The World Without Watergate

Prelude:

Richard Nixon was not happy.

He had it all planned out. China, SALT I, ending that bitch of a war, and just generally stomping the opposition in 1972. But some asshole-his guess was Liddy, this fellow was a little nuts. A good, healthy patriot, but nuts. Fake pizza orders? Disguises?-had ordered a burglary into the Watergate hotel. Now, he had to cover the damage. The Democrats would go after this as hard as they could.

It was really funny. He was rather happy when that old cocksucker had to go to the hospital-then disappointed when he didn't croak. He wanted, like all his predecessors, to control the FBI. But the old queen just kept sticking around.

"Right, right... call the FBI. Ask Hoover what he is going to do..."

Yet he had the oddest feeling that, no matter how much he loathed the idea of being dependent on anybody, that he somehow dodged something worse with this burglary.


OOC:
The point of departure is that J. Edgar Hoover sticks around for a couple more years and squelches the investigation like he has countless other Beltway scandals, using his dirt to keep Congressmen from investigating, the usual stuff, combined with no Deep Throat. Hoover might not have cared about the President personally, but he did care about the office. So, no Watergate in our sense-some of Nixon's dirty laundry, including the Watergate coverup, will be coming out though. In time for there to be a serious scandal? Well... you'll see. I thought, however, that I'd do something a little different from the usual Frank Willis misses it or it just never happens scenario, both of which while very plausible, aren't as fun. But may I say this: It's really amazing looking back on it for someone my age-the sheer amount of chance that went into discovering the burglary and tracing it to the White House. People think it was preordained, it wasn't. And I personally believe that Watergate changed so much about US politics and society-some of the changes were inevitable and were merely exacerbated by Watergate. Some weren't. Let's see which was which.

I'm still figuring out how the website works, so I'm afraid it's rather simple in terms of decor for now.

Yay! A world without the -gate suffix on every single scandal!

The Kiat:

Yes, very much so.

This reminds me of Ellroy's American Underworld trilogy. I guess I'll just see how it develops.

Interesting.

I've been thinking about this idea, and I like your ideas so far. I imagine that without Watergate the Agnew scandal will be more infamous and Nixon will start grooming Connally as his successor.

The Kiat said:

Yay! A world without the -gate suffix on every single scandal!

Click to expand...

But will we call scandals then? The [Subject of scandal] affair?

Daltonia said:

I've been thinking about this idea, and I like your ideas so far. I imagine that without Watergate the Agnew scandal will be more infamous and Nixon will start grooming Connally as his successor.



But will we call scandals then? The [Subject of scandal] affair?

Click to expand...

Lewinsky Dome scandal!

1973-Part 1

"The Washington Post and George McGovern, naturally, gave a lot of attention to the Watergate story throughout the fall of 1972. However, the rest of the country-and the government-seemed uninterested. Few doubted that Nixon was guilty of dirty tricks, but few also doubted that the Democrats were guilty of similar stuff. Behind the scenes, the cover up worked with J. Edgar Hoover's approval. When he got out of the hospital, Hoover didn't retire, to the chagrin of many but to the surprise of none. Hoover was older and more cautious nowadays, but this didn't mean he was going to approve of a bunch of idealistic Congressmen investigating black body jobs-even ones led by in his view, some third rate amateurs hired by a President who just didn't want to accept the world was changing, unfair as it might have been. It would have possibly diluted his control over the capital, though, and when Helms told him of it... Few Democrats, as much as they would have loved to embarrass Nixon, wished to brave the files to do so, as Hoover, via his right-hand man Mark Felt, made clear in meetings with Congressmen. He set the parameters of political scandal-the little boys on the Hill who thought they controlled things couldn't play too rough and damage the country. This was not enough to dissuade reporter Jack Anderson, however...

" "Richard Nixon, Volume III-Stephen Ambrose".

As Bob Woodward watched on television in a Foggy Bottom bar as President Nixon signed the Mutual Reduction of Forces agreement with General Secretary Brezhnev at Camp David a few days back, he couldn't help but think of what would have happened if that Watergate story had led anywhere. When it didn't, and his expose on Bob Haldeman in October[1] had failed, Ben Bradlee warned him that he needed to find something. But where to look? No Congressmen were investigating the affair, and all the intuition meant nothing without results. They tried the Sirica trial, but got nowhere.[2] Now, the burglars were convicted and serving their sentences, and the story was gone. Carl discussing going into the grey areas of the law and try to talk to the jurors and judge, but after what happened to Anderson... Woodward just didn't want to do it. Writing that J. Edgar Hoover was gay[4], and thus was helping Nixon cover up the burglary due to blackmail was bold. And unwise. The next thing you knew, all over the papers were pictures of him with some ladies in compromising positions.

