I keep hearing Mark Sanford's name when this issue comes up, but frankly, Sanford cheated on his wife with one live, human woman, for which he resigned as the long time governor of South Carolina and his wife divorced him. Then, like Weiner, he decided to re-enter the political arena again and won. Kudos to the electorate of South Carolina for being so forgiving. But what Weiner did was something that was not just cheating on his wife...he lied repeatedly and not just to his wife. Whether you are of the opinion that cheating electronically is really cheating may be up for debate. It is a post-modern issue as to what really constitutes an extra-marital affair when one does not have physical contact with the person on the other end of phone, tweet, or instant message. We can talk about that.
But let's talk about Anthony Weiner instead. What keeps getting lost in the great NY Post headlines is what Anthony Weiner did to cause his fall from grace in June of 2011. It was not just cheating on his wife. The cheating part of his troubles really is, as his wife Huma Abedin repeats over and over "their issue" and I respect that with the understanding that she works closely with Hillary Clinton who knows from cheating husbands.
What Weiner's real transgression did was repeatedly lying about his cheating on camera to the world and particularly to his constituents for weeks and, more importantly. he repeatedly accused a phantom person of hacking into his official Congressional Twitter feed to post salacious photos of a male "member" that may or may not have been his. Now that is an accusation of a federal crime and involved the police. It was only after weeks of the issue not going away that he finally 'fessed up that it was his "member of Congress". When he refused to resign, he was backed up by leading women Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Only when it was finally revealed that one of his "Twitter-mates" was possibly an underage girl, was he was finally forced to resign. Of course, he resigned with the usual tearful "I am seeking professional help and my [very pregnant] wife and I are dealing with this...blah, blah, blah". Well, the brouhaha died down, his baby was born, and he became the perfect Mr. Mom...for a while.
Now, fast forward to earlier this summer, Mr. Weiner announced that he was all healed and would throw his hat into the mayoral ring because New York needed him. Because he was leading in the polls, it appeared as if all was forgiven and forgotten. But this week it now has come to light that Mr. Weiner was not sufficiently contrite after his embarrassing resignation from Congress to actually stop his behavior. Now in all fairness, Weiner did warn everyone when he announced his mayoral candidacy that "more would come out" [Har, har] about his Twitter issue. But what he failed to mention, and what came out this week, was that he did not stop his behavior one bit. He continued to tweet his member under the assumed name "Carlos Danger" clearly as late as one year after his resignation and presumed rehabilitation. So, after the truly sad press conference today where Huma reiterated her wifely support, Anthony Weiner once again refuses to go away quietly. It is still open just how bad this hurts him, but he is banking on a infinitely forgiving and forgetting electorate. And as one guy commented on NY1, the local All New York news station, "Hey, he didn't kill anyone or steal anything. Give him a break! I hope he wins". Weiner may be right to hope.
Questions? Comments?
Oh, and just when you thought things couldn't get icky enough...here's this!
Warning: This is major icky, so don't click on the link if your are the least bit squeamish.
LINK
Don't say I didn't warn you!
29 comments:
Heh heh heh you said weiner...
Koshcat - Stop that. This is supposed to be a seri...heh, I DID say weiner...tee-hee...
Bev, First... 'fessed up that it was his "member of Congress"... LOL!!!
Secondly, he went by the name Carlos Danger? Wow, that's sad. He should be forced out of politics just for his inability to pick a good alias. Seriously.
Third, I still think New York being run by the team of Weiner and Spitzer would just be all kinds of hilarious.
As for the link... uh, yeah. I'll stick to showering.
Bev - to get just a little bit semi-serious, I was really put off by the media's support of this. Look, Minnesota elected Jesse Ventura and (maybe) Stuart Little to major elected office. If Weiner gets passed this, and gets elected, it tells me a lot about liberalism, and our culture. This guy is a creep, and to think that people just let their ideology override all character is amazing. Huma deserves nothing but scorn. It really, just like with Clinton, pretty much shows what's up with the N.O.W. crowd.
On a lighter note, don't know how many still look at Drudge, but they win tons of kudos for the originality of their Weiner jokes.
A few things...
