NOW it’s Watergate
Last week, I re-watched All the President’s Men for the umpty-umpth time. I was deliberately trying to wash the taste of this Administration out of my mind. Former White House Counsel and reformed felon John Dean had been on television a few nights, talking about how Dis Guy’s maladministration was like Nixon’s, and how there was potential for this Russia thing to blow up into another Watergate, but how we weren’t there yet.
Are we THERE yet?
Never mind that Acting Attorney General Sally Q Yates was fired for (take your pick) notifying the President of Mike Flynn’s lies to the FBI and/or refusing to defend the indefensible travel ban in court (and being right on both!) Forget the similarity between that and Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre, firing AGs until he reached Robert Bork (yeah THAT Robert Bork) who then fired the Watergate special prosecutor.
Bork (left) – Not the verb he wanted to be.
Ignore claims by several people currently infesting this White House of various levels of executive exemption from judiciary or Congressional oversight and how much Nixon stood on Executive Privilege while ignoring subpoenas, misinterpreting compliance with judge’s orders and later claiming that if a President does something, that makes it legal. Not the same thing at all!
Spoiler alert: he lost!
Avert your eyes from comparisons between laughable Sean Spicer denials of readily verifiable truths, attacks on the veracity of the New York Times and the Washington Post and how much he sounds like Ron Ziegler, Nixon’s Press Secretary, who pooh-poohed Watergate as a “third rate burglary” and later famously admitted his previous lies had become “inoperative” which, technically, just meant that his lying had stopped working. Sean’s never worked, so, NOT the same.
By a fourth-rate Administration
Wipe from your mind the steady drumbeat of NYT and WaPo articles showing an unraveling White House engaged in all sorts of skeevy skullduggery sourced to leaks in the FBI, the intelligence community, Dat Guy’s campaign staff and the White House itself. Inure yourself to comparisons starting with Deep Throat, and extending through CREEP, the FBI and the CIA and the IRS etc etc. Nothing to see there but coincidence. Mere coincidence.
The FIRST deep throat to ruin a second term.
And, finally, ignore a compulsively secretive, narcissistic, paranoid POTUS obsessed with rooting out leakers and stopping the death by a thousand cuts the leaks foretell. Not at all the personality set that leads to a group of “Plumbers” using background checks as an excuse to suss out and stop the leaks. Oh no, not THIS Administration.
The Scepter to his Throne
All of the above exists only in your lying eyes, your cheating heart and your evil mind.
Instead, focus on the Articles of Impeachment of Richard M Nixon, as passed by the House Judiciary Committee on July 27, 1974
Article 1, charge 4: interfering or endeavouring to interfere with the conduct of investigations by the Department of Justice of the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the office of Watergate Special Prosecution Force, and Congressional Committees;
Article 2, charge 4: He has failed to take care that the laws were faithfully executed by failing to act when he knew or had reason to know that his close subordinates endeavored to impede and frustrate lawful inquiries by duly constituted executive, judicial and legislative entities concerning the unlawful entry into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee
Clearly, with the latest revelations of contacting the FBI via Reince Priebus to ask them to lie to CNN and the New York Times, Trump has visibly, undeniably stepped into Watergate territory. To cajole the FBI Director and Deputy Director to dispute the misdeeds of campaign and White House staff as relates to their conduct with Russia is a ham-handed way to instruct them as to what the outcome of their investigation OUGHT to be.
NOW we’re there!
The other Nixon crimes listed by the House Judiciary Committee way back in my 12th summer are all still on the table, either possible but unknown at this time, or anticipated to happen if Congress actually gets around to handing out subpoenas on the Russia Connection. In the meantime, enjoy the conclusion of all three of the Nixon impeachment articles, which read as follows, (with a little light editing.)
In all of this, Richard M. Nixon Donald J Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.
Wherefore, Richard M. Nixon, Donald J. Trump by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
I’m all in Primo. All in with you.
1Masterful!
2Donnie, the snacilbupeR dreamboat, the one dat guy who makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout and Dubya actually seem to have had a clicking brain cell on occasion.
If there is a deity watching, enablers like Mitch and Lyin’ Ryan will go down with Donnie’s effluent.
Hey snacilbupeR, Mikey Pence isn’t your backup plan. He’s the butt plug.
3The problem with any comparison between then and now is that back then there were still a few “honorable men” around in positions of power. They could see the problems and crimes, and took appropriate action, even overcoming all the bullchit obstacles throw up by the likes of Bork and that other guy.
4Today we have nothing like any “good guys” anywhere.
Those who hold almost absolute power are absolutely corrupt and treasonous to an extreme.
They will stop at nothing to impose a fascist reworking of OUR government.
Il Duce is only a very useful, apparently charismatic (to some of twisted and braindead minds) figurehead.
Again, Mussolini and Hitler (and Stalin, Pol Pot, etc) were extremely intelligent, hard working, driven fiends.
tRump is none of that except for charismatic (hell, he can’t even give a coherent speech, but to the cretins it doesn’t matter).
When, and if, it suits the underlords of the GOP/FSB to dispose of the SCROTUS, it will be done. Perhaps not on a meathook, but Donnei will be usurped, and an even more dangerous puppet installed.
Some similarities and differences between then and now:
The rank-and-file took a long, long time to wake up during the 1970’s. Watergate was making news while people were going to the polls — and Nixon won in a landslide. WG simply was not on people’s radar in 1971 and 1972.
So today is definitely different — for all the good it will do us.
Because —
In 1977, there were people of both major parties in Congress who put country before party. Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true.
So 47 years ago, the press led the way. Today the press is scrambling to keep up with the people.
Still, the only way anything will actually get done is if we stay motivated enough to vote in 2020 and accept the sad fact that we can’t trust even our own states’ and districts’ members of Congress [a group that consistently stays in office election after election even as we decry Congress generally. (And THAT is how we explain McConnell and Ryan – among others. Hopefully people who have consistently voted against themselves will wake up at last. THE PEOPLE were the first to signal to their reps that putting party before country was acceptable behavior.)]
And THAT is why we must hold Democrats’ feet to the fire as much as those of the snacilbupeR. We must speak now and vote later as if our lives depend on it — because they do.
5@ Sandridge:
And just last night, Pence telegraphed the fact that he is that “even more dangerous puppet” you referenced. Even if he goes down [unlikely] the person behind him is Ryan.
We are SO screwed.
6As I recall, there have been four presidential administrations with prominent scandals. Three of them were scandals of corruption. Grant was a good guy, and Harding was a clueless guy, whose “friends” and officeholders ran the government for their own benefit. Trump is both clueless and corrupt, and he and his buddies are all out to screw the government (us) for all they can get. Nixon is the outlier in that what he wanted was to preserve, prolong, and increase his own power, rather than to enrich himself.
Funny thing– they’re all snacilbupeR.
7Five letters in N-I-X-O-N and five letters in T-R-U-M-P! Hmmmmm
8Republican disdain for the constitution and the American people has long been obvious. Tell the great unwashed what they want to hear and do whatever you want. No surprise here.
9If only John McCain can muster enough support to push the investigation forward.
Regarding the mention of Mark “Deep Throat” Felt: Back in the ’80s, when Nora Ephron was writing her roman a clef novel “Heartburn,” she named the/her unfaithful husband Mark Feldman. I didn’t get the inside joke for more than twenty years, until Mark Felt’s role in the Watergate investigation was revealed in 2005.
Was Nora having a private giggle? I think so, but she left the press gaggle too soon and can’t tell us…
Now I have to go rewatch or reread “All the President’s Men”!
10Herblock was a national treasure.
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