It has been roughly fifty years since Nixon was forced from office. Watergate has largely slipped from our collective memory as most of the main players have slipped loose from this mortal coil. At the time, it was considered the greatest political scandal in American history, maybe even a near death experience. Nixon was not denounced as Hitler, but you can see the beginnings of that impulse in this period.
Another thing forgotten is that Nixon remained a bogeyman for the people we call the left long after the scandal. Reagan was compared to Nixon. The Democrat Congress relentlessly investigated him, sure that he was doing Nixon stuff. The Iran - Contra affair was supposed to be his Watergate. Bush I got the Nixon treatment as well with the whole October surprise business.
The election of Bill Clinton seems to have put an end to the Nixon stuff, as it boomeranged back on the Democrats. This also may turn out to be the high-water mark for the forces behind the toppling of Nixon and the aftermath. The managerial state has been in decline ever since. We are now at the final chapter of a period that started with FDR, climaxed in Watergate and may now be coming to an end.
The managerial system that was born under FDR, or at least came into practice, finally took control of the political system during Watergate. It was the "deep state" that took down Nixon and the "deep state" is just a spooky word for the permanent set of institutions that now govern us. The election of Trump in 2024, roughly fifty years after Watergate, may signal the end of managerialism.
This Week's Show
Contents
Intro
Nixon To Trump Fifty Years
The way To Think About Nixon
The Managerial Super Cycle
Nixon To Trump
Revolt Of The Economic Elite?
The Decline Of Managerialism
Managerialism Has Failed
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