Comparing Hillary to Nixon
To the editor:
Just this title alone will make a number of people on both sides upset and furious. To the Liberal Left, having their heroine of progressivism compared to “Tricky Dick” Nixon is an insult. To the conservative right, having Nixon once again dragged through the mud with a comparison to this “Marxist statist” is just going too far. The policies, legislation, and proposals of Hillary and Nixon are indeed very different, but the paranoia, demons, and dark places that both Nixon and Hillary come from are very similar. Probably, the dark corners in the mind that brought down Nixon will eventually do the same to Hillary.
Hillary Clinton and Richard Nixon first crossed paths in 1973 when Ms. Clinton was on the staff investigative team leading up to the Watergate trials. Clinton was so tough, extreme and ruthless, she was eventually fired as a staffer from the investigative committee because she lied to superiors and also because she did not want Nixon to be able to have an attorney. She, a lawyer, wanted to deprive Nixon of counsel. It’s hard to believe, but Hillary would have made Nixon a sentimental and sympathetic crook had she been allowed to stay on the Watergate investigation staff team.
Someone once said of Nixon, “Anyone that has a list to keep track of his enemies, has too many enemies.” One could probably say of Hillary, “Anyone who has a private home-brewed server to keep track of her many secrets, probably has too many secrets.” Nixon cursed the “Liberal Jew” out to get him as Hilary demonized the “vast right wing conspiracy” trying to destroy her and her husband. The extreme paranoia from these two will probably lead to the same political results. History has shown that Nixon himself was his own worst enemy; as judgments made by Hillary herself have begun to cost her greatly. Nixon was and Hillary is a Greek tragedy, fighting their enemies, but causing the most harm to themselves.
Political allies of Nixon and historians have often asked why Nixon did not just destroy all the tapes. Why didn’t he just put all of the tapes into the White House fireplace? He had it within his means to destroy each one, not just an 18-minute gap. Hillary’s supporters and future historians will probably ask the same questions. Why Hilary didn’t just carry the private server into the backyard and create a Dumpster fire? Why not burn all the tapes? Why not incinerate the entire server?
Loyalists stayed with Nixon as long as they could. It was not until Barry Goldwater made a trip up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House that Nixon still thought he could weather the storm. Ms. Clinton probably believes the same thing. It will take a loyalist, but yet a seasoned statesman, something of a Schumer, Kerry, or Feinstein to make the trip to Chappaqua for her to realize all is lost.
It has been said that even paranoids truly do have enemies. Nixon had his enemies; some real, some created. Nixon’s real enemies were those that never forgave him for proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Alger Hiss was indeed a communist spy. Nixon led this successful attack in bringing down a collaborator with Moscow’s spy community. Hiss was a darling of the Liberal Left and they never forgave Nixon for outing Hiss as a traitorous communist spy.
Like Nixon, Ms. Clinton does have real enemies that would love to get to all of her secrets. Some of this goes back to her Watergate days, but most of it relates to her husband’s impeachment trial. It has been rumored often in Washington that Bill and Hillary let it be known that they would not go down quietly; that they would not slink back to Little Rock with their tails between their legs. They let it be known, if President Clinton lost the impeachment trial, then they would bring down with them everyone they could in DC. And they would have certainly tried. Many of those enemies created during the late 1990s are still there and are looking for revenge against the Clintons. If they can’t get Bill, they’ll get Hillary. Because of enemies, some real and some imagined, Ms. Clinton believes she must be very secretive in her work, thus the felonious server.
The mortal wounds of Nixon were self-inflicted. Nixon had Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Liddy, and Mitchell try and cover up the fatal wounds. Hillary’s illegal and unethical private server is her own doing. She has her Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin, Sidney Blumenthal, and Bill to help her stop the bleeding. Probably, as with “All the President’s Men,” Hillary’s inner circle is just putting a Band-Aid on a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head. It is probably for naught. There appears to be, as with Nixon, a “Deep Throat” within the intelligence community that is disseminating devastating evidence against Ms. Clinton and her home-brew private server. If the evidence trickling out is factual, felony crimes have been committed by Ms. Clinton and others.
Most Americans viewed Ronald Reagan as nice, amiable, and honest. Therefore, any mistakes or errors that Reagan made were not fatal. The ageing Reagan, was given the benefit of the doubt when it came to Iran Contra. The same can be said of Barack Obama. Most Americans view him as nice, amiable, and honest. Obama also has been given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to major blunders and errors. The same is not said about Richard Nixon nor Hillary Clinton. Neither one was nor is considered nice, pleasant, or honest. Both were and are considered ruthless, mean, and liars. They were not and will not be given the benefit of the doubt. This is crucial in reading the political tea leaves of the future.
As historians have written, Nixon did have real enemies, but the sword that killed him was handed to them from Nixon himself. His antagonists ran him through with the Nixon-provided sword. The next few months will determine whether Ms. Clinton’s secretive paranoia will be the cause of her real enemies using that same sword against her. One of the great ironies of recent history is that these two seemingly opposite political titans would in fact mirror each other in their suicidal political deaths.
