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>> well, it's a different mindset, congressman. it's a new one and a bad one. thank you so much for joining us. congressman john lewis who was at the heart of this storm 50 years ago. michael, you've written very well about this and there was an emotional history with the people who benefitted from it. the short nature of the war on poverty and "wall street journal" had a big column today, 50 year war upon university. what are we talking about, reagan, nixon. >> you got it right. six years. from 1964 to 1970. in those six years the official poverty rate was cut nearly in half. 40%. something...

Then the backlash set in. then reagan came along. there's been no 50 year war on poverty. >> when you have something, you don't recognize how important it is. when you're denied it. like right to choice. then it's a big issue. social security is the greatest anti-poverty program this country has ever established. the fact that it used to be when you were 65 and couldn't work any more, you would live with your kids. you move in with them. depend on them. once social security was passed you had a foundation for retirement and in some cases your entire retirement. you were going to eat. you're no...

History where americans trusted big government. they inflexionably run from -- inflexibly run from it. >> from 1963 until the '66 mid terms was about the same amount of time kennedy was in office. had you the high water mark, you had medicare, you had all the great federal programs and then immediately the backlash set in. it wasn't even a presidential cycle. it was a congress an cycle. it was 64-66. >> and that backlash lasted through 1992. >> i'd argue we're still in it. >> we're still in the backlash from the great society. this is not lbj's america, this is ronald reagan's america. there w...