the university of virginia miller center. as always, we will take your calls, and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter as well. "washington journal" is next. you threw my city away you tore down the walls and opened up all the gates ♪ host: the song is entitled "shine," performed yesterday at the march for our lives in washington, d.c. those lyrics were written after the shooting 39 days ago that killed 14 students and three adults. toanizers say it was close 800,000 people who showed up.

we look back at yesterday's rally here in washington, d.c., and across the country titled march for our lives. tell us your reaction. phone lines are now open. .for democrats (202) 748-8000 for republicans (202) 748-8001. for independents (202) 748-8002. anwjcan send us a tweet @csp or comment on our facebook page. hearingare tired of that we are too young to ever make a change us downu're knocking we're getting up again

we're not going to let you win ♪ journal@c-span.org -- let you win ♪ spend the first hour and a half looking back at the rally. your calls and reactions and comments. we will continue our series looking back at 1968, 50 years ago. our focus today will be the politics of 1968, the election of richard nixon, the contested democratic primary, and the assassination of robert f kennedy. we begin with the march for our lives rally. tony, you are up first. your reaction. thatr: i just want to say these kids changed history for the better. host: thanks for the call from florida. parkland, florida, where the shooting took place on february 14. we will show you the headlines

through the course of the hour. on thep is devon republican line. caller: good morning. i want to say the march did not make any sense at all. as a republican, i understand i have my second amendment rights. i adore those and want to protect myself. getting rid of guns is not going to solve the issue. criminals are going to do what they want when they want. we need to put more armed security officers in the schools mere armed teachers -- or ar teachers. i think president trump is doing a tremendous job. the assertion that teachers need with armed in schools gun. you want to protect kids and not sit there and try to shield them from bullets. nobody responded to the information that was given about

the teen and his mental state. nobody carrot on the federal or state level. what are we really talking about? are we talking about this whole liberal mindset of get rid of guns, let's interrupt the electoral college to get trump out. the people in the electoral college understand what is going on. the people that voted for president trump that want change in this country, but not liberal, democratic, snowflake change. lindsay walters, the deputy press secretary saying we applaud the many courageous young americans exercising their first amendment rights today. keeping america safe is the ,irst priority of our president which is why he urged congress stopss the fix nics and school violence acts and signed

them into law. it encourages more thorough fbi database.he lynn, you are next. jacksonville, florida. caller: thank you so much for this opportunity. i am in full support of the movement the students are leading. it is a shame it had to come to this. unfortunately, it is because of what they had to experience that galvanized them. they are leading this nation. they are leading the nation with the real issues in regard to gun control and changing legislation and not for any political gains but for the lives and the heart of this nation. it is so ironic that this

particular march is coming right shootingn, after the and right before the ssn nation -- assassination of king. kudos to those children. they are not just children. they are the leaders we will look forward to. they will lead us into this next cycle. host: thank you. let me share with you a couple of tweaks. ofs is from michael, a lot youthful idealism. how many will be willing to stay the horse and go through -- course and go through the political slog? america supports the gates. go, kidss, go. don't stop. don't trust republicans. m--her one, let's help

hope murdering thugs heard the sweet music and were moved by it. from the miami herald, welcome to the revolution is the headline. six minutes and about 20 seconds. minutes, 17over six of our friends were taken from us. everyone, absolutely everyone in the douglas community were altered. everyone was there understands. everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of them violence understands. for us, long tearful chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were not knowing, no one could believe that there were bodies in that school waiting to be identified for over a day. no one knew that the people that

were missing had stopped breathing long before a code red had been called. no one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this would reach or where this could go. for those who still cannot comprehend because they refuse to come i will tell you where it went, right into the ground. it's the the -- six feet deep. my friend, and will never complain to me about piano practice. miss will never call kiara sunshine. scott beagle will never joke around with helen at camp. gina would never waved to her friend liam at lunch. playin oliver would never basketball with sam or dillon. lutefisk some would never --

luke hickson would never. jamie gomberg would never. pollok would never. [silence] host: those moments of silence. six and a half minutes of silence. we cover it all. you can see the signs, a march that was put together within six weeks after the shooting that took place on february 14 following the shootings in columbine and connecticut. this is the scene along pennsylvania avenue. we are getting your calls and reaction. boone is next.

republican line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call this morning. thes good to see that people are gathering together to address this issue, but the one issue that they are forgetting fault in our legal system when the young man fell through the fingers of the fbi three different times, and then when officera police standing outside with his firearm drawn and not going into hisschool ot do -- to do job that he was assigned to

protect those children and the people that were shot that day. it is sad. very sad. host: some of the tweets. rose, beautiful, wonderful, amazing, inspiring, hopeful, joyful, and determined. i loved it. there is another saying, this is do, we raised our kids to discern, make decisions, understand consequences, stand up, and engage. notrt, legislation does protect schools. serious background checks do. senator marco rubio getting more than $3 million from the nra, placing a value of student.r five per

the front page of the dallas morning news, we will fight for our dead friends. mike is joining us, oxford, florida, democratic line. i attended the march in the orlando area. we had 20,000. you had everything here. -- put onewhat heck of a show together. they have made the true rainbow coalition. before, my generation, i am at the tail end of the boomer generation. we really screwed up. anybody underestimates

these kids, what they are doing, they are going to make the fundamental change, politics, socially, everything. it is very inspiring. since the election of trump, i am a military veteran, a veteran of law enforcement, and i have been very discouraged since the election of trump. i was a probation officer. i dealt with a lot of very bad people. i have never held anyone in the degree of contempt that i hold donald trump. the only difference between donald trump and the convicted felons i worked with his donald trump has -- is donald trump has never been a convicted felon. i hold him with deep contempt. the thing is now i have some hope that this next generation are going to change some things.

remember the movie network, i character, we're not going to take it anymore. why bother to vote? your vote doesn't matter. are c thatiticians is not going to be acceptableorrupt to this generation. -- are corrupt. that is not going to be acceptable to this generation. the republicans and democrats, everybody, they are not going to accept it. they are going to make the change. we're not going to need guns anymore. former law am as enforcement and military can we don't need the the salt weapons. originalo back to the military spec. everything the military gets, they have criteria of what that conforms to.

manufacturers that make those weapons, their tech sheets will be milspec. we can go to that and ban assault weapons. you don't use them for hunting in most places. most states don't allow them for hunting. shooting target practice is fun, but you can do that with a rifle. temperatures in the mid to upper 40's. clear blue skies. a light wind as thousands marched in washington. similar marches across the country. from the washington post, photographs of what happened along pennsylvania avenue. hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the nation's capital and across the country to demand action on gun violence, showing the strength of the political movement started by the survivors of a

school massacre in parkland, florida. stoneman douglas high school students have been its paces. there -- faces. their unequivocal message, ignoring every day come violence will no longer be tolerated. it was a heady mix of political activism, famous entertainers, and emotional teenagers confronting the loss of friends and loved ones in the national spotlight. michael joining us from florida, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say that this was not a grassroots march. this was funded by michael bloomberg. he nra is not the bogeyman here. what failed these children is government. they had a law enforcement

officer on scene who did nothing. they tried to have this kid committed. nothing came from that. the problem is government failed . who are they marching against? the so-called nra human. lily, you are next. good morning. caller: yes, and i thank god for this opportunity to be able to respond. not only have i been all night watching the footage from washington, d.c., i was here in atlanta, georgia, down at the human rights museum supporting the children who took to the streets here. all i can say is that many have called, but few are chosen. for god i shall kneel.

god i shall die. for the children i shall continue to stand. i write my story today through the tears of joy as i witnessed history in real-time. i am so proud of all the children who organized this march and allowing me to witness this historic day and being able to stand with them in atlanta, georgia. forn only thank my god choosing me for taking a stand went to five years ago to march through the -- stand 25 years ago to march through the streets of kansas city to send a message theye community then that needed to do more to save our children were being kicked to the curb because of their

inappropriate behavior and ending up in trouble with the law and incarcerated or dead. host: thank you for the call. you are seeing some signs referring to great mills, the high school that was the scene of another shooting where a student shot his ex-girlfriend. she was pulled off life support and passed away. one other student was injured and was released from the hospital. from the boston globe, march is taking place not only in washington but all 50 states. former president barack obama saying, michelle and i are so inspired by all the young people who made today's marches happen. keep at it. nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change. from illinois. for democrats. good morning.

for democrats. the morning. caller: good morning. opposing gun control, do they even know what these kids are demanding? they are demanding a ban on assault weapons, stop the sale of high-capacity magazines, and background checks for all.what is the problem ? it has nothing to do with law-abiding citizens defending themselves. i don't understand the problem. int: the house and senate recess now for the easter passover break. the house and senate returning on the week of april 5. floyd joins us. good morning to the program. caller: good morning, steve. i see the marches march against

our constitution. we have a constitutional right to bear arms. if they want them to stop shooting schools, we need to arm teachers that want to be armed. not every teacher should be armed. i hear people come on and talk, especially the democrats, talking about this and that and the other, and they go on and vote for these democrats that have voted for the premeditated murder of 69 babies in america -- 69 babies in america -- 60 in america.es when you go to thinking about what you are talking about, remember what you voted for. you voted for abortion that has killed more than 60 million

babies here in america. a demonstration that took place in the california capital city, and up is enough -- enough is enough. you can read this story on their website. hosting a number of programs and counter demonstrations defending the second amendment. here is an excerpt. [video clip] >> we are a big-r rights organization. good for them. this outfit celebrates your right to speak up just like your right to protect yourself even though you don't want to. we don't discriminate. it is kind of disingenuous for groups out there who are unquestionably providing logistics or financial support to pretend this is some kind of home-grown, grassroots operation. these kids have a lot to say and should be able to say it. let's be honest about it.

you know if this was a march for life or against abortion or defending the civil liberties, and it was funded by the nra or anybody else, it would be the front page of every newspaper in america. of course, they would do it. when it is the left that is involved in taking away your rights, and remember, this is all zero-sum. whatever power you give to this group, they are advocating to take power away from you. these groups, planned parenthood, these far left groups, their sole purpose is to take away your right to protect yourself. they can speak out. we defend that. be careful what they are speaking out for. they are taking away your rights while you are defending their third host: some -- theirs.

host: some more tweets. from hillary clinton, listening to the students across the country today is a reminder of what is possible when our future is in the right hands and when we match inspiration with determination. from senator marco rubio, today, many are peacefully exercising their first amendment right to march for a gun ban. many support it. many others see it as an infringement of the second amendment that won't prevent shootings. making a change will require both sides finding common ground. ryan, one of my best friends was killed in gun violence here, so it's important to me. michael is joining us from

bristol, virginia. caller: good morning. i find it disgusting how these groups are using lies and outright ignorance to absolutely shred the constitution. if you ask them, they don't really know anything about firearms, much less current firearms laws. it is outrageous to see these groups marching in ignorance. in one moment, you have been saying nobody wants to take away your guns, the next they want to assault rifles. i own in ar-15. it has never hurt anyone. i find it disgusting. begin thefive that demonstration yesterday, enough is the cover story of time magazine.

