The Weiner scandal has progressed from kindergarten (“boys have a PENIS and girls have a VAGINA”) into about 8th grade, with the Times writing about Weiner’s friendlessness in Congress. Disinterested parties like Peter King line up to tell us that Weiner’s “brash style” has alienated Wiener from the rest of the Democratic caucus, which is why he’s eating at the lunch table by himself, and no Democrats have stepped up to defend him.
I realize we’re all sick of the Wiener scandal, but I have to point out how quickly the church of the savvy insiders morphed into the revival meeting of the credulous hacks. A savvy insider would know that there isn’t a politician on earth who wouldn’t throw a colleague under the bus for sending around dick pics. Isn’t it time for some long-time DC insider to dust off Truman’s adage, “If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog”?
As for the “brash” and “uncooperative” bullshit, see McCain, John. The press loves useless hacks who don’t play well in groups and tell tales out of school because they make good copy. If Weiner’s deportment was such a major issue, why is it only surfacing now?
It’s easy to ding the media for reporting on politics like celebrity journalists, but they’re not even that good. At least the Superficial and TMZ don’t lie to their readers about how the Hollywood game is played in order to flog another day’s worth of clicks out of a dead horse of a story.
Joseph Nobles
Well, actually, I could buy the Democratier-than-thou scenario from Weiner on the way up. He’s been there a while, though.
Superking
I don’t think this says what you think it says:
The press loved Anthony Weiner too. He was on the cable news channels all the time. It was the people in Congress who didn’t actually like him. McCain is brash with the press, but he is often cooperative with them as well, and I think as a factual matter he has gotten along rather well with his party. And when he hasn’t gotten on with his party, he’s gotten on with a few Democrats. I think the story about Weiner is that he didn’t get along with anyone in Congress, but he was making a name for himself in the press. That’s completely different from McCain.
beltane
Weiner’s constituents seem to like him well enough. One of the headlines I saw on Comcast just now says a new poll indicates he would still be re-elected. I realize that the voters are never the kewl kids in the Beltway’s junior high school cafeteria, but they should still count for something.
alwhite
I think if wiener had been more a part of the good old boys club there would be less outspoken criticism & more background/anonymous whispering about what a great guy he is and how deeply hurt his is by all the pain he caused etc.
The change would be subtle but the effect on coverage would be huge. Like the means girls club in High School, where you fit into the social structure makes a huge difference in how your ‘sins’ are treated.
mistermix
@Superking: Does McCain get along with anyone in Congress? I don’t think he does, that’s why I thought he was a good comparison – big on TV, not so big with this colleagues.
Comrade Javamanphil
This doesn’t help one bit:
Although I suppose it is a plus that the press corpse is finally admitting they report what they do because Republicans tell them to.
beltane
@mistermix: McCain is not well liked in Congress and he was never well-liked within his own party. Other than Lindsay Graham and Joe Lieberman, he doesn’t have a whole lot of friends in the Senate. Remember, until a couple of days ago, the media was in the throes of a decades-long love affair with Newt Gingrich, a walking, talking scandal machine.
Weiner should just tell everyone that after much prayer and reflection, he consulted with his personal savior Jesus Christ who will pardon all. That is the American thing to do.
batgirl
@Comrade Javamanphil: Of course, there may be ONE big reason Democrats tread differently on sex scandals: Bill Clinton.
PurpleGirl
I tried looking for something I posted yesterday…
Weiner could lose his district when the NYS legislature task force returns its redistricting plan. NYS has to lose 2 House seats. What they will probably do is lose a Democratic seat downstate and a Republican seat upstate. The governor has to approve of the final legislative plan.
boss bitch
@alwhite:
Anthony Weiner IS a part of the good old boys club. He’s very tight with the Clintons and Chuck Schumer was/is his mentor. He’s also been on Capitol Hill for more than a decade. He ain’t no outsider.
mistermix
@alwhite: I don’t believe this. You have to make at least a few “friends” (or at least solid allies) to be Speaker of the House, but Bob Livingston’s friends didn’t tackle him and keep him from resigning because of some pretty garden-variety adultery.
Rick Massimo
Actually, do journalists in any field know less about their subject matter than the $5 million-a-year political media stars? Certainly a sportswriter wouldn’t last a month with Beltway standards.
JPL
I think the scandal will fade unless Breitbart is holding onto more pictures to be released.
Today is Sarah Palin email day and the media will switch their attention to cover the former half term governor, the former Alaskan and now Arizona resident.
Chris
@Comrade Javamanphil:
Lest we forget, Bill Clinton actually walked away from the sex scandal just fine, politically speaking. Voters ended up going “alright, that’s enough of this crotch-sniffing shit,” and I’ve heard it suggested by many that in the end, the Lewinski scandal generated more locker-room-sympathy than moral outrage towards the President.
Weiner can weather it the same way, especially if it’s true that his constituents are still okay with him. There are no more grounds to dismiss him than there were for Clinton.
Ahasuerus
Just to throw some hypergolics into the juicebox, it seems that Juan Cole has some rather unflattering things to say about Mr. Weiner with respect to Israel and the Palestinians: Top Ten Things Anthony Weiner has Said that are Worse than Sexting. Please give me a minute to prepare the popcorn.
Superking
@mistermix:
McCain spent all of 2001-2007 making nice with the Republicans in the Senate and the administration. When things come to a vote, he votes with them. He gets along with Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman, and doesn’t Saxby Chambliss have his back, or am I thinking of someone else? He also worked with Feingold and Kennedy when they were around. The dude is apparently likeable on a personal level.
