How times have changed
From the
New York Times comes this obituary for Randolph W. Thrower:
Randolph Thrower, I.R.S. Chief Who Resisted Nixon, Dies at 100
Randolph W. Thrower, a Republican lawyer who headed the Internal Revenue Service under President Richard M. Nixon from 1969 to 1971 before losing his job for resisting White House efforts to punish its enemies through tax audits, died March 8 at his home in Atlanta. He was 100.
Some more:
The end came in January 1971, after Mr. Thrower requested a meeting with the president, hoping to warn him personally about the pressure White House staff members had been placing on the I.R.S. to audit the tax returns of certain individuals. Beginning with antiwar leaders and civil rights figures, the list had grown to include journalists and members of Congress, among them every Democratic senator up for re-election in 1970, Mr. Thrower told investigators years later.
He was certain the president was unaware of this and would agree that �any suggestion of the introduction of political influence into the I.R.S.� could damage his presidency, he said.
Mr. Thrower received two responses. The first was a memo from the president�s appointments secretary saying a meeting would not be possible; the second was a phone call from John D. Ehrlichman, the president�s domestic affairs adviser, telling him he was fired.
He agreed to stay on until a replacement could be found, did not voice his concerns publicly about the administration�s growing appetite for prosecuting its putative enemies, and never disputed the White House explanation for his departure � that he had resigned �for personal reasons.�
In White House tapes and memos released in later years, Nixon described the situation differently. �May I simply reiterate for the record that I wish Randolph Thrower, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, removed at the earliest feasible opportunity,� he wrote on Jan. 21, 1971, five days before the White House announced that Mr. Thrower was stepping down.
That May, as the administration continued to look for a successor to Mr. Thrower, Nixon made clear what kind of I.R.S. commissioner he wanted. �I want to be sure he is a ruthless son of a bitch,� he was recorded as saying, �that he will do what he is told, that every income tax return I want to see I see� and �that he will go after our enemies and not go after our friends.�
The
Overton Window has slid way to far. Time for a serious reset.
Posted by DaveH at March 19, 2014 1:11 PM