JOHN EHRLICHMAN WAS ONE OF THE HENCHMEN FOR RICHARD NIXON,
I SAY HENCHMEN BECAUSE HE WAS ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS OF
WATERGATE AND THAT WAS PROVEN, HE GOT CONVICTED AND SENT TO
PRISON FOR HIS ROLE IN THE CRIMES OF WATERGATE.
ONE OF THE
THINGS HE GOT SENT TO PRISON FOR WAS CONSPIRACY, THEY PLANNED TO
BREAK INTO THE DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS, STEEL INFORMATION,
BASICALLY UNDERMINE OUR DEMOCRACY.
IT TURNS OUT THEY
HATCHED ANOTHER CONSPIRACY THAT REDMAN BRAGGED ABOUT IN 1994, TO
A WRITER NAMED DAN BOWN, AND IT HASN'T SAT IN THE DEFINITE
HISTORY UNTIL THIS MOMENT.
HARBORS MAGAZINE IN THE APRIL
EDITION RAN HIS QUOTE FROM 1994.
EHRLICHMAN I GUESS FELT HE HAD
NOTHING TO LOSE, HE WAS GOING TO BE HONEST ABOUT WHY HE STARTED
THE WAR ON DRUGS.
IF YOU REMEMBER, IT WAS AN EXIT
ADMINISTRATION.
THEY STARTED THE WAR ON DRUGS BACK IN 1971.
IT
TURNS OUT IT WAS NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE CONCERNED THAT DRUGS
WERE DANGEROUS FOR AMERICANS, IT WAS FOR ATTACKING THEIR
POLITICAL ENEMIES.
AGAIN, YOU MIGHT THINK, COME ON, THIS
SOUNDS CONSPIRATORIAL.
FIRST OF ALL, IT IS THE GUY WHO DID THE
CONSPIRACY THAT IS ADMITTING IT, SECOND OF ALL HE GOT ARRESTED
AND CONVICTED ON ANOTHER CONSPIRACY, IT IS NOT LIKE HE
WAS SHY ABOUT CONSPIRACIES.
AND NIXON, THIRD OF ALL, HAD AN
ENEMIES LIST.
THESE ARE ALL FACTS.
EHRLICHMAN SAYS --
OH MY GOD.
HOW DO YOU SEE THAT, AND THEN NOT WANT TO
IMMEDIATELY END THIS NONSENSE POLITICAL WAR ON DRUGS, THIS
PROHIBITION THAT HAS PROVEN TO BE DISASTROUS IN ITS EFFECTS?
BUT IT TURNS OUT IT WAS DONE TO BE A WAR ON BLACK PEOPLE AND
LIBERALS, WHICH THEY CALLED HIPPIES BACK THEN.
ORIGINALLY
THEY WERE TRYING TO USE THE LEGISLATION OF HEROIN AGAINST
BLACKS, BUT IT TURNS OUT LATER THEY WERE LIKE, BLACK SMOKE
MARIJUANA JUST LIKE WHITES DO.
OKAY, LET'S ARREST THEM FOR
THAT, AND THEY ARRESTED THEM AT FOUR TIMES THE RATE OF WHITES
EVEN WITH A SMOKE AT THE SAME RATE.
THE WHOLE POINT WAS TO
MAKE SURE THEY COULD ARREST THEIR POLITICAL ENEMIES.
HOW
WOULD YOU KNOW THAT AND STILL BE IN FAVOR OF THE WAR ON DRUGS?
EHRLICHMAN GOES ON.
HE SAYS --
I WILL SHOW YOU HOW THEY ARE STILL DOING THAT IN A SECOND,
BUT WHEN ASKED ABOUT WHETHER HE AND DICK NIXON INTENDED TO DO
THAT, HE SAID --
JESUS CHRIST.
NOW, THERE WAS ONE OTHER MEMBER OF THAT NIXON
ADMINISTRATION, HE WOUND UP HAVING A LARGE ROLE IN THE
FUTURE IN AMERICAN POLITICS.
THAT IS RICHARD NIXON SITTING IN
THE WHITE HOUSE WITH ROGER AILES.
WHAT DOES ROGER AILES DO
NOW?
