If taxing income in Washington state is so incredibly important to the Stranger, then it should stop yelling at the state’s Supreme Court to legislate from the bench, and begin organizing to amend Washington state’s constitution to allow income taxes.

Until then, the Stranger is nothing more than the lefty version of Tim Eyeman, who went around selling legislation, when what he claimed to want would have necessitated a constitutional amendment.

"Washington can continue raising about $500 million per year from our richest residents to fund early education programs."

but what if these Rich folks (thnx for the Update, Rich!)
don't WANNA have po' folks kids Competing with
their dim Progenies? can't they just take their
Mountains of Cash pack it all up and move
to Bumfuck Ida-ho? where they'll be sur-
rounded by (sorry Morty) terrorists
sorry - Freedom Fighters! and of
course the Proudly Ignorant?

where will their Womenfolk
GO when seeking an Abortion
with Bounty Hunters HOT on their
(Lear Jet's) Trail? will they just Keep it?
and hope for the Best? Justice looks awful
Frightening. can't we just Eliminate the po' Po'?

pretty sure Jesus'd
Know what to
do here.

Banning Tik-tok doesn't solve the problem of not having good data privacy laws. The whole Tik-tok ban is a smokescreen for the fact that anyone can buy huge amounts of aggregated user data from Facebook, Google, or even data collected from your (new-ish) car, including the Chinese.

@1 Rich probably had the comment that mattered most and that is it now paves the way for Seattle to enact their own capital gains tax. The huge sigh of relief you heard when this was announced was the progressive revenue tax force as their work has now been done for them. I expect in short order we'll see a couple of things. The threshold for the state tax will be dropped to a much lower amount (a bill this session had already proposed dropping it as low as $15K and upping the amount to 8.5%). The second thing is the city and maybe even KC will follow suit and push forward their own version in the 5% range.

The only silver lining about any of this is it leaves a path to an income tax through the courts pretty much dead. This was the scheme to get the income as property ruling overturned so I'm not sure how advocates for an income tax could come up with something new to get in front of the court. No doubt they'll continue to try though. What will be interesting is how this issue plays out next year during the election cycle.

that Barney Bishop the Third is one oily media-trained motherfucker. it's all about procedures that weren't followed, not that some little snitch saw the David's tiny (proportionately) marble cock and balls.

and the school teaches the "Hillsdale Curriculum". repulsive.

'Laxman' is a perfect name for a Barrista
and doing Stand-ins at Sbux seems a brilliant
way to get to Know the Biz tho 'half' days won't
give Laxxy the whole Real picture of his Employees'
woes. hopefully they won't commandeer him overnight.

can't Imagine old Howie
Ever working alongside
the 'Rank' and File but
I Can imagine him get-
ting into Fistfights
with them.

@6 I always figured David was a 'grower', not a 'shower'.

@11: and marble is cold; there was significant shrinkage.

@5 - “The threshold for the state tax will be dropped to a much lower amount (a bill this session had already proposed dropping it as low as $15K and upping the amount to 8.5%).”

And yet, despite the largest D majorities in a decade, that bill did not advance.

Each and every legislator can ‘drop a bill’ to do any batshit-crazy thing they want - don’t mean a thing.

Saying the Cap Gains threshold or rate will change just because there’s a ‘proposal’ to do so is like saying the Legislature will ban abortion because every year there’s a bill introduced to do it.

@13 I'll give you that. The bill dropped this session was a pie in the sky attempt at universal health care. My point is that the tax wasn't even ruled constitutional yet and there are already members who want to grow it. Now that it has been ruled constitutional do you honestly believe the legislature is not going grow it by either lowering the threshold and/or raising the tax itself? Kudos to you if you have that kind of faith in our legislature but I have never seen them pass up a chance at increasing revenue.

