Nixon was the first Republican president to tap into the electoral appeal of the cowboy star as the faded mascot of the silent majority, the gentleman of the rugged West who got by fine withoutwelfare and who shot bad guys when he had to.
Every person now living in the U.S. is the product of 50, 000 generations that survived and raised their children without government welfare programs, and under conditions that were far harsher than any that anyone faces in 21st century America.