"ENOUGH-GATE!"

     After reading the commentary below, please express your own thoughts.  Instructions on how to do so are written at the bottom of this column.  Thank you.

     Stop already with adding the word "gate" to every American and international scandal.

      With Chris Christie in the news this week as someone who Donald Trump might be considering as his Republican running mate - (which, quite frankly, would make no sense to me for a variety of reasons...better discussed in another editorial) - questions are again being thrown at the New Jersey Governor about "Bridgegate."  In case you're not familiar...or don't remember...the term "Bridgegate" referred to accusations that members of the Christie Administration ordered lane closures - in Fort Lee, New Jersey - leading to the main toll plaza at the upper level of the George Washington Bridge towards Manhattan.  The alleged collusion created massive traffic jams at the GWB and extreme gridlock on local streets in Fort Lee for nearly a week in September 2013.  Governor Christie has said all along that he was in no way involved with what has been alleged as retribution against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor who did not endorse Christie's re-election campaign.

     According to Wikipedia, it was conservative New York Times columnist and former speechwriter for President Richard Nixon, William Safire, who adopted the suffix "-gate" to suggest the existence of a scandal.  It was 1974 when Safire wrote about a proposed pardon...of Vietnam War draft dodgers...and he called it... "Vietgate."  After that, there have been dozens of "gate" references used... concerning matters in the United States and in countries all around the world.

     After the 2015 AFC Championship game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots, the NFL investigated allegations that one or more people connected with the Patriots had tampered with the game balls.  Quarterback Tom Brady was directly accused of under-inflating the pigskins...and the media labeled the football fiasco..."Deflategate."  Brady had been suspended for four games in 2015, but that suspension was overturned by a federal judge.  The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reinstated the suspension so that Brady will not play in four regular season games in 2016.  Brady continues to insist that he's innocent of any violation.

     The press, pundits and pontificators have identified any unlawful act or evil behavior by tacking on the suffix..."-gate."  From "Irangate" - in the 1980s - when certain members of President Ronald Reagan's Administration sold weapons to Iran and diverted the proceeds to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua...to "Nipplegate" - in 2004 - when a so-called..."wardrobe malfunction"...caused Justin Timberlake to accidentally reveal Janet Jackson's right breast during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

     If there has been an insinuation of illegality or immorality...it has been tagged..."gate."  Whenever there has been a rumble of wrongdoing...or even a bit of scuttlebutt...the four letters "g-a-t-e" have been added.

     Of course all of this began with "Watergate"...which brought down Richard Nixon's White House and eventually caused America's 37th President to resign in disgrace on August 9th, 1974.  But in 2016...how many people - either those who lived through it...and younger folks who weren't even born at that time - know that Watergate is a luxury hotel in Washington, DC where the Democratic National Committee rented space to house their headquarters?  It was those offices that were burglarized in 1972...and which also led to multiple abuses of power by the Nixon Administration...with more than two dozen people - many of whom were senior White House officials - going to prison.

     So why is every scandal after "Watergate" still ending up being described as..."something-gate?"  It's an annoying reminder of an American "nightmare" - to use President Gerald Ford's word - that is best left for the history books.  After more than 40 years...isn't it time that we...shut the gate?

     And that's The Controversy for today.

                                                 I'm Gary B. Duglin.

                                                 "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

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Photo credits: freedomoutpost.com (Governor Chris Christie), FOX News and deadline.com (Donald Trump), biography.com (William Safire), post-gazette.com (Tom Brady), wikipedia.org (former President Ronald Reagan), reuters.com (Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake), history.com (former President Richard Nixon) and mlive.com (former President Gerald Ford)
 
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