Out to dallas, texas, to be the president and ceo of the National Center for policy analysis, and who would have ever thought that after i came out to speak to them last september that they would offer me that incredible position of a 31yearold conservative policy center. And so i think that you have to listen for that still, quiet voice. Host whats the focus of that policy center . Guest there are several different focuses. Its tax policy, retirement pension policy, health care, education, energy and National Security policy since they got an old paratrooper out there now, we can delve into that a little bit more which i think National Security has become a lot more prominent issue for the american people. Host well, whats the advantage or disadvantage of being located in dallas and being a National Policy guest i think the great advantage is that were not inside the beltway, and so were not jaded by a lot of the political machinations that go on there. And like, i like to say that were part of the waffle house crowd. Because a lot of these things with policy solutions you can talk in the world of think tanks and talk in the academic world, but you have to get the everyday american citizen to be able to understand so they can make the right decision when it comes to our electoral process. Of. Host we invited you to talk about this, guardian of the republic, your book autobiography, would you say . Guest i would say its a philosophical biography, you know . What is it that makes me who i am today. Host quite a title. Guest well, you know, when you come from a dad who served in world war ii, an older brother who served in vietnam, myself and now my nephew who is a young major in the army as well, i think its appropriate because thats what our family has been, guardians of this republic. Host who were snooks and buck . Guest nicknames for mom and dad. They were just incredible mother and father, and it just wasnt they were able to do for us three boys, herman sr herman jr. And then also arlan, the youngest, but it was for the extended family and the examples that they set. And thats what i try to honor and lift for today. Host what kind of work did they do . What was their life like . Guest well, they were simple people. We were lower, middle income family. We grew up 651 kennesaw avenue in atlanta, georgia, as a matter of fact, its the same neighborhood that dr. King was born and raised in, Ebeneezer Baptist church is there. I had an incredible that had an incredible impact on me. Dad, after they moved up to atlanta, he was a nursing assistant at the Veterans Administration hospital, and my mother even though she was not in the military, she might as well have been she was a civilian worker with the 6th marine district headquarters in atlanta, georgia. Host what got you into the military . Guest just like i said, when you have a dad that served in world war ii and sitting down and hearing the stories that he shared with you as a little boy and then also my older brother who served in vietnam as a marine infantryman. And ill never forget the time on an easter that he sent back a little replica of a marine dress uniform for me to wear to church, and i was so proud to do that. And the day that my older brother and my dad sat down with me and said that they wanted me to to be the first officer in the father because dad had been a corporal, my brother had been a lance corporal. So i started in 1976, a High School Junior in rotc at Henry Grady High School in the tenth grade and went on to rotc in tennessee and got my commission in 1982, and the rest, as they say, is history. Host how many service stations did you have across guest 13 different countries, three different combat zones. So, third of four generations in our family that has served in combat for this great nation. Host alan west, you talk about what happened in iraq in your book, guardian of the republic. What was that situation . Guest well, look, my father and my older brother told me that the most important p responsibility for a Commanding Officer is to take care of your men, especially in combat. And for them to know that you have a genuine care and concern for them, because theyll go out, and theyll achieve any mission. And so when word was out that there were an increase of threats against my unit and then there was even a threat personally against me as the commander, we found out that there was an iraqi Police Officer that was leaking some information, and he was not forthcoming with the people that we had assigned to us, two females. And if you know the culture over there, theyre not going to be very compliant. And so i made the decision to use what i call a psychological intimidation tactic, and i threatened the guy, and i fired my service. 