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President Bush’s selection of Chris Cox to be the new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a good one for Bush and for Cox. Cox is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School from which he simultaneously received degrees. Cox, a telegenic member of Congress who served during the 1980’s in the Reagan White House, has long been regarded as a potential national ticket candidate, but has been blocked in previous efforts to move ahead, including defeats for various leadership positions in the House GOP hierarchy and a stalled nomination for the U.S. Court of Appeals. Now, Cox is on a fast track previously traveled by none other than Don Rumsfeld, who left a safe seat in Congress in 1969 to accept appointment as Director of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) and then join Richard Nixon’s White House staff. Rumsfeld went from being a Counselor to the President to Chairman of the Cost of Living Council (wage and price controls) to U.S. Ambassador to NATO. If Rumsfeld was Batman, Dick Cheney was his Robin, who accompanied him along the way from OEO to the CLC to the Ford White House where Rumsfeld became President Ford’s Chief of Staff. Under Gerry Ford, Rumsfeld served first as Chief of Staff and then briefly as the youngest Secretary of Defense after his stint as Chief of Staff. Rumsfeld had a clear shot at becoming Ronald Reagan’s Vice Presidential nominee in 1980, but his remarks to the National Convention, meeting in Detroit, were uninspired and unfocused. As the history books will show, George H.W. Bush got the part in his place. I have known Don Rumsfeld since 1963 when, as the youngest member of Congress, he came to Massachusetts to be the keynote speaker for my good friend, Paul Cronin of Andover, who was then the youngest selectman in Massachusetts and who later was elected to Congress in 1972 by defeating none other than John Forbes Kerry. Rumsfeld worked closely with me when I ran the "Opportunities Unlimited" program on college campuses in 47 states in behalf of Ray Bliss, the then Chairman of the Republican National Committee. In 1970, when I ran for Congress, Rumsfeld, on short notice, came up to campaign for me in the Sixth Congressional district of Massachusetts. As a result of that visit, I agreed to join the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), which Rumsfeld then directed. In 1973, I became Director of OEO. My guess is that, after a successful stint as Chairman of the SEC, Chris Cox will become Secretary of the Treasury and subsequently receive serious consideration for the Number Two spot on the 2008 GOP national ticket. I had some experience with the SEC when, during the 1980’s, SEC officials threatened to bar me from future stockholder meetings as a result of my campaign against the Chevron Corporation, which was working in collaboration with the Cuban Communist government of Fidel Castro helping prop up the Marxist-Leninist regime in Angola. TCCF Trustee Carl Shipley, now deceased, who previously had had adversary dealings with the SEC, intervened in my behalf and the SEC withdrew its threats. The Chevron Corporation has always been well connected with the GOP. Members of its board have included Secretaries of State George Schulz and Condoleezza Rice, as well as HUD Secretary/Trade Representative Carla Hills.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senate Democratic Leader George Mitchell were commissioned by Congress to suggest measures to make the United Nations more effective and ways in which the United States can spur needed changes. The task force led by Gingrich and Mitchell has produced a 174-page report. As reported by The New York Times (June 13, 2005), "The United States is the biggest donor to the United Nations, contributing 22 percent of the regular operating budget and nearly 27 percent of the peacekeeping budget." "The Gingrich-Mitchell task force is one of six investigations of the United Nations initiated in Washington and a seventh in New York. Five Congressional committees and the Justice Department are conducting inquiries into the United Nations’ oil-for-food program…. An independent panel headed by Paul A. Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman, is scheduled to deliver its third and final report on the subject next month." The Gingrich-Mitchell report calls for a "rapid deployment capability", arguing that "member states must substantially increase the availability of capable, designated forces, properly trained and equipped, for rapid deployment to peace operations on a voluntary basis." This is a big step away from the U.S. Constitution, which makes clear that U.S. military action can properly be undertaken for only three reasons: (1) to suppress domestic insurrection, (2) to repel foreign invasion, and/or (3) to uphold the Constitution. Although a standing U.N. army was not explicitly recommended by the Gingrich-Mitchell group, making U.S. soldiers subordinate to the United Nations is a dangerous and outrageous proposal, as is U.S. participation in U.N. "peacekeeping" operations.
