security nation. watch monday at nine eastern on c-span, c-span.org or listen with the free c-span radio app. at the back of the nueske's order a copy of the landmark cases companion book available for $8.95 plus shipping and handling on c-span.org/landmark cases. for an additional resource, there is a link on our website to the national constitution center interactive constitution. >> next, actress jennifer lawrence interviews former federal election chair, trevor potter. on how politicians push legal limits and accepting contributions. this was part of the inaugural on rig the system summit in new orleans. posted by represent us. it is one hour. [applause] >> it is an honor to introduce our first speaker, buddy

roemer. [applause] buddy roemer is a louisiana native. former member of congress. and he served as governor of louisiana from 1988 until 1992. he was a presidential candidate in 2012. with a platform some heard of on rating the system. please welcome, governor buddy roemer. [video] special interests control washington dc. >> is been a congressman and a governor. >> they don't seem 20 minute conversation. >> who hasn't been invited to a single televised debate. >> they still in your government. >> learn more at buddy roemer.com. >> i am buddy roemer and i approve this message. [applause]

>> welcome to louisiana. [applause] may your stay be wonderful. i was the governor, 30 years ago. after eight years as a congressman. i've been around the world a couple of times. and i can tell you, that louisiana is one of the special places in the world. [applause] it's flora, the fauna, values, rivers, cultural, -- i speak

slowly as i get old because i am a type i diabetic. and i have diabetic neuropathy. it affects both my speech and my walking. and it gets worse and worse, so i apologize. i praise the work of this convocation. i ran for the united states congress five times. four of them successfully. and i ran for governor and i won in upset. after 20 years i ran for

president unsuccessfully. i never took money for any of those races. [applause] and i did not take contributions of more than $10 . i have had money spent against me in the millions. while in office. and usually, -- money works against honesty, independence, reality and america. we hear the dangers of special interest to the associations

and to the large corporations. under transect to keep your job you don't follow your values. you follow the money. donald trump is often cussed and discussed these days. but on the main thing, he is right. drain the swamp. [applause] the news media on the trade associations and the government bureaucracy they control america, they don't.

we do. work hard and have fun. i am 100 percent, thank you. [applause] >> and now, for someone who needs, little introduction! i'm delighted to welcome, my fellow board member and academy award-winning actress, jennifer lawrence. [applause] hi.

so, in 2011, stephen colbert stunned owamerica by starting h own super pack and he showed just how thin the line is between bribery and legal political contribution. seven years later, we want to check in on how all of that is going. so please welcome his personal lawyer for his super pack, the federal election commission chairman and president of the campaign legal center, trevor potter. [applause] >> thank you so much. >> welcome, trevor! i will jump right in. if that is okay with you? i and a hollywood lake so, as i hollywood elite, i want all of the effluent that i can buy but i'm sure that there are limits.

if i wanted to give as much as i wanted it would be like, $1000 would be limited or something, right? >> the legal that he could give directly to a candidate is $2700. however, before you get nervous that it is not enough, you can actually give as much as you want to help the candidate. you just give it to a super pack.a single candidate super pack that can then go and spend it on behalf of the candidates election. they said corporations individuals to spend as much as they wanted to help candidates because that sort of independent spending could never be -- >> but that money is not going a to the candidate, right?like they don't have any say in how the money is being used? because that would be a slush

fund, money laundering, right? >> just as kennedy and the supreme court majority assumed that the spending is going to be completely independent of candidates and parties, these groups would operate as outsiders. but that is not how it has turned out. a candidate nowadays, actually creates their own independent super pacs before they become candidates. and then they raise money for the super pacs. and then once they become candidates, using your million dollars or whatever they can spend it to elect a candidate. >> pretty clever. but must become a candidate they cannot touch any better. >> it takes him a surprisingly long time to become candidates. you might recall jeb bush in 2016.

