Those that remember living during the Nixon messhow alike or different is the feeling? I was 8 then

[demtenjeep]

My mom never voted in her life (Christian women didn't concern themselves with politics)

My dad a staunch UNION guy hated Nixon so I imagine my dad watched this intently but I do not remember anything at all.


So=does this feel the same or different? How so?

[Skittles]

1. this is way, WAY different

back then there were actually some republicans with principles - not so now - we have an incompetent buffoon who stole the presidency and whose sick behavior has been either cheered for or covered up by an entire political party

[UniteFightBack]

11. I think Nixon stole his presidency too and his party was with him all the way. It took audio tapes

for them to break.

[regnaD kciN]

12. "Stole the presidency"...?

Well, he certainly pulled lots of "dirty tricks" during the campaign, but it's hard to talk about an election being "stolen" when the victor wins 49 out of 50 states.

[UniteFightBack]

17. He colluded with a foreign government to win the election. Yes he stole it.

https://www.salon.com/2017/09/23/this-is-treason-nixon-vietnam-and-the-sordid-story-of-the-chennault-affair/

[unblock]

20. That was 1968. Yes, he committed treason to win that one

The irony of the 1972 election was that he had it in the bag but couldn't help himself cheating anyway because he wanted at 50 states.

[vlyons]

2. I was about 27

It felt great then, and it feels great now. In both circumstances, it was watching the hateful karma of a lying POS bear bitter fruit.

[regnaD kciN]

3. Too soon to tell...

I remember the excitement when Sirica released McCord's letter and blew the whole cover story wide open (my mother greeted us with the news that "we've really got him now!" ), but the fact is that it was a slow build of momentum over the course of two years of dominos falling that brought Nixon down, and we're pretty much at the beginning of that now. Much will depend on the investigation -- will there be televised hearings, as with Watergate? -- and the willingness of those on the periphery of the whole mess to jump ship and tell all.

[Autumn]

4. No it doesn't feel the same to me. There were some Republicans at that time who had some

scruples. The media informed on events and didn't spend hours trying to obfuscate everything that came out about what was going on.

[regnaD kciN]

8. Maybe, but there were also a bunch of conservaDems who were anti-impeachment...

There was no great threat to Nixon's survival in the first six-months-plus of the investigation. It was only following blow after blow (including the Agnew resignation and the "Saturday Night Massacre" ) that impeachment became a serious possibility. And his own party didn't break ranks, except for a very few and in a very moderated way, until Nixon's popularity plummeted into the 20s and they started to realize their own seats (or what came into contact with them) were on the line.

[secondwind]

19. Those were the Southern Dixiecrats. They are now part and parcel of the GOP.

[malthaussen]

55. Either scruples, or a righteous sense of self-preservation.

I'm thinking decades of virtual immunity from accountability have caused some politicians (or judges, for that matter) to think they can get away with anything, to not realize there is anything to lose. It's the only way I can figure out their brazenness.

-- Mal

[Autumn]

60. I agree, the lack of accountability for all these years is the reason we are where we are at.

It should never have gotten to this point. I'm glad our leaders have said enough is enough, the time is now.

[Patterson]

5. Nixon had a few redeeming qualities. Trump has none.

[BlueMTexpat]

65. THIS!!!!

Very few indeed. But against 45, there is no question.

[snowybirdie]

6. This time around

It all seems uglier and angry. Republicans wern't so vocal in defending Nixon's actions. As a young mom at home, it was fascinating tv!

[calguy]

29. It's way different now because of the internet

Back then we had no internet, no social media, and no right wing talk radio to spread lies and hate. Back then we all got our news from the three major networks and newspapers. Today it is so much uglier because the haters have so many ways to spread their venom to reach so many more people.
That's the biggest difference I can see between then and now.

[marlakay]

7. I watched it on tv daily with my dad

I was in high school. It was like watching a political drama act out but for real and as each person went down leading to Nixon my dad and I got more and more excited.

My parents were Kennedy democrats and had morals, I was raised going to church so cheating was real bad.

If my dad was still alive, he died right before Bush won he would have screamed over him and smashed a lot of tv’s or had heart problems with Trump.

