Over the course of American history, there have been numerous embarrassing and sometimes horrifying instances of politicians doing quite the opposite of what they’ve been put in position to do.
One such instance — probably the most notorious political sex scandal in U.S. history, is that of former President Bill Clinton and his extramarital affairs with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Even 20 years since the scandal, it is still talked about with familiarity, and surprisingly so, because the 1990s had none of the popular social media platforms that exist today, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Lewinsky became a household name in an era in which social media was essentially absent, becoming “the first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet,” a quote said by Lewinsky herself.
To think politicians learned a lesson or two from the Lewinsky scandal is wishful thinking. Here are four politicians who have truly “gone wild”:
Anthony Weiner
Update: Anthony Weiner is under criminal investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Manhattan for allegedly sexting a 15-year-old girl.
Ah, the cream of the crop of all nutty politicians and hilarious last names. If you happen to be a brunette with a blessed body, you should be wondering why he isn’t following you on Twitter yet…
Anthony Weiner, 52, is a former New York congressman and the estranged husband of Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s top aide. Apparently, he thought it was totally hot to send a stranger a close-up photo of his crotch AND his sleeping 4-year-old son, Jordan. Stranger danger, anyone?
In his most recent controversy, Weiner got caught sexting a busty brunette, who also happens to be an avid supporter of Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association — irony at its best. According to the text messages sent between Weiner and the woman, he was afraid for a split-second he had accidentally posted the obscene photo publicly — a dire mistake he made back in 2011, which cost him his seat in Congress.
Weiner texted, “Ooooooh… I was scared. For half a second I thought I posted something. Stop looking at my crotch.”
The woman replied, “O I see you thought you posted on your TL [public timeline] not DM [direct message]. Shit happens be careful.”
Weiner and the woman’s chat history goes from late January 2015 through earlier August of this year. In that time span, Weiner had sent the woman more than a dozen suggestive selfies of his physique. A majority of his text messages show him boasting about his body and steering the conversation toward something sexual or raunchy.
“I am always, uh, raging after the gym.”
“Id [sic] put someone’s eye out with this thing. #Overdue.”
Weiner’s habit has caused a rift between himself and Abedin since his resignation from Congress in 2011. Unfortunately for Abedin, Weiner’s serial sexting has damaged her reputation quite a bit; he’s been a national laughingstock for years now. Aside from the embarrassing mistake he made back in 2011, two years later Weiner confessed he had continued his habit of chasing after women.
Abedin, who was “furious and sickened” by the photo of Weiner and their young son, announced in late August that she and Weiner are officially separating.
Weiner’s rise and fall — literally — was exposed in the documentary conveniently titled “Weiner,” released earlier this year.
Anthony Silva
Would you trust your kid, baby brother, or little cousin with a creepy looking man who’s apparently a little “rough around the edges?” Count me out.
Meet Mayor Anthony Silva of Stockton, Calif., who has a colorful and somewhat questionable history. He’s said that he could “be determined to be the first African American mayor of Stockton,” which is super obvious given his skin color. He’s been accused of inappropriately touching someone’s fiancée. The gun used in the slaying of 13-year-old Rayshawn “Ray Ray” Harris in February of last year, turned out to be his, though investigation discovered the gun had been stolen from Silva’s home.
All three cases were pretty much ignored. However, his most recent “questionable” behavior was far too questionable and sure enough, it was questioned under the law.
It all happened at Silver Lake Camp, a camp for disadvantaged youth Silva ran. The mayor allegedly provided minors with alcohol and proceeded to play a game of strip poker with several of the counselors, which he later described as a “counselor party.” He then filmed the game without their consent.
One of the counselors was only 16 years old.
Silva, 41, was arrested and charged with recording confidential communications, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, providing alcohol to minors and endangering a child. Silva and his attorney are denying all charges and saying his prosecution is “politically motivated,” as he is running for reelection in November.
If convicted of the charges, Silva could serve up to three years in prison.
My job when I got elected wasn’t to play the same games.
Good to see you keeping one promise, Anthony.
Vance McAllister
Making out with your backroom staffer? That’s one of the last things that comes to mind about “family values social conservatism.”
Vance McAllister, 42, ran for Congress in 2013 on a family values platform. He had been married with several children and his Christian faith was the centerpiece of his platform. He went into the November special election with the support of the Duck Dynasty family, and was elected to represent Louisiana in the House.
All was well with the McAllisters before this — The Ouachita Citizen, McAllister’s hometown newspaper, obtained and released a security video with footage of McAllister making out with one of his staff members, Melissa Peacock. The fact that Peacock’s husband had worked closely with McAllister for nearly 16 years made the situation a whole lot worse.
“The Kissing Congressman” fired Peacock immediately after the video was made public. Both Peacocks went their separate ways, for obvious reasons.
On April of 2014, McAllister announced he would not run for reelection, but I guess he had a “never mind” moment right after. Just two months later, he put his name in the hat for the running, and finished fourth in the primary election.
He kissed his career goodbye on January of 2015. At least this time, it wasn’t immoral.
John Edwards
The Fall of the Titans. The game or the oil painting? Nope, and nope. The titan here in question is John Edwards, who has long fallen from the grace of the American people.
John Edwards was a big name in the Democratic Party and a top contender for the White House until he was caught up in a huge sex scandal. The former vice presidential and presidential candidate was caught cheating on his wife Elizabeth with Rielle Hunter, a D-list actress and movie producer. That was a total dick move, especially because Elizabeth was stricken with terminal breast cancer.
According to Hunter, their affair started way back in 2006 at a hotel in California. Edwards, who’s from North Carolina, was California Dreamin’, longing for the “warmth” of Hunter’s death embrace.
Blinded by selfish desire, Edwards decided to risk his career big time by keeping Hunter at his side. He eventually fathered a daughter named Quinn, signing her up to live the bastard kid’s life.
The fallen titan committed transgression upon transgression to cover up his first. He hired Hunter to work for his campaign to continue their illicit affair, and when he sensed the media caught on, he asked his aide Andrew Young to claim to be Quinn’s father. And Young was happily married. Long story short, Edwards was unwilling to own up to his mistakes.
So after hurting a whole bunch of people and suspending his political campaign, did Edwards come clean and speak the truth. That same month, in January of 2010, he and Elizabeth separated.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth lost her battle with cancer before the divorce papers came through.
Whether you’re a normal teenager or a high-profile politician, try to keep your sexts and random hook-ups on the DL.
Art illustrated by Adam Valenzuela, colorized by Jessica Fuller