David
Before Breitbart got a hold of the world’s most offensive photo, a total of one person had seen it. And now?
beltane
@Chris: If Bill Clinton had been eligible to run in 2000, he would have mopped the floor with Dubya. It’s only the Village media that lives in an endless loop of 8th grade.
John Puma
Of course, Peter King’s “style” makes him the darling of his rabid, running-dog buddies in the GOP caucus!
El Cid
Weiner is (for the moment) married to Hillary Clinton’s longtime close aide, or confident, or whatever the heck Huma Abedin’s connection to her was from articles I don’t remember too well. And she’s currently with Hillary on a current State Dept trip.
Which at the moment, I don’t know is a good or bad thing for Weiner. Or both.
Chris
@beltane:
Oh yeah.
And they call Reagan the teflon president. Clinton got far more shit thrown at him, and ended up with slightly higher approval ratings. Can’t touch this.
Villago Delenda Est
The thing about Newt is, his entire reign as Speaker was clouded with rumors of his fellow Rethugs planning on deposing him. I don’t think he was well liked. He was supported initially because he was seen as the architect of their take over of the House in 94, but when disaster struck in 98, it was off with his head…and there had been rumblings well before that.
The vermin of the Village loved him because they could easily anchor a storyline around him. Easily being the important factor, because these people are lazy to the nth degree, basically. Sex scandals are very easy to cover. Financial scandals involve math and other hard things, not easy for Village airheads to figure out how to cover. Which is why Whitewater was so hard for them to figure out. There was math involved. Monicagate was all easily processed porn footage.
Just Some Fuckhead
It won’t be long before Weiner gets a wedgie in the Congressional men’s room, and perhaps other hazing as well. I just hope he reports it to the Speaker of the House, Boehner, and doesn’t use it as a catalyst for a shooting.
cleek
the three lies of Andrew Breitbart. tee hee.
El Cid
Robert Gates is frustrated that NATO remains a US creation designed to do what the US wants but look more European-y:
Meanwhile, the UK edition of Right Wing Nut-O-Sphere is screaming that Obama and Hugo Chavez are going to take away Britain’s precious Falkland Islands and give them back to the evil totalitarian Argentina because of the latest Organization of American States declaration.
All because the OAS once again issued the same polite request it’s done since Reagan, which is to ask UK & AR to please negotiate with each other any remaining legal and technical issues between each other until it’s all resolved.
Clearly this means Obama has betrayed Our Historic Alliance and has Chosen Hugo Chavez Over Britain.
You know, because when the OAS issues a polite request based on unanimous consensus from every government in the Americas, including right wing governments like Colombia’s, it’s an Obama / Chavez / Kenyonesian conspiracy.
And Britain’s glorious victory over Argentina shall never be overturned! Oh, also the UK would like to make sure that they can claim the oil finds on the seafloor off the coast of the Falklands, so, they’d rather do that by whatever territorial decision they make on their own.
I loathe these disgusting lying fucks.
(I do thank that 1982 war, though, for causing the fall of the US-backed Argentine death squad junta, since fascist movements don’t tend to do well after military defeat. Losing their ‘martial values’ cred and all.)
jomo
By all accounts – Weiner had been warned that there was a posse out to get him for his online banter and chose to ignore it. Some of his women themselves warned him about it. When he got caught he made us all party to his lies. He lied to friends who then lied on his behalf on national television. I don’t think you can ignore the role he himself has had in his own demise. It’s a D+5 district – I don’t care at all what happens to the guy.
Viva BrisVegas
@Chris:
Except that the only thing they got Clinton for was lying about a blow job.
Reagan had Iran-Contra and had to concede he was an incapable old fool in order to skate on it.
Villago Delenda Est
@El Cid:
If you’ll recall, some members of the US foreign policy establishment actually flirted with the idea of siding with the Argentines back in ’82. Particularly the vile creature Jeanne Kirkpatrick, she who made the utterly idiotic distinction without a difference between an “authoritarian” and a “totalitarian” regime, in justifying the Argentine junta.
But, yeah, the UK wingnutosphere is fucked up. Calling for the UK and Argentina to talk this over and settle the issue for once and for all is so shrill!
Steve
The NY Post’s headline on Weiner’s refusal to resign says “WEINER: I’LL STICK IT OUT.” (The story inside is captioned “WEINER STANDING FIRM.”) So at least we’re having fun.
Unless there is something serious for the Ethics Committee to investigate (like misuse of federal resources) this is a story, like Weiner’s chest photo, that has no legs. Now that Weiner has made clear he’s not resigning, there’s not going to be much to talk about other than cracking a few jokes. Even Larry Craig, whose sex scandal was more dramatic on a couple of levels, got to serve out his term fairly quietly other than a couple blips of publicity when something happened in his criminal case.
At least the calls from Democrats for Weiner to resign seem to have been motivated more by personal animus than by bed-wetting fear that this will hurt the party with the all-powerful swing voters. That’s a little progress for once.
Chris
@El Cid:
Huh. What do people here think about that?
On NATO, the old joke’s that it stands for Needs Americans To Operate. I don’t want it disbanded, if only because as a frog/Yank dual citizen, I identify with it. But as an American citizen, I do think the European powers could be picking up some more of the slack.
(As an aside, I’ve been hearing talk forever of increasing the joint military authority handled under the EU. That could pick up quite a bit of the slack from NATO in terms of military operations in the region. But so far, it’s not nearly comparable).
As for the Falklands/Malvinas, I don’t know enough to judge the two sides’ claims. In the eighties war, I root for the Brits, because hey, fuck military juntas on general principle. But they’re a democracy now, no cause to freak out.
rickstersherpa
I am shocked, shocked, that a politician lied.