doug is joining us from pennsylvania. republican line. good morning. caller: hello? host: good morning. you are next. caller: good morning. how are you doing? host: please go ahead. caller: don't cut me off. i just want to tell you something, all this craziness does not make sense. the democrats created this problem. both sides of the trump is one f the best presidents we have ever had. i write on my facebook every day, every day. they close up the mental hospitals. when they did that, that was the worst thing they ever did in pennsylvania. mentalpart, they open up hospitals, they won't have that trouble. the other part is we have

security federal buildings, courthouses, airports, congress, white house. we don't have nothing in schools. if they do the same things they do in the federal buildings, they won't have problems. they are not going to make no money. the same thing with drugs. drugs in this country, welfare. this is what we have to stop. put the people to work. host: doug from pennsylvania. the young and the restless is the cover story from time magazine. adults have failed to stop school shootings, now it is the kids' turn to track. senator chuck schumer with this tweet. i marched for two hours with the students in new york city and came away inspired by their

enthusiasm, steadfastness, and focus. caller: good morning. i have a comment in all this. i am 71 years old. --ave not seen the highest rate of crime in guns 200 to 2006. it is good to ahve it. i don't believe it. this present, all he cares about, he doesn't care about the kids. all he cares about is himself. these kids are getting murdered. ok? i feel for these kids. crazy.

host: thank you. i'm sorry, your final point. people that have guns is ok, but to have ar-15's, wantary people, if they military rifles, join the service. don't kill these kids. host: those five students featured in time magazine inside the faces of this march, including alex wind, 17 years old, jaclyn goran, also 17, 17.d hog, , he had this to say. you of hownder for much marco rubio took for every

student in florida. $1.05. the cold grasp of corruption shackles the district of columbia. the winter is over. change is here. the sun shines on a new day. the day is ours. first time voters show up 18% of the time on midterm elections. not anymore. vote in thegoing to 2018 election? [applause] close, youen real could hear the people in power shaking. they have gotten used to be protective of their position through the safety of inaction. inaction is no longer safe. no more. die every 96 people

day from guns in our country, yet most representatives have no public stance on guns. to that we say no more. we are going to make this a voting issue. we are going to take this to every election in every state and city. we are going to make sure the best people get in our elections to run, not as politicians but as americans. this is not cutting it. suppress youry to vote and stand against you because you are too young, we say no more. host: the rally yesterday here in washington, up to 800,000 people, which surpassed the expectation of 500,000 coming in

and out of washington, d.c. yesterday. taking aim at marco rubio. the students in this country are worth more than an election, with more than a vote, and they are worth more than $1.05. health act on gun violence. #neveragain. jan on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. activisten a past leader in california. my first thought with these young people, and i watched the sympathize, and i with them. i understand what they are rallying about it i would caution them -- about. i would caution them to look who is paying for all of this. this cost money.

rallies aren't cheap. somebody is behind it. find out what the risk is of who you are backing. i was in the bay area, and i was years offter protesting even with jesse jackson, angela davis, i saw them all. you start finding out all the communism that is mixed in. i think trump is acting like a jackass. if he doesn't change, he is going to be thrown out. i like that he is draining the swamp. i don't like assault rifles. i am 74 with disabilities. sayingree with the man these people have welfare. i have disabilities, and i am barely making it. barely.

i cannot go to work. i would like to. i cannot. i am 74 with the disabled leg. as far as these kids, i think what they are doing is great, but they need to know who is behind it all. who is urging them and encouraging them? who is uniting all these groups? i saw an outside group go in there today. if they are anti-assault rifles fire,cket fire, -- rapid i am for banning them all. hunters like rifles. people are carrying guns concealed. i have a family member with a concealed carry permit because the world has become so dangerous. host: i am going to stop you there. a lot of comments, a lot of people calling in.

right wingers are chicken hawks. david is a formidable young man. are you going to the march for our lives? thank you for turning your demands into action. thank you for saying enough is enough. together can churn up a wave of change. >> i think there is change happening because of young people like you demanding action. your voices, your passion can make the difference in this argument, and the more we fight back and march, the more we can get members of congress to do the right thing, stand up to the

nra and gun manufacturers and pass commonsense gun reform. why we cannotason cap universal background checks. there's no reason why we cannot end and trafficking. things thatvious can be done today. with your activism and passion, i think we can get them done. thank you for coming to washington. thank you for marching. host: we will make a difference. -- thankrom senator you for marching. we will make a difference. host: that is from senator kirsten gillibrand. joined hundreds of thousands in demonstrations that took place in the greater pittsburgh area. senator bernie sanders, it is a beautiful day for the march for our lives.

in the 1990's, it did not hurt anybody. we did not come after your rifles and handguns. democratst relax, the don't have the urge to take away all guns. i used to hunt. i don't want your guns. i just want our children to be able to live. of the assault weapons, they might be able to. host: thank you for your call. joining thousands of others at the march for our lives in washington. the horrific death of 20 preschoolers and kindergartners along with six faculty members

in 2012. great mills, pulse, sandy hook, virginia tech, charleston, parkland, san bernadino, columbine, aurora. where there have been mass shootings. we have to act. at the marcherday for our lives in washington. [video clip] >> my name is naomi. i am 11 years old. [cheers] friend carter went to walk out of elementary school. out for 18 -- walkd

minutes. to representay corinne. to represent cadia. mpsonpresent kiana tho was shot dead in her home. to represent the african-american girls who do not make the front page of every national newspaper, whose stories don't lead on the evening news. i represent the african-american women who are victims of gun violence, who are simply statistics instead of vibrant, beautiful girls full of potential. [cheers] it is my privilege to be here today. i am full of privilege.

my voice has been heard. i am here to acknowledge their story, to say the matter, to say their name because i can and i was asked to be. namesr too long these have been just numbers. i am here to say never again for those girls too. host: the voices of the young people yesterday in washington. this demonstration spread across the country. from the chicago tribune, young activists rally for gun control in union park, hoping their fists and chanting student power. thousands of student activists swarmed union park on saturday. activists came from across the city and the suburbs. high school students, adults who want to support them, good kids, enough is enough.

the scene across chicago yesterday. is wonderful to live in a free country like ours where folks can express their opinions, demonstrate and march without fear of government interference. is wonderful to live in a free country likecongratulationg people at the march for our lives: four gun safety. calling for gun safety. from connecticut, republican line. caller: good morning, steve. it is said that not all these kids can walk into a house today to change things. it is not washington, d.c. it is hollywood. it is all the violent new games, the violent movies, the way they portray men treating women. today is a day we should embrace our lord.

these kids are just talking about guns. they are not talking about violence. violence is in the bible. it has been around for 6000 years. it is not going to go away. what we can do is pray. it is sad to see the signs that say prayer does not work. als by takingk mor god out of the schools, what do we expect to happen? as far as this shooting goes, this sick fellow who shot all the students bought the weapon legally. i don't know what laws that can be passed that will prevent anything from happening again in any school. i wish these children would stop listening to the communists, the george soros who are funding all this nonsense and walk into a

house of faith today. host: thank you for adding your voice to the conversation. we have another 15 minutes left in the program. we are getting your reaction to the march for our lives yesterday. we are also getting reaction from colors and listeners. nra makes cowards out of our politicians. this tweet, many american highschoolers do not blame guns. #defendthesecond. [video clip] >> we are not asking for a ban. we're asking for compromise. let's say one another. use regulation that doesn't

allow for loopholes. protect our schools. lately do other government establishments. use security protocols that are efficient. one more request, listen. [cheers] our mission is simple. guns out of the hands of the wrong people and keep them in the hands of the safe and reasonable. either you can join us or be on the side of history of those that prioritized their guns over the lives of others. the only way we can do this is in numbers. let's have our lawmakers reflect our views and address our struggles. let's stand united with one another. we the people still stands true.

america, you will have to choose. is enough enough? iki.: this is a tweet from k we have not heard from her in a while. parkland shooter waited until 21, this would not happen, h untrue. democrats line. thank you for waiting. caller: thank you for having the show. more power to those kids. they did exactly the right thing. them marching on an adult issue, there are going to be changes made in washington for certain. i would love if someone would stick a microphone in lamar alexander space and say, what do you think about that?

host: republican line from missouri. welcome to the conversation. caller: i am a veteran, 85 years old. the fbi failed. the police department failed. the school failed. the doctor that treated this young man failed. the drugs failed. now they want to take away my second amendment rights. get real. host: thank you. all eyes on 60 minutes tonight, the interview with stormy daniels by anderson cooper. stormy daniels, donald trump's unlikely fell, is not someone to be underestimated. we are him from 60 minutes that she will provide pacific details on the relationship she had. we are also hearing from karen mcdougal who also claims she had a relationship with the present after he was married to melania trump.the white house

denying the allegations. joining in on the conversation yesterday. march for our lives is over, the gun lobby is counting on us to give up and go away. we are inow them that this fight until we passed legislation to stop the bloodshed. are you with me? john is next, democrats line. caller: it cannot be denied that there is a gender element to this thing. men love their guns. women want gun control. in all 50 states, all the governments in all 50 states are controlled by white males. if they were controlled by females, we would not have the need for gun control because we would have gun control because females support it.

apparently, it is going to take women to get this issue because men are not going to come around on this issue. i support gun control. i am a big supporter. basically, everyone knows that the only demographic that supports all this gun garbage is white males. they control every government in this country, so good luck. i hope we get this through. i am supporting it. white males are the problem. unfortunately, i like a lot of republican positions, especially on immigration. i am definitely republican on that. this gun issue has to stop. we have to vote these republicans out. host: i cannot believe how blindly stupid some of these callers are. we don't need faith or prayer, we need to stop these crazy

people from easily obtaining murder sticks. this ise analytica, from mark zuckerberg, a full-page ad saying we have the responsibility to protect your information. if we cannot, we don't deserve it. thank you for believing in this community. that is from the founder and ceo of facebook, mark zuckerberg. we are short on time. so if you could be brief, sir. caller: good morning. as always to everyone behind the cameras that gets all of us across the nation and even outside the nation on the air, thank you. remember me. 2000, i was standing outside

the funeral of after doris mann nypd'sused undercover offered to buy drugs or selling drugs, and he was shot with a single bullet. we remember patrick. .e remember the youth i waited 60 years for these young people. days after old, 20 my birthday after robert kennedy had been assassinated and three months after dr. king had been assassinated, i have these automatic rifles pointed out myself, my mother holding my two-year-old sister, by a british soldier going into the occupied counties from the republic of ireland.