First..."Carlos Danger?" Honestly?! For all intents and purposes, Anthonius, Graf von Weiner, has now made Homer Simpson's single-episode name change of "Max Power" ("I got it from a hair dryer.") absolutely respectable.
Second, TJed is right. Huma deserves only our scorn. But let's face it; this was never a real marriage. It's a political one. Like her mentor, Hillary, she sees her man as a means to power and she wants to be First Lady of New York. (And maybe more, after that.)
And third, well, at New York actually has a mayoral election worth talking about. The one in the 'Burgh ended with the April primary. Um, huzzah?
Bev.....Weiner is like a zombie. He just won't go away and stay dead. I have nothing but scorn, disrespect and loathing for this guy, Spitzer, Clinton, NOW, etc. ALL these issues with Dem pols are political. Unless you are a leftist Dem, you will be pilloried in the press. Repubs are expected to honorably resign and slink away in cases where they use and abuse women, yet Dems can ask lie (Clinton, Weiner, et al) and as long as their power hungry, money grubbing wives 'stand by their side' then "who are we to judge?"
And when I give these clowns any thought at all, it is to think that they are sad, narcissistic creatures who haves tasted power and can never let it go.
Just like with Obama, NY'ers will get what they deserve if they vote this guy in to office. At least he won't be President.
He could be another Clinton?
All of NY's newspapers seem to be calling on Weiner to resign and CNN is indicating that big donors (never thrilled by him coming back) are even more opposed.
At this point the only thing he has going for him is that he is the biggest name in crowded field.
Weiner must have gotten married for form's sake, clearly he has never taken his vows seriously. We've all (okay, we've most) been at a stage in our lives were we just want to have sex with as many attractive, willing women as possible, but a guy ought to make sure he is past that phase before he proposes to someone.
Forgiveness doesn´t come into it. If I cheat on my wife, it is not my boss who has to forgive me. The question is, can he do the job?
As far as we know, Sanford is really in love with his new fiancee. Of course that is no consolation for his family. But these things fall under the category of "human foibles". We are none of us perfect etc. I don´t have to personally like a politician. The need of the plebs to identify with these guys is a sickness, imho. By most accounts, Sanford was a decent governor. I don´t see why he cannot be a decent congressman. I think he was better than his opponent.
Weiner however, is insane. He is also a much better liar than Sanford. It´s not my job to avenge his wife who may be as much of a careerist as he is, but I wouldn´t hire him to handle my business or money. Who would?
Whether he is worse than his opponents, well, as always the People will get what they deserve.
Bev,
Sanford did not resign. But everything else you said of him was correct.
Cheating is a personal issue. Egregious lying before the electorate is a public issue. Continuing the behavior after your supposed contrition is both a personal and a public matter. Offering a job at Politico to your sexting partner is an interesting, perhaps damning, wrinkle.
The real issue though is the incredibly poor quality of the sexting. I heard a dramatic reading of some of Weiner's sexts on the Opie & Anthony show last evening, and got chills of the Massengill kind. We cannot trust a man who cannot even get close to 50 Shades of Gray quality sexual imagery to regulate the size of sodas in NYC.
Not that I can entirely blame the South Carolina voters for having to choose between Sanford and a woman whose main claim to fame was being Stephen Colbert's sister, but his re-election started all this. Now that we've had to embrace him, we can't complain that Spitzer and Weiner have managed to (partially) resurrect their political careers too.
My opinion: Taking on the role of public servant requires more than the average amount of virtue. You claim the power, you accept the responsibility. If you can't handle that, get lost.
...and we haven't even gotten into his wife's islamofascist connections. These people should not only be kept far away from any sort of public office, they should be deported.
So sorry for the delay!
Andrew - The name "Carlos Danger" just shows he has no imagination. At first I thought it would be funny too to have Weiner and Spitzer, but then they are both such arrogant liars, that I changed my mind. Together they make yet another whole Mayor Bloomberg, but with no conscience. I don't like Bloomberg's nanny-ness, but at least he "cares" about the poor little guy which is pretty much everyone in NYC comparatively
"The real issue though is the incredibly poor quality of the sexting"
wahsatchmo - I agree. Pretty pedestrian stuff. He should be embarrassed at his lack of imagination.
