Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Stand up, dammit!

We are learning that “working class” means “white” for way too many people.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Find someone who loves you the way trump and maga love traitors.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / “Business Is Business”, or, “Weiner Triumphs… “

“Business Is Business”, or, “Weiner Triumphs… “

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Via Dave Weigel, the NYTimes breathlessly reassures us that Anthony “Dick Pics” Weiner is the latest beneficiary of the revolving door:

… Over the past two years, it appeared as if Mr. Weiner, once the irrepressible fireball of New York City politics, had spent his days as a stay-at-home dad, licking his wounds and mourning his ambitions after the salacious images and messages that he sent to women prompted his resignation from Congress.

But it turns out that from the moment he left public view, the man who had relied on a government paycheck his entire adult life was consumed by a corporate career whose profits and progress came to him, by his own account, with remarkable ease…

As he weighs whether to leap into the race for mayor this year, Mr. Weiner’s lucrative stint in business could serve as a compelling campaign credential, blunting efforts to portray him as a career politician, even as it raises uncomfortable questions about the speed with which he cashed in on his government connections.

He and his wife, Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, disclosed last week that they had a combined income of $496,000 in 2012, most of it from Mr. Weiner’s work. The money provided a lifestyle-changing infusion for the couple, who moved from a modest home in Forest Hills, Queens, to a large apartment on Park Avenue South in Manhattan.

Mr. Weiner’s rapid rise from disgraced lawmaker to in-demand strategic consultant demonstrates the enduring power of Washington’s revolving door.

New York’s tabloids merrily beat him up with pun-filled headlines, but companies eager to navigate federal regulations and red tape say that a tainted congressman is worth every cent.

“Business is business,” said Harold Gubnitsky, formerly executive vice president at Parabel, a Weiner client that harvests an algae-like crop used for food and fuel.

“He’s a very quick student,” Mr. Gubnitsky said. “He had a natural instinct for it.” …

Mr. Weiner said he had reached out to federal officials at the Energy and Agriculture Departments, as well as members of Congress, on behalf of his clients. But he insisted that the work did not meet the legal definition of lobbying, which he said his contracts made clear he would not do…

NO, no, he just plays the piano in the parlor at the bordello. Although when it’s really busy, they might ask him to help out upstairs…

Reader Interactions

64Comments

  2. 2.

    Face

    He reaches out to Congressmen on behalf of companies, is paid for it, w/ regards to the bill-making process. But its not lobbying. Lulwut?

  3. 3.

    David Koch

    is this the same Anthony Weiner the liberal blogosphere weeped over and slit their wrists when he resigned because he was a “fighter” or something?

    no. it most be a mistake. surely the vaunted liberal blogosphere wasn’t once again taken. atleast not soon after being taken in by john edwards

  4. 4.

    PeakVT

    I certainly thought he was a scumbag before, but it’s good to have that confirmed.

  5. 5.

    BGinCHI

    As bad as this is, and I’m not defending him, he’s still better than every single Republican in the whole USA.

    By a mile.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    When he jumps into the ring for NYC mayor, his campaign slogan can be “Nothing To Hide.”

    Or maybe “Weiner Stands Up For You.”

    (now dialing the sophomoric knob down from 11)

  8. 8.

    David Koch

    @BGinCHI:

    As bad as this is, and I’m not defending him, he’s still better than every single Republican in the whole USA. By a mile.

    not a mile, more like 6 inches.

  9. 9.

    mai naem

    I always thought Weiner was a little slippery but you have to love the clip of him on MSNBC with Maria Antoinette Bartiromo during the health care bill when she turned to him and said “If medicare is so great how come you’re not on it.” Freaking classic CNBC Wall Street no nothing shill ideology.

  10. 10.

    David Koch

    @amk:

    grayson for prezinent.

    you mean the guy who bilks money from poor dumb liberal bloggers billing himself as a “fighter” with “guts” who just sold them out on Friday, voting for the private-jet-business-class-air-traveler relief act?

  11. 11.

    mai naem

    @NotMax: I actually kind of like Grayson. Look up his bio and you’ll be impressed. He’s a self made guy. I know he’s a bit of a self promoter but to me he’s a lot more genuine than Weiner.

  13. 13.

    David Koch

    speaking of grifters who bilked lefty bloggers, it comes as no surprise that Dennis Kucinich is now working for…. wait for it…. Fixxed News.