@4,

Eh, without knowing the specifics of this case, I'll never begrudge anyone for fighting a transparently frivolous money grab of a suit. Our legal system is nearly as backward ass and dysfunctional as our political one. Paltrow seems like probably a doofus of a person, but skiing is inherently dangerous. This is pretty much exactly what makes it so much fun and the purchase of a lift ticket always requires the acknowledgement of a detailed and extensive waiver accepting the risks inherent to the sport. Hope GP wins and the plantiff is held liable for court costs and expenses.

@5, @7, @13, @14: Eyeman’s main swindle was to impose upon the legislature a requirement that 2/3 of each house would need to approve any tax increase. IIRC, he ran no fewer than five initiatives to impose this requirement, all of them failing the basic test of requiring a constitutional amendment to do this. He was just out for money; the swindle here is that “taxing the rich” to “make the rich pay their far share” will unlock some infinite treasure-house of money which can solve all public problems.

Meanwhile, seven years and half a billion dollars into Seattle’s Homelessness Crisis, parents must mount a loud public demonstration to get a dangerously violent and completely illegal encampment removed from near their children’s school. Who watching this believes additional tax money will help fix anything?

Two things: it is wrong to say you can't have a progressive income tax in Washington State.

You are allowed to have one with ONE EXEMPTION. In other words, an income tax on all Income with ONE EXEMPTION for income under $1 million per filer.

It's progressive.

But the problem is they want to impose it at $250,000 or more, and that won't fly.

Here endeth the lesson.

As to NPR, they need to stop Both Siding their news coverage. America-hating GQP will never donate to them, no matter how they pollute their news coverage with fake "moderate" positions of GQP-lite. And nobody really wanted those podcasts - heck, they keep "adding" episodes from other podcasts NOBODY ASKED FOR. Get over it.

@16 I don't believe it for a second anymore than I believe this money will magically fix our schools. You remember McCleary and how that was supposed to adequately fund education? Well if by adequately funding you mean pouring all that into increasing teacher salaries than I guess it worked but based on the level of eduction my kids are receiving I don't think its much better than before. I'm guessing SPS will be first at the trough asking the leg to bail them out from the massive cuts they are staring down.

The big lie that politicians love to repeat is that this will fix our regressive tax system however they never actually do anything to fix the regressive taxes. They could have easily used this money to lower the sales tax or property tax burden but instead it's just another source of spending for them. That's why I think we'll definitely see numerous proposals to grow this tax.

Seattle's slogan is not 'Alki (New York) bye-and-bye' it's 'Cali(fornia) bye-and-bye'. This capital gains tax is like striking oil- a rich revenue source.
But I don't see my 10.something% sales tax going down anytime soon.
Like California, the middle class in Seattle keep getting priced out.

@20: Am I reading those stats wrong? Last year, 2900 DUI crashes. 1/4 of the way through this year, 518 crashes. 4 x 518 = 2054. Isn't that trending in the right direction?

Ugh, 2072. Still...

Most people in WA will never support an income tax because they are more than happy to be subsidized from the money generated in from the puget sound region. Bunch of welfare queens.

Of all the things Trump could have done when he was president was to eliminate the federal capital gains tax, especially now that states and possibly cities are doing their own.

We've had 10 votes of various kinds (House, Senate bills and initiatives) that all said "No" to income taxes. And yet, here we are. Never mind. I'm still waiting for $30 car tabs.

This is no longer a democracy.

Re: NPR layoffs & show cancelations.

One of my favorite no-longer-NPR shows, Hidden Brain, is now an independent podcast, just as The Gist split from Slate. Both of these programs ask for listener support and get it from their fans. As bigger media companies like NPR shear off shows, many listeners will shear off support to the individual shows they listen to. Chicken, meet egg.

It will also force public media companies to expand "sponsorship" (ad) support. My Marketplace podcasts use DAI (Dynamic Ad Insertion) that stick full-blown commercial radio advertising into every episode of Make Me Smart, so before they get to the "Spring Fund Drive" portion of the show where they beg me for donations, I've already fast-forwarded four ads for Jenny Craig, The Farmer's Dog, Instacart… These ads have proliferated so much they rival AM radio in saturation.

