The pardon of Richard Nixon by President Gerald Ford started this nation on the path that eventually gave us the Constitutional abuses of George W Bush. The current media frenzy supporting the pardon is both simplistic and illogical.
Ford pardoned Nixon before Nixon was brought to trial or convicted. The rule of law was ignored in favor of a double-standard where Presidents were not held accountable for law-breaking. The illegal activities of Nixon in the political sphere were an assault on American Democracy and should have been severely punished. Because of Ford's outrageous pardon, Right-wing Republicans never understood how un-American the tactics of Nixon were. The current national Republican leadership is still Nixonian to their core!
The current Bush Republicans attack the patriotism of their political opponents. Republicans are still inclined to criminalize dissent. Bush has let domestic political considerations and Republican partisan advantage influence decisions about war and peace. Bush Republicans still support wiretapping without court approval. Republican policies still include attempts to control or intimidate the media. Republican dirty campaign tricks are still much more widespread and of a more severe nature than Democratic ones. Republicans still want to politicize our court system. Republican leaders are still living in a culture of corruption. All of these negative attitudes evolved from the legacy of Richard Nixon.
Gerald Ford could have moved our nation toward a reform agenda. He could have publicized and moved to fundamentally correct the corrupt, abusive course of Nixonian Republicanism. He did not. Ford put Republican political advantage before cleansing American politics. The Nixon crimes went unpunished. The rule of law was undermined. Our nation was damaged and never fully recovered.
We should never forgive Gerald Ford for his betrayal of America. We still have before us the challenge of reforming our government, combating corruption and abuse of office by Republicans in power. These challenges should have been fully explored in the 1970's but Ford cost America a full generation. Ford was a very bad President. He was not quite as bad as Richard Nixon or George W Bush but should be held partially responsible for their abuses.
Written by Stephen Crockett (host of Democratic Talk Radio http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com ). Mail: P.O. Box 283, Earleville, Maryland 21919. Email: midsouthcm@aol.com . Phone: 443-907-2367.
Feel free to publish without prior approval and at no charge.
www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com
Stephen Crockett is co-host of Democratic Talk Radio and author of the Democratic Voices opinion column.
Only the merciless need mercy. Thank God for the merciful.
Your analysis is a crock, Mr. Crockett. Ford did the right thing to forgive Nixon and move on with his agenda, just as Carter did the right thing to grant AWOL soldiers amnesty and move on with his agenda.
The world needs more mercy and forgiveness. There are millions of people like you who seek revenge, even thirty years after the fact. You need to let it go, and see that ugly stooge in the mirror is not Ford, it's you.
by
Steve Consilvio (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 82 comments)
on Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 6:12:15 PM
What the nation needed was a real soul searching and intense discussion of political ethics/tactics. The nation still needs this discussion although Republican leaders then and now fear this public debate.
Republicans are still doing Nixon style dirty tricks. Political break-ins at campaign headquarters are still happening. Illegal wiretapping by the White House is still happening. National security is still being used to hide wrong-doings and partisan abuses.
The criticism of the article is shallow and fails to address the abuses cited in the article.
by
Stephen Crockett (128 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 113 comments)
on Friday, December 29, 2006 at 8:56:25 AM
Notice the Nixonian personal demonization of opponent
The language used by the critic comes in the typical Republican form of personal attacks on the messenger while the message is not given any point by point response. Exactly why would anyone use strange terms like "ugly toad?"
Use of Christian terms like "forgiveness" and "mercy" by the critic hides the general and intentional nastiness of the response. It reminds me of tradition of saying really awful things about someone followed with "bless their heart" to disguise their evil, un-Christian intent.
The nation needs an education on the political misuse of language and religion along with a spirited debate on political ethics/tactics.
by
Stephen Crockett (128 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 113 comments)
on Friday, December 29, 2006 at 11:51:07 AM
Dead or not- damage was done that we must correct!
Getting over injustice is un-American. As a nation, we have to recognize problems eating away at our freedoms before we can act to protect them. Ignoring the lessons of history is very unwise.
by
Stephen Crockett (128 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 113 comments)
on Friday, December 29, 2006 at 6:55:04 PM
Pardoning Nixon is a smoke screen. In 1974 Gerald Ford appointed Donald Rumsfeld (Sec.Defence), Dick Cheney (Chief of Staff) and George HW Bush as CIA Head. He set the stage for the Plan for a New American Century at that time. You can Google this plan and survey it for the attendees. Dig deeply because it is very well buried. As all can see/hear/read, the American corporate news isn't going to tell you about PNAC.
by
zephyr (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 64 comments)
on Friday, December 29, 2006 at 11:05:16 AM
6 comments
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