Following up on my citation of Henry Kissinger’s continuing support for the Communist regime in Beijing, let me observe that my own interest in foreign policy developed at a very young age -- perhaps 10 or 11. While a student a Boston Latin School (Grades 7-12), I spent weekends in the office of the World Affairs Council of Greater Boston and was, in effect, a volunteer office manager on those weekends. I was mentored by Dr. John S. Gibson, who was then the Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University while he headed the World Affairs Council. Dr. Gibson gave me the opportunity to run the Foreign Policy Association’s "Great Decisions" program in both Brighton and Cambridge, where, in each case, for eight-week periods, I hosted three-hour seminars on various issues concerning U.S. foreign policy. Dr. Gibson also had me as a regular guest, as a student commentator, on his weekly television program broadcast on WGBH-TV, Channel 2, in Boston. Another privilege accorded me was the chance to usher monthly meetings of the World Affairs Council series entitled "Diplomats Off the Record" at which I was able to audit presentations by foreign ambassadors, State Department officials, and other participants in the practice of international relations. While a Harvard undergraduate, among other things, I was President of the International Relations Club and a regular delegate to foreign policy conferences held on college campuses around the country. Earlier, while at Boston Latin School (BLS), I was named the outstanding participant in the 1957 Harvard Model United Nations Conference. Also at Boston Latin School, I was President of the Modern History Club which had a heavy focus on foreign policy issues. At BLS, I hosted the United Nations Day assembly before the entire student body. At one of our U.N. Day conferences, our featured speaker was Christopher H. Phillips, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. As you will be aware from reading my newsletter, the Issues and Strategy Bulletin, and from considering my work as Chairman of The Conservative Caucus, it has been many decades since I was, in any way, a fan of the United Nations. There are a few other personal surprises on the foreign policy front which I am saving for publication in my book, which I hope to complete before the end of 2006, entitled, "A Letter to My Grandchildren".
Henry Kissinger has profited greatly from his propaganda for Communist China and his work for companies which do business in Red China. Kissinger’s policy conclusions and recommendations are good for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China, but very bad for the United States. The "One China" policy, if enforced, would remove Taiwan as what General Douglas MacArthur characterized as akin to "a giant aircraft carrier floating in the Pacific", which is a crucial barrier to Beijing’s hegemonic ambitions. The Chinese military buildup is no mirage, but rather a long-term threat to U.S. security. While a Harvard undergraduate, I took a course in foreign policy (Government 180) in which one of the headliners was Dr. Kissinger. I received an A in the course. Other foreign policy experts who taught aspects of foreign policy to me included McGeorge Bundy (later National Security Adviser to President John F. Kennedy), Zbigniew Brzezinski (later National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter), and Robert Bowie (head of the Division of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State).
You cannot count all the potential Republican candidates for President in 2008 on two hands and two feet. They include among others: Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain, Colorado Governor Bill Owens, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Kansas U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Virginia U.S. Senator George Allen, Oklahoma U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, Nebraska U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel, former Presidential candidate Gary Bauer, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, New York Governor George Pataki, Ambassador Alan Keyes, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Secretary of State Condi Rice, Vice President Dick Cheney, and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. But don’t forget Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, the leader of the anti-immigration caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. Not to be overlooked is the close relationship between Tancredo and the family of Pat Buchanan. Tancredo has hired Pat Buchanan’s sister, Bay, to run his Political Action Committee, "Team America", and Pat Buchanan has asserted that immigration will be the Number One issue in the 2008 Presidential race. It is entirely possible that Tancredo could garner a great many votes from the Buchanan wing of the Republican Party, especially in a contest with so many prospective candidates, not all of whom I have mentioned here. My personal hunch is, as I have indicated to others, that, unless he suffers another heart attack, Vice President Dick Cheney will be the GOP nominee. On the Democratic side, Virginia Governor Mark Warner, recently back from a secret meeting of the Bilderbergers, will, in all likelihood, appear somewhere on their ticket.
