Posted on 06/23/2009 5:41:29 PM PDT by reaganaut1
On Jan. 23, 1973, when the Supreme Court struck down state criminal abortion laws in Roe v. Wade, President Richard M. Nixon made no public statement. But privately, newly released tapes reveal, he expressed ambivalence.
Nixon worried that greater access to abortions would foster permissiveness, and said that it breaks the family. But he also saw a need for abortion in some cases, such as interracial pregnancies.
There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white, he told an aide, before adding: Or a rape.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Remember, "Tricky Dick" wasn't called "Tricky" for nothing.
Well hell, he was a man who was in his 40s in 1960. Everyone had a different mentality about that kind of thing in that generation. You think there were a lot of blacks that would have been happy about a mixed race child then?
I notice they don’t do a lot of release of LBJ’s tapes and/or notes, he was about as bad of a racist as they come.
I don’t really care what Nixon’s view on abortion is. That it is detestable I’m not surprised but I’m sure that horrid view wasn’t uncommon during that time. I am much more offended though by the horrible way planned parenthood has targeted black and minority communities with abortion clinics. It is well known that some of the founders of planned parenthood held blacks in low regard. Aslo the outlook for poor women after having abortions does not generally improve rather published studies show that the opposite is true.
Continuing to prove that Nixon was an unprincipled jerk.
That’s a mighty big assumption there (that the NYT is accurate).
If you consider it, Nixon was a prophet ... Obama would have been aborted. /sarc
In trying to understand this, if it’s accurate, keep in mind Nixon spoke in short clips he didn’t always elaborate. Obviously he doesn’t mean forced abortion to get rid of mixed race kids. He’s talking about a woman who wants an abortion because she gets pregnant with a man of a different race and this will bring embarrassment to her, maybe if she’s married. If she’s single it’s a more racist comment I guess because he is assuming a white woman won’t want to have a black baby.
That’s about the best I can do with it. Also a lot of people aren’t old enough to realize that even in the 1960’s a mixed race couple was a shocking thing in most places. People don’t know that Muhammad Ali was one of the biggest opponents of mixed race marriage.
So in the context of the times, Nixon was referring to any “embarrassing” pregnancy.
Why, because he was living in 1960’s America and not 2009 America? Where now white guilt is so bad that we HAVE to elect someone who is black.
Well he’s right. Most white women don’t want to have a baby with a black guy. Look at the marriage stats.
That’s why I also said that back in his day particularly, the segregationist ideas ran high on both sides. Blacks were not overjoyed at mixed race kids either. Not many races were, they all thought it diluted their own race and that the kid wouldn’t be wanted by either of the parents’ ethnic groups.
So true!
Well...if he was, then he's at least one of the most interesting unprincipled jerks of the modern political age.
You think there are many of them who approve of that NOW?
I think the stigma has decreased a bit in some demographics. In others it may have in fact increased. Back in the 90s when I did some co-op work in DC, I had three black roommates and two went to ‘historically black’ colleges. Here I am, a white guy who was for the concept that people should be able to date or marry whoever they want, these guys are telling me they are for ‘separate but equal’. The blacks I was bunking with wanted segregation.
Nothing surprises me about race issues after that.
Generally speaking, people prefer their own “tribe.”
Of course, this sentiment is OK only for non-whites to hold.
I agree with you. Personally I totally understand it, I think this way pretty much too. It’s a generally natural thing to do. Like in a Captain Obvious kind of way.
New LBJ tapes reveal an embattled president
08:02 AM CDT on Friday, May 2, 2008
By ROBERT GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
rtgarret@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/050108dntexlbjtranscripts.b77d97a6.html
http://www.amazon.com/LBJ-Tapes-Johnson-White-House/dp/B0009GV9BO/ref=pd_sim_b_2
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