On October 7, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 12:33 pm to 1:00 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 217-024 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
You know, it's such an easy thing.
I was thinking of how much easier Roosevelt had at the stand fire signal.
I worked on it all morning, got it all in, everything cut in.
I added that welfare thing, I put that in especially as a natural, you know.
And I think every time you stick them on welfare, the better.
And also, and I also added, see, Ray didn't have in his draft,
He just had the $250,000 stipulations for spending and the rest, but I added, so the commitment was for four years, and I said, no new spending programs.
That is, that would add to the budget.
And also, I added that the jab at them, that their spending programs would add $100 billion to the budget.
I think I just kind of continued, that isn't partisan at all.
And also, with the Congress, I was very, you know, so gentle with them.
I said, you know, I said, they're big spenders in both parties, you know.
and that's uh that'll uh irritate the partisans but it's true yeah the analogy was written by the uh by the uh research thing that that was Ehrman primarily he has that 90s beautiful analogy attractive
As I said, they all come for their favorite programs, and nobody looks at the whole thing.
Who's Fred?
Yeah.
He's the preacher, isn't he?
You know, I think this, what the reason I brought you this up, I really think, Chuck, the radio thing is so easy for me.
And I have a, most people believe, a very pleasant radio voice.
It's easy, you know, I have a low, low, you know, it's just, it's better than the radio, really, better than the voice.
yeah and yet uh yet not but that i already think that doing doing a half a dozen of these things like pulling off a log and i guess you're going to get a story and they can't say you're not discussing the issues you're going to just pull the leg right right out from under mine what do you think yeah really no there are all sorts of subjects i can talk about veterans
You're talking about farmers.
I ought to make a farmer radio speech.
That's the way to handle the farmers rather than to go out to some dust bowl and stand there and talk to a bunch of guys, you know, chewing turnip seeds.
Hmm?
Yeah.
That's right.
The thing they might speak to the boys about is, let's get myself a damn good farm speech.
And I'll talk about it, and I'll talk about it, and take the offensive on the grain thing.
We've added this much to market share, this and that, and we're going to continue to expand the markets.
And the farmer of Drew, America's hope of God, they can make me a hell of a farm speech.
And we'll build her up.
Matter of fact, on the farm, I'm inclined to speak thinking of Chicago.
But I might just do that from Chicago, too.
Do a national radio broadcast from Chicago on farm.
that sort of relates it to the Midwest, and gives it so that it's different from the motorcade thing, you see.
Yeah, I'd like, well, we've done the Labor Day one, of course, but, yeah.
But you could... Oh, we're planning that.
We're planning one on national events and the American spirit and all that, but I mean...
Why not take the gut issues and hit them?
We might even do one on aid to private schools.
You know what I mean?
Sure, it'll turn off some, but it can reaffirm my own conviction.
I think if you could have somebody write one on aid to private schools, I'll just do it.
We'll announce it and so forth.
And then we preempt.
We'll be talking about it last.
Well, but they can't quarrel with radio because most of them own radio.
Right.
Right.
We've said it before, you're in the white house.
Let's just go on.
I had this feeling as I read this today, because I did quite a bit of work on it, understand, I worked on it yesterday and today, but no pressure, because when you're not on top of it, you don't have to think about, God, I've got to get it in my mind, and I've got to look up, and all that crap, you see.
Well, I had a good one.
I did this one well.
I mean, I did it without a blip.
Well, of course, you can have a blip.
It doesn't matter.
The main thing was I think I had an easy, relaxed tone, like the press conference.
All right.
I'm hoping for later the announcement of actually the scheme as to how we help the old folks on their taxes.
But we've got to say it twice.
Now, I said it in the press conference, I said it again today, and boy, that's a powerful case, isn't it?
One million people earning $2,000 and paying $300 to $700 in property taxes.
It's wrong.
That's right.
That's right.
That's right.
That's right.
Yeah.
I think we, I think we really, really, really found it.
And it's like, let's not worry about what the press says.
Well, he did it at Camp David and all that bullshit.
Uh, we're going to get a play on it.
We did the right thing.
I just think it's good.
You know, getting back to the other thing about the scam and the rest, I was just thinking a little bit more about the
I think that certainly if Harris had found any Slumpy Teeter reported it, because his ass is out there too, but he really feels that the guy isn't catching on, isn't that it?
And you know, this junkie's got to kill those bastards.
He's got to.
Of course, everybody should say we expect Harris to pull the show a ten-point close.
Is that what you did?
Worse?
Yeah, I love that line.
It's great.
If you would get a hold of Bryce Harlow, who would say, at least note that, you know, point that out to George, John, and Wilbur, you know, because of that.
You know?
Do you think so?
That he did that because he just wanted to be sure that we didn't have any illusions about this?
Maybe, is Bryce the best man?
No, Bryce is better than, from the outside, rather than...
Then from the inside, this time, Bryce could say, and to Carl Albert, he could say, look, you know, he just wants to be sure you fellows understand.
And Russell Long called him, too.
He knows the president's mentioned the Senate Finance Committee as being among the responsibles.
You know, they love it.
And they have got to be sick of my government.
They have got to be sick of it.
Believe me.
They're dying, aren't they?
No.
No.
Demagoguery.
I didn't hear about that one.
I heard demagoguery.