Just as cable has fragmented to individual content providers, radio is in the process of much more granular fragmentation as individual shows fuck off to do their own thing. NPR is going 100% the wrong way and shrinking their tent. It's stupid and sad.

@17- what provision of law allows a tax with a $1M exemption?

@29: More like hard working taxpayers who deserve a comfortable retirement.

@21- you might want to recheck your source. Actual tax rates are here: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/california-state-tax

The marginal 8% rate kicks in at a taxable ( not gross) income of $52455, and most of that would be taxed at lower rates as in any other progressive tax system. The totals are nowhere near what you claim.

@29,

So, thanks Obama?

@34: Yes, stocks and bonds are great long term investments but the capital gains rate goes down only one time after the first year from 25% to 15%. In addition, if your gain is high there is an additional interest income tax liability on your federal income taxes.

Please don't disparate Mitt Romney. He's one of the few classic Republicans left in the party. And if everyone was wise like I was and voted for him in 2012, we would likely never have had Trump and Putin would have been tamed down as Mitt warned of his intentions during his campaign.

@35 The 2010 income tax proposal did win in Seattle though, and in a few other places with high average educational attainment (that were also among the most wealthy). Sammamish comes to mind. Bottom line: the smartest people wanted it, even if it affected them disproportionately.

@17 I don't think that's correct. If it is, then by all means let's pass an income tax for >$1M earners right now! What are we waiting for?! But I'm pretty sure the rule is 1% on everyone (which I also would support but most progressives don't seem enthusiastic about).

Disappointed that the court didn't use this opportunity to bring us in line with current jurisprudence that says income isn't property, but still, being able to keep the CGT is a big win. The state may seem flush right now, but the thing that worries me even more than a downturn is that Republicans in DC are angling to force cuts in programs that (they think) benefit primarily Democratic constituencies, in particular Medicaid and SNAP. They have three big bites at that apple this year alone: the annual budget resolution, the debt ceiling, and the five-year Farm Bill (which governs SNAP). If that happens, most of us will want WA to make up those cuts for state residents, and now it presumably can be done without further raising the (ugh) sales tax.

@37 fix: disparate s/b disparage

@38 CKAthes: +1 For the WIN!!! I share your thoughts and concerns.

@41 STII: Arakelov doesn't sound like a victim to me. He's among those exacerbating our region's homeless problem. Why hasn't this lowlife been shipped back to California and why isn't the Golden State's jurisdiction prosecuting his ass?
In possibly related news shared in another thread by Catalina Vel-DuRay, I have to wonder about the arsons on Rainier Avenue, too.

@42: Auntie, Sir Toby II was being delightfully sarcastic in his last sentence in @41.

@41, @44: I appreciate your efforts at sarcasm, but the Stranger already published a post saying an encampment which has erupted in gunfire multiple times, one block from a kindergarten, shouldn’t be removed after most of the campers refused shelter, because the schoolchildren’s parents are just a bunch of overprivileged “wealthy” people who don’t recognize encampments provide (unspecified) benefits to the city commensurate with the risk of their children getting shot on their way to school.

I really don’t see how you could possibly satirize that, but I’m sure the good writers here at the Stranger will, somehow, manage to outdo themselves.

@46: Ok, you disagree. Doesn't negate my commentary.

@38 your insinuation that people who voted against the income tax in 2010 did so because they were not educated enough is pretty elitist. There were plenty of people in those jurisdictions and others with "high educational attainment" who didn't trust our state representatives with an income tax.

@46 @47
If Mittens ran now, I bet he would get elected. And unlike Raindrop, I'm a Democrat.

@38: “Disappointed that the court didn't use this opportunity to bring us in line with current jurisprudence that says income isn't property,”

Then please read my comment @1, and start organizing to amend Washington state’s constitution to allow income taxes. Attempting to get income taxes approved via judicial fiat — and with the flat-out lie that money earned is not the very definition of ‘property’ to the earner, no less! — simply makes you a left-wing Eyeman, trying to scam via legislation something which actually requires a constitutional amendment.

