Silly I know, but -- can we choose one "Gate" for the CIA Leak?

[skids]

My vote is for "PlameGate," and here are the reasons why:

1) History. WaterGate was the hotel where Dem HQ was. It was a place related to the crime. Plame is a person related to the crime. "Gates" aren't named after the perpetrator, but an object or surrounding of the perpetration.

2) Signifigance. The switch from "Valerie Wilson" in the CIA memo to "Valerie Plame" in Novak's column is fishy, and will likely end up signifigant in the trial.

3) Focus: Attention on Plame emphasises the severity of the blow dealt to public interest.

4) Mystery and Glamour: The CIA won't let everything about her out (salvaging assets) so there is a source of enduring mystery for decades to come. Plus she has the look of a movie star that makes this an intriguing story.

5) Future History. I don't like BoltonGate because Bolton really doesn't deserve the (in)famy. He's a shitbag who should get nothing more than a few nastygram footnotes in the books.

6) Uniqueness. It is unlikely that another Gate will come that has use for the name, whereas stuff like "TreasonGate" is too generic.

Any spirited defense of any other alternative "Gates" is of course welcome. Given it's all in Fitz's hands at this point, all we can do is speculate, publicise, and do some digging to counter talking point bullshit. A little more coherence in our chosen terms can help make our voice louder through harmony.

(Not posting as a poll, because I think those should have a less biased intro than what I just wrote.)

(EDIT: PS: where's our photoshop of Rove in a blue dress? C'mon artists. I'm waiting!)

[ClassWarrior]

1. Not silly, and your argument makes a lot of sense.

:thumbsup: I vote for Plamegate.

NGU.

[whatever4]

13. I agree, and not likely to be duplicated, for sure

Maybe this will be the end-all-gate, the last gate, the final door?

Ah, Watergate. Those were the good old days, weren't they? When the rules mattered a little more, and looks mattered a little less.

[seabeyond]

2. treasongate is what i like

and look i see you like treasongate too. wink

[cestpaspossible]

3. I think it will go down in history as "the Plame affair"

There have been so many 'gates' it lessens it's impact. Plus the whole 'gate' thing is SO twentieth century. Back in the 19th century the French had the 'Dreyfus affair'... we had the 'Teapot Dome Scandal'... I'd rather have an affair than a scandal.

[DistressedAmerican]

4. I Buy All Of Your Reasoning But, I'm Still With Rovegate...

Make them remember that fetid, putrid, bag of lies everytime it comes up.

Just my two cents. I guess we will have to negotiate!

[barb162]

5. I agree and I have been using Rovegate because I like his name

out there in front. He is like a fat little rat too, good picture

[akwapez]

8. Rovegate rolls off the tongue better. but....

this is bigger than kkkarl. Using that term diminishes the significance of the whole fiasco. Time will determine what the history books will call this. Personally I like the Plame Affair

[LiviaOlivia]

34. The Rude One recommends "Turdgate"

7/14/2005

Five Reasons Why Karl Rove Must Be Destroyed (Cont'd):
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2005/07/five-reasons-why-karl-rove-must-be_14.html

~snip~

Is it just the Rude Pundit or is there some kind of savage undercurrent of payback going on now in the media coverage of Turdgate (in honor, of course, of the President's nickname for Karl Rove, the oh-so-endearing-in-an-ass-fucking-kind-of way "Turd Blossom")? Because while for four years the press would break its spine to spin a story in Bush's favor, now, with treason possibly in the offing, the mainstream media is filled with headlines like "Bush Does Not Offer the Reacharound of Love To Rove" and stories layered with lines like "You remember when Bush said he'd get rid of anyone involved in the Plame leak? He sure acts like he doesn't." Or, to be a bit more accurate, AP's Ron Fournier called the Republican National Committee "virtually a political arm of the White House."

~snip~

[mcscajun]

6. I vote we abandon "-gate" altogether.

IMHO, it only serves as a convenient tagline, does nothing to stress the problem or its severity.

Whatever happened to the good old fashioned words like Scandal, Incident, Affair, Fraud, Swindle, Scam.

Examples: the Dreyfus Affair, the Teapot Dome Scandal, the Profumo Affair, the Chappaquiddick Incident, the Iran-Contra Affair, Abscam, the Savings & Loan Scandal. These are the stuff of history books and movies.

I think "the Valerie Plame Scandal" makes more impact than any word with a -gate suffix.

Let's call this what it is...a SCANDAL.

[aquart]

10. Uh. Gate MEANS scandal.

It especially means POLITICAL SCANDAL THAT CAN BRING DOWN AN ADMINISTRATION.

And that does seem to be appropriate.

