JD Vance and Nixon History: Clueless

JD Vance makes a feeble attempt to downplay Nixon’s violations in the interest of lowering the ethics bar to subterranean levels.

Does this look like a deep state?

• Team Trump has taken politics, economics, finance, education, religion, science geopolitics, race, and gender and tied them all into a Gordian knot soaked in Krazy Glue.

• A lack of credibility and factual accuracy in so many different areas undermine the veracity in all – including Iran.

The picture shows the Senate Watergate hearings, and the reality is impossible to match up with JD Vance’s latest concocted theory on a deep state leading to the downfall of Nixon like the deep state attacking Team Trump.

This picture shows some of JD’s “deep state” characters on the committee chaired by Sam Ervin (D-NC). Sam Ervin does not fit the latest “Communist conspiracy” spin coming out of the White House. Ervin voted against the Civil Rights Act legislation (the 1957, 1960, and 1964 versions), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. He actively worked against desegregation. In today’s parlance, he would be a racist xenophobe. He is better remembered as a heavily decorated WWI hero and a leader who stood up to Richard Nixon in Watergate and Joe McCarthy (a friend of Nixon in the early years) in the McCarthy censure of 1954.

We see Senator Inouye (D-HI) as one of JD’s deep state operatives. He had the distinction of holding his Senate seat from his election in 1962 through 2012. Inouye served in the Japanese American 442^nd combat unit and fought fascists and Nazis in Europe and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (search for that story!).

Senator Howard Baker (R-TN) was the ranking member on the Watergate Committee. He served in WWII and is one of the most respected GOP Senators in history. He held office from 1967 to 1985, became Majority Leader, and served as Chief of Staff under Reagan. He is famous for the phrase “What did the President know and when did he know it?”

I watched as many hearings as possible in my high school years. The story of a rogue President breaching his duties and abusing the constitution got worse as the hearings went on. JD Vance left out a lot of plot lines, but it is easy to search for details on AI (JD was heavy on the “A” and light on the “I”). JD skipped the Saturday Night Massacre when GOP leaders refused to obey Nixon and Nixon’s notorious attempt to get rid of the independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox. In the end, he succeeded but the damage was done in terms of trust and his reputation. Today’s GOP leaders do not demonstrate such courage.

Nixon engaged in a constitutional abuse not seen again until Trump. Nixon’s former AG ended up in jail along with numerous White House counsels and advisors. JD forgot to mention that it was the iconic conservative Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) who delivered the message to Nixon to resign or be impeached.

The “Deep State” that really set it off was a lone black security guard (maybe that annoyed JD the most) at the Watergate. The guard called the police to report a break-in at DNC Headquarters. The burglars included anti-Castro figures and a former CIA spook with other former intel professionals involved in the planning. Then came the coverups.

Anyone who was around, watching the hearings, or who later read any accounts know that JD’s account was nonsense. His lack of faith in his audience and low respect for facts was obvious. He seems to hope the bar for ethics in office will be lowered to below ground. This speaks to the constant disinformation and misinformation that comes out of the White House and Executive Branch.

It is always good to research facts and details.