Nixon looked happy. No doubt he was. In the aftermath of his mandate, he had enacted his "New Federalism" mandate-and in the process, was reorganizing the federal government, as well as implementing revenue sharing and giving more power to local and executive centers of control. Congress and the bureaucracy didn't like it all, but the American people by and large did, and after winning 49 states, Nixon had the whip hand. And used it, generously, publicizing his plans to the American people and building his "New Majority". His enemies in Congress could only wring their hands-if they went against Nixon's plans, they risked the voters. Still, Woodward couldn't help but think that the antagonism between Congress and Nixon[3] would end up causing some serious trouble for Nixon someday...



Far happier than Congress were Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev and his crew, currently sleeping off vodka shots in the flowery rooms of Nixon's daughters[7]. In Moscow, as Yuri Andropov, the head of the KGB, watched, he noted the irony. Who would have thought that out of all the Presidents, the notorious red baiter, the man who battled Khrushchev in 1959, the man whom twice they had prayed-and done what they could-to keep him out of office, would be one to invite them to America as EQUALS?[5] Berlin, SALT I, the current agreement... this man could get away with a lot. It just showed that with the capitalists, in order to keep the militarist wing of America off, one needed someone who could shut them up to begin with, as you looked at what happened in Vietnam. Of course, he wasn't naive about Nixon-there was a movement from the liberals to cut off funding to their puppet regime, but it died.[9] Still, he was happy. In a way it was better-if they had a liberal in office, there would be bleating about human rights, and it was more fun in a way with someone who understood the game in a way most Americans-right wing or left wing-didn't. Detente-or Razryadka-was going nice and strong... it would allow the USSR to focus on pressing economic issues, as well as consolidate its power. Andropov was happy at the electoral result, even if Nixon also visited those squint eyed bastards(OOC: Brezhnev's words, not mine!) and was flirting with Sadat. They would have a SALT II treaty by the end of 1974, according to Kissinger.[6]

Andropov then started to muse to himself about the future... the Party was weak, corrupt, and consumed with self satisfaction. Thankfully, his organization knew better than to take ideology seriously. Long ago they knew that the Soviet economic ideology was a dream. But the Party didn't! This was dangerous. The Americans bleeting about freedom all the time, but the American leadership didn't believe, certainly! There was some farting about a burglary in the press, and even allegations that the FBI chief-his counterpart-was a homosexual[8]. The idea that the Americans would put an open petukh in charge of the secret service was a little much, even for TASS! Nixon really went to absurd lengths to convince the world that he didn't smash that journalist... but hey. America wasn't too different after all-they might not have ever shot people like Stalin did in the day, but they did deal with people, given the trial of that journalist for libel and obscenity.


[1]-True story. The Post claimed that Haldeman handled CREEP payments, which was false.

[2]-No Deep Throat means no luck for Woodstein.

[3] John Connally or Tower-don't remember which-claimed that the atmosphere in Congress was the most testy he had ever seen, and the most antagonistic to a President. There was a lot of bad blood that built up by 1973.

[4]-Hoover did NOT like Anderson. And Anderson was becoming bolder by 1972. In a world where Hoover lives, maybe a little too bold. I'll let you use your imagination as to what happened to Anderson, where it will surely be more outrageous.

[5]-Brezhnev looked upon the 1973 summit as the affirmation of Soviet power, and the equals thing really meant a lot to them. As an aside, the Soviets-and the Chinese, and the Arabs, and other countries with "different" political traditions-didn't really *get* Watergate, to be blunt.

[6] Kissinger says in his memoirs he would have resigned in 1973. I don't buy that. He liked power too much.

[7] Also true.

[8]This is from Andropov's prospective. This guy was Putin's boss. Realistically, he wouldn't be on today's PC standards. I like to include this part to show that people might think differently, but also because we might hear from Andropov later on-we'll see. But, in sum, the Soviets are happy in the World Without Watergate. The Democrats aren't.

