The same high-profile Republican who implicated Richard Nixon in 1972, a man who knows a thing or two about a political party facing trouble, called out Bush’s administration last night in a lecture at the Old South Meeting House.
“The Republican party is in bad shape right now. The conservative movement is in bad shape,” said John Dean, former White House counsel during the Watergate scandal.
Now critical of conservatism, Dean said the authoritative Bush administration and conservatives have killed democracy in the United States.
Dean accused the Republican party of violating the U.S. Constitution by instating “warrantless surveillance” wiretapping. In 1972, Dean was entrenched in efforts to cover up wiretapping and burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
Dean criticized modern conservative policies regarding reports of torture in the prison at Guantanamo Bay and stances toward gay rights.
“Not every conservative is an authoritarian, but every authoritarian is a conservative,” he said.
The neutrality of the Supreme Court is threatened by a national conservative presence, Dean said. He said his greatest concern is that laws could be amended without due political process.
“People tend to do the right thing when they get good, hard information,” he said, adding that partisan Americans have trouble listening to arguments from across the political divide.
Some audience members said they agreed with Dean’s views.
“I appreciated his comments,” said Ken Scott, a Beacon Hill resident. “I think he’s preaching to the choir.”
In the generally partisan crowd, the audience heckled one man who had opposed Dean in a question-and-answer session until he left.
“There’s a certain amount of brainwashing,” said Cape Cod resident Sheila Lyons. “People are loyal to their party, not to the government.”