Nixon, MacGregor & Haig on Economic Policy and Congressional Relations

1:49:37How are you?
1:49:39I talked to the press about this, about the Herbst County thing.
1:49:42I've got a lot of members of Congress saying, you know, how about this food crisis thing?
1:49:47How do we handle it?
1:49:48You handled it very well at your press conference on Friday, and I thought Herbst County gives you a punch.
1:49:52Yeah, well, the point that I was going to make is that, that, I was waiting, yeah, what's it on?
1:50:01Uh,
1:50:03If it's a punch, yes, but if it's anything negative, well, I don't think that goes in a cracking brief, it just kills the members.
1:50:11Now, if Stein knows how to do it both ways, if he's going to get a colony punch, fine, but if it's going to be a cracking puff, Jesus Christ, does he model that meeting?
1:50:22Mr. President, I talk to each of these participants and find out that we've got House members leaving Wednesday for 12 days, we've got Senators leaving Wednesday or Thursday for 6 days, they're going to be going to all sorts of
1:50:32All sorts of meetings in their districts and their states, and we've got to send them home with an upbeat message that they're going to give.
1:50:38Your stabilization program is down and making progress, we're dealing with inflation, and it's going to be all upbeat, and I've said that to Jory, I've said it to Herb, and I'm sure it's going to be that way.
1:50:48I'll see you in the president.
1:50:51I'm sure you will, Mr. President.
1:50:56We probably should have used this old one.
1:50:59We probably should have had common ones, but we just can't use them all the time.
1:51:09All right.
1:51:10Let's see if Herb can come to it.
1:51:12Herb has to.
1:51:12He's got the capability, if you just understand.
1:51:16If you get the game, there's an awful lot of positive stuff, and that's well aware, if you'll just say it.
1:51:22You know, and, you know, the rate of inflation is lower than six months.
1:51:26In fact, I have a piece of a picture that, look at the new orders for durable goods, you know, and that's going to be turned into the positive factors that indicate that.
1:51:38It's going to have a one-sheeter for us.
1:51:42And we can go on to the other things.
1:51:45You know, isn't it disgraceful, though, that these guys are going out for 12 days in the Senate, and they stay six days, you know that, for 12 days.
1:51:52And they have yet to act on one of the major things we proposed.
1:51:57I mean, it's a, I feel you've got to rip them.
1:52:00It may be a little harder on a guy, not personally, but maybe somebody else ought to rip them.
1:52:05Maybe we ought to, you know, it's time to sit down and go on our ways.
1:52:10This record of this Congress, sorry, it's a sorry record, sorry.
1:52:14I'm not sure you're the one who killed it, but he's got a word for the best.
1:52:18Well, I started to Google Detroit yesterday.
1:52:22Don't mind me going out of town.
1:52:24What do you think?
1:52:25The leaders ought to get out and say something, but they don't want to run down their own Congress.
1:52:32My God, look at them, you know, filibustering around.
1:52:35I think it's an ITT business and that kind of thing, and what the hell have they done?
1:52:40What?
1:52:41Senator Eastland is furious with what he saw in his own television set from Denver.
1:52:45He's on his way back from Mississippi.
1:52:47He planned to stay there until...
1:52:48He's on his way back?
1:52:49Senator's in the air on his way back and wants to see me tonight.
1:52:52I'm going to see him.
1:52:54Well, I made up my mind on this one.
1:52:57It's his boat, and up or down, and we lose it, and he'll go on for something else.
1:53:05Their team will do... Well, they want to delay it.
1:53:07I know what you said.
1:53:08I know what you told me to do.
1:53:10He said, that's exactly what I told him.
1:53:13That's just what McGregor said.
1:53:14Of course, they want to play like sports.
1:53:17They want to keep some of them going through the convention and have the issue.
1:53:20We can't do that.
1:53:22Of course, we'll have to.
1:53:23We've got to get to the point where he's voted.
1:53:25If he votes down, fine.
1:53:26We'll put somebody else in there.
1:53:28I had a talk with Mike Maskey last afternoon, and he said Clark, if...
1:53:31Jim Eason will call me in this committee, and Jim will just call me on the phone and say that the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee want me to spend it on a hearing.
1:53:37I'll do it.
1:53:38He said, I don't have to have a formal resolution, or they don't have to make a motion.
