Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Watergate
Politics seem pretty crazy right now. The January 6 insurrection, the bonkers Qanon people, an upcoming presidential election that might (unless we derail it, hopefully) feature two 80-somethings blathering at each other. But.... 50 years ago, on June 17, 1972, the most remarkable political scandal in American history was set in motion.
Let's not forget what happened: The Attorney General of the United States authorized burglars to break into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee to photocopy documents and set up wiretaps. It was pretty ham-handed, and five of the burglars were caught. And then the cover-up began-- and the administration, and America's faith in government, began to unravel.
There were a lot of bizarre twists and turns along the way, of course. Martha Mitchell, the wife of the Attorney General, was kidnapped to keep her from talking. One of the burglars was paid with a check made out to the Committee to Re-Elect the President. Nixon gave an order to fire the Special Prosecutor investigating the matter, but the Attorney General (Elliot Richardson) resigned rather than do it. Then the Deputy Attorney General (William Ruckelshaus) resigned rather than follow the order. The next in line was Solicitor General Robert Bork (yes, that Robert Bork), who fired the special prosecutor.
Things have been pretty crazy... but they have been crazy before.
There is a direct line, too, between Watergate and January 6. Watergate shook Americans' trust in our government, and it never recovered. That made us more vulnerable to the entreaties of an outsider like Donald Trump... and we know where that got us!
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I remember the Watergate hearings on tv that summer. Deja vu - except this time I understand what is going on and what is at stake. "All The Presidents Men" was one of the 1st 'adult' books I read.
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