, and ied at that time say this so everyone knows where we all began, out of 10,000 catholics only eight could vote. only property owning people wasd vote like this country established. this is just a tourniquet on those self-evident truths. there is more than the second amendment. there are 27 amendments. let me call to attention the third amendment. it did not allow any kind of me, toto be in one's ho have citizens have to put up with an occupying force. i give a shout out to the million hoodies march. host: i am going to stop you there. we're going to move on with some

others. marathon, not a sprint. the march for our lives just the beginning of a long fight. from virginia, kathy. caller: good morning. i just wanted to make a statement that i think the children didn't great job. they're coming from a place of pain. i think it is time to make sure our children are not killed in the schools. i agree that the police did fail. there were a lot of failures. i don't support arming the teachers. they chose the career path to the educators not marksman. i am a republican. i certainly support my right to bear arms. i don't need to bear an assault rifle. maybe because some callers own an assault rifle, and that is what the law said then, we should change it. fear death going

to school. host: here is from yesterday's rally. [video clip] 20, 2017, onmber afterschool from an program called college-bound. he would have lit up the room. he was energetic and full of dreams and aspirations. he was our team captain on track team. he was a youth council member. a was inspiring to be forensic scientist and would for undergrad. it was also the best dressed guy. he was a person, a leader, not just another statistic.

whilein contact with him he was walking home, texting him all night. about 20 minutes went by, and i became worried because a walk alone doesn't take 30 minutes. i left my room to ask where he was. redw flashing blue and lights outside my window. i told my parents there were police on our street. we rushed outside and discovered it was him. gunt night, a robber with a was lurking on my streets for hours. on my way home, he attempted to rob me, but i ran. though he had an ankle monitor on and was supposed to be monitored by police, he was able to obtain a gun and take my brothers life.

host: this is from the washington times as the president praises the marches nationwide. mary from orlando, florida. go ahead. humble i was so yesterday after watching all of these marches all over the u.s. i am 100% for parkland and all of these parents and kids. those calling in saying they don't know why these kids are doing what they are doing, you and shot turn around those kids all over again and the parents, too. host: mark, you are next. caller: thank you and good morning to everyone. is school safety.

what happened last week in maryland when a security guard with a gun in the school took out a school shooter and saved many lives is a model and also on how to protect the children. the president supports this. he also supports mental health restrictions and background checks, which will protect these children. unfortunately, the fake news media downplayed the maryland incident because it does not fit ti-gunagenda, their an ti-presidenthe an agenda. the police wear guns for a reason. people use them to protect

themselves and their families. single mothers and others. host: thank you for the call. this, ibill nelson has am a marching for their lives. the democratic senator from florida running for reelection. gina, republican line. caller: good morning. give me a little time. you give a lot of time to others. kudos to the last cap. mr. obama being involved in all this should be arrested. the man gave us fast and. scum of send guns into -- and f urious, sent guns into mexico. the children need to wake up. they came back here with one of whichguns, illegal guns, shot one of our border agents. these children need to look into the funding that goes into these

schools under clinton, we get cold 2000 passed. this is where we get these theseop shops where children that need special help go to the schools. i understand this school was monumental for having don't talk about the crimes that were done by these children. don't put it on us. we are not the criminals. to say marco rubio is criminal. he wants his children, the boy tage, if he s exercised his second amendment right, he could have shot that criminal. get that medicaid money that is set up to go into the main school and send that money to a special school where these

children go, they are not mainstreamed. thee cops down there are ones they should be going after not our second amendment. that was designed to fail so we could have this little party today tell us we all need to be just as undefended as they are. host: thank you for the call. one more moment from the lyrics, a group of students from the high school in parkland, florida, first performed in a townhall meeting .osted by cnn here is an excerpt. you tore down the walls and opened up all the gates

you threw in the towel burnt all the bridges you're not cannot me down will get back up again will be stronger and were not going let u.n. -- you in ♪ host: you can watch the full program on our website and listen to it on our free radio app. usene daniels is joining from newsy. later, we turn our attention to 1968 at the bottom of the hour focusing on presidential politics. "newsmakers" follows "washington journal."

former chairman senate judiciary patrick leahy from vermont. >> it is frustrating. call -- come from -- we have a reason to protect children. when i was the chairman of through a i put number, significant gun control semiautomatics, a doing itd check

without a background check and have real background checks. republicans refused to take it up. i get criticized for -- by the gun lobby for that of course. they say they were opposed to universal background checks. i would think most americans would assume that. we have to go try these again. there are a lot of other aspects. we have got to stop bullying in schools. it is a major factor in the country. we have to make sure there is ability for somebody when they have a concern to come forward and talk about it and have the resources to follow up on it.

i will tell you one thing i would be totally opposed to. will solve saying we this by arming teachers. teachers have enough work to teach the children. want the teachers to concentrate on teaching children. make that decision. host: our guest this week is senator patrick leahy and you can listen to it on our free radio app. we want to welcome eugene daniels, political reporter for the website, newsy. we will talk about your news organization in a moment or it you were here in washington on the mall on pennsylvania avenue yesterday. what did you see? guest: a lot of hope, anger, and

frustration. we talked about young people and older people and they want change. that is something you will consistently here. they wanted to continue and turn a moment into a movement. that is something we are excited to do and it will be interesting to see if they are able to do it. we know that getting things done take a lot of time -- takes a lot of time and push and pull. is clear there was a , the resource officer was not go down -- into the school. you did have a sheriff's officer who went in and a merely confronted the shooter and he apparently shot himself, killed his ex-girlfriend, injured a 14-year-old oil, but it could officerworse had that

not been there. what is the lesson? >> different types of resources schools have to protect themselves from these types of events, sometimes, it is just luck, it is something that ends up happening where the resource officer is able to go handle what he is supposed to be doing. also, bravery. tople want to be listened and they want congress to be brave and do something. they honestly feel hopeless and like they cannot do anything. they are sending their children to school and they are thinking this could happen, whether it is maryland, florida, texas, or las vegas, it does not matter. what is going to prevent

this is someone oh 70 a gun to stop the man then from having guns. they truly believe that and that argument will continue on -- as long as you have a difference of opinion, it will be a long time, i think, there is not a one shoot fits all for the shootings. making sure we had more resource officers and teachers teaching guns in schools. the conversation will be different. i want to play portion of what -- to give a sense of what your organization is all about. most teens do not have the right to vote in the u.s. but they have the right to protest. kids and keep -- and teens have led protests against voter disenfranchisement and the war.

members ofle color, the lgbtq community, and they are now focusing on other costs. >> i want to see them safe at school. be able tol not ignore us in the white house. >> we will be the last mass shooting. host: from your website. taking a historical like -- look at this suffrage movement, back in 1918 in 1920, is this

different for this group? feels different because they are using different tools. social media has helped to push this using hashtags. this kids grew up with, we talked to that how smart they look on television. they grew up with television, having the curtain pulled back, they have seen behind the scenes, and they are not nervous to be on camera. they are able to talk to the grown-ups in the room and not be nervous, and they are able to really articulate have a feel and go back and forth with a lot of older people. our guest is eugene daniels. he is a graduate of harvard state university. -- .ou can also send us a tweet the house and senate are now in recess for the next 16 days. this is just the beginning of a demonstration and a movement.

how do continue that if you whicht gun legislation these students advocated yesterday? -- sounded like there will be an annual march possibly and they are inspiring a lot of people who are just in d.c.. we talked to people who drove up from florida. these people will go back and ask for the states to do something. is it -- it is also a states rights issue when they talk about guns. they hope they can move that into some kind of federal legislation. phone calls, ron is first up from pennsylvania, good morning. i have i'm a veteran, had guns sins i was a little kid. we used to go to high school, we had hall monitors, the doors were locked when it was time to be in class, and when you are out in class, your questioned

why you are out. if you did not make it into school before they locked the side and back doors, and something happened, what happened to all of that? and second, i would like to know where these kids are getting educated on guns. what is a full semi automatic? ok? why is an ar-15 considered a military weapon? is no different, if you knew anything about guns, you could buy a little 22, you could take the wooden stock off the gun, put a synthetic stock on it, it makes it look like an ar-15, it does not shoot anymore, it does not make it any more powerful or anything else. it is just black and scary. thank you asked where these kids are getting educated. the internet is providing them with a lot of information.

not generation has never known a world without google or youtube. they are able to find information wherever it is here they are savvy and working to understand it. as far as talking about what kinds of guns, they were not talking about bans. they were talking about different kinds of legislation of these down some mass shootings and in general, we talked about the historic intersection audi of the conversation about how students were not just talking about mass shootings but shootings in churches, at theaters, in chicago, on the street, so that conversation is wider than i think it has in. host: susan for massachusetts, good morning. caller: i have a couple of points p or i watched the march from start to finish.

my first thought is i consider myself fortunate, i grew up outside washington, d.c., vietnam-- during the era. i remember one-time going with my priest and another time with a high school teacher who both lead groups, and then we went to march against the vietnam war. though i am now pretty , it made me a lifelong voter and made me incredibly civic lee engaged. from mainstream and major news outlets and like the washington post or the boston globe or the new yorker, whatever. and i vote. though i have moved north of boston to this small city north of the lower north shore of boston, i don't have any connection to the town. the first thing i did was register to vote.

i go to any municipal election, even though massachusetts is a one-party state, it is corrupt, incumbents never get out of office. i go through the ritual of voting and i think it started when i was younger. the one thing i was so impressed with is they do not want to get rid of the second amendment. they support people having guns. all they are asking for is expanded that ground checks and to get rid of assault weapons which do not have any place in a civil society. i think that is exactly right. these kids are talking about voting next. kids, there are 17 turning 18 and they will vote in the midterms and they are educated and working to end more about how the process works and they seem to care a lot about making sure that the people they are putting in there are doing the things they want.

host: this editorial, "we are the change," you can read online. nation'sgo to the capital to learn about their government but on saturday, it was the students, tens and thousands of them, who did the schooling with a mighty march on washington calling for a stop to gun violence. how many were on hand yesterday, what is your best estimate? hard to tell. organizers tell us it hundred thousand people in d.c., more than the women's march in 2017, it was shoulder to shoulder one thing that was interesting to people wereelpful with each other. it was very cordial. when you have large groups like that, you never know what will happen. this was the scene on pennsylvania avenue.

on the left side of the screen, an office building, and the stage put in place, they could not go on the mall because of a prescheduled event be -- so they moved it to pennsylvania avenue. we're joined from massachusetts, thank you for waiting. caller: by just increasing background checks. something else i want to talk about is something i saw on c-span during the live presentation of the march, there were two people who came up on , a right side of the stage man in a leather jacket and bald head, and the other person was a theon who looked like

average person in the march. they were at the side of the stage. one of theeft, people in the course area looked at them with a kind of suspicion and don't like to ask you to check that out in see if there is anything suspicious and possibly dangerous about it. host: great thing about watching this network is it is unfiltered . thanks for bringing that to our attention. .et's go to norma from kansas go ahead, please. hello. i think nowadays, there are too many children growing up without parents. too many dairy -- daddies do not pay child support or even have anything to do with their children.

