nixon aide o course we knew what we were doing

What did Nixon do for Vietnam?

Nixon, the only US president to resign in scandal, presided over the waning days of the Vietnam war, a relentlessly brutal fight over far away lands that nominally represented a fight between the free world and communism.

Was the war on Drugs a political assault to help Nixon?

Ehrlichman’s comment is the first time the war on drugs has been plainly characterized as a political assault designed to help Nixon win, and keep, the White House.

How did Nixon try to tamp down dissent over the war?

As Nixon sought to tamp down dissent over a deeply unpopular war, two politically powerful non-establishment forces rose: Blacks and hippies. John Ehrlichman, Nixon's aide on domestic affairs, who would eventually get convicted in the Watergate scandal, had a plan for them.

Did Nixon aide Ehrlichman take time to candidly explain war on drugs?

Baum equated Ehrlichman’s admission with traumatic war stories that often take decades for veterans to talk about and said it clearly took time for Ehrlichman and other Nixon aides he interviewed to candidly explain the war on drugs.

What was Nixon's political focus on white voters?

However, Nixon’s political focus on white voters, the “Silent Majority,” is well-known. And Nixon’s derision for minorities in private is well-known from his White House recordings. The comments come as there has been a marked shift in attitudes toward handling drug use – ranging from the legalization of marijuana in various states ...

Who were the enemies of Nixon?

Story highlights. "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people," former Nixon domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman told Harper's writer Dan Baum. Ehrlichman's comment is the first time the war on drugs has been plainly characterized as a political assault designed ...

Why was the war on drugs created?

One of Richard Nixon’s top advisers and a key figure in the Watergate scandal said the war on drugs was created as a political tool to fight blacks and hippies, according to a 22-year-old interview recently published in Harper’s Magazine.

What did Richard Nixon say about the war on drugs?

A decades-old comment by a Richard Nixon adviser has surfaced, again, with the long-dead aide being quoted as saying that the war on drugs was designed to fight blacks and hippies. On its April cover, Harper’s Magazine published journalist Dan Baum’s story “Legalize It ...

When did the quote "The Moment" come out?

The quote first appeared in the 2012 book “The Moment,” a collection of stories about moments that changed writers’ lives, The Huffington Post noted. Baum said the comment changed the way he reported. The Rev. Al Sharpton weighed in on the discussion.

What was the Nixon administration's strategy of using drugs to “vilify [African Americans] night after night on

The Nixon Administration’s strategy of using drugs to “vilify [African Americans] night after night on the evening news” fostered a politics of fear and anger that reached frenzied heights in the 1990s .

Why did Nixon create the war on drugs?

President Nixon’s creation of a war on drugs to criminalize Black people amplified the presumption of guilt assigned to Black people since slavery and entrenched the racialization of criminality that began in earnest with lynching.

What did Bill Clinton do in 1994?

Decrying that “ [g]angs and drugs have taken over our streets and undermined our schools,” President Bill Clinton in 1994 signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act , allotting $12.5 billion to states to increase incarceration.

What was the War on Drugs designed to do?

Nixon Adviser Admits War on Drugs Was Designed to Criminalize Black People. After President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs” in 1971, the number of people incarcerated in American jails and prisons escalated from 300,000 to 2.3 million.

Who was Nixon's aide on domestic affairs?

John Ehrlichman, Nixon's aide on domestic affairs, who would eventually get convicted in the Watergate scandal, had a plan for them. Dan Baum, the author of 1996's "Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure," wrote in Harper's Magazine in 2016 that while researching his book, Ehrlichman gave a reason for the war ...

Why did Nixon declare a war on drugs?

President Richard Nixon in 1971 declared a US "war on drugs" that, over the decades, fueled mass incarceration and the crisis at the US's southern border without preventing Americans from accessing dangerous drugs, and one of his top aides say it 's because it was a racist policy implemented as a power grab.

What were the two non-establishment forces that rose during the Vietnam War?

As Nixon sought to tamp down dissent over a deeply unpopular war, two politically powerful non-establishment forces rose: Blacks and hippies.

Who were the enemies of Nixon in 1968?

"The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people.

Who was the Republican presidential candidate in 1968?

Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon rides in a parade on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 1968. President Richard Nixon in 1971 declared a US "war on drugs" that hasn't saved the US from the dangers of drugs, but has fueled migrant crises and the mass incarceration of minorities in the US.

Who was the real enemy of Nixon?

