In the deluge of new and devastating details regarding Trump’s shakedown of Ukraine that are being revealed every day, I have no special insights or pithy comments to make. Right now, I’m overwhelmed by other things in my life, and while I do my best to keep up with the dkos livebloggers, there are an awful lot of facts to keep track of.
Nonetheless, I have noticed one particular detail about this scandal that has caused me to think that we may have passed a historical milestone. I’m almost afraid to mention it for fear that we, as a nation, might regress. Here it is: As far as I’m aware, nobody has appended the name of the scandal with the suffix -gate.
Ever since the Watergate scandal, some lunkhead journalist has stuck the -gate after the most descriptive word associated with the scandal so that everybody will know that it is, indeed, a scandal. Wikipedia provides lists of the scandals and their names. The number of such scandals is insanely long, and includes scandals outside the US, which surprised me. I can recall the names of some of these scandals from their use at the times they were happening. From the depths of time we have Koreagate, Billygate, Irangate, Nannygate, Travelgate, Troopergate, Hairgate, Monicagate, and so on. More recent scandal names that acquired the -gate suffix were Bridgegate, Gamergate, and even Russiagate. There are a lot of more obscure scandal names on the list, as well as -gate names for scandals I was aware of, but that never caught on. For example, I do not recall Bill Clinton’s issuance of many pardons before he left the Presidency called “Pardongate.” For that matter, “Ukrainegate,” referring to the current scandal, is also on the list, but I have yet to actually see or hear a journalist or official use this name, thankfully.
So maybe, after 40+ years of usage as scandal designation, the -gate suffix has finally run its course? One can only hope. It has devolved to a meaningless cliche and should have disappeared a decade or two ago. It’s use displays a terrible lack of imagination. Of course, I suppose it’s possible the -gate suffix might just be replaced with some other lazy signifier, but given the vulgarity of the figure at the center of the current crisis, I shudder to imagine what that might be.
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Top Comments (November 20, 2019):
From belinda ridgewood:
I wandered into Otteray Scribe's Morning Open Thread diary at lunchtime for the Fender guitar music. But as I scrolled through the comments, it being an open thread, I found an interesting discussion of Chile's economic situation, started here by exlrrp. And therein, Otteray Scribe himself offered a succinct characterization of the Laffer Curve that made me, well, laff.
From CathyM:
This comment by conobs on Devin Nunes closing remarks of the day’s impeachment hearings, from Laura Clawson’s front page post Cooper and Hale testify #2
From Eyesbright:
This comment from new user, Kromaticat, is fantastic and especially amazing considering s/he just signed up today. It's in Walter Einenkel's diary here.
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