Who Remembers the Watergate Scandal?

In continuation of our scandal series, we wanted to highlight one of the most infamous scandals in US history. The yardstick to which all other scandals are measured, and even named (example: Tom Brady’s deflated football scandal was named “deflate-gate” by the media).

Sometimes election shenanigans end up being front page news, as happened in the 1972 campaign between incumbent Richard Nixon (R) and George McGovern (D). This scandal was considered the most notorious off all political scandals by pundits of the time. Here’s a chronological refresher on the Watergate Scandal:

• On 17 June 1972, at the height of the presidential campaign, five men were paid to break into the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Their target was the office/HQ of the Democratic National Committee. Their paid objective allegedly was to steal DNC letterhead for use by Republican strategists, but that seems unlikely to have been the real reason for the break-in.
• Televised trials throughout 1973 revealed campaign fraud, political espionage, burglary and illegal wiretapping.
• On 10 Oct 1973, Vice-President Spiro Agnew resigned his office, then pleaded no contest to charges of tax evasion. He was also disbarred by the State of Maryland, and labeled “morally obtuse” by one source.
• Nixon’s appointment of long-time Congressman Gerald R. Ford to replace Agnew as VP would become significant.
• On 9 August 1974, rather than face impeachment by the House of Representatives and possible removal from office by the Senate, Richard M. Nixon resigned his office. Hence, Gerald R. Ford became the 38th President of the U.S.
• Watergate prosecutors offered companies that had given illegal campaign contributions to Nixon’s re-election campaign lenient sentences if they came forward.

By 1976, prosecutors had convicted 18 American corporations of contributing illegally to Nixon’s campaign. How many others were guilty? And how many foreign corporations contributed illegally? We’ll never know.

How deep do you think Watergate goes?

Back to our Scandal Series…

To continue our Scandal Series, we wanted to talk a little bit about the people who call attention to scandal.

Some scandals are revealed by individuals who discover wrongdoing within an affiliated organization (e.g. Mark “Deep Throat” Felt) during Watergate). Whistleblowers are usually insiders with access to privileged information, and may be protected by laws intended to expose misdeeds. Nevertheless, no one likes a “squealer,” so these individuals often suffer greatly after serving the greater good of society. One of the best examples of a whistleblower scandal is the case of Karen Silkwood, who died in a suspicious car accident after exposing lethal levels of plutonium at the Kerr-McGee Plutonium plant where she worked. Her death was vindicated in a 1979 lawsuit that awarded her survivors $10 million in damages, though they eventually settled for $1.3 million.

Of course there is also Edward Snowden- Whistleblower or Traitor?

Who is your favorite/least favorite Whistleblower?

Back to our Scandal Series…

For those of you who haven’t played Electability (which is pretty much 99.9% of you) a political scandal is one way to really hurt a political campaign in our game. It is a VERY important part of playing Electability. As such, we thought it would be important to help remind everyone about some of the best/worst political scandals in US History. We have created an entire series of articles about political scandals. To start that off, we have decided to define “WHAT IS A POLITICAL SCANDAL?”.

Stay tuned for our series of famous US scandals involving US presidents.

• What is a Political Scandal?
• What is a Whistleblower (aka Blow Hard)?
• I’ve heard of Watergate, but what is it?
• Presidential Polygamy?
• Andrew Jackson was accused of murder!
• The most corrupt House of Representatives ever!
• Nastiest Campaign Ever!
• Which Vice Pres Was Tried For Treason?
• The Infamous John Edwards
• Teapot Dome Scandal
• The Dean Scream
• The Widower Woodrow Wilson’s Wrongdoing
• A President’s Bastard
• The First U.S. Presidential Sex Scandal!
• WTF is the Credit Mobilier Scandal?
• The Whiskey Ring (sounds awesome)
• The Starr Report (Monica Lewinsky)
• Monkey Business
• From Hero to Felon
• Weinergate – The story of one man’s Weiner
• Hypocrite Runs Amok
• Stealing From Veterans

A scandal can be broadly defined as an accusation that receives wide exposure. In modern society, exposure is often in the form of mass media like the internet and constant news coverage. Exposure is also blasted through the all social media platforms. Back before these mediums though don’t think scandals weren’t covered. They were by newspapers, printed pamphlets, and word of mouth. In general, these accusations have a negative impact on the credibility of the person or organization being accused.  Such breaches typically stem from greed, lust or the abuse of power. The basis of a scandal may be factual, or false, or a combination of both.

A political scandal occurs when political corruption or other misbehavior is exposed—when politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices. A political scandal often involves the breaking of the nation’s laws or moral codes.

What political scandal sticks out in your mind?

Back to Scandal Series Home…

Hey everyone! Just in time for the debates, we are rolling out our debate bingo cards! Download them and play with your friends while you watch the Trump/Clinton showdown, making an exciting night even more interesting.

Don’t forget to signup for our newsletter to get the latest updates for Electability on Kickstarter! (launching October 10th)

Click here to download Debate Bingo