exist without them. Are the ones who make this program run. [applause] mr. Perez we can be brief, both of you agree with this what we want to do is find a place where we can be more american than we are republican. More american than we are democrat. Where we can talk to each other and the civil with each other. Where if there is an area for common ground, we can find it. Do you see a path forward . Mr. Perez one of the most important things we have to do is engage in redistrict reform. Looking at the u. S. House of representatives right now, it has been so gerrymandered that there is no room for Mickey Edwards. You were once called a conservative republican. That is not the Mickey Edwards of 2017. I would say the definitions have changed. Mr. Perez the partisan gerrymandering that we see across this country until we address that, i think it will be very hard. There is no incentive in the u. S. House of representatives to come to the middle. The biggest example is immigration reform. In a bipartisan fashion the Senate Passed an immigration bill. No. It a perfect bill . Was it a good bill . Yes. It came to the house and it never had a vote. And it was on the verge of getting a vote. Do you know what happened . Eric cantor lost unexpectedly. It scared the but jesus out of john boehner. He said, i cant bring this up for a vote. Why . Because my people from the right will get challenged from the right. If it had been brought up, there is no doubt in my mind that a majority of the u. S. House would support the Bipartisan Senate bill. Same thing with minimum wage. Minimum wage has always been a bipartisan issue. Signedresident since fdr the first fair labor standards act. But it did not happen this time. The second issue when you dont know someone very welcome it is a lot easier to very well, it is a lot easier to demonize them. Those that are trying to do the public good dont each other very well. Spiritednd i have disagreements, but we know each other. It makes a difference. Back in the day, you knew your colleagues spouses. You knew their children. When they had a death in the family, you went to the funeral. When there was a disability rights bill, there might have been a person who you didnt think would intuitively support it, but you knew they had a kid with a disability, and it changed their perspective on it. That stuff is not there anymore. You come tuesday and leave thursday. That is not what the Founding Fathers envisioned. Citizens united poisoned the well inexorably. You look at the dark money going into these races, and it is hard to compete. I dont think that corporations are people. I think that has been one of the most poisonous things. Mr. Steele i agree. Can we get back to civil conversation and bipartisanship . Oh i think we can. We just take a few xanax and have a couple gin and tonics. We will be good. [applause] some folks will be out in the hall there. [laughter] i really appreciate what you are saying about gerrymandering and redistricting. Honest, you guys werent complaining about gerrymandering when you held the house for 40 years. That is part of it. But i definitely agree with you. Now that you are out more than you are in and disclose to this goesies true for both parties there is a sense that something has to change. Not just at the federal level with house seats, but in the state legislative races as well. A number of governors around the country are taking a very forward look at this argument and this discussion. They are saying, lets have independent bodies without elected officials who have a vested interest in whether or not they keep their seat sitting at the table. Was instead have citizens, former judges lets instead have citizens, former judges, maybe former elected individuals to understand the politics. Places besides california and elsewhere. Marylandnor hogan in is looking at creating a new environment there. That is something you can get behind in leveling the playing so that we dont have to reflect all shaped congressional districts like we do in the Third District of maryland. That is the so reality of wheree are. You either want to change the system or you dont. Let me repeat myself. You either want to change that system, or you dont. So dont go complaining to politicians about the reelection dont go complaining races ifoney in you want to change the system, you will. He cant do it by himself. I couldnt do it by myself. A member on sure capitol hill is not going to change it, because it goes against their interests. The American People have the ultimate power to government do what they want government to do. If you stop believing that, which a lot of folks have, and you get fat and lazy and comfortable and just pulling rbecause that is what you have always pulled, that is what you are going to get. Look at those efforts changing the system from the ground up. On those efforts looking to change the system from the ground up. Otherwise, shut up. [laughter] so when we answer questions, nobody fat, lazy and comfortable can answer questions. Stand up so they can find you , in the back there. Thank you. I want to ask you a simple question. The word left out of this whole discussion is narrative. What is your narrative . What is the narrative