Thank you for putting the Nixon presidency in its social context.
You make a glancing allusion to the influential work of Scammon and Wattenberg on the American electorate. They are now associated with the pithy formula (which is not really theirs but is an apt summary) of the typical voter being “non-black, non-poor, non-young”. This remains largely true today and goes far into explaining the lack of sympathy - even the antipathy - towards rioting mobs, including of students. Further, just as today, lefty opinion-makers dominated the media and gave substantial air cover to the disorder, while mercilessly attacking Nixon for his anti-communist record, and therefore giving affront to the values of large swaths of the population.
In short, it is no surprise that broad resentment built up in the electorate against domestic violence and their supporters. Nixon did not invent it, but skillfully capitalized on it, as you indicated. The important thing is that, just like in today's MAGA moment, there was a large constituency that felt alienated and taken advantage of. Perhaps in contrast with today's MAGA standard-bearer, Nixon was also probably sincere in his oft-expressed dislike of "coastal elites" (I think the expression dates from that time): smooth and Ivy-educated, connected and moneyed, Kennedy-type establishment, etc., as he grew up in modest circumstances in the then-peripheral state of California, was socially awkward and always carried a chip on his shoulder about it.
And yet, he was a remarkably popular president until he was felled by the Watergate incident, something that has been obliterated by later (again, lefty and vengeful) opinion-makers.
Thank you for putting the Nixon presidency in its social context.
You make a glancing allusion to the influential work of Scammon and Wattenberg on the American electorate. They are now associated with the pithy formula (which is not really theirs but is an apt summary) of the typical voter being “non-black, non-poor, non-young”. This remains largely true today and goes far into explaining the lack of sympathy - even the antipathy - towards rioting mobs, including of students. Further, just as today, lefty opinion-makers dominated the media and gave substantial air cover to the disorder, while mercilessly attacking Nixon for his anti-communist record, and therefore giving affront to the values of large swaths of the population.
In short, it is no surprise that broad resentment built up in the electorate against domestic violence and their supporters. Nixon did not invent it, but skillfully capitalized on it, as you indicated. The important thing is that, just like in today's MAGA moment, there was a large constituency that felt alienated and taken advantage of. Perhaps in contrast with today's MAGA standard-bearer, Nixon was also probably sincere in his oft-expressed dislike of "coastal elites" (I think the expression dates from that time): smooth and Ivy-educated, connected and moneyed, Kennedy-type establishment, etc., as he grew up in modest circumstances in the then-peripheral state of California, was socially awkward and always carried a chip on his shoulder about it.
And yet, he was a remarkably popular president until he was felled by the Watergate incident, something that has been obliterated by later (again, lefty and vengeful) opinion-makers.