Commentary: Richard Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre has particular relevance for our political climate
No, it’s not the title of Jamie Lee Curtis’ new movie. Nor does it suggest an Al Capone resurrection. And it doesn’t describe the latest meeting of the House Republican Conference, either.
Rather, the Saturday Night Massacre refers to the extraordinary clash between the commitment to democratic principles, and the outer limits of presidential power, that created the most memorable constitutional crisis of the Watergate era. And it carries exceptional relevance for today’s political climate.
The defining moment of the “massacre” was the combination of three events, all occurring during the afternoon and evening of Oct. 20, 1973, at
