May 9, 1974: House Judiciary Committee Begins Impeachment Hearings against Tricky Dick

On May 9, 1974, under the chairmanship of Peter Rodino, the Committee began public hearings to review the results of the Impeachment Inquiry staff’s investigation.

https://www.villagevoice.com/2019/04/29/prologue-to-impeachment-1974/

http://watergate.info/impeachment/judiciary-committee-hearings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKrLM5cqM6Q

The Day Nixon Left

August 8th 1974.  Richard Nixon tells the world he's quitting.  Here are a couple reflections I wrote in the past....

http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/ron-jacobs-remembering-resignation-of.html

https://www.counterpunch.org/2004/08/09/in-memory-of-deep-throat/

and a clip of the speech...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOGJJ7UKFM

November 1973--The Athens Polytechnic Revolt

The Polytechnic uprising (Politechneio, Πολυτεχνείο in greek) symbolises not only the heroic struggle but also the unity of all democrats.

The November struggles are the highest expression of the seven-year fight against the dictatorship, and one of the most important moments in the fight for freedom of the Greek people and especially Greek youth.

The Events of the Polytechnic Uprising
Despite the harsh repressive measures of the military Junta during the seven-year dictatorship of 1967-1973 in Greece – the imprisonments, displacements, mass trials in emergency courts-martial, torture, mock executions and murders – popular demonstrations against the regime continued throughout the dictatorship, with young people always playing a leading part.

https://athenianvoice.wordpress.com/2012/11/17/the-greek-uprising-on-17-november-1973-against-the-junta-militar-2/

Two Movies released the week of September 21, 1975

The first film is one of Al Pacino's best.  Based on the true story of a Deadhead who tried to rob a bank in the Village and, when it failed, turned it onto a hostage situation, director Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon remains a classic that truly captures a certain essence of the time....This clip is one of my favorite moments...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB6Gk5EtunI

The second film, Nashville, directed by Robert Altman and featuring a cast of mostly unknowns, is a point on look at US presidential elections, US culture and its absurdities and racism, among other things.  Film critic and Literature professor Bob Niemi has a great take on this film in his 2016 book

The Cinema of Robert Altman: Hollywood Maverick .  Here is a clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjnRX__xyMs

The Day Nixon Resigned

Nowadays, high school history books tell students that the Watergate episode and Nixon’s resignation prove that the US way of government works. Personally, I think that the real indicator of how (and for whom) the system works is Gerald Ford’s pardon of the man the following month.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2004/08/09/in-memory-of-deep-throat/

here is the speech itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOGJJ7UKFM

High Drama--The House of Representatives Votes to Impeach Richard Nixon....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxOhBa5IO9Y

Hunter S. Thompson 1972

As I noted in the post prior to this, Hunter S. Thompson and Norman Mailer are my go-to writers when it comes to topnotch US presidential campaign coverage.  I linked to an excerpt from Mailer's book on 1972, St. George and the Godfather yesterday.  Today, I am providing a link to a collection of random excerpts from Hunter S. Thompson's classic Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972...
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/timewarp-campaign-72-19730705

enjoy it and weep

June 17, 1972 Watergate Burglars Arraigned

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a061772burglarsarraigned#a061772burglarsarraigned

McGovern and the 1972 Democratic Campaign

Draw your own conclusions....

From Britannica.com :
"In the primaries that followed, McGovern continued to build up a lead in convention delegates. He was even more successful in the nonprimary states, where his devoted followers made certain that delegate-selection caucuses voted his way. But that success overrode the much more basic process that was taking place: the Democratic Party was tearing itself apart. One reason lay in the work of the commission that carried McGovern’s name. Founded in the wake of the disastrous and violent Democratic National Convention in 1968, the McGovern Commission put forth guidelines for the selection of delegates. They were designed to open the party’s deliberations to more young people, toAfrican Americans, and to women. The guidelines worked, but they also functioned to diminish the participation of many longtime Democratic Party workers. Prominent national Democrats found themselves in some cases unable to find a spot on their own states’ delegations.

McGovern’s rise made many Democrats nervous. Some were worried about his antiwar views, while others thought that he went against traditional Democratic principles. For many, unfairly or not, McGovern came to symbolize a candidacy of radical children, rioters, marijuana smokers, draft dodgers, and hippies. With the California primary approaching, Humphrey tried to bring all the objections to McGovern together in a last attempt to save the nomination for himself. He excoriated his old Senatefriend for his expensive ideas on welfare and his desire to cut the defense budget. It almost worked. Humphrey closed fast in May and early June, but the McGovern organization held on. McGovern won all of California’s giant delegation, and he beat Humphrey 44.3 to 39.1 percent in the popular vote. The margin was not as large as McGovern had hoped for, and the bitterness of the fight, together with the effectiveness of the Humphrey charges, had not been lost on the silent watchers at the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP).

here's the link to the page

http://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1972

May 17, 1973: Televised Watergate Hearings Begin

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/may-17-1973-televised-watergate-hearings-begin-19171632