Meanwhile between the Republicans in Congress, the New Democrats of the Obama administration, and Jean Claude Trichet of European Central Bank, it looks like we are about to go off a second economic cliff this summer, but without the bunngee cord that snaped us back in 2008-09 since there will be no bank bailouts this time around. Instead, we have this man behaving badly story (I guess everyone misses Charlie Sheen and is tired of 2 1/2 Men reruns.)
Except for this one time, I have refused to look at story, click to a link, or watched a cable show on this absurb topic. I have my own, private, way of indulging both my pruirience and sefl-righteousness at the same time.
NonyNony
@batgirl:
It all comes down to the base. The Republican base expects their politicians to be liars and crooks and so when they act like lairs and crooks the base shrugs and the politicians know they don’t need to bother with it. Even if the Democrats start pushing them so what – it’s obviously just “partisanship”.
The Democratic base wants to hold their politicians to a higher standard and there’s always – ALWAYS – some portion of the base that is upset by whatever scandal a Democratic politician gets wrapped up in (Big Tent Party and all). So the story isn’t “partisanship” anymore but one about “bi-partisan outrage”.
I’m not saying this is a bad thing – a good-sized chunk of the reason why the Republican party is full of rotters and nuts is because the base has such low expectations of politicians. (And it’s why I get discouraged when the answer to “why is democratic politician X so disappointing” is “you should lower your expectations – politicians all suck” rather than something more productive).
Villago Delenda Est
@NonyNony:
Yet there was the shining exception, St. Ronald, he who should shove those four pretenders out of the way on Mt. Rushmore. St. Ronald the perfect and good, who led us out of the malaise into the blinding light of the City on the Hill, which slayed the evil commie dragon and took down that wall.
Never mind the parade of financial scandal that clouded his entire regime, what with a cabinet member indicted and whatnot.
Chris
@NonyNony:
I don’t think that’s quite true, and I’ve seen the same argument made by Goopers against liberals and their politicians, since we all know, we’re the mostest corrupt and baddest people ever.
I think the big difference is rather how each side judges their politicians. Liberals judge them by what they do. Conservatives judge them by what team they belong to. It stems from all kinds of things: rampant racial/ethnic prejudices in their base, the “faith matters works don’t” ethic in their churches, the “if you criticize America you’re working for the enemy” nationalist logic that’s ingrained in almost all of them. But at its root, the difference is that liberals tend to judge people by their actions, and conservatives tend to judge them by their identity.
So of course they go easier on their politicians. Bad people? Are they liberals? Are they RINOs? Then of course they’re not bad people.
Xenocrates
“At least the Superficial and TMZ don’t lie to their readers about how the Hollywood game is played in order to flog another day’s worth of clicks out of a dead horse of a story.” This a thousand times over. The media in this country is a joke; controlled by corporate interests, striving to make the almighty dollar and certainly not committing “journalism.” At least the gossip sites are honest about what they do; Politico, not so much. The question is, what the heck do we do to improve the situation? One answer, for sure, stop electing Rethuglicans.
Chris
Also, Krugman weighed in on how both parties reacted to sex scandals a couple years ago: krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/sex-and-the-married-politician/
Culture of Truth
Weiner constituent poll:
56% want him to stay, 73% say Weiner’s actions were unethical but not illegal, 9% said they see nothing wrong with what he did, and 10% said the scandal raises questions about Weiner’s professional judgment.
Amir_Khalid
You did this on purpose, right?
Suffern ACE
@beltane: LOL. His constituents will be left very baffled by his conversion. I don’t know if there is a sham Rabbi to vouch for fake confessions the way Billy Graham used to function. I get the feeling that Rabbis might be too honest to get involved with the more cynical aspects of Christian public official repentance rituals.
Chris
@Culture of Truth:
Oh, my, God. 73% say his actions were unethical but not illegal?
… That means 27% actually believe it’s illegal to sext pictures of your wiener if you’re a Democrat.
There’s that damn number again.
Culture of Truth
Actually, 11% say he broke the law, suggesting some part of the 27% don’t think even it was unethical.
Hey, it’s New York.
sixers
He lied over and over to peoples faces and to tv camera’s. I can’t believe nobody wants to back him!
Suffern ACE
@Comrade Javamanphil:
It always comes back to Clinton, doesn’t it.
OzoneR
@Culture of Truth:
I’m not even sure it was unethical.
joeyess
@Comrade Javamanphil:
I doubt that you’d see Kaine demand cheese on a cheeseburger, much less demand anything that required political risk.
Bill H.
John McCain was a PEE OH DOUBLEYEW, don’t forget. Everyone despised him, but nobody ever dared to say so.
magurakurin
@OzoneR:
it isn’t unethical it’s stupid. And in the toxic swamp that is present day American politics it is double plus ungood. Weiner should go for being a dumbass. Case closed.
lacp
Weiner’s colleagues think he’s a dick? This is news?
Stefan
As for the “brash” and “uncooperative” bullshit, see McCain, John. The press loves useless hacks who don’t play well in groups and tell tales out of school because they make good copy.
Weiner should just start calling himself a “maverick”. The press will love him….
OzoneR
@magurakurin:
yes
someguy
He probably shouldn’t have lied directly to the President about it. Presidents are really funny when, approaching an election year, a fairly prominent member of their party gets caught up in a scandal, then lies to the POTUS about it. Presidents don’t like to be made some house member’s bitch, basically.
Suffern ACE
@joeyess: Tom Kaine protected the powder better than any DNC Chair in living memory. That powder is as dry as the day he took office…maybe even moreso. There is not one grain more or one grain less.
