Host kevin, we are going to have to leave it there. Terry jeffrey . Guest actually, republicans do to and replace. People to d caution look at United States in america has the greatest Healthcare System in the world before obama care. You had wealthy people from Foreign Countries where they do not have health care coming healthcare the because they knew that we had great doctors in Great Health Care institutions. It wasnt medicare and medicaid that made it that way. Of i believe as the control medicine has centralized, the payment of medicine and healthcare is brought into the government and the has more control, were going to chase people out of the healthcare industry. Were going to destroy excellent institutions in the healthcare industry. For what we have taken granted, as americans, this is, over time, going to be degraded. And eventually we will have a lousy Healthcare System like a lot of other countries. You, roger tweets into the fact is, bboth parties are responsible for the state of this economy. Guest i have heard that for a long time. And i think that is the mistake at this point in history. People have been saying that for a long time. You see thirdparty candidates go out, and they dont do very well. The two party system obviously has a long history in the believe it es, and i for an excellent person to win the nomination of a major party and be elected president of the United States. So i would tell people, look for that candidate to their party. Host that is coming from somebody who worked with pat buchanan. Guest i did. Host and peg says keep uterus ent out of our and our private life. Guest taking the life of an unborn child is frankly murder. The government has a responsibility to protect that childs life. If you conceive a child, you have a moral duty to conceive and protects that childs life all the way through. I believe the government has a duty to protect the life of that child. Host finally in the spirit of charity, can you name three things president obama did that you approve . Guest three things that that i nt obama did approve [laughter] i havent disagreed with every he did as ng president , but you know what, i have to sit down and get back to. Host Terry Jeffrey. As always, we appreciate you coming over here. Well see you back soon. Guest thanks very much. Up next, Chicago Tribune longtime syndicated columnist, Clarence Page. We will be talking with him, considering this conversation the day after christmas. Week on our his newsmakers program, governor Steve Bullock of minnesota. [video clip] thing i , one of the think is difficult about our system is the amount of money system, and o the the amount of undisclosed money. They took 100yearold montana law all the way to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, we lost a 95 four decision. In my last decision, i said, if we are going to have to work under these new rules Supreme Court put find out least lets who is the wizard behind the curtain. We just got done with 2014 midterms. 1 billion was spent in the congressional races by outside groups. On the republican side, 75 of that was undisclosed dollars. So i think we do need to do significantly more for transparency. But, as you suggested, at the think it n i dont makes sense as we are doing it every e sure that individual voters voice matters. You cannot have that discussion if you dont have a seat at the table. Would it make ly sense because of, i guess, the amount of dollars in the to say, all ess right, we are going to watch all this money coming to the states. So does that mean we can expect to find out more about are those donors are . That weeks think into this aand really trying to overall nse of what the budget is but, yes, i think day, if were the going to be spending money elections, we ought to know where that money is coming from. Washington journal continues. Host and joining us on journal, a familiar face to television watchers and newspaper readers. Clarence page, Chicago Tribune. What are you thinking about this days . Guest well, everybody went to see interview on christmas day. Went to see selma. Out of high school when when bloody sunday, as it is called, occurred 50 years ago. Time does fly. And i bumped into the former theater naacp in the lobby afterwards who wasnt when selma occurred and he said that the really great thing about this is how relevant it is today. Have been mething i considering because how his civil rights changed over the past 50 years, and how they are still the same. So, yeah, i have been thinking a lot about this. But i am still an optimist that, e of the fact obviously, the reform that we are dealing with in that movie have been t time largely solved. But at the same time, they keep popping up again. The Supreme Court just the voting part of rights act that they struggled the to pass demonstrations and we are still arguing about voter id laws. Of the re reminiscent poll taxes and controversies over literacy tests that suppress the black vote 50 years ago. Are these directly relevant or not . This kind of shapes todays debate, really. Host what did you think of the movie . Guest you know, it was really well done. And i am delighted to see young directors and producers come modern hese days with technology and financing, and being able to do a risky movie like this. This is not a blockbuster film that is going to have a headline of comic book stars in action heroes. Is a a meditation, really, on what it means to be an american. Done, very artistically very well done. I expect there will be some nominations coming out of this. Going to see what youre m job like watching a documentary. Dramatic tale, well told from a point of view not just from Martin Luther king, also from the people who started the movement. The grassroots. You see profiles to see the lives of the people, white and their lives on hold and went down to selma to demonstrate. And risk getting beat up by the police down there. To try and fulfill what the founders wrote in the declaration of independence. Why do people do