U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales - Victims of the Tall Poppy Syndrome?
Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.
~ George Bernard Shaw
Public tall poppy syndrome (TPS) entails cutting down someone who stands above the rest for any reason. Tall poppies (TPs) often have power or powerful institutions behind them; cutting them down often requires courage and a village.
Public TPs are cut down when people believe TPs do not deserve their status or trust. The most common causes of lost trust are pride, lust, and greed. These are among the seven deadly sins, which I have labeled the "unhappy triad" because they are frequently found together (see The Tall Poppy Syndrome & The Seven Deadly Sins).
Power is often found in a cutter, which gives them an advantage over the opponent, such as a hierarchy. But power can also be found in a TP who abuses it, and the public feels justified and compelled to cut the TP down.
The relationship between pride and power is complex—they often reinforce each other. Power can make people feel important or above criticism, which can inflate their pride. It turns their pride into hubris —arrogance or superiority over others.
Pride can fuel ambition. Pride, closely associated with confidence, permits risk-taking, leadership, and assertion. All actions that tend to lead to positions of power.
As the saying goes, "too much pride leads to corrupt power." Powerful people may stop listening to others, overestimate their abilities, and make reckless or unethical decisions.
Pride helps gain power while power increases pride. Too much pride (hubris) causes distortion or the misuse of power
From César Chávez, Lust, and the Tall Poppy Syndrome:
The #MeToo movement in the United States began as a survivor-centered effort to speak openly about sexual violence and harassment, and it surged into the national spotlight in 2017 after the hashtag went viral. It helped many people come forward, pushed powerful men out of office or public roles, and shifted public expectations about accountability in workplaces and institutions.
The movement was originally started by activist Tarana Burke in 2006 to support survivors, especially young women of color. When the hashtag spread in 2017, it gave millions of people a way to say “me too” and share experiences that had long been hidden or ignored.
In the U.S., #MeToo changed how sexual harassment and assault were discussed in public, in workplaces, and in the law. It led to new workplace policies, state-level legal reforms, and federal changes, including limits on certain nondisclosure agreements and stronger options for survivors to bring claims.
It also sparked debate about fairness, due process, and the limits of social media activism, but its central effect was to make sexual misconduct harder to dismiss as an individual problem. Americans increasingly viewed harassment and assault as issues that institutions should address, not just survivors should endure.
In the last 50 years, only 2 U.S. Senators and roughly 15-20 U. S. Representatives have resigned from Congress for sexual allegations (depending on definitions). Since 2017, 1 Senator and 9 Representatives have resigned (#MeToo area).
Tony Gonzales was born in 1980 and raised in San Antonio. His upbringing was rooted in a working-class environment, and like many in South Texas, he saw military service as both an opportunity and a duty.
After high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy, beginning a two-decade career. Gonzales didn’t serve in a quiet or routine role—he became a cryptologic linguist, specializing in intelligence work. Over roughly 20 years, he deployed multiple times, including to conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, supporting counterterrorism and intelligence operations during the post-9/11 era.
During his service, he also pursued higher education, earning degrees and later a master’s from the American Public University. Like many career military personnel transitioning to civilian life, he moved into teaching and mentoring, briefly working as an instructor connected to national security training.
His entry into politics came after retirement from the Navy. In 2020, Gonzales ran for Congress in Texas’s 23rd district—a vast and politically competitive region stretching along the U.S.–Mexico border. He won the seat and took office in 2021 as a Republican.
In Congress, Gonzales built a reputation as a pragmatic conservative. Since he represented a border district, he was deeply involved in issues like immigration, border security, and veterans’ affairs. At times, he has broken with his party—most notably on certain gun safety measures after the Robb Elementary School shooting in his district, which placed him at the center of a national debate.
In March, it was revealed that Gonzales had an affair with an aide who later died by suicide, which he later confirmed. The House Ethics Committee —House rules prohibit members of Congress from engaging in sexual relationships with their employees—opened an investigation into whether he “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his office” and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”Ethics investigations typically end once a member has left Congress, since the committee has jurisdiction only over current members.
For the most part, we hold our elected officials to higher standards than we hold ourselves to. Like Caesar's wife, Pompeia, they "must be beyond reproach." Gonzales served his country and his constituents, but he was given no slack. He also served himself —his pride, power, and lust got in the way.
On April 14, Gonzales submitted his resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives.
A blunt instrument, according to Ian Fleming's descriptions and the James Bond movies, refers to 007 as a ruthless, efficient government tool that delivers direct, often violent, and unavoidable force rather than subtle diplomacy. It signifies an operative who is quiet, hard, fatalistic, and assigned to high-risk tasks that cause significant damage.