for the Democratic Party . Something that people outside the beltway cannot stand outside the beltway can understand . I ask my clients what you do, how do you do it, and why should somebody care . I dont think either parties have answered those questions satisfactorily. Thing not only what is the narrative for the democratic and Republican Party, but the narrative for us as americans . We talked about values. What is the american narrative . Thank you. Threetake two or questions. Womens National Democratic club. Redistricting,of do you see any bipartisan asperation in such schemes interstate pacts . One as interstate had initially been pd between maryland and virginia, but both would have independent redistricting committees. I dont want to get into all the permutations. But with the very concept of having a packed to level the Playing Field in a more systematic way. Thank you. I wanted to followup on a comment from chairman thank you. Steele directed to chairman perez in respect to abortion. D, you just got a taste of this polarization in your own party. I believe he was referring to this recent race for the mayor in omaha nebraska. As you are probably aware the state Democratic Party chair in nebraska criticized you for essentially saying that, if you are a prolife politician, you are not welcome in the Democratic Party. I wonder if you would respond to the criticism from the nebraska state party chair . That nod you clarify prolife politician has a hold in the Democratic Party . Perez, you talked about Big Data Analytics and organizing. Whenwas apparent campaigning for hillary and obama, we were still using paper. I am wondering beyond hiring a c you going to Bring Technology into the organizing aspect of the dnc . So we have narratives, redistricting. By the way, insert whatever part of it you want. [laughter] answer whatever you want. I will start with the narrative. You are spot on with the questions that you make. It is the unanswered challenge within parties themselves. One of the things i struggled with inside the party was trying to reconcile the postreagan era at a time when the party was , wanderingo emerge around on various issues, and trying to understand where the trend lines work, and coming definitionally to where we are. Mp. N along came trup Candace Donald trump reshaped the narrative in a way that i dont think we have addressed the needs of the surface. Donald trump reshaped in the narrative in a way that it dont think we have addressed at the surface. Who are we and what do we value . You see that struggle play out in policy. In russia you know where the party was on russia since the days of reagan. We are not there now. Some of that is because how the president has talked about these things. Other aspects are internal to the party itself, as things around it have changed. On social issues, you have a millennial generation that is much more to use the term progressive than a lot of folks have articulated in the past. How do you reconcile this new generation that calls themselves conservative, but have a different view on these issues than some of the Party Leaders . These are issues that need to be reconciled around the narrative. How do you talk to americans about what you value and who you are . How do they then see themselves in what you value . That has to be brought enough if you want a big tent to include a lot of people. Your question about brandon is a question the about branding is a question the Democratic Party has to do a better job of. We are making sure that zip code does not determine destiny. The simple notion that every generation should be better off than the generation that preceded them. That is what my parents taught me. That is the timeless journey of america. That. E angst is exactly the income inequality we have seen did not start at the great recession. I you look at the data, it has its rootsf dating back to 1980. It goes much further in scope than i could answer in three minutes. What do we as democrats stand for . I have been asked that with great regularity. We dont want to have that conversation just here inside the beltway. Compacts, there youa number of efforts get the requisite number of states to 270 then you could have a National Popular vote in this country. Advocacyn important going on across this country. Every year there is another state or to actively taking up the bill. The challenge we have with redistricting, every state is doing it differently. Disarms, unilaterally another is hyper partisan, you end up where you are right now. Proud to bei am part of the redistricting commission. One of the most important ways we will have to tackle this is through litigation. Right now it is impossible to get rationality in many states in this country. Say to a lot of people, whether it is new jersey this year or next year, that is not a fouryear cycle. This is a 12 year cycle. Arenext set of governors going to be playing any Important Role in determining what you see for the next dozen years. You asked a question about nebraska. The Democratic Party is a prochoice platform. It is not a matter of womens health, but economic security. The platform says we dont welcome people who are not prochoice. The platform says we welcome people of varying views. Bob casey is a good friend. He does not legislate his values. He has a personal belief that i totally respect, and others as , who io are democrats support and will continue to support. 