BuzzFlash
presents Southern Style
by Rebecca Knight
By Rebecca Knight
June
7, 2002
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
I remember well the critical events as they unfolded during the Watergate investigations. There were individuals of character, conviction, and courage during those times who would be welcome by many in today's world, but a threat to others. I consider that situation similar to the alleged corruption of the Bush administration and the ongoing investigations. However, there is a critical difference in the character of the media and the politicians then and now. Contemporary politicians and journalists seem to take the easy way out in order to protect their own careers. I am longing for anyone with the courage of his or her convictions about what is best for America to take an ethical stand. That is what this situation cries out for!
In honor of character, conviction, and courage, here are a few memorable officials and private individuals who made a difference for America during the Watergate era. They stood their ground against the odds and fought for what was right.
~~~~~~~
Senator Sam J. Ervin Jr., Democrat from North Carolina, was a self-described "old country lawyer" who became a national figure and a hero to many during the investigation of the Watergate scandals. He served 20 years in the United States Senate, beginning in 1954 at the height of the McCarthy era and ending with his retirement in December 1974, four months after Nixon's resignation. Ervin was chairman of the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Campaign Practices. It was more commonly know as the "Ervin Committee" or the "Watergate Committee" and was established to investigate the Watergate break-in. As chairman, Ervin was a major figure in Nixon's downfall.
Senator Ervin was regarded as the foremost constitutional expert in Congress at the time. His arching eyebrows and flapping jowls signaled his moral indignation at much of the testimony before his committee. In his half-country, half-courtly way he exhibited his propensity for making points by quoting the Bible and Shakespeare. He became a hero to many with his folksy stories.
The Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, Democrat of Montana, selected Ervin to head the special committee. Mansfield said, "Sam is the only man we could have selected on either side who would have the respect of the Senate as a whole." Ironically, it was because Ervin was a strict constitutionalist whose interpretation of the revered document defied party lines, the sort of person Nixon professed to admire, that Ervin was Mansfield's choice.
Ervin came across as a stern father figure with no confusion about what was right and wrong, moral or evil, and he had the courage to stand up for what was right. At the opening of the Watergate hearings Ervin made this statement: "If the many allegations made to this date are true, then the burglars who broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate were in effect breaking into the home of every citizen of the United States. And if these allegations prove to be true, what they were seeking to steal was not the jewels, money, or other precious property of American citizens, but something much more valuable -– their most precious heritage: the right to vote in a free election."
Ervin came to an uncomplicated verdict on Watergate: Nixon and his chief aides tried to pull some funny business in order to weaken the Democratic presidential ticket and enhance Nixon's chances for reelection in 1972, tried to lie about it and cover it up in violation of the law, and got caught.
Not surprisingly, he rang down harsh judgments on the perpetrators. Quoting Mark Twain's injunction, "The truth is very precious; use it sparingly," Ervin said of Nixon: "He used it sparingly."
On the convictions of former attorney general John Mitchell and former White House aide John Ehrlichman for their roles in the scandal, he said: "I don't think either one of them would have recognized the Bill of Rights if they met it on the street in broad daylight under a cloudless sky."
When Nixon initially refused to let his aides testify before the committee, Ervin snapped: "Divine Right went out with the American Revolution and doesn't belong to White House aides. What meat do they eat that makes them grow so great? .... I don't think we have any such thing as royalty or nobility that exempts them. ... That is not executive privilege. That is executive poppycock."
Senator Ervin certainly had a way with words as evidenced by the following statements he made:
"I used to think that the Civil War was our country's greatest tragedy, but I do remember that there were some redeeming features in the Civil War in that there was some spirit of sacrifice and heroism displayed on both sides. I see no redeeming features in Watergate."
"I'll have you understand I am running this court, and the law hasn't got a damn thing to do with it!"
"I'm not going to let anybody come down at night like Nicodemus and whisper something in my ear that no one else can hear. That is not executive privilege; it is poppycock."
"The President seems to extend executive privilege way out past the atmosphere. What he says is executive privilege is nothing but executive poppycock."
