Apparently there are now pictures of Weiner flexing his pecs, and the stooges at Big Government claim he was sending all sorts of pics to some other female.
And a big middle finger from your host to everyone (I’m looking at you, clown) who got all worked up because I said “It wouldn’t surprise me if Weiner was this stupid.” I think you’d have to be a fool to trust Breitbart and company at their word, but you have to be a bigger one to be surprised that someone in Congress would act recklessly. We still don’t know what the story is completely here, but things look a lot worse for Weiner today.
*** Update ***
Lot of amusing stuff here in the comments. I’m particularly amused by the folks who think I want Weiner taken down- apparently they missed all the glowing posts about Weiner from me and everyone else.
Second, I love the fact that I am being accused of binary thinking. How so? There are multiple things that could be in play here. We don’t know what they are. Hell, for all we know, Weiner could have known that they were after him, and this is all an elaborate gotcha on his part. I doubt it, but it is a possibility. Right now, though, on top of all of his evasive non-answers, I’d say the best possibility is he meant to DM that girl ten days ago, fucked up, and we are where we are. But it could all be a setup, too. Who knows? None of that means I want him to get in trouble or think he should. I like the guy, and I don’t care what people do in their off time.
But see, I am a member of the reality-based community. What I think or want doesn’t matter- what does matter is that if Weiner was sexting a bunch of women, taking pics of his junk, and what not, he will go down. Not because I want him to, but that is how our country rolls. And more likely than not, some of the people that are going to help stick the shiv in are people with a (D) after their names, either wanting revenge, wanting to knock him out of the Mayor’s race, etc.
Third, when I say it looks worse for Weiner, I’m not gleeful or happy, I just mean “it looks worse for Weiner.” I’d love to have his back. I’d love to offer a counter-narrative. But I’ve got nothing other than Weiner telling everyone it was just a prank and he wants to move on. If I had something that was firm, I’d roll with it, But I’ve got nothing other than the fact he won’t go to authorities and that Andrew Breitbart is a dick. And today, with all the new photographs and the new bs being thrown out by Breitbart, it is going to only whip up the media into a bigger lather. In other words, things look worse today for Weiner.
Finally, the notion that I am “flogging” this story is absurd. A couple brief mentions and that is it- it’s almost like you clowns haven’t turned on the news or read a newspaper in the past week. The lead story doesn’t start “According to sources close to John Cole, Anthony Weiner…” I have no role in this story whatsoever. Again, I’m just acknowledging reality. The story is out there. It has legs. Screaming at me is not going to change anything.
jeffreyw
Digging the hole deeper, eh?
PeakVT
I think the “assholes” tag is appropriate here, in one way or another.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
lets see if brietbat can pull out enough to win.
until then, its still just brietbat, and until something reaches the level of illegality, not mere marital infidelity, its pretty much irrelevant.
bkny
he skipped the israel day parade yesterday — and for a brooklyn jew to bail on that doesn’t bode well.
also, too — did you see that the local wcbs reporter who got kicked out of his office last week actually went to weiner’s laundromat where he drops his clothes to see if they recognized the undies. unfortunately for marcia kramer, the chinese owner didn’t have a fucking clue who she was and what in the world she was sniffing around for.
idiots — all around. what in the fuck is wrong with these jackasses who are taking on very powerful interests (weenie/clarence thomas; spitzer/wall street) and end up sabotaging not only their careers – but guaranteeing those issues will die.
cleek
@Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal:
to you, maybe.
the public, on the other hand, loves to freak out over this stuff.
arguingwithsignposts
@cleek:
I’m not so sure on that part. Is there any data to back this up? Like Palin’s bus tour, this seems to be more of a media fascination than anything the public necessarily wants moar of.
Citizen_X
Umm…so?
I’m all for Weiner keeping it in his pants. Wake me up when there’s some actual evidence he hasn’t.
Linda Featheringill
None of this would be newsworthy if Weiner were not an articulate advocate for liberal, progressive policies.
I have no idea what the facts are in this case.
I have learned not to believe anything Brietbart says.
And I’ve learned to not blindly follow John when he jumps off a cliff in temper-tantrum-ness.
Carry on.
Church Lady
It is with sorrow that Weiner’s office will say that he is checking himself into rehab for undisclosed addiction issues.
boss bitch
Anthony Weiner likes attention. He is loud, in your face, and loves theatrics. Those type of people are bound to do something stupid.
eemom
meh. It’ll all peter out sooner or later.
haw haw.
(I wonder which WILL run out first, the “scandal” or the weewee jokes…)
Mattminus
Still not giving a fuck…
steviez314
Perhaps Weiner was just warning the British.
Sentient Puddle
I had forgotten all about this story. Huh.
JonF
Radar is claiming facebook sexting from him(with screen caps). I’d need confirmation before I believe it.
El Tiburon
IF IF IF true, then Weiner is simply a dumbass. The ONLY time, if you are Democrat in Congress, that you can take pictures of your junk is in a dark, small bathroom with all of the doors shut. Under a thick moving blanket and only with a camera that doesn’t actually take pictures.
Otherwise, IF IF IF you do this and put them on your computer AND AND AND send them out, you deserve what is coming to you because you know the rules.
Regardless, because we understand the truth and facts don’t matter, Weiner is forever scarred with this. If none of this is true, then I hope like hell Weiner does more than just let bygones be bygones and he fights back with a terrible ferocity.
Hank
This is a very weak post, especially with the tut-tutting and the passive-aggressive “things look a lot worse today” comment. It would be helpful if you would identify actual wrongdoing or serious impropiety.
shortstop
What is it about sex that makes people totally lose their fucking minds?
Rhetorical, rhetorical. Asked is answered.
BTD
Worse how?
Either you give a shit about this stuff or you don’t.
I don’t. I get the impression you don’t either.
Do Weiner’s constituents? I’m betting they don’t either.
Unless he does something stupid like resigning, I’m not sure there is much more to say about this story.
Suppose Weiner had an affair and then a messy divorce. Whaat would that mean to you John?
This is as important as Weiner lets it be.
If you want to follow Breitbart around then by all means do so. But please don’t insist the rest of us have to do the same.
Bobbyk
I read the story posted on huffingtonpost. Are you kidding me? This is a scandal? How many times does breitbart have to create these “scandals” before people realize he’s a fraud and a bum?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@boss bitch:
You beat me to it (I was going to throw in, “he’s a cocky git”). I like Weiner, those clips of him mocking the Foxbots are some of my favorite political theatre, but like Bill Clinton and god knows how many others, the combination of risk-taking, flirtation (or more), is irresistible to him.
Any NYCers out there: Can he still win the mayor’s office, which is I gather the next spot in his sights?
JPL
@steviez314: Ringing them bells, huh…
Culture of Truth
Apparently there are now pictures of Weiner flexing his pecs
Far be it from me to doubt Mr Breitbart, but is there another trustworthy source for this statement?
boss bitch
@bkny:
that’s so fucking nasty. THAT would be a great time to call the police and report a pervert on the premises.
BO_Bill
People from New York are very smart. This is where Columbia University is located.
jibeaux
If men would just tweet wifeporn pictures of themselves — dusting the ceiling fan blades, cleaning out the drain traps, weeding the garden — there’d be no scandal and they’d get teh ladeez. Sure, teh ladeez would be their wives, but that ain’t the end of the world.
jheartney
Americans are so weird about sexuality and human bodies. I remember there was a minor dustup some time back when pictures of Obama swimming in a swimsuit appeared. I guess all politicians are supposed to wear a chador or something.
Studly Pantload, a full-service troll
@Linda Featheringill:
Testify on each statement.
Although, I have to admit I do love it when Cole gets all up in his readers’ grills. Keeps things around here . . . vibrant.
Cat
@boss bitch:
There is doing something stupid like adding 2+2 and getting 5 or Trusting someone at their word whose sketchy.
But flirting with people while you are married, newly at that, isn’t stupid, Its a character flaw that a lot of people find distasteful.
Brian R.
Day ten of me saying “meh.”
The Raven
So…his correspondents published pictures of him half-naked? I mean, so? (That’s if these are real, which isn’t likely–this is Breitbart after all.)
As long he didn’t sexually harass anyone, who cares?
And if Weiner’s accounts were cracked to collect these pictures, that’s a serious crime.
bkny
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: depends on how much worse this will get; but i don’t think it’s gonna be an issue. the tabs are loving it; coming up with every lame metaphor their tiny brains can think of.
can’t imagine that mort zuckerman would let a superjew like weenie lose; the nydn will lay off pretty soon.
of course, it depends who the repig will be.
becca
After Monica, I can easily believe pols are that stupid.
I think Weiner may be getting Lewinskyed to shut him up about that tax cheat Clarence Thomas. Shiny objects and all that.
Seems to be working out fine, as Weiner is the subject, not Thomas, even here.
lamh34
Personlly I never cared about Weiner. I was always mode concerned about the college student who Brel and the conserv minions were essentiay harassing. As for Weiner, thus has slowly become a witch hunt and any serious journo would want none of this. But then how many sane journos are there left? Unlike the GOP congressman, this search for pics that breibArse started was looking for something to hang Weiner with and unfortunately in this case Weiner gave it to them.
trixie larue
If Breitbart is leading the discussion, that points back to Breitbart. The photograph has no context. Who is it? Whose pecs are those? OMG if they belong to Anthony Weiner!!! Who cares! Was he showing these images to children or an adult?
The repugs are after anyone who poses a threat in any way. How many people have been ruined by their antics so far?
Googling Breitbart just now comes up with a boiling cauldron of sites that I never look at, and the only issue is Weiner. If enough people say something is must be true.
Anything to avoid the real issues of the day. Pathetic.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@bkny:
What the fuck? Does he have them custom-made? Bespoke boxers? Unless you’re doing some Michael Moore/Stephen Colbert gonzo-parody, how could you be so devoid of any dignity to actually do this, in front of a camera, that you brought with you? Beam me the fuck up.
