Year in Review: Most Shocking Political Scandals of 2013

2013 is a year that will be remembered for its messy, high-profile political scandals.  A number of scandals occurred on the political front including the IRS scandal and Mark Sanford's re-election to the House of Representative after stepping down as the Governor of South Carolina due to an extramarital affair. However, here's a list of the top five most shocking and scandalous affairs in politics this year.

5. Anthony Weiner's 2013 Mayoral Campaign

Back in 2011, former congressman Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress due after he accidentally tweeted a racy picture of himself to one of his Twitter followers instead of sending the pic through a private direct message. The married politician initially denied sending the sexual photo and argued that his account was hacked. He later came clean, admitting to having "inappropriate" online relationships with several women and stepped down from his position that June.

However, in April the disgraced Democratic leader became the center of scrutiny once again when he reemerged in politics by launching a campaign to run for mayor in New York City. During his campaign, more news emerged regarding his infamous sexting scandal after a young woman told The Dirty that she and Weiner continued engaging in sexting even after he resigned in 2011.

In response, Weiner addressed the scandal stating, "As I have said in the past, these things that I did were wrong and hurtful to my wife and caused us to go through challenges in our marriage that extended past my resignation from Congress. I want to again say that I am very sorry to anyone who was on the receiving end of these messages and the disruption that this has caused."

Unfortunately, Weiner's hopes at becoming mayor were defeated when he lost the democratic primary election with less than 5 percent of the vote.

 4. The Obamacare Rollout Debacle

After years of promotion and preparation, most of the nation, including President Obama, himself, was shocked when the Affordable Care Act's Oct. 1 debut was defaced by website glitches. At the time, A-list stars like Lady Gaga, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Olivia Wilde, Alicia KeysPearl Jam, Alyssa Milano and Kerry Washington were on board for the President's #getcovered campaign, reports Fox News. However, because of the Obamacare website roll-out's technical glitches, many of the stars who helped launch the initiative walked away as many citizens lost faith in the program.

In addition to suffering from website glitches, the president also apologized to the five million Americans who have lost their insurance policies since October. In the buildup to the law's implementation this year, Obama continually promised that no one would lose their plans. The president has since backtracked on this guarantee in addition to suspending numerous flawed parts of the health care overhaul, including requirements for small and large companies, reports The Daily Caller. 

3. Rob Ford's Crack Scandal

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's crack-smoking saga and endless antics proved to be one of the biggest and internationally covered scandals of the year.

Although Ford initially denied allegations of substance abuse, a 2013 Toronto Police Service gang investigation led to the discovery of a video of Ford where he admitted to public drunkenness and illegal drug use. He also admitted to having used crack cocaine, saying that it happend "probably in one of my drunken stupors."

Following his admission, Ford refused to resign from his position. As a result, the Toronto City Council voted to extract certain mayoral powers from Ford and reduce Ford's office staff. Despite the scandal, Ford has promised to "continue doing the job he was elected to do" and run in the next mayoral election next October.

2. The Exposure of the NSA's Controversial Surveillance Program

In June, former CIA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents revealing that the government's National Security Agency (NSA) had been secretly collecting data on citizens through phone companies like Verizon and AT&T, as well as tapping into the Internet servers of major web companies including Google and Facebook. 

The leak about the government's surveillance program has led to a national outcry, with many Americans raising concerns about the infringement of their civil liberties. Others noted that the real uproar should be over the program's apparent inability to prevent the Boston Marathon bombings despite the fact that it is monitoring millions of Americans.

Last week, a federal judge ruled that the agency's bulk collection of data on nearly every call made by phone subscribers may be unconstitutional in a lawsuit brought by Tea Party leader Larry Klayman.

The ruling is the first of several that are likely in the coming months as federal judges from New York to California review complaints from liberals and conservatives alike about the scope of the NSA's snooping.

In addition, a panel appointed by Obama suggested that the NSA scale its surveillance program through 46 recommended changes.

1. The Government Shutdown

The partial shutdown of the federal government tops the list of this year's political scandals.

The 16 day government shutdown occurred over partisan brinkmanship that prevented Congress from passing a spending bill on time.  Although passing a spending bill is a bipartisan procedural act, it was held up because GOP members attached a provision to the bill that would delay President Obama's health care law.

Since 2010, Republicans have tried to unsuccessfully gut the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," over 40 times. However, because their methods failed, the GOP took an unconventional step to pass a bill that averts a government shutdown only if the implementation of the Affordable Care Act is delayed and a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices to help pay for the health care law is repealed, reports USA Today.

The shutdown resulted in thousands of furloughed workers and the closures of national parks and zoos, in addition to a surge in unemployment claims.