Was Anthony Weiner betrayed by the Dems, but not Clinton?

[Malgrave]

Oh yeah, definitely backstabbed. This is one of the reasons I really hate the democratic party with a passion. This would never happen in the GOP, Hire prostitutes? Fine, Solicit gay sex in a bathroom? Fine, "Hike the Appalachian Trail" ? Fine, etc., etc.

Yet, Anthony Weiner sends a few completely consensual photos over twitter that some stupid stalker stumbles upon, and the Democrats scramble to condemn the guy, call for an investigation, and throw him under a bus.

Words cannot describe how disgusted I am by the complete and total cowardice and spinelessness of the Democratic Party, and worse, towards literally the best fucking congressman they had.

it's shit like this that lets the GOP get away with calling them what they do: Because time and time again they do their best to prove the bastards right.

*shakes head*

This is true.

[Luthiland]

I am conflicted. As a gay man I think anyone should be able to have a personal life without it being smeared all over the papers and media. I think you should be able to have sex or sexts with whoever you want.

As a republican I am happy that a majority of these sex scandals are centered around democrats. Those new York democrats just can't keep it zipped up.

As a New Yorker I think he should resign. Elected officials represent the people that voted for them, not only as their voice but as the embodiment of the values of those people. Not only are they supposed to work for our betterment but they are supposed to exhibit all of our qualities and none of our shortcomings. Wiener is one of the public faces of our state and now that face has mud on it.... Or something else?

[New Chalcedon]

Was Anthony Weiner backstabbed by the Dems, but not Clinton?

A big question, and I'd like all of your inputs on this. Did you think that Anthony Weiner was treated unfairly and was ultimately betrayed by the party he had spent all of his political career aligning himself with? Did the Dems have enough of Weiner's reign in the House?

On a more essential note, it should be considered that former Democratic president Bill Clinton was also involve in a sex scandal that ultimately led to his resignation as well, although he received mostly positive support from his party while he strove to defend his claim that he did not engage in sexual interactions with Lewinsky. He was later found of lying, but still got support from the left? That doesn't make sense when they did the exact same opposite to Weiner, who too was caught lying after confessing to the legitimacy of the claims that he was in the act of sending perverse messages to the American public. Weiner was attacked and backlashed by almost all of his party colleagues, and ultimately felt so unsatisfied with the pressure gave in and announced his resignation a few days ago.

In a more summarily sense, NSG, do you think Weiner was backstabbed by his own party when Clinton was not, although they too were involved in sex-related political scandals.

(1) Clinton didn't resign - he was term-limited per the Constitution.
(2) Clinton wasn't sending beefcake pictures of himself to random women.
(3) What Clinton did was in his personal life - what Weiner did was with official equipment (twitter acct, etc.).
(4) A number of Democrats called for Clinton's resignation after the scandal erupted. Also, five Democrats in the House, for instance, voted to impeach Clinton.

Quite frankly, I believe that Weiner did not need to resign. However, I can certainly see why some of his colleagues thought otherwise.

I am conflicted. As a gay man I think anyone should be able to have a personal life without it being smeared all over the papers and media. I think you should be able to have sex or sexts with whoever you want.

As a republican I am happy that a majority of these sex scandals are centered around democrats. Those new York democrats just can't keep it zipped up.

As a New Yorker I think he should resign. Elected officials represent the people that voted for them, not only as their voice but as the embodiment of the values of those people. Not only are they supposed to work for our betterment but they are supposed to exhibit all of our qualities and none of our shortcomings. Wiener is one of the public faces of our state and now that face has mud on it.... Or something else?

Riiiiiiiiight. Because, of course, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, John Ensign, Chris Lee (the last NY politician caught with it unzipped), Vito Fossella, David Vitter et al are all Democrats. Right. I see that the usual Republican "They do it more - never mind the evidence!!!one!eleven" line is in full swing.

Furthermore, isn't it the job of the NY-09 residents to determine if Mr. Weiner betrayed their principles? In fact, you could make a case that by resigning, he cheated them of the opportunity to pass judgement on the behaviour of their elected representative.

[Farnhamia]

I am conflicted. As a gay man I think anyone should be able to have a personal life without it being smeared all over the papers and media. I think you should be able to have sex or sexts with whoever you want.

As a republican I am happy that a majority of these sex scandals are centered around democrats. Those new York democrats just can't keep it zipped up.

As a New Yorker I think he should resign. Elected officials represent the people that voted for them, not only as their voice but as the embodiment of the values of those people. Not only are they supposed to work for our betterment but they are supposed to exhibit all of our qualities and none of our shortcomings. Wiener is one of the public faces of our state and now that face has mud on it.... Or something else?