@Studly Pantload, a full-service troll:
me three
Culture of Truth
I just read the NYT’s story on this. Their only source is Beitbart. For some reason, the NYT reporter did not see the photos that it said were on the Internet. To the NYT, this was important news. In other words, the Gray Lady is Breitbart’s steno pool.
J Smith
@Hank: i think that’s spot on – Breitbart and minions created a bizarre nontroversy, breathlessly reported by the “any smear of a Dem will do” media, and then almost instantly exposed as a contrived smear. the fatal, damaging, and jaw-dropping revelation divined from 10 days of non-stop fingerwagging and spittle-flecked insanity: there may be a picture of anthony weiner in boxerbriefs. my… good… lord…. THE HORROR!!!!!!!
so then, when the nontroversy begins to ebb, the same liars and smearbots that created the whole thing claim to have MO’, MO’, MO’! and so now, we can have another 10 days of this while the nation slips inexorably to default on our debt.
Thank you, John Cole, for engaging in the typical binary decisionmaking that is your hallmark and helping to drag this fucking thing out for a few more days and a few thousand more comments on this blog.
opal
@BTD:
It’s the elephant in the room that isn’t named John Edwards.
boss bitch
@Cat:
When you are a highly profile elected official who likes to get up in the faces of his opponents, its trouble and its stupid. Even if Weiner was just some guy down the street, sending suggestive pics of yourself to someone you are not married to is still stupid. This isn’t simple flirting.
kay
@Sentient Puddle:
It might be good.
Now we don’t have to hear Jake Tapper complaining that Paul Ryan’s plan is being “demagogued”. I love, love, love how they insert Ryan’s chosen descriptive terms into their “questions”.
Instead, Tapper can ask Obama for a comment on this situation :)
You know that’s coming.
Tim, Interrupted
@cleek:
Bullshit. The American MSM and John Cole love to freak out over this stuff.
Remember when the Repukes tried to punt Clinton over a BJ and America yawned? It’s telling that you’re pretending to buy that this is somehow important.
Tim, Interrupted
John Cole, why are you pushing this story so hard?
ruemara
I still don’t care. & I don’t like Anthony Weiner at all. But he’ll be re-elected in his district because it ain’t horse porn, race baiting, the girl is a hot smart black chick and NYers just don’t fucking care.
Tim, Interrupted
@Sentient Puddle:
Yeah…me too, until John Cole front paged it again today. Hmmm…
Culture of Truth
One of the pics is supposedly of Rep. Weiner sitting at his computer, so it might be of him actually tweeting. The scandal threatens to go full meta.
sukabi
the only “big deal” about this whole thing… is Weiner’s big deal…
So what? Has he been out proclaiming himself a “family values” crusader and pushing legislation that would criminalize human nature? NO!
This is a distraction to discredit him and take the focus off Clarence Thomas’ obvious conflict of interest.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@kay:
Did he really? I predicted it half-jokingly, I didn’t think it would happen so quickly or so seamlessly, I thought there would be at least a week of narrative-creep.
david mizner
He shaves his chest? Now that’s disturbing.
Tim, Interrupted
@shortstop:
Including that of our illustrious blog host, who really has wood for this pseudo story. Nothing like a self righteous, Puritannical atheist to differentiate things from a self righteous Pruitanical bible beater.
Steve
I will be shocked on the day when Breitbart alleges something that is factually accurate, but that day has not come yet.
In all of this silliness, I think the people who drive me battiest are actually my fellow liberals who think this was some giant orchestrated conspiracy because Weiner was exposing the inconvenient truth about Clarence Thomas, so “they” decided that he must be silenced, blah blah blah. There is no cure for conspiratorial thinking, I’ve found.
sukabi
@J Smith: maybe the rent’s due and he needs the eyeballs for revenue generation???
Yutsano
Wait…wait…wait…
nope, still don’t care.
Tim, Interrupted
@BTD:
This.
Morbo
For those of you keeping track at home:
Posts by John Cole since May 29 regarding Weinergate: 5
Posts by John Cole since May 29 regarding Clarence Thomas’s potential conflict of interest: 0
Shoemaker-Levy 9
At first I gave Weiner the benefit of the doubt because, though not a fan of some of his positions, he was one of the more articulate and intelligent politicians out there. But then, you could say the same thing about Bill Clinton.
Here is what I don’t get; cybersex. I perfectly well understand the base urges that a middle-aged man can have toward women half his age. God knows. But much as I can’t comprehend reality shows, I don’t comprehend the urge to talk dirty online and take photos of oneself. Can anybody explain that? I mean, getting a thrill out of talking dirty is a milestone I personally passed about forty years ago. Whatever happened to having real live sexual intercourse with real live people? Guess I’m old fashioned.
kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I will find the link to the press conference. It was on manufacturing numbers, but, ya know, no one gives a rat’s ass about that, least of all Tapper, so we had to go into poor widdle Paul Ryan and why doesn’t Obama STOP THE DEMAGOGUES.
I can’t listen to WH press conferences, or I am going to have a heart attack, so my sister has to email me these outrageous things. She’s serene.
I can only deal with a transcript, at this juncture :)
Suffern ACE
@bkny: I had assumed dropping clothing at the laundry was as secure as a Swiss bank acccount in terms of having privacy protections. Whoever is the assignment editor on that one as well as the reporter needs a spanking.
Joel
Maybe he was sending his pics to Jon Lajoie.
aimai
@Culture of Truth:
Uh. One of those pictures is of Weiner sitting at his computer, looking sideways at the camera, holding a handwritten sign that says “me” with a little “up” arrow next to it. Its the kind of goofy, meta, photograph that people have been doing ever since “ceci n’est pas une pipe” was a shocking discovery. Can we please just go with our well developed instincts that although weiner may have the usual skeletons in his closet that any other loudouthed new york male of a certain age may have Breitbart doesn’t, in fact, have the goods on him?
This “scandal” has all the marks of a fishing expedition. First a totally anonymous picture that got sent to an adult (not a teenager). It wasn’t a crime. It wasn’t even sexual harrasment or indiscreet since the ostensible “recipient” never received it. Then the drumbeat of accusations that maybe something was wrong, or that weiner didn’t protest enough which all boils down to “they are all guilty of something so hang him anyway.” This is pure Breitbart. IF there were anything like a real smoking gun they would have published it already. That’s all the proof you need that there is nothing there. Breitbart is the premature ejaculator of smear merchants. He’s already spent. Sorry, even I can’t resist the odd sex joke.
aimai
Tim, Interrupted
@opal:
Don’t mention John Edward. Eesmarm shits herself and has to be medicated. The unrequited longing is still too much for her wrinkled old ticker to handle.
BTD
@Shoemaker-Levy 9:
Is it important that you comprehend it?
Tsulagi
Amazing how long this has gone. Looking at memeorandum, you see all the serious righty sites still going starbursts over Weiner’s junk. Guess it would be expected.
Culture of Truth
@aimai: I was being snarky. I realize I should have put the word “scandal” in quotes.
Rhoda
This is distracting from the DEMS message that Republicans are fucking with your Medicare and the debt ceiling debate. Since it’s become clear that the public doesn’t care how many times reporters call it demagoguery to state that vouchercare is vouchercare (they fucking hate it); the political press is ready to move on and this sex story gives them a great opportunity.
At the end of the day; the debt ceiling has to get raised and Boehner isn’t going to get the coverage he needs to spin that vouchercare cliff he pushed his caucus off of; so I don’t care about the temporary distraction of Wiener-gate.
Really, through, I hate cheaters and given a choice between two equal candidates I’m going with the one that doesn’t fuck up on his wife/husband/SO. It just pisses me off viscerally and that goes up tenfold when they lie and I resent the MSM when they go overboard and I’ve gotta take the cheaters side a’la Bill Clinton.
I know, very bourgeoisie of me.
BTD
@aimai:
I think entertaining the idea that Breitbart might have the goods on Weiner based on his personal life is worngheaded.
None of it should matter. Except to Weiner’s wife.
I take exception to Cole’s approach of saying it does not matter to him but . . .
If Democrats say they do not care – that a politician should be judge on what he does in his public life, then this has nowhere to go.
Pretend it matters to “other people” and thus should matter to you, as Cole does, is the road to allowing it to matter.
This doesn’t even have the patina of an ethics or legal issue. This is, possibly, an issue for Weiner and his wife.
This was true for Sanford, Gingrich, Clinton, FDR, Eisenhower and any person you want to name.
The problem is accepting that it does matter.
grandpajohn
@sukabi: What focus? hell Thomas is a pub, there is no need to distract our asshole media, they wouldn’t talk about or report on it even if there was not a distraction.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@kay:
I can’t watch the Sunday shows for the same reason. I’ve been reading about Peter Diamond, finding myself persuaded by the arguments that Obama could have done more to push his nomination, then I read this shit about that asshat mewling fuck Jake Tapper, and I think, we might as well just give up.
shortstop
@aimai:
I know. I fully abstained until last night, then a pent-up and totally lame quip re refractory periods exploded volcanically from my keyboard. I hated myself this morning.
kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Okay.
Read down to the end.
Fred
Ah yes, John Galt Cole doing his part to keep the story out there echoing away. Heck of a job Johnny!
I’m sure you are Breitbart’s BFF now!
BTD
@Rhoda:
If after evaluating 2 candidates you find them “equal,” then by all means let this be the tiebreaker.
Your vote is your vote of course, and you can make it your primary issue if you like.
grandpajohn
@Tim, Interrupted: Add Sully to that list also.
Tonal Crow
I couldn’t care less if Weiner posed nekkid.
Write about something important, not something trivial that, furthermore, feeds the Republicans’ smear machine and the religious right’s anti-sex machine.