he spent something like six or nine months going around the country, traveling at the expense of the super pac raising millions of dollars saying he is thinking of exploring the possibility of considering whether to become a candidate. so he did all of that and idthe jumped in the race.>> of course. once they sign all the paperwork, then they have to stay away from super pac, right? >> wrong. >> okay! >> there are lots of ways that they can and do stay in contact her for example the federal election commission has said it is all right for candidates to appear at super pac fundraisers. either to raise small amounts for being featured or honored guest. that may not sound like a lot team at they have said you can have one of these honored guest fundraisers with as few as two

guests. so it is kind of a private fundraiser. and the candidates can thank people for giving and ask them to help support the work of the super pac. in addition they have come up with what is called the two hats rule. which means that you can be the principal fundraiser for a candidate and then also, be the fundraiser for the super pac. >> if there is a wall between candidates and super pac, that of isaac political donor for a -- put money at a super pac my politician does not get to decide how it is spent, right? >> well, that is technically correct except that the people who do decide how to spend it, are usually in the scenario, the former campaign manager of the candidate or close friends of the candidate. one of my favorite examples, it was actually the parents of the candidate. who are running the super pac.

so, they also can share what are called common vendors here so they can use the same consultants. basically, i think it is useful to see it as the other pocket on the candidates coat. >> .they are told what to do with the money that is legal? >> that would be illegal. however, first they have to get caught and then they have to have a majority vote on whether to investigate it and as you may have heard, they have basically deadlocked on all of this in the last couple years. >> candidates break the rules. what is the punishment? is there a big fine? >> well they've never actually punished a candidate for coordinating with a super pac. they have never actually seen an example of that.

>> they have never seen it? must be blind, bless their hearts. let's say the worst thing happens.my candidate has really blown it. there were not testing the waters and get caught. explicitly telling a super pac what to do. and they just stormed down on them with power eand fury. what fines are we talking up enough. >> in that scenario, the first thing to remember that the candidate is almost never fined. the super pac or the treasurer might be but not the candidate. then if they levy a fine which the super pac has to agree to pay voluntarily. and if they do not agree on that, then they have to take them to court and get a court order and it takes time. if they do all of that then the problem is that will they actually collect it?

and there are times when they have never gotten around to collecting. >> got it. i can give as much as i want to a candidates super pac and there are no repercussions for my candidate. but what about me? am i listed as the donor of this disgrace candidate?>> well, if he did not have a good lawyer and you gave directly [laughter] you gave directly then yes he would be listed as the donor of the super pac. but if you have a good lawyer they would say you can't get to an llc and if you not have one you can create one. and you can make a contribution and be listed as the donor. the llc could be named anything good you can name it after you cat. do you have a cat? >> god, no. i have a dog. her name is pippi longstocking. >> so we know an llc known as

dad gave $1 million to this super pac. your lawyer will tell you to keep it going and have it do a few other things to make sure it is okay. but you can do that. your other option would be to take the million dollars and give it to one of these tax exempt, nonprofit groups. what we call a dark money group. a c4 or c6. they do not disclose their donors. give them money, you say you wanted to go to a super pac, supporting this candidate. they can go right ahead and spend it themselves or give it to the super pac and your name will never be out there.the supreme court, the citizens united said do not worry about all of this because it will be fully disclosed. and everyone will know where the money is coming from. but that has not turned out to be the way that they expected it to be. >> okay. so let's say we weather the

storm. my candidate is elected. what i want to buy more politicians.let's say that you are a politician. [laughter] could i -- i do not want to get too technical but could i get you gifts you stuff? >> depending on who the politicking was, yes. that former ogovernor of virginia had a conviction for taking 11 different bribery charges overturned by the us supreme court. i will bet that surprises you. >> i am prvery surprised. i've i get you a rolex and a vocation and pay for your daughter's wedding? click literally all of those things are taken by governor mcdonnell. a wealthy businessman gave him and his family more than $170,000 worth of gifts and loans and wedding parties. governor mcdonald's lawyers argued that that was not a

bride -- a bribe. they asked to meet with him and held events for the company and the governors mansion. and the supreme court bought that argument. they said that was not a bribe but constituent services. [laughter] in another case the chief justice referred to out-of-state contributors and candidates as constituents. i guess that means that every wealthy seeker and a country with a checkbook and a pocketful of rolexes could go right ahead. >> okay, this is all doubly disturbing. bribery is legal in america. corruption is legal. so trevor, are we at a tipping point?

