# What were political scandals called before Watergate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730 "2008-05-18T06:01:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/1 "2008-05-18T06:01:52Z")
Everything is \*\*\*-Gate. Now, not even in politics we have spy-gate. Seems like every scandal is dubbed something-gate, so did we have any something-dome, or teapot-something? Was there a Presidential FUBAR somewhere that was called something other? SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/2 "2008-05-18T06:22:13Z")
“Scandal” or “affair”. The Teapot Dome Scandal. The XYZ Affair. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/3 "2008-05-18T22:37:57Z")
The Iran-Contra Affair was not a -gate. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/4 "2008-05-18T22:57:48Z")
Iran-Contra-Gate was in common usage at the time, as a simple googling will demonstrate. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/5 "2008-05-18T23:11:30Z")
I never heard it. Iran Contra-Gate certainly isn’t the standard term for it whether or not a few bloggers on the internet call it that. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/6 "2008-05-18T23:50:11Z")
_[Time](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963027,00.html)_ magazine, Dec. 8, 1986: > [@](#): > > As the Reagan Administration copes with its burgeoning scandal, pundits are facing a minor but nonetheless sticky problem of their own: what to call it. Ever since Watergate, the suffix -gate has been used to label virtually any hint of governmental wrongdoing (from the Koreagate bribery scandal to Lancegate, the flap over President Carter’s former Budget Director). News of secret U.S. arms shipments to Iran was initially dubbed, unsurprisingly, Irangate. But as the scandal has broadened, the nicknames have multiplied: Armsgate, Contragate, Budgate (for McFarlane), Northgate (for Oliver). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/7 "2008-05-19T00:28:43Z")
Keating 5. not gated. Vicuna coat scandal, Ike not gated. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/8 "2008-05-19T01:17:59Z")
If another scandal happens at the Watergate Hotel would it be called Watergategate? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/9 "2008-05-19T05:27:07Z")
[QUOTE=WarmNPrickly] The Iran-Contra Affair was not a -gate. [/QUOTE] Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as well as some of the others. I remember once Daniel Patrick Moynihan called it “Iran-amok.” ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/10 "2008-05-19T12:53:16Z")
Nevertheless, if ever you want to search for information on the Iran-Contra Affair, I strongly suggest you use the term “Iran-Contra Affair” as your search terms. That is how most of the main stream media refers to it. [In Congressional Reports](http://books.google.com/books?id=ew_K3auTwEgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=committees&as_brr=1) [National Security Archive](http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/index.htm) [ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/BrianRoss/popup?id=3196035) [Columbia Encyclopedia](http://www.bartleby.com/65/ir/Irancont.html) It does seem as if early on there was some use of the term irangate. I found this [NY Times Article](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD81E3AF93AA3575BC0A961948260) from 1987 and **Walloon** posted a 1986 Time magazine article. You won’t be at a complete loss if you use the term irangate. Whatever you personally choose to call it is your own business. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/11 "2008-05-19T13:03:19Z")
Early on, I even recall a few references to “Ayatollahgate.” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/12 "2008-05-19T13:28:19Z")
I have long thought that the -gate suffix shows a lack of imagination on the part of political journalists, or an inflated sense of their own importance (“Look! We’re just like Woodward and Bernstein!”). The -scam suffix seems to have dropped completely out of favour. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/13 "2008-05-19T19:44:51Z")
The Valerie Plame Affair was not -gated as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/14 "2008-05-20T01:51:06Z")
