Richard Nixon

Nixon, the Pre-Trump

Mark Noonan7 Comments

Someone pointed out that it was 52 years ago today that Nixon resigned. While I have memories that stretch back to the 1960’s, it was Watergate that became the first connected Narrative of my life: while I was a child and didn’t remotely have full understanding of it all, I saw it unfold (mostly against my will: Dad watched every minute of the hearings even though cartoons were, indeed, showing on a different channel) and it was comprehensible to me. And I remember this day and Dad watching Nixon depart the White House for the last time. “Well, they finally got him,” he said quietly to himself. I didn’t really understand that at the time – because the Narrative was Nixon Bad. Do Bad Things. Nixon Crook. Must Go. Bad Bad Bad Nixon. But, as per usual, Dad’s understanding was vastly superior to most.

There has been quite a rehabilitation of Nixon of late. It was started, of course, by Nixon himself. He wasn’t going to let those who destroyed his political career have the last word on what Nixon was about. So, he self-selected himself as our Elder Statesman and put in the hard work to actually be an Elder Statesman. It it my view that Nixon might have been the most intelligent man to ever be President. Perhaps to even lead any nation, ever. His ability to analyze situations and figure out the crucial points was amazing. This doesn’t mean he didn’t make some mistakes. He made a couple quite fabulous mistakes…but in the context of the times, within the limitations of a Deep State nobody fully understood until Trump, you can understand why he made those mistakes.

First off, he was flat wrong – via Kissinger – to stop the Israelis from destroying Egypt’s Third Army during the Yom Kippur War. At the time of the USA/USSR imposed ceasefire, Third Army was only two or three days away from abject surrender for lack of water. Should have allowed Israel to bag that Army – and then demanded a peace deal which would have been, essentially, Egyptians for peace…give a peace treaty (with Israel retaining part of the Sinai) and get your boys back. This would have been a better solution to the war and would have cemented not “land for peace” (which is why we have “from the river to the sea” these days) but “some land for peace”…in other words, when you get beat by the Jews, the Jews get part of your land, forever. So, don’t fight Jews. Like, ever.

Second was playing “the China card”. This was Deep State nonsense based upon drivel intel assessments that the USSR was as strong as the USA and getting stronger…that is, we needed China as an ally to counter the USSR. This wasn’t based upon any fact, ever. Just the biggest bit of nonsense imaginable. I figure it was Soviet moles in the CIA who put such intel together. But given that intel – which Nixon could not have known at the time was nonsense – at the time opening up to China seemed a good idea. Long term, we’ve seen it has been an utter disaster. Right now, Chinese money is being spent to undermine the political stability of the USA – those DSA groups are often orchestrated by Chinese agents.

But, still, Nixon remains an historic person. A man of wide education and deep understanding. Capable of both great sentiment and cynicism (you have to have both to be a great leader). And he was destroyed, ultimately, simply because Nixon had played a big role in exposing Alger Hiss. That act had got Nixon in the Establishment’s crosshairs…how dare this nobody from a working class family dare trip up Hiss! For goodness sake, Hiss was a Harvard man! Nixon graduated from some low-rent school in California! It really is a club and you ain’t a member. Neither was Nixon. So they went after him and after him and after him…finally managing to get him via Watergate where, we find, Nixon did nothing except discuss the possibility of trying to make the whole matter go away.

What we can most learn from Nixon is that we can’t let the Establishment take even one trick. The other day Todd Blanche was finally confirmed as Attorney General. The usual TDS/RINO suspects are deploring the fact that Blanche used to be Trump’s personal attorney. “He should recuse himself!”. Why? On what grounds? I mean, on what grounds in a world were Obama’s AG declared himself Obama’s wingman? In a world where Trump’s first AG recused himself just so the Deep State could cook up the Trump-Russia nonsense which plagued Trump’s first time? No. Nope. Ain’t happening. Blanche by all available knowledge is a first rate lawyer who is honest. I don’t care that he used to represent Trump. Will he carry out Executive Branch policy which is set by the President? That is all that matters – because there is no independence at Justice. The President is to see to is that the laws are faithfully enforced. The President is the person vested with all Executive authority. The President sets the policy…the cabinet implements it…not going off on a tangent in response to some nonsense in the MSM about how Bad the Orange Man is. Bottom line, if Nixon had rigidly opposed the whole Watergate effort – not letting his staff testify – it would have gone nowhere. Lesson learned: don’t cooperate with those who are looking to get you.

And Trump does get this. Not just from the Nixon example, of course; he’s also learned some harsh lessons in the first person. But the Establishment is just as keen to destroy Trump as it was Nixon – and for largely the same reason: daring to challenge the Establishment’s man (though in Trump’s case, it was the Establishment’s woman – Hillary). It doesn’t matter what policies Trump pursues. He could come out in favor of the entire DSA program tomorrow and they’d still hate him and work to destroy him…he’s a low class nobody! He’s not supposed to be there! That is Hillary’s spot!!! All that really matters. And we must understand this. Outside all the lies and theft, all the killings and brutality, all of the grifting and freakishness…the only thing that really matters to the Establishment is being the Establishment. Being in charge. Not being questioned. Having a semi-divine aura about them. Anyone who disturbs this must be destroyed. They got Nixon. I don’t think they’ll get Trump.

And their next target is Vance.

