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Do you care about politicians being involved in sex scandals? Personally, I don't see what the big deal is (unless it something like sexual harassment) as I usually see it as something outside of politics.

Sometimes. What happens between consenting adults, politicians or not, is none of my business (and none of yours either). However, the traditional sex scandal often involves unethical behavior like cheating on a spouse, sexual harassment, etc, and that kind of dishonesty and/or abusive behavior is a legitimate concern when we're talking about people that we have to trust to run the country.

Unfortunately the traditional coverage of sex scandals focuses way too much on the "sin" of having sex at all than the lying and breaking of oaths, and that's just inappropriate.

It all depends. If for example a politician has been build their reputation on playing the ‘family values’ card as many do then it’s certainly of interest if they are caught up in a sex scandal. Not so much because of the sex itself but because they have shown themselves to be a hypocrite.

If it has a funny name like, Bunga Bunga and it's not happening in my country then I couldn't care less.

Statistically about 7% of people do. Polls immediately after the scandal impact more, but come election, if the person is still running, you can expect to see on average that their polling number is about 7% worse than it had been.

That's for scandals that are legal, like adultery. For stuff that's illegal I don't think there's a rule of thumb number, because those people tend not to contest the next election.

Personally, I don't really care.

If it's a criminal matter absolutely yes, just being a politician is no excuse

If it's non-criminal then it depends

If the politician has stood on and spoken on 'family values' or 'unmarried mothers' and similar and his personal actions don't conform then they loose my respect

but If they've not been active in that 'moral' field then I'm not too fussed

although a long running affair that they had concealed from a partner might suggest they are less trustworthy

 sebster wrote:
Statistically about 7% of people do. Polls immediately after the scandal impact more, but come election, if the person is still running, you can expect to see on average that their polling number is about 7% worse than it had been.

That's for scandals that are legal, like adultery. For stuff that's illegal I don't think there's a rule of thumb number, because those people tend not to contest the next election.

Personally, I don't really care.

Is adultery legal in Oz? I didn't know that.

Here in the states, (at least in 22 of them) adultery is still against the law, even though it hasn't been prosecuted since 1983. In fact, it's a felony in five of them.

Personally, I care less about the fact of whether or not they had sex, and more about what it says about them. If they are willing to break promises, oaths, or laws just to get a little nookie, then what are they going to do in the pursuit of REAL temptation, like the kind of influence that public office can provide?

That being said, so long as it's two consenting adults, I'm pretty forgiving of it. When we elect politicians, we are looking for someone who is charismatic, manipulative, and engaging. The exact traits that get you into office, and the same ones that get you laid. And then we expect them to do one but not the other. Only when it involves children, or a secret lifestyle, do I think it needs further action.

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
If it's a criminal matter absolutely yes, just being a politician is no excuse

If it's non-criminal then it depends

If the politician has stood on and spoken on 'family values' or 'unmarried mothers' and similar and his personal actions don't conform then they loose my respect

but If they've not been active in that 'moral' field then I'm not too fussed

although a long running affair that they had concealed from a partner might suggest they are less trustworthy

This about sums up my thoughts on the matter. What happens between two (or more) consenting adults in the privacy of their bedrooms (hotel rooms/back of limo, whatever) is between them, but if they're being a massive hypocrite about it, I find it useful information to have.

My government laid out rules that I am to abide by regarding "sex". In the strictest sense, sex outside of marriage is illegal in the military (not at all enforced). They expect us to live by such rules, then I'd say they should as well.

This whole do as I say, not as I do crap... don't like it.

I'm a "Pics or it didn't happen" kinda guy.
Though honestly, things like that get filed S.E.P. (Someone Else's Problem) for the most part.
Proving a negative in light of an accusation is damn near impossible, so many people just try to ride it out and hope that some-one else screws up as bad or worse.... soon.

I'm not concerned with what they are doing in their spare time/family life. When it begins to interfere with them doing their job, then it starts to bother me.

if they've been using public funds to pay for the good times that's a no-no especially if its one of those wanting to cut spending on things like health care and the like

Depends and how hypocritical they are. If they condemn sex outside of marriage valiantly then ya. If they never said a word? Let em feth.
Did they do one records they hate gays then hire a call boy to carry thir luggage? Yeah i would be pissed

If I were to list all of the presidents who had an affair I would miss my biology class. People don't get that high up on the ladder because they are good people. They do it because they are power hungry type A personalities,

It's just another part of the game for them.