It must be differences in the base that explain why.
Suffern ACE
@someguy: Wait, so not only did Weiner in the past month flog the fake “Obama has radically changed israeli policy” story, call Obama a man with no values in public, he showed more contempt for the Pres by lying about his own character?
lamh31
I’m so over Weiner-gate and its up to Weiner’s constituents if he stays or goes, but that the defense of the dude’s actions in some quarters bothers me and I couldn’t figure out what bothered me the most about some defense, but that’s why I love people like TNC. He’s say what I want to say but much better, IMHO.
“A Steward of Our Interests, Cont.” by Ta-Nehis Coates
theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/06/a-steward-of-our-interests-cont/240229/
danimal
FWIW: If you look at how the parties campaign, the IOKIYAR response has a bit of logic. The GOP attacks individual Dems, demonizing the person. Dems attack platforms and policies. So when a politician is in a scandal, the GOP is hitting softballs over the fence while the Dems try to tie scandalized GOP pols to an ideology.
Villago Delenda Est
@lamh31:
Um, has it been established, definitively, that any of Weiner’s dixpix were “unsolicited”? If he was engaged in some mutually flirtatious tweeting with said woman, then he follows up on that flirtation by sending the legendary tighty whitey crotch shot, this hardly qualifies as “unsolicited.”
TNC needs to take a fucking chill pill here.
danimal
Wait a minute, did I just read this?
Peter King is calling anyone brash?
Wow, just wow.
Suffern ACE
@danimal: Peter King isn’t brash. He just likes to scare people.
shortstop
@Stefan: Maverdick, I think. Gotta getta gimmick.
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
Looks unsolicited to me. TNC is dead on. Keep drinking that kool-aid!
She said she was, however, surprised by his informal tone. “He was just very casual,” she said. “It wasn’t like talking to a U.S. congressman.” A spokeswoman for Mr. Weiner did not dispute Ms. Cordova’s account.
Mr. Weiner, at his news conference on Monday, said he had sent Ms. Cordova the underwear photo “as part of a joke.” But Ms. Cordova said the image was not in keeping with the tenor of their previous interactions.
Lawnguylander
@Villago Delenda Est:
Um, as it been established that they were solicited? Is there any evidence that the woman he sent that picture to was even flirting with him? I heard that she referred to him as her boyfriend on twitter but that’s all I’ve heard. But even if there was more flirting going on than that I’d have to hear that she specifically requested a picture like that before I’d agree that it was anything but a very creepy thing to do. I don’t think there are very many women out there who think that an appropriate response to flirting with them is to send them a picture of your erect dick.
From Salon:
I see no reason to doubt the woman’s story or her statement about the impact all this has had on her life but maybe we should check out her counter tops just to be sure.
Villago Delenda Est
OK, so Cordova didn’t ask for a crotch shot. However, it doesn’t seem she was mortally offended by it…and Weiner has admitted that it was a misdirected send in the first place.
So, negative points for Weiner for being an idiot about sending shit on Twitter, and negative points (which I’ve already noted on other posts) for being stupid enough to send this crap from his personal, public account in the first place.
But the sexual prudery angle is disgusting to me. It plays into the mindset of the Jeebofascist dillweeds. Fuck them. Fuck accepting that framing. There are plenty of reasons to pile on Weiner besides the damn 8th grade snickering.
boss bitch
@magurakurin:
lol. He really is a dumbass.
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
The only one “framing” stuff is you. That message was meant for Cordova despite whatever you want to believe. How do you know how offended she was? All you’re doing is making excuses for a skeevy congressman. As TNC wrote which you tried to dismiss without apparently reading, if this was Boehner sending dick pictures your outrage at the media would be toned down a lot.
Lawnguylander
You don’t have to be Jeebofascist dickweed to think it’s fucked up to send an unsolicited dick shot to some girl. Fuck accepting whatever framing makes that an excusable act and fuck putting the burden of proof on the girl in question to establish that she wasn’t flirting with him in the first place or that even if she was, this wasn’t a fucked up response to flirting.
Villago Delenda Est
@sixers:
Boner is a dumbass about a great many things other than sending crotch shots.
Chances are, his scandal would involve actual sex. In which case, his fan base would look the other way, which they can’t seem to do with the highly critical of Clarence Thomas Weiner.
Your puritan assholeishness is showing, because you didn’t read my post, obviously. I’m plenty critical of the idiot.
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
I’m not really interested in doing deep research into the posts of someone who just spouts shit out on topics without actually reading what the fuck is going on with the matter.
You like Anthony Weiner. That excuses his lying and classless acts. Also media bad. I think I got your point of view.
Villago Delenda Est
@Lawnguylander:
Jesus on toastpoints you people are stupid.
I have not excused anything Weiner has did. I said it was stupid to send it, it was stupid to send it from his named public account. I haven’t given him a free pass on anything.
I am upset that this trivial bullshit has taken over two weeks worth of news cycles, and has effectively given an outright criminal a free pass on HIS corruption, which is far more damaging to the Republic than any picture of a male mamber, clothed or unclothed.
Studly Pantload, a full-service troll
Weiner should just go all Charlie Sheen on the press, grant a string of completely defiant interviews. “Yeah, the ladies dig me, what I do with that is between me and my wife, not you fools. I may be in my 40s, but I’m ripped, and I’m hung, baby. Paul Ryan only wishes he could the girls to swoon over him like they do with me. But I’ve got something he can never have. I’ve got Weiner blood!”
/only half kidding
Villago Delenda Est
@sixers:
Cripes. You accuse me of poor reading comprehension, and you read in that I “like” Anthony Weiner.
