06-17-2024, 07:41 PM
pdq wrote:
[quote=vision63]
Tho Nixon actually governed. "Hey, lets do something that can improve American lives."
When he was campaigning, he said he had “a secret plan to end the war”, while he was secretly twisting South Vietnamese arms to not end the war (as Johnson was belatedly trying to), so that the Dems would lose the ‘68 election. Twenty thousand more US soldiers died after he took over; God only knows how many Vietnamese. It’s hard to imagine the eventual outcome could have been worse.
He helped foster the coup against Chile’s democratically elected Allende. His military replacement, Pinochet, ruled that country with an iron fist for nearly 20 years.
Many people have forgotten, but the 60’s were also a time of solid economic growth, which by the end of Nixon/Ford had been transformed into stagflation. Nixon plus Ford had the worst 2-term market returns since the Great Depression (only to be surpassed by Dubya).
Yes, he was a “moderate”, and he opened a relationship with China (which only a Republican president could have done, politically, back then). Yes, he signed the EPA (or actually, the facilitating NEPA) handed to him by Congress (by a veto-proof majority). We landed on the moon a few months into his first term. And yes, we’ve done a whole lotta rat-fucking other countries over 200+ years, although Nixon was among the worst in that department. And as a “law and order” president, he undeniably ran one of the most criminal administrations in history.
I dunno; I was around back then. My (now deceased) parents, who I loved dearly, were big Nixon supporters. I was too, until I (later) came of age and realized with some cynicism all the BS we’d been sold.
I realize you were prolly comparing Nixon to Trump, but I’m still not sure I can find much to celebrate the former.
It's not about celebrating or despising him. He was what he was. My family was totally opposed to him. But this is who the people chose to represent the country. Whatever side you're on, you win some, you lose some. Whoever becomes the leader is the leader. If they mess up, you take them down. I'll give my worse enemy credit where they deserve it. I'm never going to be the guy that's only going to see the bad in you. Plus, I'm never going to hold grudge.
Trump is different. He is a parasite. A democracy bomb that is changing the dynamics of how we conduct our democracy and our society. Sure, he has a lot of help, but if you can kill the head of the snake, it dies, because we'll kill the rest of it. Then we have do deal with the snakes on our side that get us in trouble in the first place. Including the people that sit at home and never vote.
They found the best transport to carry forward their play to wrest control over the country. They're willing to "risk" their own democracy to seize control.
Other than Trump's enculted base, Republicans don't care if he lives or dies one day after November 5, 2024. In fact, they would love it if he died that day so that they can put some professionals in place.