I don't really care as long as it isn't illegal.

 purplefood wrote:
I don't really care as long as it isn't illegal.

Came here for this; Leaving satisfied.

 djones520 wrote:
My government laid out rules that I am to abide by regarding "sex". In the strictest sense, sex outside of marriage is illegal in the military (not at all enforced). They expect us to live by such rules, then I'd say they should as well.

This whole do as I say, not as I do crap... don't like it.

That's another thing I don't get having sex outside of marriage or with someone else besides your girlfriend/boyfriend just because you're fething other people doesn't mean you don't love your wife/husband or boyfriend/girlfriend.

I don't expect politicians to behave like human beings, let alone civilised ones.

 Peregrine wrote:
Sometimes. What happens between consenting adults, politicians or not, is none of my business (and none of yours either). However, the traditional sex scandal often involves unethical behavior like cheating on a spouse, sexual harassment, etc, and that kind of dishonesty and/or abusive behavior is a legitimate concern when we're talking about people that we have to trust to run the country.

Unfortunately the traditional coverage of sex scandals focuses way too much on the "sin" of having sex at all than the lying and breaking of oaths, and that's just inappropriate.

Brilliantly said. Exalted.

Anthony Weiner is a good example here. The problem is not that an adult might send another adult a nude picture or sexy text message. The problem is a guy who cannot seem to keep himself from doing these things to the detriment of his family and career.

As with most political things, I'm largely apathetic towards it.

Usually I find it slightly humorous, but it serves as a reminder that most politicians are sleazy self-serving borderline sociopaths anyway, so it's basically expected of them to have a skeleton or two in their closet, and usually the skeleton is wearing thigh-high latex boots and brandishing a paddle...

If they're dumb enough to get caught (knowing that they have a relatively high media profile and the kind of media coverage these events are likely to get) then I reckon they're too dumb for the job in the first place.

It becomes an issue for me when the politician involved with the scandal constantly preaches about core family values as a basis for their policy decisions. Trying to force values onto your constiuents that you yourself aren't willing to follow is a dick move.

I always think about that one american politician years ago who went on a crusade against prostitution only to be found out later to have spent 1000's of dollars on prostitutes.

I don't care who touches who's junk; I think it's between them and their spouses if applicable. Yes, that even applies to the ever-odious Anthony Weiner. It's between him and his wife and I don't care at all even a little bit. Their affairs are not my concern.

I do care, however, if some sort of law is broken, such as with Eliot Spitzer. I don't think prostitution should be illegal, but it is in his venue, and you can't be entrusted to enforce the law when you can't even follow it.

I may be slightly biased here, I don't particularly consider someone who bangs on about family values a particularly modern politician. They lost my respect before they had it, so I don't care if they do or do not cheat on their wives.

For me what it all comes down to is that a scandal like this is a breach of trust. It is a breaking of promises, and shows that the politician is unfaithful.
If a politician can't be trusted by their own partner, who is probably the closest person in the world to them, how can they be trusted to run a country?
How can they be trusted to keep the promises they make in an election campaign if they win?
How can we have that person as one of the most influential people in our country and think of ourselves as being in good hands?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Jimsolo wrote:


Personally, I care less about the fact of whether or not they had sex, and more about what it says about them. If they are willing to break promises, oaths, or laws just to get a little nookie, then what are they going to do in the pursuit of REAL temptation, like the kind of influence that public office can provide?

This is well put.

 Gutsnagga wrote:
For me what it all comes down to is that a scandal like this is a breach of trust. It is a breaking of promises, and shows that the politician is unfaithful.

So the same as any policitian really, regardless of whether a sex scandal is involved or not.

 Leigen_Zero wrote:

 Gutsnagga wrote:
For me what it all comes down to is that a scandal like this is a breach of trust. It is a breaking of promises, and shows that the politician is unfaithful.

So the same as any policitian really, regardless of whether a sex scandal is involved or not.

Hey, I'm trying to be optimistic here, and assume that not every politician is a liar.