Watergate Committee hearings may be both an inspiration and a hard act to follow

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/06/1103...-both-an-inspiration-and-a-hard-act-to-follow

"The House Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol will begin public hearings on TV on Thursday night, eight days before we mark the 50th anniversary of the bungled burglary that gave a name to the biggest political scandal of its time — Watergate.

That single word still reverberates in Washington, in the media and in history. It still has meaning among those who remember those times and those who value the separation of powers and the idea that the law applies to everyone — even the president of the United States.

One big reason people remember Watergate is that the Senate eventually empaneled a special committee to look into the larger story behind that one burglary. And that committee's work played an enormous part in making Watergate what it became.

Millions watched. Minds were changed. History took a different course.

Fifty years from now, when Americans look back on the riotous break-in at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will it have as much impact as memories of the Watergate scandal continue to have today? "





My guess is no. Trump supporters live in a fantasy world not populated with facts, only fiction created by their icon. If Dirty Donnie confessed to being a Russian agent at high noon on the Capitol steps, his supporters would claim it was faked. This level of fanaticism is rare in this world and dangerous to any society.

Perhaps the memories of another Republican crook who tried to manipulate our political system to his own evil ends will help us rid ourselves of the legacy of this latest Republican crook.

Then again, maybe I'm just being optimistic.