[9] Case Church. Nixon's authority was REALLY wounded in spring of 1973. With the popularity of New Federalism and the Soviet summit, this is butterflied. Of course, funding doesn't necessarily buy competence for the South Vietnamese.


One other thing. Watergate came right after a huge landslide, which is part of the reason there was such a shock, along with "de-mythologizing" the office of the Presidency. It is still going to undergo that-post-Vietnam, bad economy, 1970s, and with a host of other potential troubles, that's just inevitable. Watergate exacerbated trends, but did not create-at least some-of them. The press is going to go after things harder, people are more polarized, etc.

Next up-Spiro Agnew, Yom Kippur. Nixon will run into some trouble with that, but respond rather well, and progress to his "annus mirabilis" of 1974. This will be the high point for Tricky.

Republicans win 1076, which turns out to be a serious boobie prize, as it was for Carter in otl

I wouldn't say that, necessarily. The economy is still going to suck in 1976. And always with Nixon, along with great triumphs, comes great controversy. I'm undecided, actually, on who will win in 76.

Hm... depends on how they handle it, really. It'll suck for whoever is in, but they could do things a lot differently than Carter, especially on the image front.

I'm really liking this. Looking foward to seeing what will happen next.

Who would be the GOP nominee in 1976? Maybe Reagan would get it in 76 because he isn't up against an incumbent (Ford).

1973-Part 2


October of 1973 would prove to be a trying month for Nixon. For months, allegations had been circulating about his Vice President, Spiro Agnew. The tapes prove clear his disdain for his Vice President, and Nixon distancing the rest of the administration from him when the legal proceedings started. Nevertheless, the resignation of Agnew proved to be a major scandal in the polls, and one that hit Nixon badly, wiping out the good ratings engendered by the return of the POWs and kept stable by the Soviet Summit and the New Federalism policies. Never before had as high an official been dragged before the nation and indicted in a public fashion. This was at the time of the crisis in the Middle East and the resultant oil embargo, causing a major hit in Nixon's popularity-the Silent Majority did not appreciate waiting hours for gas. They were thus more apt to the think ill of the President, which didn't bode well unless he did something quickly...



Nixon: "By any criteria he falls short. Energy? He doesn't work hard; he likes to play golf. Leadership?" *Laughs* "Consistency?"... "He is my insurance policy against assassination."

Nixon tape: Nixon, Haldeman, Dean October 1973​

Nixon: Agnew has got to go. I just got off the phone with Hoover and he says that there is nothing he can do. It's just too damn obvious. That son of a bitching moron... what timing! We need to make sure that the Democrats don't capitalize on this. It's hypocritical, but they will try to spread it.

Haldeman: Especially considering three of the Congressmen investigating are well known for fraud as well.

Nixon: Still... what a black eye. I asked John to take the job but he wasn't interested. Quoted Sam Rayburn ,saying it was worth a bucket of piss... damn it, I want John as my successor. That's why I made him Secretary of State.

Dean: The Democrats won't confirm him anyway.[1]

Nixon: Well, I do know a sensible man that would. They will try to expand this, so we can't afford to pick another Agnew. I don't need his kind anymore anyway, having kicked the shit out of McGovern.

October 13th, 1973​

It is my great honor to accept as my new Vice President, a man of impeccable integrity and honor, George Herbert Walker Bush!






John Connally would instead go to the State Department, while Nixon kept Kissinger as his National Security Advisor.




Agnew was just the beginning. In October of 1973, Anwar Sadat of Egypt would launch a fresh attack against Israel.[2] In response to this, Nixon launched Operation Nickle Grass, a tight airlift to Israel to enable them to fend off the Egyptian army and Soviet armed Syrians. Nixon also raised the military to DEFCON 3 in the closest shave the world had to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis.[3]


Nixon tape: Nixon, Kissinger, October 1973


Kissinger: I trust that Connally is doing well.

Nixon: Yeah, he needs more experience with foreign policy and keeping bureaucrats in line if he is to be a possible runner in 76. It all worked out well. We'll actually handle the foreign policy while getting John experience. Those impossible fags in the State Department are in for quite a time with John... the Foggy Bottom boys better not try leaking like they did in the first term. Petty revenge for me ignoring their groupthink.

Kissinger: Yes, sir, they are quite... incorrigible.

