Was Mark Felt ( Deep Throat) Hero or Scum

[AdamZ]

What do you think of Mark Felt ( Deep Throat)?

 

[poadeleted3]

Had he kept his mouth shut, Nixon may have remained in office. And Richard Nixon was exactly the kind of threat that could destroy our republic. His duty was to the Constitution, not the President.

 

[judypilot]

What do you think of Mark Felt ( Deep Throat)?

What Joe said. Besides, he was a graduate of the University of Idaho (where I work). Must be a good guy!

Judy

 

[Ghery]

What Joe said. Besides, he was a graduate of the University of Idaho (where I work). Must be a good guy!

Judy

Figures that Deep Throat was a Vandal...

 

[poadeleted3]

I've been seeing some folks that I assume are pretty far on the right ragging on him. I don't think they are doing themselves any favors. There just aren't a whole lot of folks who remember Richard Nixon very fondly, and considering the damage he did to us, folks on the right should really despise him.

 

[Bonanza]

I've been seeing some folks that I assume are pretty far on the right ragging on him. I don't think they are doing themselves any favors. There just aren't a whole lot of folks who remember Richard Nixon very fondly, and considering the damage he did to us, folks on the right should really despise him.

As an outsider looking in I always thought that Nixon was fairly typical of the 'Right' of that time. Self serving, dishonest, a liar, fraud, cheat and bought by big business.
But then what do I know???
Stephen.

 

[Brian Austin]

As an outsider looking in I always thought that Nixon was fairly typical of the 'Right' of that time. Self serving, dishonest, a liar, fraud, cheat and bought by big business.
But then what do I know???
Stephen.

Stephen, making statements like this without some facts to back it up only marks you as a troll.

Everyone, please provide references supporting your position or back off from the party line rhetoric, regardless of position. This is how the downward spiral of political debates begins.

 

[RogerT]

As an outsider looking in I always thought that Nixon was fairly typical of the 'Right' of that time. Self serving, dishonest, a liar, fraud, cheat and bought by big business.
But then what do I know???
Stephen.

Gee .. I sit slightly to the right. And I did in 1969 too. Does that make me self serving, dishonest, a liar, a fraud, a cheat and bought by big business? That's a pretty wide brush you're painting with. While I think Nixon was all those things .. there's quite a wide margin in what people on the "right" believe.

 

[RogerT]

I'm glad Felt had the courage to do what he did. Loyalty only
goes so far.

 

[Alan]

I'm glad Felt had the courage to do what he did. Loyalty only
goes so far.

We don't need agents of the govenment deciding when it's OK to honor thier secrecy comittments and when it's "for the greater good" to ignore thier promises.

It he was so great, why did he have to sneak? why did he stay secretive until at deaths door?

 

[wsuffa]

Ya know, I don't think we have enough facts yet to tell.

Nixon clearly abused the Constitution. Other Administrations do, too, only Nixon got caught.

We don't know if Felt talked to his superiors and was rejected. We don't know if he talked to Justice and got put off. We just don't know a lot of things because we weren't there.

Washington has always been a place full of leaks and coverups. Political advantage, whatever.

I do commend Felt for having the courage to help "out" a corrupt administration. It comes down to a moral question: are you morally obligated to maintain secrecy/confidentiality in the face of blatent, illegal actions and corruption that goes to the core of the American system of government? Which is more "moralistic" - identifying and putting a stop to illegal actions, or maintaining an oath of confidentiality?

Remember that Felt was not the only one providing information that brought the Nixon administration down.

Frankly, I am fearful that in today's environment the same kind of illegal activities could happen again, only this time the "anti-terrorism" laws could be used to stop it from becoming public.

 

[Bonanza]

Stephen, making statements like this without some facts to back it up only marks you as a troll.

.

Thank you for your kind remark.
Whilst my use of words may have been somewhat intemperate, for which I apologise, my point I believe is valid.
As we saw this whole matter unfold in the world's press, not having the advantage of being physically present in the US at the time, it appeared that right up until his demise, Nixon commanded massive support and even after his resignation there were many, many apologists on the right of the party. Of course, nowadays everyone looks back on the era and memories are substantially rewritten, but at the time and I emphasise, as it seemed to the world outside of the US, it was not just Nixon but a totally corrupt party, government and supporters.
I make absolutely no inference about the 'Right' of today and my intention was not to insult or impune anyone who may or may not have been a Nixon supporter at the time, simply to focus on the way that many memories and indeed history may have been re written. It is very easy to villify one man but he could not have done what he did without the support of his party, his government or the voters.
Now perhaps I will revert to my standard position and stay out of US politics
Stephen.