children,raising your i am 73, and tease them right from wrong as they grow up. my kids got a slot across the rear and every once in a while another -- when nothing else works. guest: some kind of legislation there,, so when they get they get to concentrate on

learning and with teaching of morals, they are able to hang to with each other and talk students against gun control. about he hadalked canceled the vehicle because of his views. you are hearing a lot as well. the story from time magazine, enough. the rally that took place yesterday in washington and around the country. this from the new york post, a look at the students in the faces behind the rally. you can read this story online. next up is jack from new jersey. good morning and thank you for c-span. it is the best town hall in america. the previous caller from boston was saying the kids were not

marching to replace the second amendment, if you look at the footage of the signs they were carrying, i think it gives a lie to that premise. it is time to amend the constitution. one of them said if you refer -- the constitution as it is right now, that is treason. it is a little concerning as a firearms owner to see what it -- what looks like the red guards that we will replace the constitution and amendment. -- amend it. i understand concerns. written fortion was a free and responsible people. i would argue the american people are not responsible anymore. it may need to be repealed some day, i don't know. a legal process. but, it is a little disingenuous when you have got folks, and i'm not saying it is you saying the kids are not marching because they want to replace the second amendment. they kind of do. what other policy prescriptions right now are they talking about? there aren't any.

i want to see her comment on that. host: thanks for the call. guest: when you have a large group of people like this, you will have differing opinions. you did see some of those signs that said there are people against the second amendment to the students up their leading the movement, it is not something i've heard from them and the majority of people, dozens of people, it is not onething that i heard spirit you talk about policy prescriptions outside of getting rid of the second amendment, they are talking about, they want stronger background checks, something that is popular in the united states. it is something i heard consistently. moneyey also want less coming in from gun groups like the nra, it is something they talked about a lot as well. there was not a lot of banning of the second amendment. you have a huge group like this and you will have some fringe

ideas possibly on television and newspapers. we get thiso segment on the fbi not following protocol? they could have stopped this. he asked the kids were marching to do the teacher union's adding to try to eliminate political opponent; the nra. there were people who said they were confuse what happened with the fbi and and that isn't something people aren't concerned about. they wantlegislation, a stronger follow-up when it comes to students or adults who

may have issues and are showing red flags. and a tweet saying -- host: gary, you are next. good morning. i'm a retired police command officer with 30 years experience in part of my duties when i was a command officer here in monroe county in behester, new york, was to responsible for deploying our swat team armed with assault rifles. i would like to point to the one caller who talked about, what is a military weapon and what are assault rifles. is what we refer to as guns planing, remade -- related to man's planing to it someone tries to end a debate by

indicating somehow they do not know the technicalities and therefore their opinion is not legitimate. and distractsal from the conversation. i do not know exactly how cancer works to know that we need to do something about cancer. thank you. host: thank you for the call. this headline yesterday, more than 187,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school's since columbine in 1999. to gary's point from rochester, your reaction? guest: he is right. the kids may not understand the intricacies of the guns, they are that researching and having these conversations about, but this is a group that was born after columbine. it is something they have known come my sister is 18 years old and have only known the shootings that have happened at schools and also other places. theseudents are having

conversations and talking about just wanting to be safe. we talked to students who don't agree with that, not that they don't agree with gun restrictions, they said the same thing, they also want to go to wantl and be safe and they mass shootings to stop the the conversation will continue because at some point, the kids will be in the driver's seat of the nation. host: patrick from massachusetts, good morning, you are next. caller: i partook -- it is patricia. host: that is my fault. caller: i partook in the margin boston for gun control with the kids. i am just wondering, what is next? i want to see the lowering of the voting age, what is next? host: i heard there are 32 million americans from the age of 18 and 24.

guest: and a lot of them are people who want gun restrictions and are growing up little more liberal than their parents and counterparts. age behould the voting lowered to 16? guest: i do not know, but i think it is a conversation we should be having. 16 is the age where you are starting to pay more attention. with the availability of i do not know if you would trust every 16-year-old to vote. it is a conversation people are definitely having. patricia's point, it is something that people really want. and started 7:00 doing research and then we headed up there at about 9:30. host: good morning. caller: i was at the march and

it was like we were back to the 1970 passes when we were young and protesting the vietnam war. this is the youth vietnam right with ourhe homeland own people being the terrorists. your children and tell them how it was for us and that the change will make a difference, to never give up. she is right, the youth have always been behind some of the biggest changes in america. the soft -- the suffrage movement, vietnam, it is something that is consistent within our history. we have heard a little bit of are justric that these children and why should you listen to them? at some point, they will be in charge of the nation. we should have a conversation with them whether you disagree with them or not. there are children on both sides

of the issue were not just informed by what their parents are saying but their own research and experience. host: ruth from houston, texas you are next. caller: i have many points and i am a womanrt with, i right now living in a nursing home. i was up most of the night watching this. i saw it through twice and i want to see it again. i have a problem calling these people who put this together children or kids or youngsters. are young adults and the future of the country. i am so proud of them. yes, these are kids who are at the forefront. the had help from the women's march organization, valenti talk

about the people other than those performing, these were people who were very young students, 11 years old going up there and talking about their experiences. there was a kid from washington, d.c., whose twin brother was killed. you had a wide range of ages. they were all under 18. it is something they talked about and that they wanted to make clear. the young activists and young adults, they are people that will push the movement forward for what they want. they want change and that is what they think will happen. that let me conclude on point. there were no well-known celebrities or politicians speaking yesterday. guest: i think it was. i think the point was people, your friends and family that you know, where the people up there. kids that you could fill -- you could look at them and say, that

could be my child. the website is newsy.com. , his firstels appearance here on c-span. a political reporter. thank you. up next here on c-span and live on c-span3, american history tv and we look back years ago to 1968. we are calling the series america in turmoil and today, we turn to politics. nixon,ction of richard here is barbara perry. former staffer, author, and columnist pat buchanan. we first want to take you back of 1960 81ric moment president lyndon johnson stunned the country when he announced he would not be seeking another term as president.

you will have behind-the-scenes footage as well as -- for what that moment was like from the oval office fifth is ago. -- 50 years ago. last evening in march, 1968, the stage was set. shortly before 9:00 p.m. washington time, in the mists of last-minute electronic reparations, president johnson put the finishing touches on his address to the nation. finally, with a reassuring presence of his family seated nearby, the president was ready to deliver one of the most important speeches of his entire life, a speech that would alter the course of world history. >> good evening, my fellow americans. i want to speak to you tonight of peace in vietnam and southeast asia. so preoccupieson our people, no other dream so

absorbed the 250 million human beings who live in that part of the world. motivates american policy and southeast asia. >> first addressing himself to the continuing problem in vietnam, the president outlined plans for unilateral de-escalation of the conflict here it -- conflict. >> i ordered our vessels to make no tax on north vietnam except in the area north of the demilitarized zone where the continuing enemy buildup directly threatens allies forward positions and where the suppliesof troops and are clearly related to the threat. arearea in which we stopping our attacks includes almost 90% of north vietnam's population.

and most of its territory. attacksere will be no around the populated areas or in the food producing areas of north vietnam. bombings very limited of the north could come to an isly end if our restraint matched by restraint in illinois. >> the president issued an appeal for unity among the american people and went on to speak and moving words of the future he foresees america obtaining. it was in the final moments of his speech that he voiced the syllables that stunned the nation and reverberated around the world, to an audience of countless millions, president johnson announced a decision many months in the making, but only resolved within himself in the final hours of march.

>> with american sons in the with america's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, i do not i should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the the -- thises of office, the presidency of your country. not seekly, i shall and will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. as we look back 50 years

on c-span and c-span3 passes american history tv, 1968, america in turmoil. we want to begin with the announcement by senator eugene mccarthy in 1967 to seek the democratic nomination. 1968.ffensive began in richardson -- richard nixon formally enters the race and george wallace, the governor of alabama, on february 8. president johnson wins the unit -- the new hampshire primary but narrowly against mccarthy and days later, senator mick -- kennedy announces in washington and two weeks later, president lyndon johnson stunning the nation announcing he will not seek reelection and then on april work, dr. martin luther memphis,ssinated in tennessee hubert humphrey the vice president entering the race in 1968 and senator robert f

kennedy shot after midnight on the day of victory and dies on june the sixth, 1968. excepting the nomination in august. in chicago missed the riots. richard nixon is elected president november 5, 1968. we want to welcome our guest, barbara perry. thank you for joining us. and pat buchanan, for the purposes of this discussion, was in 1968.ide let me begin by asking you about the announcement of lyndon johnson, march 31, where were you? >> on the saturday before that sunday, i was at nixon's apartment. he was going to give his speech on vietnam. we were there and having an argument. net's and was moving toward a more dovish position on the war

when we got word from cbs that lyndon johnson had asked for and when mixing was going to wisconsin the next day and he told me, pat, i want you to be out at the private terminal, when i come back from wisconsin, he was making an appearance for the primary, to brief me on what johnson said before the press gets to me. i am sitting in a limousine at andtarmac at laguardia, nixon's african-american driver was there and a new it would happen when lbj announced i'm not going to run again. i got out of the limo and i ran down toward the jet nixon had come in on and he was walking through the jet and i got on the plane and i said johnson is out and he will not run again. nixon stepped out to this top -- to the top of the steps and he said i guess is -- it is the year of the dropout.

george romney had dropped out of new hampshire on him. so, we drove into -- i did not think kennedy would win the nomination either. >> was go back to the announcement of eugene mccarthy. who was he and why was his voice so important in the 1968 campaign? >> gene mccarthy was a senator who had been at professor of economics and sociology. aloof and he entered the race as the piece candidate.

him.t students to support he got them to shave their heads and cut their beards. he was the young people's candidate, the upper-middle-class bang candidate for the democrats. if you put the personality of gene mccarthy next to lyndon johnson, they thought they would be running to get the nomination, you could not have found two more different personalities. but he was definitely the and comes withte an seven percentage points of the reason johnson dropped out. guest: johnson's name was not on the ballot. he won the race with 49% as a right in. write in.