[mcscajun]

22. Nope...Gate means Gate.

an entrance, exit, door, opening

Overuse of the "-gate" from Watergate (the name of the apartment/office complex where the Democratic Party HQ break-in occurred) has acquired an association with scandal in some folks' eyes without ever having the stronger meaning of scandal...but bottom line, it's a made-up meaning.

[aquart]

39. You're completely wrong.

A scandal is what you have when you embezzle from the church building fund or sleep with your son's fiancee. A -gate refers to a political scandal with the potential to bring down an administration.

[mcscajun]

44. Obviously, we're going to have to agree

...to disagree on this one.

:shrug:

[aquart]

7. I kinda like traitorsgate.

That's an entrance at the Tower of London. And I like to imagine these treasonous bastards entering hell that way.

[skids]

14. Hrm, that would be a fantastic name...

...for this other gate here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4115406&mesg_id=4115406

[Stephanie]

42. I own www.traitorgate.com

I'm open to ideas on what to do with it -

[bklyncowgirl]

48. Since it appears that there was more than one traitor.

It's also such a nice tribute to our British friends. Traitors Gate was where they brought in the high level prisoners who after a "fair trial" would get to meet the guy with the black hood and the big ax.

[Fuzz]

9. How about this gate?

[laststeamtrain]

11. Crack-in-the-wall tie-it-all-together-gate

Just 'cause I'm hoping that's what this will do.

[Mnemosyne]

12. Oniongate, because there are

so many layers to peel back and they all make the White House cry!:evilgrin:

[TahitiNut]

15. I'd call it "Yellowcake"

The name of the hotel wasn't "Water" with 'gate' added to indicate a scandal ... it was (and is) "Watergate."

The role played by the Watergate Hotel and Office complex was essentially trivial - merely the location of an inept burglary that went seriously wrong. The ineptness was compounded by the documents and currency that the perps carried ... providing links to CREEP.

So, it was a name associated with a conspiratorial Weakest Link.

It seems to me that, in the whole array of lies and disinformation orchestrated by this cabal, the fraudulent Niger Yellowcake documents were the most inept and easily debunked ... yet the arrogant criminals infesting the White House persisted, including the SOTU.

Everything has cascaded from that, even including the Downing Street memos.

Furthermore, I like associating "yellow" with this criminal cabal ... a cabal of arrogant coWards and bullies who profit from the sacrifices of others.

So, I'd initially call it the "Yellowcake Hoax" (parallel to "Watergate Break-In") ... eventually to be shortened to "Yellowcake."


This is, of course, mere "thinking off" ... since whatever catches the public's imagination will be the label that gets affixed.

[TahitiNut]

27. I've got it: .... "FOLLOW THE YELLOWCAKE ROAD"

Resurrect the Scarecrow (Smirk), Tinman (Cheney), Cowardly Lion (Rumsfeld), Dorothy (Rice), and Toto (Karl Rove) ... and show the dog turds with little blossoms.

Let them sing ...
"We're off to invade Iraq, for the fradulent WMD!"
"The fradulent, mythical, profitable WMD!"

[FormerRepublican]

16. Maybe we should just call it what it is...

White House Treason.

[dogday]

17. WMDGate

that is what it is all about isn't it?

[danalytical]

19. no more anything gates

I think when people hear ...gate they turn a switch off in their brain and think "here we go again, another stupid political BS story that the media tacks GATE onto".

It almost cheapens the seriousness of the reality, which is a dirty political maneuver to discredit someone speaking the truth about the administrations' lies, and the coverup that followed. Maybe just refer to it as a criminal investigation in the white house or something that sounds serious.

Know what I mean???

[dogday]

20. Nope, this post asked for a gate name

we are doing just that.... WaterGate was a disgrace to the American People and The Republican party, the term "gate" keeps that in the fore-ground.

Reminds people that a scandal of large proportions is happening and we should give it a gate name to remind people of just how sinister the Republicans can be....

[danalytical]

21. I read the thread

I know it asked for a gate name, I was just making a point. It seems to me gate has worn off on the public. I know when I heard "memogate" my eyes almost rolled all the way back into my skull.

[mcscajun]

24. Just remember, in "Watergate" (not WaterGate)

"gate" wasn't a suffix. It's part of the name of the building where the break-in occurred.

This business of making it a suffix started in the media, for shorthand's sake. It doesn't add a thing to the meaning or importance of a political scandal.

[mcscajun]

23. I totally agree...see my post above.

I'm SO there.

[Hubert Flottz]

18. GOPerGate

TurdblossomGate.
GeekGate
Dou?he-bagGate...in honor of Robert Novakkk
BlatherGate
BlubberGate
GoebbelsGate...in honor of GOP propagandists like Bush, kkkarl, Ari and Scott


InstaGate

[ThoughtCriminal]

25. NOT PlameGate !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are not enough exclamtion points in a years worth of Mad Magazine for this.

