Lisa Desjardins:

This is what I want to get to, because, at the Capitol, it's frustrating. We're seeing this bouncing ball.

We're seeing this atmosphere of accusations right now. But it's so important to get to the greater meaning, because, as neither side seems politically motivated to try and resolve this conversation about race, I'm also concerned, Judy, that maybe they're not equipped.

And that's because these two sides, as you talk to them behind closed doors, they define racism differently. Republicans are using kind of a an earlier definition of race, in which the intention of the person is what's critical.

Democrats are talking more and more about what the effect of racism is. Are people affected by it? Are their lives changed?

And, of course, Democrats have more people of color. It's not an accident that the definition is evolving, because people of color have more power.

One really quick example, I talked to John Thune, a Republican. I asked him, is there anything you would feel comfortable calling racism? He had to pause, and he couldn't say that there was.

Democrats are not comfortable in how to bring white — white Americans into the conversation about race. Republicans are not comfortable talking about racism at all. And they are far apart on a very important conversation.