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In reply to the discussion: The campaign to make Richard Nixon great again [View all]DJ Synikus Makisimus
(1,163 posts)"Nixon liberals," mostly from the northeast and west coast, were a thing amongst Republicans until the Powell Memorandum* begat the Federalist Society, who primaried the Nixonians out of the GOP. That led directly to Trump. The last prominent Nixon liberal I can think of was Arlen Specter, who ultimately defected to the Democrats in 2009. He wasn't the only one to do so. Nixon liberals found a home in the Democratic Party, where they're known as "moderates," beginning with Jimmy Carter's move to the right. Their position was cemented by Bill Clinton and his people (James Carville, in particular, continues this ideology), and they now pretty much comprise the entirety of the party's establishment.
Nixon liberals tended not to be down with Nixon's authoritarian tendencies, but were very much in line with his promotion and protection of the wealthy, privileged and powerful and their corporations (particularly multi-nationals). They tended to do very well by their capitalist backers (donors), too, amassing comfortable wealth while being largely exempted from insider trading rules or scrutiny. The "revolving door" between government and corporations was solidified into practice by these folks.
So you might wanna be careful about criticizing Nixon, or people might start thinking you're a progressive or, shudder, a DSAer.
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*https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/assets/usa-courts-secrecy-lobbyist/powell-memo.pdf; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_F._Powell_Jr.