Nixon, Connally & Helms on 1972 Presidential Election and ITT Scandal

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So he says ITT is within that.

What about Kennedy players to whack at you?

What the hell is that?

Well, I don't think there's any responsibility on people.

You know, we all know what we're doing in the House.

But you know when it went in.

Kennedy could have put his name in right.

I can't tell you, sir.

You're totally right.

You remember the speech from Lops.

First of all, he's got them.

How are we going to Lops?

Doesn't Teddy know this?

I'm sure he does.

I don't think he did as bad.

His people went around there.

Apparently he's got a lot of information on it.

This is the GAO that has this report.

GAO?

And how do they, why do they get it to a senator?

Well, he asked Derrick for it.

All right.

We're talking about Lops.

I'm sorry.

I can't hear you.

That's all right.

He's got some CIA employees on himself and some other prostitutes.

So I said, well, I don't have anything.

I want to tell you one thing, and I was pleased that you came out of it.

I didn't know what you were talking about.

It was out of my mind.

I had made a job.

I had made a decision for him to be a protégé on that.

Social Security, and we had to get those folks to hear it.

Yes.

And they said, after they had to hear it, I talked to them, and I said, look, I said, John Paladin, Schultz, Steiner, Conner, will probably stand in front of you.

And I said, who are you?

And he says, well, he says, there is this, he says, you've got...

I said, well, it seemed to me that we are now in a position, which he tells me this is also your position.

That's why I told him to do this.

It seems to me that we're in a position where

Because of election care, we say in effect that there is nothing that we can stop that involves more dismantling of the government's special interest group.

And I said, maybe we will get a vote on this.

Maybe we do lose the old folks vote.

Maybe we lose the election.

But I feel, John, that God damn if the election isn't worth winning if we just get gold and everything.

So I said, so we said, we're just standing firm.

I think you should, I'm going to, I'll give the talk to Rick Richardson tomorrow.

And I, but I think what we ought to do is to paraphrase it.

John said, you thought you could negotiate something around 10%.

How can you count on the youth of, what is that, vertical?

That's where you get the 10%.

I'm not sure what the risk is, but the point is, let me say this, apart from that, how possibly could we go for a 20% increase in Social Security and a $6 billion advance in the budget?

So that's a possibility.

on wage prices, aren't we?

That's why we do it.

Sure.

And they get praised for it.

And finally, by God, they get praised for something.

Did you know this?

Yes, sir.

You made a choice.

The price for it is to burn the labor, right?

So we stand firm on this.

And you may have your own food prices.

Food prices are going to hit us this week.

Consume a price change.

I may say something about it tomorrow.

What do you think we could do?

I don't know what we can do.

We have a sharp job.

Well, a lot of it is supposed to be from the retail app.

What can you do?

But I've got to get back into this food thing and see what we can do.

Are you going to have a press conference tomorrow?

No.

What do you know about this?

Well, I thought I'd leak out some stories on this, because this consumer crisis is going to come on with us later in the week.

It's going to come Thursday.

I mean, it's going to be bad.

Everything else looks wonderful.

Nevertheless, John, I think that the thing is that I would like to see you in my shoes.

I have an opportunity to get something this weekend.

But I would like to see you.

step in with a strong draw, and then I will be saying something, I'll be doing something in the office here, and I'll follow it up.

If that, if it both, if the longshore, if the food, and if you're asked about Social Security, well, if you're not in the presence, you won't be asked about them, but on Social Security, the decision is made.

So...

But I guess probably I have to say it first.

Yes, you have some indication.

Yeah.

You've already testified to that fact anyway.

Yes, basically.

Well, if you're asked, you can say categorically that you stand in that position, and I believe that's the right thing to say.

You may take the question.

The second thing is, if you, on the food, how could you draw a line?

I don't know what you're saying.

as much as they have in this latest report.

And we're asking both the Price Commission, the Cost of Living Council, as well as the Department of Agriculture to analyze just part of it for us.

Cost is what causes it.

Or is there a reason that we're going to try to get to the bottom of it?

And so it's going to be to produce around it.

No question about that.

Some of it will be good.

But not that much.

You know where the hell it is.