T-Rav - It really is as the result of Sanford. And frankly, all Sanford did was boringly cheat on his wife with another woman and he is now engaged to that other woman. It wasn't serial cheating like Clinton, or Spitzer either.
I believe that these are all personal foibles of alpha male personalities as it has been since the beginning of time. At least now they can't order the lopping of the head of the wife that they are cheating on...
They all lied in the beginning, but then that's the "deer caught in headlights" reactionary lie. Weiner kepted it up and added an accusation of a federal crime...and then lied again and again.
At least Clinton has his charm and political acumen. Weiner has neither...
"Forgiveness doesn´t come into it. If I cheat on my wife, it is not my boss who has to forgive me. The question is, can he do the job?"
El Gordo - yes you are right, it is really the spouse who has to forgive. And frankly, political spouses have their own reasons for forgiving. Hillary obviously wanted a bigger political role an knew Bill could give that to her. And I suspect Huma is the same way. However with the public, it also speaks to the matter of trust. Can we trust a politician to do the right thing by us if he/she can't do right by his own spouse?
I'm still stuck on the endless lie part and not so much the cheating part. Unfortunately for Weiner has never proven that he can "do the job". He's loud and obnoxious, but there is nothing that anyone can point to that he has actually accomplished legislatively. He's kind of a Jewish Obama in that way.
Kit - My mistake. Sanford was actually at the end of his term and declined to run again because of his scandal and his censure and his embarrassment and his pending divorce...;-)
There is one thing I will give Eliot Spitzer, he decided to start over at the bottom by running for City Comptroller. That says something. He's still an arrogant fool and I don't trust him one bit, but at least he is honest enough with himself that he knew he had to start all over from the bottom. There's a glimmer of character there.
But I still think he should have gone to jail for transporting women across state lines for prostitution and "sex trafficking". But then I'm mean...
Bev, It definitely shows a total lack of imagination, and that should be a crime unto itself.
Rustbelt - Ventura and Franken are real characters, but the electorate knew that going in. Certainly Jesse Ventura didn't lie about himself! But you are right, Weiner is creepy and so's his wife...
LL - Neither Weiner nor Spitzer have the charm and/or political savvy that Clinton has. They do both have Hillary-like ambitious wives though...
Bev, A headline on Wiener's falling poll numbers: Weiner Goes Soft.
Yeah, the headline writers must be lobbying heavily for him to win.
Andrew - That's one of the few upsides! I am sure that the Headline Writers Local is giving generously! But, I am not sure I could go through 4 years llong years of non-stop Weiner jokes...
Countdown to Catastrophe
JULY 25, 1914 (99 years ago today…) -Part 1 of 2
In St. Petersburg, the annual summer review of the army (during regular maneuvers) is delayed so that the Council of Ministers can (secretly) meet with Czar Nicholas at his home at Czarskeloe Selo. (The review is later cut off after the meeting ends.) At the end of the meeting, five more resolutions are drafted and approved by Russia’s sovereign:
1. The Czar approves ‘in principle’ the partial mobilization of four districts (1.1 million men in the army alone) against Austria-Hungary.
2. All troops are to return to standing quarters- permanent bases and equipment storage houses.
3. Army cadets promoted to officers.
4. Martial law (“state of war”) proclaimed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, all garrisoned cities in European Russia, and districts bordering Austria and Germany.
5. “Period preparatory to war” will begin at midnight.
The ‘period’ basically is pre-mobilization, moving troops and supplies before mobilization actually starts; all the while, these movements are to be masked with false diplomacy.
Sazonov then meets with the British and French Ambassadors again. He wants a united front against Germany and Austria. Paleologue, of course, is eager. Buchanan, however, still hedges. Sazonov tells him that mobilization won’t start until war is declared or acts of war occur; he then double-talks, saying Russia is taking 'necessary precautions.’ When Buchanan hedges again, Sazonov growls that if Great Britain doesn’t participate, war will certainly break out. Buchanan snaps back, saying Germany will not sit by and do nothing if Russia mobilizes even part of its military.
At 3:00 P.M., Serbia begins mobilizing.
