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Edited on Sat Dec-30-06 09:08 PM by stopbush
I remember that time well. I remember how we college students were elated when that fucking crook Dick Nixon resigned in shame for breaking multiple laws, for thinking he was a law unto himself, for the fact that the system worked and our nation somehow stepped back from the precipice of a Constitutional crisis.
And, I remember the shock and outrage we felt when that dumb ass Gerald Ford pardoned the crook a month later. I remember reading a story in Playboy or Penthouse about Nixon's stolen diamonds - how Nixon absconded with a ton of loot from the WH, gifts that were given to him by foreign governments, but gifts that were actually the property of the American people. I remember that article stating that Ford's pardon cleared Tricky Dick of that crime as well.
And, I am sick of the total bullshit being spouted that Ford's pardon of Nixon was done for "the good of the country" and "helped the country heal." I always thought that there was an inside deal. Ford and Nixon always denied it. Yesterday, we learned that Ford was Nixon's fucking BFF and that the pardon was given out of personal friendship. Those were Ford's words, not mine.
More full of bullshit is the LIE that the country was better off with Nixon never standing trial. Let's see - if Nixon's trial had taken 5 years...so what? We might have avoided THIRTY YEARS of dirty, top-level politicians who know that a pardon lies at the end of the line, no matter what they did. Had Nixon stood trial, we would have been spared Reagan, and we certainly would have been spared BOTH bushes. Why? Because these dirty-before-they-ever-assumed-the-office criminals would have thought twice (or thrice) before running for office and exposing their earlier crimes to public scrutiny. The press would have been emboldened and these shits would have stayed home. The Republican party would have shared in the shame of Nixon's crimes, and the country would have been even more wary of these wolves in religious clothing. Barry Goldwater would have been a major, major player in the party (he got Nixon to resign) and Goldwater would have never allowed the unholy alliance of the Xian right with the Rs.
And Clinton would have never been impeached for a fucking blow job, because Congress would have likely remained in D hands while the weight of removing a truly corrupt president like Nixon would have given people pause before impeaching a president over a totally bogus charge.
In truth, Ford's pardon of Nixon hurt this country tremendously. The only people it helped were the neocons, the Rs and Nixon himself. His actions led directly to the power grab that bush has been pursuing for 6 years, fueled by Ford's second & third best buds, Cheney & Rumsfeld.
Other offenses? Ford allowed genocide and told NYC to go fuck itself. Strike three in my books.
Sure, Ford was for equal rights when he was in office, but his beliefs have had no impact on the R party after him who - starting with Reagan - have looked to roll back equal rights. And, ANY D would have pursued such rights with more vigor than Ford (ie: Carter).
That's what I think of Gerald R Ford's presidency. One of the worst. They guy who derailed the march of justice while paving the road for the criminals we're dealing with today.
Just another crappy R president whose love of country was viewed through the prism of "what's good for the Party?".
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