Which Democrats are those? Mark Foley? Larry Craig? Mark Sanford? John Ensign? Wis. State Rep. Randy Hopper (unfortunate name, that)? Vito Fossella? David Vitter? I'm not saying Democrats don't embarrass themselves but they do it with less frequency and they do it without having first made loud pronouncements on how people should conduct their lives. Former Governor Sanford, for instance, was part of the House team that impeached President Clinton, and David Vitter, who took over former Congressman Robert Livingston's House seat in 1999, who resigned following revelations of an extramarital affair. At the time, Vitter stated: "I think Livingston's stepping down makes a very powerful argument that (Bill) Clinton should resign as well ..." Vitters' name was then discovered in the address book of the DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey. He admitted his adultery and withdrew from the 2003 gubernatorial race for governor. Please.

EDIT: *snarls at New Chalcedon*

[Gauthier]

This is just a sign that Democrats are sliding back towards the Dubya Era, where they were pretty much the Republicans' submissive bitch.

[Ashmoria]

the 2 men are in different positions at different times.

bill clinton was president. he needed to remain president. anthony weiner was one rep out of many many reps.

i do think that the dems did themselves a disservice even if they really dont like anthony weiner. letting one of their own get eaten by sharks makes all of them more vulnerable.

[Ashmoria]

and no i dont think that mr weiner was stabbed in the back or betrayed. his problems were of his own making.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Didn't Jon Stewart do a bit on this?

[Nightkill the Emperor]

This is just a sign that Democrats are sliding back towards the Dubya Era, where they were pretty much the Republicans' submissive bitch.

They aren't already there?

[Serrland]

the 2 men are in different positions at different times.

bill clinton was president. he needed to remain president. anthony weiner was one rep out of many many reps.

i do think that the dems did themselves a disservice even if they really dont like anthony weiner. letting one of their own get eaten by sharks makes all of them more vulnerable.

I'm not so sure about that last bit - it lets them fund and run an "establishment" Democratic candidate in a safe seat. If I'm Pelosi, I'm glad that there's a better chance I'll have someone who will go lockstep with my whims.

[The Floridian Coast]

I have a lot of cognitive dissonance about this. I really liked Weiner and thought he was hands down one of the best Congressmen. I also find it appalling people think a minor scandal with NO LAWS BROKEN constitutes a resignable offense, that the media parades this issue around rather than focus on what really matters - the economy, the wars, the knee-deep shit we're in.

On the other hand, there are a lot of voters who are stupid/on a moral high horse/usually both at once, and trying to let the scandal die may not have worked and may have hurt Democrats a bit. The party really can't afford to dig themselves a deeper hole for 2012, can they?

[Greater Tezdrian]

Weiner's such a dumbfuck; he doesn't deserve support.

[Countrylandistan]

I think that both parties were genius at one point, but now their both completely rediculous

[Caninope]

Shit. Another bleeder from another universe.

Men, send him back to the universe he came from!

<bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzap>

That's been happening more and more lately.........

There does seem to be a rift in space-time somewhere, doesn't there? Maybe a tachyon beam or something would help? Oh, wait, it's summer! Never mind.

Where's that Doctor when you need him? Probably watching the birth of the Messiah of the Klingons or something.

[Caninope]

Oh yeah, definitely backstabbed. This is one of the reasons I really hate the democratic party with a passion. This would never happen in the GOP, Hire prostitutes? Fine, Solicit gay sex in a bathroom? Fine, "Hike the Appalachian Trail" ? Fine, etc., etc.

Excuse me? David Vitter has been called multiple times to resign, including during this recent scandal. Larry Craig did resign and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. Finally, Mark Sanford faced massive fallout. People called for him to resign, his wife left him, he was as an insult against Nikki Haley by Sheheen (I was in SC around this time actually, so I remember), and thanks to Sanford's antics, the GOP's majority in the election when down from 55% to 51%. Quite a drop for the state of SC.

[Ashmoria]

the 2 men are in different positions at different times.

bill clinton was president. he needed to remain president. anthony weiner was one rep out of many many reps.

i do think that the dems did themselves a disservice even if they really dont like anthony weiner. letting one of their own get eaten by sharks makes all of them more vulnerable.

I'm not so sure about that last bit - it lets them fund and run an "establishment" Democratic candidate in a safe seat. If I'm Pelosi, I'm glad that there's a better chance I'll have someone who will go lockstep with my whims.

im pretty sure that weiner voted with pelosi every time.

now they have to rush to find a good candidate for a seat that may well be going away in '12

[Ashmoria]

Oh yeah, definitely backstabbed. This is one of the reasons I really hate the democratic party with a passion. This would never happen in the GOP, Hire prostitutes? Fine, Solicit gay sex in a bathroom? Fine, "Hike the Appalachian Trail" ? Fine, etc., etc.