At 5:58 P.M., Serbian Prime Minister Pasic delivers his country’s reply to Austrian Ambassador Giesl at the Austrian legation. Early rumors that day indicated Serbia might agree to all of the demands. Instead, Pasic delivers a somewhat conciliatory response. Serbia will not apologize for anything; will not suppress Narodna Odbrana; will work with Austrian officials, but not allow them in the Serbian court system (“as it would be a violation of the Constitution and the law of criminal procedure”); half of the other points are accepted with reservations.
“Part of your demands we have accepted…” he says. “For the rest, we place our hopes on your loyalty and chivalry as an Austrian general.”
Why Pasic changed his mind is the subject of debate. He may have been playing other countries, or have been emboldened by Russian support. Still, others believe his life was in danger. Pasic- who would’ve preferred to avoid war- was no friend of the Black Hand. However, if he works with Austria on this, he might end up six feet under. (The Black Hand has pretty much perfected “regime change” in Serbia.) There’s also the suggestion that he was afraid that working that working with Austria might reveal the Black Hand’s- and, by extension, the Serbian Government’s- terrorist activities. Austria would then be justified in its actions.
Countdown to Catastrophe
JULY 25, 1914 (99 years ago today…) -Part 2 of 2
Giesl looks at the response and rejects it (as he was instructed to do). Giesl and his staff- “with truly Germanic efficiency”- burn the code books and leave the legation by 6:15 P.M. They catch the 6:30 P.M. train out of town and, 10 minutes later, stop across the border in the town of Semlin. (Historian Sidney Fay called this “the speed record for the rupture of diplomatic relations.”) He wires Serbia's response to Vienna and telephones Tisza in Budapest. Meanwhile, the Serbian government relocates to Nish, further into the interior.
Side note: Serbia’s chief of Staff, Field Marshall Radomir Putnick, is vacationing in Budapest at the time. After the deadline, he is briefly detained by police before being released on orders from Emperor Franz Joseph.
German fears about Russia's intentions grow when General Oskar von Chelius, a military observer in Russia, is told by a departing Russian general that “he must attend the mobilization.” (Quite a slip of the tongue.) Later that night, another officer tells Chelius that “the situation is serious.” Kaiser Wilhelm becomes alarmed by what he is hearing through military intelligence sources, and decides to end his vacation and come home. In Berlin, Prussian Minister of War Erich von Fahlkenhayn and Chief of Staff Helmut von Moltke the Younger return from their vacations.
In Great Britain, Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey proposes that Britain, France, Germany, and Italy mediate in case Russia reacts in a hostile manner to Austria. He gets mixed responses. (The previous day..) French Ambassador Paul Cambon refused the idea. He prefers Germany mediating between Austria and Serbia. (Let Germany betray its ally instead of France.) Cambon then left for Paris and no reaction from the French capital has been issued. German Ambassador Lichnowsky favors Grey’s suggestion (although Germany- like Grey- would prefer the whole thing remain localized). In fact, German Foreign Minister Jagow replies in favor of moderating at St. Petersburg and Vienna. Russian Ambassador Count Alexander Benckendorff completely refuses Grey’s idea. Like Sazonov, he wants a united front, and is worried that such mediation would, in German eyes, look like Great Britain wasn’t siding with Russia and France.
Grey, however, is hardly frustrated. Since he knows nothing of Russia’s secret war preparations (Buchanan is completely in the dark on this), he assumes it’s all talk and heads to his country estate for a weekend of fly fishing.
While all that had been going on, Berchtold and Austrian War Minister Alexander Krobatin had been meeting with Emperor Franz Joseph. After reports from Giesl, Tisza, and the war ministry arrive, they convince him to authorize mobilization.
At 9:23 P.M., General Conrad issues the order for mobilization. For now, Conrad only authorizes mobilization Plan B. (“B” for "Balkans.") Unless Russia intervenes, Plan R (“R” for "Russia") will be held off. For now, everything is being directed at Serbia. Preparation, however, must come first, and actual mobilization won’t start until July 28th.
Bev, I hate to be a nit-picker, but the remarks about Ventura and Franken were Jed's words. But the two of you are still right about Weiner and his wife being creeps!
Huma should change her name to Hum-a.
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