[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 143 (Sunday, October 11, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10526-H10527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           DEEP DISAGREEMENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, once again it is important to point out why 
we are here. We have a Democratic President and a Republican Congress 
with disagreements. We have disagreements that are deep and heartfelt. 
However, we have known these disagreements since at least January 1, 
probably for the last 4 years since. Every year at this time we come 
down to the same disagreements. It is over protection of human life. It 
is over national testing, over the census. It is whether to and how to 
spend the budget surplus. It is over tax cuts, over IMF and U.N. 
funding. This list is no surprise. We have known it all year long. So 
where have the negotiators been? Why can we not sit down, or is there 
something else going on? Is there something that maybe perhaps the 
President of the United States would like to take attention away from 
and try to relive 1995, where we can try to say the Republicans are 
trying to do a shutdown.
  It is pretty clear that we have surrendered almost everything in this 
appropriations bill and that there is an election going on and those of 
us who are in the House have to run this year. We are not the ones 
holding up the process right now. We have been trying to negotiate. We 
have been trying to work through. Later on today in a special order I 
want to point out something that I have been going through, this new 
book on the tapes of Richard Nixon, which were released for the first 
time. Thanks to the efforts of the author, Stanley Cutler, we can now 
read in actual words much of the abuse of power that goes through.
  I am struck by the similarities that have occurred in this White 
House. I want to just kind of give you an overview of what I want to go 
into in more detail later.
  One, limit the testimony. This is Haldeman talking to Nixon. So they 
have granted Sloan temporary immunity and he is going to cover what he 
knows about the Watergate stuff, which is nothing, and that gets him 
out of the thing. Two, limit the scope of the investigation, just as 
the FBI director and Mr. LaBella have alleged this Justice Department 
is doing. Peterson of the Justice Department is working with that 
knowledge directing the investigation along the channels that will not 
produce the kind of answers we don't want produced. Three, finish now, 
no fishing expedition. This is about a year and a half before the 
impeachment hearings. Nixon says it is over, otherwise it is a fishing 
expedition. We have had enough of this. Four, early on they were 
overstating the potential damage. They talk about trying to build up 
expectations of indictments and then pulling it back. Five, they 
complained about spending too much money on investigation. Dean tells 
the President the resources that have been put against this whole 
investigation to date are really incredible. It is larger than the JFK 
assassination. Six, build up expectations so the news is less damaging 
as it comes out. Seven, October 13, 1972 discussion, they complained 
about the press obsession. Eight, they took advantage of the public's 
belief that Presidents actually act logically.
  I will go through the actual transcripts later. Nine, this is 
incredible, what is is, December 11, 1972, Nixon, Haldeman and 
Erlichman. Erlichman says the Watergate thing, I don't think there is 
anything to add to what we have already said. Haldeman says, you might 
resay it. Erlichman, that nobody in the government did this thing. 
Haldeman says, the White House. Nixon says, what do you mean Watergate 
White House. Nobody currently in the government. Haldeman says, 
currently employed in the government, say currently employed. Nixon 
says, ever involved in the government. Erlichman says, now you have 
Liddy and Hunt who were at one time employed.

                              {time}  1530

  Nixon says, but while they were doing it even, while they were doing 
it. Erlichman, that's right. Then employed I could say. Nixon says, no 
one who is an employee of the White House, who is an employee of the 
White House. And Erlichman says, either at the time of the incident or 
since? And Nixon says, or since, that's what I mean. Erlichman says, 
yes. 10, the everybody does it defense. Our Democratic friends said a 
lot of these things, too, and never got caught, Nixon says. 11, this is 
just partisan politics. Haldeman tells Nixon, because for the first 
time in our history we have one of the political parties using the 
machinery of government to investigate the other political party. Boy, 
I've been hearing that a lot. 12, coordinate the witnesses. 13, 
conspiracy to commit perjury. They discuss that. 14. Hidden clues in 
their testimony and how Sam Erwin was able to pick it out. 15, 
unapologizing. Nixon says in a conversation with Ray Price, the 
President, the only problem is that if you get sackclothed too much 
then you know you no longer can be President. If you go too far in 
terms of saying, well, I take all the blame and I don't blame these 
poor fellows and all that, then you think, well, this poor dumb 
President, why didn't he resign? 16, whining about the special 
prosecutor and the grand jury. 17, the country is fed up with all this. 
Haig tells the President, the country is just fed up with all this. It 
just wants to get on. That is all through the book, by the way. 18, is 
that all they're doing back there? Dole tells the President, May 23, 
1973, Dole, my farmers have criticized, you know, is that all they're 
doing back there, all they're talking about is Watergate, what about 
the farm bill, the REA bill, they're sick of it. 19, rally the party's 
Members of Congress. This is coming towards the end. They say, why 
don't we go down to the Hill and talk to all the, Dole and Bush are 
meeting with the President and Dole says to talk just frankly about how 
important this is that the Republicans, not for Richard Nixon but for 
the presidency and the party that we do something, and Bush says, I 
like that, it's a great idea. Then there is even the loyal scheduler, 
Nixon and Rosemary Woods. He says to take something home. And she says 
she has it already home, at his request.

[[Page H10527]]

  I want to go into these quotes more later because I personally think 
this is Wag the Dog.

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