Andrew William Coy
Fort Myers
Comparing Hillary to Nixon
To the editor:
Just this title alone will make a number of people on both sides upset and furious. To the Liberal Left, having their heroine of progressivism compared to “Tricky Dick” Nixon is an insult. To the conservative right, having Nixon once again dragged through the mud with a comparison to this “Marxist statist” is just going too far. The policies, legislation, and proposals of Hillary and Nixon are indeed very different, but the paranoia, demons, and dark places that both Nixon and Hillary come from are very similar. Probably, the dark corners in the mind that brought down Nixon will eventually do the same to Hillary.
Hillary Clinton and Richard Nixon first crossed paths in 1973 when Ms. Clinton was on the staff investigative team leading up to the Watergate trials. Clinton was so tough, extreme and ruthless, she was eventually fired as a staffer from the investigative committee because she lied to superiors and also because she did not want Nixon to be able to have an attorney. She, a lawyer, wanted to deprive Nixon of counsel. It’s hard to believe, but Hillary would have made Nixon a sentimental and sympathetic crook had she been allowed to stay on the Watergate investigation staff team.
Someone once said of Nixon, “Anyone that has a list to keep track of his enemies, has too many enemies.” One could probably say of Hillary, “Anyone who has a private home-brewed server to keep track of her many secrets, probably has too many secrets.” Nixon cursed the “Liberal Jew” out to get him as Hilary demonized the “vast right wing conspiracy” trying to destroy her and her husband. The extreme paranoia from these two will probably lead to the same political results. History has shown that Nixon himself was his own worst enemy; as judgments made by Hillary herself have begun to cost her greatly. Nixon was and Hillary is a Greek tragedy, fighting their enemies, but causing the most harm to themselves.
Political allies of Nixon and historians have often asked why Nixon did not just destroy all the tapes. Why didn’t he just put all of the tapes into the White House fireplace? He had it within his means to destroy each one, not just an 18-minute gap. Hillary’s supporters and future historians will probably ask the same questions. Why Hilary didn’t just carry the private server into the backyard and create a Dumpster fire? Why not burn all the tapes? Why not incinerate the entire server?
Loyalists stayed with Nixon as long as they could. It was not until Barry Goldwater made a trip up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House that Nixon still thought he could weather the storm. Ms. Clinton probably believes the same thing. It will take a loyalist, but yet a seasoned statesman, something of a Schumer, Kerry, or Feinstein to make the trip to Chappaqua for her to realize all is lost.
It has been said that even paranoids truly do have enemies. Nixon had his enemies; some real, some created. Nixon’s real enemies were those that never forgave him for proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Alger Hiss was indeed a communist spy. Nixon led this successful attack in bringing down a collaborator with Moscow’s spy community. Hiss was a darling of the Liberal Left and they never forgave Nixon for outing Hiss as a traitorous communist spy.
Like Nixon, Ms. Clinton does have real enemies that would love to get to all of her secrets. Some of this goes back to her Watergate days, but most of it relates to her husband’s impeachment trial. It has been rumored often in Washington that Bill and Hillary let it be known that they would not go down quietly; that they would not slink back to Little Rock with their tails between their legs. They let it be known, if President Clinton lost the impeachment trial, then they would bring down with them everyone they could in DC. And they would have certainly tried. Many of those enemies created during the late 1990s are still there and are looking for revenge against the Clintons. If they can’t get Bill, they’ll get Hillary. Because of enemies, some real and some imagined, Ms. Clinton believes she must be very secretive in her work, thus the felonious server.
The mortal wounds of Nixon were self-inflicted. Nixon had Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Liddy, and Mitchell try and cover up the fatal wounds. Hillary’s illegal and unethical private server is her own doing. She has her Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin, Sidney Blumenthal, and Bill to help her stop the bleeding. Probably, as with “All the President’s Men,” Hillary’s inner circle is just putting a Band-Aid on a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head. It is probably for naught. There appears to be, as with Nixon, a “Deep Throat” within the intelligence community that is disseminating devastating evidence against Ms. Clinton and her home-brew private server. If the evidence trickling out is factual, felony crimes have been committed by Ms. Clinton and others.
Most Americans viewed Ronald Reagan as nice, amiable, and honest. Therefore, any mistakes or errors that Reagan made were not fatal. The ageing Reagan, was given the benefit of the doubt when it came to Iran Contra. The same can be said of Barack Obama. Most Americans view him as nice, amiable, and honest. Obama also has been given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to major blunders and errors. The same is not said about Richard Nixon nor Hillary Clinton. Neither one was nor is considered nice, pleasant, or honest. Both were and are considered ruthless, mean, and liars. They were not and will not be given the benefit of the doubt. This is crucial in reading the political tea leaves of the future.
As historians have written, Nixon did have real enemies, but the sword that killed him was handed to them from Nixon himself. His antagonists ran him through with the Nixon-provided sword. The next few months will determine whether Ms. Clinton’s secretive paranoia will be the cause of her real enemies using that same sword against her. One of the great ironies of recent history is that these two seemingly opposite political titans would in fact mirror each other in their suicidal political deaths.
Andrew William Coy
Fort Myers