Well, good God, that's like Rom-Romanist rebellion.
Now, some of our people really go, Jesus ought to get that.
Yeah.
Ku Klux Klan.
How the hell are we for the Ku Klux Klan?
What do we do?
That is unbelievable.
This is bad.
We've got our faults, but we wouldn't do that.
You know what I mean?
Let's have a substantial black taking on that.
But let's see.
The best one, basically, is the guy over at defense.
You know?
The guy that was in charge of the... No, no, no, no.
Oh, Christ, no, no.
He's a nice fellow, but the other fellow is the guy at defense.
Tabby James.
I think James should... What the hell?
Just make it.
What the hell with this B. Miller?
He just goes on and he says, I resent this deeply.
You know?
Why not?
The 11th.
What the hell was the 11th?
This is a damn lie, and I'm not going to get into politics, but I'm not going to allow my race to be maligned, huh?
But the guy, the guy, you know, he's going to be on the panel.
Yeah.
But what do you think the demagoguery thing that he made, that I was a demagogue or whatever, I don't know what the Christ I said, but he's a demagogue.
But never talk about, yeah, about amnesty, right?
I know.
All I put is one sentence, you know, one phrase, remember?
I'm opposed to amnesty.
That's right.
All right.
Okay.
And he'll suck the bait on this $100 billion increase in taxes, too.
The biggest tax increase in history, that's what I said, you see.
Because it will be.
What did he say?
Welfare, of course, you know all of this before this, but I think the key line that I wrote into this speech was the one where I said I want this country to be generous on welfare for those that can't help themselves.
But I have one principle that will always guide me.
that in helping those who do not work, we must not raise the taxes of those who do work.
And by God, that gets to our constituents.
And make it appear that they're advocating all that, which they are.
and add billions to the cost.
Let's let them have a little fun with it.
They'll squeal if you hear the damn squeals about this.
But that's the point.
Let them rise to it.
Let them discuss welfare.
Let them talk about their $1,000 program.
Say, well, it's pretty desperate.
We're going to get it out of the oil man.
We'll see.
He had information, but he couldn't reveal his sources.
That's what McCarthy used to say, you know.
This is Christ.
Oh.
That we're paying Negroes not to vote?
Not for Christ's sake.
How the hell could you do that?
But you must remember, his big punch now, Chuck, is Monday and Tuesday on this Vietnam thing.
And our great mistake will be to defend.
What we have to do is to attack the hell out of him for wanting to turn the country over to the communists.
That's all.
And bug out.
White flag.
Good.
The main thing is we must not answer.
We must attack him.
He wants to turn the country over to the communists.
That's the only issue.
On defense, it isn't whether or not jobs are going to be lost.
I mean that's good for layers say and that's very good at local areas but nationally the question is it's going to make a second to the communists that's the thing that grabs people try 17 million people over the communists and they already killed a million
on my thought that we ought to get some Vietnam ads ready.
I mean, the theater group never did get anything, and I just hope for Christ they have.
But we've got to be ready now.
That's what we need.
That's going to be the issue.
All together, huh?
Well, so we're stuck then with speeches, not ads.
I'm sorry.
Well, I don't want them to get a big issue going and then us have nothing running in return except speeches.
And another thing, too, the reason, in fact, we didn't have an amnesty ad, they don't believe in it, you know, our own people.
The reason they didn't have an ad, don't turn the country over to the communists, they don't believe in that either.
And that's our problem.
We've got people in the advertising groups who basically don't agree with my views.
No, we can't do it, but it's a great mistake.
We're going to lose the young, I know, and the Jews, I know.
Right.
So, right.
Well, let's lose the young and the Jews, but we're going to get a hell of a lot of others
That's right.
Four and a half million people that were drafted to serve, two and a half million to two and a quarter, three quarters, went to Vietnam.
Now, Christ almighty, we're going to talk about these four or five hundred, maybe three or four thousand at the most, that deserted and the rest said, that's what we're concerned about.
They're crazy.
That's right.
Well, we can't get this to our own group of domestic council folks.
They just don't agree with the issues.
Bob does.
He's all for it.
But basically, you know, the others don't.
They all, they served their country when it was a pain in the ass.
And what about the church that went off to Canada?
Boy, they're going to go to jail.
That's right.
Man got killed.
Anyway, let's go forward on some of the, we'll be thinking of going forward on these.
He's got, I think, a farm thing.
He can pick all sorts of special issues.
Just run something.
Even on the, as I said, on the Friday at school thing, run a radio speech on it.
Read Frank.
That's a good one.
Why don't you sit down and think of about four or five of these, and we'll just run them.
I'll run them regularly.
We'll run until they run out of their goddamn ears.
About eight.
Well, or more.
But don't make them... See, the thing about the research shop, they're thinking that what we really ought to do is to talk in terms of the great hopes for the next four years, which is fine, and my vision of America, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Now, that's fine.
That's fine for the columnists.
It doesn't make one bunch of nothing for the people.
People want you to talk about substantive issues.
Do you agree or not?
That's right.
You talk about your dreams for America, that's fine.
For a rally, it's worth damn the average person.
That's right.
The suburbanite and the people that write the columns.
And we ought to have one on that.
But that's all.
No more.
That's right.
That's right.
That's right.
Anybody on the level here?
Okay, well, let's look at the baseball game, okay?