[kimbutgar]

67. I was a senior in high school

I attended an all girls catholic school and in our civics class the sister everyday gave us an update and we discussed what exactly impeachment was. My father also hated Nixon and I remember him coming home from and watching the news to get the latest news. He drove me to school everyday on his way to work and in the car on he had the hearings on the radio. he used to refer to repukes as “dirty stinkin lousy repukes”. He died in 1997 and would have been outraged over what they did to Bill Clinton. My Dad would have been screaming daily at the tv in this day and age. And I remember he thought MF45 was a jerk even then.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. There are a lot of similarities.

I disagree with the statement that there were many principled GOPers in those days - there weren't. Throughout the investigations and hearings most of them backed Nixon as ardently as they're backing Trump now. They accused the Democrats of conducting a "witch hunt," as Nixon himself claimed. This myth of bipartisanship is described here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/opinion/watergate-republican-party.html The main difference is that the GOP were the minority, and only when they realized Nixon had lost public support, with approval ratings around 25%, a few of the senators, including Goldwater, warned Nixon that impeachment was inevitable. The articles of impeachment were voted out of the HJC mostly on party lines, with only a few Republicans voting for them.

[Poiuyt]

10. I would say that it took longer back then

It took a while for the tide to change.

[brooklynite]

13. There wasn't social media so there wasn't a drumbeat to "DO IT NOW!"

[yellowcanine]

14. Nixon tried the transcipt thing with the tapes.

It backfired hugely. Remember "expletive deleted"? That is what it is from. People did not know Nixon had such a foul mouth. As hard as it is to believe today that lost him some support.

[gay texan]

15. My mother was pregnant with me

During the hearings, so she was glued to the TV back in the day.

Probably had something to do with me being a liberal

[BigDemVoter]

16. I was 11, so I can't say. . .

But I DO know that repigs are WAY more batshit crazy now than they were then!

[frogmarch]

18. Very different

for me anyway, because the only news I got back then were newspaper and magazine reports and nightly newscasts on TV. No Internet back then or full news channels such as CNN and MSNBC. No Faux either, so at least that helped.

[hatrack]

21. Remember it vividly - junior high at the time . . .

It went on for months, and different parts stood out. John Dean was a big deal - his opening statement lasted an entire day, and it was fascinating.

I remember Daniel Inouye getting caught on a hot mike after Ehrlichman testified, saying sotto voce "What a liar!"

The big break was Alexander Butterfield revealing the existence of tape recorders - that's really what got people's attention, along with the Saturday Night Massacre.

I was still basically a kid, but my jaw was hanging open listening to that.

[Awsi Dooger]

47. Alexander Butterfield and the Saturday Night Massacre

Agreed...those were the defining moments. There was a feeling of inevitability after the Butterfield stunner.

Likewise I was in junior high school and had the baby boomer afternoon shift 12:30 to 5:30. I absolutely hated going to school instead of staying at my grandparents' house to watch the hearings. I was going over there every morning because it was a much closer walk to my junior high. I could watch more coverage than if I stayed home.

The current lowlife has done many more things worthy of impeachment. But there isn't a Woodward and Bernstein with the long methodical dissection. Nixon was paranoid and came across poorly when challenged. Trump doesn't suffer from that because he's been a lowlife all his life, and much of his most vocal base cherishes everything about that.

This is considerably more uncertain, IMO. It could flame out, or it could lead to even more devastating reveals. Regardless, I am all for it. Trump can't help being himself throughout the process. As long as he is himself instead of quiet in the corner then his approval ratings will keep him in territory where it's very difficult to get re-elected.

I am not kidding myself that impeachment has any opportunity to succeed in terms of removing Trump from office, or quitting early. There is nothing he won't lie about or refrain from releasing. Virtually everyone meaningful on that side of the aisle will approve of that and facilitate it.

[LeftInTX]

85. You're right about Nixon and his demeanor versus Trump's

Trump says things like, "I love Wikileaks!" and yelling at people and reporters etc. Nixon was well read and wasn't in the habit of yelling and screaming and saying stupid things on a daily basis.

[Ms. Toad]

22. Different.

As others have mentioned, there were Republicans who put country over party.