In the middle of Manhattan.

And those damn retailers, I mean, a lot of that activity, you know very well that the farmers aren't doing all that well.

No, they're not doing that well.

And it isn't that big a bite of a price drop.

I know that.

Well, that's the point that you made when you told those damn cattlemen to take this thing on and they didn't see the sense to do it.

So, I know about these food prices and that.

Uh, and it's going to be hell across the cantaloupe because of this.

And we're going to have to deal with it tomorrow and the next day.

And I, I find we need to do a little more work and maybe talk to you tomorrow.

Well, the CBI, I mean, well, the CBI will, uh, they'll come out Thursday to see if we've got weenie meat here.

And his people are always weenies.

He's got to get off.

I know, sir, I do not.

I do not.

For some reason, he's yet to afford to get off on the basis of the, of the longshore.

He's got to get into festival fashion.

Fashion is such what we have.

Lash.

Do you get off on some basis like that?

Because I just don't think you can defend that.

You don't think the CDA, I heard it was coming out Wednesday, I think it was Thursday, I just thought it was Thursday.

Everything else looks great.

Like what?

The leading indicators look good.

Got there up to 2.6%.

Balancing come out until later in the week.

Housing is great.

We're all on target for the GNP, $28.6 billion for the first quarter.

That's the first quarter.

Well, we won't then, we'll call it.

When does the figure come out?

Oh gosh, this is January, February, March.

But the only important part of this is that we're doing fine.

The only partial savings are up.

The real thing is that this is the only thing that's worth it right now, and the only thing we can promote that I know of as bad news is food.

Now, the CDI, as far as other things are concerned, prices aren't too bad right now.

I mean, the pricing is working pretty well.

I think it needs to be around 3, 3 cents an early run.

I told you first that we know that it's terribly balled.

It's balled.

It could be way up this mountain and it could be down way down.

Well, a friend of mine, I talked to two cattlemen this morning or 10 days ago.

They sold the steers out of the feedlot weighing about 1,000 pounds and 36 cents.

They sold some more this week at 33 cents.

So they dropped, they dropped 3 cents a pound or roughly 10% in a week.

Now that's how balled they are.

Well, within 10 days ago, they sold cattle out of the feedlot weighing 1,000 pounds of steers at $0.36.

Just frankly, they sold some more last Friday.

Same quality, same weight, and $0.33.

Same market.

So they dropped $0.30 in a week's time.

I don't know if that's overall in the country, but is there anything dramatic, I know you're on the food thing, but if there's anything that we could step, we shouldn't do a thing unless it's going to work, though.

Because, my God, that's one place we go.

They go to those grocery stores and check.

There's time.

And we ought not to.

And also, we must not react to everything that's with something wrong.

That's what I'm worried about.

This is March.

Let's keep our...

This is March.

And my children, you couldn't be doing better.

And I just think if we start reacting to every good or bad that comes out, we're going to be free.

Let me just say one thing that helps us on here.

He was alive and then came out and it was a real Christian thing, you see, a real ITT thing.

It's all, it's all by heart.

Which is an old story.

I don't know, I don't know.

He was in your department before you came here, wasn't he?

Yes, sir.

It was a matter of fact that put him back in jail.

At least he was in jail.

I was in jail.

Arnold Smith is probably .

I don't know who he is, but he's a very capable guy.

Probably runs in the limbo of the law all the time.

If we were going to the unit, we didn't follow like that.

I mean, the mayor of San Diego said,

So was Luther.

At least he was a big contributor to Pat Brown.

Christ is one of Brown's major contributors.

What did Christ really talk about?

What is it?

That life is pure sugar.

It's like life's going on in Terry's poster.

The last gasp.

Do you remember the poster and all the snares?

And Michael also was stuck with that dream story.

They lost their hands on that.

I'm not going to write another one.

I don't believe it.

But what do you do about it?

It just can't answer all of them.

But they just take the advantage.

You have to take the advantage somewhere for you when they're alone.

The period, they inherently, they're not going to find out.

They're not going to tell their parents.

proving the document was not typed at the time.

Well, that's a good analogy.

I don't know.

I wouldn't think about it.

