President Richard Nixon: The Slime of American Bureaucracy (1992)

"RN on the Slime of Bureaucracy" 

Source:Richard Nixon Foundation with a look at President Richard M. Nixon (Republican, California) 37th President of the United States (1969-74) in 1992.

From the Richard Nixon Foundation

From Note: 

"Any change is resisted because bureaucrats have a vested interest in the chaos in which they exist.”

From Note

In case what President Nixon was talking about in 1992, sounds familiar with how President Trump is governing in 2025: 

"Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE): Trump established DOGE, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, to spearhead government reform efforts.

Reducing the Federal Workforce: Trump implemented measures to reduce the federal workforce, including a hiring freeze, buyout programs, and a "one-in-four-out" hiring policy (hiring one new employee for every four departures).

Eliminating and Consolidating Agencies and Programs: Trump aimed to streamline government by eliminating unnecessary agencies, advisory committees, and programs, as well as consolidating others.

Deregulation: Trump pursued a "10-to-1" deregulation initiative, requiring the elimination of ten regulations for every new one implemented, to reduce bureaucratic burden.

Reclassifying Federal Employees: Trump sought to reclassify certain federal employees, particularly those in policy-related roles, to make it easier to remove them, according to the White House (.gov).

Modernizing Federal Technology: Trump aimed to modernize federal technology and software to improve efficiency and productivity, potentially through DOGE...

So if you are a political history junky like myself and you are pushing 50, (give or take) what President Richard Nixon was talking about in early 1992 with CSPAN anchor Brian Lamb, sounds very familiar. 

So go up 3 years from when this Lamb-Nixon interview was done in 1992: 

Republicans win back complete control of Congress in November of 1994, take over the Congress during the first week of 1995 (House & Senate) and are already talking about as part of their Contract With America, for the 104th Congress, about: 

streamlining this agency and that department 

eliminating this agency and department 

cutting the Federal Civil Service by this much and eliminating all these Federal jobs, as part of their plan to "return the government to the American people". 

And now that MAGA controls both The White House and Congress, they're trying to put in their own vision of the U.S. Government into place, something that President Nixon was talking about, as President, 55 years ago. 

So I guess my only question for people who believe in this chainsaw approach to government (to paraphrase Elon Musk) would be: what would you do instead? 

In a good year, Congress'a approval ratings is 20%. So you really want to make the Assistant Attorney of the Criminal Division and elected position? Perhaps not that position, just everybody who work for that person? Maybe the Ass. AG's chief of staff, or executive secretary? If you are from my generation, or are older, you remember when Republicans used to claim that America is not a democracy, but a republic. Which is like saying: 

A truck is not a car, it's an automobile. 

Beef is not chicken, it's meat. 

The Atlantic Ocean is not a lake, it's a body of water. 

Well, just like a man could be husband and a father, a country can be both a republic and a democracy. And both cars and trucks are automobiles. Both chicken and beef are meet. And both lakes and oceans are bodies of water. Hopefully these are not newsflashes for anybody who sees this. 

Since really the civil rights movement of the 1960s, we've been a democratic republic. And really since the founding of the American Federal Republic, we've been a democratic republic, according to our Constitution. And just because a country is democratic, doesn't mean that every position in the government is an elected position. 

The thing about American democracy, is accountability. Which means just because a person comes to office, even with a big victory, doesn't mean that person gets to do whatever they want, simply because they were elected. 

And I hate to say this, because I actually have a lot of respect for Richard Nixon when it comes to his intelligence, his vision, the fact that he really is the last of the Progressive Republicans, when you are talking about how he governed as President, (well, George H.W. Bush as well) but President Nixon founded out the really hard way what type of democracy with all our checks and balances, that America really is. 

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