The other is that the lead-up to this has been far more draining than the lead-up to Nixon. I don't remember a daily beat-down, countless lies daily, blatant bullying, etc.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

23. The GOPers were no better then than they are now.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/opinion/watergate-republican-party.html

[Ms. Toad]

34. Sorry - but i lived through it

And had already started working with congress as a citizen lobbyist by that age. Bipartisanship did not die until the second term of Bush, the younger. Prior to that time I (and the generally liberal lobby group I work with) were able to have meaningful conversation with members of both sides of the political aisle. Obviously those were much easier, and bore more fruit on the Democratic side of the aisle, but we were able to find (or assist in finding) Republican co-sponosors (and votes from Republicans on many social justice issues.

Even the article is couched in terms of most, many, etc. That is not the case now.

You also have to remember that this level of criminality is something that we had not, as political parties or as a country, experienced before in the office of the presidency. Even partisan politicians can be forgiven for finding it hard to believe - and initially assuming it ws a politically motivated witch hunt given the dramatically unpopular war we were in the midst of and the zeal to remove Nixon from the white house because of his policies. That members of his party were reluctant, or tried to resolve matters quietly, does not mean that ultimately those party members did not recognize him for who and what he is, and were not instrumental in convincing him to leave office

The same excuse does not hold for Trump - having been through Nixon - and having experienced Trump for 2+ years, no one can have any illusion that a president (generally)( or Trump specifically is incapable of what has been alleged.

[Crunchy Frog]

24. I remember my dad being glued to the TV

But I have no more idea than you what the general feeling was.

I was ten, with practically no political awareness at all.

[NastyRiffraff]

25. This is worse. Much worse.

Yes, Nixon stonewalled. He tried his best to defeat the inevitable. In the end, it was Republicans who convinced him to resign. Although there was some fear that he'd use the military (or try to) to stay in office if he was impeached and the Senate booted him out, there was never any actual danger of that.

Trump is different. His crimes are much more severe. And he'll be willing to burn the country down to save himself. Nixon's faults were uncountable, but at least he didn't collude with a foreign power to influence an election in his favor; he didn't use the presidency to enrich himself, he didn't put his family in positions of power. He made many, many mistakes, but he wasn't as dumb as dirt.

[unblock]

33. well, he did kill the peace talks so the vietnam war would continue so he could win in 1968.

but ok, he didn't appear to have committed treason the win the 1972 election, so there is that i guess.

[treestar]

57. Good summary

Who could have thought there would be a president worse than Nixon

[jcgoldie]

26. I was just born then but here's one HUGE difference

In 1973 Americans were getting their news from Walter Cronkite... we all lived in the same world. Now 40 % live in an alternate Fox News reality. Those are the people the republicans in the Senate are playing to.

[beachbumbob]

27. Nothing the same at all. Just saying there lacks a moral fortitude in

In the GOP,

[demtenjeep]

31. if my dad were alive he would probably say there was no morals then. He didn't curse much but I rem

remember him saying Ford should not have pardoned "that son of a bitch"

for a long time I had no idea why he cursed. I think in my whole life with him I heard him cuss less than 5 times. The Ford pardon, when he smashed his thumb with a hammer, when my first landlady accused me of stuffing female products down a toilet when I was pregnant and something about Bush SR

He died in 97 so I am pretty sure he would have cursed a lot more during bush the dummy's 8 years and he would absolutely be livid right now.

[orangecrush]

28. Extremely different.

Next to Trump, Nixon was a Statesman.

[mountain grammy]

75. Agree!

[pangaia]

30. No comparison at all.

I wish people would STOP comparing this to Watergate...!!!

Hell, the civil war was closer, the US government had to put down an armed rebellion. BUT at least the USA still had a government...

[unblock]

32. yeah, the civil war ended a mere 107 years before the watergate break-in.

so it was fresh on everyone's mind...

[pangaia]

36. Well, what's so funny? why not? It's an important part of American history, dontcha think?

Unless some folks don;t know much about American history...

[marybourg]

40. The poster meant that the Civil War was a closer, ie., better

comparison to today’s situation than Watergate is. Not that is was closer in time.

[unblock]

41. ah, thanks. not sure i agree though.

well, maybe in the sense that we may have another civil war if donnie has his way....

[unblock]

37. of course i know about it and of course it's a very important part of american history

but i don't think it has much bearing on why nixon's impeachment saga and donnie's impeachment saga differ....