While you’re at it, you might want to consider whether even Seattle’s voters will support giving more money to local governments. Half a billion dollars spent to NOT clear a gunfire-prone encampment away from a kindergarten doesn’t exactly impart confidence in money well spent.

npr SUX
yesterday
Featuring John
Fucking BOULTON
defending the CHENEY/
bush Invasion of Iraq. WTFF?

I listen but sometimes
gotta Holler. Real NEWS:

https://www.democracynow.org/

FACT-based Opinion \ talk
from the Thinking Left:

https://www.thomhartmann.com/

he even got
the bush
Debacle*
Correct.

*reich wing
Overrule

also non-Corporate-sponsored news:
Ralph Nader Radio Hour

Ralph welcomes economist, attorney, and investigative journalist, James Henry for his expert take on what is going on in the banking system and what we can do to keep it from blowing up.

And Professor and former Nader’s Raider, Alison Dundes Renteln, takes on the commercialization of our universities in her book “The Ethical University: Transforming Higher Education.”

https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/p/spank-the-banks#details

hate him all ya Want
this guy Knows
where the Cor-
porate Crime
& Malfeas-
ances Lie

and that's what's Fueling
the Downward Spiral
of these USA.

unless
you're al-
Ready Well-to-Do.

@52: Yeah, that Republican stooge, who took their money to keep W. in office for a SECOND term, is eminently well qualified to describe the horrors corporate America visits upon the rest of America. After all, he twice ran for President to ensure we’d get the very worst.

(You might want to stick with getting helplessly gulled by local cocaine dealers; all they want to do is profit from the misery of Seattle’s homeless. Small-time crime suits you better; trust me on this.)

@43: That's pretty sick for sarcasm, raindrop dear. Arakelov sounds like a total piece of shit.

Since there wasn't a Friday PM Slog, I'll ask it here: I was at home on Friday and heard some clatter down on the Avenue (Maison Vel-DuRay is situated about thirty feet up from the Avenue, which is one of the designated "healthy streets"). There were dozens of teenagers marching and chanting something, but since I am terrified of teenagers, I went and hid under the bed. They came back a few hours later, marching in the opposite direction. Does anyone know what they were worked up about?

@56 Catalina Vel-DuRay: I wish I knew and could put your mind at ease. I am really sorry to hear about what is going on in your neighborhood and throughout Seattle. Sending hugs, positrons, and VW beeps from my VW and me.

the Messenger you so eagerly dismiss
having given his Life to Public Service
why on Earth should we listen to you:

'You’re a cruel person … [@4]

And I like that. ;-)

tensorna on March 13, 2023 at 10:44 AM'

yeah may-
be Not.

@54: Mitt Romney is no more of a right wing extremest than you or I are. Mere references to silly utterances (all politicians make them) of "binders full of women" and "who let the dogs out" (referencing a song) do nothing for to support your hateful maligning of a very decent man of deep faith and dedication to public service.

@55: The sarcasm actually underscores your second sentence.

speaking of
'a very decent
man of deep faith and
dedication to public service':

Mittens's always been a
Vulture Capitalist buying
companies & strip-mining
them selling off their Assets
including Pensions & 'let the
Ex-employees work at Walmart!'

perhaps ol' Jesus
has a differing view
of 'Public Service.' I'd
bet Heavily that He does.

Romney
Still Reaps Huge Profits
From Bain’s Vulture Capitalism

Forget the silly debate about when Mitt handed over control of Bain. By his own arrangement, he never really left.

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/romney-still-reaps-huge-profits-bains-vulture-capitalism/

a life sheltered by Ignorance
does not a Just World make

kristofarian, why do you think that venture capitalism is bad?