half thought that johnson had not been tough enough on the war. i think they knew it was coming that johnsonknew was coming at 35% approval rating at that point. it was just not looking good. he suffered a heart attack. >> we flew up secretly on the undernd nixon registered the name benjamin chatman. we took -- we took him into a .otel february 2, it is a single story of the new york times. is about there police chief who has got a revolver at the head of the viacom where he fired and killed

him. he wanted feel it's her for the photograph and -- that really .ramatized it >> it was galvanizing moment. host: he loses his bid for governor in 1962. he moves back to new york in the mid-1960's p or why did he run in 1968 and what was the state of the republican party? basically a was two-time loser and was considered a political loser. , 1965,to work for him 1966, and january of 1966. he said i will hire you for one

year and if we do not do well, the nomination will not be worth anything. in 1966, nixon himself,d, pay for it he must have been 35 states. it is a great comeback, nixon helped pick up 37 seats in the house, three seats in the senate , hundreds of legislators, greatest republican victory since 1946. i remember tom evans came up to me and said, an editorial writer in st. louis, i said you i do not think you're going back to st. louis. so what nixon did is he declared a six-month moratorium on politics and set i have been in the limelight and went into a straight battle with johnson and johnson attacked him in the right -- in the white house. nixon pulled himself completely out.

running firstwas in the polls ahead of johnson and the sin. give him that space and time when you're going nowhere. nixon says you know, i think any public arena the for a while and let him shoe on him a little while which meant the press, and the press went after romney because he was the only one out there. 1pecially around september were romney made his famous statements, when i was over in they were trying to and me how is rain washed member mccarthy in character with him who said an's case, you would not need a complete brainwashing. i want to take you back to that time and a very young

patrick e cannon with richard nixon, the former vice president. we will watch this. >> somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 go by already. i would estimate more than 3000 for the total. >> are they republicans or are they a mixture? >> i couldn't say. cross-section. we don't know how many coming in . collects there are three, how is that? all right.

classic a good chairman? you really think so? >> he is a good guy. >> good. people said he is too young to be the chairman. are you on his payroll? [laughter] >> no. i'm retired. >> the big one? what division were you in? heavy artillery.

>> we have a return -- >> artillery, sure. yes. you know it is hard to realize we have had so many wars since then. north korea and vietnam. let's hope we can get rid of them. let's do something. good to see you, nice to meet you. of 1968, patbruary buchanan. you sound the same. guest: thank you. president mrs.d next and went through. there is a sad anecdote. the fellow who was the chairman of our campaign in new hampshire was dave stirling.

we did not want to antagonize any we got a young state legislature -- legislator. he died at that automobile accident but did a great job out there. in 1968 with next we studied how nixon overdid it and ran himself into the ground and so did jack kennedy. we went to new hampshire for two days and maybe three days and fly them down where they can take it easy and go into wisconsin. we knew it was a marathon. i can still remember it. it was just tremendously well if -- well advanced. look, and came out voluntarily, etc.. we had a terrific crowd with 3000 people. that was the kind of event he wanted to do. it was excellent. a world war i veteran, he

made mention of vietnam. that was clearly a driving issue of 1968. can you explain how americans were viewing the war? november of 1968, i am glad there are no videos of me since 19 exterior but i will say i was a 12-year-old, in the sixth grade, my brother was 10 years older than i am graduating from welege in louisville where grew up that spring. we were told by the draft board, you will graduate -- graduate may 16 and drafted by june 1. my dad was a world war ii heeran and there was no way would deny going to the draft but he served for four years in the air force. that was talk around the dinner table. he was in college and here i was as a 12-year-old soaking this up. boys like my brother,

girlfriends and their boyfriends knew that they were going. fathers were going. the draft was up and running and we would end up with over a half-million people serving the military and -- in vietnam and thousands were dying every week. the campuses were in an upper and the streets were. we did not talk about race but we have to add to that as well. the country was coming apart particularly with the students over the draft and the casualty figures coming out of vietnam. democratsrline for and four republicans and we have a line for independents. .oining us is barbara perry and pat buchanan. guest: i had a brother who went over to vietnam with 130 forced

-- 131st airborne. he went over in january just in time for the offenses. you are right, even before when i was in st. louis as a i waslist in 1965, speaking on behalf of, in favor of johnson's policies. it was not violent by then but there were -- there was a real theility and i remember march, i would go down and talk to some of his kids before they became violent. the war was the major issue going on but i will say dr. king was assassinated, 100 cities in my hometown here, it was partly burnt down, 14th street.

so the law and order and the war in vietnam became the issues. host: and that is my next question. you have president johnson who narrowly won the primary march 12 and then you had kennedy entering the race on the 16th here at lbj drops out and then dr. king's assassinated on the fourth always in a four-week time. it is hard to comprehend for people now to see what was compacted into a months time. to think the country seemed to be coming apart. a personal and note, my dad who was a lifelong democrat was saying i am fearful about what is happening in the streets. and voted for nixon in 1968 if he thought he was the lawn order ordero would bring lawn

back and bring the country together interestingly enough. vietnam, thing about the united states won the offenses that to see that south, it wasthe so fearsome to the american people. to see that in their living rooms, we want to talk about the role of the media because pat is telling us great stories about how the nixon administration, the campaign knew how to use media by 1968. people were seeing this in their living rooms. in february had gone over to vietnam and he came back and said we are mired in a stalemate. i think many in the american elite media had really broken and decided it was not a winnable war. by the time nixon took over, they would move heavily into the

camp and we've always thought of the demonstrators by 1969. there is something else in march that you do not have. it was stunning for us. you had a picture of roy in a room and i think it was the 21st of march or something when rockefeller was going to announce for president and nixon told us he did not like to watch them on television. whatuys watch and tell me they said and and will get our reaction. i went and said rockefeller is not running and he dropped out. that is where nixon got the year of the dropout statement. we had to clear a path of the nomination. revolution in 1968 was largely contained in the gigantic -- gigantic fdr

coalition in that party. george wallace was a populist southerner, pro-segregation. he was ripping the democratic this is the part. movedkennedy had andatically to the left gene mccarthy and george mcgovern, that wing of the party , all three were going to be represented in chicago. governor was a rockefeller supporter. reporters, hein announced it for three weeks and he is waiting and he calls in the reporters and he announced he would have a major role in it. he went up and said i'm not running. he was left with egg all over his face and we caught him on

and nixon was on the phone, come on up, governor and talk to us, and he came up and we will get to it i am sure but in 19 66, ahe ran democrat who opposed housing. he was seen something of a liberal governor where he was very hard line. >> he thought he still might have a chance and was going support me and said i am not doing this again. for me once, shame on me. >> governor schaefer of pennsylvania, i think it was -- he was covering us and it was a beer commercial in those days, ist if schaefer -- schaefer

the one beer to have if you are having only one. [laughter] host: democrats line. for taking my call. god.t to thank the dog -- i was a student in high school at the time. we understand this country haven't been created, it fills us with compassion and understanding and great thanks are given to almighty god that it is still the guardian of freedom. thank you. thank you for the call. guest: i will comment on that 1968optimistic view from

and it is one that my caller shares and he wrote a book called resilient america, rather than focusing on the fact that we were coming apart, and he already explained what was happening with the democratic party, it was coming apart. riots in the street on campuses. yet there is a resilience in america in the constitution and the governments that we were able to survive and move forward. in an interview with james jones, a long-term aid with james jones, he traveled on the afternoon of the 31st, and he did not have a residence at the time said that he was not going to run for re--- reelection, humphrey was shaken and said the president said if you're going to run, you need to start now and humphrey reportedly said i lost 21 kennedy and will lose to another.

i mention that because he did not announce until april 27 come almost one month until lbj said he would not seek another term. -- rockefeller did not get in because nixon would have crushed him in the primaries. my guess is humphrey might have delayed until then but to me, bobby kennedy was not jack kennedy and did not have the charm and the charisma. he moved to the left, he was antiwar and a very sharp edge. i felt even after california -- won,by kennedy one, humphrey had enough, the machine put together, the president behind him and all these other folks, i thought that he would win it. i did not know that he was so -- apprehensive that he would not be robert kennedy. >> it is a what if of history but i jotted down last night

that when bobby kennedy died hubert humphrey ,nd ari amassed 500 delegates gene mccarthy, 258. for what was left of the coalition, humphrey had the people behind him. he had the rank-and-file of the party. even iflikely that robert kennedy have lived, it is unlike the that he would have eaten humphrey. remember how desperately -- devastated he was that he wasn't going to run. i understand him meeting at the apartment, i think johnson went before and he was in tears about ambivalence, that that he was not going to -- the president he was serving a medicine the end what cost him three to lose the race.

host: not far from where we are, that is where he made his announcement. [video clip] >> there have been speculations of the business of opportunism on your part. [indiscernible] do you admit yourself to it? >> we can't hear the question. >> you are going to have to repeat that. there were a lot of nasty things in their. the question was whether the charge has been raised about the question of whether this is opportunistic of my coming into afterntest at this time senator mccarthy in the new hampshire primary. as i have said, i have spoken on these issues and questions for a number of years and how i feel about them. i think it was generally

accepted that if i had gone into the primary of new hampshire, whether i had won the primary in new hampshire or had done well, it would have been felt it that time it was a personal struggle. it would have been written in the press as the personal struggle. every time i focused on vietnam, or what i think needs to be done, has been put in the context of a personal struggle between myself and president johnson. therefore, we would get away from what the issues are, which divide this country. i think the new hampshire primary established that the divisions that exist in this country and democratic party are there and i have not brought that about. what has brought that about is what resident johnson -- is what the policies are followed by president johnson. at the moments, i cannot believe anybody thinks this is a

pleasant struggle -- a personal struggle or i am asking for a free ride. i have five months ahead of me as far as the convention. i'm going to go into primaries and present my case to the american people and go all across this country. host: that was four days after the new hampshire primary and two weeks before lbj dropped out. guest: that allegation about opportunism was in the air on robert kennedy. it, i remembero a great writer of the new york post that admired bobby kennedy, he said he is coming down to the hills to shoot the wounded and what bobby kennedy is doing it proves saint patrick did not drive all of the stakes out of ireland. it was rough on bobby kennedy. people forget he was ruthless on lbj in the two weeks before he resigned. of appealinghnson to the darker impulses of the american spirit. i have a memoir spent -- sent to

mix and that it is astounding how with busey is on the president. nixon said, keep gathering that. we have better quotes than that. i think mr. nixon believed more than i did that we might wind up with robert kennedy as the candidate. again, as i said, i always thought he was a candidate with great depth in that convention. he was mr. civil rights. he had put it on the floor of the u.s. senate. she could bring together the antiwar groups, as eventually he did, along with the democratic party and groups in the deep south. host: robert from maryland, go ahead. caller: good morning mr. buchanan, and they become a i am -- and lady, i am a vietnam

veteran and i don't think mr. nixon gets the credit he deserves. i think nixon was a very good president. but what overshadowed his goodness as a president was the vietnam war and watergate, and his personality complexes, but some of the decisions he made with civil rights and other issues, epa, made him a very good president. just those three things overshadowed his presidency. host: thank you. barbara perry? guest: we now look back at nixon and to god of himself in many ways -- and he talked of him self in many ways as a moderate republican and he was viewed as one in 1968. he could be viewed in the center between someone like a reagan. we have not talked about his entrance into the mix, but i'm

