COL49 - Chap 1: Oedipa says no to drugs

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Of course Goldwater was the big bogeyman (in my house, anyway), but was Nixon completely off the public radar?  Chapter 2 starts out with a jokey reference to a Beatles analog:  Sick Dick and the Volkswagens.  I've tried to find the source of Nixon's "Tricky Dick" nickname.  At least one source dated it back to the McCarthy hearings.
There's no way Pynchon could have known, at the time he was writing this book, of the path Nixon's career would take, but is this possibly a reference to the old Trickster?

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: Bekah <Bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net>
>Sent: May 4, 2009 10:23 AM
>To: Bekah <Bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net>
>Cc: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>, rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>
>Subject: Re: COL49 - Chap 1: Oedipa says no to drugs
>
>What this means is that in the 60s of COL49,  the Republicans were  
>basically the "outs" and the Democrats the "ins."   I remember those  
>good days - except for the Vietnam war - which Pynchon doesn't seem  
>to get into much.   1964 or so it wasn't such a big deal as it became  
>after 1965 - when the baby boomers started getting drafted.
>
>Bekah
>
>
>On May 4, 2009, at 6:21 AM, Bekah wrote:
>
>> Nixon ran for President in 1960 and lost to Kennedy then he ran for  
>> Governor of California in 1962 and lost to Pat Brown (Jerry's  
>> father).  So he angrily dropped from sight for several years.    
>> Meanwhile,  Goldwater ran for President in 1964, lost but stuck  
>> around in the public eye for a few years.   And  Reagan ran and won  
>> the race for Governor of California in 1966 to start out his  
>> official political career.
>>
>> Bekah
>>
>>
>> On May 3, 2009, at 6:45 PM, rich wrote:
>>
>>> On Sun, May 3, 2009 at 7:11 PM,  <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Robin's described Oedipa and Mucho as affluent Young  
>>>> Republicans.  Are we absolutely certain she would have been a  
>>>> Nixon supporter?
>>> _______
>>> being the mid-60s wouldn't Barry Goldwater been more of a presence
>>> than Nixon w/i Republican circles?
>>>>
>>>
>>>> Oedipa wants OUT.  Hilarius wants IN.  No wonder she says no.   
>>>> Had it been some hedonistic offering at a party, or by Metzger in  
>>>> the motel room, she might well have said yes.  It's the invasion  
>>>> she doesn't like.  Hilarius is part of THEM.
>>>>
>>>> Laura
>>> _____
>>> every time I hear the name Metzger I think of the white supremicist
>>> Tom Metzger who strangely enough was living in Southern Cal in the  
>>> mid
>>> 60s and working in electronics in the defense industry--though he
>>> wouldn't make his name until later decades w/ the KKK and the white
>>> aryan resistance and thus just one of those kute correspondences I
>>> suppose--he'd fit right in Lot 49
>>>
>>> rich
>>>
>>> rich
>>>
>>
>>
>