Good news!
your ignorance
Can be cured, dewey!
visit the Nation's link @61
& report back to us. IF you've
Time. & see if those are Actions
'of a very decent man of deep faith
and dedication to public service.' good

Luck!

ok here's a Teaser:

The wealthiest man ever to secure a major party nomination for the presidency is crying foul because President Obama’s campaign has dared to explain how Romney made his money.

Romney was a robber baron. And he continues to profit—to the tune of $230 million and counting—from the “vulture capitalism” his Republican primary opponents decried.

He helped to create Bain Capital, a private equity firm that makes its money by buying functional US manufacturing and service firms and rendering them dysfunctional. Bain guts American companies, ripping out whatever parts are profitable and then tossing the workers aside.

Bain forces cuts in wages, benefits and pensions. It outsources work. And it offshores production—harming American workers and communities and undermining American industries.

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/DC-Decoder/2012/0517/Mitt-Romney-would-be-the-wealthiest-president-ever-Forbes-calculates

those are the 'Values'
of the Billionaire Class
do You share them also?

actually @64's link is
Incorrect. the Facts?
no - they're right
Spot On.

I won't quibble with you about Bain's missteps and excesses as the core instigator of those problems were the unfair trade policies at the expense of the American worker.

Nevertheless, the following companies got their start from venture capital:

WhatsApp
Facebook
Groupon
Cerent
Snap
King Digital Entertainment
UCWeb
Alibaba
JD.com
Delivery Hero
Zayo
Mobileye
Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC)
Meitu
Google
Twitter
Zynga
Lending Club
Genentech
Stemcentrx
Workday
Rocket Internet
Qudian
Acerta Pharma
Nexon
Zalando
Ucar Group
Webvan
Qualtrics
Mercari
NIO
Meituan Dianping
Xiaomi
Pinduoduo
Ele.me
Adyen
GitHub
Flipkart
Spotify
Dropbox
Coinbase
Uber
Airbnb
Zoom
Snowflake

https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/best-venture-capital-investments/

@58: Who said I was dismissing Nader’s message? It’s extremely relevant and important precisely because he worked so hard to get W. elected and re-elected. His spoiler candidacies, not any “message” he may have sent before or after, are his most consequential acts, and therefore are his most important legacy.

And you should consider all of that because it’s the truth, which is the very best of all reasons for listening and believing. (Again, you’ll just have to trust me on this.)

@64: “The wealthiest man ever to secure a major party nomination […] $230 million and counting…”

Good thing we didn’t elect such a miserable pauper to our Presidency. Not only should we show more respect for the time-honored traditions of that office, Mittens might well have been a major risk for getting bribed.

“But comparing Washington's net worth of $780,000.00 to the worth of the average modern American would equate to $594.2 million in current value. (In 2020)”

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finances_of_George_Washington)

@69
yeah your Fealty to this

very decent
man of deep faith and
dedication to public service

inspite of

Romney was a robber baron. And he continues to profit—to the tune of $230 million and counting—from the “vulture capitalism” his Republican primary opponents decried.

He helped to create Bain Capital, a private equity firm that makes its money by buying functional US manufacturing and service firms and rendering them dysfunctional.

Bain guts American companies, ripping out whatever parts are profitable and then tossing the workers aside.

Bain forces cuts in wages, benefits and pensions.

It outsources work.

And it offshores production—harming American workers and communities and undermining American industries.

speaks Volumes tents.

who even Knows if the
Cruelty was the
Point with
Mittens
or not.

@59: "...a very decent man of deep faith and public service". You'd say that about Richard M. "I am NOT a crook!" Nixon, too, wouldn't you?
Now I know why Bazinga and Phallus Impudicus keep chasing their tails, raindrop dear. They learned it from you. Stop before you get dizzy.

@70 kristofarian: It sickens me how KKKorporate RepubliKKKan robber barons like Mittens have helped lead to the rise of the septic tidal wave that is the Orange Turd.