Nixon: Might as well put tutus on them.*waves hands* "Oh, but sir! Bureaucratic PROCEDURE! Our consent! Form A and B! The reactions of other countries to the airlift-Portugal[10] is the only one who will help, and they are a DICTATORSHIP! Human rights!" We can't let Israel fall, not with those nukes-and even if not, they are an projection of American power. And they have guts! I like guts. Those Ivy Leaguers are USELESS. Isn't that right, Henry?[4] You can't trust anyone else with foreign policy, really-Congress would drown it all in their petty parochial concerns, the bureaucrats would be similar. So selfish.

Kissinger: Hell hath no fury like the bureaucrat scorned. You must keep them constantly submissive. Don't fire a lot of them-humiliate and ruin the lives of a few, then the rest obey.

Nixon: And Connolly will put the fear of God into them. Now, insofar as Israel goes, they need to win, but they also must be bled a little. They have become too arrogant after the Six Day War, they won't negotiate with the long term in view. The press keeps weeping about Vietnam, but in the long run, it'll be this part of the world that really blows up if we don't try to fix it now. This oil embargo... *mutters to self*...

Kissinger: Absolutely-we wish also to show Sadat that we really take him seriously. He has shown his part-expelled the Russians, after all. This must become the focus of the administration. A more stable Middle East-and one amenable to American interests rather than Soviet ones. I will be flying to Moscow soon and[5][6]

Nixon: *interrupts* I want you to push that peace plan, Henry, understand? Meanwhile, we must think of the long term, domestically. We cannot let any country have us by the balls. The Jewish lobby is bad enough with Israel-they tried to hold us hostage to immigration, with that idiot Jackson in Congress. They didn't thanks to the Russians cooperation, and we had our summit. But they only dabble in moral platitudes. The Arabs can deal with oil, economics, pocketbooks-far more direct, and far more relevant to voters.

Press Conference: November 1st, 1973
​

Dan Rather: Sir, a lot of the people say that you are out of touch with them, that you are letting the American dream die. What would you say to that? Would you say that you are running from something, given the trouble with Agnew and the economy?

Nixon: I would say, Dan, that I am glad you don't handle my speeches. And that in response to your question, you might want to check out my speech in a few days. And we will see who runs from the public eye after that.



Nixon couldn't just fiddle with the peace plan, with his approval ratings in a dive. So, he did what he did four years back with the Silent Majority and did what he did best: he went for the jungular. In a direct speech to the American people, in the spirit of the old Space Race, he proposed a bold, inspiring masterstroke with Project Independence.[7]

November 4th, 1974
​

Let us set as our national goal, in the spirit of Apollo, with the determination of the Manhattan Project, that by the end of this century we will have developed the potential to meet our own energy needs without depending on any foreign energy sources.

Let us pledge that by 2000[8], under Project Independence, we shall be able to meet America’s energy needs from America’s own energy resources, or at least not be at the mercy of foreign nations.

…

No people in the world perform more nobly than the American people when called upon to unite in the service of their country. I am supremely confident that while the days and weeks ahead may be a time of some hardship for many of us, they will also be a time of renewed commitment and concentration to the national interest.

Let no one say that I am a hypocrite. I too, will be dealing with less heat this winter, with less speed on the highway, and shall install solar panels on the roof of the White House.[9] I will not ask the people to do what I will not. We shall throw our national energy into this. We shall do this. There are those who say that we are soft, used to our comfort, that we will not sacrifice for a greater long term payoff. It is time to prove them wrong.



[1]-Turncoat Democrat with a lot of skeletons, regardless of Watergate. He didn't even want to be VP-Nixon tries hard to convince him on the tapes, but you can tell he doesn't want it. Regardless, the Senate will never approve. Nixon instead decided to give him the Secretary of State position, which Nixon views as being better in retrospect anyway. He doesn't know a lot about foreign policy, but Nixon doesn't use the State Department anyway-look at the Rogers appointment. He won't appoint Kissinger without being weakened by Watergate and being forced to.

[2]-Yom Kippur is pretty much OTL. Sadat pretty much tricked most of the world save his one-time ally Brezhnev, including the Israelis. Brezhnev did warn us, but this won't change, in my view.

[3]-ITL, it's really understated how dangerous it was with Yom Kippur because Watergate hogged the headlines.


[4]-He states this without irony.

[5]-Nixon really did want to pay attention to the Middle East a lot if you look at the memos after Yom Kippur, but again, Watergate...

