What I do not understand is how we have not impeached him because of starting an unnecessary war. We impeached Nixon, and I still don’t know the reason why we tossed him out. What did he do that merited impeachment?.
Actually Nixon resigned. But you're right, there was a good chance he would have been tossed out if it came to a Senate trial. It was another case of "the cover up is worse than the original issue."
Our political dirty tricksters weren't quite as sneaky as theirs. That, and they were in total control of the media, so they could fertilize a story until they grew it into a fully blossomed scandal. And Nixon was not a likable guy.
The Left HAD to get rid of Nixon. The reason wasn't important. It could have been for spitting on the sidewalk, or using the wrong fork at a state dinner.
As long as Nixon was in power, South Vietnam was viable and could have developed like South Korea did. The U.S. and South Vietnam had successfully eliminiated the guerilla threat from the Viet Cong. The process of Vietnamization of the military forces defending the south was nearly complete. The only way North Vietnam could conquer the south was through a conventional invasion with long columns of tanks and armored personnel carriers and towed guns. Because of the limited entry points for a motorized conventional army into the south, it was a perfect target for US air attack which would quickly turn any invasion route into a "highway of death" and had no chance.
A conventional invasion of the south was a violation of the Paris Peace Accords, and Nixon told everyone that if the north invaded the south, he would bomb.
After 1968 the Left took control of the Democratic Party and the Mainstream Media, and was fully invested in the defeat of South Vietnam. If South Vietnam survived and prospered like South Korea and developed over time into a reasonably free and successful country, then everything the Left said in the 1960s would have been shown wrong and Nixon right.
That could not be tolerated. Nixon had to go. The Left with a weaker president and enough votes in Congress could cut off aid to South Vietnam and prevent the bombing of a northern invasion force. And that is exactly what they did.
If South Vietnam did not survive then the Leftwing myth about American imperialism and corrupt capitalism and militarism and oppression of indigenous peoples would live on in countless Hollywood movies and books and the Mainstream Media and be indoctrinated in generations of American schoolchildren. If South Vietnam did survive as a free and prosperous country then all of that would be exploded as a lie.
THAT is why Nixon faced impeachment and resigned.
Nixon was NOT impeached NOR tossed out! He resigned under threat of impeachment. Had he not resigned he would have been impeached and possibly removed from office. Bill Clinton on the other hand WAS impeached but not removed from office. For some reason a lot of people seem to believe that Nixon WAS impeached and Clinton WAS NOT impeached, the exact opposite of reality.
What I do not understand is how we have not impeached him because of starting an unnecessary war. We impeached Nixon, and I still don’t know the reason why we tossed him out. What did he do that merited impeachment?.