But as John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s counsel and Assistant for Domestic Affairs, revealed in 1994, the real public enemy in 1971 wasn’t really drugs or drug abuse. Rather the real enemies of the Nixon administration were the anti-war left and blacks, and the War on Drugs was designed as an evil, deceptive and sinister policy to wage a war on those two ...

What year did Nixon declare war on drugs?

The shocking story behind Nixon’s declaration of a ‘War on Drugs’ on this day in 1971 that targeted blacks and anti-war activists. Today, June 17, marks the 49th anniversary of a shameful day in US history — it’s when President Richard Nixon’s declared what has been the US government’s longest and costliest war — the epic failure known as ...

When did the ODALE start?

Early the following year, Nixon created the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) in January 1972 to wage a government war on otherwise peaceful and innocent Americans who voluntarily chose to ingest plants, weeds, and intoxicants proscribed by the government. In July 1973, ODALE was consolidated, along with several other federal drug ...

What did the increased enforcement of drug laws do to blacks?

Intensified enforcement of drug laws subjected blacks, more than whites, to new mandatory minimum sentences —despite lower levels of drug use and no higher demonstrated levels of trafficking among the black than the white population. 3.

Who vetoed the Volstead Act?

In fact, President Wilson vetoed the Volstead Act, the popular name for the National Prohibition Act, but the House and Senate both voted quickly to override the veto and America started the War on Alchohol Otherwise Peaceful and Innocent Americans Who Voluntarily Chose to Ingest Beer, Wine, and Spirits in 1920.

Who was the counsel to the President for Domestic Affairs under Nixon?

But sometimes you come across something so unexpected that it is like a sharp slap in the face. Dan Baum's mention of his interview with John Ehrlichman, counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under Nixon, in the latest issue of Harper's is one of those moments. The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, ...

Why did Nixon use the Southern strategy?

After all, the Nixon campaign embraced the so-called southern strategy of playing on the prejudices of southern whites to gain votes because black Americans tended to back for Democrats. When Ehrlichman called blacks and those opposing the war enemies, he meant it literally.

Why did Nixon turn the justice system into a private army?

The realization that Nixon turned the U.S. justice system into a private army to punish those who didn't love him for too many good reasons is shocking. That this is news today, and that the mechanisms once started as a personal vendetta continue to crush people born to the "wrong" parents, should be nauseating.

Who were the enemies of Nixon?

The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying?

Who was the advance man for Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign?

Political life. "The Berlin Wall" of Ehrlichman and Haldeman on April 27, 1973, three days before they would be asked to resign. Ehrlichman worked on Nixon's unsuccessful 1960 presidential campaign and his unsuccessful 1962 California gubernatorial election campaign. He was an advance man for Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign .

Who was the White House counsel to Nixon?

Following Nixon's victory, Ehrlichman became the White House Counsel. ( John Dean would succeed him.) Ehrlichman was Counsel for about a year before becoming Chief Domestic Advisor for Nixon. It was then that he became a member of Nixon's inner circle.

What was John Ehrlichman's job after his release?

He served as the executive vice president of an Atlanta hazardous materials firm. In a 1981 interview, Ehrlichman referred to Nixon as a "very pathetic figure in American history." His experiences in the Nixon administration were published in his 1982 book, Witness To Power. The book portrays Nixon in a very negative light, and is considered to be the culmination of his frustration at not being pardoned by Nixon before his own 1974 resignation. Shortly before his death, Ehrlichman teamed with best-selling novelist Tom Clancy to write, produce, and co-host a three-hour Watergate documentary, John Ehrlichman: In the Eye of the Storm. The completed but never-broadcast documentary, along with associated papers and videotape elements (including an interview Ehrlichman did with Bob Woodward as part of the project), is housed at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia .

When did Nixon fire Ehrlichman?

This alienation led him to believe he was to become the Watergate scapegoat and then to his eventual cooperation with Watergate prosecutors. On April 30, 1973, Nixon fired Dean. Ehrlichman and Haldeman resigned.

What was Ehrlichman's uncle's job?

He remained a practicing lawyer until 1969, when he entered politics full-time.

Who played John Ehrlichman in Nixon?

John Ehrlichman was portrayed by J. T. Walsh in the film Nixon, and by Wayne Péré in Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House .

Who did the Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream commercial?

In 1987, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream hired Ehrlichman to do a television commercial for a light ice cream sold by the company, as part of a series of commercials featuring what the company called "unbelievable spokespeople for an unbelievable product.". After complaints from consumers, the company quickly pulled the ad.