We're over a year out from the next Presidential election and all people seem to want to talk about is politics. The crowded Republican field has brought a lot of attention to how we pick our leaders, and as I write this the front-runner is a bulbous potato reality TV star who seems to think that "because I said so" is a cogent policy platform. Analysts agree we're heading for a Trump meltdown sooner or later, which made me want to head back and showcase ten other politicians who completely freaked out and lost it all.
Carl Paladino
The relationship between politicians and the press is a difficult one. When you're running for office, it's important to make sure your public image is as squeaky clean as possible. Carl Paladino, the Republican candidate for Governor of New York, saw his entire campaign go down in flames as the result of one very public meltdown against a reporter. Fred Dicker of the New York Post had reported on Paladino's mistress and illegitimate daughter, and when the two met Paladino was
caught on tape threatening to "take out" Dicker if he didn't back off. A cell phone video of the event went viral and Paladino lost the election by a landslide. (Photo credit:
carlpaladino.com)
Todd Akin
Reproductive health is a hot-button issue in elections, as we're seeing with the threats to de-fund Planned Parenthood. But Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin put his foot in his mouth during the 2012 campaign when he told reporters that abortion should be outlawed because "If it's legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down." This bizarre grasp of the human reproductive system knocked Akin down some 20 points in the polls, eliminating his lead over eventual victor Claire McCaskill. He apologized, lost the election, and then
two years later took back his apology. (Photo credit: Getty)
Howard Dean
For a hot minute, it looked like
Howard Dean really had a chance to secure the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2004. The fiery liberal was connecting with grass-roots voters and looking strong headed into the Iowa caucus. And then, during a stump speech to supporters, it happened. Dean listed off the states he promised to win in, one after another, getting louder and louder before capping it off with a frankly
insane-sounding wordless scream. The moment hit news networks like a ton of bricks, being replayed over and over again to laughter and disbelief, and it single-handedly destroyed Dean's Presidential chances. (Photo credit: Getty)
Anthony Weiner
There is no political scandal quite as ironic as the tale of Anthony Weiner, who had a promising career brought low by his own weiner. In 2011, the Democratic Congressman
sent a picture of his junk to a young woman in Seattle on Twitter, then deleted it. Weiner denied he was behind the dick pic, claiming that his account had been hacked, but it wasn't long before more women started speaking up about his sexting obsession. After censure from his peers, Weiner resigned his seat in June of 2011. After the story cooled, he tried to run for mayor of NYC in 2013, only for even more sexts (using the hilarious alias "Carlos Danger") to destroy his ambitions again! (Photo credit: Getty)
Phil Davison
Public speaking is one of the most important factors people use to evaluate their politicians. Obama got in office in many ways due to his compelling oration. On the flip side, there's
Phil Davison, who took the podium during a meeting of the Stark County, OH Republican Party to pitch himself as a candidate for county treasurer. Over the next six minutes, Davison
unleashed a screaming tirade at the top of his lungs that left the room flabbergasted. A video of the event hit the Internet and immediately set a new bar for political insanity. Sadly, Phil didn't get the nomination and in 2012 unsuccessfully tried to run for President on his viral fame. (Photo credit:
abc.com)
John Edwards
It's fair to say that the 2008 Presidential elections came as a surprise to a lot of people, but one of the biggest involved North Carolina Senator John Edwards. After serving as John Kerry's running mate in 2004, many predicted he would do the same for Barack Obama. Then the tabloid press released information that Edwards had been
cheating on his wife (who had cancer, for God's sake!) with a woman making a film about his campaign; a woman he fathered a child with. The resultant denial and eventual admission of guilt destroyed Edwards politically. (Photo credit: Getty)
Ryutaro Nonomura
Meltdowns aren't the exclusive domain of American politicians. The intense culture of honor in Japan makes disgraced politicians lose it in amazing ways. When Japanese assemblyman Ryutaro Nonomura was confronted with
$30,000 in travel expenses that he hadn't submitted receipts for, he did the usual thing and held a press conference to explain himself. Once he got behind the microphone, though, things went very wrong. Unable to give a good reason for his lack of receipts, the assemblyman
started howling, pounding his fists on the podium and crying like a baby. Not a good look, and he resigned from his post soon after. (Photo credit: Getty)
George Allen
When you're behind a microphone, every word that comes out of your mouth matters. That's what George Allen, a Republican Senatorial candidate from Virginia, learned in 2006. While speaking to a crowd at a campaign rally, Allen noticed a young man named S.R. Sidarth in the crowd and addressed him, saying "This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt, macaca, or whatever his name is. He's with my opponent. He's following us around everywhere. And it's just great." If you don't know, "macaca" is a
racial slur against African immigrants, and Allen's use of it toward the only person of color in attendance immediately destroyed his campaign. Amazingly enough, he tried to run again in 2012 but was soundly defeated. (Photo credit: Getty)
Michael Grimm
An unusual percentage of these meltdowns come from New York - is there something in the water in Albany that makes politicians lose it? Michael Grimm was a Staten Island Republican who got so pissed off by Obama's 2008 State of the Union speech that, when he ran into reporter Michael Scotto he threatened to "
break him in half and throw him off a balcony." Needless to say, that kind of threats aren't good for politics, but things got worse for Grimm a few years later when the IRS discovered massive discrepancies in the income he reported from Healthalicious, a restaurant he owned. He was convicted of two felony counts and resigned his seat. (Photo credit: Getty)
Rob Ford
When we talk political meltdowns of the 21st century, nobody holds a candle to Toronto mayor Rob Ford. The year 2013 was sort of the pinnacle of his collapse, with a video showing him
smoking crack cocaine the linchpin. But Ford had been slowly losing it for years beforehand, with multiple drunken altercations with staffers and press dotting his record. After the crack video dropped, Ford said he'd smoked the drug once "in a drunken stupor" and entered rehab, only for more videos of him hitting the pipe to be released in 2014. The most amazing thing about all this? Even though he lost the mayorship, Toronto still elected the alcoholic, abusive, lying maniac to the City Council in 2014! (Photo credit: Getty)