Sentence:  In 1949 the Dixiecrats <WSD>escaped</WSD> unscathed after their 1948 rebellion against Harry Truman , and in 1957 , after Congressman Adam Clayton Powell campaigned for Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 , his fellow Democrats did not touch his committee assignments , although they did strip him temporarily of his patronage . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action