Corrupt Politician: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
Some people want to make the world a better place. They run for office and stay up late trying to help their constituents. This is not their trope.
Some
A
When you walk into a [[Chez Restaurant]], you can expect to find the
Related to the
Might hide his corrupt activities from the public, in which case he is both a [[Villain with Good Publicity]] and possibly a [[Devil in Plain Sight]]. If such a foe is presented as an enemy of the heroes in a storyline, a hero may have trusted him in the past and even ''voted'' for him in one or more elections, much to his regret later.
{{noreallife|calling real-life people "corrupt" [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment|is an ''extremely'' bad idea.]]}}
=== Go ahead, tell the world. It won't make a difference. ===▼
== Anime and Manga ==
* A large proportion of the higher level villains in ''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'', particularly the second season (the villains of the first were mainly [[Corrupt Corporate Executive
==
* Every single politician [[Batman]] meets in Gotham with the exception of
** Before he becomes Two-Face, [[Face Heel Turn|District Attorney Harvey Dent]] may or may not be this, [[Depending on the Writer]]. Some versions of his backstory make him a [[Tragic Monster]], portraying him as a former [[Crusading Lawyer]] and philanthropist, while others show him as a corrupt [[Villain with Good Publicity]] from the start. The latter view almost always emphasizes hypocritical statements to the public about his views as a politician, making his condition a [[Karmic Transformation]].
* In the [[Crapsack World]] of Ba[[sin City]], being honest is contraindicated. Any politician who commits an act of honesty is committing an act of suicide.
* ''[[Superman]]''{{'}}s Lex Luthor dishonest? Nonsense! He won a fair election that [[Blatant Lies|wasn't rigged in any way.]]
* ''[[Wanted]]'': In a world run by super villains, ''some'' of the politicians have to be on the take. ▼
** The same goes for many members of his Cabinet, including his Sec. of Defense [[Armies Are Evil| Sam Lane]] and [[Politically Incorrect Villain| Amanda Waller]], who was appointed Head of his United States Secretary of Metahuman Affairs. (Both were villains in their own right for some time.) Others, like Pete Ross (his Vice President) and [[Black Lightning|Jefferson Pierce]] (Sec. of Education) were clean.
* ''[[Watchmen]]'' gives us President Nixon on his fourth term, and reporters dead. We can trust [[Sociopathic Hero|the Comedian]] when he tells us that's a coincidence. ▼
** Waller is this without working for Lex; seeing as she is always the orchestrator of anything involving the [[Suicide Squad]], to name just one example.
▲* ''[[Wanted]]'': In a world run by super villains, ''some'' of the politicians have to be on the take.
▲* ''[[Watchmen]]'' gives us President Nixon on his fourth term, and reporters dead. We can trust [[Sociopathic Hero|the Comedian]] when he tells us that's a coincidence.
* ''[[Asterix]] in Switzerland'' has the Roman governor of Condatum who took ridiculously large amounts of tax money in his province for his own purposes while only giving a meager to Rome. The plot itself starts when an inspector from Rome came to his province to investigate this and he was poisoned by said governor, which ended up bringing Asterix and co. into the picture.
* In one three-part [[Spider-Man]] story, there was Senator Bradley Miles. Somewhat penny-ante as far as this Trope went (the greater evils here were Doctor Octopus and a [[Mega Corp]] named Biotechnix, which Miles was accepting bribes from), but one very memorable part of the story was when Spidey confronted him and threatened to leak the story to the press:
{{quote|'''Miles:''' What makes you think they'll believe you over me?
'''Spidey:''' Because I'm not a politician!}}
* ''Lots'' of [[X-Men]] villains, most of them anti-mutant bigots:
** Senator Robert Kelly, often seen as a dark satire of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy| Joseph McCarthy], is likely the most well-known. He was originally the mastermind behind the Mutant Control Act and Project: Wideawake, government programs aimed at creating the updated Sentinels to hunt down and kill mutants. He was a main antagonist in [[Days of Future Past]], ''[[X-Men Noir]]'', and the [[Alternate Universe]] setting House of M. (But in ''[[Age of Apocalypse]]'', another Alternate Universe, he was a good guy, if a little naive.) He was also a recurring villain in the film and animated adaptations, though he experienced a level of [[Adaptational Heroism]] in the animated series from the 1990s.
** Graydon Creed, leader of several anti-mutant hate groups, including the Friends of Humanity, Purifiers, and Upstarts, was a candidate for President during Operation: Zero Tolerance, running on an anti-mutant platform until he was assassinated.
== Film ==
* ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]'' has Senator Joseph Harrison Paine (Claude Rains) and Taylor (Edward Arnold), the boss of the machine that controls him.
* The politicians of the new [[Batman]] trilogy aren't ''quite'' as corrupt. In addition to Harvey Dent, we have an honest judge, an honest commissioner prior to Gordon, and an honest mayor looking to get the mob off the streets. Unfortunately, we also get [[The Joker]].
** Of course, how honest the commissioner was prior to Gordon is iffy, as the mayor implies during his eulogy that the {{spoiler|late}} Loeb had enacted policies that were unpopular to various personnel.
