1969 WAR protests, we didn't care one whit about Nixon's taxes, I was there

[jodymarie aimee]

Just thinking here, when I protested the WAR in Berkeley in 1969/1970, I can tell you none of us cared one whit about Nixon's tax papers. Maybe we protested the wrong thing yesterday. I don't speak to any 2017 Repubs but I would bet they scoffed at us...as their leader said "I won, who cares? I'm President." To put it into perspective, we've got WAY bigger things to worry about today.

[Tom Rinaldo]

1. There are 365 days in the yeear. I'm glad about the tax protests timed with tax day

The don't stop us from other protests. There are good reasons why it is important to keep the precedent of Presidential candidates revealing their tax returns. Trump is the poster child for all of them. But just one; if we had his tax returns probably by now investigative journalists would have followed the leads to damning evidence of how Trump is fatally compromised by his previous business dealings.

P.S. I was there in 1969 also

[jodymarie aimee]

12. IMPACT

is what I was getting at. Our Women's March was spectacular and scared the hell out of them. Yesterday I can tell you there were TWO in our entire state of Wisconsin. Kind of a blip on the R's radar. I am more concerned in not being bombed this Easter Day.

[Foamfollower]

2. OFFS!

[SticksnStones]

3. The taxes are important as they would provide more information as to who pulls his strings

Seeing his returns - it's all part of the same battle to discover 45's allegiances, to know if his tax policies are meant to enrich him in particular, to know which foreign entities hold his IOUs.

The taxes aren't irrelevant, IMO. They're part of the fight to expose this fraud, this huckster, this traitor.

[Vinnie From Indy]

4. I doubt many people in that era believed Nixon to be a Russian stooge.

To put it into perspective, things change.

[JustAnotherGen]

6. Nailed it

[redstatebluegirl]

28. That is the difference!

[LaydeeBug]

39. this right here. nt

[JustAnotherGen]

5. That was then, this is now

Dirty as he was - Nixon didn't have the "taint" of back end deals with Russia.

There is no war. Those bombings happened to dodge, deflect and defer the collusion with Russia.

And this is why the I'm glad Perez is in charge. He's Gen X (like me) and probably holds the cynicism towards days gone past.

[OilemFirchen]

7. All of the above, plus:

Were it not for a failure to report income, Spiro Agnew would have been our 41st president.

[Demsrule86]

8. His taxes are very important...while the past can educate us,

we can not blindly follow it.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. Nice story.

It proves absolutely nothing.

[delisen]

10. We had much greater equality of income in 1969.

today income inequality is a massive problem.

Trump's financial conflicts of interest are a major issue, Nixon did not have those issues.

[Voltaire2]

11. In 1973 Nixon was forced to release his tax returns

dating back to 1969. His doing so established the precedent of presidential tax return transparency now being violated by twitler, and to his famous proclamation "well, I am not a crook".

[csziggy]

23. "I am not a crook." was about Nixon's taxes!

Nixon's Failed Effort to Withhold His Tax Returns
Aug 2, 2016 3:04 PM EDT
By Stephen Mihm

In 1952, when he ran as Dwight D. Eisenhower’s vice-presidential candidate. Nixon, then a congressman, got into trouble for a secret campaign fund and divulged detailed information about his family’s finances in response.

In his famous "Checkers speech," in which he painted himself as an American everyman struggling to make ends meet, Nixon called on the Democratic candidates for president and vice president -- Adlai Stevenson and John Sparkman -- to “come before the American people, as I have, and make a complete financial statement as to their financial history." He added: "And if they don’t, it will be an admission that they have something to hide."

Stevenson and Sparkman matched Nixon’s disclosures, but upped the ante. They released 10 years of returns, far more information than Nixon provided, and demanded that the Republican candidates do the same. In response, Eisenhower grudgingly released a summary of his tax returns, but refused to release the actual forms. Nixon, however, refused to release anything related to his taxes, renewing suspicions.

