I Have to Get This Off My Chest, Any Italian Who is a Bigot is More of an Asshole Than Anyone Else

[Ken Burch]

105. Moynihan clearly had to have known that Nixon would use his words for that purpose.

It was Nixon. He KNEW what Nixon was about. He KNEW that Nixon hated the idea of antipoverty programs and that Nixon was the sort of guy who wished the New Deal, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid had never happened.

Moynihan would have to have known that there was no other way that could ever have played out.

Moynihan should simply never have taken a position in the Nixon Administration. No Democrat should have. There was never any possibility that Nixon would listen to reason and NOT move to kill the War on Poverty.

The interpretation I take of the consequences of Moynihan's remarks is essentially the consensus position of the African-American community and the community of people involved in anti-poverty work.

I assume you'll concede my point about the consequences of his demonization of single black mothers and his sweeping moral condemnation of urban peoples of color in his Report from the mid-Sixties.

BTW, don't ever accuse me of being a Nixonian. Nixon was the first national political figure I ever hated. My political involvement has been defined, since my teenage years, by a determination to eradicate all the ugliness Nixon and his mob brought to this country.

Moynihan is dead, and whatever the intent, the effect of his words has been proved. Nobody's going to vote for or against us based on what we say about him now. We can only lose OR win votes based on who we are now and what we propose for the future.

He's simply not worth your loyalty.