Nixon Forever

New York Times, 45 years ago this month: pic.twitter.com/2RmrlJ3uFc

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) May 2, 2019

James Reston, Jr. at New York Times:

On July 30, 1974, nine days before President Richard Nixon resigned, the House Judiciary Committee added a third article to its impeachment charges against the president. The first two had dealt with obstruction of justice and abuse of power; Article III charged that Nixon had failed to comply with eight congressional subpoenas related to the Watergate investigation.

Now, with President Trump and William Barr, his attorney general, refusing to cooperate with congressional investigations, the Democrats in the House should take yet another lesson from Watergate. They are reportedly already preparing impeachment articles on obstruction of justice; they should add failure to comply with Congress to the list.

.@SpeakerPelosi says ignoring congressional subpoenas could be impeachable and accuses President Trump of obstructing justice "every day" while "trying to goad us into impeachment."

"I say to my colleagues—whatever it is, be ready."

Very interesting remarks at Cornell. pic.twitter.com/tnyP2nDAGe

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 7, 2019

Schumer also mentioned Nixon this morning.

Roger Stone at The Spectator:

It’s well known that I have a tattoo of Nixon on my back. It’s not a political statement, but a daily reminder that in life, when you get knocked down, when you strive for something and you fail, when you are disappointed and discouraged, you have an obligation to get up off the canvas and get back in the fight. It’s about resilience and persistence.

‘Until one has been in the deepest valley, one cannot appreciate the majesty of the highest mountain top,’ Nixon said. ‘A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is only finished when he quits.’

After my release on bail, I flashed Nixon’s famous ‘V for Victory’ sign on the courtroom steps. Two years of fake news reports that I would be charged with Russian collusion, conspiracy and treason have neither destroyed my spirit, nor my resolve to fight for exoneration. Like Nixon, I am not a quitter. This November, I will fight for total exoneration in my trial. I am not guilty, and I intend to prove it.

Richard Wolffe at The Guardian:

Nixon was unlucky enough to be president at a time when Republicans and Democrats thought it was an impeachable matter to abuse power.

Reasonable people might disagree about what constitutes an abuse of power. But reasonable lawyers would all agree that a president suggesting, inferring or hinting at an investigation of someone like a political opponent would be just such an abuse of power.

That is, naturally, what Trump was suggesting in the days after Bill Barr covered up Trump’s Russia cover-up, with a simple letter that whitewashed all the dirt from the Mueller report. Trump said publicly that his opponents had done “very, very evil things” and “some treasonous things” that would be “looked at” to prevent them happening again.

This obviously should concern the Republicans who believed that Barack Obama’s attorney general was hopelessly compromised by a tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton, during the 2016 election. It should also concern the Republicans – yes, we’re looking at you Lindsey Graham, chair of the Senate judiciary committee.

It is not just scandal.

Nixon Goes to China

Vin Gupta and former Sen. Tom Daschle at NBC:

It is both the tragedy and irony of contemporary American politics that former President Barack Obama is impugned as a radical leftistfor reprising, in more moderate tones, the legislative health care legacy of a fiscal conservative, President Richard Nixon.

Lessons

• From In the Arena: "Politics is battle, and the best way to fire up your troops is to rally them against a visible opponent on the other side of the field.  If a loyal supporter will fight hard for you, he will fight twice as hard against your enemies.”
• From the farewell to the WH staff:  "Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself."

Psalm 146:3-4

Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Cautionary tales.  Life does not come with a soundtrack