sure we, and rockefeller on the left side. when we look back at richard nixon's almost 2.5 times, 1.5 terms in office, we can see the number of things he did that people are now in on the liberal side, say, good for him. guest: i would call him a progressive republican and that tradition. domestically, he inherited the vietnam war. after five years, there were 31,000 dead when he came into office, but the gentleman said he was for nixon though he did not vote for him. he is writes, the american people agreed. he won 49 states in 1972. over 61% of the vote. -- of antiwar candidate the vote over an end to were candidate did so giving the vietnamese fighting chance to survive on their own as a free and independent country, by and large, even though it was protested right thousands of the

streets here, was a policy supported by the american people and rewarded in 1972 with a landslide. host: you mentioned ronald reagan, eight first-term governor in california, and he traveled to iowa fall of 1967. here is what governor reagan said back then. [video clip] >> it would be one way to make sure crime did not pay, let government run it. [laughter] i remember in 1964, when they said long ago with lbj, and now we know what he meant. [laughter] [applause] he has his troubles. there is bobby kennedy. [laughter] bobby has him so nervous about the upcoming convention he is thinking of putting the country in his wife's name. [laughter] [applause]

just trying to be helpful and said he wanted a johnson-humphrey ticket but he didn't say where two. aery time he offers to help, voice from the white house says, please, bobby, we would rather lose ourselves. people, bobby is, who can say exactly the right thing, at the right time, to the wrong person. it seems i am picking on julie on the opposition but note i am taking on the leadership of the democratic party. because i am sure there are millions of buying, patriotic members that are deeply disturbed or what has taken place in the nation's capital, as we moved from 1960 and in the new frontier to the great society. they know the great society is not the wave of the future. it is the and of an era, the dismal rehash of the methods, language, and velocity of the past. ist: from october 1967, that

vintage ronald reagan. guest: i am honored to have worked for the director of communications many years later but that is the candidate i was most afraid of in the republican primaries, not rockefeller, but the possibility ronald reagan would get into the race and give that personality, his conservative views, and the lack of dignity that he could stampede the delegates and for the nomination away from richard nixon. i never believed rockefeller could get it after what he did to barry goldwater in 1964. republicans would have walked out if he had been nominated. host: explain the reagan candidacy or possible candidacy in 1968. what was he thinking? was he on the ballot? was you serious contender for the white house? guest: sure. what is fascinating, from that clip particularly, is the facility he had with the audience and as a speaker.

of course, that goes back to his days as an announcer for baseball, where he was getting the baseball game over the wire but explaining it as if he was at the game. he had a great facility for telling anecdotes, not to mention he was a hollywood actor. he had made this interesting journey. he sort of represented the country in this and made the journey from a new deal roosevelt democrat, the head of the screen actors guild, the biggest hollywood union there is, a prounion man, to becoming more conservative as he worked for ge. it would add on the banquet circuit for general electric and that is where he picked up the political speech and telling the quick. it is clear to business people and conservatives in california heir to is the real goldwater and he came on the scene by that great speech he gave in 1964, supporting goldwater. this rightin 1968 as

wing challenge to richard nixon. know, i believe -- you because of the letters that andng and reagan -- nixon reagan -- which i have copies of -- there was a bohemian growth in 1967, where they talked and nixon told reagan, give me a fresh shot at the liberal establishment in new hampshire, and if i have not succeeded really well in wisconsin, then you come in. rockefeller tried to have a meeting with reagan in new orleans. he came up to his bedroom where he was staying, knocked on the door, and came in. reagan was calling nixon, saying we did not put this together. that is my belief, that he gave nixon that first shot but they were reagan people. they put him into oregon. he got 22% in oregon.

and rockefeller got 5% of the vote in oregon in the primary. guest: but their hope was that rockefeller and reagan could perhaps drop an f to get votes away that if nixon did not win on the first ballot in miami beach, that maybe they could. guest: they started going to reagan. the rockefeller people would go to nixon. so we were a good second ballot. host: did richard nixon consumer ronald reagan as a running mate even though they were both from california? guest: let me tell you, the stock was in new york and in those days, you cannot close the six-point gap. at some point, nixon was behind humphreys in the polls by six points and there was a number of us that sent reagan meant nixon a memo -- that sent nixon a memo saying you have to put reagan on the ticket.

we got in a violent argument. there was talk of lindsay, even though he was in the same state, but whether nixon was going to have to roll the dice and make a choice, a dramatic choice. and if you are going to do that, we thought it should be reagan. once the polls showed nixon ahead, then you go with a moderate and say choice, like a good centrist area [laughter] host: 1968 the year in turmoil and our guest is barbara perry and pat buchanan. he was a nixon aide. tony from louisiana on a line for republicans. thank you for waiting. caller: yes, i have a comment and question directed to pat buchanan. i have long held the belief that had nixon won in 1960, he would have been a better candidate for president than he wound up being

in 1968. had he won in 1960, what does that buchanan think nixon would have done during his presidency following his election in 1960? host: thank you, another what if? guest: it is hard to know. was kennedy's great moment the cuban missal crisis. i don't know how nixon would have handled that. my guess is nixon was more of a small c conservative and would not have launched the bay of pigs. if he had, he would have made sure it worked. you cannot know these things. it would have not been a great society of nixon were a two-term president. as you mentioned, a lot of what nixon did was progressive. in his mid-60's -- mid-50's, he did not repeal the great society. guest: let's add another two-year what if's, and what if

nixon had met with khrushchev in vienna in 1961? it would have had a different outcome in the bay of pigs, although it was an eisenhower planned that nixon you about but could not public with in the 1960 campaign. where did it have been interesting to see nixon and 1961hchev indiana in because historians think because kennedy did not have a good outing with khrushchev that that helped to precipitate the cuban missal crisis. guest: exactly. after he met with them came the building while in august and the missal crisis. khrushchev having met nixon in a kitchen in 1959 did not like nixon. at all. two matter of fact, we had other pilots who had gone over russian territory and chris of told -- and khrushchev told them that he did not want to do something that nixon could claim

credit for. i think you are right. i think kennedy misjudged -- khrushchev misjudged kennedy, he said, wouldy, he beat the hell out of me in the meeting with khrushchev. i think you made a great mistake and took him as weak. host: what was richard nixon's reaction the night that robert f kennedy won california and then was assassinated? guest: i was in the east at 3:00 a.m., and i got a call. he was in his mid-20's and called me at my apartment and i was asleep. he will me up and said, bobby kennedy has just and shot. i called nixon and he said, i am already up. i think they had been watching it was amazing. one week before that, i was in

oregon when nixon won and may 28, he sweats it, 70%, and he went to dinner with pat nixon and i went to the front door with my girlfriend because bobby kennedy was coming up from california to concede the race, and we saw bobby it out of the race with kenny writes, he had a dog with him, and he went in, and i went to the room to watch and concede that, and i remember telling folks that that was a bobby kennedy i had not seen. he was at his most gracious. the concession speech to mccarthy was very -- was everything you would expect. he said, now, let's get on to california. guest: think how hard that was for him to give that speech. the first kennedy ever to lose an election. guest: yeah. i read later he was really down about it, saying, maybe i cannot win the vote sent presidency.

eugene mccarthy was no better -- guest: yeah, for his consistency. host: what was going through the country after the assassination of senator kennedy? guest: horrible shock, as you can imagine. imagine this, two months after martin luther king's assassination, so here are political leaders, social activists, being gunned down. and bobby kennedy, ironically, has been the person to rise up on that april 4 nights, 1968, in indiana and they were campaigning for the indiana primary, which he would win. his first primary. and he gets the work he comes in to indianapolis going to speak to an african-american segment of indianapolis that martin luther king has been shot and he the people, one of the best political speeches in the history of the united states.

there is no script. he does not take our thoughts and prayers are with the king family. and you can hear the cast in audience -- gasp in the audience and that is the only city that doesn't go up in flames that night. to think two months later he is assassinated -- i read the biography of his mother and she said, it does have in a story, a work of fiction, that this family would lose two of its for running in politics presidency and in the presidency and i would not have believed it. it was incomprehensible that level of violence. host: dave from new york, thank you for waiting. go ahead. caller: hello. i just want to say thank you mr. buchanan for all the hard work and everything he has committed to. i used to enjoy watching him. it was a great show. i would like to ask two questions. they lean towards current

events. i was curious about the vietnam war and bigger mistakes we made. re: making -- are we making some of those same mistakes in afghanistan as we have been there 17 years? i'm curious on what you think of syria and the situation of them going after the kurds and special forces? there is based on russian force and syria. host: you are breaking up but we get the essence, said thank you. guest: i think we have already made the mistake in the middle east, frankly, that we made in vietnam. we went in without thinking through what the end of this intervention would be. the idea that we could turn afghanistan in said a quasi-western country or go through the regime in iraq and work that out when many people

did not know the city, i agree with the late though modem -- late bill modem, that same moving in to the middle east militarily was the worst blunder politically in the united states history. host: when did president johnson begins to think he would not serve another full-term? was when henk it realized the u.s. military forces won that battle. i will use the crudity that is easily defined among his comments but he said, if we had pulled back in vietnam, if we halt the bombing -- and remember that speech he gave, withdrawing from the race at the end of march was also to announce a halt to the bombing of the north -- but later on he had to restart it in the summer and said, i pulled back in vietnam,

ho chi minh drove a truck up my ass. he could not find the answer because there wasn't one. between that and what he has seen on campuses and the students circling the white house, chanting every day and night, hey, hey, lbj, how many kids did you kill today? the answer was 1000 americans die in a week in vietnam, so i think the combination of that, i think he said it genuinely in that speech, i do not want to be taking time out on the political stump when i have other problems that i need to address in the country. the personal issue, that johnson and johnson men died young, he had already two serious coronaries in the 1950's and he barely lived to just after what would have in his second term. he died in january 1973, so imagine what the stress of being in that office for another four

would have done. he could well have died in office. host: george is next from florida. republican line. go ahead, please. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i volunteered for the draft in 1968. i know the focus of the show is on 1968 and the turmoil that occurred there, but my question think years from now, i you could do another show on 2018 2019, perhaps the trump presidency, and the turmoil that this is creating. in 1968, i think we had some sort of consciousness throughout of the constitution, the united states of america. columbia college and all of that, -- columbia college and all of that, but there was more intelligence and emotion. today, as i look at the march on

washington, sorry to say this, but it is the march of the know nothings. they have a lot of emotion but they had very little intelligence. everything is phrases and -- so i would like pat to comment. not one of your pitchfork people but i appreciate your comments and all that. host: we will get a response. guest: thanks very much but i agree with him. i mentioned i was in the teachings in washington university in 1965. when i went out there, the young people questioned me. they knew the history of vietnam and before then, the agreements in geneva -- they knew everything. they were extremely intelligent. state, theyer kent were just emotional. i would agree with him about yesterday. maybe it was the film taken out,

but the kids seemed full of passion and emotion, and caught up, and not a great deal of thought, brinkley. i can understand -- frankly. i can understand the emotion in the aftermath of that killing in florida. you can wave a magic wand and and the school killings, and we cannot do it. the gentleman says, i think the generation -- and you can never know exactly -- but i think the generation of the 1960's was intelligent in a lot of ways, it was mature, you are it was going -- a new where it was going. i put out a statement denouncing them for revolutionary takeover of our institutions that can state and it got 95-5 support in the polls. [laughter] guest: i think we should thank

the caller for his service and volunteering for the draft. i am very supportive of those veterans. but i am always a little bit leery, particularly as a teacher and longtime professor of american government -- it is a sign of aging to look back to the golden age or say this new generation doesn't know anything. i think what they know is they coarse, bution, of they also know social media. they know how to organize, so they know how to basically engaged. i think we did have better civic in the babyan boomers, but they were also directly impacted and they needed to know their rights because they were subject to the draft or their friends or families were subject to the draft. i do have hope for this generation. i am glad they are taking part and cynically engaged. i would like more education.

