Scandal! : An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Consequences, Outcomes, and Significance of Political Scandals

There are many types of political scandals: sex, corruption, and election scandals are but a few. Political scandals are public events that have tremendous consequence on citizenry and can undermine democratic institutions–when we pay attention to scandal, we risk ignoring weightier matters. This volume brings together an array of academics to explore the impact of political scandals. What makes this book different from others is the wide spectrum of perspectives brought together to help analyze a single subject. Cover Contents Acknowledgments Contributors Introduction Preface: Counting and Classifying Congressional Scandals 1 Sack the Quarterback: The Strategies and Implications of Congressional Leadership Scandals 2 Spending More Time with My Family: Scandals and Premature Departures from the House 3 The Electoral Effects of Congressional Scandals Introduction 4 Tom Clark under Fire: The Consequences of Congressional Investigations of Supreme Court Justices 5 Sherman Adams’s Fall, and the Scandal behind the Scandal 6 The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Explaining the Persistence of Scandal in the Pennsylvania General Assembly 7 Sex, Scandal, and Catholic Politics during Italy’s Dolce Vita Paralleling History: Scandal and the Lessons of the 2012 Election Introduction 8 Scandal in the Politics of Race: From Martin Luther King Jr. to Barack Obama 9 He “Can’t Say with Certitude”: Framing the Anthony Weiner Scandal in Political Cartoons 10 Shattered Dignity: The Apologia of John Edwards Conclusions Index "There are many types of political scandals, to include political sex scandals, corruption scandals, and election scandals. All are public events of significant consequence for politicians and for the voting public. As we pay attention to scandal, we ignore more weighty matters and we over-estimate the bad behavior of our elected officials. Political scandals have tremendous consequence on citizenry and might possibly undermine democratic institutions. This volume brings together academics from different backgrounds to explore the impact and long-term effects of political scandals. What makes this book different from others is the wide spectrum of perspectives brought together to help analyze a singular subject"-- Provided by publisher