The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
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    THE FALL AND RISE OF ANTHONY WEINER

    By TimDanahey on Thu, 06/16/2011 - 7:15pm |

    I'm tired of the story.  It saddens me that this man e-cheated on his pregnant wife.  It is wrong.  He quit.  It's over.

    But it shouldn't be.

    Anthony Weiner was a fool and showed tremendous weakness of personal character.  He broke no laws but he capitulated to the dictates of Democratic leaders including President Obama.  Pelosi, Reid, Israel, Wasserman-Schultz, and Hoyer were his political allies but they joined Republicans in calling for Weiner's resignation.  He didn't have friends in Congress. He rattled too many cages during his tenure in the House of Representatives.

    Weiner was correct to quit.

    Now he would be correct to run for his seat in 2012 and let the voters decide.  It is reported he has $5 million in a campaign fund, his constituency can be heard, and, if he is re-elected, he can rattle the walls of Congress by saying "the people have spoken".  He can speak louder and more demonstrably than ever and he can speak truth to power.  He would be unfettered by party loyalties and free to represent the working people of his district and the United States.

    It would be the ultimate "in your face" to the Washington establishment.  He could be the straw that stirs the Congressional drink and he could come back stronger than ever.

    His conduct was disappointing but, if his wife can forgive him, the people can too.  People are dying due to current Congressional inaction on health care.  Poor mothers and ingfants are starving as Congress cancels programs for the poor while sustaining support for oil companies and agribusiness concerns.  Families are losing homes while Congress covers the back of Wall Street.  Anthony Weiner's errors were personal.  Congress' errors are public and they are egregious.

    Anthony Weiner in 2012.  Let the people decide.

    Comments

    Once I get over the sadness that I feel for Weiner's wife, I regret that Breitbart played a role in Weiner's downfall. I also note that Howard Stern's sent  his sidekick to the press conference where Weiner announced the resignation.

    Another part of the Weiner scandal is that Breitbart gains a nano-inch of credibility when he claims that he (Breitbart) has the goods on another organization or person. There is also the fact that the worthless Howard Stern gets his name mentioned by people who don't subscribe to Sirius satellite radio.


    by rmrd0000 on Thu, 06/16/2011 - 10:37pm

    From the occassional snipets of Howard Stern and Company's show that I have heard and seen, they are really the last people to be calling anyone pervert.   If anything, their audience is made up in large part of folks who live for the days when the porn star come on the show and allows herself to be subjected to a paddle machine.  Shock jocks are one of those things that one needs to put up with in a country that allows for freedom of expression (and I do acknowledge that Stern and others have done some positive things in the realm of expanding our rights in the areans of expression).


    by Elusive Trope on Fri, 06/17/2011 - 8:13am

    I have to say I'm a little disappointed in Weiner. Not that what he did was so bad...it's nothing that 7th graders don't do every day (which is part of the problem, I guess...a Congressman acting like a 7th grader.)  And lying? Crap, the surprise would be anyone in Congress telling the truth...we just don't like them getting outright caught lying, then admitting they lied. But, come on. Surely no one who heard his weasly explanation REALLY thought he didn't do it, did they? I can't say with certitude it wasn't me? What a huge red flag that should have been!

    I didn't used to think our elected officials were allowed to be mere humans like the rest of us. As part of my post-republican transformation, I've accepted that they are, and we need to get over it. Just because people do dumb stuff in their sex lives, doesn't mean they can't be good at their jobs.

    It was painful to watch his fall, especially because he said so many things I liked hearing, and their aren't many in Congress who do.

    What gets me is that someone who had so much to hide, set himself up as the vocal spokesperson for the left. He didn't just keep a low profile, he headed for the spotlight when he KNEW his reckless behavior had the potential to cause so much harm. It's not like he fell in love with some chick and did something dumb...he is an exhibitionist who WANTED people to know it was him they were seeing. For just everyday folks, who cares? For someone on the national stage who can be pointed to as an example of what a liberal is? Like it or not, it hurts us.

    But it may turn out okay. The leaders of the party were suitably/dutifully offended. Now if he runs for his seat and comes back, what can they say? Will of the people and all. I agree he has the potential to be even stronger than before.

    Now can we get to the important stuff like how to get our government back from the clutches of the corporations now that they own it lock, stock and barrel?


    by stillidealistic on Fri, 06/17/2011 - 2:06am

    Weiner repeatedly lied to reporters, even on video recorded interviews that can be played over and over again. He also called one reporter a jerk. There was no question that MSM would dig into the facts. The fact that he could not definitively state that the picture was not of his penis raised eyebrows.


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 06/17/2011 - 8:46am

    The whole thing is painful to me.  We needed his voice out there, since there are so few brave enough to take on the power people, and, as reckless as he was on the House floor (in a good way) he was even more reckless in his personal life. (Bad when he got caught and handled it so poorly).

    It could be that he could be elected again in 2012 but he was forced to resign when it became clear that he would be shunned by his own party and stripped of any committee duties.  I doubt that anything would change if he got back in.  The Dems were stupid to make a big issue of it, considering his popularity with liberals and progressives, but once they did there's no going back.

    I don't know what Weiner will do now, but whatever it is, he won't have nearly the impact he had as a member of congress.  I wish he would have thought of that in his off-time when he became so delusional about his impact as a babe magnet.


    by Ramona on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 7:37am

    Our very own Taliban ran him out of office.

    How long before they start requiring woman to start wearing Burkas in public, because woman in public shouldn’t expose so much flesh?.

    In the history of the Congress were individuals stripped of their committee duties, for interracial activities?

    Maybe they better bring back Ashcroft’s Sheet, and cover all the inappropriate statues?

    As a Christian I find his conduct unbecoming, but the rank hypocrisy of this Congress .towards Freedom of Religion or is it Freedom from Religion?  

    Which Red Scarlet Letter should Weiner wear? The Red Scarlet letter E for exhibitionist; or a P for Phallic Worshiper

    Get Congress out of the bedroom, our closets, and our intimate business.

    Chastise these gossipers in the Press.

    People in Glass houses shouldn't throw stones?


    by Resistance on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 11:08am

    Weiner sent pictures of his weiner from his own public account. He did not know any of these people personally. Weiner demonstrated poor judgment. The major fault is that there are pictures and email that can be viewed and read.

    Clinton, Craig and Vitter had no picture audiovisual documentation. I agree that Clinton and Vitter stayed in office despite actually having sex, while Weiner only had cyber-sex. The pictures did Weiner in. Imagine Weiner standing up making a valid and forceful point and hearing "Pervert" shouted out by the opposition. What would be the focus of the news reports? Would the focus be on Weiner's political point, or the word "pervert"?

    I remember Weiner's powerful words when he said that the Republicans were a wholly owned subsidiary of big oil companies. The image sticks. If he tried to make the same point now, the image of "weinergate" will come to mind.


    by rmrd0000 on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 12:45pm