August 15, 2025
Sex, power, and money…these elements are the silent puppeteers behind much of politics’ biggest dramas. You won’t find much in headlines or history books that can’t be traced back to one or more of these forces pulling strings. They shape policies, scandals, alliances, and by extension, entire nations.
To truly understand politics, you have to see beyond speeches and into the shadows where these forces often reside…hidden which amplifies the potential for excess.
SEX
Let’s start with sex (Some of you are musing…Yes! Let’s! Good idea!). It’s a surprisingly effective tool for control and distraction. Politicians, like anyone else, have human vulnerabilities, and those vulnerabilities can be exploited, often to devastating effect. Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky not only led to his impeachment, but it also shifted national conversations from policy to scandal. That sexual misstep became a weapon, used by opponents to undermine his credibility. Today, history not only rhymes, but it repeats. The conversation has morphed from policy into policy and scandal. We all stay tuned and wait…
But it’s not just scandal that sex influences; it’s also about leverage. In some cases, sexual favors have been used to secure political loyalty, a silent currency that can bind allies closer or destroy enemies. The most infamous example might be the Sphinx-like mystery surrounding powerful men and their secret lives…examples that remind us how easily personal secrets can influence political trajectories. The former president of Russia, the dangerous Dmitry Medvedev now pinballs between nuclear threats to veiled threats they have damaging video on Donald Trump.
The existence of sexual scandal is not a political thing, the province of any single individual or party, it is a human thing.
POWER
Power, the most coveted of the three. Power is the ultimate currency in politics. It’s what keeps politicians in office, what grants access to resources, and what enables influence over millions of lives. Throughout history, individuals have fought, manipulated, and killed for power. Julius Caesar. His ambition and hunger for control led to the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of an empire.
Power also corrupts; it’s a dangerous drug. The corollary is the oft quoted ‘and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ Political scandals are almost always rooted in the desire to preserve or expand one’s influence. The Watergate scandal in the 1970s is a classic example, where the Nixon administration’s desire to sustain power led to clandestine break-ins and a cover-up that ultimately brought him down. And changed the trajectory of a nation. Power, in essence, gives a person or a group the ability to shape society according to their will; it’s the ultimate game.
MONEY
Money is perhaps the most overt of these three forces. Campaigns cost billions, and those billions rarely come from the candidates themselves. Instead, they’re collected from corporate interests, wealthy benefactors, and special interest groups. Money influences what policies are introduced or blocked, which politicians get promoted, and what kind of legislation gets passed.
The influence of money in politics is tallied in history. I wrote about the Gilded Age in regard to wealth disparity, but those industrialists, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller didn’t use their money just for personal luxury. They directly funded political campaigns and bought influence to shape industries and policies.
That era showed clearly how wealth could translate into political power, creating elite clubs that are almost impossible for ordinary citizens to penetrate.
The interplay of sex, power, and money isn’t confined to isolated cases. Instead, it intertwines and amplifies in a kind of negative loop echo chamber. We see this in countries where authoritarian rulers use sexual conquest as a tool to fuel egos and consolidate control. Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi used their authority to indulge in excess, enriching themselves immensely while oppressing their people. These leaders also used powerful propaganda, controlling information and wielding money and influence to maintain their grip.
All with the goal of protecting and expanding personal power.
Financial scandals are equally revealing. The 2008 financial crisis is a prime example, where the reckless pursuit of profit by mortgage bankers and banks, backed by massive lobbying efforts and unrestrained greed, nearly toppled the entire global economy. Politicians, in turn, were caught between voter demands and the deep-pocketed interests that supported their campaigns. When the system almost collapsed, it proved how money could manipulate even the most complex and essential aspects of an advanced economy and nearly bring it down.
I think we search in vain for a solution that will eliminate these clearly destructive challenges. It takes a big ego to enter politics; an iron will of self-confidence. And it is precisely in the interplay between the Id, the Ego and the Superego that keeps us away from bad behaviors (Freud). But in some individuals, the balance goes out of whack and bad things happen. How in the world can you possibly legislate against that?
Well, you have a lot of rules and then you have penalties for breach. That helps a lot actually…it’s the scandals we never get that measure that effectiveness but how do you measure that? But you know, all the rules and potential penalties and harm evidently isn’t enough. People get unbalanced and they find themselves at an ATM at midnight (which Chris Rock assures us is not a place to be).
The most effective measure to protect the Republic lies in two areas and they are in our control.
First, the people we vote for. You see a congressman/woman dozing off in the House chamber and you have to remind yourself their constituents put them there. And will probably do it again. If your local pol is the subject of scandal, of potential financial picadillos, the answer is to go to a town meeting and grill them.
When Senator Hawley offered the Stock Act, the bill to prohibit stock trading on inside information by members of Congress, my Senator, Rick Scott, offered a defense of Congressional trading. I wrote to him, told him that for the first time he had disappointed me, that he had lost my vote and I wouldn’t hesitate to speak out on it if asked.
Well, you and I can be fooled and so, fools get elected. This means we need as much transparency as possible. The shining of the light into dark corners as a matter of continual national policy.
In my work, I worked from a home office and so, auditors from my firm would show up and go through everything. Computers, files, nose around. If they had asked to go into my sock drawer I would have been happy to let them. I had the privilege of working from home for 25 years, thus the responsibility in turn to be transparent in all things. It’s not a big deal if you have nothing to hide.
As you watch events unfold, have the Sex/Power/Money construct as one of your measuring tools. Ask yourself if whatever you’re observing has its origins and nexus in one of those three.
I can also save you the trouble…pretty much every time.
I always welcome thoughtful feedback. If a particular piece resonates—or raises a question—I’d be glad to hear from you. You can reach me directly at anthony@workingprofit.com