Shoemaker-Levy 9
@BTD:
My interest is sociological and not Weiner-specific, so to speak. Can you answer my question?
Jazz Superluminar
I think Cole is only covering this because he delights in seeing what he calls “emo” progressives (so telling…) taken down. Frankly, he wants, as do many here, to see the actual left taken out of the equation, then you lot can see even more of the bullshit triangulation that you’d like.
opal
@Tim, Interrupted:
Who the hell is Eesmarm?
celticdragonchick
@aimai:
Breitbarts flaccid manner always leaves his recipients unsatisfied…
Comrade Scrutinizer
Big fucking yawn.
trollhattan
What I truly don’t understand is why–especially by now–anybody responds to Breitbart/O’Keefe/et al with anything beyond, “Oh, them again? Next question.”
IMHO 90% of the reason this “story” has legs is Weiner’s string of odd responses. WTF, dude?
PeakVT
@BTD: But please don’t insist the rest of us have to do the same.
Since when does some guy posting on his blog equal insisting? You voluntarily clicked on something or other to read this post, remember?
Comrade Scrutinizer
@BTD: This.
Silver Owl
Conservation with my parents on Saturday:
Mom: The kids should learn not to post so much on facebook. They post everything these days.
Me: Oh I don’t have a problem with what most of the kids are saying and posting. I sure do wish our adult men would keep their dicks off the internet. We’re gonna have another 20 years of penis chatter to live through. lol
BTD
@Shoemaker-Levy 9:
No I can’t. But there are a lot of things that people enjoy that I do not understand.
I find it a bit creepy to get up in people’s personal business myself.
Tim, Interrupted
@opal:
Eesmarm is my pet name for the cretinous old slag who comments here, calling herself Eemom.
RGuy
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t know. At this point it’s hard to say but it might be too much baggage to win. I don’t think it would kill his congressional career though. I’m sure some people will be pissed at his behavior but they’ll vote for him again because they probably agree with his politics.
BlueMonkey
@sukabi:
THANK YOU.
Hypocrisy and criminality. Those are reasons to focus on someone’s personal life. Not our collective prudishness.
BTD
@PeakVT:
You’re right. Cole is not insisting we consider the issues he is writing about.
He is only asking us to consider it. Like when he asks for donations for the Wisconsin recall election.
Just a guy with a blog. Like Brietbart. Got it.
boss bitch
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
You’ve never noticed how those arguments are pretty much this one sentence? “could have done more to push his nomination”. Not a persuasive argument in my book.
I will personally petition the WH to hire the person who knows HOW to get all these nominees appointed w/o suggesting a recess appointment or bully pulpit.
Fred
@Jazz Superluminar: Hey someone that actually gets it. Sort of. Quite refreshing from all the blind defenders. Not much different from the people who will go and edit the Revere wikipedia page. So blind is their devotion.
I won’t go so far as to open conspiracies about Cole though. He’s just not that smart IMHO. I think he actually sees himself as a progressive when in fact he concern trolls the progressive establishment more than he supports it. Not unlike the Professional left. The difference is I don’t think he makes much of a living at it.
OzoneR
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
COULD Obama had pushed Diamond’s nomination more, sure, but that would require talking less about jobs and talking more about a nominee to a body no one understands or knows about. Would it have made a difference, Nope.
Msskwesq
Your source blog seems really shady, I’ll believe it when I see it and maybe not even then. Women can be bribed and Photoshop is too easy ….
Jazz Superluminar
I mean look, here there is a true liberal hero, a guy who can stand up and give it like a man, and instead of just ignoring the whole fucking stupid story about his dick we have to put up with days of inane speculation from idiots who are supposedly on our own side? When was the last time Obama stood up straight for liberal principles, and didn’t just wrap them up in cotton? BJers just swallow all his shit without question, and spend their time attacking those who articulate the actual values they profess to believe in. You fucking suck.
Mattminus
Just saw today’s NYP. The headline, in reference to his missed parade appearances, was:
HIDE THE WEINER
This whole thing was totally worth it just for that gem.
Yevgraf (fka Michael)
You know that this is a sex scandal involving a Democrat – there are no wetsuits, diapers, hookers or anonymous NSA same sex trysts involved.
ruemara
This could be OT, but it about pussy and wang. I just got back my kitty from the doc. $800 and he still can’t really pee. He’s on a mix of antibiotics, relaxants, etc and is just pacing restlessly. Did I just waste my money and fuck up my cat? I can’t figure out what to do for him, he’s drinking, he’s eating and I’ve tapped all my credit to have a “hope he feels better” from the the hospital. Anyone have this too tense to pee thing with a cat? Werebear, where are you?
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Shoemaker-Levy 9: What’s to explain? Some people get off on c-sex, same way some people get off on watching pr0n. What’s the mystery? If you don’t lean that way, fine, but if you don’t, no amount of explaining will ever make you understand.
Trinity
I have family and friends struggling back home in Michigan. My husband is in a union and their contract is up in early August with a real chance of going on strike. Profits are down again this year for my employer and I don’t know what that means for the future of the company.
I could give a flying **** about this issue.
I think I may truly hate the Villagers.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@boss bitch:
I have, in fact, that’s why I find these arguments only temporarily persuasive. Here’s Yglesias
Like I say, I was temporarily persuaded. But Jared Bernstein left the WH precisely to be an “outside progressive voice” on economic issues; Krugman has written extensively about Diamond, I think Chait and probably more than a few others. But as this post demonstrates (in spite of the usual suspects making the odd case that the NYT and MSNBC are talking about Weiner’s Weiner because John Cole made a blog post), the political media doesn’t take its line cues from the White House.
ruemara
YARG! moderation on my comment. Was it the p word or the r word?
sixers
Remember when some here were so sure that the crotch shot was’t Weiners and Breitbart made the whole thing up. There will be a federal investigation! I love the step back to “who cares” like none of you fucks mocked Mark Sanford or even that idiot Gingrich over their indiscretions.
This has been fun to watch.
Carol from CO
Of course there are some really stupid people in congress. That guy for NY dist. 26 is a prime example. But the current Weiner thing is classic republican M.O. Blame your opponent for something you’ve done or said and who better to take care of it than Breitbart, a completely amoral hit man. Weiner got a little too aggressive with his liberal talking points and the time came to muzzle him and get the heat off the cons.
Yevgraf (fka Michael)
@Trinity:
Obviously, the answer is tax cuts for the wealthy, decertification of the union and daily urine tests for the employees (the payment for which can be conveniently deducted from paychecks).
amused
@BTD: You seem upset. One wonders what’s in your past makes you so vehement about this subject. (wink)
Fred
It’s funny how Cole doesn’t even mention the other curious connections at play here. This ‘broke’ at about the exact same time as Clarence Thomas released his updated financial disclosures. Showing his wifes paid right wing lobby connections.
And Weiner was the one that was going after Clarence Thomas on this. More than a little coincidental.
Oh, and at least one of the guys closely involved in these mysterious screen grabs that nobody else has seen. Mike Stacks. Has a rap sheet, is involved in the porn industry and frequents messageboards defending sex with underage women. Gosh, seems like a reliable source to me….lol.
Culture of Truth
That’s why they’re called “outside progressive voices”
The Main Gauche of Mild Reason
Even if this is true, who wants to bet it was all while Weiner was still single? I’m sorry, I forgot that being a congressperson meant a vow of chastity…
This sounds like more of this bullshit senior citizens hating on younger peoples’ use of technology in their social/sex lives (see Jon Favreau, and every other “Facebook scandal”)
Jazz Superluminar
@Fred
Well yeah, you’re pretty restrained with that, but I don’t think it’s a “conspiracy” to suggest he does seem rather enamoured with glibetarians, as proven in countless posts about them. I think he builds false credibility by bashing the professional left, but he’s probably just ratfucking for the glibs. It’s easy to see if you’re not so stuck up the ass of the bloghost, that’s for sure.
cleek
@Jazz Superluminar:
how about the fact that he’s been attacking Vouchercare since it was introduced ?
i’m sure i’m missing the part where he’s FAILEDFAILEDFAILED to do it properly, though.
Yevgraf (fka Michael)
@sixers:
Hold on there, Bubba Louie – Weiner has never been one to yammer on about people’s naughty bits. Sanford and Gingrich loves them some fambly values.
And my line, from the beginning, given his weasel-sharp defensiveness, was that the picture was him but not sent by him.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
MSNBC just broke in with “breaking news” that Weiner is going to talk to reporters about his Weiner pix! Damn you, John Cole, for making all this happen!
timb
@Tim, Interrupted: so, why do you need three comments chiding him for it. You made your point
Lawnguylander
@Jazz Superluminar:
What accomplishments can you point to that make Weiner a true liberal hero? Why should I give a fuck about his career? It’s not like if he resigns he’s going to be replaced by a Republican. His career is his own responsibility.
@BTD:
Some people realize they can click on some links and not others.
You do not appear to be one of those people.
I do not understand why this is.
sixers
https://balloon-juice.com/2011/06/06/weinergate-day-10/#comment-2619967
Congrats but thats why I said “some”. Go back to the original Weiner post to read some hilarious posts from the cocoon.
Deathstar
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
NYCer here. We like our mayors colorful. Witness Rudy in drag, Koch probably queer (before it was cool to be queer), and John Lindsay, who said communists and pornographers made up an important part of his constituency.
Weiner will be a beloved a mayor.
jl
Pics of Weiner flexing his pecs, and sitting in a sweater next to some pussy cats?
These are intimate racy pictures now, rather than horsing around?
So far, this is just nonsense.
OH NO!! I just realized I wrote the word ‘pussy’ in this comment. If that gets out, I might be ruined!
So far, this is garbage.
Some one tell Cole to back away slowly, from Weiner’s weinergate, before its too late.
Cripes, am I living in a country run by a collection of Bevis and Buttheads?