@70: What's your point? In your view all capitalists who outsourced should be robber barons. Not just Bain. Not just Mitt. Also keep in mind that other countries are "outsourcing" their jobs in America using venture capital in said country. We're in a global economy.

The only problem with outsourcing is national security for goods that can become scarce because of wars, natural disasters, and pandemics. Like semi-conductors.

And if you have been a customer of any of the companies listed in @66, any points you have on the sins of capitalism or venture capitalism or politicians who have profited from them are blunted.

@71: Yes indeed I would say that about Richard Nixon. He gave us the EPA, opening to China, and ended a war. Other than Watergate, and ill-advised price controls, Richard M. Nixon was a great politician and public servant.

During Nixon's term, spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid all increased dramatically. Total spending on social insurance programs grew from $27.3 billion in 1969 to $67.4 billion in 1975, while the poverty rate dropped from 12.8 percent in 1968 to 11.1 percent in 1973. (Wikipedia)

He also had the decorum not to contest the 1960 presidential election over shenanigans in the Illinois count (I think it was) as he believed in the peaceful transition of power.

And Pat was a most gracious First Lady.

"In your view
all capitalists who out-
sourced should be robber barons."

no.
in My view
we'd Never had off-
shored our Manufacturing

all that Well-paid Work
just Flushed right outta Town
and for Whom? the Worlers? please

welcome to Walmart

welcome to K-Mart

have a nice day

& God Bless
America.

@70: Heck, Mittster never even owned any slaves! There’s no way he could possibly have been a Great American President.

I agree with you; he was completely unfit to hold the office once occupied by Washington or Jefferson.

@73: Tricked unto this very day, I see. Let’s run your list:

“… gave us the EPA.”

He gave us nothing. As you should recall from childhood, the “ecological movement,” as it was called back then, successfully fought off corporate polluters’ attempts to limit Earth Day to an anti-littering campaign. Other accomplishments of that movement include the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and automotive fuel-economy standards. The last was strenuously opposed by the automotive industry as a car-killer; twenty years later, Americans were driving more miles than ever, with cleaner air.

“… opening to China…”

Do you know why President Nixon could make that overture? Because decades earlier, Congressman Nixon, of the House Un-American Activities Committee, viciously red-baited anyone who dared note the Communists had indeed won China’s civil war, and that the U.S. needed to recognize this reality. You’re giving an arsonist credit for lowering the Fire Department’s budget by finally quitting.

“… ended a war.”

Again, his red-baiting smears helped to push American policy-makers into completely over-estimating any threat which may have been posed to America by Communists in Viet Nam. (You also forgot to mention his brutal escalation of that war before any peace-making began.)

“Other than Watergate…”

Instigated by a guy who not only kept an “Enemies List,” but put his own brother on it. Paranoia on that level is dangerous in anyone we entrust with political power, and the huge list of felonies racked up by the unindicted co-conspirator and his criminal subordinates would make for tedious reading, if their intent wasn’t to nullify our democracy by rigging a presidential election.

What finally brought him down was his repeated efforts to use federal agencies, including the IRS and the FBI, against his fellow Americans. An FBI agent who opposed this Soviet-style abuse of government power, W. Mark Felt, thus became Deep Throat, pointing Woodstein toward the criminal conspiracy Nixon was running out of the White House.

@75: Your enumeration is simply historical details of my list. There's no "right" or "wrong" here, it's just history.

To demand that everyone hate or love historical figures with equal passion that you have is ridiculous.

@75 -- tt;dr

@76 they can suck
their dicks or not
totes upta Them.

@77 -- you're
Kidding right?

say you're not
Sucking on an
Olde Fashioned?
keep us Posted?

as the Planet
Revolves:

nyt:
Israel Boils as
Netanyahu Ousts Minister
Who Bucked Court Overhaul

Protests broke out shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired the defense minister, who had called for a halt to efforts to weaken the judiciary.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/world/middleeast/judiciary-overhaul-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-parliament.html

one reader's comment on the Article:

Came back from the demonstration downtown about an hour ago. The demonstrations in recent weeks were already massive, but it looks like things escalated dramatically. The report understates what's happening.

