Student Question
Why was Richard Nixon considered not conservative enough for the political right?
Quick answer:
Richard Nixon was considered not conservative enough for the political right due to his economic policies, which were not as anti-government as those of later conservatives like Ronald Reagan. Notably, Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency via executive order, a move seen as government overreach by conservatives. Additionally, his imposition of wage and price controls to combat inflation demonstrated a level of government intervention in the economy that conservative ideologies typically oppose.
Richard Nixon was not conservative enough for the political right (which did not really exist in very large numbers yet in the early 1970s) because of his views and policies on economic issues. He was not nearly as anti-government as someone like Ronald Reagan would be a few years later.
Perhaps the most prominent example of this is the fact that Nixon was president when the Environmental Protection Agency was created. He didn't just allow Congress to create it. Instead, he signed an executive order creating it. The EPA is one of the agencies that is most hated by conservatives today as an example of government interference with the economy.
Another major example of Nixon's non-conservative approach was his attempt to control the economy and prevent inflation. Nixon went so far as to impose wage and price controls on the economy. No conservative today would even consider allowing the government...
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to dictate prices over a wide area of the economy. Conservatives believe that the government should not interfere in the market.
So, the major right-wing problem with Nixon is that he was very willing to allow (and even promote) government interference/involvement in the economy.