Never mind, don’t answer that.
eastriver
This is becoming critical for Mister Weiner. If it is in fact true.
First question will be Is his wife going to stay with him?
That’s going to be critical. If she stays with him, he might come out the other side. If she dumps him, he’s toast.
I live in his district.
eastriver
This is becoming critical for Mister Weiner. If it is in fact true.
First question will be Is his wife going to stay with him?
That’s going to be critical. If she stays with him, he might come out the other side. If she dumps him, he’s toast.
I live in his district.
arguingwithsignposts
@timb:
You haven’t read the “Willful Ignorance” thread. It’s all T,I does.
PeakVT
@BTD: Just a guy with a blog. Like Brietbart. Got it.
Yeah, Cole is just like Brietbart in that he’s trying to make a living by repeatedly pushing dishonest information into the national discussion via Fox or similiar.
Less stupid comparisons, please.
Redshift
Given that it’s been demonstrated that memorandum rankings aren’t that difficult to game, and that conservatives pay people to do crap like that, I generally treat a link to memorandum about the same as a link to Drudge.
Tonal Crow
@sixers:
Sanford and Gingrich have campaigned ceaselessly for using the force of law to impose their version of “family values” upon the rest of us, while being unwilling or unable to satisfy those requirements themselves. That hypocrisy, and the fact that the rules they’re pushing are impossible for many people to obey, are why we mocked Sanford and Gingrich.
Weiner, on the other hand, has not AFAIK advocated rules that would ban his own behavior.
JenJen
Aaaaaaaand he’s about to address the media about the new photos.
As much as I love Rep. Weiner, I’ve been cringing every time he speaks. Bad idea! Also, worst and dumbest sex scandal ever!
Shoemaker-Levy 9
@BTD:
At least I now know where not to get my question answered.
Me too. Weiner is merely the Gavrilo Princip to my curiosity about a social phenomenon. But the fact is, this is a current story that our media culture is obsessing about, it is therefore also interesting from that perspective. There is also a local angle (for me here in Washington state) and I’ve posted a few comments in recent days pointing out that Ms. Cordova’s geographic location makes some of the lengths that journalists are going to rather noteworthy. It is also great fodder for latenight comedians, so if you’d prefer nobody talk about it I suggest you complain to Jon Stewart, who has done 100,000 times as much to push this story as either John Cole or the odd blog commenter. Just seems odd to me that someone who cares about the overall health of the Democratic party, as your moniker suggests, would find nothing at all of interest in the fact that one of its most noteworthy members is the center of a media firestorm. I mean, there’s lots going on here besides Weiner’s personal life.
Jenny
Why did rank and file progressive bloggers get so worked up over Weiner when after spending 14 years in Congress he had zero legislative accomplishments, other than voting for the Iraq invasion?
timb
@Fred: I think you’re a massive douche. So, see we all have indefensible opinions.
But, still, loving the “if you ignore it, it will go away” mentality. Remind me how that worked for Al Gore?
jl
I wrote a comment saying that so far, the Anthony W * * n * r w * * n * rgate affair is still inconsequential silliness.
But my comment is in moderation.
I guess W * * n * r gate has already lowered the bar for racy discourse that needs to be filtered.
Was it the word w * * n * r, p * cs, or p * s s * c * t, that got me in moderation.
Will this great nation and its precious youth ever be rescued from the perversion of that filthy pr0n merchant Oscar Meyer and his w * * n * rs?
Joseph Nobles
THE GENTLEMAN WILL SHUT THE FUCK UP. THE GENTLEMAN IS CORRECT IN SHUTTING THE FUCK UP.
Jiminy.
BTD
@Shoemaker-Levy 9:
On your last point – I have an interest in NOT taking the approach John Cole is taking. That is why I have commented heavily in this thread.
I find it to be destructive to the interests of the Democratic Party and to be wrong as a general matter.
Lawnguylander
@Jenny:
Because he talks like a blogger or blog commenter. Obama doesn’t, he just gets things done so he’s not a True Liberal Hero.
BTD
@PeakVT:
Just a guy with a blog refers to the idea that Cole’s posts have no influence at all. Like Breitbart’s.
I’m not comparing their roles in this story. I’m challenging your assertion that Cole is not pushing this story by the way he is reacting to it.
sixers
@Tonal Crow:
So what if they campaigned for something? Does that excuse the left for mocking their personal life? If someone on the rights personal life is fair game how is not fair game for a person on the left? If you don’t like wallowing in the mud don’t get down in it.
timb
@Jazz Superluminar: Yeah!! Ignoring smears makes them go away. I’m still mad at Obama for releasing his birth certificate. If he had waited 18 more years, the story would have vaporized.
Violet
@Yevgraf (fka Michael):
He should have just said, “Yeah, it’s me. I didn’t send it though. It’s not against the law to take pictures of yourself. And if it’s not a big deal with my wife, why do you care?”
I really wish a politician would say something along those lines at some point, once they get caught with their pants down. He’s an adult. Everyone involved is an adult. Adults do things. Big deal. It’s only an issue if it involves embezzling campaign funds or something along those lines. Otherwise, who care.
And that goes for all of them, Dems and Republicans. Although when a “family values” Republican gets caught it’s got an extra helping of schadenfreude deliciousness.
Shoemaker-Levy 9
@Comrade Scrutinizer:
It’s not the same, hence the existence of the two discreet categories.
You didn’t do terribly well in science class, did you?
You Don't Say
I do feel stupid that I immediately came to his defense, but it isn’t the first time I was dumb nor the last.
Jenny
@Jazz Superluminar:
A hero? You mean he’s a sandwich? Why would you consider him a hero? He voted for the Iraq invasion. He’s been in Congress for 14 years and he doesn’t have any legislative achievements.
ABL
@Morbo: exactly.
i really can’t believe people are falling for yet another Breitbart scam. Interesting that Breitbart posted his article about it on 12:30 am Friday night/Saturday morning, the same fucking day Clarence Thomas released his financials.
I read that Anonymiss (the lady version of Anonymous) has gotten involved, and while I have no idea what any of the crap in this GOS blog post means, I know enough not to believe a goddamn thing Breitbart says.
If you follow the links in that Patterico post, he essentially calls the young girls liars, then says “stay tuned to Big Government for more.”
Give me a fucking break.
John Cole
@Fred: There was a fucking 5,000 word essay by Allan Brauer on that very topic, you silly git.
shortstop
@Shoemaker-Levy 9: They may be discreet, but they’re not discrete. Plenty of overlap there.
And if you think that you can adequately explain every sexual preference, interest, leaning, fantasy, fetish, format, experimentation and curiosity using scientific principles, have at it. I admit I’ll be interested to see your efforts.
ABL
I’m fed with this country today. Ginnie Thomas gets paid nearly a million dollars in undisclosed income, Clarence Thomas is hobnobbing with Kill HCR people, but let’s talk some more about Weiner’s dick.
What a joke.
MJ
So far, all we know is that known liar (and world’s ugliest Mean Girl) Andrew Breitbart has posted a few private pics from the Congressman’s BB on his little on-line Burn Book.
No one has established when those pics were taken, whether they taken for his wife’s private pleasure, or how they were actually obtained. Right?
Aside for a bit of well earned public embarrassment about the perils of keeping private digital pictures secure in the internet age, what exactly is the BFD?
Jenny
@You Don’t Say: but why did you run to his defense? What did he do to deserve any loyalty? He’s done zero legislation in 14 years; he staunchly supported the invasion of Iraq; he’s an IDF apologist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7AQ8rq12rI
I would think people would want something more than just some rants. And it’s not like he’s a rookie, he’s been there 14 years.
John Cole
@Jazz Superluminar:
Is this serious or spoof?
aimai
@Violet:
Well, you’d have to have not been paying attention for the past thirty years to think that this version of “I smoked/but I did not inhale” or “I voted for it before I voted against it” would work for a Democrat–no matter how many times its worked for a Republican. Barney Frank and Bill Clinton are the only democrats I know, compared to the scads of Republicans, who weathered attacks on them for real and perceived infractions. Kerry was destroyed by “I voted for it before I voted against it.” Clinton’s line on smoking pot was pilloried but luckily he was too thick skinned to let it get to him.
Weiner should just hang on and ignore this and it will be over before his next election cycle. Whether he is a hero to the left (he’s not) or not is irrelevant. He’s a good, agressive, progressive voice in Congress and he’s willing to take the fight to the Republicans which plenty of good representatives (my own, Capuano is an example) never do. Apparently you couldn’t pay lots of our reps to appear on TV and score political points. I think its a mistake to let the Republicans attack and destroy one of our few fighting dems. He won’t be replaced on TV and we actually need some agressive dems who are willing to fight publicly. As much or more than we need quiet little footsoldiers like my own Rep.
aimai
aimai
sixers
Which part is a Breitbart scam?
A congressman being dumb enough to take pictures of his dick and a shirtless one in front of a picture of him and his wife?
Or
A congressman being dumb enough to let those pictures somehow get out into the public?
Tony J
@sixers:
Uh, yeah, to the first part.
Regarding Breitbart and his claims about Weiner deliberately sending a shot of his engorged member to a secret mistress on the West Coast, yeah, they were all made up. Haven’t you been paying attention? That’s what Breitbart does.
As to your confusion over Sanford and Gingrich, I don’t get it. One was a ‘family-values’ crusader who actually – did – have a mistress who he actually – did – abandon his job to pursue and who actually – did – lie about it. The other is a multiple divorcee who cheated on most of his wives, famously led a moral crusade to try and unseat a Democratic President for getting a blow-job, and has since justified his hypocricy by blaming the country for making him so damned patriotic that the pants just blew right off him.
Where’s the paradox?
ABL
@MJ: exactly. and why aren’t we making a big fucking deal about this goatsred person who apparently is into hardcore porn and frequents porn sites dealing in the most disgusting incest, and rape fantasy porn?
