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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWho was on Nixon's Political Enemies Hit List?
A recent Rachel Maddow show had me wondering who was on Richard Nixon's Political Enemies hit list, anyway. She reminded me that Nixon's Political Enemies list was intended to be used to investigate people who spoke out against him.
Apparently, Politicians, Celebrities Newspaper journalists, Businessmen and University Professors were included on Nixon's list which he sent to the director of the IRS instructing him to aggressively audit their tax returns.
Carol Channing, actress stated that inclusion on the list was her greatest accomplishment.
Other celebrities on the list were:
Bill Cosby, comedian
Jane Fonda, actress and political activist
Dick Gregory, comedian and civil rights and peace activist.
John Lennon, musician and activist
Steve McQueen, actor
Joe Namath, former New York Jets Quarterback
Paul Newman, actor
Gregory Peck, actor
Tony Randall, actor
Barbra Streisand, actress, singer, director, producer, writer, philanthropist, political advocate
Here's a Wiki entry listing the rest of the people on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_list_of_Nixon%27s_political_opponents
Va Lefty
(6,252 posts)I remember Dick Gregory, when told he was on list, said "Tell him I accept before he changes his mind."
sagesnow
(2,824 posts)it might need to be checked for accuracy. But most of the people on the list seem to be legit.
Va Lefty
(6,252 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)https://people.com/archive/a-neat-guy-vol-61-no-21/
blm
(113,039 posts)of Nixons political hitmen
oberliner
(58,724 posts)According to John Dean.
sagesnow
(2,824 posts)telling the head of the IRS to "use the Federal machinery" to investigate everyone on the list. From the Maddow Show:
oberliner
(58,724 posts)John Dean
In the 30-some years since my Senate testimony revealed the existence of a so-called enemies list purportedly kept by Richard Nixon, I don't think the record of what really happened has ever been corrected by historians. To the best of my knowledge, Richard Nixon was unaware of the enemies list.
http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/winter_2005/ft_presidents.html#dean
sagesnow
(2,824 posts)One year and 8 months after his second inauguration. Hope we don't have to wait that long for Cheetolini to be history.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)And still had very high approval ratings through early 1973.
sagesnow
(2,824 posts)But it makes me twice as charged up to work to Get Out the Vote.
Blue Wave coming to a seaside, or riverside, or creek-side near you.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Norbert
(6,039 posts)My thoughts on him resigning was bittersweet. I was glad to see ass out after all this was disclosed. It did through the country in a tizzy. At the time the Gas Crisis I was underway and inflation was high. Ford at least wasn't a right wing ideologue.
I have no such bittersweet thoughts this time. In fact I will fly in to DC just to hold the door open for him and push the Orange Menace out the door. The sooner he is gone the sooner we can stop the bleeding. We still need to deal with Михаил Pence though.
H2O Man
(73,528 posts)I noticed that one that's missing from the journalists listed is Dan Rather. In one of his early books (I think its title is "The Camera Never Blinks" ), he tells about a break-in at his house one night, which he believed to be Nixon's "plumbers." Mr. Rather, of course, had a famous exchange with Nixon that hurt the president's feelings.
It's important to remember that they did more than investigate people. Much more.
Norbert
(6,039 posts)Schorr said this was a greater honor than winning the Emmy.
Paul Newman actually bragged about being highest up on the list of people in the acting profession, saying that all other actors and actresses should be jealous.
Stuart G
(38,414 posts)It concerns the day the list was published...
This moment defines "Watergate" in a very special way for me.
I was at home watching the TV the day the "Enemies List" was released to the press. It was the major event of the day. I was busy switching channels on the TV to see the best coverage. At the moment of release, I was watching ABC Network, ( I don't remember who was reading the report) and the person read some of the names on the list. well known names that people would know.
The ABC reporter mentioned the name of .Daniel Schorr a TV reporter for CBS News who just happened to be reporting on Watergate at the time..........that was his current assignment..
I got up and switched the station to CBS that was a little behind ABC. I was so lucky to see this live as it happened....
Daniel Schorr was reporting the latest events of Watergate at that moment. I got it at the very beginning of his report. Schorr was reading the report of famous people on the list. He started reading a long list of names, one at a time, slow enough for people to hear as he read. About the 9th or 10th name on the list, (as reported by CBS News that day)...was ..Daniel Schorr
...The moment lives in my mind, Daniel Schorr reading live to the nation a list that Nixon and his group made up that were "enemies." of the Nixon administration. Daniel Schorr read his own name that was on the list, that he was an "enemy of the Nixon administration.. Daniel Schorr read "Daniel Schorr" on the list, looked up for a moment into the camera, made a quick facial comment which basically said, "What the hell, I am on the list and then continued reading the rest of names....
It was just a very quick moment, live, when the list was published. On that day, at that moment, I realized that Nixon (or Nixon's people) had targeted a well known national reporter who worked for CBS News. He was respected and had a long history of reporting on national news...
And that reporter read live, on network TV, as the list was published, that he, the reporter, Daniel Schorr, was an enemy of the Nixon administration. A reporter for CBS TV was an enemy of the people. . He read his own name as an "enemy" on live TV. I don't know if he knew ahead of time who was on the list...but I will never forget that moment. That defines Watergate for me. .. This happened on June 27, 1973 That is more than 45 years ago.
...There are other reporters on that list if hit the link in the Original Post..but that moment was an incredible moment for me....If you got this far, thank you for reading this.....Stuart G
sagesnow
(2,824 posts)Would be cool to see a replay of Daniel Shorr's newscast. Can anyone get it?