9 mm baa relate that over his head, and i red reportd that to my Commanding Officer, and i told him what we had learned. Host did you get results from that . Guest the amount of the attacks did go down, and that was the most important thing for me, was to make sure those roadside bombs and ambushes, those were not occurring as much as we had seen that recent spike. There were some people who said it was just part of the normal cycle, but you talk to the soldiers on the ground, and they know what happened and what went on over there. Again, the most important thing is you should be willing to put your career online or lay down your life for those men who have been called to serve with you in a combat zone, and thats the most important thing for a commander. You know, it may be unrealistic, but i made a promise to the parents and to the supposes and to the children spouses and the children that i would do Everything Possible to bring their husbands back to them safe. Host would you do it again . Guest absolutely. Host howd you get to congress . Guest it was interesting. I was actually a civilianmilitary adviser to the afghan army down in kandahar, and 2006 youd have the change in congress where the democrats had won, and i got a phone call and an email, actually, from a woman who worked in politics, and we had a meeting when i had one of those 10day breaks from afghanistan, and she talked to me about running for congress. Of course, i told her, look, im in southern afghanistan, the most important thing for me is to stay alive, but what she told me was something so important. Just because you retire from the military and you happening up your uniform does not mean that the oath you took to support and defend the constitution has ended. And, you know, that was very, you know, very forthright for me. And so i saw, you know, serving and running for congress as just a continuation of the service that i had given this country in uniform. Host in your book, guardian of the republic, you talk about being born in 1961 and something that happened in ft. Lauderdale that year. Guest yes, it was incredible. That same year they had the wadein, and because blacks were not allowed to go out onto ft. Lauderdale beach and use the ocean, they had a separate beach for them. What i found was so incredible was that the year i was sworn into congress, 50 years later, my 50th birthday, i was the representative of ft. Lauderdale beach. That only happens in america. And i think thats what i want people to understand, is the american dream, dr. Kings dream, thats the embodiment of what i am that says that no matter where youre born, no matter where you come from, you can have whatever level of success and achievement that you want here. And it is truly about the pursuit of happiness and not someone trying to say that they can guarantee your happiness. Host you also tell the story in your book about a black woman you hadden countered on the campaign you had encountered on the campaign trail. I was up in port st. Lucie, and it was quite interesting because she felt i had somehow i betrayed my race, the black people because i was a conservative, and i was a republican. But if you go back and you read the writings and understand booker t. Washington, who i call the first black conservative, he had three points. It was education, entrepreneurship and selfreliance. And if we still had those three principles and those three foundations in the black community, i think you see a different black community. You wouldnt see what you see happening in baltimore, chicago. You would have more twoparent households like i had with my own parents. And youve seen that break down of the family. So it was quite interesting that she would see me as, you know, the word she called me was a sellout, but i think ive been true to the principles and values my parents raised me with. Host alan west, you write that today the hunt for the black conservative leads us to a metaphorical tree, but the end goal is still death, career death. Guest well, its very interesting that recently you just had george takei, who was a gay activist, and the thing he said about Justice Clarence thomas was horrible and despicable, to say that he was a clown in black face. And so if this is the means by which people are going to disparage and attack and seek to undermine black conservativism and black conservatives, this is not something new. This is not something odd. But i think it is something that is threatening to people that want to have a political hold on the black community. We need to have those varying voices in the black community. You know, i always tell folks that if youre going to invest money, youre going to diversify your investment. But if you are the black community, why would you put all of your political investment into one party . That party will eventually take you for granted, and the other party will not even consider you and see you as irrelevant. So i think its important that we go back and talk about principles and values. You know, 50 years ago with the Great Society programs of lyndon johnson, one of the things he brought forth was to say any woman who had a child out of wedlock and as long as she did not have a man at the home, the government would continue to provide her a check. Fifty years ago, twoparent households was 97 . Now, if me standing up and bringing Something Like that out makes me a sellout, aisle proud to be called that. Host are there more black conservatives than is let on or seems to be . Guest absolutely. Host in your view . Guest absolutely. You know, its so interesting, when i travel all across the country and go through the airports, as a matter of fact, when i was flying out here from dallas in this love field, one of the gentleman that