Jesus Fucking Christ.
shortstop
@ABL:
Like black people, women and girls are too ignorant to realize that they’re being used and exploited by the Democrat Party.
Nethead Jay
Okay, coming in late, but everybody go read the 5 latest posts by stef at Kos regarding this matter, especially the 2nd (latest comprehensive round-up and timeline) and 3rd (meet Mike Stack really creepy character). After that go read Cannonfire for the technical details of how the hoax/smear was accomplished. As an IT guy who among other things deal with network security, I’m kinda disappointed in Yfrog’s scrambling to cover themselves. Also, I think someone’s getting worried, by the way that so-called security guy was yanked on the scene, his record as a Repug operative is rather obvious.
Cole, I get what you’re saying about some members of congress, I’m not Weiner’s biggest fan either, but he’s pretty good on some matters. And unless something big turns up out of left field and from a non-Breitbart/wingnut related source, I’d say this is a setup smear, possibly because of the way Weiner’s been zeroing in on Clarence Thomas.
Fred
lol….I seen John Galt Cole has updated his post with the SAME obsurd defence. That he just wants to get to the bottom of it. That it’s not him, he’s ‘just sayin’ that the story has legs. So lets concern troll about it.
He thinks a congressman sexting is an easy mistake. I mean, who’d a thunk that a congressman sexting underage girls would get out there so it’s like totally plausible.
Pffffft. And pigs can fly!
joeyess
@Fred: Fred? I have a suggestion for you: Why don’t you take that lump that resides 3ft above your ass and the fuckstick it’s attached to and shove them both up that same ass.
This concludes my daily road rage from a comfy chair.
Triassic Sands
This is a sloppy characterization. First, a person would have to be a complete — as in total — fool to take Breitbart at his word. Breitbart is one individual with a solid history of dishonesty and irresponsibility. Therefore, it makes sense to judge him solely on his own behavior. When one does that, Bretibart earns zero credibility and a person would have to be crazy to ever accept anything he says without substantial independent supporting evidence.
But the statement about Congressional members is unfair. Every member of Congress is an individual, and although there is significant evidence that no member of Congress should receive carte blanche dismissal of accusations, it is stupid to equate (and John goes a step further and actually assigns greater credibility to Breitbart) distrust and mistrust of Congressional members individually with judgments about Breitbart. We know with certainty that Breitbart has no standards of decency or honesty, but we don’t know that about all individual members of Congress. In the case of Breitbart it is reasonable to assume he is lying or acting irresponsibly and demanding that he prove his case. In the case of individual members of Congress, especially those who have no proven record of reckless behavior, we should extend them the courtesy of requiring convincing evidence of their guilt before we arrive at a conclusion.
For John to say that a person would have to be MORE foolish to be surprised that charges against Congressional members are true than to assume Breitbart is lying (or behaving irresponsibly) is simply ridiculous. This is a cousin of “both sides do it,” in which possibly innocent people are smeared and assumed to be guilty based on the behavior of other people. It’s really lazy thinking.
Based on the past history of reckless behavior by US representatives and senators, it shouldn’t come as a shock if any individual behaves recklessly. But I would be very surprised if certain members ever displayed that kind of behavior. If Weiner turns out to be guilty of sending sexually suggestive photos to women who are not his wife, then the threshold for doubt about Weiner should be lower in the future. But if someone who has never before displayed reckless behavior is accused of something untoward, he or she deserves the courtesy of the public waiting until the behavior is proven.
Breitbart always has to prove his own veracity.
ABL
@Nethead Jay: THANK YOU.
It’s Day 10 of this bullshit story, and if you google “Clarence Thomas financials Weiner” you get Allan’s article here and on my blog, an article by Stranded Wind at GOS (which was quoted by newsone), and an article by Joy Reid (citing Allan’s) at the Reid Report.
FAIL. FAIL. FAIL.
Breitbart is playing the media. AGAIN. And despite three full days of trying to pump the Thomas linkage, here we are on Monday afternoon breathlessly waiting for more pictures from fucking Breitbart.
I’m really irritated.
sixers
@Tony J:
If you mock an enemy for something in their personal life even if in your mind it’s deserved get ready for them to respond in kind when one of yours falls on their face. It’s pretty simple.
Fred
@timb: I can feel the love flowing off your keyboard like a warm summer breeze. Hugs and kisses.
But don’t hold back. Tell me what you really think. I am always happy to hear from my fans who seem to have nothing better to do.
ABL
that was as poor a turn-of-phrase as i’ve ever written.
HA!
taylormattd
Well that’s the last time I will ever, ever follow one of your links to memeorandum. I clicked on a couple of those links, and something took over my iPhone to the point where it would not work for hours.
And I was looking forward to wiener’s pec pix. :)
Tim, Interrupted
I’m waiting for John Cole’s Front Page Post about Clarence and Ginny Thomas’ financial improprieties…after all, it’s OUT THERE and HAS LEGS.
Tonal Crow
@sixers:
When a person proposes laws that he will not or cannot obey, his personal acts in disobedience of that proposal become relevant to whether the proposal is a good idea, as well as to the proposer’s character re: hypocrisy and implicitly or explicitly lying to the public.
When a person’s (legal) personal acts do not conflict with his public proposals, they are merely personal acts and, to preserve privacy for all of us, generally should not be inquired into.
But you knew all that.
Shoemaker-Levy 9
@BTD:
“Either you give a shit about this stuff or you don’t. I don’t… Unless he does something stupid like resigning, I’m not sure there is much more to say about this story.”
Really, that’s it? The media is obsessed about it. Is that not worthy of comment? Do you think this means anything in regard to the debt ceiling business or other pressing issues? That is to say, will this hit to the credibility of one of the more visible members of the Dem caucus cause any collateral damage? I doubt it but it’s worth considering, isn’t it? Do you find it noteworthy that major media organizations send reporters across an entire continent to chase down Ms. Cordova? Don’t you find it worrisome that a cottage industry that specializes in creating this type of political scandal has exploded? I’m genuinely interested in your answers to these types of questions.
Fred
@joeyess: You are too kind. xoxo. I have the bestest fans in the whole wide world. Mooowha! Big sloppy internet kiss to you as well!
Sentient Puddle
@Fred:
Dude, give it a rest. It’s just making you look stupid.
Libby
I’m more than willing to entertain the possibility that Weiner did this stuff, but so far all I see is a bunch of crap being floated by Breitbart nation. Having viewed the new photo in question at Alan Colmes blog, can’t fail to notice, his face isn’t visible and damn if it doesn’t look like a photoshop chop to me. Does anyone believe Weiner is really THAT buff? Looked like The Governator’s body to me.
Also too, this flurry of porn stars so willing to share their intimate communications are coming through Breitbart sites. He DOES pay for this stuff doesn’t he? And have we forgotten Jimmy O’K’s plot to entrap that reporter with sex toys on a boat? Color me skeptical. It’s not like Breitbart is above ginning up fake evidence. (See ACORN and Planned Parenthood.)
Southern Beale
Hah! I was just going to post this Gothamist link about the new Weiner pics.
Here’s what I don’t get. So he sent sexytime pictures to someone he knows. Big deal, right? But you know if this all pans out he’ll resign, blabbedy blah, Dems always do. Meanwhile, Republicans do a thousand gazillion worse things — get arrested and plead guilty to solicitation at an airport, bribe your girlfriend’s husband with hush money, have kinky diaper sex with a notorious hooker — and these people NEVER resign! At least, not right away. They hang tough.
I really don’t see what the big deal is about sending pictures of yourself to someone. Now *I* wouldn’t do it, but then I’m not in Congress and I don’t have that big of an ego.
But near as I can tell from the info we’ve been given so far, there’s nothing illegal that he did. He might have to mend some bridges with the wife and all that, but were any laws broken, as with the other three pols I mentioned?
lacp
Y’know, I’m really, really trying to keep up with the breaking story on Weinerpalooza…really trying…really….zzzzzzz. Huh wah?
John Cole
@Tim, Interrupted: You clown, Allan wrote 5,000 words about this. It even has pictures, so you might get something out of it.
What could I POSSIBLY add to that dissertation?
artem1s
now I’m convinced that Cole and the rest of the media just like saying (writing) weiner.
weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner
when he posts as many inches on say, the former Governator and his ACTUAL mistress and ACTUAL illegitimate child, then I will revise my opinion.
weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner.weiner
BTD
Actually, what you WRITE and advocate for COULD matter.
If you think it should not cause Weiner to go down, I would hope you would write a post to that effect when discussing the topic.
Actually, come to think of it, you really have not saidif you think the allegations, if proven true, are disqualifying. Do you think they are?
I do not.
shortstop
@aimai:
THIS. As much bitching as goes on around here implying that only the least pragmatic, most vacantly melodramatic lefties like or admire Weiner, the fact is that we need voices like his. That’s not all we need; we need less flamboyant workhorses, too (and a lot more of those than of the showboaters), but you have to have the visible and loud people, the people who aren’t afraid of a fight, as well. I get so freaking sick of the bloggy binary thinking trap that turns the discussion into all reps should be like Weiner vs. no reps should be like Weiner. That ain’t the way it works.
Fred
@Tim, Interrupted: Keep waiting. Just like that story we are all waiting for about the Missile that killed one of the top 5 Al Qaeda commanders. Supposedly the planned successor to Bin Laden.
The only response from the peanut gallery around here has been….”ha…they are always called senior top 5 whatever. It’s all a gov’t plot to make us think war with terrorists accomplishes something.”
Chyron HR
@Fred:
You obviously don’t speak English as your first language. Have you considered that Cole’s posts may contain nuances that you simply aren’t experienced enough to understand?
FlipYrWhig
@Jenny: I actually like Anthony Weiner, but what’s really funny is that you could write so many of the same comments about erstwhile “true liberal hero” John Edwards.