that . You get a good idea in this movie. Host have you ever been to selma . Guest my family is from alabama. Been to ot, personally, the bridge. Born and raised in ohio, but then going down there what struck me was how nice white folks, black folks. But as long as you state in your place. Everybody was just wonderful. Of , if you did step out your place you know, the kid a was, i was running over to white water fountain or turning the water on and off to see it came out clear on both water fountains. For that, elled at me you know . Down the wrong seat in the bus, and somebody yelled at me for that. The same time that was killed in mississippi. I was about seven, eight years old. And i could see the worry and my parents faces and other folks. What didnt explain to me was going on. I found out later on, but that expense across the country. Host Clarence Page. Your most recent book culture worrier reflections on race, politics and social change. These are columns you have from 1984 to 2014. Forward by chris matthews, by the way. You read about race in your columns . Guest i would say that, either directly or indirectly, about 30 of my columns. Some of my leaders, who will to me and say why is it about race all the time . I thought that was kind of odd. Other African American hear the same thing columnists hear the same thing, even when it is not about race. This only helps to give me an incentive to do it more often. Really, that , race in my view, and these days especially is more of a camouflage for problems we have in this country like class. A ery time i get involved in dialogue, meeting, seminar, whatever, it doesnt take long for us to drift off talking about black, white, hispanics. We Start Talking about income brackets. Because that is the real issue in this country. Host in your forward to the write Political Polarization encourages a new, moral cannibalization. New media and Movement Politics improve the most banal taxandspend budgetary issues with life or death, good versus evil moral urgency. The problem is, politics and government thrive on compromise between opposing political factions. Guest that is right. This has been one of the most dramatic shifts i have seen. And it is especially apparent during the reagan area, when the coalition that ronald cleverly put together was meant to give a moral arguments to budgetary issues and issues of government services. My friend, terry jeffries, who was just on here earlier you can see a lot of what he was talking about with how socialism is creeping into American Life into all the greatest aspects of it. That, by itself, is an immoral thing. It is not american, it is now we want to do. I mean, what were talking time in america where we have stagnation at the lower level of the kind of family i came from. Iit is time for us to get away from america where in 1965 out of high school and tuition to Ohio State University was 175. Now it is about 13,000. A good state school that has helped so many of us go from, you know, blue class and underclass, if you will, up to the upper class. That is the american way. There is more effort and more mobility in europe. But today, that is going on and were looking up and saying nothing else. Were not talking about those fundamentals in our society. So i think we kind of use moral to camouflage real practical problems and challenges that we have in america. Of d the kind middleoftheroad Compromise Solutions that we need to have. Struck me in reading of your columns is some of the same issues that you are talking about in 2000, 1990s. And were still talking about sharpton, bill cosby, class. These issues just dont go away. Guest same players, but there is a shift in the role they play. Michael jackson, same thing. At the same time, though, we have a lot of everyday heroes the country that are helping to make life better. A genuine having debate that kind of gets lost in the shuffle of our partisan mechanics. Last 30 years, i have been writing the column from to the obama a era, both change and more of the same has occurred. We are approaching these issues in a different way now, i think. I hope weve learned something from a past experiences, but is that certain issues have recently inserted change. The samesex marriage issue, i would have never guessed that we, this quickly, would have switched from where samesex marriage taboo topic to one that is now supported and defended by a majority of americans. Taking a t a matter of closer look and people began to doesnt that, well, it affect my marriage. Began to that argument collapse, then opposition to samesex marriage began to erode, as well. Look at legalizing recreational marijuana. In the been approved not nations capital. What happens with that, but obviously, there has been a sea of change of attitudes. Am saying that at the same time, though, the changing culture bothers me. We seem to have lost some of sense of of helping one another. Communal sense as americans that we had, say, in 9 11. And a realization that there are people in this world that wants to kill you just because you are american. At least, a few unified days there were we began to turn against one another. Part of that argument is over the culture. Culture being shared values. What values do we share. Lets take some calls. Numbers are up on the screen if you would like to dialin and talk to our guest, Clarence Page. 2027488001 for republicans. 2027488000 for democrats. 