what will it take for us to get to a point where we are post-watergate. where congress felt obliged to take full measures to unring the system when think we are a a tipping point and if you look at polls out there. [applause] it is the right moment. half of the people say we should completely get rid of the current system and putting anyone. 40 percent say that we should make measure changes. everyone is on board with doing something. congress could pass bills that are sitting there. have an honest ads at trying to do a secret money in elections and a disclose act to deal with the dark money. there are states and cities around the country that are doing interesting things. seattle has his new citizen voucher program and other places can adopt that.

the sec could update the disclosure rules and enforce existing laws and crackdown on this non-coordination, coordination bracket. it may not all happen today. i think we have to work together to make it happen tomorrow. [applause] >> thank you trevor. >> thank you so much! [applause] >> our next speaker is an attorney in the national campaign director for honor the earth. she was an advisor on native american issues for the bernie sanders campaign.[applause] she cofounded -- to buy the appropriation of indigenous culture. [applause] a powerful voice for owjustice

a stunning array of issues. these welcome, tara houska. [applause] >> hi everyone. how are you doing? -- my name is tara houska, i would like to acknowledge first the -- whose lands we are currently on right now. [applause] no other people have had a relationship with us government quite like those of indigenous people. we talk about words like nt democracy and justice, those things ring hollow. we have had promises that been broken since treaters were made. talk about treaties that they are archaic yet we reference the u.s. constitution on this every other day. there was a genocide of people

and culture that took place here. a us-led government systematically disempower native people and take our children from us. and save the man. in 2016 i thought i had a pretty good idea of what political corruption was. i have worked in d.c. in the white house and i worked in on capitol hill. i worked for bernie sanders. [applause] but it was not until i went to north dakota that i truly understand what that meant. during my six months fighting the dakota access pipeline, i saw corruption and corporate greed first hand. i watched indigenous people being pushed off of treaty land. i saw elders weeping as police officers through their pipes on the ground in a resident. i saw and interviewed women and children that had been bitten by attack dogs. by a company building this

pipeline. i myself when i was arrested was put into a dog kennel and strip-searched for a misdemeanor charge. trespassing on indigenous land. that is a pretty interesting concept. right? i saw hundreds of people suffering from hypothermia and i saw bullets that had left holes, rubber pebullets that le holes in peoples legs from fighting this pipeline on arms. i saw a woman who lost, permanent lost vision in one eye, permanently maimed by concussion grenades wielded by the us government and state government. and so, when you look at that and you remember that all of this happened because of a pipeline. all of this happened to unarmed people. all of this happened to unarmed people who pay the salaries of the law enforcement that are doing these things to us. all of these human rights violations happened on us soil. there were thousands of people who showed up and veterans who came out and said it was like a war zone. he said they could not believe this was happening in the us.

still, they did not break us. we continue the fight, still. s[applause] this time we are fighting an unneeded line that they want to send through the mississippi river to the shore of lake superior. 1/5 of the worlds freshwater. but we fight for us all. and we're not just fighting for indigenous rights. we not just fighting for our water, we are fighting for your water, your children's futures, we are fighting for us all. when i see it in spaces like this and we had a conversation about corporate greed and influence of politics and influence of money in politics, it is sometimes difficult after you have seen something like that. something like that fundamentally changes the way that you look at a system and the way you look at justice. we recognize that something is wrong. we recognize that we need

change. we recognize usually that there are special interest in influencing our government systems. and that people do not hold the same rights that corporations do. but we need more than just words. we need actions. we need engagement beyond social media shares. we need engagement beyond holding a sign of showing up to a rally. incremental change is not going to stop extreme climate. it is not going to stop police brutality. for friends and neighbors currently being deported across borders. it is not going to stop for-profit prisons, it will not stop destruction of protected land. today is friday. there are currently a land rush against gold rush styled land rush on bears ears, a sacred site and other national parks happening right now in 2018. that narrative of seeing firsthand, cops chasing indigenous people against the

planes had now seeing this. it is madness happening. these incremental changes are not enough. but we also recognize that some of the most oppressed consistently forgotten people, in this country, let one of the most significant environmental resistance movements in decades. we reach millions of ilpeople around the world.[applause] we inspired resistance that continues. and through targeting the banks that fund these projects, we have cost the industry billions of dollars. and cancel credit facilities and billions of dollars from committed people. [applause] the language of money is s a powerful campaigning tool. but at the end, the one truth we all know is that we cannot drink money. our grandchildren care which side we are on, diamond change and a lack of clean drinking water becomes reality for so

