Posted on 04/07/2025 1:23:53 PM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
Among Richard Nixon’s many presidential priorities—ending the Vietnam War, thawing relations with China, expanding environmental protections—there was one initiative his team hoped to keep well under the radar: his secret “enemies list.” In an August 1971 memo, White House Counsel John Dean offered a piquant summary of the project’s goal: to “use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies.”
The formal list began in June 1971as a short memo of 20 names of people, most of whom had deep ties to the Democratic Party. Actor Paul Newman made an appearance, with the notation “Radic-Lib causes. Heavy Mc Carthy involvement in '68.” So did Washington Post columnist Mary McGrory, cited for her “daily hate Nixon articles.” The list would grow into several unwieldy compendiums, totaling hundreds of names, encompassing politicians, media figures, celebrities, labor leaders, activists, watchdog groups, scholars and businesspeople.
(Excerpt) Read more at history.com ...
It was before my time, but I’m pretty sure the list wasn’t big enough.
And if anyone doesn't think that other presidents/pols didn't/don't keep such a list...you're wrong!
Pat, is that you?
For some reason, in 1952, I became interested in Mr. Nixon ( back then, we had current events every week in grammar school, so even at a very young age, kids KNEW what was going on! ) and followed the news about him, on T.V. and in newspapers for the rest of my life.
Am I an "expert" on him?
No, but I probably know far more about him than most people on this site.
So I post what I know, as well as my opinions, on threads about him.
Only 2 were able to survive the Nixon’s hit list, Morton Haperin and Sidney Davidoff! - wiki
Arnold Picker, film executive
Alexander E. Barkan, head of the AFL-CIO’s Committee on Political Education
Edwin Guthman, journalist
Maxwell Dane, advertising executive
Charles Dyson, businessman
Howard Stein, financier
Rep. Allard Lowenstein (D-NY), congressman
Morton Halperin, foreign policy expert
Leonard Woodcock, president of the United Auto Workers
S. Sterling Munro Jr., aide of former Washington Senator Henry M. Jackson
Bernard T. Feld, professor
Sidney Davidoff, lawyer
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), congressman
Samuel M. Lambert, executive secretary of the National Education Association
Stewart Rawlings Mott, philanthropist
Rep. Ron Dellums (D-CA), congressman
Daniel Schorr, journalist
S. Harrison Dogole, president of Globe Security Systems
Paul Newman, actor
Mary McGrory, journalist
I always liked that about him.
Less known is that the award winning author Norman Mailer (RIP) used to have one, too. Had entries for “what was done against me” and dates, then “retaliation” with space for it and date. Many had no payback listed. I Never saw a full version but the book Mailer: His Life and Times by Peter Manso (1985) discusses it.
Maybe getting it down on paper is like externalizing inner conflicts onto a journal or piece of fiction.
As a vengeful minded person who doesn’t really get revenge, I toyed with the idea of starting one. But the right side would be blank.
Please write down all you know. The only way knowledge is passed down to the people of the future. Before it is rewritten by some demagogue.
It wasn’t Nixon’s list. It was John Dean’s list.
OTOH...I have many books on many different topics, which WILL help future generations know actual FACTS, when I am gone....IF the lefties don't get in and start a BOOK BURNING crusade.
Stuff on line can always be deleted or changed; not so with REAL, hold in your hands and read books! Ditto old newspapers, which I also have, going back in time, to WW I, that were my grandmother's, of important events.
LOL...I still have my ENEMIES list, that I made in the 1960s, and also full blown double page ads, from the N.Y.Times, with NAMES, who were against Nixon and other things.
Then who says you can’t be like Roger Stone and spill all you know for cash to a book publisher?
People like Julia Cameron, Anne Lamott and Joan Didion started writing about their personal and family lives and then more and more people wanted to read more. Big bestselling totals of books after that.
Some-—not all-—of the books about writing memoirs.
https://www.google.com/search?q=images+books+on+writing+memoirs&sca_esv=49c9fbd1deebda4c&udm=2&biw=1052&bih=479&ei=QUz0Z_b_A4rtptQPtvH9uAI&ved
How to Write the Story of Your Life Paperback – 1989
by Frank P. Thomas
Explains the reasons for writing a memoir, tells how to organize and research the story, and includes tips on refreshing one’s memory and polishing the final draft.
Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past
By William Zinsser
How to Write Your Own Life Story: The Classic Guide for the Nonprofessional Writer
By Lois Daniel
Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
By Russell Baker
Write Your Story: Turn Your Life Into Fiction In 10 Easy Steps (Write in 10 Easy Steps)
By Helena Halme
nopardons,
Thanks, good stuff.
I always like learning from people who actually lived through events.
Besides, two of my favorite people, my grandmother(1920-2016) and her twin sister(1920-2013) met Nixon in the 1980’s.
They had met one other President up until that time, it happened in the 1950’s and his name was Herbert Hoover.
It's not as though I was a part of Nixon's "inner circle".
Yes, when I was in college, I did meet and know the wife of a GOPer who was charged in the case that the PINKOS tried to claim that Nixon was also guilty of, which he was NOT...hence THE CHECKERS SPEECH.
Yes, much, much later, I met some of people who were in D.C. during Nixon's two terms and know what they said.
But I certainly don't know any secrets/things that aren't out there/available, in books, to read.
What I have are my memories, the events that I lived through, and my own personal reactions and memories. :-)
Because many stories, that I know and hand down, are in the "voice" of many others, I'll just keep them all as they were told to me.
I'm writing down MY memories in MY VOICE, so while I thank you for the info you posted, I'll just stick with my way of doing it all. My only MAJOR problem is that I have almost NO idea HOW to spell the words in Hungarian, German, and Czech that are part of many stories. I've tried to get my kiddo to memorize them, with no enthusiasm at all. Hopefully, my grandson will memorize those. ;^)
You have GREAT family stories too! :-)
Parents and grandparents really SHOULD talk to their children/grandchildren and tell them what it was like when they were growing up...etc.!
I love the story that my Great Aunt told me, about when she was very little, she was playing outside and remembered all of the newsboys scream EXTRA, EXTRA...MCKINLEY HAS BEEN SHOT!
Hearing about events, from a person who lived through them, makes "history" become REAL, to children.
Knowing your family history and its intersection with national and global events turns history into YOUR-story.
Always worth the effort to preserve and impart!
Best of luck to you.
Remember that if you look on Google for “translate from English to Hungarian” or any language combinations, there is a service that does it. I use it to make gags here. If you get close to the foreign word it may offer a suggestion.
That’s a lot more than many of the authors in print.
Just sayin’.
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