The stupid. It burns.
UncertaintyVicePrincipal
Weiner isn’t being abandoned because of his personality, he’s being abandoned because of his party. Democrats often hate Democrats, because they want Republicans to like them.
Republicans may hate each other too, but they rally around diaper baby Vitter and give him a standing ovation and so on because the urge to score points with Democrats by punching fellow Republicans is a largely nonexistent concept.
Heck, a number of regulars here hate Democrats as far as I can see, if anyone is too “progressive” or whatever, so it really shouldn’t surprise anyone that elected Democratic officials do it too. It’s a world ruled by David Broder, whether he’s still there ruling it or not.
Woodrow L. Goode, IV
There’s a simple formula that accurately predicts whether the leadership of either party will stand by a beleaguered pol or toss them under the bus:
1. Number of points that the district favors the incumbent’s party. (Wiener’s district is +5 in Charlie Cook’s count.)
2. Number of months a replacement will be able to serve before the next schedule election. (In this case, 18.)
Multiply the two together. The closer it is to 100, the more likely he is to go under the bus. Weiner scores 90, so of course he won’t have allies. Any Democrat who gets the district should be able to hold it– especially if he or she has 18 months to build local support.
The lower the partisan number is (or the less time the replacement has) the more likely the leadership is to leave the carcass in place and simply recruit a challenger for the next primary.
If the election will be tight, it’s better to let the voters pick, rather than anointing a candidate and hoping people support that choice.
Just to demonstrate that this is bipartisan, Chris Lee– the wingnut who sent the Craigslist photos– was in a +6 district with 21 months left. That’s 126, so Boehner didn’t have any qualms about dumping him.
Even Mark Souder– who resigned in late May of 2010 after humping a staff member– was a pretty easy call. His district was +14, so there was no doubt that the wingnut who won the special election would get re-elected in five months.
Nevada being a -1 state (that is, +1 for Democrats), there’s no way the state or national party would encourage a John Ensign to leave. (And he wouldn’t listen anyway.)
I’m not saying this is the calculation that Nancy Pelosi and Steve Israel actually performed– it’s a model for estimating the likelihood of getting leadership support. It works pretty well on state legislatures and senates, too.
And I will beat anyone who says “But they didn’t hold the Lee seat.” Obviously the model doesn’t work if the leadership decides to jump of a cliff and the candidate goes with them. (Which is what Jane Corwin did by supportign Medicare repeal.)
If Nancy Pelosi introduces a bill that says “Hey, Hitler was a pretty neat guy” and the candidate to replace Wiener supports it, then NY9 will go red. (That district is about as Jewish as it gets.)
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
I accused you of not reading a writer you told to “take a chill pill” which you obviously didn’t. That’s not poor comprehension but rather straight up bullshitting. Keep making excuses for the guy sending unsolicited dick pics and then lied about it. Try and blame the girl who recieved them or rationalize that its not that big a deal to her some more. Looks totally smart.
Admiral_Komack
@jomo:
-Dear Progressives:
After much laughter, I intend to continue making fun of your newest progressive hero Anthony (Do these briefs make my d**k look big?) Weiner.
He won’t back the President, and I’m sure the New York Delegation can’t stand the self-promoting prick.
He lied about being hacked (he wasn’t) and left everybody hanging; he had his flaccid news conference where he turned on the waterworks.
If his constituents want him, they can have him; but as for me, I will continue to crack wise at Weiner’s expense.
Tweet, tweet.
boss bitch
@Villago Delenda Est:
Uh, no. not misdirected:
is there another woman in Seattle he meant to send his dick pic to that we don’t know about?
She wasn’t offended by it? so that makes it less creepy that a U.S. Congressman sends you a picture of his dick?
towards end of article, while saying its a personal matter between him and his family, she says:
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015269311_weinerpattern09.html
sexual prudery? whatever. its the stupidity, the brazeness and the fact that he is a high-profile politician. Did I mention the stupidity? Dude didn’t even have the good sense to use an alias? PLUS he and his wife sat down and had a long talk about this behavior before they got married so its not like he wasn’t aware of the risks. Good God what a dumbass.
Whiskey Screams from a Guy With No Short-Term Memory
Actually, they do in a manner so stunning that it defies description. But their readers and the public at large wants to be lied to about how the meatgrinder actually works, and so they are.
boss bitch
@UncertaintyVicePrincipal:
It is apparent that Weiner burnt some bridges on his way to the top and is now reaping what he sowed. Plus there is reason to believe that he could be hiding more. The guy went all over TV denying everything and proved to be a liar so its not hard to believe that he could be lying again.
Like I told another person here, that statement is completely ridiculous.
Corner Stone
@UncertaintyVicePrincipal: Stunningly clear example for you by the Admiral at #73.
Studly Pantload, a full-service troll
@UncertaintyVicePrincipal:
I think you’re reading this place wrong. There’s plenty of room to champion progressive ideals. The disagreements stem from how far the legislative and executive branches should push them, i.e., the “baby steps” crowd vs. the “revolutionaries.”
Now, some here want to see Weiner gone because they view him as a distraction and a drag. Others argue that what he does with his, er, Twitter has jack nought to do with his legislative capabilities. In either case, it’s not Democrats hatin’ on themselves.
OzoneR
@UncertaintyVicePrincipal:
Everybody has a reason to hate Weiner, from the time he race baited to get elected to the City Council in 1993 (alienating blacks), to his vocal left-wing attitude (alienating moderates) to his insistence on bashing Obama on Israel (alienating foreign policy progressives), to his vote for the Iraq war (alienating anti-war left), he has done stuff over the years to piss everyone off.