many more. the first us climate change refugees are here in louisiana. indigenous people who homelands are underwater from rising seas. that is the reality. it is time for us to learn from our past mistakes. remember that is justice for all. member member that we have to be inclusive and collaborative together.we we have to find real solutions in these urgent times. and please, please, heed the message from the original people about these lands. water is life. [applause] >> thank you tara! our next eespeaker has been a democracy reform activist and leader for more than three decades. including over 25 years with common cause. she served as the organizations tend present.

please welcome karen -- >> thank you, it is great to be here today. to hear from these powerful speakers. i am so encouraged by the crowd that we have here today and that are joining us for three days. to talk about how we can work together and collaborate the very difficult challenges that we face. john gardner found common cause almost 50 years ago. because he said everyone is organized. thanks, pharma, oil and gas. other interests. they had representatives that were lobbying on capitol hill and the state legislatures across the country. they were also giving huge campaign contributions and they often got what they wanted. so he formed common cause to take on the special interest and to be working on ways that

the people's voice can be heard in our democracy. common cause worked at the state and local level and at the federal level to move transparency reform, freedom of information reform, ethics, campaign-finance and lobbying reform as well as election reform. not because they are an end to themselves but because they allowed people to take on power. so their voices are heard in elections. district lines are not drawn to stifle people's voice. where politicians choose voters instead of the other way around. so, that work continues now and many groups have joined this movement which i think is so important because we will never win if we do not have people joining. i wanted to talk a little bit about the challenges our movement faces and what we need to do to take advantage of this opportunity where millions of

people understand that our system is broken and it needs to be fixed. and we need to capitalize on that. first, i think we can learn some lessons from the right. one of the challenges we faced over the last few decades is that the far right has invested millions of dollars in tackling and taking down the reforms we passed. millionaires like the coke brothers provide findings for think tanks and cheers at universities, legal groups so that they can sue every campaign-finance reform bill that has been passed at the state and federal level. and help to bring us like citizens united decision. they have also funded right-wing media sources, groups ghlike the american legislative exchange council, to work with state legislatures to moving antigovernment and anti-regulation and anti-democracy platform.and move that at the state level.

they also find organizations that work with thousands of ground troops who are working on get out and vote and encouraging and voting for candidates. and in between elections they spend their time recruiting for more people to get involved. we do not have this kind of infrastructure yet. and that is what we have to work on. we have to look at this as a long-term effort. to be moving reform that break down barriers to participation and frankly, we need donors and funders to tsupport that work. over the long haul. we also need to recognize there is no silver bullet. there are a lot of single issue organizations out there that work on redistricting or reforming the electoral college or many other issues. all of those are important. and there is no one single issue that trumps all others. we also need to simultaneously

be tackling institutional and structural racism. one way to do that is also to be looking at -- [applause] the reforms that we need to move with and equity lens. to see if there was unintended consequences for this is making a situation worse. this is important for movement to be doing. we do not have an effective democracy. 51 percent of our population are women, yet they only hold 29 percent of the seats at the local, although after the federal level. women of color hold four percent of the seats. even though they represent 20 percent of the population. this has been an anomaly that happens in red states. it is in blue states, red states and purple states. and thank you to the woman donor network for the research. we need to be making it easier for people to run for office. not because he wanted to be reflected for r its own state b because of the life experiences

that people bring to this work. so that in a place like connecticut, where he helped lead an effort to lead small donor public financing. candidates are not what they can afford to run for office by collecting small contributions and getting a grant. and they can bring their issues to the table. they did not listen to the special interests that give them money. that they can listen to constituents. and what do they want? juvenile justice reform, ending the death penalty, environmental reform, so, that is why this matters. we also need to break out of our eco-chamber and just talking to ourselves. the truth is, when common cause working on issue on boarding reform like automatic registration, small donor public financing, redistricting reform, ethics, we work with republicans and independents. it is not just progressives that support this work. it is hard to imagine when we look in d.c. and see the

