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Why Nixon Opposes Amnesty

By VVAW

With the scandals of the Pentagon Papers and now the Watergate exploding before the eyes of America, Nixon and the government is faced with a very serious credibility gap. In trying to maintain power this credibility gap poses a very serious threat to the Nixon gang. They must do everything they can to convince the people that they aren't out-and-out crooks and at least 'sort of' looking out for the needs of the people. Granting amnesty would instead imply that they war in Indochina was wrong, and that those who resisted it were right! This would in effect legitimize resistance to the government. As much hot water as Nixon is now in with the American people, the last thing he wants is more resistance. Amnesty would prove what we've said all along---the war was wrong!

A second major reason Nixon doesn't want to grant amnesty is because of the economic implications involved. The U.S. economy is clearly in trouble ? witness the spiraling cost of living (food prices, gas prices, etc.) and the continuing crisis of unemployment. With a significant percentage of the entire labor force effectively excluded from real jobs by virtue of less than honorable discharges or prison records for war resistance, this crisis of unemployment is much easier to hid. A Dishonorable Discharge makes what is a problem of our entire, militarized, economy seem to be the problem of the individual; one who is being economically punished for being a 'bad boy.' The truth is that there are simply not enough real jobs to go around, and the less than honorable discharge is one way of lessening the visibility of the problem. Nixon also realizes that the war resisters wouldn't be the type of passive wage slaves that he'd like to see in the work force. They fought for their rights once, and could be expected to do so again. No amnesty is thus partially geared to breaking any spirit of labor militancy these people would potentially bring to the labor struggle by keeping them jobless or chronically unemployed.