He’s his own person who follows his own agenda. I have no problem with that, but it doesn’t make you many friends.
Plus if you think Anthony Weiner is “too progressive” you don’t know Anthony Weiner. This guy is not very progressive at all.
Corner Stone
@Villago Delenda Est: Anthony Weiner had the temerity to criticize Obama.
That’s a big chunk of the reasoning behind some of the people with reading comprehension fail you are arguing with here.
Villago Delenda Est
@sixers:
I beg your pardon.
When did I EVER ‘blame the girl’ FOR ANYTHING? Once again, you are reading things into this that I have never implied, you’ve only inferred because you’re in a snippy mood, I guess.
Did this woman go public with this? No. Did she seek publicity about getting a Weiner crotch shot? No. She was contacted by the press, and it seems that she was not mortally offended by the picture…just taken aback. Furthermore, given what a dumbass Weiner seems to be, it’s perfectly plausible that he sent the picture to her inadvertently, not deliberately.
Does observing this absolve Weiner in any way? No, it does not.
It was still incredibly stupid to send the picture to anyone. Anywhere. Solicited or unsolicited.
It was rude and crude. Does it cross the threshold of being a crime?
What do I need to do? Call for the immediate execution of Anthony Weiner for this crime of all crimes? More serious an offense than his blind support of Israeli racists, more serious than his railing against bike lanes, more serious than his undistinguished record as a legislator?
I’ve been pissed at this guy continuously from Monday on. Go back and look at the posts.
To say I “like” him is to be willfully blind to everything I’ve written about him.
And I still think that TNC is spending way too much time buying into the puritan mindset. Of making this not about Weiner’s incredibly poor judgement, but about the content. If only Weiner had sent her a prospectus on some mutual fund, unsolicited and unwanted. Then his churlishness would have been less offensive.
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
It has nothing to do with a puritanical mindset. It’s about trust. The guy lied to anyone and everyone for 10 days straight. On top of that what he did was disgusting. Are you shocked people would rather not have that type of person represent them in congress?
YOU need to make this about people being prudes because if we actually talk about how carelessly Weiner has taken his duty to be honest with his constituents your arguement for him not resigning sucks. And don’t tell me this is a private matter when HE posted that picture publicly.
Lawnguylander
@Villago Delenda Est:
Yeah, you have given him a free pass. On the harassment claim by TNC and others . Who said that you said it was a smart thing to do? I didn’t. You took the position that it should be established that the girl wasn’t flirting with him before anyone says that what he did constitutes harassment and then said that, ok, maybe she wasn’t flirting with him but, disgusting sexual prudery, Jeebofascist dickweedery! The woman in question says she didn’t appreciate getting the picture. Is she a prude, a Jeebofascist dickweed for feeling that way? Are you sure you’re in a position to be calling others here stupid?
Villago Delenda Est
@boss bitch:
If you hit the button “to all” when you didn’t mean to send it “to all”, that’s a misdirected send.
He didn’t send it just to Cordova. He sent it to a bunch of other people as well, when he didn’t intend to send it to a bunch of people. I don’t know who he planned on sending it to (perhaps the ex-porn star, for a professional appraisal) but he wound up sending it to more people than he planned.
This sort of thing happens ALL THE TIME. Usually you don’t send a picture of your crotch along with the message. You send some email sniping at Mary to Tom and make the mistake of sending it to Mary, John, Peter, Marcia, Kay, and 20 other people. So sad for Weiner that he did. Idiot.
He didn’t target her specifically for a crotch shot. That’s all I am saying. She said she was taken aback and didn’t condone it, but it seems obvious to me that she was not beset by a terminal case of the vapors. She did what I would have done…dumped it in the trash can and moved on with her life, and made a note never to vote for the dumbass if ever ran for an office she could vote on.
He fucked up in the first place by sending a crotch shot even to someone who ASKED for it. Then he compounded things by hitting the wrong send button, and sending it to others on his list.
Corner Stone
@sixers:
People like who? A majority of his constituents seem to say they want him to stay in office.
Shadow's Mom
This from TPM is encouraging, and indicates some calmer heads among all of the bs. goo.gl/iP8s4
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
He was sending that dick pic to everyone in seattle as a joke people!
fucking classic.
sixers
@Corner Stone:
And thats great but people need to stop with the bullshit about anyone who wants him out is just a prude.
Villago Delenda Est
@sixers:
OK, again, I ask you to go back and read what I’ve written about Weiner (and the stupidity of the lie) earlier in the week.
You are consistently reading things in you want to believe, without any basis in fact.
It’s up to his constituents to decide what to do about this. I am not one of his constituents. If they decided to toss his ass out into the street, fine. No problem here, because it’s not mine.
I’ve said, repeatedly, all this week, that he was stupid to lie about this in the first place when it was inevitable that the truth would come out. To me, that’s a greater offense than “harassing” some woman on a mailing list who got a crotch shot that wasn’t intended for her. Weiner didn’t target her specifically, she just happened to be one of the recipients of Weiner’s fat fingers on the send button, from everything I can determine about this. It seems perfectly plausible to me that this was a fuckup on multiple levels on Weiner’s part, starting with the wisdom of sending crotch shots to anyone, followed up by doing from his public twitter account, followed up by trying to transparently lie about it.
Just a huge collection of FAIL.
Villago Delenda Est
@Lawnguylander:
You are really too fucking stupid to live.
Admiral_Komack
@Corner Stone:
Thank you.
El Cid
@Chris:
Right, but just remember, in this case, it doesn’t have anything to do with who controls the Falklands / Malvinas.