was helping a woman, the wheelchair service, he knew exactly who i was, he knew exactly what i stood for. He said, you know, thank you, because there are a lot of us out here, and youre a voice for us. Because its about principle. Its not so much about party, but as the book talks about, its about faith, its about family, its about freedom. Its about as booker t. Washington said, quality education which opens up so many doors. Its about selfreliance and not dependency, and its about, you know, entrepreneurship. When i grew up and i walked down auburn avenue from school to go to butler street ymca, i saw black professionals, i saw doctors, lawyers, small business, you know, ownership. But you dont see that anymore on auburn avenue which was the cradle of black Entrepreneur Development there in atlanta, georgia. Thats what we need to restore. But instead when you wake up today, look at what happened in chicago over the weekend. Ten, you know, young black men murdered a 7yearold black child murdered. 55 wounded. Look at baltimore, what is going on. Look at detroit. It shouldnt be that way. Host the day were taping this is the day that South Carolina took the Confederate Flag down from their state capitol. Guest i think thats interesting, and i think that they, governor nikki haley, took the right approach. They brought it up at that state and not involving all the other external actors trying to manipulate it. What we really need to do is not focus on whether or not you have a Confederate Flag on the general lee and that the dukes of hazard needs to be pulled off the television. What we need to focus on is how do we strengthen those inner city communities . What happened in charleston, South Carolina, was absolutely horrible. It was a racist sociopath, and what he did was heinous and despicable. But i do not think we need to take it to the level to say that americas a racist level. I think that state and georgia did the same to look and say do we really need to have a resemblance of that nag, and they changed it. For people to try to manipulate it and to turn it, ill be very honest, rahm emanuel once said never let a good crisis go to waste, we need to focus on the real crisis in america, and thats the quality of life in the inner cities. Host when you were in congress, were you a member of the Congressional Black Caucus . Guest absolutely. Host were you invited to join . Guest i remember when i joined and people asked me, well, how can you do that . As far as i know, there are only two qualifying criteria; youre a member of congress, and youre black. So im in. And it was quite interesting. You know, the funny thing was, you know, john lewis, the civil rights icon, john lewis had come down to south florida to campaign against me. Had no idea, no clue about my background. John lewis was my congressional representative growing up in atlanta. And when i met him at the swearingin ceremony, i told him about graduating from grady high school, about my parents out campaigning for him, he was absolutely shocked. So i think we need to have those varying voices so we dont become polarized, so we do get to hear other perspectivings. I want to restore the greatness of the black community and the inner city, that vision that booker t. Washington had when he discovered tuskegee institute. And i think that is what makes this country so great and exceptional. What is ronan . You see this often in your book. Is the samari without a master. And most people believe as a young black man you are supposed to follow a certain path. My path is not about setting a core mass group but about principles and ideas. That is what my sword is drop for. It was honoring when a master from california, flew to washington, d. C. And presented me with the sword i have on my home. You thank dana perino in this book. What is your connection . I am a Fox News Contributor so i get to see her there. But dana emailed me saying i have a story to be told and she is hard to say no to. I wrote this book though. I was pleased and honor and wrote this book. What are you doing at freedom fest . Gues guest i gave a speech and i am on several panels throughout the week. Host lets bring up another controversial issue. Your choice of a motorcycle. That is not a harley in this picture. Guest it is a 2005 honda 1800. The november series. I have to tell you something. With the fuel injection and the shaft drive, it is one of the most smooth rides you will ever find and most of the harley people dont mind me pulling up and riding with them. Host how often do you ride . Guest i got out with a birch of reserve components in dallas, texas and we had a bbq. I try to get out every other weekend. Allen west, former congressman, author and now think tank president , guardian of the republic is the name of the book. This is booktv. Now rena steinizor looks at how White Collar Crime cases are persecut persecutursersecute persecuted. I am president of public citizen. We are hear for a conversation about rena steinizors new and wonderful book, why not jail. I will just give a brief overview and introduction. Rena will talk for 25 minutes and the editor of corporate Crime Reporter and i will have comments on her book and remarks and open it up for a discussion. I think maybe just sp