check out my friend's blog and our latest discussion

I'm going to try and cut, then paste it, but in case I can't figure it out, check out the latest exchange between my friend "LeftWingCracker" and me on his blog. He can be reached at www.leftwingcracker.blogspot.com . The issue presently is about President Ford's passing and, most specifically, the impact of his pardon of President Nixon. Since "the Cracker" and I have been friends for 23 years, we don't hold much back. I don't think you'll be bored, even as we engage in a bit of "LBJ-esque" language. Here goes--

On the passing of Gerald Ford.
While everyone lionizes the 38th (and only UNELECTED) President, I am going to be slightly less praising of him.To be sure, he was a nice guy, and, like the Rude Pundit says, Gerald Ford WASN'T bugfuck insane, something we haven't been able to say about a Republican President in a LONG time. He seemed average and unassuming, which are good qualities to have in a President, especially when you're succeeding the Worst President in History (remember, neither Reagan nor the Bushes had come along yet).Yet, Gerald Ford (the man who would rather have been House Speaker) will always be judged for the fact that he pardoned Nixon. Most of the Beltway Blatherers laud Ford for "putting this behind us so the country could move forward."BULLSHIT.The fact that Nixon never had to face an American jury is what allowed the Iran-Contra traitors to be pardoned by 41, and may allow 43, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld to avoid the war-crimes trials they so richly deserve. It set a horrible precedent, and deserves condemnation over 30 years after the fact. Would it have torn the country apart? Well, the response to that is this: how much more COULD it have been torn apart?Steve Gilliard says this today about that:1975 was a difficult year. The US military was dysfunctional, American society was shattered, there was a real question if the US could have survived the trial of Richard Nixon for his various crimes.Once he had slunk off, to everyone's relief, there was no great appetite for punishment among Congress.But, by pardoning Nixon, he helped save the GOP, by not exposing the criminal nature of that enterprise. It was allowed to reform as a right wing party, catering to small business and backwoods rednecks. The Dems never really pressed the advantage they could have had by exposing Nixon and his crimes.Read the rest of it, it's terrific.Also, think how much we could have avoided if Nixon had been tried and convicted:No Reagan or EITHER Bush.Perhaps the implosion of the Southern Strategy before it went any further than it did.Folks, if there IS a God, Gerald Ford is doing a LOT of explaining right now.UPDATE: Jeff has EVEN MORE that I had forgotten about at the Pesky Fly!
Posted by LeftWingCracker at 5:12 PM Permalink Comments
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The comments are where we "go at it." I'd also recommend "the Cracker" for other postings about Memphis, Tennessee and periodic entries about sports.