dysfunction there. but the truth is, we are moving the reforms in 2016 and 2017 with bipartisan and trans-partisan support. that is important. we also need to recognize democracy is 365 days a year. it is not just around election time. we see groups come in and funders come in to focus on the three months before an election. the truth is, we need to be engaging people after the election. we need to hold candidates accountable to their promises. we need to move legislation that can make a difference for peoples lives. these are not ãthis is how we can have clean water for our communities to clean water for places like flint michigan. that is what we need is reforms. we also need to recognize that the states and localities are leading the way. and you will hear over the next couple of days, inspiring stories of how that is

happening now. when you are thinking about the challenges we face in washington, d.c.. i believe the state and cities will be leading the way for this reform effort. one of the things i think about when i think about some of what we are facing, i am inspired by the millions and millions of activists that are protesting in the streets and not just to resist the trump administration. their actions on immigration or healthcare. they are joining our group, our membership has catapulted. to be well over a million. they want to be engaged in moving is reforms at the state and local level. they want to be part of the fight for redistricting and voter access. that is what inspires me and i am very excited to work with all of you as we come together in these gatherings so we can figure out how we can work

together on this work. thank you. [applause] >> our next speaker is a senior advisor to the faculty and social engineer and resident on harvard university. he joined -- in 2016. he now serves as the national coordinating committee on the national coordinating committee of democracy springs. these welcome, reanldo pearson. [applause] i attended morehouse college for the alma mater of local freedom fighters like doctor martin luther king. i took a deep dive into the

civil rights movement. i went on to pick up michelle alexander's book, the new jim crow. mass incarceration -- this had risen out of the ashes of the last one that others fought so hard to dismantle. i became an advocate and the youngest member and spokesperson of a 200 member in the mass incarceration to end the war on drugs. after a few historic successes on that front, i saw a talk on the corrupting influence of big money and politics. and it did not take long for me to see that no matter how many advances we would make locally, and then, to the executive branch, we continue to face

diminishing returns. due to the big money interests that blocked necessary legislative reform that most americans actually support. this was not just the case for criminal justice reform. but it remains true for issues across the gamut of public interest. a living wage, free college education, medicare for all, daca, immigration reform, the list goes on! then november to any -- 2016 happen. an election so big you had to step back just beyond the eco-chamber just to see it. a broken democracy. more specifically, it revealed what i've come to call, the seven deadly sins of american democracy. one, voter suppression. despite international low voter turnout among democracy, 99

bills were introduced in 31 states last year alone to restrict access to registration and voting. two, voter erasure. the recent phenomenon where an estimated 1.1 million, mostly black and brown voters were purged. tipping the scales in 2016. according to a documentary, the best democracy money can buy. three, disenfranchisement. millions of already served time are still barred from the right to vote. four, the corrupting influence of big money and politics. five, gerrymandering. let's cut through the jargon. this is nothing more than a cowardly practice of politicians choosing their voters. six, vulnerable voting systems and trojan media. not just the russians tampering but also the uncounted spoiled

ballots. tens of thousands in michigan alone. that was also uncovered. and finally, seven, the electoral college. if we are to fix our democracy, america must finally face the fact that the electoral college is a vestige of our nations original and -- sin of slavery. [applause] >> compromise anyone? not to mention one person, one vote. before doctor king was assassinated 50 years ago, this year. he was preparing to preach a sermon entitled, white america may go -- why america may go to

hell. >> is not because of the seven deadly sins, but because those sins aided and embedded by the age old trick of divide and conquer politics that benefits the few at the expense of the many are literally permitting us from adjusting the color brown emergency. the existential threats of climate change. ... of climate change. not to mention the common challenges like economic inequality and mass incarceration. dr. king was not able to preach that sermon but he left us some clues. either we will learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. he said, now more than ever before, america is challenged to realize it stream for the shape of the >> said now, more than ever before america is challenged

to realize it's three before the shape of the world today is not luxury of the anemic democracy for the hour is late in the clock of destiny is taking out we must act now before it is too late. and in a few that we see with respect to the doomsday clock it is closer to midnight that is at the height of the cold war 1953 in the evaporating timeline to reverse the tide upon the change so doctor kings prophetic statements are more important today than ever before. yes in that apocalyptic sense america may go to hell but we

