Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 294-023
Date: Thursday, November 18, 1971 at 4:50 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.; Rumsfeld, Donald H.
Recording device: Old Executive Office Building
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/294-023

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[5:23:02] Hi, Tom.
[5:23:04] How you doing?
[5:23:07] Good.
[5:23:08] Can I interrupt?
[5:23:09] Do you want to talk about this?
[5:23:11] Sure.
[5:23:12] What's going on up on the hill in connection with this tax checkoff?
[5:23:18] Yeah.
[5:23:21] Uh, we're trying to get the votes to swing it the other way.
[5:23:25] Marcus... Hossford.
[5:23:27] Pardon?
[5:23:28] Hossford.
[5:23:30] No.
[5:23:30] No, it was already Eddington.
[5:23:32] Uh, they voted against the Mathias motion to show the party's right on one title, but when the two titles were built and if you had a different ballroom.
[5:23:43] Right.
[5:23:44] So, and while I was trying to help them up there with their lobbying,
[5:23:48] Clark McGregor called me, he was in Scott's office, and he was such into what they're talking about.
[5:23:57] For us then, it is feasible for somebody up there to put the thought in one's mind that this is so important to you in the re-election process that you might have to veto this package.
[5:24:11] I know that you've got all those other minds,
[5:24:17] I don't.
[5:24:18] They say that they could sort it out and re-enact the tax legislation.
[5:24:25] I think he has too much right in the tax system for that to be terrible.
[5:24:33] I don't think he's done anything.
[5:24:35] And I don't think he's done too great a job.
[5:24:43] It's important to the economy.
[5:24:44] Well, the job side of the economy is the part that, to me, is more important than the other.
[5:24:48] And you've got that data exercise, you've got the investment tax credit level, the crack they put in for it.
[5:24:57] That'd be a real gut ball trying to veto that at the end of the session.
[5:25:00] And hoping they could get it back together.
[5:25:03] You never know.
[5:25:04] They would not do it.
[5:25:06] Then if you vetoed it on that ground, we'd have one hell of a problem.
[5:25:08] People would think we were doing that for a period of political reasons.
[5:25:15] Well, that's all correct.
[5:25:15] I'm sure that you weren't going to put any subjectives down for long.
[5:25:18] You might veto it unless there was some credibility behind it.
[5:25:21] I don't know.
[5:25:22] That's good.
[5:25:22] We'll get back to that.
[5:25:31] How many?
[5:25:33] Ten percent or something.
[5:25:34] Oh, it's a combination of splinter parties that walk to the other side.
[5:25:43] Every splinter party gets something.
[5:25:45] But about the black parties, they get something.
[5:25:48] I've heard they had to run the last campaign.
[5:25:50] I'm not quite sure, but it was a floor of men.
[5:25:54] Oh, it's unbelievable.
[5:25:57] It's unbelievable.
[5:26:00] I still don't think they have some votes at the meeting.
[5:26:05] We've lost about three votes.
[5:26:07] Although, you know, the Democrats have been looking around.
[5:26:17] I don't think it's incredible.
[5:26:19] I don't think that's what people are doing.
[5:26:22] Well, I've got some prayers, so they don't sit up there and hope for that.
[5:26:26] Let me ask you this.
[5:26:27] I wonder if you get this.
[5:26:29] get a cuddling on the phone, and ask him what he thinks.
[5:26:37] That's incredible.
[5:26:37] I asked Bart to do that, but he won't do it.
[5:26:39] Why don't you talk to him?
[5:26:40] Tell him that you asked me and that I asked you to check with him.
[5:26:44] And that'll let him in on the play.
[5:26:45] He says he can screw the thing up anyway.
[5:26:51] You saw the pole for all the way.
[5:26:54] Yeah.
[5:26:59] I've been out there now four or five times, and I've seen a situation like this.
[5:27:24] If you wait, if you listen to John out here, we'll tell you right away.