Machine Politician (Noun)
Meaning
A politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The city's mayor was accused of being a machine politician, using his position to enrich himself and his cronies rather than serve the community.
- After decades of corruption, the voters finally had enough of their local government run by machine politicians who cared little for the common good.
- Critics called the governor a machine politician who made backroom deals with special interest groups rather than listening to the concerns of ordinary citizens.
- In many cities, the dominant party was controlled by a clique of machine politicians who used patronage and cronyism to maintain their grip on power.
- The revelations of bribery and embezzlement led to widespread outrage against the machine politicians who had plundered the public treasury for years.