guest: let me say, in 1968, i don't think we can go back to then because what took place was not only this political revolution, nixon putting together this new majority or the beginnings of it with the , but socially,e culturally, morally, racially, and any other way, it was a huge cultural revolution going on in those years, which i think is ultimately prevailing in the way in this society and creating divisions which exist and injure to this day --endure to this day. today is not as violent as night and 68, the most violence since the civil war inside this country, i think those divisions have entered and gone through 70 -- enudred and gone through several generations. we have a country and it is difficult to see. the way those of us who grew up in the eisenhower era, i was a

critic taking on jfk. and i read now, and i thought i was a tough editorial and i was very mild. we disagree with the area we develop or something like that -- host: what happened to senator eugene mccarthy after the assassination of robert kennedy? as i: what happens to him listed out where he stood on the delegate counts at the moment robert kennedy had won the california primary and was sadly assassinated. he was running a distant third. he became disaffected in the race. it became clear as they got closer to chicago that humphrey had the rank-and-file of the democrats. he had the party bosses. he had mayor daley on his side and mccarthy was not going to win. in addition, we mentioned george mcgovern, who was drafted by

some of the pro-kennedy forces. even though robert kennedy was now gone, there was another person in the race. he became rather embittered by what had happened to him in the race. guest: he endorsed humphrey until the end of the race. guest: that is rightguest:. he waited until late in the game. guest: when i ran against george h.w. bush in new hampshire, iran into gene mccarthy. i was -- i ran into gene mccarthy. he said, don't worry, when you get up, you don't have to win but you have to eat the point spread. [laughter] host: mary from houston, texas. democrat's line. caller: i am also a veteran. the thing i think caused nixon to win was because he had a cause that all of my friends and a couple died in vietnam, as a result of it, and what it was just turnedt everybody away from the thought

that we were going to have anything other than a war for the rest of our lives. host: thank you. guest: the draft, when i went to decidedh nixon, i had that we were going to have to do away with the draft because the country was coming apart. secondarily, because we were beginning to draft people who basically in the barracks would have been seditious. they were so antiwar, and have military, that -- anti-military, to have future wars, you would have to end the draft. -- i talked to eisenhower had a memo -- i wrote him a memo and said people will say we are just doing this to let folks that are against the war not have to serve and that is a bad thing. nixon wrote on it -- i think so

too. i do not want that draft ended. a libertarian who joined us tonight -- joined us in 1967, a young nixon aide, as i was then. [laughter] host: john from austin, texas. go ahead. bothr: yes, thank you for of the panelists for the disii have got two questions. how are you a view of now versus 1968? it seems to me that a lot of people who do not really love this country have taken over the leadership of the democratic party. my other question is a what if question. i usually stay away with them but with the two panelist today, i think it is appropriate to ask. how dot if question is

you think things would have worked out in 1968 instead of 1? host: let's take the democratic party, barbara perry? guest: tough pat -- to pat's point a few moments ago, we come out of 1968 so polarized and to his point about now, i think that polarization is ossified within our system and parties. you do not see the big tent party's had had in this country for years because we only had two major parties and they parties, be big tent and typically they were taken people from different parts of the political spectrum. we see that polarization to this day in the democratic party and republican party. i do not accept the people in the democratic party leaders in rank-and-file are un-american. they just have a different view of the america they want to support. stateto follow up on that

of the democratic party in 1968, how strongly was johnson supporting humphrey? was he focused on politics or vietnam? guest: the problem for a was even if he had supported him to the health, he could not campaign for him because it was too dangerous. the secret service did not want college campuses, which was another reason he thought, i cannot run myself, so he wasn't able to go on the stump and do much campaigning for him. i think may be as much as eisenhower did not go full for the reaper nixon in 1960 -- go forward for nixon in 1960. he also had tension with humphrey over the war. host: ronald reagan, if he had won in 1968, a what is question -- what if question? guest: i think he would have gone for vietnam.

one thing johnson did duper humphrey in the last week, i think on october 31, clear a bombing halt in vietnam and people forget humphrey at the byinning of october was -- the time the race ended, it was 43-all. -- he had a tremendous campaign. the bombing halt almost put humphrey over. the north -- the south vietnamese president declined to come to paris for the meeting. that was the cause of a great controversy. reagan, he was younger. that is a different reagan then in 1985, which would have been 20 years on. i think reagan would have gone for victory in vietnam and all

not awning and used american power and no limits in cambodia or laos. host: in late september, vice president humphrey travels to salt lake city to do what? guest: he gives a speech in which he finally comes out against the johnson policy on the vietnam war and he speaks in favor of peace and going to peace talks and the americanization of the war. some people think if he had just done that earlier because as pat said, he was coming out strong in the end on part because of johnson's decision, but he also referenced presidents -- the president of south vietnam -- and there is a great book about the back channeling being done between the nixon campaign and president of south korea about the peace talks. guest: that is a matter of controversy. guest: [laughter] host: george, illinois, go

ahead. republican line. caller: good morning. i have a question of mr. buchanan and ms. perry concerning president johnson's tardiness in supporting hubert humphrey in 1968. i am wondering if -- another what if question again -- but what if the president had come out sooner for humphrey? their differences how global during the war. guest: indeed, there will always be this historical what if, what if humphrey had -- and i think it was against his personality because he was a joke for, -- a joyful and positive and loyal

character that it was hard to turn against his president. i think it is possibly the case that if he had come out sooner and drawn the people who work supportive of mccarthy and the anti-war activists, supporters of robert kennedy, the far left get.e he was not going to there were going to be against them, as indicated in chicago, but if he had come out earlier against the johnson policy, maybe humphrey would have gotten what he needed in the popular vote, but as pat knows, and nixon so flooded him on the left for college vote it is hard to put together. host: which brings us to this, the 1968 electoral map. you can see a different country back then with republicans winning states like california, and the upper midwest, and democrats winning texas and midwestern new england. and then there is george wallace in the south. guest: he got five states.

at one point he had seven. he had both carolinas i think. he took those states away. one of the reasons nixon kicked a tough linee was on riots, and down in cambridge when they burned that town down and stokely carmichael came to baltimore -- as a matter of fact, humphrey was gaining. we were campaigning on long island. i went to the president and said, mr. nixon, i am not doing any good here. we had the same old message. and wego out and help went to win that area. so i do think that hubert humphrey, if he had moved earlier, he would have done better. fromeason is his campaign september to the salt lake city

speech was the doubled everywhere and it stumped them with obscene comments, and he got to the point himself that he was denouncing fascism out here, and he was being denounced in them.husetts with when he delivered that salt lake city speech, it turned for humphrey and he moved up the hill at a tremendous clip. i remember going to nixon and say we have to attack comfrey to drive the wedge back through the party because it is coming together. we did not do a thing. [laughter] host: who was george wallace? guest: what a colorful character. pat and i were talking before the show and said he used to speak with him. he was a populist. eventually a segregationist. he was not in his earlier life in alabama but he was a world war ii veteran. we look back now and realize he may have suffered from ptsd from

his surface in the pacific -- his service in the pacific. ,e was a bantamweight fighter and by the late 1950's, when he will not58, i word, but he said he would not be outrun by another person again. so he turned toward the anti-civil rights you and he brings that to the 1968 campaign. not to think he was not going to win. he knew he probably would not carry any states outside the south but he thought he could be the broker if there was not an electoral majority for the two major candidates. guest: but here is the thing. wallace had come out in 1964 and he had run in democratic primaries and done well in wisconsin, indiana, and maryland. wallace got the majority of the white vote in the democratic

primary in 1964 and lbj was president. then he comes in 1968 and announces a third-party run. what he did then was -- i mean, he was not only a segregationist. he got that vote, but he was also a real populist, rashid students and demonstrators. i know some four-letter words, too, but i got to know him after i left nixon. i got to know him, and i went to alabama, and i would speak at troy states, and i would get to the airport and a state trooper would be there, and i would be with my wife, and they said, the lieutenant governor would like to speak to you. andi would go to his office we would tell old stories of the campaigns and how he did against lindsay. [laughter] we used to talk trash on

reporters. he was quite a guy. later in his life, he sort of felt badly of a lot of the things he had done. 1963, it was segregation today, tomorrow, forever! guest: and standing in the schoolhouse door in 1963 as kennedy tried to integrate the campus in alabama. guest: i think it was choreographed. he nationalized the guard and then he stepped aside. [laughter] everybody got what they wanted. guest: and it worked for him politically. his big mistake was infusing curtis lemay, the air force general, as his vice presidential nominee, -- guest: yes, it was. guest: 1968. guest: he came out and asked, what about nuclear weapons? he said, people are too find about these things. we tested them out and every thing was fine. although, the sand crabs were

hotter. guest: lemay was saying, let's do it! host: pat buchanan is the author of the greatest comeback: how richard nixon rose from defeat to create the new majority, joining us with the residential of director of studies at the miller center, barbara perry. andy from kentucky, go ahead. caller: i would like to thank mr. buchanan because he has been a good servant for the united states and i take my hat off to you. my question is, i was born in 1962. i am 55 now. i love politics. there will be any more conservative democrats? i know there were some back then , and i note there are still some out there. do you think there are any that

will rise in the future? host: thank you. guest: socially, culturally, no. i think we saw this out in illinois with a democrat. social and cultural morals dishes, the democratic party made its move. the fact that they lost this out, which kept them to a degree conservative, i do not think you will ever see it. i think younger americans, the well,nials seem to me -- the majority seem to me to be of the left. i think the democratic party is going to be pulled to the left, a real danger for it in the coming election, i think, is that the left nominates a candidate in this sense the way they did in 1972 when they nominated mcgovern and pulled the party so far to the left that nixon was centrist,

progressive republican, with a hard line on law and order, and gave him 49 states. republicans and not going to win 49 states ever again. guest: we will see in the midterms and i would say maybe someone a conor lamb, as conservative as the democrats go, but it was interesting in choice and a successful one. i will say that the caller is from the hometown of one of my political mentors of ford, who became the majority whip in the senate, and a conservative democrat from kentucky. now there are no such things because kentucky is a red, republican state, and in has republicans not only throughout the senate delegation but has delegation -- but house delegation. guest: i went to the politics in 1966 and there was one republican senator in the confederacy, john tyler, and you got that as a result of lbj as vice president.

