Photo of then President Richard Nixon preparing to turn over transcripts of his recorded Oval Office conversations to Congress during the Watergate investigation. Associated Press.
by Johanna Neuman reporting in from Top of the Ticket
We have always wondered if Richard Nixon, who designed the Republican Party's infamous Southern Strategy, was motivated by racial distrust or sheer political ambition.
You may recall that it was Nixon's political genius to co-opt the all-Democratic South by appealing to white conservatives to bolt to the Republican Party with not-so-subtle signals -- opposition to school busing and affirmative action -- that it would welcome their support.
Now, from the latest batch of tapes released by the Nixon Library, come fresh evidence that the 37th POTUS -- the only president to resign from office under threat of impeachment -- had at best stereotypical opinions about blacks, Jews and women.
Responding to the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision to legalize abortion, Nixon told aide Chuck Colson that generally abortions were a bad thing, "It breaks the family," he said. But, Nixon added, "There are times when abortions are necessary -- I know that. ... Suppose you have a black and a white," he said, adding, "or a rape."
In one exchange that's received a lot of attention, Nixon rings up George H.W. Bush, then head of the Republican Party, to suggest that he recruit attractive female conservatives to run for office, like those Nixon had seen on a visit to the South Carolina Legislature.
I noticed a couple of very attractive women, both of them Republicans, in the Legislature," Nixon tells Bush, who became the 41st POTUS. "Let's look for some ... I think maybe a woman might win someplace where a man might not. ... So have you got that in mind?"
"I'll certainly keep it in mind," Bush replies.
"Boy, they were good-lookin' and bright," said Nixon who, to be fair, was a rare Republican supporter of the doomed Equal Rights Amendment that would have guaranteed women equal rights under the U.S. Constitution.
In another conversation, with evangelist Billy Graham, Nixon responded to Graham's complaints that Jewish-American leaders were opposing his efforts to promote evangelical Christianity, like Campus Crusade. The two men agreed that the Jewish leaders risked setting off anti-Semitic sentiment.
"What I really think is deep down in this country, there is a lot of anti-Semitism, and all this is going to do is stir it up," Nixon said. "It may be they have a death wish. You know that's been the problem with our Jewish friends for centuries."
For your listening pleasure, or disdain, 150 hours of tapes are available on the Nixon Library's website.They are part of a years-long effort by the National Archives to declassify and make public documents and tapes from the Nixon era.
Comments
A misogynist, a bigot, a racist - Tricky Dick was the epitome of the Republican party.
Posted by: Lori | June 24, 2009 3:20 PM
The problem with the Republican Party is that it consists of the political criminals,opulent rich, the ignorant poor (rednecks), racists, bigots, and religious extremist.....how can we get them to stop breeding and creating more? We need help from the Aliens of the universe.
Posted by: Don | June 24, 2009 4:36 PM
The Republicans keep trying to rehabilitate Nixon, but it's a fools errand, like trying to rehab Goebbels or Franco; It can't be done.
Posted by: C.Morrisā§ | June 24, 2009 9:01 PM
Ike wanted to bounce him off the ticket in 1952, but the Checkers speech saved him.
Then Ike, when asked to name any achievements Trickster had made while his Veep, said, Well, if you give me a couple of weeks I could probably name some.
Then he lost to Pat Brown, as I recall, in California and told the press they wouldn't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more.
Boy, was he wrong on that one.
They got him good in 1974 as the truth started to dribble out the poorly plumbed pipes of the White House.
But I digress. He conned the country into thinking he "had a plan to end the Vietnam War" in 1968.
Democrats made asses of themselves (pleonasm?) in the Chicago convention of 68.
Even so, it was a close election.
Then Dick actually prolonged the war to gain re-election in 1972, creating a very effective illusion he was a "war time" president who was trying to "wind down" the war.
Then, well, Deep Throat, highly placed FBI official, thought he was infringing FBI turf and spoonfed Woodward (of "Maestro" fame) and Bernstein all the secretly overheard conspiracies inside the Oval Office.
Ah, those were wonderful days.
The tearful farewell address to the staff, the helicopter deus ex machina lifting the soon to be expresident off to oblivion.
And then of course the Pardon by Ford, about a month later, wasn't it, Sept. 74?
There is, alas for Dick, nothing at all redeeming in any of the tapes that have come out so far and damn unlikely will there ever be anything redeeming in the ones still to come out.
Sanford, Larry Craig, Vitter, Mark Foley, all these latter day Replicans are nothing compared to Dick Nixon.
For one thing he was so much smarter than any of them.
Cheney and Rumsfeld, well, they trained at the feet of Nixon and so were able to lead Bumbler in Chief 43 by the nose, use him as their front man.
They learned quite a bit as young White House staffers on the come, watching Dick and learning from his mistakes.
For one thing, it's a sure bet there are no tapes of them.
For another, they got Bush to pardon Scooter Libby BEFORE they got burned.
But still Rummy and Shooter could really not hold a candle to Nixon.
They had the whole Replican Congress to carry water for them almost to the end; Nixon worked his black magic in despite of a Democratic Congress.
That's true evil.
Posted by: ornery | June 25, 2009 12:29 AM