Partisan Polarization Shields Politicians

A new empirical dataset shows scandals have become more numerous but less career-ending: scandals involving presidents, members of Congress, and governors since 1972 are systematically cataloged, and the data indicate that members of Congress today are far less likely to be forced from office for verified wrongdoing than in the 1970s. The author argues that increased partisan sorting and defensive reactions explain why accountability mechanisms have weakened. — If true, this trend erodes ordinary political accountability and changes how voters, journalists, and institutions must respond to corruption and misconduct.