Nixon Weighed Financing Black to Pull Democratic Votes

Concerned about reelection prospects, President Nixon and aides talked about secretly putting up money to finance an independent black candidate who would drain off Democratic votes in the 1972 election.

“Put that down for discussion--not for discussion, for action,” said Nixon as the plan was laid out in an Oval Office meeting with then-Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and special counsel Charles W. Colson on Sept. 14, 1971.

Nixon joined in speculating whether Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, then a young civil rights leader, or New York Rep. Shirley Chisholm could be induced to make the run.

Nothing apparently came of the idea.

The discussions are heard on Nixon’s secret tapes, part of 201 hours of conversations recently made public.

At the time of the discussions, Sen. Edmund S. Muskie of Maine looked like a likely and formidable Democratic rival, and George C. Wallace of Alabama was expected to mount a third-party candidacy that could take votes from Nixon.

On the tape, the discussion opened with Haldeman saying, “I hope to hell the blacks do go ahead with a black candidate.”

“So do I,” Nixon replied.

“Pat Buchanan has sent me a suggestion that may make a lot of sense,” Haldeman said, referring to the Nixon speech writer who ran for the presidency himself years later. “He says if we’re going to spend $50 million for the campaign, 10% of it--$5 million--ought to be devoted to . . . “

Nixon interrupted: “A fourth party.”

Haldeman continued: “to financing a black party.”

The topic came up again five weeks later. “I think we may get something going,” Haldeman reported. The president proposed underwriting Chisholm, but Haldeman favored another course.

“The argument is that if we can launch a Jesse Jackson or somebody outside the party we’re better off, if we can keep them bought,” Haldeman said.

Nixon: “Yeah.”

Haldeman presented a plan for convincing Jackson that a groundswell of support existed, beginning with an ad seeking contributions.

“What we do is we get old dollar bills,” Haldeman explained. . . . We flood them in, a dollar apiece from 4,000 or 5,000 people scattered around.”

“You do that three or four times and Jesse Jackson will start thinking people really want him to be president. Get his ego going and after his ego’s going, then you can’t turn him off,” Haldeman continued.

“The payoff is afterwards. Give him about $10,000 per percentage point. He gets 20% of the vote, he gets $200,000. That’s a personal payment after the election.”

Nixon’s response, if any, is indistinct.

Haldeman is now dead. Messages seeking comment from Colson and Buchanan were not returned. Jackson told a reporter Tuesday that the GOP may have had such a nefarious scheme to divide the Democratic vote in 1972 but of course “we didn’t have any part of it.”

Chisholm, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination, said no one in the Nixon White House had encouraged her to run.