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Mass Demonstrations: Kick Nixon Out

By VVAW

In May, President Nixon released the transcripts of conversations held in the White House that pertained to the Watergate events. The transcripts, all told about 1,300 pages, were edited and incomplete. They enraged millions of readers, giving public view to the private conversations of the men accused of covering up and planning the break-in of the Democratic election headquarters in 1972. As a result of these edited conversations, many newspapers supportive of the President over the past 25 years, announced that they were "morally outraged" at the lack of humanity displayed by Nixon and called for his resignation or impeachment. Countless senators and representatives chimed in their sudden displeasure and joined the growing bandwagon of citizens demanding the removal of Nixon from office.

Many of the people calling for his impeachment or resignation were those who either supported the president or were in the Republican Party, of which Nixon is the leader. It is evident that with the growing revulsion of Nixon's conduct many of these politicians are falling over themselves to desert the sinking ship, and disavow themselves from the stigma of having been counted in the President's corner. Democrats bubbled with glee at the discomfort of the Republicans, stating that impeachment, not resignation, is the correct method of testing whether Nixon is guilty or innocent. From their viewpoint the longer Nixon squirms the better the chances of their trouncing the Republicans in the next congressional election coming up in just a few months. As they jockey for position, all of these politicians have only one interest; re-election. Nowhere is there concern for the American people.

Over the past five years, millions of Americans have more correctly assessed the situation and have come to the conclusion that Nixon must be ousted from office. The decisive factor is not that Nixon planned or covered up the Watergate break-in. The question of Nixon's morality and salty language is not the issue either, although the most pervasive disclosure of the transcripts is the utter contempt that Nixon show for the welfare of the American people. Scandals have rocked the western world recently, toppling the government in Germany. Economic disasters have seen the demise of governments in England, Iceland and Canada. Struggles for power in France, Israel and Portugal are the results of no confidence in their political and economic systems. The United States is in a similar situation. The continued war in Indochina, the wage controls, the cutbacks in federally funded programs, the high food prices, the spiraling inflation, the fuel hoax are factors that conclusively show that the system fronted by Nixon is unable to meet the needs of the American working people.

These are the real issues, and not the Watergate events. While the public interest in the developments of political espionage and 'dirty tricks' is high, the demands for kicking Nixon out stem from a dissatisfaction with the system. President Nixon is the symbol of that system and the public wrath over Nixon's involvement in Watergate stems from that dissatisfaction. Congress people and editorial boards of the nation's established newspapers have put forward the position that removing Nixon will remove the inability of the system to deal with the everyday economic conditions that drag down the American people.

Removing Nixon will not change the system; it will only change the faces of those who administer it. The policies of Lyndon Johnson continued in the years of the Nixon administration. These policies are not the products of the Republicans or the Democrats, but of the system that exploits people all over the world and maintains itself with an insatiable lust for expansion and profits.

As part of a growing public awareness of the need to attack this system, thousands of Americans marched across the country on April 27th demanding the ouster of Nixon from the White house, while at the same time focusing on the economic conditions that result from the system of profits over people. These demonstrations occurred in Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles. Signs demanding "Throw the Bum Out, Organize to Fight", "Dump Nixon" and "Fight the Energy Freeze" were seen everywhere. Militant slogans echoed through the streets. The angry demonstrators represented a cross section of the American people, with factory workers joining students. All along the march routes, people standing on the sides cheered their support for the demonstration and its demands, and in many cases these people joined in the marches.

These demonstrations have occurred with increasing regularity during the past several months, and, as the conditions worsen in this country, the militancy of the people increases. It is apparent that the American people are totally fed up with the lies of the administration and the system it represents. It is also clear that the concerted effort to save the system by Congress and the highly paid commentators of the nation's media cannot divert attention from the real issues at hand. While Nixon flaunts his contempt of the American people, and while Congress and the press debate the content of the tapes, the vehemence of the people is not lost to the corporate board rooms; they recognize that they are in deep trouble and are trying to shore up and their decaying system, by dragging out impeachment talk.

From July 1-4, VVAW/WSO will conduct a demonstration in Washington, D.C. culminating in a large march and rally on the Fourth of July, aimed at expressing the disgust of the American people. All those who want to show their contempt of the (expletive deleted) system and Nixon as the symbol of it, are urged to march on Washington.