Look, people who post on blogs like to see politicians deploying anger and sarcasm… because that’s what blogs traffic in. There’s not nearly enough consideration of the idea that what makes a fun blogger and what makes an effective politician might actually be different, and, therefore, what you get on the liberal blogosphere is an everlasting keening lament about why oh why liberal politicians aren’t enough like… us. If they were just like us, why, they’d lock our votes down for sure! And we wouldn’t be disillusioned and disaffected anymore!
It’s really not that different from the way the sports media tends to lionize “scrappy” players who “play the game the right way.”
Fred
@aimai: That is a huge myth. Just like the myth that the swiftboat attacks on Kerry is what sunk him. If people don’t want to vote for someone they will find reasons no matter what.
It’s always easy to find reasons why someone lost but in reality it’s almost never one reason. You could say McCain lost because of the “the economy is fundamentally sound” gaffe! The reality is he would have lost anyways. That gaffe was very telling but it just symbolized what voters already thought of him.
jl
@artem1s:
We have met the B * * v * s and B * t t h * * d, and he is us.
omigod!
You Don't Say
@Jenny: Probably because Breitbart was involved and because I read reasonable-seeming defenses of him on DKos. And because I’m a partisan hack and didn’t give it much thought. Oh, and I’m human.
brad
Ok, I held my nose and went over to look at the SHOCKING pics.
There’s, as said, a shot of him holding a sign that says “me”.
And
A pic he apparently called “me and the pussies” of him next to two sleeping cats.
That’s all I see, maybe worse is on sites not listed on the BigGov homepage.
Breitboy claims he has more and worse. I expect they’re right next to the kill whitey tape. If there’s a pic of him flexing his arm…. and? This means what?
JC, I love you, guy, but this is fucking Breitbart who you’re taking the word of. You’re smarter than that. Maybe Weiner really has done bad things, but there is no evidence of that. Claims by Breitbart have zero evidentiary value, you know this. It honestly seems as if you’re letting taunting from trolls drive you into an unintelligent, reactionary position, update or no.
I still have yet to see any Twitter app where it’s easy enough to make a mistake between a DM and public tweet to believe a relatively intelligent and presumably not drunk at that time of day, and recently in public, public figure could screw it up. Or any reason why he would randomly have sent that to one woman who had never interacted with him before.
Let’s see what ABC really has and what Weiner cops to in 15 mins before we pretend to know anything, k?
As for Weiner’s chances to be mayor, I would point to Rudy’s various indiscretions. There’s no dead girl or live boy involved in any of these rumors.
Jenny
@FlipYrWhig:
I have. https://balloon-juice.com/2011/06/03/edwards-indicted/#comment-2617010
Surly Duff
@Sentient Puddle:
To be fair, that is only ONE of the things making him appear stupid.
jl
Probably there are pics of Bing Crosby and Perry Como reclining on couch(!), wearing a sweater(!), next to some c * t s(!). So now we know. They were vile pervs. They need to expunged from the national memory.
Shoemaker-Levy 9
@shortstop:
No, explanations will never be “adequate”, hence the continued existence of science. Explanations will always be best approximations.
The defensiveness of a couple of these “answers” is amusing. If you don’t want to answer the question for whatever reason don’t answer it, but insisting that the answer is in principle inexplicable is rather silly, don’t you think?
MJ
@ABL:
Absolutely! Liberals have got to learn how to hold the f#cking line in the midst of any Wingnut Wurlitzer.
New internet rule, if libs just stay calm and resist the urge to panic, the festering ooze riding just below Breitbart’s skin will eventually rise to the surface.
By the way, I just looked at your link about Redgoat McNasty, Breitbart’s co-conspirator. Eew! Now I’m off to go get my computer checked for an internet herpies exposure.
j low
Al Gore is fat. Kthug loathes Obama. Cole wants to take down Weiner.
shortstop
@FlipYrWhig: As usual, I agree with you — but as I remarked above, I think the most important point is that you need both kinds (and not in equal measure; a little of the what you call the angry/sarcastic contingent in the caucus goes a long way). That’s not fencesitting or refusing to take a stand, BTW; it’s meant to be recognition that there really are different people for different jobs we need to get done.
Culture of Truth
Reading John’s lengthy defense of his reprinting of Breitbart’s allegations because they are out there. As they say in the law, John is presenting this story for its truth, not simply because other people are talking about it – why else would he give the big middle finger to those who doubted Weiner could be this stupid? Maybe the story has legs, but Cole is now vouching for its factual basis.
trollhattan
@John Cole
It does, however, startle the person one cubicle over.
Southern Beale
Hey everyone! Got a question on the economy for the Republican candidates? CBS News wants to know! E-mail them your question at [email protected], Subject line: Question on the economy for GOP
I think we should e-mail bomb the Early Show with some real questions, like “why do you insist tax cuts stimulate the economy when they haven’t done so yet?” or “why do you say the deficit is the biggest problem we face when you guys ran the deficit up so high when Bush was president?”
Stuff like that. C’mon I know you can do it!
Jazz Superluminar
@john cole
“Spoof”? I don’t think you’re that stupid, although your update is making me rethink… You had a libertarian on the FP for nearly a year, without realizing he was fucking everbody over, apparently. You constantly fluff Balko, you approvingly link to LoOG, do I need to continue? I don’t necessarily think you are one, just that you crave their approval as only a good obot could.
OzoneR
@Jazz Superluminar:
who while President Obama was overseas bashed his progressive Israel stance publicly to the Prime Minister of Israel.
how heroic
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Southern Beale: a good link for the post above
Nethead Jay
@ABL: My pleasure.
A note for Fred and Tim, whatever: Do you live in some sort of alternate fantasy world where the people who hang around here are not aware that you’re fucking obnoxious borderline stalkerish concern trolls…
Jenny
@You Don’t Say: Contrition accepted.
It’s just me. I really bothers me how rank and file bloggers who are supposed to substantive bash Pelosi even though she gets shit done simply because she’s doesn’t pass out candy coated rants, and then the very same “very serious bloggers” grab on to Weiner’s leg even though he’s a big legislative ZERO and an AIPAC stooge, just because he screams like some wrestler.
You Don't Say
@Jenny: None offered. It was the least wrong thing I did that day.
Kane
I too am a member of the reality-based community, which is why I disagree with the declaration that “he will go down” because this “is how our country rolls.”
Yes, there are examples where politicians have fallen from grace for participating in similiar acts of stupidity, but there are also ample occasions where politicians have survived much worse. Just take a look at the current crop of politicians in Washington and across the country who remain in office despite their assorted scandals. Perhaps Anthony Weiner will go down because of this, but its certainly not set in stone.
Tony J
@sixers:
Your definitions are all fucked up.
The examples of Sanford and Gingrich are of genuine hypocrites. People mocking them are entirely justified because they both used their – professional – positions to scold others for moral failings while acting immorally themselves. There’s no argument about that, it’s public record.
Weiner hasn’t done anything like that. He wasn’t having an affair, he didn’t send anyone pictures of his junk. Insofar as anyone knows, he hasn’t actually – done – anything that might be classed as “falling on your face”. It’s not just apples and oranges, it’s flora and fauna. Not the same thing and never will be.
Now – that’s – simple. You may want to study it a while so you know how to use the word correctly in the future.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
brietbart is now throwing the shit at the wall with extreme prejudice, this is never going to be over.
Egypt Steve
You know, I want to not care about this. I really do. But for the love of fuck: I also think there’s something to be said for a Congressman who conducts himself with some respect for the dignity of his office and a sense of personal responsibility.
FlipYrWhig
@shortstop: Good point. I absolutely agree that Democrats could use their liberal “backbench” more. IMHO the reason why they don’t is that there’s a feeling, especially in the consultant/strategist class, that every Democrat who manages to get elected has virtually no margin for error — one fuckup and you lose your seat and no one gets to have Nice Things for years. It’s as though there are no Democratic safe seats, while Republicans have un-fuck-uppable situations that empower nincompoops like Louie Gohmert, impregnable to gaffes. And IMHO the reason for _that_ is that deep in their heart of hearts, Republicans know that Democrats clean up their messes, and hence Republicans feel free to cause mess after mess after mess.
shortstop
@Shoemaker-Levy 9:
Bwa! I’m sorry, I have no information on when these folks stopped beating their wives.
Kane
Personally, I have more of a problem with Anthony Weiner’s assertion that there’s no Israeli occupation in the West Bank and no IDF troops there than I do any of this kerfuffle.
PeakVT
@BTD: I’m challenging your assertion that Cole is not pushing this story by the way he is reacting to it.
I never made any such assertion.
Do you always argue so dishonestly?
Quicksand
NEWS FLASH: Attention-seeking politician is narcissistic. Film at eleven!
arguingwithsignposts
WTF is going on with this stupid press conference? Breitbart was just on stage!
Shinobi
The press conference sounds hilarious, apparently Breitbart is taking over.
Oh how I wish this were just an elaborate scheme to discredit him.
timb
@Tim, Interrupted: So, Cole has to write it, because the fine magnum opus ABL wrote isn’t good enough for you?
LongHairedWeirdo
Eh. Here’s what bugs me, John.
Breitbart’s pushing it. That turns “benefit of the doubt” up to 11 for me.
Second, Weiner is forced to admit the picture could be of him.
Now, right there, that explains *everything*. Sure, there are two possibilities.
It’s *possible* that a Breitbart-connected person was the only one to capture the screenshot of a really stupid flub by Weiner and Weiner is talking “hack” even though he knows there’s no way to support that claim.
It’s possible – and to my mind, much more likely – that someone got a picture of Weiner’s crotch, and feels they can prove it’s him (so he doesn’t dare say “it wasn’t me”), and uses the yfrog game to post it to his Twitter feed. Weiner is stuck in a double bind – he can’t say “it’s not me” because it might well be. He doesn’t know who got the photo, and how (was he betrayed by a former lover, or was it a robbery, or what?) And he doesn’t know how it happened, especially when preliminary investigation of the screenshot doesn’t show obvious fraud.