George McGovern in Hospice

Mark Noonan3 Comments

1972 Democrat Presidential candidate George McGovern is in hospice – from NRO:

I see that George McGovern has been moved to a hospice, presumably because the 90-year-old former B-24 pilot, winner of the Distinguished Flying Cross, senator, and presidential candidate is coming to the end of his life…

McGovern is, of course, the pinko’s pinko.  He was so far to the left of the American mainstream that Nixon – of all people – buried him under one of the largest landslides in American history in 1972.  I remember my dad with his “Democrats for Nixon” sign…and that must have been hard to swallow, but McGovern was just too far out there for any rational Democrat to vote for.

My, how times have changed – and in 2008 we gave 53% of our votes to someone even more left than McGovern!  We also gave our votes to someone who couldn’t hold a candle to the courage and honor of George McGovern.  Leftist he is, but also an American patriot…no chance that Mrs. McGovern only became proud of the United States when her husband was nominated for President.

My prayers for George McGovern as he passes from this life to the life of the world to come – if patriotism, bravery, gentleness and generosity count for anything, then I am confident of where George McGovern is heading.  This does not mean, of course, that I’m not looking forward to a repeat of 1972 on November 6th, even if the margin isn’t quite as wide.

 

His Majesty, Barack I

Mark Noonan20 Comments

With the completely unconstitutional imposition of the DREAM Act and, now, the absurd claim of Executive Privilege regarding the “Fast and Furious” scandal, a lot of conservatives and libertarians are furious with President Obama over his assumption of rather autocratic powers.  But I ask everyone to pause for a moment – one has to consider just what sort of government the United States has.  To do this, I think it best to refer to an outside observer of proven sympathy for the United States, Winston Churchill:

…The rigid Constitution of the United States, the gigantic scale and strength of its party machinery, the fixed terms for which public officers and representatives are chosen, invest the President with a greater measure of autocratic power that was possessed before the war by the Head of any great State…

Churchill was referring, in that instance, to Woodrow Wilson.  Keep in mind the time frame Churchill was using – this was the day of Nicholas II of Russia, Wilhelm II of Germany and Franz Josef of Austria.  And yet Churchill was asserting that these three men had, in practice, less autocratic power than was held by Woodrow Wilson.  And, he was right.  Churchill correctly perceived a truth about the the United States which to this day escapes nearly everyone:  the President of the United States, while his term lasts, possesses an immense amount of autocratic power.  Boiled down, in our President we have an elected king – limited in real terms only by three things:

1.  His term of office.

2.  His inability to appropriate funds without Congressional approval.

3.  The risk of impeachment.

Lincoln understood this – stating that he would maintain the contest with the South until he died or his term ended.   When in 1864 Lincoln looked to be the loser of the Presidential election he was yet determined to win victory between election day and the end of his term (which in those days ended in March, not January).  And he could have done it – Congress could have cut off funds for additional military power, but the military power he already had was sufficient and no power in the United States government could have prevented him from ordering Grant to continue, election results be darned.

The real lesson in Obama’s abuse of power is this:  always have a great deal of care whom is elected President.  Because you’ve got him for four years and while you can limit the amount of money he spends, you can’t really limit what he does with the money he is allowed to spend.  Jokingly, someone has written a list of 10 things Romney can do after he takes office in the manner of Obama’s DREAM Act – among them, cease enforcement of various environmental laws and of any tax rate above 18%.  It was put out as a joke, but it is also a reality.  Suppose Romney did tell the IRS not to prosecute anyone who failed to pay more than 18% of their income as taxes – what could anyone do?  Impeach him?  Impeachment has only come up three times in American history: with Andrew Johnson it was a GOP witch hunt against a War Democrat; with Nixon it was a Democrat witch hunt against someone they didn’t like; with Clinton we actually had a genuinely impeachable offense but Democrats ensured that it wouldn’t go anywhere.  Impeach Obama?  It would require the votes of 20 Senate Democrats to do it – short of committing rape or murder live, on television, do you think that there is anything Obama can do which would move 20 Senate Democrats to vote to convict?  Get real!

We elect a king every four years and then allow that king one more shot at an additional four years.  In office, he is mostly limited by his own conscience and sense of right and wrong.  A President who simply does not care about the law (or, as in Obama’s case, understand what a law is) is highly dangerous – as we can see with Obama.  For more than two centuries we have been extraordinarily lucky – even with a cad like Clinton or a twisted man like Nixon, there was still a sense of respect for the Constitution and a desire to live up to great predecessors – looming over all was the figure of Washington, who defined what a President is and offered a model for all who came after if they cared at all about the United States.  Trouble is, if we get someone who doesn’t care about the United States – who, in a real sense, has nothing but contempt for Washington and the edifice he raised – then we’re in a bad way.

Now there are some practical steps we can take – from re-asserting Congressional power to declare war, to putting more strings on what is done with appropriated money, to insisting that no US ground troops are deployed outside the United States except during time of declared war.  These and other measures can hem in a President a bit and ensure that he seeks Congressional cooperation before doing something.  But, fundamentally, unless we want to re-write our Constitution in to a parliamentary abomination (ie, where the head of government is the leader of the House of Representatives and the President is a mere figurehead), then we simply have to ensure that when we elect a person to the Presidency that we are sure he or she is fit for the job.  King Obama is the first man we’ve elected who is entirely unfit by temperment, training and education for the Presidency – and it shows in the way he is (deliberately or not is immaterial) wrecking the manner of American government.

So, rather than whine about what Obama has done, let us set to work with a will to oust him on November 6th and then lay the lesson to heart:  never be fooled again.