When the System Worked
08/08/24 09:07
August 8, 2024 (Vol. 18 No. 35) - I was proud to cast my first vote ever for president on behalf of Richard Nixon back in 1972. At the time, I thought he had done a fabulous job on both the foreign and domestic fronts during his first term. Fast forward to October 1973, after 10 months of startling and disturbing information coming out of the investigation into the break-in at the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate in Washington. I had thought that it was still possible that it was Nixon's people, not Nixon himself, who had been responsible. But after the Saturday Night Massacre, when he fired Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, my patience had run out. Much to the dismay of my Nixon-loyalist mother, I openly called for Nixon's impeachment or resignation. After a long and messy struggle, that finally happened 50 years ago today. It could not have happened without the leadership of Nixon's own party going to the White House and telling the president that the gig is up. It may have been too slow for some, but that was a case of the system working. And it only worked because members of both political parties put the Constitution ahead of partisan issues. Unfortunately, at least for now, those days are gone. Republicans saved former president and future inmate Donald Trump from impeachment not once, but twice. And Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors were far more serious than anything Richard Nixon had done. And now those same Republicans are four-square behind Trump's attempt to reclaim the presidency. Never mind that Trump's main motivation is to avoid prosecution and imprisonment for his fraudulent and seditious actions. Oh, the hypocrisy! Fifty years later, we have abandoned any semblance of democracy. That is why I will repeat what I have said in this space.before — not one single Republican in the House and Senate deserves reelection. And some, such as Jim Jordan and Josh Hawley, deserve to be in prison. Remember this come November: Friends don't let friends vote Republican. Ever. And that is written by a man who once was proud to call himself a Nixon Republican. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.