What really pisses me off is that it’s yet another situation in which what’s going on is perfectly clear, and not controversial at all, except if you demand that one side gets to dictate every single and final tiny detail. And anyone on either side knows it, or could know it if they just got off their ass and checked out OAS resolution texts and maybe a Google search or two.
But no. We have to have right wing liars prompting a debate on their terms.
There are all sorts of issues when two nations or two nations’ territories border each other including territorial and/or international waters.
These people apparently think that since Britain won that war, and since Britain has the Falklands, that everything else Britain ought be able to say “fuck you” to anyone else in the world whatsoever?
And “fuck you” to anyone who just asks them to bilaterally negotiate and solve any remaining legal and policy disagreements?
And no matter what the issue is, if you don’t go ahead and pronounce the UK as correct and that you’re willing to back them up, then you hate Britain and love Hugo Chavez.
I hate these people so fucking much.
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
Where are you getting that he didn’t mean to send that to Cordova? Where did you read it was meant for someone besides her? I’m asking because I’ve already pointed out you commenting on things without actually reading what you’re commenting on.
Villago Delenda Est
@sixers:
See my 84, where I explain in excruciating detail what happens when you hit a mass send you didn’t plan on hitting.
It doesn’t excuse sending a crotch shot to anyone for any reason, it just attempts to tamp down some of the hysteria here.
He’s a utter moron. Happy? No? He’s a depraved, perverted utter moron. Better?
Admiral_Komack
@Shadow’s Mom:
Weiner probably tweeted them too, just as a heads up.
amk
whatever… wiener is toast.
Lawnguylander
@Villago Delenda Est:
The guy who started off saying this:
And has backpedaled to the point where he’s now saying this:
Is calling me stupid? I can read what you fucking write, dumbass, but you can’t keep your story straight. Were they engaged in “mutually flirtatious tweeting or did he (not) “target her specifically”? Which is it, genius?
shortstop
It’s been two weeks since you tweeted me
Cocked your cock to the side and said “Look at me”
Ten days since you interviewed, saying
“Didn’t hit ‘send’ but I can’t say it’s not me”
Four days since the press conference
You said “All my fault!” but it didn’t stop Breitbart
Yesterday we were over it
But it’ll still be six weeks till this gets off my TV
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
You bought the story of him being hacked too didn’t you?
He’s sending out crotch shots to multiple people as a joke?
You really believe that?
Nickws
@sixers:
You one a member of that 40% in his district polled who says he should resign, eh?
No?
Newsflash, he isn’t congressman-at-large for FoxNation. So, no, I’m not shocked at the conservative prudes (e.g you), I just know they’re irrelevant to anything here.
All that matters is whether or not Weiner’s party believes he will hurt them at the margins in 16 months time. Maybe they’re about to push him out. OTOH I’ve already heard one Politico-type pundit say he mightn’t be any kind of factor in next years national congressional campaigns, so he may hang on.
So there’s still a chance all you prude bloviators are expending a shitload of hotair for no reason at all. Though no doubt it feels good to imply that people who disagree with you are somehow endorsing sexual harrassment, even if it that means inventing a charge that Weiner’s online ladyfriend has never brought up (though of course she has actually complained about being harassed by the winger media. Funny how you don’t care to defend her in that instance.)
Villago Delenda Est
OK, so I’ve backtracked. I was wrong about the “unsolicited” part, because Weiner sent it to an entire mailing list that wasn’t expecting such content. SOMEONE asked for it, or didn’t mind getting it, and that’s who Weiner stupidly thought he was sending it to.
I was corrected on that.
However, all this shit about me “liking” Weiner and “defending” him is really pissing me off, because apparently people are jumping into this thing today without seeing me roast Weiner alive earlier in the week. For being stupid enough as a public person to send this shit out to anyone, when the instant you send it, whether it’s expected or not, it’s out of your control. For then hitting the mass send and involving others in this mess, like Ms. Cordova. THEN for claiming he was “hacked” when he knows he sent it. Then for spending 10 days allowing the pot to come to a boil. THEN for fessin’ up on a Monday, for the love of Edward R. Murrow.
He was mutually flirting with someone, Lawnguylander. That much has been established. That he followed up with the crotch shot, then sent to many, got him into immediate trouble, but the fact he was flirting even with the willing from his public account as a congressman was incredibly poor judgement in the first place, and he should have known, with scum like Breitbart and his posse out there, that it would come back to bite him, in the end.
I can read what I write. You very obviously cannot.
Villago Delenda Est
@sixers:
I don’t buy the “hacked” story, although technically, it’s plausible. Given that he himself has rendered it OBE, it’s pointless to debate it now. You will, however, find offense that it was a plausible point before Weiner himself admitted it was just a story. That’s why it was selected as a story. It was a plausible explanation. Please note the tense of the verbs.
I do buy that he sent the crotch shot to people he didn’t plan on sending it to. That doesn’t make his stupidity at sending it to anyone in the first place any less stupid.
But as Nickws points out, the harassment Ms. Cordova has suffered at the hands of the media is a magnitude greater than anything that Weiner imposed on her, because, apparently, he stopped after that one mass tweet. There may be more out there that was sent to others who are now coming forward, who may have operated (and this is not at all uncommon) as if they were friendly to him to get more dirt. On the intertubes, no one knows if you are a dog, are actually of age, or if you’re an FBI agent. More stupidity on Weiner’s part for not taking this into consideration.
The man is paying for all this stupid now, which should make some people happy. But apparently, it’s not enough.
As I said earlier, we’ll let his constituents make the final call on his congressional career.
sixers
Hey just so you know…You’re a prude if you have a problem with a congressman lying to multiple people over the course of 10 days.