But my God.

You know, it's a miserable thing.

What they're concerned about refining on is that they said, in the files of I.T.

and T. Gargantians,

indications of everybody he had talked to.

So he claims to have talked to you.

He did.

He claims to have talked to her.

He claims to have talked to Flannery.

He claims to have talked to me.

But I would have talked to him.

He said he talked to me.

That's fine.

A couple of press people call up my office and just tell me what everything's like.

But if they asked me about me, I'd be honest with you.

He talked to me.

Sure, he's raising them about his son, but he's just got a bad news record.

Which he did.

He got screwed with Roy.

That's right.

For eight years, the company grew like proxy under the two previous administrations, and that was to Ramsey Clark, and they did not.

That's right.

We go back to the poor bastards and make them divest their two more profitable companies.

That's right.

And then we get help for it.

That's right.

And Green never inquired anymore.

That part, as you mentioned the other day, I've missed such agreement before.

He said, what do you want me to do?

Well, if I talk to you, you know, I get on on your social experience.

I think that's very wise.

You know if I go, well, the reason I told her, and I didn't want to talk to her, is that you're a political person, honestly.

Because I said to her in the meeting that day, and I listened, I said, well, Christ.

And by the way, I said, but on the other hand, if it isn't that now, I don't know.

That's what we're doing today, and I want you to take a very hard look at this one.

Is that water there?

I still don't know.

That's only an observation.

So there, maybe I can justify it.

Yes, but on the other hand, take a hard look at it.

Because if it comes to a point, first, I'm not for the environmental stuff.

And a lot of my people around here don't think it's a hell of a lot bigger issue than I realize.

But I don't.

But the hard is,

If that's the one that we can ride, we'll ride through.

But believe me, I'm inclined to think that the country's got to be saved.

We've got to step up in the goddamn march, Mr. President, and I've got to do that.

I couldn't agree more.

The environment is a matter of great interest to everybody.

A great interest to everybody.

But the folks...

on environmental issues.

It's really on the other side, because the people where the votes are, if you ask every person, yes, he wants to use it, in terms of clean air, pure water, and so forth, but if you start checking on plants, if you want to really have a demonstration,

I didn't miss this.

I thought of this on the environment thing, but that's it.

When you sign a part of it, the RTV part, just say that I want to ask the nation.

I'm going to ask the nation to have 30 days to study this bill, and now there is a plan in America to crossfire under this bill to shut down for a day.

And I don't know if this is what I told you.

I guess they don't shut down for the day.

And I say to the people of the other world, the point is that everybody, everybody is interested in this.

But who does it really affect?

In fact, the economy of this country, for the most part, I'll tell you, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many,

that he must be a different state that was different from what others think.

I'll tell you why.

He has now announced that he's going to become our president.

That's right.

And he's going to become our president.

That's right.

And he's going

He was out of character.

He wasn't in the center.

In the center where he could get all of his people.

And then came the crime episode.

Now, by reacting to this, I say, gee whiz, the reason that I control is because I'm not sitting strong enough.

He isn't going to sound

Let me tell you a very interesting historical point on that.

I was in the Army.

Jeff couldn't bring himself to make a tough speech.

He couldn't, you know.

He was such a nice guy, so far.

And I remember in the 54th campaign, you know, we had a very awesome house, very close, but they couldn't make, by the end of the day, they finally made one.

It was a disaster.

The words were there, but he just, you know, he had a great esteem.

I feel like he must have been very strict with us.

What did he mean?

No question at all.

He's true.

Well, I don't know if he's true.

I'm not.

That's all he's got.

But he, uh, he looked at it like it was going to Illinois, but it had such a deep spirit.

He's going to get all the way up to the left and be very disciplined about all these issues.

The longer he stays there, the more support he's going to lose.

Because this session is not a leftist session.

The Democratic candidates are on the step.

Of course, the only one that's on the step, basically, apart from Wallace, who's a little bit, is Jackson Jackson.

Jackson's the best candidate.

Now, there are not many of us.

Thank you, sir.

Okay.

Nixon, Connally & Helms on 1972 Presidential Election and ITT Scandal

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on March 20, 1972

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