Q&A - Washington Politics Recent Events - C-SPAN Video Library

Q&A with Bob Ney

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Representative Bob Ney (R-OH) talked about his memoir, [Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill]. He discussed his eleven years in Congress and being sent to serve for 30 months at the Federal Corrections Facility in Morgantown, West Virginia. He was in prison for 12 months and was released to a 12-step alcohol rehabilitation program in Columbus, Ohio for five additional months. He detailed entering prison and the experience of going from a "lawmaker to a law breaker." He related coming to Washington, D.C., with the best of intentions, but was instead sidetracked by the enticement of money and an addiction to alcohol. He suggested that little had changed on Capitol Hill with respect to lobbying members of Congress and the lure of money in politics.

Q & A with U.S. Senate Youth

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

High school students from the United States Senate Youth Program talked about their participation in a week-long government and leadership education program in Washington, D.C. One hundred four students were selected from 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity. While in Washington, delegates met and asked questions of President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Secretary of State John Kerry, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, to name a few. Students spoke about meeting those government officials, and shared some of the insights they gained from their presentations. Topics included the lack of bipartisanship in Washington, challenges facing the younger generation and the rigorous selection process for choosing delegates in the program.

Q & A with Tom Korologos

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Tom Korologos talked about his recent [Washington Post] opinion piece about White House nomination battles titled "A History of Nomination Train Wrecks." He also spoke about about his service in the Reagan administration as director of congressional relations and his volunteer service assisting in various Senate confirmations in both the Reagan and Bush administrations. He pointed to the failed confirmation of Judge Robert Bork in 1987 as the most difficult proceeding he was involved with, and pointed out several key mistakes the nominee made. He also reviewed the nomination hearing for William Rehnquist to be associate justice.

Q&A with Medea Benjamin

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

This is a event and includes the following programs:

Q & A with Medea Benjamin
Q & A with Medea Benjamin for Wed 4-3-13

Q&A with Fred Barnes

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Fred Barnes discussed the significance of the [Weekly Standard] in the political community, including its role in discovering Sarah Palin in 2007. He reflected on his conservative upbringing in Arlington, Virginia, noting the changes he experienced in his life after he became a born-again Christian. He recalled his early days on television, including his participation as a panelist in the first 1984 presidential debate and how it led him to a position on "The McLaughlin Group." He talked about his time with [New Republic] Magazine and why he felt the need to provide a conservative alternative. He praised syndicated columnist Robert Novak and described Mr. Novak's memoir, [The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington] as the best book ever written about politics.

Q&A with Mark Shields

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Mark Shields, syndicated columnist and political analyst for PBS, talked about his early days in politics and shared stories of his role as a legislative assistant to Senator William Proxmire (D-WI) and his work on the presidential campaigns of Senator Robert Kennedy (D-NY) in 1968 and Senator Edmund Muskie (D-ME) in 1972. He talked about the impact the assassination of Robert Kennedy had on his life and his eventual transition into journalism as a columnist for the [Washington Post]. He reflected on the use of humor in his writing and suggested that 2012 was the worst presidential campaign he covered because candidates Obama and Romney both appeared "not to like politics" very much. He says that John McCain's 2000 presidential primary campaign was his favorite because of the candidate's openness and willingness to speak with voters. Mr. Shields also reacted to video clips of from 1983, 1992, and 2012.

Q&A with Cathy Lanier

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Cathy Lanier, the chief of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, talked about the department's growth in the twenty-three years she has been a police officer. She talked about the homicide rate in Washington, D.C., dropping to its lowest in fifty-one years, the reasons for this decline, and the future growth of the D.C. metro area. Chief Lanier recounted stories of growing up in the area and dropping out of school at age 15. She joined the police force as a single mother with a ninth grade education. She talked about her career, completing her education with two master's degrees, and becoming the youngest chief in the history of the department. Other topics included, counter-terrorism, gun control, community policing, some of the criticisms of her administration over the years, and relations with the press. Chief Lanier reacted to videos including former Mayor Berry, a commencement address she delivered, an incident recorded on social media, and a press report.

Q&A with Kevin Phillips, "1775: A Good Year for Revolution"

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This is a event and includes the following programs:

Q&A with Kevin Phillips
Q&A with Kevin Phillips, "1775: A Good Year for Revolution" - FIX

Q&A with Crystal Wright

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Crystal Wright, editor and publisher of the Internet blog conservativeblackchick.com, explained why she named her blog "Conservative Black Chick," and told how her upbringing shaped her belief system. She spoke of the discrimination her father faced when he was the only black man in his dental school program, as well as her mother's experiences as a little girl going to segregated beaches. Ms. Wright also discussed how her parents' resolve in the face of adversity inspired her to be engaged in the political process. She reflected on the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president, and admitted that she voted for him in 2008. She described her latter disillusionment with the president's performance in office and how this has led her to become a sharp critic of his presidency. She talked about the reactions she faces from liberal-leaning African Americans. She also discussed the campaign strategy of the Republican Party and presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Q&A with Colbert King

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Colbert King talked about his 22-year [Washington Post] career and the current political situation within the city's government. He described the crimes of council members Kwame Brown for bank fraud and campaign violations, and Harry Thomas Jr. for theft of funds and filing a false income tax return. He detailed the historical evolution of District of Columbia government, along with the troubled history of past administrations such as the arrest and conviction of former Mayor Marion Barry and recent charges of campaign irregularities surrounding the incumbent Mayor Vincent Gray. Colbert King was born in Washington, D.C., and attended Howard University. He has been a bank vice president, U.S. executive director of the World Bank, a Treasury Department deputy assistant secretary, and a State Department diplomat at the U.S. embassy in Bonn. He joined the [Post] editorial board in 1990 and was deputy editorial page editor from 2000 to 2007. He is married and has three adult sons.

