Just Curious

Nixon the liberal

Just saw a book in my favorite used-book store. It's called Nixon on the Issues, and was published in 1968 by the Nixon-Agnew presidential campaign committee.

I flipped through a few pages, and realized immediately how Dick Nixon's gonna' be among the most liberal members on the Hill today if he's still alive and in politics. Especially on environmentalism, affirmative action and diplomacy: Nixon's gonna be the moving target of right-wing pundits these days.

He's not even that conservative even on fiscal issues: most fiscal policy packages a Democratic politician would give serious thoughts to would be summarily rejected by Nixon. Tax cuts in the middle of a war? An unjustifiable war in the first place?

Oh well, Nixon, Ford, Eisenhower......old school centrist Republicans who were probably friendlier to the legendary East Coast liberal Republican establishment represented by Nelson Rockefeller than to segregationist Strom "I finally died" Thurmond and his proud heirs Jesse "I hate niggers and commies" Helms and Trent "I wish ole' Strom were the President" Lott. The final showdown between the two camps of course came in 1986-1992, during the Iran-Contra investigations, when eighty-year-old liberal Republican Judge Lawrence Walsh sent 14 indictments and 11 convictions as Christmas presents to the Bush Sr. White House.

Anyone remember who desegregated Little Rock Central High? Hint: It wasn't a democrat.

posted by James Chang @ 11:34 AM