70 of the american public, including majority of republicans, support what is in the Party Platform of the Democratic Party. There was one final question, and that was on the issue who was it in the back . Oh, analytics. If wetic platform are having this conversation right now, and our chief Technology Officer is going to play a critical Important Role heres one thing i have learned. You know probably far more. As we construct the tools for organizing in the 21st century, we have got to make sure we dont simply have coders and computer geniuses at the table. We have to have organizers at the table. I have seen a lot of wellintentioned money and minds cap invested into something that get invested into something that didnt work. They thought they had a great idea. In reality, because they did not know the nuts and bolts of organizing, they werent able to get it quite right. Permanenttablished a Tech Advisory Council that is addressing these issues. How do you build the tools of the 21st century and beyond . Are making sure we do is include all of the various stakeholders to invest money in good projects. There is way too much i. T. Money that get spent in a wellmeaning fashion, but has very little r. O. I. More, thent two quickly wrap them up. You both spoke about earlier that there is a lack of communication between liberals and conservatives. What can we do as young people in washington dc, which is predominantly liberal, to foster meaningful conversation across these differences . Very good. Lets get one more. There is one over here in the corner. About sixe got minutes to wrap it up. How can the two parties and representatives of the two parties enforce and motivate coherence between the articulated values and the , incies that are pursued furtherance , or opposition to those values . Just as an example, the organization that calls itself flags and motherhood and apple pie is most likely to be a very Strong Organization to support non apple pie, for anybody except a handful of people, etc. You are basically saying the way parties to find themselves and their politics seem to be at odds. Very quickly. Mr. Steele conversation between liberals and conservatives, republicans and democrats. People, you are already beginning to change that game. I look at how you are engaging in conversation, and how other groups are beginning to respond to that. I would say continue to do that. Continue to push back on this idea that there is one way to look at an issue, or one way to solve a problem. I look at the millennial generation and sum it up you say, isproblems and there an app for that . As i understand it, there is a lot that goes into solving this problem, lets create the app. I encourage you to do that to this Party Structure honest and accountable. That is what you are going to inherit. It is not going to go away. You are going to be controlling it and will have a lot to say about it. With respect to the parties in forcing coherency, parties have to stop lying about the truth. [laughter] answer we are going to get. If i were king for a day, which i will never be, when i would love to do is to force everyone, whether you are a selfdescribed progressive democrat, or selfdescribed conservative republican, to turn off all of the television, and here is the issue of the day. And you have to make up your mind for yourself. Oh my god because we are in a very dangerous cycle where you simply communicate within your echo chamber and reinforce predilections. This is not partisan. I observed this everywhere. And we are observing now that our housing patterns or starting to reinforce this. We need is to find ways to move away from this. The millennial generation is that generation that can demand that. You see more and more people who are unaffiliated. I think they are demanding things. I hope that we can work together. Just as the millennial generation on issues of lgbt equality that is a huge reason we have moved at warp speed. Young people keep saying, what the hell are you so obsessed about this issue with . That person is your roommate in the office. That person is your neighbor who you loved when they were in the closet, and should love just as much now. I hope that young people can continue to demand this. To thinkver purport that we will be able to enforce coherence across the United States of america, because you know what . I am strongly supportive of higher minimum wages. I support the fight for 15 movement. I understand that success in certain states isnt 15 an hour. Ted kennedy taught me that idealism and pragmatism are not mutually exclusive. Progressives make progress. That is what we are about. The challenge we have in both parties is that sometimes there are only two grades 100 or zero, as defined by a few folks. That is a challenge we have to overcome. It is a work in progress. I will take the last couple seconds just to say this. It goes back to something that might send. That mike said. If all of your friends are fellow democrats, or fellow republicans, and you