WI/AHC: Worst Case Watergate

[Historyman 14]

Now, a common thing to talk about here is either Watergate never happens, is cover up from the public, or something like that.

But how can you make it worst? How do you make Watergate turn into the very worst thing to ever happen in US history?

 

[SiddFinch1]

Well if the Agnew fiasco didn't happen first-- then Agnew would become President- have his scandal break as President. Either he resigns or gets impeached presumably. Have the VP office remain vacant and Carl Albert (speaker) take over. The switch of parties as President would create some discomfort and appearance of impropriety.

I know Albert ultimately had his own scandal involving bribes from foreign entity later on - not sure of when the incident took place- but lets say it was pre 74 and breaks as news while he is President--so then within a 2 year period you could have 3 Presidents forced to resign or be impeached. Or have Albert die of a heart attack upon learning his as I think he was in his 70s. President Pro Temp of the Senate was a segregationist Eastland also in his 70's. Have him die within days also and Secretary of State Kissenger is next in line- not eligible. After that is secretary of the treasury who was William Simon.

If you really want to make it worst case- while the chaos is ongoing, the USSR launches a nuclear strike- ballgame over

 

[Archibald]

Well if the Agnew fiasco didn't happen first-- then Agnew would become President- have his scandal break as President. Either he resigns or gets impeached presumably. Have the VP office remain vacant and Carl Albert (speaker) take over. The switch of parties as President would create some discomfort and appearance of impropriety.

I know Albert ultimately had his own scandal involving bribes from foreign entity later on - not sure of when the incident took place- but lets say it was pre 74 and breaks as news while he is President--so then within a 2 year period you could have 3 Presidents forced to resign or be impeached.

If you really want to make it worst case- while the chaos is ongoing, the USSR launches a nuclear strike- ballgame over

A crap, I thought Carl Albert was the good man. Yet he was somewhat tainted, too. Your scenario really makes for one big nice clusterfuck. Drew would like it, really. America would not, I guess.

 

[big-click]

Agnew or John Connally - who found himself in trouble shortly after Watergate for allegedly fixing milk prices, although he was acquitted - succeeding Nixon are good ways to drag out the "long national nightmare."

What about the Plumbers being caught committing a far nastier crime? It's unclear how serious their plot to assassinate journalist Jack Anderson ever was, but if the White House is implicated in covering up a political murder the consequences would be much more severe than covering up a break-in.

As for the WI element - it's hard to say. If the scandal and constitutional crisis are longer and more excruciating than IOTL, America might double down on the post-Watergate fad for clean, youthful antipolitics and the Jerry Browns and Gary Harts of the world will do well. The Church and Pike inquiries into executive branch overreach might have some real teeth and could lead to a more sustainable rollback of the imperial presidency and the power of intelligence agencies. On the other hand, perhaps people will be sick of the national humiliation and embrace feel-good right-wing populism. (Rick Perlstein's The Invisible Bridge argues that this was a major element of Reagan's appeal in the 1976 primaries.)

 

[SiddFinch1]

Looks like Albert resigned as accused of taking bribes/gifts from a south Korean lobbyist/intelligence officer with a bunch of others in congress in 1978

 

[David Flin]

A few random thoughts. Start off by The President's Men smearing Woodward and Bernstein, to the extent that investigative journalism is severely hampered. Effectively, libel laws get introduced that make the defence through truth almost impossible to meet. That effectively hinders the Free Press protections. The financial problems that this causes the Washington Post are sufficient to enable our good friend Rupert Murdoch to buy it up, and the politicisation of the media takes off.

As a side effect, we can introduce a dose of anti-Semitism through Bernstein: "Jews controlling the media" type tropes becoming more widespread, and how the media was un-American, and by extension ...

Vietnam was still going on, just about. The Post was one of those that were not in support of the war. So we can string US involvement out for maybe another couple of months.

The attitudes towards draft dodgers will be rather more severe. No Watergate almost certainly means no Carter and no pardon for draft dodgers. However, there was an economic crisis, and the Vietnam Veterans will still face their problems with pretty minimal support, so the distressed war veteran will still be a thing, possibly more so.

Nixon remaining in place, with unanswered questions splits the country further. A damaged Nixon in place and Kissinger as Secretary of State basically means that relations with Britain goes into the toilet, particularly with regard to Northern Ireland. We'd certainly get a more unfortunate situation in Cyprus in 1974.