    Kucinich commented, “Through 16 years in Congress and two presidential campaigns, FOX News has always provided me with an opportunity to share my perspective with its enormous viewership. I look forward to a continuation of our relationship this time as a FOX News contributor.”

    see, even the liberal Dennis Kucinich vouches for Fixxed News’ fair and balanced coverage.

  14. 14.

    TaMara (BHF)

    Completely OT: it’s raining here. Soon it’s going to snow. Why is that important? Because in an hour an a half Colorado allows civil unions for same sex couples. And right now, there are a few hundred people standing in the rain, waiting for the doors to open at midnight so they can get their licenses and have civil ceremonies.

    I wish them all happiness and peace. Congratulations.

  15. 15.

    Roger Moore

    @BGinCHI:

    As bad as this is, and I’m not defending him, he’s still better than every single Republican in the whole USA.

    Thank you for providing the paradigm version of damning with faint praise.

  21. 21.

    David Koch

    Something extraordinary happened today during the President’s news conference — a useful question was actually asked.

    CBS’ Bill Plante did the unexpected and asked a pertinent question about the hunger strikes at GITMO.

    Anne Laurie has posted a number of articles on the hunger strike. While Laurie didn’t post anything today on the President’s response, I’m sure it was just an oversight. So let me help out by posting a transcript of the exchange.

    Bill Plante: Mr. President, as you’re probably aware, there’s a growing hunger strike on Guantanamo Bay among prisoners there. Is it any surprise really that they would prefer death rather than have no end in sight to their confinement?

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, it is not a surprise to me that we’ve got problems in Guantanamo, which is why when I was campaigning in 2007 and 2008, and when I was elected in 2008, I said we need to close Guantanamo. I continue to believe that we’ve got to close Guantanamo.

    I think it is critical for us to understand that Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe. It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing. It lessens cooperation with our allies on counterterrorism efforts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed.

    Now, Congress determined that they would not let us close it — and despite the fact that there are a number of the folks who are currently in Guantanamo who the courts have said could be returned to their country of origin or potentially a third country.

    I’m going to go back at this. I’ve asked my team to review everything that’s currently being done in Guantanamo, everything that we can do administratively. And I’m going to reengage with Congress to try to make the case that this is not something that’s in the best interest of the American people. And it’s not sustainable.

    The notion that we’re going to continue to keep over a hundred individuals in a no-man’s land in perpetuity, even at a time when we’ve wound down the war in Iraq, we’re winding down the war in Afghanistan, we’re having success defeating al Qaeda core, we’ve kept the pressure up on all these transnational terrorist networks, when we’ve transferred detention authority in Afghanistan — the idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals who have not been tried, that is contrary to who we are, it is contrary to our interests, and it needs to stop.

    Now, it’s a hard case to make because I think for a lot of Americans the notion is out of sight, out of mind. And it’s easy to demagogue the issue. That’s what happened the first time this came up. I’m going to go back at it because I think it’s important.

    Bill Plante: Meanwhile we continue to force-feed these folks?

    THE PRESIDENT: I don’t want these individuals to die. Obviously, the Pentagon is trying to manage the situation as best as they can. But I think all of us should reflect on why exactly are we doing this? Why are we doing this? We’ve got a whole bunch of individuals who have been tried who are currently in maximum security prisons around the country. Nothing has happened to them. Justice has been served. It’s been done in a way that’s consistent with our Constitution, consistent with due process, consistent with rule of law, consistent with our traditions.

    The individual who attempted to bomb Times Square — in prison, serving a life sentence. The individual who tried to bomb a plane in Detroit — in prison, serving a life sentence. A Somali who was part of Al-Shabaab, who we captured — in prison. So we can handle this.

    And I understand that in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, with the traumas that had taken place, why, for a lot of Americans, the notion was somehow that we had to create a special facility like Guantanamo and we couldn’t handle this in a normal, conventional fashion. I understand that reaction. But we’re now over a decade out. We should be wiser. We should have more experience in how we prosecute terrorists.

    And this is a lingering problem that is not going to get better. It’s going to get worse. It’s going to fester. And so I’m going to, as I said before, examine every option that we have administratively to try to deal with this issue, but ultimately we’re also going to need some help from Congress, and I’m going to ask some folks over there who care about fighting terrorism but also care about who we are as a people to step up and help me on it.