spend your time watching fox or msnbc, and you and your friends agree on everything, you are the problem. Start talking to people who disagree with you, understand with. Learn them, love them. Lets get back so that we have can of the way tom and mike truly to each other as friends. That is what the Aspen Institute stands for. It is the key to the future. Lets stop dividing ourselves and then complaining about the fact that our leaders are divided. So tom and mike, thank you so much. [applause] the house returns tuesday after a weeklong break after the firing of fbi director james comey. We talked to a capitol Hill Reporter for more details. Eliza collins, congressional reporter with usa today. The firing of fbi director james comey drew a lot of attention in the senate this past week. A lot of time spent debating it and discussing it on floor and committee. What can we expect next week as the house returns to capitol hill . Eliza a lot of the same thing. Many republicans have escaped the question on this. We have some say there needs to be a special prosecutor, and others that say there needs to be a special prosecutor but with caveats. If trump does not nominate a fair director, then there should be a special prosecutor. Does that really mean anything . Most have gone to avoid it. Reporters on the hill are going to be asking. Especially these committees investigating russia. Host democratic leader Chuck Schumer asking on the senate floor for, an all senators briefing both from the attorney general and Deputy Attorney general. You are confirming on this friday afternoon that rosenstein is coming to the senate week. What do they want to hear . Eliza they want to hear what happened. This is something democrats demanded pretty quickly. Shortly after the announcement of the firing came out, schumer said, rod rosenstein, america depends on you. It was a dramatic plea. He did get Mitch Mcconnell to invite rosenstein to a briefing. We dont know when or where that will be, but Schumers Office confirmed he would be coming sometime this week. Host nancy pelosi setting up a letter in part calling on speaker ryan and republicans in congress to join democrats to establish this independent commission, already proposed in legislation. What would they like to see happen . Eliza they would like an independent commission appointed, which would basically be separate from the people already investigating. This has been around for a while. This legislation has not moved at all. It was just democrats and one republicans. We have seen a few more republicans sign on to that. While they havent signed on, there is an openness. Nancy pelosi must think that she has a window. They need 218 votes to force legislation to come to the floor. Democrats do not have 218 people. Either they are bluffing, or behind the scenes there are conversations where they can pull off moderate republicans that are in seats that are up for grabs in 2018. Host you can read her reporting that usa today. Com. And on twitter she is elizacollins1. Thank you for joining us. After this interview was recorded friday afternoon, james comey announced he would not be testifying before the Senate Intelligence committee. Cspans live coverage of the house floor resumes when members return from their break tuesday. This weekend on american p. M. ,y tv, saturday at 6 the black women who worked as nurses, soldiers and spies for the union army during the civil war. She was the wife of edward bannister. The leading africanamerican artist. And she became involved on the underground railroad. She was a proud and consistent supporter of the u. S. Colored troops. At 8 00, university of washington professor Margaret Omara on the 1968 president ial election. Hero after hero is slain. John f. Kennedy, Martin Luther king and now robert f kennedy. Kennedys assassination precipitated a broader national mourning. Now what does the democratic nomination into more turmoil. Lynn cheney, author of the book of james madison, discusses president madisons career. Madison was lucky enough to encounter doctors that told him to exercise. N cheney, author of the book of jameswhat a modern thin. It is often recommended for people who suffer from epilepsy. This month marks john f. Kennedys 100th birthday and jfks nephew reflect on the life and career of the 35th president. He was a decorated combat veteran. He did believe in a strong military, but he had a much broader discussion about what american identity really was. He reached across the aisle. He launched the peace corps in 1961, an Incredible Program for young people. He started the alliance for progress. He engaged in the space race. For a complete american schedule, go to cspan. Org. Some democrats have called for a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump Administration ties to russia. For some background on the history of special prosecutors, we talked to Syracuse University law Professor William banks. From washington journal, this is happened our half an hour. Joining us from new york, Professor William banks syracusk about special counsel rules. Democrats calling for a special prosecutor and some saying special counsel. Is there a difference . If so, what is the difference . Guest there is