Bond, this may be too much for a blunt instrument to understand, but arrogance and self-awareness seldom go hand in hand. Judi Dench (aka "M")
Eric Swalwell was born on November 16, 1980, in Sac City, Iowa, and was raised in Dublin, California, as the oldest of four boys. He has said he grew up in a Republican household: his father was a police officer, his mother ran a small business, and he had early jobs, including a paper route and construction work.
Swalwell earned a Division I soccer scholarship, becoming the first in his family to attend college, and studied at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned a degree in government and politics. While there, he interned on Capitol Hill for Rep. Ellen Tauscher, which gave him an early look at Washington politics.
After college, he attended the University of Maryland School of Law and graduated with a J.D. in 2006. He then returned to California and worked as a prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, where he led the Hate Crimes Unit.
Swalwell’s first elected office was the Dublin City Council in 2010, when he was 29 years old. He built a local profile there before challenging longtime incumbent Rep. Pete Stark (no easy task) in 2012 and winning a seat in the U.S. House, entering Congress in January 2013.
Swalwell arrived in Washington as a young first-term member representing California’s East Bay and quickly tried to brand himself as a reform-minded, tech-forward Democrat. In his first term, he served on the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and he backed measures on airport security and other practical issues.
He became known for using social media more aggressively than many of his colleagues, earning labels like “the Snapchat king of Congress” in the press. He also co-founded the bipartisan United Solutions Caucus and later the Sharing Economy Caucus, presenting himself as someone who wanted to bridge partisan divides while still pursuing a strongly progressive agenda.
A major turn in his career came on the House Intelligence Committee, where he served for years and rose to become chairman and ranking member overseeing the CIA. He helped lead the House investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and later played a visible role in Donald Trump’s impeachment, including serving as an impeachment manager in Trump’s second Senate trial.
Eric Swalwell was not a participant in the Brett Kavanaugh hearings in the formal sense; he was a House member who used the hearings as a political and rhetorical moment to comment on the accusations against Kavanaugh. He publicly argued that the women making allegations “deserve to be heard” and that their claims should be investigated before the confirmation moved forward.
Swalwell’s role was mainly as a Democratic critic of the confirmation process. He said the Senate should slow down and fully examine the allegations, and he suggested that if Kavanaugh were innocent, hearing from accusers would help clear his name.
That earlier position has resurfaced because critics say it contrasts sharply with his current denials of sexual misconduct allegations against him. In other words, his “role” in the Kavanaugh hearings was to amplify the argument that accusers should be believed enough to be heard and investigated, not to act as a witness or investigator himself.
He is dying by the same "me too" ethic standard he long endorsed. He stated he would have to be the "single unluckiest person in the world for these people to conspire and make up lies against him."
His Washington profile kept expanding beyond committee work. He made a brief 2020 presidential bid, one of the youngest candidates in modern history, and he remained a frequent television presence and outspoken Trump critic. But his time in Congress was also marked by recurring political fights, including Republican efforts to remove him from the Intelligence Committee and ongoing scrutiny of his ties to the intelligence community.
By his later House years, Swalwell was no longer just a district representative; he had become a national partisan figure, especially in Democratic circles, and one of the more recognizable members of the California delegation. That high profile ultimately made his 2026 gubernatorial run and subsequent resignation from Congress a much bigger national story than a typical House departure.
His downfall appears to have been driven by a rapid cascade of sexual misconduct allegations that damaged both his gubernatorial campaign and his standing in Congress. Reporters said the first major allegations surfaced on April 10, 2026, and then additional accusations followed, leading to bipartisan pressure, a House Ethics Committee inquiry, and ultimately his exit from the governor’s race and resignation from Congress.
If you've been playing poker for half an hour and you still don't know who the patsy is, you're the patsy. Warren Buffett
"M" was correct. Swalwell's downfall stemmed from arrogance and a lack of self-awareness. He may have been a blunt instrument, but he was mostly a wedge—the simplest machine—and many, except himself, recognized that. The government and elite swamp provided Swalwell with opportunities and support for their agenda (see Kathryn Ruemmler, Epstein Files, and Tall Poppy Syndrome). Flattery will get you everywhere. He enthusiastically drank their Kool-Aid and responded with fervor and delight.
Swalwell never met a "mic" he did not like. He played to his tribe, who kept feeding him more rope, cheering him on, and inflating his ego. He grew too tall. His dark side—abuse of power, hubris, lust, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and lack of self-awareness—became so overwhelming that he became a liability. The swamp cut his rope and let the cards fall.
In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate — look to his character.
~ Noah Webster
Seek virtue before all else because true wealth comes from cultivating good character.
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