harnox, question about Nixon

[wehav]

I was wondering what your view of Nixon is regarding his opening of China.

[hardnox]

Goes back a ways.

Only a Republican could have done it because the assertion that Truman and the Ds "lost China" was one of the fundamental underpinnings of the RW and Cold War all the way from McCarthy to Vietnam. If Kennedy, LBJ or Carter had done it the GOP would have been hollerin' like shoats stuck in a fence.

But certainly we were going to have some degree of engagement with 1/4th of humankind- 20 years of avoiding it was the more anomalous thing.

Interesting that you should ask. Are you trying to dial in the Wayback machine to the point where things were perfect?

[hardnox]

with the Israel Lobby we had the Taiwan Lobby, which exerted extreme influence over the GOP in particular, and made it politically toxic to have any contact whatsoever with the mainland government.

Sadly, by 1970 it was clear that the revolution had succeeded, at least in terms of the Communist Party being solidly and permanently in power.

Although we still adhere to a bit of the illusion that it is otherwise even today.

[wehav]

" Are you trying to dial in the Wayback machine to the point where things were perfect?'

No, just curious what you'd think about the effect opening trade with China has had.  Did we make China more prosperous and less likely to engage in conflict or did we postpone a conflict?  Did we make our survival less likely in the process?  Or did we corrupt their culture and politics with enough wealth that they are less likely to want to lose any of it?

[basset&co]

well noxious, you must NOT have been farming during that time frame,,,go back and study some ag income receipts during

that time frame...the best laugh I had was getting off an elevator with a bunch of demos and the other fellow I was

traveling with, reminding them

that it was the best ag product pricing he had seen since he entered the farming game... of course Watergate was/is bigger

than Hillary's email blunders.