Don't Insult Nixon by Comparing Him to Trump

[Rhiannon12866]

WASHINGTON -- "Nixonian" is not the right word to use to describe the behavior of President Trump. In important ways, that characterization smears Richard Nixon.

It is hard to believe I am writing this. But it is also hard to believe it has come to this: The president is in open warfare with his Justice Department and FBI -- asserting flatly that its "top Leadership and Investigators ... have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans -- something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago."

This was a breathtaking gut punch to the constitutional system. The release of the House Intelligence Committee memo purporting to discredit the Russia probe was predictably followed by a White House statement bemoaning "serious concerns about the integrity of decisions" by senior law enforcement officials.

Brace yourself for more, folks. Asked whether he had confidence in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Trump replied: "You figure that one out."

"The sacred investigative process." "Unthinkable just a short time ago. " Oh please. Nothing is sacred to Trump except protecting himself. And what is unthinkable, except that Trump has made it all too thinkable, is that a president would impugn the integrity of his own Justice Department. That a president, confronted with evidence that a hostile foreign power had tried to influence the election, would repeatedly reject those findings and fail to take action to shore up the nation's defenses against a repetition.


More: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/02/04/dont_insult_nixon_by_comparing_him_to_trump_136183.html

[longship]

1. What was the Saturday Night Massacre, chopped liver?

It was, by definition, warfare against the DOJ.

I remember John Chancellor reporting that night. He said two things that I will never forget.

Here it is, nearly in total, regretfully in non-embedded Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/NBCNews/videos/10155996882128689/

"The US is in the midst of the most serious Constitutional Crisis in its history."

Chancellor wraps up with yet another profound pronouncement. (This was in a day of great television journalism.)

"Nothing like this has ever happened before!"

I also remember Chancellor's tag line that night, not in the linked clip, was something like, "I never thought that I would ever be reporting anything like this."

Within the week, the House Judiciary Committee was, for the first time since Andrew Johnson, considering articles of impeachment against a president. From that day it would be just over nine months before President Nixon resigned.

DUers would be advised to learn this history.

And yup, it is scary times. Very scary.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. The same Nixon who gave us the EPA, opened China...

From wikipedia:

Nixon ended American involvement in the war in Vietnam in 1973 and brought the American POWs home, and ended the military draft. Nixon's visit to China in 1972 eventually led to diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union the same year. His administration generally transferred power from Washington D.C. to the states. He imposed wage and price controls for ninety days, enforced desegregation of Southern schools and established the Environmental Protection Agency. Nixon also presided over the Apollo 11 moon landing, which signaled the end of the moon race. He was reelected in one of the largest electoral landslides in U.S. history in 1972 when he defeated George McGovern.

Nixon had the chance to one of our greatest Presidents, but his flaws led him down the wrong path and he became one of the worst.

Trump has Nixon's flaws, and a few new ones of his own, but none of Nixon's knowledge or vision.

[malthaussen]

6. Or his Democratic Congress did.

When evaluating Mr Nixon's domestic policies, it is pertinent to remember that he had a Congress dominated by Democrats, and Congress writes the legislation.

His executive actions are a mixed bag. Domestically, I'd say he was forced to be more liberal than he wanted (but he did start the drug war as a way to attack hippies and blacks, as Mr Ehrlichmann has said). It is in foreign policy that he stands in starkest contrast to Mr Trump: Mr Nixon and Mr Kissenger changed the direction of US foreign policy in many areas, leading to reduced tensions while maintaining our country's respect internationally. Mr Trump has done the exact opposite.

-- Mal

[dewsgirl]

2. Nixon may have had corruption issues, I doubt

Anyone questioned his loyalty to our country, same goes for W.

[Paladin]

3. And as bad as he was, Nixon's intelligence and sanity were never in question. (nt)

[malthaussen]

7. Well, torpedoing the Paris peace talks might be considered disloyal...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/nixon-tried-to-spoil-johnsons-vietnam-peace-talks-in-68-notes-show.html

This is clearly a case of placing partisan politics above the interests of the nation, and might also be considered a danger to national security.

-- Mal

[Wolf Frankula]

5. Nixon was smart

He had integrity issues but he had a brain. He had people on his staff who could say 'no'. He was used to hearing 'no' and dealing with it. Not like tRump who has been surrounded by ass kissers and boot lickers all his life.

Wolf