    Meanwhile, CNN and Fixxed News both wasted the President’s time asking him about… wait for it… Benghazi1!1!. No really, they did.

  24. 24.

    Hill Dweller

    @David Koch: Apparently, Special Ed Henry’s question was based on complete bullshit that had been debunked before he even asked it.

  25. 25.

    Villago Delenda Est

    So, Mr. Dick Picture’s mendacity is a feature, not a bug, for corporations looking for someone who knows the ropes of DC.

    Hardly surprising. Honor is a concept best left to fantasy, like Game of Thrones.

  26. 26.

    max

    the NYTimes breathlessly reassures us that Anthony “Dick Pics” Weiner is the latest beneficiary of the revolving door:

    Yeah, they’ve been on a roll with that sort of thing lately. I’m curious to see when they’re going to stop hearting Bloomberg, given that the nutty right-wing billionaire the guy got up on TV and made a heartfelt defense of your friendly neighborhood fascism.

    max
    [‘Rule one: no one should have sex, ever. Rule two: it’s bad to make money stealing/whoring, unless you work in banking, in which case, GREAT!’]

  27. 27.

    Spaghetti Lee

    Mr. Weiner’s lucrative stint in business could serve as a compelling campaign credential, blunting efforts to portray him as a career politician

    So his career as a powerful lobbyist will help him seem less elitist and out-of-touch. What a weird political system we have.

    The phrase ‘career politician’ just doesn’t work its dark magic on me, I’m afraid. I’m more likely to interpret someone who constantly jars about how he’s not a career politician as a corporation-worshiping nut who thinks his skill at selling insurance or farming equipment or whatever makes him totally super-qualified for public service. I hear “I’ll bring innovative, pro-business solutions to those career politicians in Washington!” and think “I would sell your children into sweatshop labor if Wall Street could make a buck from it.”

    Of course, there are plenty of shitty career politicians, too. And even the good ones have a tendency to not know what it’s like for people in other walks of life, which is only true of, oh, every other profession.

  29. 29.

    Mandalay

    @BGinCHI:

    As bad as this is, and I’m not defending him, he’s still better than every single Republican in the whole USA.

    No Republican exceeds Weiner’s undying devotion to the causes of blindly defending Israel, and fucking up any prospect of progress in the Middle East.

    He is just as much a liar, fool and lunatic as any Republican you care to name. The only difference is that he has a D instead of an R after his name.

    He is a liability to the Democrats, and a liability to the United States. Fuck him.

  33. 33.

    AA+ Bonds

    The Times makes all of its money off of people who imagine they live next door to this creep. Hands off the china! There but for the grace of God go their advertisers.

  35. 35.

    Nicole

    @Roger Moore:

    I thought it was ironic.

    Heh. Really, a more appropriate and accurate title for that song would have been “Isn’t It a Bummer.”

    Speaking of pop songs stating things incorrectly, I was reading comments on another site about this week’s Mad Men (which included the assassination of Dr. King). One commenter asked if the scene of everyone hearing the news at night could have possibly been accurate, seeing as how she knew Dr. King was shot in the morning. All I could think was that that little band from Ireland sure misled a lot of Gen Xers about a particular moment in American history.

    Oh, and eff Anthony Weiner. Never a good Congressman; heaven help us if he gets in the mayor’s office.

  37. 37.

    AA+ Bonds

    “Business is business,” said Harold Gubnitsky, formerly executive vice president at Parabel, a Weiner client that harvests an algae-like crop used for food and fuel.

    . . . kulaks, rich peasants, grain profiteers. These bloodsuckers have grown rich on the want suffered by the people in the war; they have raked in thousands and hundreds of thousands of rubles by pushing up the price of grain and other products. These spiders have grown fat at the expense of the peasants ruined by the war, at the expense of the starving workers. These leeches have sucked the blood of the working people and grown richer as the workers in the cities and factories starved. These vampires have been gathering the landed estates into their hands; they continue to enslave the poor peasants.

    Ruthless war on the kulaks! Death to them! Hatred and contempt for the parties which defend them . . .

  38. 38.

    jl

    I had a few feeble hopes for Weiner being on the up and up, when I read one his clients say that Weiner was a very quick study. I had a brief vision of earnest Anthony ‘boning up’ (ha ha, the dude is branded for life!) on technical subjects and giving clever and wise advice on regulatory and legislative strategy.

