By Nicholas Stix
I wish Pat Buchanan would write a biography of Richard Nixon. Buchanan has the advantages of:
1. Having worked for Nixon for several years, and thus having seen him up close and personal;
2. Being uniquely qualified to explain Nixon’s political shortcomings; and
3. Being America’s greatest living political writer.
I realize that I risk being charged with sycophancy for writing this way, but I don’t see any other way to go about it. I’d love to write such a book myself, and think I could nail factor #2—hence my preoccupation with the project—but Buchanan can match me on that point, and beats me on the other two. Besides, I’ve got a crime project on my hands, and if I ever finish a book in the next, say, two years, that would still make Buchanan about ten times faster than me at finishing these things. (I’m great at starting books.)
The first book Patrick Buchanan ever wrote was "Conservative Votes, Liberal Victories: Why The Right Has Failed," in 1975. The title applies more than ever.
ReplyDeleteBuchanan described Richard Nixon (as I recall) as "not so much a conservative as a fellow-traveler of the Right."
David In TN
Wow! I never even heard of that book. What a perfect description of Nixon, who didn't have a conservative bone in his body. Anytime I hear someone refer to Nixon as a "conservative," "rightwinger," or worse, it tells me nothing about the latter, but much about the former.
ReplyDeleteNicholas,
ReplyDelete"Conservative Votes, Liberal Victories" is a must-have for anyone interested in the Buchanan-Nixon relationship. It also shows the political situation circa 1975. Oddly, its forgotten now. You can get it from Amazon for a few pennies, plus postage.
Buchanan and Ray Price were Nixon's main speechwriters during his 1968 run and his presidency. Price was a liberal eastern establishment Republican and typical of Nixon, they were supposed to balance each other.
Nixon was hated by liberals much the way Sarah Palin is now. It is true that Nixon opposed liberal favorites like Helen Gahagan Douglas and helped expose Alger Hiss, but that wasn't all.
To the so-called "elite liberals," Nixon represented the middle class whose votes could "threaten their status as an undemocratic elite," in the words of Richard Whalen in a 1972 book tirled "Catch the Fallen Flag (another good book if you can find it).
Nixon, like Palin, wasn't all that conservative on most issues, but was hated for what he appeared to represent. Buchanan stayed with Nixon because they shared the same enemies even though Nixon was only a "fellow traveler of the Right."
David In Tn
David,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much ... again.
After your first comment, I put a copy of Buchanan's book in my shopping cart, and after your second comment, I paid for it.
But I didn't buy one of those "pennies" copies, because my experience has been that you get a book that's so moldy that you gag whenever you try to read it.
Not that paying more is a guarantee that the book won't literally stink, but if my copy is no good, I'll demand a refund.
However, I'll tell The Boss that it cost "a few pennies, plus postage," and when she checks the month's records, I'll tell her that the $18.99 was fore a whole heap 'a books! (There's no breakdown of purchases.)
As for Democrats' hatred of Nixon, my theory has long been that it was revenge for him nailing their good comrade, Hiss. However, seeing more recently their equally insane hatred of liberal Republicans Rudy Giuliani and George W. Bush, I suspect that all it takes to earn their insatiable hatred is to be a Republican and be successful on the national stage.
Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteWhile your at it, Amazon has "Catch the Falling Flag: A Republican's Challenge to His Party" by Richard J. Whalen for a few pennies plus postage. Whalen wrote about meeting Nixon in the fall of 1967, joining his staff, and quitting in disgust after the 1968 GOP convention.
Yes, Alger Hiss had a lot to do with the liberal hatred of Nixon. A kind of social disdain existed for Nixon, as well as today with Palin.
David In TN