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If no Nixon Pardon....

Discussion in 'History Forum' started by Salty, Sep 10, 2019.

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  1. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    Found this question (and answer) on the net.

    Interesting discussion

    Had President Ford not pardoned Nixon 45 years ago (8 Sep 1974), how do you think the United States' political history would have changed over the last 40 plus years?

    [​IMG]
    Morris Kamelgarn, B.A. History, Brooklyn College (1971)
    Answered Sun
    First of all, had Ford not pardoned Richard Nixon for his Watergate crimes, there is an excellent chance that he, not Jimmy Carter would have been elected president in 1976. People forget that that election was very close at the end. He would still probably only have been a one-term president, because Ronald Reagan, who almost beat Ford for the nomination in 1976, would have been waiting in the wings. However, Reagan, even if he got the nomination in 1976, would have probably have had to run not against a mortally weakened Jimmy Carter, but against Senator Edward Kennedy, who despite Chappaquiddick would have won because he still represented for many people the sole hope for the restoration of Camelot. With Kennedy winning a narrow victory, the next eight years would have been vastly different than they were. Instead of increased military spending to compete with the Soviet Union that only helped to enrich the defense contractors, the money would have been spent on programs that would help the average America, such as universal health care. Instead of the social safety net being slashed as it actually was during Reagan, it would have been greatly strengthened. I think I'll stop now, but I think we can see that, with that piece of paper that pardoned Nixon, President Ford set in motion a series of events that would culminate in the destruction of the America we had come to know and love.


    Do you agree with the author?

    Other comments?
     
    #1 Salty, Sep 10, 2019
  2. Adonia

    Adonia Well-Known Member
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    Ford had to do it to save the nation from the spectacle of the Democrats trying to imprison Nixon. He did it and thereby lost his chance to be elected to the presidency in his own right. I am sure he knew this could be the result of his pardoning of Nixon. I think he made the correct decision.
     
    #2 Adonia, Sep 10, 2019
  3. robycop3

    robycop3 Well-Known Member
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    I dunno if "The Chappaquiddick Kid" coulda beaten RR or not. After all, there were still many unanswered questions about that incident. We can only speculate, as that author did.

    As for Ted & the incident:
    While a cop, I & several others looked into several sensational cases such as this & the JFK shooting. Given more knowledge of Chappaquiddick, we concluded that at the most, Ted was guilty of DUI & bad judgment. Miss Kopechne was not used to drinking alcohol, and, realizing she was drunk, sought to lay down & sleep it off. She happened to pick Ted's car to sleep in, but insteada simply going to sleep, she lost consciousness, so when the car went into the water, she didn't know it. ted, being drunk himself, likely didn't even know she was in the car; after all, it was dark. it was simply another alcohol tragedy.
     
    #3 robycop3, Sep 11, 2019
  4. Adonia

    Adonia Well-Known Member
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    So Teddy was just happy to get away without no one knowing about the other woman who was in the front seat with him who was not his wife without being seen. Whew, that was a close one for Teddy!

    Then, unfortunately for him as things turned out, there was still the as yet unknown problem of the sleeping Mary Joe. Yes, that's plausible. Either way, Teddy was still a sleazebag.
     
    #4 Adonia, Sep 11, 2019
  5. robycop3

    robycop3 Well-Known Member
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    I have never thought much of the Kennedy gang, including the late JFK. Their daddy Joe was a goat roper who was in bed with the "Honey Fitz: Irish mafia in Boston, who tried to cheat Gloria Swanson outta $millions. (At least JFK was truly heroic when the PT109 was sunk.)
     
    #5 robycop3, Sep 12, 2019
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