"There is nothing in the Constitution that authorizes or makes it the official duty of a president to have anything to do with criminal activities."
"As long as I have a mind to think, a tongue to speak, and a heart to love my country, I shall deny that the Constitution confers any autocratic power on the President, or authorizes him to convert George Washington's America into Gaius Caesar's Rome."
~~~~~~~
Deep Throat, the mysterious anonymous source cultivated by reporter Bob Woodward of The Washington Post in his detailed investigation of the Watergate scandal is the best-kept secret in American politics and journalism. Only four people know the identity of Deep Throat: Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Ben Bradlee (former executive editor of The Washington Post), and Deep Throat himself.
Bob Woodward promised in 1972 to not reveal his source while he is alive, because he wishes to remain anonymous. We do know that Deep Throat is one person (not a composite of several characters), he is a man, and he is still alive. He is described as someone who held an extremely sensitive position within the Executive Branch and could only be contacted on very important occasions. He encouraged Woodward to follow the money and confirmed or denied reports from other sources. He had access to information within the White House, the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Committee to Re-Elect the President. At great risk to him, Deep Throat, provided vital information that helped expose the Watergate corruption.
~~~~~~~
Martha Mitchell, wife of Attorney General John Mitchell, during the Watergate years was outspoken and outrageous. She was a truth teller, much to Mitchell and Nixon's regret, who refused to be shut up. Martha's words of prophecy and wisdom startled and fascinated a nation 30 years ago.
Martha, well known for her "gift of gab," wrote in her high school yearbook, "I love its gentle warble. I love its gentle flow. I love to wind my tongue up. And I love to let it go." Did she ever!
During Watergate, Martha felt that Nixon was using her husband as a scapegoat so she began calling Woodward, Bernstein, and other reporters. Sometimes she called them in the middle of the night. Sometimes she took the telephone in the bathroom to make the calls so her husband would not hear her. Martha never had any qualms about shouting the administration's misdeeds, though instead of in testimony to Congress she did her shouting in 3 AM phone calls.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Aug. 28, 1973, that in a late night phone call to Helen Thomas, Mitchell said, "Nixon bleeds people. He draws every drop of blood and then drops them from a cliff. He’ll blame any person he can put his foot on."
Mitchell spoke out against Nixon early in the Watergate Affair but she paid an enormous price. She was cruelly discredited, abandoned by her family and later died of cancer.
~~~~~~~
Senator Howard Baker, Republican of Tennessee, when he was named to the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, was in the awkward position of having to investigate possible illegal activities of this friend, Richard Nixon.
Baker's campaign literature for the 1972 election touted Baker as a "close friend and trusted advisor of our President, Richard M. Nixon."
Because of this friendship and his party affiliation, Baker knew how crucial it was that he be objective. It was through the nationally televised hearings that the country came to know Baker; his manner, style, and skill impressed many viewers and left most with the feeling that Baker was truly working for the best interests of the country.
Baker had believed Nixon innocent initially, but as evidence mounted, he changed his mind. Baker was known for his repeated question "What did the president know and when did he know it?" Many right-wing Republicans thought Baker betrayed his party, the president, and the country by contributing to bring about Nixon's resignation.
Baker later went on to become Republican leader of the Senate and a presidential contender. Looking back, Baker says, "That was the meanest time in public life I've ever lived through. It probably conditioned the players, the people involved, in a way that probably served them well in years to come."
~~~~~~~
Do we still have individuals of this caliber representing America today? I hope and pray for America's sake that we will soon be celebrating contemporaries of character, conviction, and courage!
TIME Cover – Sam Ervin: http://www.bobpeak.com/artpage.cfm?artid=82
Senator Sam's Stories: http://www.ncpoliticalreview.com/1101/Ervin/stories.htm
* * *
Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville. She currently resides in a small town about sixty miles outside of Nashville. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin. She has also lived in North Carolina and Kentucky. She may be reached at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.
© 2002 by Rebecca Knight
* * *
