I consider Nixon to be a liberal Republican, who was too conservative for a liberal media being seduced by the cultural, social and political upheaval of the late 1960’s to the point where many decent Americans felt the major media were an enemy that had to controlled by government dictate.
The grand old lady Phyllis Schlafly was used as a rotating radio commentator by CBS Radio alongside other liberal and conservative commentators back in the 1970’s.
Even Phyllis in one of her CBS “Spectrum” commentaries back then suggested the “Fairness Doctrine” as a solution to the liberal bias of the media.
It wasn’t the real solution in the end, being a First Amendment violation, but the Nixon supporters in the media war and I was generally one with the exception of his “Fairness Doctrine” use had a slogan.
They said that news should be ‘fair and balanced’ and one of Nixon’s media advisors, Roger Ailes, got to use that slogan two decades later.
didn’t know about Roger Ailes either :)
or the origin of that slogan.
That's a pretty good assessment. Nixon clearly governed as a liberal: Affirmative Action and EPA are among his administration's products.
But he was more or less anti-Communist (though I didn't agree with some of his policies in that regard) and he talked a good game --or more precisely, sent Vice President Agnew out to do it.
Clearly, he was to the right of McGovern, likely even Humphrey. If the media had to have a Republican, they much preferred a full-out liberal like Rockefeller.
But Nixon was no Goldwater, either, or Reagan. Not by a long shot.