Jim Wright's resignation speech: De‐legitimization or redemption?

Abstract

Tarnished political figures de‐legitimize the roles, values, and political spectacle they represent. Jim Wright's resignation as Speaker of the House serves as a case study in de‐legitimizing rhetoric which postures the form of Burkean redemption. Wright's attempt at a rhetoric of propitiation fails when he refuses to admit blame, seeking instead to be the “blameless” goat of redemption for a polluted Congressional scene.