still have a fighting chance. we must work with the fierce urgency to rid the nation of the seven deadly sins but we cannot dot it without the nonviolent direct action that we need. [applause] indeed from the founding revolution from civil rights no major democratic struggle in american history has been one without the webbing one -- 11 that doctor king called the weapon that heals in the fight for democracy is no different which is why we organize the largest civil disobedience in history inin 2016 against big money and politics and voter suppression b-17 and with the

progression we must now build a grassroots nonviolent army to take it to the local and the state levels like automaticc voter registration and enfranchisement in public financing. [applause] and i have to say this. there is a misconception that civil disobedience is a leftist tool but doctor king did not feel that way and neither did republican new york governor rockefeller when he sent the money to bailout the children who put their bodies on the wind during the birmingham campaign in the 60s. nonviolent direct action is not the liberal or conservative thing to do it is the right thing to do.

[applause] it is the right thing to do in the face of unequal and unjust laws in thosews seven deadly fit the bill b-17 the fact of the matter is this is a divisive mom -- decisive moment and a new chapter is being written. the call for real patriots with that synergy as a sacrifice. those who see the urgency of collaboration to put their career in bodies on the line to get into what john lewis calls a good trouble and with that i leave you with these words from the rabbiy menendez. the world is equally violent

between good and evil your next act will tip the scales. [applause] >> thanknk you prof. of law and leadership at harvard law school also one of the most compelling voices of the anticorruption movement in a prolific entrepreneur. he started to change congress and ran for president on a platform on the system and were recently started equal citizens please welcome larry

lessig. [applause] >> of us want to beau here. [laughter] not literally this is new orleans and i am sharing a stage so don't get me wrong i am perfectly happy to be here today but none of us want to have toap be here. none of us are in a democracy where our first fight has to be about that democracy because all of us believe there are real things and important things that this democracy must do but it can't do now. some of us want to address climate change sound want to fight to the inequality shooting through society to the hopelessness of the steelworkers in ohio and michigan that the mother that

is barely able to provide for her kids working two jobs every single day this is america and that is a right lung -- is not right 17 some of us want to kickstart the economy with middle-class wages are hovering and not raising with corporate profits are rising and rising and rising over two generations. 50% of americans have seen no growth in their income. last year 1% captured 82% of the wealth the economy created. that's not right. whatever the issue what we know is we can't address any of these issues sensibly until we put the democracy first in this we know.

what we don't know is how we do that. we know what changes we need to make and the answers but how do we get america to pick up the fight to take back our democracy? that is the obvious truth. they don't represent us. congress spent 70% of their time sucking up to 100,000 rich people they do not represent us when they make congressman carrie only from those from their own party even more extreme democrats or republicans could ever challenge them they don't represent us they represent them in when the president gets elected with a system that concentrateste campaigns in a dozen battleground states

that only represents 35% of percent of america bolder and whiter america as a whole we know the president cannot represent us because he represents them b-17. [applause] they don't represent us. that is true whether republican or democrat montana or north carolina or old or your race or whatever whatever whatever they don't represent us. [applause] now that truth is step number one that is already believed by practically every american with these different kinds ofat political movements that steps to the side and above partisan politics all across america there are thousands who have

been inspired by the reverend. those tens of thousands going community to community to say how could we possibly disagree? black citizens traveling to kkk country sitting at the kitchen table of men whose fathers burned crosses and how could we possibly disagree? and only one possible answer from the moral majority movement that will bring america together for the first time ever just maybe. we need a moral movement here t so. a movement that doesn't just hang around but having citizens walk with citizens

and on this issue we are not divided but we are united. step number three, turn to our leaders to the people that we elect to represent us to tell them if you want our vote, you must commit to fixing this democracy first. because at some point my friends, we we have to draw a line of integrity for us to ask him which side do you stand? it is fine to talk about single-payer healthcare but it isn't serious unless you show us how you fix this democracy first it is wonderful to rail against corporate welfare but it isn't serious unless you can explain how you fix this democracy first with her own dreams and the promises and policies we want our