As far as I’m concerned, the second scenario just fits the facts better. He admits it could be his picture but doesn’t say it is, or isn’t. Why play that game if he knows? He’d be better off bluffing (“not me”) or coming clean if he knew it was his picture.
Southern Beale
Apparently Breitbart has hijacked Weiner’s press conference.
Brian R.
@arguingwithsignposts:
Insanely bizarre.
He said he felt “vindicated.” Hopefully, he means that like Trump did after his birther b.s. was exposed as a lie.
timb
@Sentient Puddle: sentient, warm hugs to you, his internet friend. His fans are so sweet.
Oh, hold it, that became as silly as his other stuff after he wrote it once
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
@arguingwithsignposts:
its like a don king promoted prize fight.
the sad part is, the degrading of the porn industry, and how they are being dragged down into brietbart’s millieu.
shortstop
@FlipYrWhig: Yes, absolutely, and beyond that, there’s some kind of twisted sense–bolstered by media expectations–that every Democrat, no matter how safe his or her seat, represents the entire party, whereas the more colorful members of the GOP (a description that is starting to become meaningless in its ubiquitous applicability) are just speaking for themselves. Which is weird, since they’ve voted in lockstep for years now and we’re all over the voting map.
And not one of our guys seems to be able to say, “I don’t agree with Rep. Soandso when he says thisandthat, but the real issue here is moveconversationbacktopreferredsubject.” Or even leave the first half of that sentence off and concentrate on the redirection, something that almost everybody in the Republican caucus seems to have mastered while almost no Democrat has.
sukabi
@ABL: agree… folks would rather twist their shorts in a knot about some tame photos… while ignoring something of real consequence to how this country is being sold off… big surprise that we’re circling the drain… gossip and naughty bits trump policy and actual corruption EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
artem1s
meanwhile on page 14…
http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/06/6797957-24199-pages-of-palin-e-mails-to-be-released-friday-morning
News organizations and citizens requested the emails under the state public records law back in 2008, when the relatively unknown Palin burst onto the national scene, and when it became known that she and her staff were using personal Yahoo accounts to conduct state business outside the usual reach of public records requests.
FeFiFo
How are people dancing around the subject of judgement? As in, Weiner has the judgement of a teenager, therefore maybe he’s not really fit to be an elected representative?
Breitbart’s a snake, but how exactly does that make Weiner’s judgement any better? I’m more pissed at Weiner for setting himself up to get busted, just like I was pissed at Spitzer for indulging in escorts while he was investigating Wall Street. Its not fair, but neither is life. What they CAN be is smarter than the average frat dude or over-compensated trust fund bro and not let power go straight to their genitals. They’d have a chance to do a lot more good work.
Southern Beale
As Amanda Marcotte just tweeted: “Breitbart really is demanding that people never call him a liar again because he accidentally said something kind of true one time.”
Yep that’s about right.
Fred
@Sentient Puddle: Tell me more Colebot tell me more.
Lawnguylander
@Southern Beale:
Well, allegedly, he sent the underwear picture to some 21 year old stranger on the internet. If he did it may not be bad enough that he should resign but it’s pretty creepy. As for the rest of that paragraph, if some Democratic politician is bribing someone to keep his affair silent or is involved in some weird sex with hookers, do you want that person to “hang tough” or resign? I’d prefer that he find some other job. Let the Republicans corner the market on those kinds of politicians.
sukabi
Finally, the notion that I am “flogging” this story is absurd.
John, it would seem a bit less absurd IF while posting on this particular angle, you would have a couple of actual posts on what Weiner’s been investigating wrt Clarence Thomas… it’s not like that hasn’t hit the news… granted the yapping hyenas in the media haven’t picked up on it, but THAT IS ONE TOPIC THAT WEINER HIMSELF HAS ADDRESSED THROUGH OUT THIS BULLSHIT “weiner-wagging”. The Thomas angle is at least a REAL FUCKING STORY, WITH REAL IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCES FOR EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY.
Fred
@Nethead Jay: Yea, the same alternate reality fantasy that tells me that you would have to have a major mental malfunction to even consider voting for a Libertarian. And to vote for G Dubya twice. Well there is something fundamentally wrong with someone who does that. Call me crazy in my little fantasy world where G Dubya is dumb and Libertarians are equally dumb.
Suffern ACE
@FeFiFo: Well, it makes me less likely to vote for him were I in his district. Crap aside about “how can you be loyal to your country if you can’t be loyal to your wife” that the right tried to hang around Clinton. I don’t like having to defend people on this level. If “they all do it” then perhaps they should all be put to pasture.
brad
Well, shit.
I was wrong.
He’s fucked.
arguingwithsignposts
Oh, shit.
Southern Beale
Okie dokie. Weiner admits it was an errant DM not a hacking.
Figured as much.
stuckinred
Stupid motherfucker. Now this pig Briebart can do anything he wants.
Ben Cisco
@ABL: Hell yes, THIS.
__
Hew-mans are so damned stupid sometimes.
MJ
Not resigning…good.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
john cole is going to be insufferable.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Lawnguylander:
If there’s bribery involved, then yeah, sure, resign. But resigning over the affair itself? Not unless it’s someone who professes to family values that s/he doesn’t practice. To paraphrase an old, successful political saw: It’s the hypocrisy, stupid.
Brian R.
Goddamn it. What an idiot.
That said, he’d better not fucking resign.
sukabi
@Lawnguylander: the morality police called, said something about “Judge not lest ye be judged” … and something about casting stones.
shortstop
@sukabi:
Has he? I only watched one segment from last week’s Day of Unbridled Interviews and he didn’t mention it at all. Did he in other interviews?
Not that that’s only his job, per mine at #211. Other Dems should be on this when they’re being questioned about Weiner.
BTD
@PeakVT:
What are you asserting then?
John Cole
A smart guy said:
Fuck all you people.
I feel horrible for the guy, he’s up there taking his lumps.
Suffern ACE
Yep. And on a personal note, those who defended him now get their ass handed to them on his behalf. Sure he’s sorry about that. Oh well, it’s not as if he won’t find some way to make himself wealthier.
shortstop
@Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal: We’ve lived through that before. And we will again.
Southern Beale
@Lawnguylander:
But that’s my point. Democrats who do illegal things SHOULD resign. Spitzer resigned. Edwards didn’t have a job to resign from but I’m not claiming he shouldn’t pay the penalty for misusing campaign funds.
But Republicans never do. They stay in office even after they’ve pled guilty to crimes! How long did it take for Larry Craig to go away? He finished out his term.
But there’s really nothing wrong or illegal with sending a pic of your bare chest or your crotch to someone. Again, that’s not something I would do but I consider that pretty tame compared to some of the other scandals in D.C. And we all have developed friendships over the internet, with people who may technically be “complete strangers” it wasn’t something random like pulling an e-mail addy out of thin air. He did know the person.
stuckinred
@John Cole: And hojw do you feel about all the attacks on Brietbart that came about because of this?
BTD
@John Cole:
Should he resign John?
I say no. What say you?
kay
@sukabi:
My personal opinion is that media are going to tread very carefully around a Justice. We give that particular position an awful lot of deference. Too much for my comfort, but that’s me. I don’t know if it’s because we genuinely want to admire and revere them, or if it’s just too frightening to contemplate that the last word on law may be compromised. I think media are never, ever going to conflate or connect these two stories.
Corrupt or compromised judges are absolutely terrifying to contemplate, because they have so much power as lifetime appointees. It goes right to people’s civic core belief system. I don’t think it’s going to be connected with a quasi-sex scandal, or whatever the hell this is.
stuckinred
@Southern Beale: He just admitted that at least one of the photos is a lot more than you describe.
stuckinred
@kay: The Thomas angle is fucking dead.
Southern Beale
Weiner says he’s not resigning. End of story.
sixers
@Tony J:
I’m of the mind that a congressman letting his dick pics hit the internet is falling on his face. Also the nondenial denials in his shitty press conferences was the definition of falling on your face and making things worse. Finally are you sure he wasn’t having an affair or trying to? Would you bet your life on it at this point? Careful not to end up in the group that was so damn sure Breitbart fabricated this whole thing and those werent his pictures at all.
Kane
@sukabi: I had similar thoughts as well in how this “controversy” has taken all focus off of what Weiner had been working on in pushing to have Justice Clarence Thomas must recuse himself on HCR because of a conflict of interests. He was the lone voice on this issue, and now he has essentially been silenced.
It is reminiscent in how the media focus of the Israeli raid on the flotilla was completely diverted by the ramblings of Helen Thomas.
Bret
Good christ. And people wonder why liberals can never organize.
What a bunch of whiny, self-important twats in this thread.
sukabi
@shortstop: yes, in his first “interviews” that was the topic he was addressing… kept talking about it and the “jackasses” in the press kept asking if it was his junk shot…
Violet
Weiner is a real dumbass. Do whatever you want with your own private parts and those of any consenting adult, but don’t LIE about what you did. Idiot.
Southern Beale
@stuckinred:
Well then whatever. Who cares. Again: not something I would do. You kids today, with your sexting and schtupping and whatever. But no laws were broken, it was clearly a stupid thing to do, but who among us hasn’t done something stupid? He said he panicked, lesson learned, and let’s move on already.
aimai
Well, I stand corrected. I said that I didn’t think Weiner was this stupid, and he was. I hope he doesn’t resign over this because I don’t care at all about the sex lives of congressmen as long as it only involves consenting adults. The real problem for all of us is not Weiner but Breitbart, and this is going to give that asshole a new lease on life. For that alone Weiner should have his head handed to him on a platter.
aimai
Liberal Sandlapper
Resign? Fuck no. No fucking way.