One tradition that I’ve noticed from times past is to use the surname of the chief figure (or a chief figure, if there are multiple possibilities) to describe a type of scandal or scandalous activities, sometimes in a form that uses “ism” after the politician name (for instance, I’ve seen “Lorimerism” used to describe a type of corrupt political activity in reference to the Illinois political figure). ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/15 "2008-05-20T01:54:13Z")
Well heck, as long as we’re just making names up why don’t we just call it “Olivernorthisatraitorthatworksforfoxnewsgate”. That should make everybody happy. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/16 "2008-05-20T02:10:55Z")
Before Watergate things were _Dome_ (McCarthy Dome, Lucy-Mercerdome, Black FridayDome). Before Teapot Dome they all ended in _-bilier_ (Mainebilier explosion, Wounded Kneebilier, Cleveland’s Bastard Babylier, etc.). Before the Credit Mobilier they were the Eaton Affair (e.g. The Lincoln-Shared-a-bed-with-a-dude-for-four-years-Eatonaffair, Buchanan’s-a-do-nothing-doucheatonaffair, OMG Pierce-just-got-drunk-and-ran-over-an-old-womaneatonffair). Before Peggy Eaton they were Dusky- “Dusky Nat Turner Rebellion”, “Dusky Burning White House”, etc.). Before Jefferson and the “Dusky Sally” affair they were just referred to as XYZ (“Whiskey Rebellionxyz”, “Samuel Chase Impeachmentxyz”, “Midnight Justicexyz”, etc.), and before the XYZ affair it was the “Hamilton was shagging who?” scandals (including “George Washington’s expense account Hamilton was shagging who?” and “3/5 Compromise my [del]black[/del] ass Hamilton was shagging who?”). Before that it was England’s call, so everything just ended with “worthington, what what?” (“Boston Tea Partyworthington, what what?”) or “as they say, who knew?” (“Ft. Duquesne as they say, who knew?”). That’s why when “Watergate” came along, it was roughly akin to the soundbyte appearance of the Messiah. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/17 "2008-05-20T02:16:25Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Before Watergate things were _Dome_ (McCarthy Dome, Lucy-Mercerdome, Black FridayDome). Before Teapot Dome they all ended in _-bilier_ (Mainebilier explosion, Wounded Kneebilier, Cleveland’s Bastard Babylier, etc.). Before the Credit Mobilier they were the Eaton Affair (e.g. The Lincoln-Shared-a-bed-with-a-dude-for-four-years-Eatonaffair, Buchanan’s-a-do-nothing-doucheatonaffair, OMG Pierce-just-got-drunk-and-ran-over-an-old-womaneatonffair). Before Peggy Eaton they were Dusky- “Dusky Nat Turner Rebellion”, “Dusky Burning White House”, etc.). Before Jefferson and the “Dusky Sally” affair they were just referred to as XYZ (“Whiskey Rebellionxyz”, “Samuel Chase Impeachmentxyz”, “Midnight Justicexyz”, etc.), and before the XYZ affair it was the “Hamilton was shagging who?” scandals (including “George Washington’s expense account Hamilton was shagging who?” and “3/5 Compromise my [del]black[/del] ass Hamilton was shagging who?”). Before that it was England’s call, so everything just ended with “worthington, what what?” (“Boston Tea Partyworthington, what what?”) or “as they say, who knew?” (“Ft. Duquesne as they say, who knew?”). That’s why when “Watergate” came along, it was roughly akin to the soundbyte appearance of the Messiah. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure how this spoofe helps further the cause of the OP, which, when I looked, was still in General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/18 "2008-05-20T02:46:00Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] I’m not sure how this spoofe helps further the cause of the OP, which, when I looked, was still in General Questions. [/QUOTE] The o.p. was answered in one word in the first post: _affair_. All else is commentary (which satire counts as). There, I’ve run rings around you logically. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/19 "2008-05-20T03:02:24Z")
More importantly, despite what others have said, the point has been made that contrary to the assumption of the OP, -gate has not been universally used for all political scandals since Watergate. Making that correction is not commentary. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-political-scandals-called-before-watergate/449730/20 "2008-05-20T04:23:37Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] I’m not sure how this spoofe helps further the cause of the OP, which, when I looked, was still in General Questions. [/QUOTE] You gotta admit it was hilarious, though.