<SNIP>

But then things unraveled. The best account of Nixon’s tax travails comes from the historian Joseph Thorndike. Thanks to a deposition in a civil suit connected to the Watergate burglary in 1973, reporters learned that Nixon had taken a rather unusual tax break in 1969.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-02/nixon-s-failed-effort-to-withhold-his-tax-returns

Thorndike's account:

JCT Investigation of Nixon’s Tax Returns
Joseph J. Thorndike
February 2016

<SNIP>

In the summer and fall of 1973, Nixon was engulfed by a controversy over his personal taxes. An outsize charitable donation was the proximate cause, but the scandal expanded to include numerous issues with the returns Nixon had filed between 1968 and 1972. The returns were private, of course, but a series of leaks, combined with informed speculation, gave critics plenty of ammunition. Nixon, it seemed, had played fast and loose with the revenue laws, exploiting his position to minimize taxes and avoid scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Nixon’s tax scandal actually prompted one of his most famous public statements, generally thought to refer to Wartergate. "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook,” he told reporters in November 1973. “Well, I am not a crook."

<SNIP>

Swayed by such arguments, Congress had begun developing legislation in 1969 to limit the value of official paper donations. Attorneys for both Nixon and his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, urged lawmakers to leave the window open just a bit longer. Nixon and Johnson even discussed the pending legislation directly with one another. Ultimately, however, the Tax Reform Act of 1969 nearly eliminated the deduction, providing specifically that donations made after July 25, 1969 would be limited to the cost of the paper on which the documents were produced.

As Congress moved toward limiting the deduction, Johnson chose not to make a gift before the deadline. Nixon, however, did rush one through. According to “a high White House official” speaking with The Washington Post
, the president had donated 1,176 boxes of papers on March 27, 1969. He subsequently claimed a deduction of “somewhat over $500,000” on his 1969 tax return.

The complete paper is at: http://uschs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/USCHS-History-Role-Joint-Committee-Taxation-Thorndike.pdf

In the end it was determined that Nixon had not made a "valid gift before the July 25, 1969 deadline." The penalties and interest cost Nixon over half his net worth by the time he paid them.

Despite his own advice to politicians to be upfront with financial information, Nixon could not help but to be a crook.

[jodymarie aimee]

33. yeah yeah we know that .....

WAR trumped that in 1969 is all I am saying.

[csziggy]

40. But the anti-war movement did NOT get Nixon out

In fact it weakened the Democratic support to the point they lost in 1968 and Nixon got a landslide in 1972.

What got Nixon out was his coverup of illegal activities by his minions.

THAT is why Dolt45's cohorts' links to Russia are so important. And it is why Dolt's own links are essential. It is obvious they are all covering up stuff and we need to know what they are covering up.

Dolt45's tax returns and other financial records will be the ultimate evidence for what is going on - for the same reason the public needed to find out why the break-in at the Watergate was important.

[jodymarie aimee]

41. ONE MORE TIME

IMPACT...did Trump roll over and hand them over today? No he is bombing and killing. Human beings.

[csziggy]

43. IMPACT - that anit-war demonstrations did not get Nixon out

And they would not get Dolt45 out today.

Investigating the criminal acts of Dolt45 and his minions is our best chance of getting him out. Pressuring for access to the documents that can prove those wrong doing are our best chance. WE will not get them with the demonstrations but those demonstrations put pressure on our elected officials and on reporters to attempt to get them.

"It's the cover-up." and "Follow the money."are as true today as they were in 1972-3.

[Squinch]

13. So let's normalize the fact that we have no idea where his conflicts of interest lie?

This is not normal. He says no one cares. We showed that he is wrong.

Good for you in 1969. This is a different time.

And really? You give a shit what Republicans think about you? You have way bigger things to worry about than THAT!

[Judi Lynn]

14. Take the time to think about your post before writing it. It should make sense. n/t

[jodymarie aimee]

17. thought about it all day yesterday when there was NO media coverage of protests

It will have no IMPACT. You may disagree with me, but I do think !! IQ 170.

[JTFrog]

21. Oh please.

You aren't gonna dampen enthusiasm here. The marches will continue. IMPACT has already been made.