NovShmozKaPop
God. Damned. Idiot. SHOW SOME JUDGEMENT, FER CRYING OUT LOUD!
F**k him, f**k Edwards, f**k Spitzer, f**k any of these guys who set themselves up as progressive stars and then let us down like this by showing the judgement of a teenager. I personally don’t care what people do on their own time but this effectively neuters him and gives that schmuck Brietbart more cred.
PeakVT
@BTD: LoL. If Cole has released your mouse from his control, scroll up and figure it out for yourself.
Church Lady
He’s been doing what he calls a “dumb thing” for at least the past three years, per his press conference. What a complete dumb ass. And world class liar.
kay
@stuckinred:
Agreed. I think you’d need an awful lot, like Breitbart and Thomas having a meeting where there was a record :)
It just isn’t going to happen. We had a municipal court judge here who had to be actually turned in by a state trooper. He had just been re-elected.
They get an enormous amount of deference, and I can’t even imagine how much at the top level. You saw how long those juvenile judges in PA stayed on the bench. No one said anything. Everyone that went in there knew, from staff to lawyers. They had to have known there was this HUGE disparity in sentencing. They processed all that paper.
stuckinred
@Southern Beale: I’m 62 years old, who you callin a kid?
FeFiFo
@Suffern ACE: I completely agree; I don’t care a whit about his relationship with his wife or anyone else, I do care that he apparently doesn’t have enough common sense or self-restraint to refrain from sending this kind of stuff online while he’s also championing important issues that don’t deserve to get sidelined and trashed with that kind of association.
stuckinred
And Cole is right, he is being great in his confession.
brad
Memo to Weiner:
Announce you’re switching parties and becoming born again and the story will go away within hours.
() tries to find something to laugh at while Breitbart self-fellates ()
Jenny
I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.
bye bye, wienerish.
Tonal Crow
Again, so f-ing what. Are we going to roll over for the Republicans’ smear machine? Or are we going to treat its products like the crap they are, and reply, “YAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWN”?
boss bitch
@NovShmozKaPop:
yep.
eemom
damn. Look what I miss when I actually work for a few hours.
BTD
@PeakVT:
Missed it before I posted the comment.
Sorry for the inconvenience to you.
boss bitch
Some asshole just shouted: “Will you help to support Arnold’s love child?”
Villago Delenda Est
WTF is with these guys?
Why do they set themselves up for falls? Do they have absolutely no understanding of the environment they’re in, where vile shit like Breitbart look for this stuff, and will find it?
How fucking stupid do you have to be?
brad
Oof. I don’t know how the tags here work, obviously.
shortstop
Well, looking beyond Weiner, I don’t see any way out of this in the long run. I get that the prospect of exciting sex is an amazingly powerful motivator to not look six seconds down the road, perhaps particularly for the middle-aged and beyond; I don’t have any particular judgment on that because it’s a pretty basic (or at least epidemic) foible of humanity in general, and especially of people in positions of power. Add that the combination of risk and sex is particularly addictive to a certain kind of personality, which tends to be the same kind of personality that seeks the limelight and power. Add to that the double political standard of the media and the fixation of the public on sex scandals to the exclusion of more important public issues…and we have a perfect recipe for handing over the ammunition with which people can be impeached (Clinton), potentially lose a presidential election (Edwards), defanged in a battle against Wall St. crookery (Spitzer) and be stripped of the ability to fight a Supreme Court justice’s mind-blowing corruption (Weiner).
If there’s an answer to this recurring problem beyond people not having extramarital sex (ain’t gonna happen), the U.S. getting less provincially prurient (ain’t gonna happen) or the media starting to treat either Democrats or policy the way it treats Republicans or sex (ain’t, ain’t, ain’t gonna happen), I’d love to know what it is.
eemom
@boss bitch:
thirded.
Men. suck.
kay
@stuckinred:
On the other hand, many extremely prestigious and wildly powerful lawyers seem to love that institution, the SCOTUS, (even if I think they are a little more romantic about it than I am) and Thomas has taken some of the shine off that.
So, maybe it doesn’t go away, but just moves slowly and majestically :)
Tonal Crow
@shortstop:
A partial solution is for us to refrain from piling on our own when this crap comes up.
Tonal Crow
@eemom:
Idiots bite. Especially bigoted idiots.
boss bitch
If you have a weakness for women/sex then stay out of politics.
shortstop
@Tonal Crow: Okay, I don’t disagree with that, but look: We’re being asked once again to show emotional restraint and the ability to see how our actions can affect the lives of others, while our randy elected officials continue to risk the misery, impoverishment and even death of multitudes while chasing their own orgasms. I really mean it when I say that I don’t judge people for their (adult, consenting) sexual behavior, and I meant everything else I said about the media dysfunction and so on that makes these kerfuffles possible. But could you just give me the afternoon before I have to once again be a bigger, more forward-looking person than Anthony Weiner, etc. have been?
Lawnguylander
@sukabi:
You must have really fucked up to get a call from the morality police. I hope things turn out OK for you.
@Southern Beale:
Sorry, I thought you were saying that this not resigning after doing things like Craig and Vitter did was something to emulate. My bad. Weiner didn’t know this girl even in the internet sense, though. He’d been following her on twitter for a brief period of time. But even if they had a longer internet relationship, she’s 21 years old. A kid. It’s not illegal but it’s creepy to me.
boss bitch
@FeFiFo:
yep. this too.
Lawnguylander
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I don’t think someone should necessarily resign over an affair but nobody is indispensable so if someone has made himself more trouble than he’s worth (and I don’t know if that’s the cases with Weiner) and can have his replacement appointed by a Democratic governor, or his seat is sure to stay Democratic in a special election, then I don’t mind seeing him go either. I don’t see why we should show any loyalty to politicians who become distractions. If a Republican governor is going to appoint some teabagger then it’s a different story.
Tonal Crow
@Lawnguylander:
Because by piling on, we encourage Republicans to do this again, and we also discourage Democrats from running by implicitly telling them that they can expect the same non-support if they do something similar. And we also feed America’s obsession with politicians’ sex lives. Do we really want to do that? I don’t. I’ve really, really, really had enough of the pearl-clutching prudishness around this topic.
Tim, Interrupted
.@John Cole:
You maroon, since when has the posting of another FP kept you from sharing YOUR two cents on the matter? Especially a post by Allan for god’s sake?
You focused on the Weiner “story” because that’s what you are interested in. You are titillated.
Speaking of pictures, John, did you enjoy looking at the ones Weiner posted. Did you find them newsworthy?
sukabi
@kay: there’s the rub Kay, there’s got to be a way to MAKE THE FUCKERS COVER IT. just saying ok, weiner’s busted, the Thomas angle is gone is so wrong… THE ONLY STORY OF CONSEQUENCE IS THE THOMAS CONFLICT OF INTEREST STORY… the Weiner’s weiner doesn’t / shouldn’t matter to anyone except his wife.
Tim, Interrupted
@timb:
Allan the Acolyte wrote it, and it was good. Cole has not said word one, because he isn’t interested. He is interested in dick pictures, not financial corruption at the supreme court.
Lawnguylander
@Tonal Crow:
Yes, I really, really do want Democratic politicians to know not to expect to get a lot of support if they text pictures of their junk to 21 year old girls. And those who are thinking of running and who know they won’t be able to control themselves, yes I do want to discourage them from running. As Democrats at least. Moron.
Tonal Crow
@Lawnguylander: And people wonder why Republicans get away with torture, murder, vast corruption and on and on ad nauseam, while Democrats get politically lynched for purely personal indiscretions.
Oh yeah, learn some manners.
John Cole
@Tim, Interrupted: Get your own fucking blog, where you will have complete editorial control.
I haven’t commented on the issue because I have nothing to add. What could I say that Allan missed?
sukabi
@Lawnguylander: the call was for you, I was just forwarding it on as you seem real content to throw stones and pass judgement.
sukabi
@John Cole: exposure, that’s what you could have added… it’s not like you had any inside info on Weiner’s weiner, but you provided plenty of exposure for that…
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Shoemaker-Levy 9:
Yes, actually, I did. Defending my PhD in physics this summer, as a matter of fact.
kay
@sukabi:
t
Well, no, because you and I don’t have a shred of anything that proves the two things are connected.
If they’re going to cover Thomas and his ethical lapses, it isn’t going to have ONE THING to do w/Anthony Weiner or Breitbart.
Come on. I can’t stand Thomas, and even I think that’s unfair. What is the connection? That two things happened at the same time, in the same world?
The Thomas thing stands on its own, or it falls. It’s been going on since January, Thomas and his problems reading forms. There’s not even a tight timeline connection here. You’re adding things up that no unbiased person would add up. You can do that, but it’s a fucking theory. It’s not some open and shut case.
You can’t start w/his amended forms and just work backwards to Anita Hill. I could do that to anyone.
Shoemaker-Levy 9
@Comrade Scrutinizer:
Ah, physics. But human behavior is in principle unfathomable and we needn’t bother trying to explain it?
sukabi
@kay: Kay, I’m not talking about a Weiner / Thomas connection, I’m talking about CLARENCE THOMAS’ CONFLICT OF INTEREST ONLY.
JESUS, there’s NOTHING stopping bloggers from digging into and flogging this, most of the info has been released already, but not much coverage… but have a congressman tweet a pic of his package and you’d think that was the only thing in the world going on.
way past time for a bit of perspective on WHAT FUCKING MATTERS.
shortstop
@sukabi: Kay started flogging this five months ago.
sukabi
@shortstop: and in the last month how many articles about Thomas’ conflict have there been here? ZERO. which is kind of interesting, since he’s “revised” his financial disclosure forms TWICE to reflect more $$$ taken in and paid out to his wife’s pac / org. but I guess that’s not as interesting as a weiner.