* ''[[The Big Lebowski]]'': The Dude's run in with the Malibu [[Da Chief|chief of police]] doesn't go well for him. He may not be on the take, but he's willing to beat up a man when a local rich man asks him to.
{{quote|
* ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'': See the TV entry.
* ''[[Shoot'Em Up (film)|Shoot Em Up]]'' gives us a senator who sells out to the gun industry after said industry kills his shot at a miracle medical cure. Literally.
* ''[[Sin City]]'': See the comic entry.
* In the ''[[Star Wars]]'' prequel trilogy, Senator Palpatine got elected, maybe even honestly. He's still [[The Chessmaster|a Machiavellian, scheming bastard]] with no ethical values besides prolonging his own stay in power and strengthening his grip on the Republic.
* The film of'' [[V for Vendetta]]'' turns the Norsefire into corrupt bastards who used a bioterror weapon against their own people in order to fuel their rise to power.
* ''[[Watchmen]]'': See the comic entry.
== Humor ==
* There's a joke. A corrupt politician is out and about, traveling the world, when he meets an corrupt dictator. They start bragging about their exploits. The politician pulls out a picture and says, "See this bridge? I skimmed more than $5 million during its construction." The dictator pulls out a picture, "See this bridge?" "What bridge?" "Exactly."
== Literature ==
* ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' plays this trope for laughs. The president of the galaxy is ''expected'' to be corrupt and is occasionally imprisoned upon election.
* Willard Phule, of ''[[
* Senator John Caddrick shows up late in the ''[[Time Scout]]'' series, is deep in bed with [[The Syndicate]] and personally ordered multiple murders. His reputation is ''fearsome'' and well-deserved.
* ''[[Ender's Game]]'' ends with a war for control of Earth as the Chinese, Russians, and the US try to take control of the space fleet. [[Orson Scott Card]]'s opinion, demonstrated in the parallel series that succeeds it, of the elected Chinese and Russian governments is very poor.
* The governments of the ''[[Alliance Union]]'' universe are complex, to say the least, with government, economics and the web of alliances all messily tied together, thanks to the vast distances involved in space travel and an FTL drive that isn't magical, and the fact that every space station and space ''ship'' is a separate nation. The Viking station is essentially a third world country, with the difficulties that implies, and the Esperance station is a border nation grown fat off of multiple, multiple smuggling operations. The government of Esperance is explicitly corrupt.
* In ''[[Stranger in
** [[Robert A. Heinlein]] had a dim view of politicians in general and considered an idealist untrustworthy because he'll break any promise if convinced it's for The Greater Good. A dirty politician is trustworthy because he knows he has a reputation to maintain.
* Politicians don't often show up in the ''[[Aubrey-Maturin]]'' 'verse. Perhaps the most notable exception is Aubrey's father, General Aubrey, MP. Aubrey, in all innocence, tells his father about a stock tip he got.<ref>For saving a man's life. Aubrey asked his father to keep it a secret, just as the stranger did.</ref>
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** Subverted in ''[[
** In ''[[
* Is there a single honest politician in ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''? No. In order to be a politician, you have to want power over others, and that makes you a LEECH.
* There's a parliamentary faction in the ''[[Prince Roger]]'' 'verse dedicated to overthrowing the Empire of Man which includes Roger's father. YMMV; our freedom fighters are your terrorists, but the series implies that the royal family are dedicated public servants and the faction are in it for personal gain.
* Politics plays a major part in the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' series, so of course this trope is in force. Haven's Legislaturalists, Manticore's & Grayson's Opposition parties, and the Solarian League's bureacrats are almost exclusively split between [[Sleazy Politician|the sleazy]] and
** The series crowner is probably the Manticoran Progressive Party's leader Lady Elaine Descroix, who is so utterly ruthless and cynical that she makes her own corrupt Prime Minster blanch. We have to go to [[All There in the Manual|series reference materials]] to get a solid idea of what (if any) principles her party actually has, since [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids|she vocally disdains politicians who are led by them]]. {{spoiler|She embezzles money and frames her sole semi-principled ally, she doctors diplomatic correspondence to hold on to domestic power and ends up provoking a war, and she turns out to be [[The Mole]] for a nation involved in slave trade.}}
* Insofar as there ''are'' politicians in ''[[Snow Crash]]'', they're corrupt. Everyone's corrupt. [[Crapsack World|Everything's corrupt.]]
* In [[Tad Williams]]'s ''[[Otherland]]'', half the members of [[The Conspiracy|the Grail Brotherhood]] are heads of state. The rest merely ''own'' heads of state.
* Many politicians in the ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'', many of them Bothans. This is because Bothans have a ''very'' ruthless, predatory attitude towards politics, and they see any politician who isn't doing anything in his power and making whatever shady deals he needs to in order to cement his office and get rid of the opposition isn't doing his job right. This is particularly notable in ''[[The Thrawn Trilogy]]'', when Bothan leader Borsk Fey'lya does everything he can to ruin Admiral Ackbar and take over his position even when it's detrimental to the New Republic war effort. [[Magnificent Bastard|Thrawn]] himself notes that he never tried subverting Fey'lya, since he was helping the Empire so well as he was that Thrawn just didn't need to.
== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Angel]]'' gives us a number of evil, never mind
* How corrupt is Mayor Wilkinson, of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'''s Sunnydale? He sold his ''soul''. The only reason Sunnydale exists is because he set it up as a demon/vampire smorgasbord. How does he keep getting elected, decade after decade? See above re: soul.
* ''[[Castle]]'' gives us a district attorney willing to pervert the justice system to retain the backing of a very wealthy family. A mild example, but he nearly convicted an innocent man of murder to help secure his election.
** There's also Mayor Bob, friend to Castle who features prominently in the episode 'Dial M for Mayor.' There's ample evidence to suggest that he's embezzling funds and was involved in a murder but he attests that he's being set up. Subverted in that he's right and the conspiracy that shot down his run for governor are the same guys {{spoiler|involved in Beckett's mother's murder.}}
* The ''[[Dollhouse]]'' has a number of powerful connections. Yet another senator cashes in the favor. Hell, {{spoiler|they got a doll elected as a senator so they could rig an investigation into them and set it up to fail.}}
* Near the end of ''[[Law & Order|Law and Order]]'''s run, we meet Governor Shavloy, who consorts with prostitutes and more.
* ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'' is built on this trope as it shows obscene amounts of corruption in all levels of 1920s government going all the way to the White House.
== Video Games ==
* ''[[Fallout]]'': Flip a coin. Then shoot it. If you hit it, [[World Half Empty|the elected official is honest.]] To be fair, there aren't very many elected officials. A lot of elders and warlords.
* ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' gives us multiple examples. It's [[Crapsack World|Grand Theft Auto]].
** ''[[Grand Theft Auto Vice City]]'': One mission involves you taking pictures of a [[Straw Character|conservative politician]] consorting with a hooker while [[Hypocrite|wearing women's undergarments.]]
* ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'': Why bribe politicians when you can [[Mind Rape]] them? Still, some are Templars, some are Assassins, so this goes both ways.
* ''[[Mirror's Edge|Mirrors Edge]]'' says that the government has become corrupt, but the ending implies that the world isn't ''that'' bad.
* In ''[[Command
* Senator Armstrong, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance]]'', and unlike most names on this list, he is ''not'' a [[Non-Action Big Bad]], he's a ''very'' powerful and dangerous Boss. Of course, he ''is'' the [[Final Boss]] after all.
== Webcomics ==
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[The Simpsons]]''
** Mayor Quimby is a massively over-the-top example, as he takes bribes both from [[Corrupt Corporate Executive| Mr. Burns]] and [[The Don| Fat Tony]] while using the Springfield PD as his own hired thugs. In fact, the mayoral motto is ''Corruptus in Extremis''.
** When Quimby is unseated by Sideshow Bob in "Sideshow Bob Roberts" in a rigged election, Bob turns out to be even worse.
** There is also Congressman Bob Arnold in ''Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington''.
** Senator Mendoza is from a [[Show Within a Show]], the movie ''McBain'', but he's pretty bad, being a drug kingpin who uses his connections as a cover for his operations.
** Homer, of all people, became a clear example of this Trope in "Trash of the Titans", using underhanded tactics and [[Blatant Lies]] to win the election for City Sanitation Commissioner (unseating one of the few competent people in Springfield, to make it worse) and then causing a disaster that required the whole town to be moved. Of course, you might partially blame everyone who was stupid enough to believe his "crazy promises", which is what the previous commissioner does.
** The worst example on the show would no-doubt be Russ Cargill, the [[Big Bad]] of the ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'', an EPA official who becomes convinced Springfield is such a hellhole that he first has it sealed under a giant glass dome (that his company just happened to manufacture), then tries to ''blow the entire city to smithereens.''
* Mayor Adam West from [[Family Guy]] has no problems making deals with big polluters, wasting taxpayer money on solid gold Dig 'Em statues, or killing anyone who questions his methods.
* In the ''[[Harley Quinn]]'' cartoon, a flashback paints Harvey Dent (not yet the villain Two-Face) as this. He promotes use of unethical and illegal methods of security at Arkham because he knows voters would admire a DA who is tough on the inmates, and later orders the police to open fire on the Joker even if they have to shoot Harley in the process, only truly concerned that he'd lose reelection if the Joker escaped on his watch (although at very least, he has enough decency to tell them to stand down once Ivy holds up her hands and surrenders). Harley calls him out with the moniker "Two-Face" for the first time, her way of calling him a hypocrite, which in hindsight, makes his later name an [[Appropriated Appellation]].
----
{{quote|
'''Waldorf:''' Unsuccessful ones!
'''Both:''' Do-ho-ho-ho-hoh! }}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Authority Tropes]]
[[Category:Political Cartoons]]
[[Category:Politics Tropes]]
[[Category:Villains]]
▲[[Category:Corrupt Politician]]
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