1:53:43He said, I have to have some registration of opinion from the Judiciary Committee.
1:53:46So we're bending every effort to get that executive session to meet and to...
1:53:53Consider the same.
1:53:53It could be a simple motion, Arnold Cooper.
1:53:55Yeah, but in the committee.
1:53:57But look, after it gets out of the committee, doesn't the filibuster then start at the floor?
1:54:01Yes, sir.
1:54:02You can't break the filibuster on the floor in this canyon.
1:54:05It's going to be very difficult, Mr. President.
1:54:07Well, if you can't, then you see, you've got to face up to that.
1:54:11We want to go on the attack right away.
1:54:13Hugh Scott on the musket did go on the attack this afternoon.
1:54:17Colson Martin, Wally Johnson, I spent it.
1:54:22I'll have to.
1:54:23What got Eastman, sir?
1:54:26Kennedy on television.
1:54:29Did he see him?
1:54:31He did.
1:54:31Did Kennedy go on television?
1:54:34Kennedy was on television from both Denver and on arrival at Dulles today.
1:54:39He ran at Dulles at 2 o'clock the same, but obviously now that...
1:54:43We've got the adverse testimony, we have a whole new field of inquiry with $600,000, and the White House is involved in it, and so forth.
1:54:51And so what?
1:54:54I haven't seen Kennedy on television, so I don't know exactly what he said.
1:54:57It's been reported to me about third-hand, but Eastman said that he would like to bring this matter to the head, so he's on his way back.
1:55:05I think there are 600,000 that must have been established on that.
1:55:09I don't know.
1:55:12I think Nina Beard did a good job.
1:55:14Marla Cook tells me she did a fun job.
1:55:16She said, in fact, to use the old courtroom expression, if you were there, you would have said her testimony in the ring of truth.
1:55:21She said it was too bad that the American people couldn't be sitting in the jury box, but she was effective as a witness.
1:55:27I'll be sure that her sentence...
1:55:38Well, I just wanted to be sure that it wasn't one of those low-key, well, it could be this way or that way sort of a thing.
1:55:45There are times when he has to do that, and other times he has to do the other way.
1:55:49Well, our mission officer sent them out for their Easter recess, charged up as being positive, and they thought, come to the right.
1:55:55Like my career targets, right?
1:55:58All right.
1:55:58I just wanted to mention to you that ideally you've got to...
1:56:08I think we ought to consider this, at least on a Polish setting, balance that very, very carefully in terms of...
1:56:20I agree with you that what's involved here is perhaps the Russians behind the Russian crap deal.
1:56:28On the other hand...
1:56:59Frankly, sir, I would put it on the...
1:57:02I'd hinge it on Henry's running it by.
1:57:06If he has no complaints about Ghana, I think...
1:57:10I frankly think you can tell Henry, as I said, that I just feel very strongly that... Well, of course it seems true, but I think that we have to take every risk we can to get the basic public reaction in the United States and our reception and terror on the family and American people.
1:57:29But any kind of resection of coal, and then that government will have one hell of a time keeping the coals down.
1:57:34They even did when I was vice president.
1:57:37Today it will be hard, you know what I mean?
1:57:40They hate the goddamn Russians.
1:57:42They hate the Russians.
1:57:43Now the idea that that is, poses a problem with NATO, forget it.
1:57:48God, we're doing enough for NATO.
1:57:49We're going to send Rogers over there in advance, and Rogers is going to free them.
1:57:53And I don't consider that to be part of the issue now, I really don't, you know.
1:57:57Now, I really, my final complaint is...
1:57:59I just don't see that at all.
1:58:01It's an issue, but it's not an overriding one.
1:58:04It's an overriding one.
1:58:06If the Soviets got totally turned off...
1:58:09They had gone off.
1:58:11Yeah, well, this is what they're... And so what the hell?
1:58:14The Soviets may have some good receptions for us.
1:58:18The poles, the poles are bound to have a good reception of some sort.
1:58:22I mean, they can turn it off.
1:58:25And we put it on that basis.
1:58:29Aaron, I believe Henry is strong in that direction.
1:58:32Alright, thank you.

Nixon, MacGregor & Haig on Economic Policy and Congressional Relations

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Also recorded on March 27, 1972

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