[lunatica]

35. It doesn't not feel the same

I don’t remember anything being as agonizing in pre-impeachment hearings as they are now. I also don’t remember feeling we were losing our Democracy. It seems we trusted the other branches much more than we do now.

Nixon and his staff were the bad guys but all our other institutions and organizations and cabinets weren’t seen as being catastrophically corrupt. The Republicans were considered honest, or as honest as any politicians can be considered.

We didn’t have crazed MAGATs and mass shootings. Or at least the MAGATs were silent, probably sulking in private.

We had a strong middle class where we all felt successful and able to live comfortably. We didn’t have a whole group of homeless Americans. No children were put in dog cages.

Everything was different. The problems we had were the struggle for equal rights. Racism was there just like it is today. It wasn’t anywhere close to perfect.

[dawg day]

38. It was a lot faster... but also a lot slower. :)

There were huge moments that it seemed like the world was about to end-- like the Saturday Night Massacre, when Nixon fired the special prosecutor and the AG and deputy resigned.

And then when Alexander Butterfield (see, I still remember his name) testified about the taping system and we knew it would just be a matter of time.

And then when Nixon refused to abide by the subpoena, and it went to the Supreme Court and he lost 8-0, and after that, it happened very fast.

The end came very quickly once it got to the tipping point.

[regnaD kciN]

83. That's the big difference for me...

The Watergate proceedings were more of a slow, steady process. From the moment McCord blew the lid off the cover-up in early 1973, it seemed like a steady drumbeat of event after event. The Senate hearings/John Dean’s testimony/revelation of the “enemies list”/high-ranking administration figures dragged before the Committee/the Agnew resignation/the Saturday Night Massacre/the “expletive deleted” transcripts/the 18 1/2 minute gap/“I am not a crook”/the House impeachment hearings/the SCOTUS ruling 8-0 that Nixon had to release the tapes/virtually every Republican jumping ship/resignation. It was like a long, steady process of erosion so that, while it may have seemed at the first that the best we could hope for would be Nixon embarrassed and weakened politically, looking back, you could see a straight road leading inevitably to Nixon’s removal.

This feels very different in that, after things being kept out of the public eye during Mueller’s investigation, and then the doldrums that accompanied Barr’s spinning of the report, it seemed like there was little or no attention being paid to any solutions to Trump’s misdeeds other than “remember, there’s an election in November 2020.” Now, all of a sudden, the seemingly-moribund process has sprung to life, and seems to be moving at breakneck speed. How it will end is anyone’s guess. But, even if it ends, as Watergate did, with the departure of a president in the middle of his term, I think, looking back, that the events will seem more like a sudden landslide than the steady process of erosion we experienced forty-five years ago.

[dawg day]

84. I was in high school...

And I had mono and was home for a couple months (bad case ). I was just enthralled by the hearings, and the slow drip drip with the sudden revelations meant it was really comprehensible. Not like now which is like a firehose l.

BUT back then there was so much going on... Israel and the Arabs went to war... over quick, but OPEC had been formed and they embargoed oil, and there wasn't enough and we all had to line up hoping to get some gas for the car... and we'd supposedly gotten out of? Vietnam but the war was still going on and very badly. And Agnew the vice president resigned in about two weeks. And inflation was going crazy.

So there were huge World Stuff happening.

This is both more complex ... so many crimes... but simpler... centered on this one man and his evil.

Nixon also, bad as he was, did some good things- the EPA, China. Trump has done nothing good.

[lindysalsagal]

39. There wasn't 24/7 news then. 3 channels, no cable.

So, you waited for Dan Rather at al to update at 8, noon ,6, and 11.

They only did news, not talking heads pundits and chat shows. Not much in the way of pics video: just anchors telling stories.

[treestar]

59. And no spin

To confuse everyone

[lindysalsagal]

61. Well, not nearly as much, anyway.

[customerserviceguy]

42. I was there

I was a junior, then a senior in high school when Watergate went down. Nixon's resignation came after I pledged a frat house, and we all chipped in a buck or two to buy a keg to celebrate the occasion.

There are some similarities, but clearly, Trump is way more unhinged than Nixon. Also, we did not have 24/7 news on three cable channels, nor did we have the Internet. Also, the GOP of those days looked like statesmen compared to the groveling supplicants that the Republicon party is today.

