Conservatives say War on Poverty failed

Conservative lawmakers argued Wednesday that former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty has been a failure, even as they acknowledged its role in reducing the percentage of poor Americans 50 years later.

“While this war may have been launched with the best of intentions, it’s clear we’re now engaged in a battle of attrition that has left more Americans in poverty than at any other point in our nation’s history,” Florida Republican Rep. Steve Southerland said.

Southerland was speaking at a news conference organized by the Republican Study Committee, a large group of conservative lawmakers in the House. With the White House preempting the attack and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor each delivering their own speeches on poverty Wednesday, the news conference underscored the Republicans’ challenging task in proving through policy that they care for the most economically desperate Americans....