HE IS THE HEAD OF FOX NEWS.
BACK THEN, ROGER AILES WROTE
THIS MEMO AND GIVE IT TO RICHARD NIXON --
KEEP IN MIND THAT EHRLICHMAN SAYS THAT NIGHT AFTER NIGHT ON
THE NEWS WE WILL BLAME BLACK PEOPLE FOR DRUGS AND CALL THEM
DANGEROUS, SO WE CAN BEAT THEM POLITICALLY.
NOW LET ME SHOW YOU
WHAT FOX NEWS IS DOING TODAY, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, LED I ROGER
AILES, WHO WAS IN ATTENDANCE ADMINISTRATION.
[BUFFERING]
IS ABOUT RACE, NOT DRUGS.
THEY FEEL THAT POLICE
DEPARTMENTS ARE CORRUPT ACROSS THE NATION, THEY TARGET AFRICAN
AMERICAN YOUTH, THEY TRY TO TRACK THEM DOWN FOR HAVING Js ON
THEM AND PUT THEM IN JAIL BECAUSE THEY HATE BLACKS.
THAT'S
WHAT IT IS.
AND THEY TOTALLY AVOID THE REALITY OF WHY ARRESTS
IN URBAN AMERICA ARE HIGHER THAN SUBURBAN AMERICA.
SO YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON, HOWARD.
WHY DON'T YOU JUST ADMIT IT?
I THINK YOU START TO ARREST THEIR CHILDREN AND GIVE THEM
RECORDS AND PUT BARRIERS IN FRONT OF THEIR FUTURE AND THEIR
CAREER, I THINK PEOPLE SAY WAIT A SECOND, AS YOU SAID IN THE
PREVIOUS STATEMENT, THIS IS SOFT DRUG USE, WHY ARE YOU ARRESTING
AND GIVING THIS KID A RECORD, ESPECIALLY MINORITY KIDS
DISPROPORTIONATELY?
THEY ARE THE ONES WHO GET ARRESTED.
THERE IS NO MASS ARREST OF USERS.
THEY GET A TICKET, JUAN.
STATISTICS TO SHOW THAT AFRICAN-AMERICANS, ALMOST 4
TIMES AS LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION THAN WHITES.
WHY IS THAT?
I THINK IT IS BECAUSE TOO MANY COPS ARE FULFILLING QUOTAS
BY GOING INTO MINORITY AREAS.
CRIME RATES IN THE BLACK URBAN PRECINCTS ARE OFF THE CHARTS
COMPARED TO SUBURBAN AND URBAN AREAS.
SO POLICE BY NECESSITY TO
PROTECT THE PEOPLE THERE WHO ARE BEING MURDERED BY THE HUNDREDS
IN CHICAGO, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE TO FLOOD THE ZONE.
AND IN FLOODING
THE ZONE THEY PULL PEOPLE OVER AND ASKED THEM QUESTIONS, AND IF
THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY HIGH OR OPENLY USING MARIJUANA, THEY GET
ARRESTED.
THEY HAVE TO FLOOD THE ZONE.
IT IS NOT LIKE WE HAD THE WAR ON
DRUGS TO HUNT BLACK PEOPLE DOWN.
NO, BILL, THAT IS EXACTLY WHY WE
HAD IT.
YOU ARE, HOWEVER MANY DECADES LATER, DOUBLING THAT
SAME PROPAGANDA THAT EHRLICHMAN WANTED TO DO, NIXON WANTED TO
DO, AND A YOUNG STAFFER NAMED ROGER AILES WANTED TO DO, WHO IS
NOW YOUR BOSS.
AND THERE YOU ARE ON TV TELLING EVERYBODY, NO, THE
BLACKS ARE MORE CRIMINAL THAN THE WHITES IN THE SUBURBAN
AREAS.
EVEN THOUGH THEY ACTUALLY DO THE CRIME OF SMOKING POT AT
THE SAME EXACT RATE.
BUT THEY GET ARRESTED AT FOUR TIMES THE
RATE.
WHY?
BECAUSE THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE WAR ON DRUGS.
WE HAVE TO END IT IMMEDIATELY.