we had howard baker in 1966 and tennessee but now the reverse is true. host: raymond from ohio, independent mind. -- independent line. from 1968 at we go kent state, and we didn't have social media back then, but how did people organize? host: interesting question. guest: how did we go from 1968 to 1970 at kent state and the answer is nixon opening up the cambodian front in the vietnam war. and that is to invade cambodia to try and stop the flow of men and materiel from the north into the south and to be used against the united states forces in south vietnam. with the announcement of that in april 1970, the campuses explode again, particularly can state. there is a peaceful -- kent state.

there is a peaceful demonstration, but the guardsmen opened fire and several are killed. that is another opened wound for the united states to deal with. organize?ese people i watched a documentary last night about the civil rights movements, martin luther king and the media, and without social media, the way to get to the media in those days -- social media is a misnomer -- media is supposed to be between people, we are the media, but it was about how to reach the media in the nixon campaign. how to do good work to get people out when you have a rally or demonstration. it was word-of-mouth. telephones. telegrams. and hardcopy letters. guest: i wrote the cambodian invasion speech for an nixon -- for nixon. it was very dramatic.

i think it was april 1, 1970, and what happened was they did have riots out at kent, and that is why the national guard was called in by governor rhodes. he made a rough speech on sunday and monday and the students were up there approaching the guardsmen. they foolishly had live ammunition in their rifles. but they shot -- i think four died and five more wounded. i went home, and allen called and said there are four kids shot at kent state. i said, where is it? that is where nixon -- nixon came closer to being broken by something than any time i had ever seen in that month of april. that is the time he had left the white house on the friday after kent state and went to the lincoln memorial at 4:00 in the morning, where students were gathering. and put someone in

the speaker's chair, and in the early hours, he was moved by what happened there. the white house was divided to read most white house aides did not want the invasion of cambodia or like it, and urged nixon to go much further an accommodating the students. that was the roughest time of his presidency in the first term. host: we are looking at 1968, beginning with eugene mccarthy's decision to seek the democratic nomination in fall of 1957. we will look at the timeline as a listen to garrett from florida. caller: good morning. thank you both. or havejust like to ask you comment on the johnson campaign. that was by congressman in legislatures, and may be in

particular howard k lowenstein. host: thank you. guest: sure. i mentioned a little while ago that johnson was bouncing down into the low 30's and approval ratings and that they will get the attention of a party like low approval ratings for the president and congress. that part of the dump nixon movements, you mentioned howard loewenstein. he was pushing robert kennedy to join the race as an anti-war candidate. one thing we have not mentioned that came out in ted kennedy's oral history at the miller he came after 40 years in the senate, and he told the story of being dedicated to go out to the midwest to speak to eugene mccarthy and say, bobby is considering getting in the race, but if you will put this

at the top of your agenda, in addition to anti-war, looking into poverty that bobby kennedy had embraced, robbie will reconsider getting into the race. according to 10 kennedy, mccarthy said no, anti-war is at the top of my platform. that was the movement of lowenstein trying to get bobby into the race. guest: lowenstein tried to get a number of people. said, go talk to gene mccarthy. [laughter] host: jonathan for missouri. pat buchanan spent many time in the 1960's. caller: good morning. i have a question for pat. first, i was an independent and went to california and was a delegate in 2000 and i had a nice chat with brian lamb while i was there, a great experience. guest: a warm beach. is.er: it

there was a time when i supported the vietnam war in the mid-1960's. i was in high school and graduated in 1966. you knew it was unwinnable with all the chinese pouring in their , as they did in korea.why did we not handle vietnam like truman handled korea? i have always wondered that. guest: well, with truman, korea drove truman out of the white house. it was general eisenhower who came in and decided that we are not going for victory, and you armiesdmz, where two were lined up, and defend the chinese, nt basic -- and he got an armistice. in vietnam, you had a bunch of different stories. the chinese actually were not in vietnam. the north vietnamese are in the south. it is a very good question. looking back, and obviously, anyone who has been involved -- i was not there, but i was

writing speeches in the white house and working for nixon as an eight before he ran -- but you have to ask yourself afterwards, the vietnam war compost a lot of good things and held the line in southeast asia and this countries did not move toward communism from indonesia and did not move to the west. but should we have gone in in the first place? host: barbara perry, was richard nixon undercutting the johnson administration in trying to keep the war going through the election of 1968, saying, you will get a better deal with me? guest: that is what the historical literature says about that question. but i will pass it over to pat because i think he was there and will know the answer. but the historians are saying, yes, that indeed, nixon was back channeling with anna chennault, generalthe widow of the from world war ii, and was the go between, according to

historian literature now, between the nixon campaign south vietnamese, encouraging presidents -- the president of south vietnam to hold off in peace talks and get a better deal under nixon remember., nixon was saying that he had a plan to end the war so he was being public about that but i will let pat address the behind-the-scenes issues. guest: i do not credit what recent authors have said about this. i was with nixon and i had nothing to do with it. i saw him that saturday before the election and a friend of mine had called john sears and said, michigan is gone and we are down three nationally in the harris poll. we were in tough shape. there are reasons why i don't say this. of southe president vietnam did not need anyone to tell him that richard nixon was going to take a harder line than hubert humphrey after he said he would halt the bombing as soon

as he was elected. secondly, if there was a signal sense, where are the tapes that lbj wiretapped planes, people, why didn't the president of south vietnam say, the reason i did this was this? kennedy's main actors were questioned but they came forward to validate the suggestion that nixon told mitchell or someone to tell mrs. chennault to tell president -- the president of south vietnam, do not go, you will get a better deal from nixon. believe -- i do not believe that came up.one fellow had wrote a book recently and said nixon told holloman when he heard about the bombing, throw a monkeywrench into this. he used that phrase all the time about everything. [laughter]

i just do not validate it. guest: i do not know if there are tapes of wiretaps that there are president johnson talking about this issue that you can listen to and he told humphrey this was happening and he refused to release it. guest: he said he did not believe it. host: from maryland, phil, go ahead. good morning. caller: good morning. p -- you for having missed ms. perry and mr. buchanan on. i appreciate that. a history is, i was student at the university of maryland in 1968. behavior 50campus years ago was quite different than it is today. many points of view or listen to. many points of view could be tolerated. today, it seems to be that college campus behavior is much

more progressive, and anyone who disagrees is silenced. guest: i agree 100%. as i say, i was out there teaching. in our view, they did not like our views if you supported the war, but they invited you out there and they invited pro-war and anti-war speakers on campus. today, you get a real sense of intolerance and the sense we have found the truth and we do not want to hear anymore and certain forms of dissent are racist, bigoted, and homophobic, things like that.goes to the idea that one side in the cultural war is evil and there was only one good side. points, afinal headline from this zoning website, 1968, when nixon said, socket to me, television was never the same. it was brief, only five seconds. listen carefully. [video clip] >> sock it to me.

[laughter] host: why was this significant? guest: because nixon basically was this this. he was -- was the stiff. he was considered stiff and not with it. that was a progressive-type show. i do not think it was a good idea. a very good friend of nixon persuaded him to do it. guest: pat says he was considered uptight and stiff and sweaty from 1960 in the debates aith kennedy, so going on a hip and happening show, saying me, is a turning point for politicians to go into popular culture. host: the lessons from 1968, barbara perry? what are they? guest: i think we touched on some already. they are this increasing

polarization that i think has kicked off the polarization today in the parties and in today' cultures, making reference to cultural wars. we still see those today. i also think that there is a linkage between 1964 and airy goldwater and his brand of populism was brought to the reagan years and nixon to some extent and w to donald trump. i think we see -- and up to donald trump. i think we see the seeds of the democratic left and republican right and democratic populism and republican populism to this day. host: at the canon? -- pat buchanan? true. i think that is goldwater laid this foundation of a powerful conservative movement that captured the party but not the country. nixon picks up that movement and brought the republican party twether and picked up the pieces ofo the democratic party, nor the catholic since other protestants, and created a new

majority that won the republicans five out of six presidential elections after 1964, which was astounding considering the defeat. in the democratic party, g mccarthy, bobby kennedy, mcgovern, they would capture the party and nominate mcgovern in 1972. i think what you have subsequent to 1968, that year we really crossed the continental divide, and we have never been able to get back over it, i think, and it is because it involves more than politics. it involves fundamental beliefs about rights, wrong, good, evil, and justice and injustice. there is very little upon which you find in americans -- that americans really agree on these days. host: for your insight, perspective men stories, barbara perry, and pat buchanan, thank you. guest: good to see you, friend. guest: our pleasure.

host: next week, we continue our series of 1968, the year in turmoil, focusing on the civil rights movement and the assassination of dr. martin luther king. our guest will include a black panther senior lecturer, kathleen cleaver, and the history and public affairs officer at the university of texas in austin. our focus isour focus, race reld the civil right movement in 1968, america in turmoil. c-span3, american history tv. our c-span3 audience, on american history tv, we will show you from the oval office, the entire speech from president lyndon johnson on the speech on march 31, 1968. he surprised the nation and the world by announcing he would not seek reelection, followed by a nixon for candidate -- nixon for president candidate film from

early 1968, and a very young pat buchanan in that american history film. that is next on c-span3, american history tv, part of real america. morning fortomorrow a live simulcast of the washington journal, also heard on c-span radio. our focus will be on ira shapiro, with the book: broken. talk abouthere to his book and what we saw as congress wrapped up business passing the budget bill, then we will be joined by robbie gramer. we take a closer look at the president's national security team. john bolton is the new national security advisor. moneyn emma, focusing on for school choice. tomorrow morning beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. newsmakers is next, our guest, senator pat leahy. thank you for joining us.

enjoy your weekend and have a great week ahead. ♪ >> next, newsmakers with vermont senator, patrick leahy. outlinessident trump his plans for combating the opioid crisis. after that, kiersten nielsen at a senate hearing on election security. our guest on newsmakers is senator, senior patrick leahy, first elected in 1974.