Direct video: https://youtu.be/e_gkEviOWIk
Nixon was for stronger gun control even supporting a total handgun ban. Similarly Regan was as governor. Row v. Wade was largely seen as sensible by Republicans when it was determined. Nixon also signed OSHA.
Nixon gets a lot of shit but I’d much rather have another Nixon than a Bush, Reagan, or fucking Trump… he was actually a mixed bag on most issues (the big exception being the war on drugs) and is lauded as one of the best presidents for Native American rights… that all said, he did still delay and minimize labor rights. You need to get back pre-Eisenhower to start getting into Republicans that actually aren’t pieces of shit and then we’re basically at the party swap.
Nixon started the GOP’s destruction of the middle class. When Nixon took office, a high school graduate with a Union job could buy a house and support a family of four. By the time Reagan was elected that was already a rarity.
Here’s how it worked. The Vietnam War was like steroids for the US economy. The aging steel mills of the mid-West were running 24/7 to make enough bombs. The demand was so high that it was cheaper for Germany and Japan to build their own steel mills because they couldn’t get US steel.
Now comes the Arab Oil Boycott and the energy crisis. Huge demand for small gas efficient cars and no love for big American gas guzzlers. Ever seen pictures of those cool lofts in New York’s SoHo district? Those building were full of small factories making shoes/purses/toys etc etc. All those businesses closed and there was a massive migration to non-Union states and eventually China.
Moreover, Nixon had been paying for the War by printing money. He didn’t want to raise taxes, and people didn’t think about where the money was coming from.
Reagan was the real villain in the piece, but Nixon was the guy who gave him the gun.
