Bush Admin's tactics to eerily similar to those of Nixon's Admin

[ck4829]

Say "Watergate," and most people think of the 1972 burglary of Democratic headquarters sponsored by Republican operatives. But, another, less publicized, scheme exposed by a Senate investigation would have a greater impact on the nation. The scheme, known as the "Responsiveness Program," was a bag of ruthless tricks designed to use the "powers of incumbency" to retain control of the presidency . Ultimately, though, the plan would accomplish much more; it would be used to destroy the competency of the federal government and, with that, the nation's security.

According to a report by the Senate committee investigation report, the Program's activities were likely illegal, but the Senate committee declined to pursue the matter. As a result, Fred Malek, a Nixon advisor and chief architect of the plan, remained free to practice his black arts, which included aiding the Bush family's rise to power.

Like a cancer, the dirty personnel practices devised by Malek would spread from one administration to another; the Bush administration would embrace them with particular fervor. Political loyalty was emphasized at the expense of competence in carrying out responsibilities designated by law. For those considered uncooperative, the "Malek Manual" described ways to force them out of the civil service, despite laws supposedly protecting them from political interference. Thus, the government incompetence exposed by Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks traces back to Malek and other Nixon aides who set into motion the Republican plan to make agencies "responsive," not to the people, but to political concerns. With Malek's manual available, Karl Rove did not have to be a genius; merely an eager student of The Master.

It all began on March 17, 1972, according to the Senate Watergate Report, when Malek, deputy chairman of President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign, presented his plan to H.R. Haldeman.

On March 17, 1972, Malek submitted to Haldeman a document entitled, "Increasing the Responsiveness of the Executive Branch." (Malek Ex. 4) The document, which was initially drafted by William Horton and designated "Extremely Sensitive—Confidential," constituted Malek’s broad-view conception as to how the federal bureaucracy could be put to work for the President’s re-election. His plan subsequently received Haldeman’s approval."

By "responsiveness," Malek did not mean responsive to the public, whose taxes fund agencies supposedly for nonpartisan services. Rather, it referred to the willingness of agency officials, including career or "Schedule C" employees, supposedly protected from political pressures, to further the campaign goals of the Republican Party. As the investigating committee indicated, this applied to the Justice Department, where even legal authorities were viewed as mere political machinery.

Particularly important to the present study is the clear prescription in this document that "legal or regulatory action" should be shaped to benefit the campaign effort. In this regard, the memorandum quoted in the previous section that referred to legal actions by the Department of Justice as a form of "patronage" to be utilized for campaign purposes should be recalled.

Investigative and judicial authorities are vested in other federal agencies, also, and those, as well, were politicized. A Washington Post article (Feb. 4, 2006), describes a Labor Department ruling that reportedly was orchestrated by Nixon campaign officials.

Malek's responsiveness program was extensively investigated by the Senate Watergate committee. The panel found that the program was aimed at influencing decisions concerning government "grants, contracts, loans, subsidies, procurement and construction projects," decisions regarding "legal and regulatory actions," and even personnel decisions that affected protected "career positions" -- all to advance Nixon's reelection.

Malek also proposed that federal grants and loans be directed to pro-Nixon minorities and away from those perceived as unsupportive.

Under questioning by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) during the second day of hearings, Malek admitted that a memo written by him did suggest that people who were not Nixon's supporters be punished in some way. "Unethical, immoral and improper" was the way Levin described Malek's role, adding that Malek had "spearheaded a calculated, systematic effort to sell government favors to the highest bidder in the Nixon reelection campaign and to punish low bidders or the nonbidders."

Federal employees were scrutinized to make certain that they fit a prescribed demographic profile. One example was a 1971 order by Nixon, which Malek carried out, to ferret out Jews in high-ranking posts at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To protect Nixon and the White House from being investigated for any wrongdoing, Malek devised measures to avoid leaving any footprints that would lead back to them.

" No written communications from the White House to the Departments -- all information about the program would be transmitted verbally . . . documents prepared would not indicate White House involvement in any way."
-- March 17, 1972, Malek memo to Haldeman.

Many will recall that President Bush prefers verbal briefings, and that Alberto Gonzales demanded that no written record be made of his hearing testimony, which he also insisted should not be under oath.

If Malek's 1970's playbook needed updating, the Bush family did not have to go far to request it. Following Nixon's resignation, Malek co-owned the Texas Rangers with George W. Bush, served as campaign manager for George H.W. Bush and was deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Malek's schemes are described in The Senate Watergate Report: The Historic Ervin Committee Report, Which Initiated the Fall of a President by Senate Select Committee, Intro. by Daniel Schorr, July 2005, ISBN: 0786717092. The book, although still in print, is on few library shelves and must be ordered at most bookstores. But, as a window on the Bush administration's subversion of federal agencies, the book deserves to be on everyone's summer reading list.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/6/182434/8934

[AndyA]

1. This is exactly why Congress MUST impeach and hold Bushco accountable.

According to a report by the Senate committee investigation report, the Program's activities were likely illegal, but the Senate committee declined to pursue the matter. As a result, Fred Malek, a Nixon advisor and chief architect of the plan, remained free to practice his black arts, which included aiding the Bush family's rise to power.

If they do not, these criminals will remain free to infect others, just like a parasite, and this will come back to visit us again and again and again.

No more free passes.

[daa]

2. Nixon could only dream

of being the treasonous criminal chimpy is.