Excuse me? David Vitter has been called multiple times to resign, including during this recent scandal. Larry Craig did resign and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. Finally, Mark Sanford faced massive fallout. People called for him to resign, his wife left him, he was as an insult against Nikki Haley by Sheheen (I was in SC around this time actually, so I remember), and thanks to Sanford's antics, the GOP's majority in the election when down from 55% to 51%. Quite a drop for the state of SC.

who called on vitter to resign and when?

larry craig didnt resign.

mark sanford didnt resign.

[Wikkiwallana]

This is just a sign that Democrats are sliding back towards the Dubya Era, where they were pretty much the Republicans' submissive bitch.

They aren't already there?

He did, I posted it, and someone spoiled the punchline.

[Mike the Progressive]

Clinton resigned? What alternate past was this?

It's true, and New York also gets three senators, Democrats eat babies, and Obama was born in Kenya and Indonesia at the same time.

[Tsa-la-gi Nation]

To answer truthfully, I don't know. The question that I want to ask is, how do people like this rise to the most powerful postions in the country !?! I mean, what is going on in your head when you have the honor to pledge an oath of public service & then decide to take a picture of your junk & send it to your supporters? You sure in hell aren't thinking about the country's budget problems. Every year we see more & more people who rise to power doing very, very stupid things. Am I the only one that thinks this is a strong sign that the process of how we select the people that represent us is not working?

I honestly believe that people who represent this country that get caught doing something like this should be deported & their assets striped.

Sorry for the rant.

[Caninope]

Excuse me? David Vitter has been called multiple times to resign, including during this recent scandal. Larry Craig did resign and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. Finally, Mark Sanford faced massive fallout. People called for him to resign, his wife left him, he was as an insult against Nikki Haley by Sheheen (I was in SC around this time actually, so I remember), and thanks to Sanford's antics, the GOP's majority in the election when down from 55% to 51%. Quite a drop for the state of SC.

who called on vitter to resign and when?

larry craig didnt resign.

mark sanford didnt resign.

I know those two didn't resign. I dunno why Larry Craig didn't resign but Sanford probably didn't because he didn't have too long left in office. Similarly, Maurepas left out John Ensign who did resign. Now, this isn't a call for resignation, but it is just as bad. The only reason why calls for Vitter's resignation weren't higher was because the governor of Louisiana would have appointed a Democrat at the time.

[Ostpreuss]

To answer truthfully, I don't know. The question that I want to ask is, how do people like this rise to the most powerful postions in the country !?! I mean, what is going on in your head when you have the honor to pledge an oath of public service & then decide to take a picture of your junk & send it to your supporters? You sure in hell aren't thinking about the country's budget problems. Every year we see more & more people who rise to power doing very, very stupid things. Am I the only one that thinks this is a strong sign that the process of how we select the people that represent us is not working?

I honestly believe that people who represent this country that get caught doing something like this should be deported & their assets striped.

Sorry for the rant.

Right on! What the guy did was unethical according to the rules of congress. No more and no less. Oh yeah, and he is married and BTW his actions aren't really conducive to a good marriage now are they? He can now join his scumbag buddy Spitzer on CNN. Good for him.

[Greed and Death]

To answer truthfully, I don't know. The question that I want to ask is, how do people like this rise to the most powerful postions in the country !?! I mean, what is going on in your head when you have the honor to pledge an oath of public service & then decide to take a picture of your junk & send it to your supporters? You sure in hell aren't thinking about the country's budget problems. Every year we see more & more people who rise to power doing very, very stupid things. Am I the only one that thinks this is a strong sign that the process of how we select the people that represent us is not working?

I honestly believe that people who represent this country that get caught doing something like this should be deported & their assets striped.

Sorry for the rant.

Only the horny assholes get elected. It is something about being horny and wanting power.

[ArghNeedAName]

Only the horny assholes get elected. It is something about being horny and wanting power.

Indeed that's correct. I read a news story which was questioning why politicians can keep our country intact, and yet do such blindingly stupid things when it comes to sex. The context is quite important.

Politicians tend to be quiet healthy. You rarely see obese drug addicts in politics. Someone like Weiner, Sanford and others will have a good diet and get plenty of sleep and exercise. Walking the Appalachian trail is definately good exercise. This basically increases testosterone. There's no evidence Weiner is an alcoholic or smoker, he's also fairly handsome and pretty smart. That sounds like an ideal type of politician but it isn't, because these sort of things add up to a lot of sexual desire. And it's amazing but not unexpected they'd go this far to get sexual desires satisfied. You've heard that a man can't operate the penis and brain at the same time. It's true. I think our evolution ended up this way so that men who took stupid risks to end up getting laid were more likely to have children than those who exercise caution.

[Miniature Dachshunds]

The Democrats would rather turn on their own than stand up to the Republicans. I wish I was actually surprised.