    And gosh by golly, it started out looking that way.

    But then I read ‘reaching out’. Like other commmenters, I would like to know what kind of ‘reaching out’ to current U.S. federal officials does a prominent ex-Congressman do that ain’t lobbying.

    Maybe that is explained in the second installment.

    Edit: Weiner would do better back in Congress. He might do some good there, rather than just be a corrupt ex-pol. I wish he had not lied and said “Yeah, I flirt with chicks with goofy junk shots I send out. Sorry, my bad.” and not resigned. that probably could not have happened, though.

  40. 40.

    Cacti

    I didn’t dislike the aptly named Congressman Weiner because of his dick-pics.

    I disliked and still dislike him because he’s a typical, grandstanding, left-bagger prig, who couldn’t be arsed to take a stand on whether Muslims ought to have first amendment rights in lower Manhattan.

    New Yorkers, please keep him.

  41. 41.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    @Cacti:

    I disliked and still dislike him because he’s a typical, grandstanding, left-bagger prig, who couldn’t be arsed to take a stand on whether Muslims ought to have first amendment rights in lower Manhattan.

    Oh yeah, the Park 51 thing. Yeah, he was a real shit about that.

  42. 42.

    AA+ Bonds

    @jl:

    Weiner would do better back in Congress. He might do some good there, rather than just be a corrupt ex-pol.

    o_O

  44. 44.

    jl

    @AA+ Bonds:

    He’ll have more training with much broader expertise on how to be a corrupt current pol. We want legislators with expertise, you know. Why do you hate America?

  45. 45.

    jl

    @The prophet Nostradumbass:

    ” Oh yeah, the Park 51 thing. Yeah, he was a real shit about that. ”

    Thanks, that brings back some unpleasant memories, which I had put out of my mind. Fine, he can stay where he is ‘reaching out’, or ‘around’ or whatever it is (as long as its not really lobbying during little Anthony’s time out period!).

  46. 46.

    Groucho48

    @David Koch:

    I wonder if that was an arranged question? Obama certainly had an excellent reply ready. Maybe this is a trial balloon?

  47. 47.

    Suffern ACE

    Antony Weiner, job creator? Nah, he’s just the lobbyist living in the penthouse by the river. The times really sucks at local influence peddling.

  48. 48.

    David Koch

    @Groucho48: there was a big front page story on the hunger strike 5 days ago in the NYT. I’m sure he prepares for all topical issues and doesn’t have to use bill plante as a plant.

  49. 49.

    David Koch

    @jl:

    He might do some good there,

    he was in congress 14 years and he didn’t pass a single bill. the only thing he did was cheerlead the invasion of iraq.

    then there was the time when he smeared bloggers who opposed Joe Lieberman as illiterate Palestinian dupes:

    But some of the most outspokenly Zionist Democrats have suggested that the current political climate has made Mr. Lieberman, as a prominent Jewish hawk, vulnerable to blog-driven criticism. “We do have a problem with progressives and those in the blogosphere, because the Palestinian position seems to be perfect for the Internet world of pithy back-and-forth and 30-second You Tube tapes, where the Zionist position is more at home in a seven-page New York Review of Books article,” said Representative Anthony Weiner, a pro-Israel hawk.

    can you imagine meltdown if obummer has said that. yet, weiner got a free pass.

  51. 51.

    priscianus jr

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: Oh yeah, the Park 51 thing. Yeah, he was a real shit about that.

    Factor in that his wife Huma Abedin is a Muslim. I’m not sue how it factors in, but how could it not?

  52. 52.

    Amir Khalid

    Off topic, but it’s May Day already. International Labour Day, commemorating the Haymarket Square affair in Chicago and celebrated everywhere on Earth — except of course in America.

  53. 53.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @Amir Khalid: There were may day protests on my campus today. Unfortunately they like to do their shouting and marching just outside my office and the windows aren’t soundproof.

    Also, OT, Mr. Trowel is back in Oz tomorrow morning after 2 months on the other side of the world. WOO.

  55. 55.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @Amir Khalid: HA HA HA HA HA.

    HA HA HA HA HA.

    HA HA HA HA HA.

    Australia may have a vaunted and noble labour history (and a currient labour PM – just barely) but no. Especially not with Anzac day on 25 April – two public holidays in 5 days is too many.

  56. 56.