2027488002 for independents. We are going to begin with a democrat in huntsville, georgia. Caller yes, sir. It is a pleasure to speak with the gentleman. Read all of your writings and trying to buy the book. You are absolutely correct when there is a shift. There has been a lot of on the racial there but also i think the issue of class. A is rearing its head in very profound way. Given the shift and policies leading to increasing incomes and gap in social but i just wanted to kind of backtrack a little bit. And kind of, you know, were talking about parties. To me, as a democrat, and never ceases to amaze me how the the le at the bottom of i feel truggle constantly against their own self interests. The only group that i think tends to vote tthat i think motivated sometimes by race or moral issues when you vote on the racial issues. The gentleman who called who was a gay republican. You had what the moderator said in regards to gay marriage. I mean, both republican and gay. Called people voting democrats stupid. This just a host okay, michael, we will leave it there. Clarence page . Guest this is a problem especially brought up on the left. Book which came out thomas franks, yes. University of chicago graduate. I was fascinated by this. Think we forget you are in conservative, you tend to view the view through an economic plans. All our social problems can be solved if we just take care of the economics. Not everybody lives by those economic values. Have shared values conservative religious values it is somehow m fundamentally immoral to take anything from the government. That private Charities Fund government charities, somehow. These are values that people have. To hold those ght values and express them. Have aa profound effect on our politics because you get people who are directly helped by social service programs. Just take social security, medicare, medicaid. Those are the biggest expense the budget, and yet if you ask people what the biggest expenses are, theyre going to say foreign aid. Which is just 1 . But there are these perceptions people have that shape the values. This is most and people voting in south economic interests because they feel like there is a larger man economic interest out there that they perceived. In politics, journalism, respect to the values of the country. Host william. Virginia. An independent. Caller good morning, mister page and cspan. I read a lot of columns in the washington post, new york times, and so forth. When you finish a calm, do desk and from the think how can this be seen in 10 or 15 years . Just a thought. I will listen to your answer offer. Thank you very much. Guest that is a good question. One of the things about the legacy of a columnist. One of the rreasons i have 30 sen look back on the past years is because it is a long time. My marriage is almost 30 years. But i decided to look back and do tend to columns be one day reactions to what is going on in the news right now. And look and see if there are certain trends that stand out, there is something useful to drive from the last 30 years that can help us deal with the future. About mes were talking here recurring issues that have up, like questions well, welfare reform was very hot 30 years ago. We saw bill clinton in 1990s run under the slogan of we are as we to change welfare know it. But it was a process that did work between bill clintons and Newt Gingrichs congress. As much as they fought each other, they did get a Welfare Program through that resulted in a couple million fewer kids in poverty. That is no small achievement. Now, we have seemed to go back to a point where we are not getting much done on capitol hill at all. But, obviously, i think we can lot from the past if you look more at the 1990s. Why did the process work than . Even despite it seems to work more effectively than it did now. So i think about these things learn from at we can the past in order to in order to do a better job in the future. A st Clarence Page is nationally syndicated columnist. Of the Chicago Tribunes editorial board. How many words do get in a column . Aand how many hours in advance to get . When i first started, i had about 750 words to 800 word was a typical column. The last couple decades, the syndication world the pages are smaller now, so theres not as much space. Now, they recommend somewhere between 650 and 750 words. Up, like any writer, you know, point back to these limits. In this ind that, age, it is helpful to more with less words. We come in the media, are always begging people for a moment of the time. Find it very bracing to get to the point right away and be as provocative as possible without distorting the message that were trying to get across. And get more of a conversation going. Because you can do that now with todays interactive media. All the other they are used to things in the old days with typewriters and all that. What eally excited about is happening now over the changes because i think well, i am learning a lot more a lot more now o iin this age of blogging. This column, i do a video commentary. Very exciting, and also, it is a new way to tell my message. Due if you had a column tomorrow, when would the Tribune Syndicate . Guest iin fact, i have one do off this program due after i get off this program. It in today, friday afternoon. It will run it may pop up on our webpage friday night, now. It will run in the sunday newspaper. And of course, in chicago, our the first spapers editions come out at noon on saturday. I have learned over the years to operate by a clock, as most at the eings do, but same time friday night, other people are living normal lives. And i get the conversation going over the weekend. Come in has to interrupt me here and there because im kend busy tweeting and i forget about the regular human beings there in the room. But this is how our lives are changing now. I do two columns a week, and in the middle of the week, i will start my column. And then ill turn around and the the ipad and turn on video camera pull out the the video urn on camera and do a video column. Host erie, pennsylvania. Laura, please go ahead. Caller good morning, cspan. Happy holidays to everyone. Mister page, thank you for the point that this should be about race. Classes more of the question. I wanted to refer to doctor Walter Williams column he is a conservative, of course but he was mainly making the if you look historically at the poverty have only increased or only directly related to singleparent households with no marriage. A marriage drops the probability of poverty 80 . It is unbelievable. In the said, back 1950s, 18 of the black population were in