I have written about this subject before, namely that I regard the narrative that Nixon of being a liberal as a myth, rather that he was moderately conservative, but there are some greater details I’d like to delve into, namely how he fared with the top two interest groups that issued ratings based on liberalism and conservatism: Americans for Democratic Action and Americans for Constitutional Action. Some takeaways:
Ideologues were not pleased with Nixon’s first two years. For conservatives, the complaints included that under his administration there was the largest expansion of the federal government since 1945 (Kotlowski). However, like I’ve covered before, some of these changes such as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act amendments, received consensus support to the degree that such votes are rendered worthless for ascertaining liberalism and conservatism among legislators.

If Nixon was counted by ACA and ADA scorecards based on the positions he took on their votes, this is how it would come out:

Years	ADA (S)	ADA (H)	ACA (S)	ACA (H)
1969	13	17	22	30
1970	21	44	75	67
1971	17	8	55	91
1972	14	29	100	55
1973	11	11	100	80
1974	33	17	89	60
Average	18	21	74	64

The scores regarding Americans for Constitutional Action can be searched on this website under Americans for Constitutional Action Project: An Update. For Americans for Democratic Action, the votes counted can be looked up on Voteview’s website for Nixon’s positions. However, the vote count is incompletely presented for 1970 and 1974 on ADA’s website, so I have filled in the blanks. The 1970 ADA file available consists of interim ratings designed to influence voters for the 1970 midterms, which ADA regarded as of the utmost importance. The complete version, released later, had 25 House votes rather than 18 and 32 Senate votes rather than 20.

The missing roll call votes for 1970 in the House, with the pro-ADA position, are: 335, Yea; 382, Nay; 383, Nay; 400, Nay; 404, Yea; 410, Yea; 439. Yea.

The missing roll call votes for 1970 in the Senate, with the pro-ADA position, are: 483, Yea; 496, Yea; 501, Yea; 503, Yea; 553, Yea; 559, Nay; 571, Yea; 596, Yea; 608, Yea; 623, Yea; 642, Yea; 647, Yea.

The missing roll call votes for 1974 in the House, with the pro-ADA position, are: 699, Yea; 701, Yea; 707, Nay; 739, Yea; 776, Yea; 779, Nay; 796, Yea; 861, Yea; 862, Yea; 863, Yea; 874, Yea; 897, Nay; 933, Yea; 947, Nay; 971, Nay; 988, Nay.

The missing roll call votes for 1974 in the Senate, with the pro-ADA position, are: 671, Nay; 713, Yea; 750, Yea; 784, Yea; 799, Yea; 804, Yea; 806.

1969 provides a fascinating contrast between how liberals and conservatives saw Nixon: both groups thought he was bad news but for different reasons. Of particular note is how low he scores with Americans for Constitutional Action, which was achieved by him only siding with them on three of ten issues in the House and two of nine in the Senate. Nixon’s sins from a conservative perspective included:

Accepting too high raises of the debt ceiling.

The Family Assistance Plan.

Compromising with Republican liberals on the issue of busing as a means of desegregation.

Leading otherwise conservative Republicans into taking more liberal positions to be in line with the president.

Supporting increases in foreign aid.

Supporting extensions of anti-poverty programs without their functions being transferred to states.

Supporting farm subsidy payments.

1970 strangely has Nixon moving in a rightward direction from ACA but a leftward direction from ADA.

ADA’s problems with Nixon were many, but among some more notable ones:

His support for Supersonic Transport, which ACA didn’t regard as sufficiently indicative of conservatism to count in their ratings.

Vietnam War policy.

His support for altering the Voting Rights Act to make application nationwide as well as his opposition to a voting rights extension over the inclusion of an 18-year-old vote provision. Although it is true that Nixon signed into law an extension of the Voting Rights Act, he did that in spite of the 18-year-old vote provision, which was struck down by the Supreme Court and thus necessitated a Constitutional amendment.

Nixon does better by ACA in both Houses in 1970, and afterwards did much better. After being reelected, he looks downright princely in the Senate by ACA standards and just okay in the House. Overall, Nixon figures as a moderate by ACA standards in the House and as a moderate conservative in the Senate. By ADA standards, he figures as a conservative in the Senate and as a moderate conservative in the House. I have noticed that when looking at historic figures for liberalism, a standard that seems akin to that of radical conservatives Kent and Phoebe Courtney, whose 1961-1962 ratings I have covered, is often used. Such a standard ought to cause them to blush, were they still alive, and it doesn’t account for where conservatives and liberals were standing at the time. ACA itself was already considered very conservative, yet by their standards Nixon doesn’t do too shabbily.

References

Kotlowski, D.J. (2002, June 9). Was Richard M. Nixon a closet liberal? The Baltimore Sun.

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