Link to tweet

[struggle4progress]

15. But tax issues rid us of Agnew a few years later

[Midwestern Democrat]

16. I agree. I wish he had released his taxes and I wish the voters had cared that he didn't do it,

but when a man wins a national election in spite of not releasing his taxes, it seems rather useless to protest that fact - if the voters didn't care about it before the election, why would they care now?

[Squinch]

18. All resistance is good resistance.

[jodymarie aimee]

19. Joy Ann Reid is on

1/2 hour of show over and she covered Korea, SNL, Spicey and Easter Egg Roll..not one peep on our Tax March...this is one of our GOOD shows...that is all I am saying...no IMPACT.

[JTFrog]

22. Yes, you are trying really hard to convince someone of that.

Perhaps yourself?

[jodymarie aimee]

30. update

120 mins of Joy's show..not one mention...I don't need to convince anyone, there's your proof. If we're not covering it, no one is. IMPACT....

[JTFrog]

20. Lol, ok. nt

[frankieallen]

24. I didn't even know there was a protest until I logged on to DU this morning.

protesting Trumps tax returns seems petty compared to everything else going on. The right is having a chuckle this morning I'm afraid.

[BannonsLiver]

26. Who cares

[BannonsLiver]

25. The 60's are over

Time to close the yearbook.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. As of 1969 there was no long-standing custom

of presidential candidates releasing their tax returns. In fact, it was because of Nixon that the custom started. The IRS audited Nixon in 1973 on account of some dodgy charitable contributions. That's when he agreed to release his returns, and when he said the famous line, "I am not a crook."

Trump's tax returns aren't the biggest deal, but they are still a big deal, especially considering that whatever he might be up to vis-a-vis Russia is probably financial.

[n2doc]

29. People protested in 69 because their butts were at stake through the Draft

A lot harder to motivate millions constantly if there is no immediate threat to their lifestyles. So I consider these and other protests going on as triumphs.

[Mr. Ected]

31. Publishing your tax returns matters a lot when you're a self-proclaimed non-politician

Mega businessman 'billionaire' whose financial dalliances and long-time connection to Russian business interests smacks of conflict of interest.

Not that it matters one whit either.

Our intelligence agencies have likely had their hands on those returns for a long, long time. They've probably assisted them in connecting the dots.

I don't care that I can't see those tax returns. I only care that the people who can use them to put this despicable felon behind bars for time immemorial.

[cwydro]

32. Sadly, I agree with you.

I think it just makes us look even more powerless. He has no intention of releasing his returns, and these protests just give the right wing something more to chortle over.

[KittyWampus]

34. #1. If we get Congress in '18, it'll matter. #2. States can put laws saying candidates MUST

release their full tax returns.

[cwydro]

42. I hope this will happen.

I'm appalled where we are right now.

[johnp3907]

35. Would it help if we put TAXES in all caps?

Y'know, like: WAR! TAXES!

[blogslut]

36. Things change

[kentuck]

37. As I recall, it was mostly about the Vietnam War and later, Watergate.

Tax returns was not the most prominent issue.

But, with Trump, tax returns are more important to defining his character than they were with Nixon's character.

If there had been no war and no revolution going on, then taxes may have been a more important issue with Nixon?

[rock]

38. The more Trump resists showing his taxes

the more important it becomes that we see them - the Zaphod Beeblebrox conclusion: "... we really must be on to something if they’re trying to kill us."

[Initech]

44. Did the other side accuse the other side of being paid by billionaires like now?

[stage left]

45. The rallies and marches bothered Trump

That's evident as they're the first thing in his twitter feed this morning. That's good enough for me.

[kentuck]

46. Does he think they were paid by Soros?

Soros is starting his own job program, since the President does not have the capacity to do so, by paying all these people to march in protest against Trump? As if people would need to be paid to protest against his betrayal?

Incredible!

[stage left]

49. Dear Mr. Soros

My check is way over due. Please remit.

[jodymarie aimee]

48. We stopped a WAR

Trump TWEETS? about all manner of trivia...he did not release his taxes. IMPACT.

[JI7]

47. this isn't 1969 and Nixon is not president