 

[Len Lanetti]

What do you think of Mark Felt ( Deep Throat)?

He looks like Palpatine.

Len

 

[poadeleted3]

Thank you for your kind remark.
Whilst my use of words may have been somewhat intemperate, for which I apologise, my point I believe is valid.
As we saw this whole matter unfold in the world's press, not having the advantage of being physically present in the US at the time, it appeared that right up until his demise, Nixon commanded massive support and even after his resignation there were many, many apologists on the right of the party. Of course, nowadays everyone looks back on the era and memories are substantially rewritten, but at the time and I emphasise, as it seemed to the world outside of the US, it was not just Nixon but a totally corrupt party, government and supporters.
I make absolutely no inference about the 'Right' of today and my intention was not to insult or impune anyone who may or may not have been a Nixon supporter at the time, simply to focus on the way that many memories and indeed history may have been re written. It is very easy to villify one man but he could not have done what he did without the support of his party, his government or the voters.
Now perhaps I will revert to my standard position and stay out of US politics
Stephen.

Your continued insistence that his party somehow supported Richard Nixon is simply not factual. The actual facts are that it was his own party that was going to impeach him and throw his a$$ out of office for obstructing justice. Had he enjoyed the "massive support" of his own party, the issue would have gone away. Unlike the left when faced with exactly the same problem twenty years later, the right did not endorse the illegal actions of their President, they held to their morals and took the heat.

The question that I now have is, who exactly is it that is trying to rewrite history?

 

[silver-eagle]

It depends on what side of the fence you were on. I wonder what Nixon would say. At the time, I am sure there were a lot of people working for Nixon who thought Deep Throat was a traitor.
Me, I thank the man for having the courage of to his convictions. Right or wrong, he exposed a corrupt system and lived with a secret for many years.

 

[Ken Ibold]

The question that I now have is, who exactly is it that is trying to rewrite history?

Joe, you know the answer to this. It is the winners who rewrite history. Orwell took it to extremes in 1984 (the book, not the year), but the premise is perfectly valid. A snitch becomes a whistleblower, a rebel becomes a freedom fighter, a thief becomes a champion of the poor. It's a matter of point of view, and point of view is colored by context, and context is created by schools, media and community.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

On the TV news footage of him with his walker and big smile, it was said he came out with the statement becuase it would help pay his grand-kid's college tuition -there's his morality !

It depends on what side of the fence you were on. I wonder what Nixon would say. At the time, I am sure there were a lot of people working for Nixon who thought Deep Throat was a traitor.
Me, I thank the man for having the courage of to his convictions. Right or wrong, he exposed a corrupt system and lived with a secret for many years.

 

[poadeleted3]

On the TV news footage of him with his walker and big smile, it was said he came out with the statement becuase it would help pay his grand-kid's college tuition -there's his morality !

He's reportedly suffering from dementia, and it was his family who pushed him to come forward. I think that if he'd done it for money, he would have come forward when it would have done him some good. I've been suffering a sneaking suspicion that he's being used by his family, a suspicion reinforced by Bob Woodward refusing to pay for the story and letting himself be scooped on the story he's sat on for 30 years. Woodward is on record as saying he isn't sure Felt was competent to make the the decision to come forward.

 

[judypilot]

He's reportedly suffering from dementia, and it was his family who pushed him to come forward. I think that if he'd done it for money, he would have come forward when it would have done him some good. I've been suffering a sneaking suspicion that he's being used by his family, a suspicion reinforced by Bob Woodward refusing to pay for the story and letting himself be scooped on the story he's sat on for 30 years. Woodward is on record as saying he isn't sure Felt was competent to make the the decision to come forward.

Joe, I've kind of had this feeling also, that his family pushed him into it. Woodward was in "negotiation" with him, but did have reservations about how much of it was coming from him and how much from his family. Then this lawyer meets the grandson and then the daughter, and next thing you know, has written the revelatory article. To his credit, the lawyer did document Felt's continuing reservations, but if you read the VF article, it looks like Felt had a pretty rapid change of heart. After 30 years of being concerned about whether he did the right thing, to change so suddenly doesn't sound like a decision he made himself. Of course, it is just possible, I guess, that he had a change of heart from his grandson's persistent statements that he (the grandson) thought it was "cool" that Felt was Deep Throat. But even that constitutes an outside opinion, not something Felt decided for himself. I'm seeing $$ in the family's eyes.