    El Cid

    @David Koch: This is more to the argument that Weiner could do less damage in Congress than out — at least from time to time he provided TV entertainment value. And since Al Franken refuses to use his comic talents on the Senate floor, we need someone to do so.

  57. 57.

    Bruce S

    @David Koch:

    Weiner, Grayson and Kucinich in Congress could never come close to fucking up policy and pandering to the wrong people as Timmy Geithner did as Treasury Secretary. He told everyone except Wall Street to go fuck themselves in the wake of the financial crisis. Your outrage meter seems to have a pretty narrow – an increasingly boring – bandwidth.

  58. 58.

    Bruce S

    I’m not here to defend Weiner – who proved to be a reckless asshole and is obviously self-serving – but let’s not attack him on his Israel stance without recognizing what district he was running in. Purists who attack congressional Democrats over deviation from ultra-liberal PC need to step back and realize what the fuck it takes to create a winning electoral coalition in the real world.

    I’m much less critical of Dems like Weiner or Claire McCaskell who know their electorate and can win elections based on that understanding than I am of Dems who consistently bend on issues that have nothing to do with their district or state. I can even forgive Chuck Shumer for cozying up to Wall Street because it’s a local industry. Others, not so much.

    I didn’t see evidence of Weiner pandering to corporate interests to cushion transition to a lobbying career. I think he expected to be in Congress until he saw some other political opportunity. He’s that kind of animal.

    His positions on Israel were pretty much dictated by the composition of his district – had he not hewed in that direction he wouldn’t have gotten elected. It’s not pretty but a lot of our politics and substance of our politicians is really that simple.

    Weiner was an arrogant prick, but he was OUR arrogant prick and he was better at brutally taking down the GOP in TeeVee soundbites than 99% of Congresscritters. That was a gift that he used to the max. I’ll always have to give him credit for that because he earned it.

  61. 61.

    Bruce S

    @David Koch:

    Quite a few solidly liberal congresspeople voted for that bill. I thought it was a bad idea – but you are coming off as a hysterical purist if you want to impugn integrity based on that one. A lot of folks who voted for it had the same opinion of the bill that the President has in agreeing to sign it – not a solution to sequester, but probably better not to just block it given that there aren’t any real solutions on the table with this crap congress. Jan Schakowsky – who is definitely not a scumbag – voted for the bill in that spirit. My guess is that Grayson did as well.

    You probably hate Grayson for other stuff – like Weiner he was pretty adamant in pointing out the very real weaknesses of the ACA – which will be costing Democrats politically for years to come – but of course voted for it when other obviously more cost-efficient options had no traction. Both of those were the right thing to do IMHO. My guess is that’s your issue – these guys didn’t fall quietly into line behind Obama’s pre-compromises on some very visible pieces of his agenda. Cop to what really pisses you off about Grayson and Weiner without using straw men that disingenuously appeal to generic left-liberal PC.

    Also, I don’t know what your definition of “liberal blogger” is, but Juan Cole was one of Weiner’s biggest critics for his crap positions on Israel and, essentially, Likudnik apologetics.

    Yes, Weiner was a scumbag steeped in his own ambition and living in AIPAC land re: Israel. But in context of the Democratic party as it actually is, he was something of an asset in publicly confronting the GOP effectively on domestic politics at their own level.

  62. 62.

    JGabriel

    In the Wash. D.C. version of Game of Thrones, Anthony Weiner’s house words are: Weiner Is Coming.

  63. 63.

    Larkspur

    @TaMara (BHF): Best wishes to the Colorado folks from me, too. It brings back memories of those few weeks in 2004 in San Francisco, when Mayor Newsome said, “Who wants to get married?” and started issuing marriage licenses. It was around Valentine’s Day, and we were being pummeled by rain and wind. The lines were long, raincoats and tarps and umbrellas were fluttering about, and everyone was so happy. Those people in line started getting bouquets of flowers from total strangers around the country. There may have been pizzas involved, too.

    By August, the California Supreme Court had voided the marriage licenses, and that sucked. But they couldn’t undo history. Bad weather is one thing; climate change is another. In the case of gay rights, the metaphorical climate change is beautiful.

  64. 64.

    Ted & Hellen

    I don’t give a fuck that he shared pics of his dick. Big deal.

    What everyone really gets off on it the fact that they get to say WEINER why writing about him.

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