Villago Delenda Est
@sixers:
Um, no.
That’s not what the “prude” is about, and never has been.
Again, reading comprehension FAIL.
lacp
It’s all a big mistake. He meant to send the dick pic to the Cordoba mosque, but got his addresses mixed up.
sixers
@Villago Delenda Est:
Ooooo.. You put FAIL in capital letters. Wow. I guess that settles it.
Whiskey Screams from a Guy With No Short-Term Memory
@Villago Delenda Est: “sixers” has been trolling this site about nothing else but Weiner, on nothing but Weiner threads, to the point where I suspect it is a paid troll.
You’re not engaging in a substantive discussion, to put it mildly.
Villago Delenda Est
@Whiskey Screams from a Guy With No Short-Term Memory:
Trying to make some points that are apparently too subtle for the likes of sixers, or lawnguyland.
Shit, I can’t condemn Weiner enough for them.
sixers
The fact you think someone could be paid enough to converse with you tools making every excuse for Weiner speaks volumes about the cocoon you’re in.
Villago Delenda Est
@sixers:
Wow, you sure told us!
/whimper.
Mike Kay (True Grit)
Jeez,
are we going to have to read about weiner for the next month on every friggin blog?!
Paul Ryan is laughing at you.
kay
@sixers:
I think he’s an arrogant idiot, so you’re not alone. Love the part where he “bullies” his staff. That’s bravery! Truth to power, Congressman Weiner! Treat the people who work under you like garbage.
I have no idea what he’s bullying them about, since he hasn’t done anything substantive the whole time he’s been there.
Larkspur
@Villago Delenda Est: Hey, I’m with you. I won’t apologize for not rushing to condemn him in advance of the facts. And just because I don’t think it’s necessary for all of us to analyze how exactly the communications took place, or to labor over establishing a timeline, or an exhaustive transcript, or to speculate – because we’re just so concerned, and need details to be sympathetic – about the harm caused to Ms. Cordova or Ms. Abedin, doesn’t mean I’m giving Wiener a free pass. And just because I still think Breitbart is a nasty little man doesn’t mean I give Weiner a free pass either.
We don’t have to spend more days and weeks on this. Some people may want to, but it isn’t necessary. Absent brand new facts, we’ve got what we need, and now it’s up to his constituents to decide his political fate. I kind of wish his wife would fly Ms. Cordova in from Seattle or wherever, then the two of them can put Anthony in a room, tie him to a chair, beat him up, or do heinous things like giving speeches to him without allowing him to respond, or endlessly refolding maps incorrectly while he watches helplessly. Or telling him to stand up, over and over, while they yell, “The gentleman will sit down!” over and over, till he turns into a jack-in-the-box, and then they can yell at him, “Anthony! Put it in the cornfield! Put it in the cornfield!”
Then Ms. Abedin and Ms. Cordova can go out to dinner and a show, on his personal credit card. See? I am all about problem-solving.
Lawnguylander
@Villago Delenda Est:
It has been? Where? By whom? Not by Weiner, that’s for sure because he said that he deliberately sent it to her. And what’s all this about sending it to a mass mailing list? What are you talking about? As for you not being able to condemn him strongly enough for me, again, WTF are you talking about? Go back and check all my comments here. All I’m saying is that it’s fucking creepy to send some woman a picture of your dick who didn’t ask for it and that it’s not wrong to call doing so harassment. That’s all I’m arguing with you about. I haven’t misinterpreted anything you’ve said here despite your shifting from one inaccurate portrayal of their exchange to another, confusing as it’s been to follow. And in the context of the argument I’m actually having with you, and not the pretend one you think we’re having, it doesn’t matter that you’ve said here or in other threads that it was a stupid thing to do. Do you understand yet?
Villago Delenda Est
@Lawnguylander:
“Harassment” is as much about intent as it is the act.
So far, we don’t know that Weiner intentionally set the pic to this particular woman to get a reaction specfically from her. You’re making an assumption in this regard. So far, everything I’ve read indicates he intended to send it to someone else and Ms. Cordova got caught in the spamstorm.
Frankly, I don’t see the intent here. I don’t see repeated offenses, either, which is usually the what you’re looking for when you scream “harassment”.
Of course, you’re busy being a sexual moral scold, so I’ll just let you carry on.
The guy’s political career is toast. Onward to newer, fresher tragedies.
Villago Delenda Est
@Lawnguylander:
And one more thing:
As I’ve been pointing out, incessantly, there’s doubt about whether it was Weiner’s intent to send that picture of his dick to Ms. Cordova, or any of the rest of the people on the mailing list. He says, and I believe him, that he was sending it as a joke to one person, NOT Ms. Cordova. Whether or not this is a good idea or not (and I think it’s a terrible idea, for reasons I’ve stated) is not the point.
But as you your confession that you find it “fucking creepy”, may I remind you that there are plenty of people out there who find two men having sex with each other to be “fucking creepy”, that a black man having sex with a white woman is “fucking creepy”, that a married couple doing anything at all besides penis in vagina intercourse is “fucking creepy” unless they’re doing it with the express intention of reproduction and even then they should take a ritual bath afterwards, and that a woman ending a pregnancy that might wind up killing her is “fucking creepy”. That “fucking creepy” feeling of theirs is more than enough justification to bring the entire weight of the state on those parties who are creeping them out, whether they can see it or not, just the thought of all that “fucking creepy” stuff going on is more than enough reason.
So don’t be surprised when people react to your finding of “fucking creepy” in this case as prudishness.
Mike Kay (True Grit)
@kay: but, but, but he’s the only true progressive®!