Q&A With Angela Rye

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Angela Rye, talked about her role in developing legislative and political strategy for the Congressional Black Caucus, which she said is often referred to as the "conscience of the Congress," and that it advances the causes of people that don't have a voice. She described a 2012 Detroit caucus forum she attended in which the crowd was angry and vocal about unemployment and economic issues. She named voting rights and job creation as the caucus' top priorities for the year. She reminisced about growing up in Seattle, and her parents' influence on her decision to become a lawyer. In addition, she talks about the federal government's contract procurement process and offered advice to minority entrepreneurs. Angela Rye has been with the Congressional Black Caucus since January of 2011. Prior to that she was counsel to the House Committee on Homeland Security. She is a graduate of the University of Washington and the Seattle University School of Law.

Q&A with Brian Kamoie

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Brian Kamoie talked about the speech he gave to students selected for the U.S. Senate Youth Program, which brings high school students from all 50 states to Washington, D.C., for a week of government and leadership education. Mr. Kamoie's speech was referenced by numerous student delegates as inspiring and motivational. In this interview Mr. Kamoie detailed his job duties as White House senior director of preparedness, and talked about his service in both the Bush and Obama administrations. He stated that in 2011 a record number of presidentially declared disasters and emergencies happened in the U.S. and that those disasters were larger than past years in terms of their scale and impact. Brian Kamoie received his bachelor's degree in policy studies and political science from Dickinson College. He received law and public health master's degrees from George Washington University. He is married with two daughters.

Q&A with Neera Tanden

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Neera Tanden detailed the mission and current goals of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for American Progress (CAP) think tank. CAP was founded in 2003 because there was no single progressive organization that focused on economic and domestic policy, and national security. Ms. Tanden described how CAP puts forward views through policy analysis and revealed that CAP will be working on a progressive tax reform policy in 2012. She talked about funding sources for CAP and stated that no one individual or corporation contributes more than ten percent of CAP's $40 million annual budget. She reminisced on her childhood and her brief early support of President Reagan. She discusses working for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with her college experiences at the University of California Los Angeles and Yale University. Neera Tanden became president of CAP in November, 2011. She was a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Q&A with Josh Marshall

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Josh Marshall talked about the founding of his TalkingPointsMemo.com site after the controversy surrounding the 2000 presidential election. He looked back at his work in building an online journalistic enterprise from one person to its current 28 full-time employees. He told the story of how he cultivated the site's advertising base and what made him choose the name TalkingPointsMemo.com. According to Mr. Marshall, the Web site has close to 3 million unique visitors per month. He discussed some of the specific stories which helped make his website successful including the resignation of Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) as Senate minority leader in 2002 after remarks he made at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party.

Q&A with Diana West

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Diana West discussed her weekly online and syndicated column about cultural and political issues from a self-described conservative viewpoint. She talked about the spread of Islamic law throughout formerly non-Islamic areas of the Western world and her opposition to the war in Afghanistan. She detailed her criticism of General David Petraeus for what she calls a "fuzzy headed" policy in Iraq during 2006. She calls the surge strategy of building up troops in Iraq an idealistic and naive policy and believes the war was not worth the effort and failed to create a permanent positive benefit for the U.S. She also expressed her concern about a wealthy member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia owning a large stake in News Corp. She talks about her childhood and the issues and events that influenced her political thinking. Diana West was a reporter and editorial writer for the [Washington Times] for 18 years. She is the author of [The Death of the Grownup]..

Q&A with Glenn Kessler

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Author and reporter Glenn Kessler discussed his role as fact checker for [The Washington Post]. In his newspaper column and online, he examines the statements of political figures and diplomats. Based upon his evaluation of the accuracy of the statements, he awards as many as four "Pinocchios" to the speaker, and explains his reasoning. He talked about the criticism of fact checking columns and websites from both the left and the right. He reviewed some of his "8 Worst Pinocchios of the Year," including an Internet advertisement from the Agenda Project suggesting that Republican plans for Medicare restructuring would endanger senior citizens. Mr. Kessler also shared stories about growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio. He described testifying at the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in 2007. In addition, he explains the difference between a person speaking to a reporter on the record, on background, and off the record.

Q&A with John Feinstein

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

John Feinstein discussed his memoir, [One On One: Behind The Scenes with The Greats In The Game], which chronicles his years of reporting on some the greatest sports figures. He talked about the case for federal government intervention in the administration of college athletics and addressed the use of taxpayer money for football and baseball arenas. He recounted his testimony before a House Judiciary subcommittee on baseball's antitrust exemption. He detailed two rules changes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association that arose from the publication of two of his books. He reviewed the college football coaches salaries, his early writing career, and the 25th anniversary publication of his first book. John Feinstein was born in New York City and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Duke University in 1977. He has written 28 books, including five children's mystery novels. He spent eleven years as a political and sports reporter for The Washington Post.

Q&A with Lawrence Lessig

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Lawrence Lessig talked about his latest book about the influence of money on Congress, in which he argued that large amounts of money, fueled by recent changes in campaign finance rules, can secure legislative influence in the U.S. government. He criticized powerful business interests that sponsor corporate lobbyists and suggested that widespread citizen mobilization and a new Constitutional Convention would allow people to regain control of "the corrupted but redeemable representational system." He also talked about clerking for Justice Antonin Scalia at the Supreme Court, and Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court. He offered views on the Obama administration's accomplishments, and the influence his father had upon him while growing up in central Pennsylvania. Lawrence Lessig earned a B.A. and B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania, his M.A. from Cambridge University, and a J.D. from Yale University.

Q & A with Stacy Schiff