Plus, Nixon had already been re-elected, and there was no imminent election campaign to skew the outcome. Still, there was this sense of "Will this be the final straw?" and with Trump, he will be pried loose by the still-loyal-to-the-Constitution military if it comes down to the bitter end. Nixon at least had enough self-esteem to waive goodbye from the stairs of a helicopter as he slunk off into the abyss.

[Marthe48]

43. We all watched the hearings

My husband, brother-in-law, parents-in-law, friends, other relatives. My parents-in-law were republicans and hated the hearings and the 'attack' on nixon. At the time, my brother-in-law was liberal and supported the hearings, as did my husband and I and the rest of the people in our age group, regardless of military service, education level, other life experiences. I don't remember the divisiveness, even though my mother-in-law and I butted heads on nixon. As time passed, my husband and I became more liberal, my brother-in-law became more conservative, even denying he had ever been liberal. Most of our friends weren't deeply affected.

When Bill Clinton was impeached, my husband and I thought it was bogus. We were estranged from his family, but I imagine they were delighted. I heard that Clinton's impeachment was revenge by republicans for nixon's impeachment. Maybe trump being installed in the White House is more revenge.

I feel like this is different because the crimes trump is committing in plain sight are so obvious. The Watergate break-in was a blip on the horizon, and although we heard about it in the evening news reporting, it wasn't apparent that it was a crime linked to the Oval Office. The henchmen nixon hired weren't so over-the-top thugs, like the dregs trump has picked. So to me, the big difference and what I notice is that nixon's involvement in Watergate was hidden and there was a lot of investigation leading to his exposure. With trump, all you have to do is pick up a paper. And in the matter of his henchmen, just set a stopwatch for the next crime to occur.

[Greywing]

44. I was a senior in highschool when it started and I remember the disgust I had

for my friends that just couldn't admit Nixon was dirty until he was basically forced to resign.

I hated Nixon and just felt so passionate about people just couldn't see what was in front of their eyes. That feels the same and yet this feels different to me ... more worry and a sense of urgency. I don't think there will be a Howard Baker or Lowell Weiker type republicans and tRUMP has just caused so much damage to our country.

[Sogo]

45. I had just graduated from college

....and was holding my first "career" job. I would stay up until wee hours of the night, every night to watch the re-runs of the day's hearings broadcast by PBS.

I watched with rapt attention as Howard Baker, Sam Ervin, and Howard Dean became national heroes.

It was clear that history was being made, and today felt the same, although I didn't have the same visceral hatred of Nixon that I do now for Trump. Trump's crimes are Nixon's on steroids.

[murielm99]

51. I did that, too.

I was barely sleeping, going to work on a few hours of sleep every night.

It played out like a Greek tragedy. I don't know what this is. It isn't the same. Trump is more like a cruel Roman emperor who thinks he can do anything he wants.

[malthaussen]

58. Morality play, maybe.

The characters are so over-the-top stereotypical.

-- Mal

[regnaD kciN]

80. "Howard Dean"...?

I assume you meant John Dean?

[Sogo]

88. Correct!

Yes, you are correct....My bad....

[Hekate]

46. I was in my 20s and watched the whole thing avidly as best I could given the time difference....

...between Honolulu and D.C. I hated Nixon. I was sorry that he escaped actual impeachment, and believed Ford's pardon was howlingly wrong. Nonetheless, I admired the Watergate hearings very much. ~~ I believed such a thing would never happen again in my lifetime, but then I thought that in 1963 when JFK was assassinated.

The main difference between then and now for me is I no longer hold those naive views, and I feel old and tired. I am old and tired.

Trump's presidency has robbed me of something even BushCheney could not do: a belief in the inherent goodness of my country and of my country's capacity for rational behavior and rational means of progress.

Trump came to power knowing nothing about government, much less democratic government. And he brought in people who were essentially fascists and oligarchs. And it happened so fast that it made my head spin.

Gods bless Nancy Pelosi for her steady hand. I just do not know where we go from here.

[kskiska]

48. I was 29 the day he announced he was resigning the next day.

It was the best present I ever received - my 30th birthday.

[IronLionZion]

49. The Republican party should have been disbanded back then

instead of regrouping to bring us Reagan, the Bushes, Trump, Moscow Mitch and more.

If Dems had even half the shameless audacity of Republicans...