government to enact. we are not stupid we know their words mean nothing unless they fix this democracy first. [applause] we have been patient for way too long. we have been way too polite for way too long we must feel our entitlement because we are citizens and this is a democracy to use this moral power to make this change happen now. because we cannot afford to be hanging around like this. we cannot afford the democracy that needs to fix itself there is too much to be done too much for a moral america the only great america i canor imagine what a moral america

must do. so let us bring america to its feet and get america to walk as doctor king asks us let us dream and dream again of the democracyre if only to everybody that asks us for our vote come i will stand with you if you say to me i will fix this democracy first. now. very much. [applause] thank you larry. next our speaker is of

pulitzer-winning journalist and best-selling author and an innovative approach to connecting with autistic childrenne and the price of loyalty hasd been chronicled lecturing about narratives and justice at harvard law school please welcome reverend seth kind. [applause] >> thank you i looked at the roster i am the only working journalist here today so i thought i would speak for the enemies of the people. somebody must. we are used to being hated as that is part of the job. we try to hold elected

officialsco accountable. what keeps them up at night and gets them up in the morning. some of them but that damn thing in the newspaper item know what to say. [laughter] and some of them just out right hated me. [laughter] anybody can do the bush walk. [laughter] i'm not sure if i should have you or hit you. that is my choice. >> so i'm used to being

hated. my wife won't let me do trump any more in the house. [laughter] so i just do it out here on the stage it should be like this is nixon and this is cleaver and this is trump everybody do it just like this with the pinky out. [laughter] this man is keeping me up at night. first take the god damn cell phone out ofllhe the bedroom. put the phone in the kitchen. wake up at 4:00 o'clock in the morning by 8:00 o'clock we are a disaster that is part of his plan.

the man is up at p 3:45 a.m. tweeting. your waking up the children. i feel for milania to wake up with that man. i bet she doesn't very often. [laughter] so to talk seriously about the principles under siege and an ar. i love larry lessig i teach a class with him that movement you are a part of the system is busted everybody knows that 90% of people say that it is a high majority it is busted so the question is how and when that will be fixed? so it is the ideal movement because fear works and drives change we hate to admit that

everybody likes help. i will not even get into my relationship with barack obama but we do like hope better. but we have to respect fear. it drives change in history. also respect years ago talking too, a famous psychiatrist putting work into my family my mother would not admit she was lighting into alzheimer's. she knew it but couldn't talk about it so a cuban jewish called mom -- said denial you must remember to respect

denial. it is a key part of the human architecturear where and when we don't think we can get up when the world throws so much at us it is untenable. there is a lot of people in the country in denial. when you are out there with the campaign and in all the the laws andte that is what the journalist tries to do. but there are principles and you know that but also a compromise because it is hard the other side and the enemy.

we have been here before. they are not even a human being like me. in the course of the respect of the negotiation be very clear this is fact not fate this country has survived from compromise the senate in the house compromise big states with the little ones.mi everything with one exception and that was called the civil war. that is the dilemma we are in now. i call it something different. principled compromise. what does that mean? first we have to agree on the fundamental principles. we all agree on that?

are we? because unless there is a foundation we are lost with those fundamental principles that we agree with rule of law. so as long as it doesn't infringe upon the rights of someone else and finally a free press. [applause] we always mention the bill of rights. what does that mean?

what is our job? it is simple. in this context of this thing we call our democracy is simply to nurse consent not just the facts but where they sit in the life that you be. there are plenty of facts in y the context that is true and thoughtful do you hear me fox news? one little example tray gravity long -- trey gaudi just left congress i'm watching fox news 911 investigation on hillary ben ghazi. nine months. they could have read war and

peace backwards in russian. this committee trying to find anything no wrongdoing at all. it gets 30 seconds on fox news. that is a failure of context that means they are not journalist. it is that simple. you cannot do that it is a fundamental violation you cannot do that. so i will finish by making this personal. the only thing that i do in my profession is truth. that's it. other people do other things they run businesses but all we do is walk around with m a pen looking for the truth that is objective and verifiable and in context.

that is all we do. it is complicated resources and meeting in the garage but the court thing is simple and clear is truth. and to do that we walk through wars and -- zones for christ sake i have done that. i have been chased by suicide bombers and a whole gaggle of people who do that. and we are not the enemy. [applause] any time anyone says it is fake news, it means it is huge

news. change the system. thank you. [applause]