One of the things that really blew me away was that when Woodward dropped in on Felt in 1999 for a visit, Felt's daughter had no idea who "Bob Woodward" is, and pretty much had to have it spelled out for her who he is and what his connection was to Watergate. She's approximately my age. How could anyone be so out of touch as to not know at least the basics of one of the bigger stories of our time? Of course, she was a hippie in a commune at the time, but you'd think she'd have picked it all up somewhere along the way. All the more reason I think she's motivated by money


Judy

 

[Tom-D]

And Here I thought Deep Throat was Linda Lovelace.

 

[Henning]

I've been seeing some folks that I assume are pretty far on the right ragging on him. I don't think they are doing themselves any favors. There just aren't a whole lot of folks who remember Richard Nixon very fondly, and considering the damage he did to us, folks on the right should really despise him.

Richard Nixon's over all political career achievement scale still falls strongly in the positive catagory. If it hadn't been for what Nixon and Kissinger started with China and the USSR, the wall would not have fallen as early as it had if even yet, and Wall Mart and a large part of our consumer lives would not exist as we know it. As to his constitutional abuses, why worry about them now, most of those abuses as they were back then, he'd have authority to do now under the Patriot Act, and we were at war then as well.

IMO R.M. Nixons biggest career mistake was as VP for Eisenhower (and Eisenhower was a fool for refusing to meet Castro) in the dissmissive way he dealt with Castro in 1959. Yes Castro wasn't following protocol and he was a cocky arrogant guerilla, but he's 90 miles off our shores and he is in power down there. It would have turned out cheaper and better if they just humored him and bought his co-operation. He should have realized that if we rejected Castro, Kruezchev would jump at the opening to get an ally and base of operations on this hemisphere. The repurcussions of that April day in 1959 are still felt today.

 

[SkyHog]

And Here I thought Deep Throat was Linda Lovelace.

LOL - I was trying to come up with a similar response, but I couldn't for the life of me remember her name!

 

[Anthony]

Mark Felt was a traitor and effectively precipated a Coupe de ta. He broke the law by going to the press instead of the legal process. He is a criminal. Except for the statute of limitations and his age, he should be prosecuted.

 

[sere]

Richard Nixon's over all political career achievement scale still falls strongly in the positive catagory. If it hadn't been for what Nixon and Kissinger started with China and the USSR, the wall would not have fallen as early as it had if even yet, and Wall Mart and a large part of our consumer lives would not exist as we know it. As to his constitutional abuses, why worry about them now, most of those abuses as they were back then, he'd have authority to do now under the Patriot Act, and we were at war then as well.

IMO R.M. Nixons biggest career mistake was as VP for Eisenhower (and Eisenhower was a fool for refusing to meet Castro) in the dissmissive way he dealt with Castro in 1959. Yes Castro wasn't following protocol and he was a cocky arrogant guerilla, but he's 90 miles off our shores and he is in power down there. It would have turned out cheaper and better if they just humored him and bought his co-operation. He should have realized that if we rejected Castro, Kruezchev would jump at the opening to get an ally and base of operations on this hemisphere. The repurcussions of that April day in 1959 are still felt today.

I concur with all of your statement here. Also lets not forget he had the stones to turn the military loose in Dec. or 72 and drive Viet Namn to the peace table.

 

[Terry Miller]

> The repurcussions of that April day in 1959 are still felt today.

As are the repurcussions of Watergate painfully felt as well.

Not only did Felt make it permissable for those whose only credentials are a few years of journalism school and an arrogant, know better attitude to attack a war time administration, he made it heroic.

To 'be someone' in the press after the 70's, you have to be a W&B type. We are paying dearly for that. The press as a group is determined to inspire our enemies and as individuals equally determined to be the next one to stage a coup at home.

The FBI was then, and has been since it's birth a flawed and corrupt operation. Felt was part of it. Had he been appointed the head of this organization, there is every possibility things would have deveolped much differently regarding Watergate. That's speculative.

The fact is, whatever the FBI was, it was part of the war machine during a time of war, and you just don't go outside that machine to the press, no..matter..what. You change it from within, you leave it, or you just eat it.

I think it's pretty much in your face that Felt's motives were much the same as the Post's in that they weren't as worried about the truth and the constitution as they were self serving interest.

Regardless your thoughts of President Nixon, I don't see how you make a hero of this guy.

 

[Silicon Rallye]

The end does not justify the means. Although I think "scum" is a tad harsh, a hero would have had the fortitude to bring the information public through proper channels.