[onenote]

50. Different

Back then the public was still capable of being shocked by things such as the Enemies List and the Plumbers. So much has happened since then to make people cynical. Sure we all declare that we're shocked at what Trump has been doing...but are we really that surprised?

[OAITW r.2.0]

52. One striking similarity.

Both Nixon and Trump were caught trying to dig up first on their political opponents. The big difference was that the GOP still had liberal and moderate members in office. Today, the GOP is a monolithic criminal enterprise working to subvert the rule of law to enrich themselves and maintain power for their benefit and the benefit of a few very rich and corrupted bankrollers.

[redstatebluegirl]

53. I was 20, I think this is different.

Nixon wasn't ignorant he was paranoid to the ninth degree.

[moonseller66]

54. Don't normalize Nixon!

We already heard the "Bush 2 isn't as bad a trump" BS.

Nixon lied outright to the American people and they bought it hook, line and sinker. Because of that lie 30,000 more American Soldiers, countless Vietnamese died and uncountable numbers were maimed, suffered and STILL suffer because the SAPS (Stupid American Public) bought into NIxon's bullshit.

Things may seem different but in the end, they will turn out the same. That's why this needs to stop period. Those responsible need punished so severely that for the next 5 generations, no one will consider this kind of action.

We saw what happened and is happening now because the banksters were give a pass in that "let's move on" was a crock. They didn't learn from that and neither did or do we.

In actuality and for personal reasons, NIxon needlessly "killed" 30,000 additional American soldiers for a lie to maintain his power. So far trump hasn't...so far!

THINGS GOT TO CHANGE!

(Edited for spelling)

[Sancho]

56. We watched it on TV in the student lounge at college between classes...

...everyone knew Nixon was a liar and crook, but this is different in one big way: The GOP today is much more criminal and well-funded. The GOP is up to their eyeballs, so this time more than mf45 will have to go down.

[TryLogic]

62. Much different this time.

I was in graduate school and focusing on other things, and not worried about losing our democracy. Nixon had done several favorable things, but more importantly, his crimes were not so pervasive, not even close. I had faith in our form of government. It had not been co-opted by big money, corporations, radicals on the Supreme Court, Russian hackers, traitors, etc. I'm pretty sure members of the Cabinet had been confirmed by regular processes. Nixon just wanted to be reelected, not become dictator of the USA. Nixon was apparently a decent family man, one wife, no known affairs, no known pedophile friends. Nixon was mentally functional.

There was no Moscow Mitch as far as I was aware. I think I am correct when I say there was no Attorney General Barr who lied and misled the public.

The current threats are way more serious!

[BarbD]

63. I was 31, a young mom of four, but it was a different time.

- There was no internet.
- No cell phones.
- No 24/7 anything.

I never trusted Nixon as I thought he simply never knew the difference between right and wrong. Lowell Weicker was my hero. There was never any question in my mind about our democracy being in jeopardy. It never occurred to me that justice would not prevail.

This impeachment is much scarier. It is a case of failure not being an option.

[Bobstandard]

66. We weren't worried Aout a coup

Nixon resisted investigation and impeachment but he didn’t outright thwart Congress as Trump has done so many times. Nixon’s cabinet and departmental heads were not the yes-men Trump has installed (or refused to install, using temporary appointments to avoid congressional scrutiny and approval), so the rest of government seemed to be in good hands and functioning for the greater good (more or less). Nixon hadn’t suggested he’d like more than two terms, or thought being president for life would b a good idea. Nobody was seriously worried that he’d refuse to leave office if the next election didn’t go his way. Nixon hadn’t called Democrats and the media enemies of the people and convinced a rabid following this was true. It didn’t seem likely Nixon would go to jail after leaving office. Trump, on the other hand, has every reason to resort to the most extreme measures

I was an avid Nixon impeachment proceedings watcher who loathed him, but I wasn’t frightened about the outcome. I thought the only outcome would be a finding of guilty or innocent. This time there are other possible outcomes, including some version of attempted coup—and I’m filled with trepidation.

[regnaD kciN]

81. Some were, at least near the end...

After all, members of Nixon’s own staff met in secret with the Joint Chiefs and got their promises that they would countermand any illegal orders from the commander-in-chief.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

68. About the same

I was 17 when Nixon resigned.