The acquittal of Michael Jackson reminds me of a famous event in Massachusetts politics. When the incumbent state Attorney General, Francis Xavier Kelley, was seeking reelection in 1962 against future U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke, billboards appeared across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts asserting that Mr. Kelley was "The Only Proven Honest Candidate: Indicted 13 Times. Never Convicted." This famous political legend is somewhat allegorical, but not far from reality. It also brings to mind the 1965 New York City mayoral candidacy of Mario Procaccino, the City Controller, who sought to occupy the Gracie Mansion in a campaign against incumbent John Vliet Lindsey. In a speech before the Manhattan chapter of the NAACP, Procaccino urged those present to embrace his candidacy by observing that "My heart is as black as yours". He did not win the endorsement.
I have been remiss in failing to note the passing during May of my friend, Rev. Dr. Gommar De Pauw, Founder and President of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement, who faithfully supported my work in The Conservative Caucus and as a Presidential nominee. Dr. De Pauw was born in Belgium in 1918 and fought during World War II as a combat medic. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Dunkirk and, subsequently, escaped from prison and became an ordained priest in 1942 in which capacity he served as a battle-field chaplain. In 1949, Father De Pauw came to the United States and, while serving as a parish priest in New York City prepared for his doctoral dissertation at the Catholic University of America where he received his Doctorate in Canon Law. For 13 years, he was Chairman of Moral Theology in Canon Law at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland. Dr. De Pauw launched the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in 1965, and was well known for his publications including "Quote Unquote" and "Peace through Strength". In 1968, he launched, in Westbury, New York, the first and only publicly functioning Traditionalist Catholic parish in the world. Dr. De Pauw was a dedicated American patriot whose antecedents were early settlers of what became the United States. It was an honor to have his friendship and support. Our values and political beliefs were similar, even though I am not a Catholic.
While we are on the subject of Watergate, it is important not to forget one of the supposed reasons for the break-in at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. As spelled out by Gordon Liddy, John Dean who was then a counsel to President Nixon had a girlfriend, Maureen Biser, who later became his wife, Mo Dean. Mo Biser was the roommate of a woman who reportedly provided prostitutes for out-of-town Democrats visiting Washington, D.C. According to some accounts, the arrangements were processed through Spencer Oliver who, in addition to having been National Chairman of the Young Democrats, was also Chief of Staff to Congressman Dante Fascell (D-FL) who was Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As the story is told, John Dean was concerned about the possibility that his girlfriend/fiancée would be associated with the prostitute ring as a result of pictures and other records being stored at Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate Hotel where Spencer Oliver had his office. There are many theories about the reasons for the Watergate break-in, and which person in the Nixon Administration promoted it. In my opinion, history will bear out the predominant role of John Dean, who is said to have initiated the activities which led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, because Mr. Dean did not want his girlfriend and future wife to be popularly known as a high-class call girl.
Mark Felt’s admission in the July edition of Vanity Fair that he was "Deep Throat", one of those who supplied inside information to The Washington Post to discredit, disable, and destroy Richard Nixon, should be properly understood. Mark Felt, then the Associate Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was not a hero. He was a traitor. He betrayed his responsibilities to the President, and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from whose secret, confidential files he excerpted information for transmission to Left-wing "journalists" who sought to undo the results of the 1972 Presidential election in which Richard Nixon trounced George McGovern in a record-breaking landslide. Mr. Felt was not a hero. He was a resentful, self-aggrandizing, self-serving wretch, used by others to advance their nefarious purposes. It is revealing that the decision to disclose his identity was prodded by family members who thought they could make money from the resulting media coverage. Felt should be recorded in the history books alongside Benedict Arnold, although the harm done by Felt was greater. I say all of this as a man in comprehensive disagreement with Richard Nixon’s policies, even as I admired and continue to admire Richard Nixon the man. Visit HowardPhillips.com every day for the latest commentary, news and action items in support of restoring our Constitutional Republic.
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