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Editorial: Nothing New To Nixon

By VVAW

We're expected to believe that the Watergate scandal was the first crime ever committed by Nixon campaign officials and that Nixon was not involved in the plotting. Given the history of past Nixon campaigns, we just can't buy it at all! Looking at the campaigns of 1952, 1956 and 1962 we can see the patterns of sabotage, corruption, and graft that exist in the Nixon regime today.

In 1952, Nixon's secret campaign slush fund of almost $19,000 was discovered and exposed. Donations to the fund were given by people who expected to be given government contracts in return. Nixon masterfully dodged the slush fund issue with one of the greatest snow jobs in history; the "Checkers" speech. Afterwards, the press and political opponents completely backed off from the scandal. Officials such as William Rogers and Maurice Stans completed the cover-up.

In 1956, three weeks before Election Day, the Hughes Tool Co. made a $205,000 loan to the Nixon family, supposedly for a business venture by Nixon's brother Don. Nixon tried to lie his way out of this by claiming that the loan came not from Hughes, but from a friend, Frank Waters, who happened to be Hughes' attorney. At the time of the pay-ff several deals took place between Hughes' corporations and government agencies: TWA received authorization for a new air route from St. Louis to Miami; the Far East route of TWA was extended to Manila; TWA received approval for a fare hike and the restrictions of transactions between TWA and Hughes Tool Co. were removed. Hughes Tool Co. received several business contracts from the Civil Aeronautics Board after many failures to do so in the past. Hughes Aircraft Co. was awarded DOD contracts and a very important Justice Dept. civil anti-trust suit pending against Hughes was settled quietly.

Nixon's campaign in 1962 for Governor of California against Pat Brown was called by most experts as the 'dirtiest campaign ever.' Nixon and his aides were exposed for political sabotage and slanderous attacks against Brown and the Democrats. In May, Nixon aide, Sanford Weiner, was caught after he had promised Phillip Moore $200,000 to run against Brown in the Democratic primary. But the main thrust of the Nixon campaign was to label Democratic Part and Pat Brown as 'being soft on Communism." Leader of the attacks was, Murray Chotiner, crony of Nixon and supporter of the John Birch Society. As Democrats put it, "Everytime Nixon and his other half, Chotiner, go into a campaign, the Communist issue crops up."

Within days after Chotiner joined Nixon's staff, bumper stickers appeared in California which read, "Is Brown Pink?" Chotiner was then caught producing and distributing fake nude photos of Brown in the pamphlet "Pat Brown and the California Dynasty of Communism.' In October came the 'Little Red Book' written by Karl Prussian, an FBI informant, which was similar to the 'pinksheets' Nixon used against Helen Douglas in the 1950 campaign for US senator.

This booklet was mailed to Democrats in California on Democratic stationary from the Nixon Campaign Headquarters. Days later, the Democrats sued the distributors of this literature, the Committee for Preservation of the Democratic Party, for $500,000. All literature depicting Brown and the Democrats as 'reds' was banned from further distribution by the Nixon Campaign Committee. That CFP had its offices in Nixon's headquarters is further evidence of Nixon's defiance of the 'democratic principles' which this country is allegedly run by. On Oct. 31, Chotiner was slapped with a court injunction barring him from distribution of faked literature.

Luckily, Nixon was defeated in his bid for Governor. Enraged by the press for having the nerve to print the truth about his campaign tactics, Nixon issued his famous "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore."

Now in 1973, the press still has the nerve to print the truth about his tactics. As Nixon attempted to reach higher office, his tactics have escalated accordingly. Gone are the childish games of nude photos of opponents. They've been replaced by intricate espionage operations. There have been major scandals in every campaign he has run and it is inconceivable that he could not have been involved or aware of them. It is hard to believe that he is not the mastermind of Watergate. Nixon and his henchmen are guilty, not only of political espionage and sabotage, but of violating the standards and principles of democracy, and by violating the trust of the American people in his raw craving for power. Nixon and his cohorts are guilty, of the highest crime in the land - Treason!