>>376283Nixon and Reagan are iconic figures despite all the hype. In fact, some leftist extremists are trying to preach that Nixon was actually a good president.
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Richard Nixon was born on January 9, 1913, and served as President of the United States from January 20, 1969, until August 9, 1974. He belonged to the generation formed by the Great Depression and the Second World War. His presidency came before Reagan, in an America where a Republican could still regard substantial economic intervention as a legitimate responsibility of government. This was before the "stupid era" of the Republican party. He has a personal "positive vision" for the Right, which was never codified or taken up in any kind of ideological project. This is what "The Right" lacks.
Here are ten reasons to give him that consideration.
1. He believed conservatism could provide material security.
Nixon accepted important achievements of the New Deal and Great Society rather than treating their destruction as his mission. His conservatism allowed room for public provision, economic intervention, and reform. There is something morally serious about a politics that takes responsibility for how ordinary people live.
2. He proposed an income floor for struggling families.
His 1969 Family Assistance Plan sought federal minimum support for poor families, including families already working. It combined assistance with work incentives and requirements for eligible adults. Although it never became law, the proposal recognized that employment and poverty could coexist, and that working families deserved help.
3. He wanted healthcare within everyone's reach.
His 1974 Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan proposed employer coverage, assistance for people unable to afford insurance, and improved Medicare. It preserved private provision while accepting public responsibility for access. The proposal failed, but its ambition deserves recognition.
4. He helped protect the elderly and disabled from destitution.
In 1972, Nixon signed legislation increasing Social Security benefits by 20% and establishing automatic inflation adjustments. He also signed the legislation creating Supplemental Security Income for needy elderly, blind, and disabled people. These measures gave vulnerable Americans more dependable material protection.
5. He accepted that workers' safety was a public responsibility.
Nixon signed the 1970 legislation establishing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A worker's willingness to earn a living does not release an employer from obligations concerning safety. His signature helped make those obligations enforceable.
6. He was willing to use economic power in the national interest.
In 1971, Nixon imposed wage and price controls, suspended dollar convertibility into gold, and introduced a temporary import surcharge. The results warrant criticism, but his willingness to intervene showed that market arrangements were subject to political judgment and national needs.
7. He wanted communities to exercise more control over public resources.
His New Federalism sought to move funds and responsibility toward state and local governments. Its underlying principle deserves respect: national resources can support institutions closer to the people who depend on them.
8. He supported Indigenous self-determination.
In his July 8, 1970 message on Indian Affairs, Nixon rejected forced termination and advocated Indigenous self-determination. He recognized that assistance need not require the surrender of a people's institutions or identity. This is among the strongest moral reasons to reassess his presidency.
9. He could negotiate with ideological enemies.
Nixon's anti-communism did not prevent his opening to China or his pursuit of détente and arms control with the Soviet Union in 1972. He understood that responsible leadership sometimes requires negotiating with governments one profoundly opposes.
10. He understood the political importance of people who felt unheard.
His appeal to the "silent majority" gave political expression to Americans who felt alienated from the protest movements of his era. That appeal deserves scrutiny, but so does its central insight: quieter citizens also possess interests, loyalties, and a legitimate claim to representation.