[6]-Kissinger ignored a mutual Soviet-American peace plan that Nixon proposed in 1973 in favor of going after American interest and consolidating the new alliance with Egypt. A combination of no Watergate and Nixon being more realistic and American interest based-as opposed to "preventing impeachment" based-prevents that.

[7]-OTL he ruined it by bringing Watergate in at the end.

[8]-He is being a little more realistic without Watergate and not having to use it as a political lifeboat.

[9]-Like Carter. Reagan took them off. Nixon will be more into nuclear and coal power, but he also wouldn't be philosophically opposed to solar panels. Nixon might not overtly care-founding of the EPA aside-about the environment like the left does, but damn if he is going to let something as holy as foreign policy be influenced/hindered by economic commodities or private enterprise figures, as much as possible, anymore than he would let "those little monkeys in the streets" do so.

[10]-We used a base in the Azores to resupply Israel in 1973. Nobody else in Europe would let out of fear of the oil embargo. It was an amazing case of threading the needle, and in the process not just preserving detente and avoiding nuclear war with the USSR, but making the US the dominant power the region. One thing that is often overlooked and underestimated in terms of legacy is how well Nixinger did with the Middle East crisis-we got Egypt as an ally out of it, and stabilized the region somewhat. Right behind opening China and leveraging them against the Russians in the Cold War as the big foreign policy accomplishment IMHO. There would have been no Camp David without the shuttle diplomacy, and without Sadat deciding that Nixon was a better guy to deal with than the Russians. If people think dealing with Hamas is bad, they need to remember the days of Soviet armed Arabs. Without Watergate or something similar hanging around(as long as Edna is alive...), Nixon will get to do a lot more in the Middle East. This will be a definite positive effect-at least in a lot of senses-of the Watergate coverup succeeding.

Some major, but plausible butterflies taking flight there. Good stuff, please do keep it up.

Very promising. Continue.

Bush as VP, good choice by Nixon.

Ford isn't going to want the VP, he wants to be Speaker. Rocky and Reagan don't want to be VP, they want to be President. Bush Senior is the logical guy if Connolly doesn't become VP-and again, Connolly will have problems with the Senate. I always did like Bush Senior, decent fellow, though had I been alive I would have probably voted for Clinton in 1992. I have no truck with the conspiracy theories surrounding him.

Thanks! I was worried that my first TL would be no good!

Interesting timeline

I agree Dems likely win in 76. In general we go to other party after 2 terms absent unusual circumstances.

And I still think Carter could win nomination in 76. People say he won because of the anti watergate backlash and certainly that was one factor

But he also won because his campaign staff had a brilliant strategy to take advantage of the McGovern-Fraser reforms and he worked his tail off.

There will still be plenty of DC scandals to promote an outsider.

Cool. Looking forward to more of this.

A side mention:


President William Jefferson Clinton stood on the podium, hanging above the casket. He stared at it and couldn't help but think that he'd miss the old SOB and his advice.[1] When you looked at what he did with some of his policies... and he just kept coming back. No matter what, you had to admire that.

It was such a beautiful day out. A nuclear plant in the distance-Project Independence had sputtered over the decades, had occasionally been in peril, and had to be constantly fought for. But America had stuck with it, and was better off in so many regards. Imagine having to be stuck completely in the Middle East, in its current state! Now, while there was still a lot to do-being completely off of oil, with self produced energy was not going to happen by 2000-they were a lot closer than they might have been. The research was productive, and had a bright future.

Funny. He absolutely loathed Nixon back in the day, especially given what happened in 1975, but after becoming President, you learned to have a little more empathy for your fellow man in office. You just learned stress and difficult decisions that only other Presidents knew... he had to live with what happened, after all. And he paid the price. But in the end, he wanted what he thought was best for the nation.



"Oh yes, he knew great controversy as well as victory. He made mistakes, and they, like his accomplishments, are a part of his life and record. But the enduring lesson of Richard Nixon is that he never gave up being part of the action and passion of his times. He said many times that unless a person has a goal, a new mountain to climb, his spirit will die. Well, based on our last phone conversation and the letter he wrote me just a month ago. I can say that his spirit was very much alive to the very end."


When one looks at Nixon, at particularly his "miracle year" of 1974, one sees a mind at work that never ceases to inspire, however grudgingly...






[1]-Clinton had a rather positive relationship with Nixon, weirdly enough. Maybe more accurate than first appearance would imply.