For a nation half-full of prudes and Victorian-era religious nuts, America sure has drawn out some dandy names into public life. Here are a few of some of the more unfortunate names to run for office in America.
Anthony Weiner
One of the more notable congressmen from New York, Weiner really should be on this list twice. Once for his name, and a second time for besmirching his namesake by tweeting pictures of his “district” across the globe. Not to worry —
Weiner will rise again.Bob Packwood
Sometimes, the jokes just write themselves. Packwood was elected five times as Senator from Oregon, and rose to be one of the most powerful moderates in the upper chamber. In the early 1990s, rumors arose that Packwood had sexually assaulted or harassed approximately ten different women in his years in Congress, including several former staffers and lobbyists. He eventually resigned, bringing even more shame to the Packwood moniker.
Mike Hunt
It's unclear whether Hunt would get the joke, anyway. The (allegedly) GED-educated sheriff in (where else) South Carolina is famous on the internet for doing, well, dumb things. He even faced a lawsuit from one woman who was accused of sexual misconduct against a child — charges that were later dropped on account of being total BS — showing he not only has a strange name, but is somewhat terrible at his job.
Believe it or not, this man was elected multiple times to different offices in California. Believe it or not, he did so as a social conservative running under the Republican banner. He was elected mayor of Monrovia and later served in the California State Assembly. While in office, he introduced Prop 187, denying government services to undocumented Americans. Mountjoy was later pummeled by Dianne Feinstein in the 2006 Senate elections.
Jeffrey Schitter
Schitter's career was flushed away well before it even began, primarily because he ran for Congress as a Libertarian. I suppose the Green Party would have been too punny. He had about as much a chance of getting elected as I do.
Charles Raper Jonas
Seriously. The people of North Carolina elected a Raper to Congress ten times. Granted, it's his middle name, and sure, he probably didn't run as an actual rapist...but really? Really?
Dick Swett
Probably the most unfortunate of all the terrible names, Dick Swett was a U.S. House member from New Hampshire who got smoked in the 1994 Republican tidal wave. He later ran for the Senate in 1996. Swett was originally declared the early winner, leading to all sorts of tv shots of “Dick Swett” with a checkmark next to it, but as the night wore on, his opponent slowly overtook his vote total. The saddest part? He could have gone by Richard and no one would have noticed.
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