1. Why aren't more Republican lawmakers speaking out against Trump? In fact, why are most protecting him? Some history might help. Compare Ronald Reagan & Howard Baker during Watergate.
-
-
3. Reagan took a different task. Interestingly, prior to Watergate, Reagan had been quite critical of Nixon (for going to China & other liberal measures). But once Nixon was emerged as lawless president, Reagan loved him.
Show this thread -
4. Reagan in 1973/1974: Watergate was "lynching" & "witch hunt" comparable to KKK: "to watch the ‘night riders’ ignore the harm they are doing to our nation in these troubled times makes me a little sick.”
Show this thread -
5. Reagan continued to support Nixon even after White House tapes came out where Nixon said Reagan was “pretty shallow” and of “limited mental capacity.”
Show this thread -
6. Political analysts at the time & Reagan's own staff thought he was nuts. Why stick up for president mired in scandal. But Reagan's instincts were, in fact, right.
Show this thread -
7. What Reagan understood was that partisan Republicans (who he would need to win the primaries if running for president) would love his loyalty to Nixon, while less partisan voters would forget it.
Show this thread -
8. After Watergate, Reagan's star rose, while Howard Baker's more moderate version of Republicanism faded. Reagan had made the right bet: sticking to a sinking president makes sense in polarized, tribalist polity.
Show this thread -
9. Drawing on
@rickperlstein's excellent book Invisible Bridge &@MikeKoncewicz's fascinating forthcoming book They Said No to Nixon, I argue that we can't expect much GOP resistance to Trump:https://newrepublic.com/article/147558/trumps-loyalists-following-reagans-footsteps …Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
That question was not an attack on Nixon, it was to get Dean to say Nixon had no knowledge of break in
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Wasn’t Baker’s question meant to narrow the scope of the inquiry and put larger “the buck stops here” considerations off limits?
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Baker was trying to limit the investigation.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.