1. Keep the focus on the White House.
2. It goes much farther than Plame
3. RNC spin wants the scandal to be about Plame and Wilson, if the name of the scandal gets attached to the victim, it feeds the idea that Plame, not Rove did something wrong.

TreasonGate, Leakgate, YellowcakeGate

[skids]

29. One question...

...what did the WaterGate hotel do wrong?

[Bossy Monkey]

26. Stick with "treason." Let's please leave the -gates behind nt

[TahitiNut]

28. "Follow the Yellowcake Road" ("Follow the Yellowcake, Rove"?)

(see above)

[Bluerthanblue]

38. oh no, not my all time FAVORITE movie!! please?

gotta admit it's a good play on words- but i love Oz, despite the man behind the curtian-

[TahitiNut]

46. I'm second to no person in respecting the Lessons of Baum ...

... and regard the parody of the "Dark Side of Oz" fitting and proper. The Bushoilini Cabal is the very antithesis of intellectual integrity, moral courage, and loving kindness. Further, they amplify and exploit a social codependency based on fear and ignorance rather than respect for others based on a respect for self.

Didja know there were fourteen Oz books?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oz_books

[Bluerthanblue]

47. Thanks Tahiti, actually

i did know that- and read several of them, quite different from the movie- but the movie has 'resonated' in my life SO much- our family uses 'sound bites' from it often-
like, "i'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!" when playfully grabbing up my younger son- or "Toto, i have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" when we're lost-

i also know the shoes weren't 'ruby' ones- but i made my friends christmas ornaments last year, using those plastic 'wedding' high heeled candy favors, covered with ruby glitter, and a caligraphiy tag which said-' "But my dear, you've had the power with you all along"- Good witch Glenda-
And the knowledge, that when we actually FACE our fears, we see in oursleves the very things we thought we were lacking in-

Somehow, this administration reminds me more of "The Time Machine"- where the people live in what masquarades as 'a good world' while the Morlocks, come and eat them and they walk 'trancelike' to their deaths.

Glad to meet a fellow Oz lover- i CAN see your analogy- just don't want to add this f-d up govt into what to me, is something revealing and life-giving.

Thanks Tahitinut-

[TahitiNut]

49. "But my dear, you've had the power with you all along"

One of the most important lessons of life ... bar none.

Yep... silver slippers on the book, but the red looked better in that new-fangled Technicolor.





For me, the current political climate in the US is more like 'Night of the Living Dead' -- soulless, insatiable, corrupt (rotted) shells of human beings.

[applegrove]

30. They love the 19th Century. Call it the "Plame Affair".

They love the 19th Century. Call it the "Plame Affair". That wil bring them to their knees!

:headbang: (call me!)

[jayctravis]

41. We know the administration is very down on affairs.

Prick 'em with a scarlet P.

[galloglas]

31. What will be the new National Game ??

Both the administration and the rest of the nation, even if forced to while kicking and screaming, will spend the entire summer, possibly many of them, playing the Plame Game.

The answer just seems obvious to me (as though that cuts any ice!). Balco just took Baseball out of the picture, so what's left?

[jayctravis]

43. I Said a feee...fi...fo fum...hey hey hey...

look out

First you hear a na-ame...
Then pick up the phone...
Dial that reporter and
drop that name...

Cheney Cheney bo bainy
Banana Fanna ho Fainey
me mi mo Plamey...
Chey-nee...

Rove Rove bo Hove
Banana Fanna fo Fove
fee fi fo (Wilsons Husband)
Ro-hove!

Bolton Bolton bo Bolton
Bananna Fanna bo Bolton
Me my no Bolton
Bolton!

[laureloak]

32. I, too, am sick of "gate". Can't we leave that off?

[AmandaRuth]

33. another vote for treason-gate

because the word treason will grab the average Joe/Josephine's attention.

[Stinky The Clown]

35. Please do NOT use the victim's name. No No No No

Why must we insist on using the name of the victim to frame the crime?

That's like calling a rape "The Jennifer Case".

"Jennifer" did NOTHING. She was the victim.

You want a 'gate' (which is just silly, anyhow)? Use TreasonGate or ReporterGate or FuckTheCIAGate.

But NO Plamegate. Okay?

[Bluerthanblue]

36. The gate got left open, and the RANGEroveR's goin out to pasture

.

[Individualist]

37. No gate

This is treason.

[jayctravis]

40. No gate...

It should be "...the Valerie Plame Affair..." said over a saxophone riff with dangerous spy-movie trumpets.

[Bossy Monkey]

45. Poll here, for anybody who missed it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4119284&mesg_id=4119284

[KelleyKramer]

50. TREASON!

Thats what it is, and it was not just one person.

Its very simple, whoever did this committed treason against the United States.

So if you want a name for a 'gate' it should be Treasongate.