As scummy as Nixon was he couldn't hold a candle to Trump in that department.

[Lulu KC]

69. No comparison

The context has changed considerably.
It would be kind of fun to see a list of similarities and differences, but for now I can't turn my head back or look in the rearview mirror. It's like driving into a tornado right now.

[Vinca]

70. It's different. The country wasn't as divided and Republicans weren't part of a cult.

IMO, the Nixon crimes were pranks compared to the long, long list of Don the Con's. In addition, Nixon - while evil - was not stupid. He had enough sense to resign and get out of town.

[trof]

71. I was 33. It was very different.

The Democrats held large majorities in the house and senate.
Republicans were not nasty rotten mean assholes.
There were some statesmen who put the country above party.
The parties were not nearly so divided.

It was one full year between the beginning of the Watergate hearings and the impeachment hearings.

[bluescribbler]

72. I remember it well

I was volunteering in the reelection campaign for Rep. Robert Drinan, D-MA the night Tricky Dicky resigned.

It's different because Nixon did not collude or conspire with a hostile foreign power for his personal benefit. That's a fucking big deal.

[ancianita]

73. I was in grad school. This is WAY different -- MUCH WORSE.

The whole university cafeteria stood up and cheered when Nixon resigned.

But this? This is a battle of lies against truth, personal gain against country, loyalty against oaths.

[demigoddess]

74. One thing I know, that after LBJ passed the Civil rights act,

a lot of the racist democrats left the party and joined the republicans and in the 80s there were some politicians who ran as democrats and then right after the election, usually even before they took office, they would go over to the republicans. So a lot of those republicans are racists or cheats. I guess that kind are still running the repub party.

[WhiteTara]

76. This one is stomach churning

We had some idea that we could stop the machine; but having so many killed to keep that from happening and the steady rise of the reicht and the alarming dumbing down of the masses and the intricate spy craft being used on the populace doesn't make it look promising anymore. Maybe now this has happened people will become more engaged in being the government of the people and stop letting someone else be the one to care.

Then there were two articles that gave me hope. One was about an artist in Brazil who started creating dog beds out of discarded tires; quite lovely and it has grown and grown; he may be able to open a factory inthenear future because his art is wonderful and practical. The other was a young artist Namibia who is creating art from scrap metal that he has found. He too is up and coming as an artist.

Art can only take place when you can be stationary and have some leisure to think. And of course, art is what makes us human. Okay, that's jmho.

But, the TCO (transnational criminal organization) is much more entrenched now than in 1974 and there were people in both parties that wanted to live by the rule of law. Someone said that they are making lawlessness something cool/fashionable today.

[DownFromTheMountain]

77. The Republican Senate Rank and File

Are homogenized corporate bought and paid for now. The Rep. Party learned from the Nixon impeachment to change tack..and the Republic gets a slime of a Senator..Mitch McConnell and carbon copies to carry out the dictum. Game the democracy to the limit. And hold the power past common decency. From those years I remember that the process worked towards a recognized process by some repubs.. Now it will be a feckless obstruction to save their asses.

[Hoyt]

78. At presser today, trump looked defeated just like Nixon. Can't wait for helicopter wave.

[Joinfortmill]

79. Nixon stole some files. Trump tried to steal our country

I was a young mother. Trump is far worse. Nixon stole some files, Trump is trying to steal our country.

[LeftInTX]

82. Watergate was kinda boring

It really was. I was a senior in high school and had trouble following it. The connection between the Watergate burglars and Nixon was buried between John Mitchell and other people in the WH. Trump is claiming, "I love Wikileaks!", but Nixon never said, "I love Watergate burglars".
Much of what happened centered around an erased tape.

It was long and drawn out and focused on legal details. My younger sister followed it and became an attorney


This stuff with Trump is over the top.

[czarjak]

86. Facts...

They’re stupid things to the stupid party. They made the difference then, they’ll eventually do the same.

[Trueblue Texan]

87. It feels different this time...

I was in high school during the Watergate scandal. We knew the president was in trouble and some of those around him. But his actions were subtle compared to this current mess. He never used military aid to bribe another country and he never used it to gain traction in an election. I wonder if Nancy knew he just needed to think he got away with enough stuff that it would embolden him to step so far over the line there was no going back and no convincing anyone that his action was out of ignorance or accidental.