There are tens of thousands of people on Tel Aviv's Ayalon highway, the main highway cutting through town, multiple bonfires have been lit, loud chanting can be heard hundreds of yards away. I left well past midnight, and it looks like it will go on for a while.

The presidents of all of Israel's universities announced an indefinite shutdown as of tomorrow, some trade unions are expected to follow suit, and several mayors declared a hunger strike against the legislation.

It looks like Netanyahu's Tahrir square moment. I can't see how he can stay in power for much longer.

Netanyahu was always a master of Machiavellian politics, but now it looks like he lost his mind.

His abrupt firing of Gallant just for making a speech is not just horrible policy, but also shows that he lost all judgment, like Putin deciding to invade the Ukraine.

But Israel isn't Russia: Bibi doesn't have the support of the security forces, and you can't be a crazy dictator without the army. His days in politics seem numbered.

--Tel Avivian; Tel Aviv

tonnes more
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/world/middleeast/judiciary-overhaul-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-parliament.html#commentsContainer

like our dear trumfpster
a Democracy-Hating
Fascist

first they
come for the
LGBTQ & then
the Trade Unionists
Democrats Womenfolk

we've been
HERE Be-
fore.

Isrealis too
Looks like they're
NOT gonna put up with it.

Fucking
KUDOS
to Isreal.

@78: I don't get your contorted autofellatio analogy, but if you find if self-fulfilling that's fine.

@73: The establishing of the EPA, additional spending for social programs, and easing of the Cold War were good things. Richard M. Nixon, like him or not, got into a lot of trouble, however, by befriending the turbulent director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, who served eight U.S. Presidents over 48 years from Calvin Coolidge to Richard Nixon's terms in the White House until Hoover's death of heart failure in 1972.
J. Edgar Hoover had the nasty reputation of being a vindictive, racist bully. Hoover abhorred anyone who disagreed with him and was mad over John F. Kennedy's presidential victory in 1960, believing Nixon, a longtime friend and colleague, should have won, however graciously Nixon conceded JFK's win. The escalating intensity of the Watergate scandal, and his tight bonds with Hoover were largely what finished Nixon's reputation as 37th U.S. President. Despite Hoover's extremely controversial methods of running the FBI, Nixon wouldn't fire him, fearing a harsh reprisal [The Critics, Books section: The Price of Power: Reassessing the Influence of J. Edgar Hoover, Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker Magazine, November 21, 2022, pg. 63-68].

@77: If you ever had anything significant to add to the SLOG comment threads, you'd be taken more seriously, Scooter-pie. Isn't it past your bedtime?

@80: Tsk tsk. What did I warn you about chasing your tail, raindrop dear? Stop now before you hurt yourself.

@75: Thank you, tensy, for further supporting my statements on what ended Richard Nixon's presidency.

"J. Edgar Hoover had the nasty reputation of being a vindictive, racist bully. "

Na, he was LGBTQIA+

@76: One duty of the President is to “… take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” and Nixon’s conspiring to commit felonies was pretty much the opposite of that. Therefore, I honestly have absolutely no idea what your phrase, “great politician and public servant” means. I doubt I’ll know any meanings of any other words you’ll use, either, so I’ll just stop reading what you write. Good-bye.

@82: You’re welcome, but I didn’t mention Hoover. I don’t recall what (if any) role Hoover had in W. Mark Felt’s intelligence operation against Nixon, which guided Woodward and Bernstein towards Nixon’s criminal conspiracy.

the wee Fascist
J Edgar Hoover, Head of FBI
had The Dirt on Everyone making
J. EH The Most Powerful man in WA, DC

who had NO Qualms about abusing
his Power however he saw fit. at
at time when being Gay was a
Felony, a gay Diminutive
Hoover was Safe af but
Few were more
Dangerous.