[scandal] Gate

The drama produced by the coverage and sweeping scope of the resulting aftermath of the break-in at the Washington D.C. Watergate Hotel compelled the Nation for years throughout the mid 1970s. The pop-culture obsession with the unfolding political thriller spawned a generation of eager investigative journalists and an entrepreneurial spirit ready to develop a more efficient means of providing more.

Over the last 35 or so years, scandal after scandal has been suffixed with the term Gate. Throwing this simple word after anything will quickly evoke images of fraud and wrongdoing. It will typically also increase ratings and newspaper sales.....or page views.

In recent months, a number of scandals with far-reaching implications have been slowly bubbling up in news reports. The order of importance can be debated but from illegally facilitating the transfer of automatic weapons to foreign drug cartels intending homicide....pressuring and manipulating Congressional testimony in favor of preferential federal regulatory review for companies led by large political donors....and streamlining federal oversight of taxpayer "loans" to bankrupt companies with these exclusive relationships, the current Administration occupying our Executive branch is challenging to become the #1 proprietor of scandal, perhaps surpassing Congressional social media practices.

Curiously, none of these Executive transgressions has yet to be ascribed the dubious honor of making the Gate list in public discourse. I would like to propose a new term to add to this collection. One that encompasses all of these emerging head-shakers....and the disgraces sure to have a whistle blown soon. This term can become the new Gate that permeates the public consciousness and perception of a fraudulent mistake.

ObamaGate pretty well sums it up, I think.