Nostalgia for Nixon?
from Washington Post
By Elizabeth Drew
Saturday, June 9, 2007; A17
Anger and frustration with the president have produced an unusual turn of late. Numerous people have been moved to remark, "I'm beginning to miss Nixon," or, "I wish we could have Nixon back" -- this usually followed by, "He was so progressive on domestic policy."
The nostalgists rightly see Richard Nixon as having been far more intelligent and thoughtful than George W. Bush; Nixon was indeed very smart, though no intellectual. Actually, he hated intellectuals, among others, including Jews, political opponents and those born to privilege. Nixon lacked the exceptional curiosity of Bill Clinton, but he had an understanding of the world that can only be longed for today.
In fact, Nixon, who ran a rather disorganized presidency, wasn't interested in domestic policy. He essentially handed it off to his aide John Ehrlichman. And there was no unifying philosophy. Nixon called himself a "pragmatist," and he should be taken at his word: His domestic policy was a blend of the enlightened, the pragmatic and the cynical.
In 1969, a Republican senator described Nixon to me as "the man with the portable center." Nixon Cabinet member George Romney (father of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney) told people, "I don't know what the president believes in. Maybe he doesn't believe in anything." Moreover, those who see Nixon as progressive, or even liberal, overlook the context in which he governed. They view him through the lens of the post-Reagan era and in a time of a radical presidency. It's important to recall that throughout his presidency Nixon faced a Democratic Congress far more liberal and aggressive than today's. And congressional Republicans then included a sizable liberal bloc. But Nixon passed up the opportunity to form a liberal-moderate coalition.
(Continued here.)
By Elizabeth Drew
Saturday, June 9, 2007; A17
Anger and frustration with the president have produced an unusual turn of late. Numerous people have been moved to remark, "I'm beginning to miss Nixon," or, "I wish we could have Nixon back" -- this usually followed by, "He was so progressive on domestic policy."
The nostalgists rightly see Richard Nixon as having been far more intelligent and thoughtful than George W. Bush; Nixon was indeed very smart, though no intellectual. Actually, he hated intellectuals, among others, including Jews, political opponents and those born to privilege. Nixon lacked the exceptional curiosity of Bill Clinton, but he had an understanding of the world that can only be longed for today.
In fact, Nixon, who ran a rather disorganized presidency, wasn't interested in domestic policy. He essentially handed it off to his aide John Ehrlichman. And there was no unifying philosophy. Nixon called himself a "pragmatist," and he should be taken at his word: His domestic policy was a blend of the enlightened, the pragmatic and the cynical.
In 1969, a Republican senator described Nixon to me as "the man with the portable center." Nixon Cabinet member George Romney (father of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney) told people, "I don't know what the president believes in. Maybe he doesn't believe in anything." Moreover, those who see Nixon as progressive, or even liberal, overlook the context in which he governed. They view him through the lens of the post-Reagan era and in a time of a radical presidency. It's important to recall that throughout his presidency Nixon faced a Democratic Congress far more liberal and aggressive than today's. And congressional Republicans then included a sizable liberal bloc. But Nixon passed up the opportunity to form a liberal-moderate coalition.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
After reading Frank Rich’s June 3rd column in which he discussed Nixon and Bush, I started thinking about GWB and RMN and have come to the conclusion that it depends upon what sort of Republican President that you want. There are probably some Republicans that believe that Bush has the right views while others don’t agree.
For discussion sake, let’s ignore 9/11 – after all, the country was not attacked during Nixon’s tenure. But there are some other issues where to two viewed the role of government differently.
Environment
As mentioned in the Drew article, Nixon signed the Clean Air Act and created the EPA.
Thirty-two years later, Bush rolled back many of the pollution control provisions. Christine Todd Whitman was one of the first Bush appointees to leave office due to disagreements with the Bush Administration. Eric Schaeffer, the head of EPA’s Office of Regulatory Enforcement, resigned after ten years on the job due to Bush’s favoring the power companies that it regulated. Not only Bush did reject responsibility for the environment domestically, but in March of 2001, Bush announced that he would not support the Kyoto Treaty.
Strategic Defense
Nixon started SALT (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) and resulted in an ABM agreement that essential froze nuclear weapon levels with Russia.
Candidate Bush campaigned that he would exercise the right to withdraw from the ABM Treaty and develop and deploy an effective ballistic missile defense system as part of his SDI program. In 2001, Bush talked for the first time with Putin about this subject resulting in Bush’s assessment that he looked into Mr. Putin's eyes and saw that he could trust him. This week’s contentious moments at the G8 Summit were between Bush and Putin over essentially the same missile defense issue.
Entitlements
In 1969, Nixon sent a major piece of legislation that addressed Social Security. Finally in 1973, Nixon signed legislation that provided for social security benefits to keep pace with the cost of living and other changes. Some believe that if Watergate crime hadn’t been detected that Nixon would have sought legislation for National Health Care.
Bush, as we know, has had two commissions to look into Social Security and wants to privatize Social Security.
Taxes
Within four months of assuming the presidency, Nixon sent Congress legislation to reform taxes. In December of 1969, after lengthy negotiations with Congress, Nixon signed the legislation. The Alternative Minimum Tax was created so that a large number of high-income persons who have paid little or no Federal income taxes bear a fairer share of the tax burden. Part of the tradeoff, was that the highest rate was reduced from 72% to 50%. Other changes included tax deductions were provided for working mothers for day care costs; people at or below the poverty level would not have to pay Federal income taxes; students could earn more money without paying taxes; and the standard deduction was increased along with a simplified form. Nixon had to weigh the positives and negatives in the legislation and in the end, issued this statement as he signed the bill “I am, however, deeply concerned about the reluctance of the Congress to face up to the adverse impact of its tax and spending decisions. If taxes are to be reduced, there must be corresponding reductions on the expenditure side. This has not been forthcoming from the Congress. On the contrary: In the very session when the Congress reduced revenues by $3 billion, it increased spending by $3 billion more than I recommended. A deficit in the budget at this time would be irresponsible and intolerable. We cannot reduce taxes and increase spending at a time and in a way that raises prices. That would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. That is why I shall take the action I consider necessary to present a balanced budget for the next fiscal year. I am also concerned about the constraint this act imposes on Government revenues in future years, limiting our ability to meet tomorrow's pressing needs. Seldom is any piece of major legislation fully satisfactory to a President. This bill is surely no exception. But I sign it because I believe that, on balance, it is a necessary beginning in the process of making our tax system fair to the taxpayer.
I don’t think I need to say anything about Bush’s tax reductions.
Looking back at Nixon’s actions, he acted on the issues that I wish Bush would have. Maybe that is the big difference, Nixon enacted changes. We can argue whether the changes need to be revisited today, but the key is that Nixon was able to work with Congress and change things.
As Rich and Drew mention people seem to be recalling Nixon, but I have heard more people say that they are no longer calling themselves Republicans with the comment that
”the Party left me, I didn’t leave the Party.” So, the question that needs to be asked is : what is the future of the Republican Party?
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