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Subscribe to RSSThe New York Post calls for Anthony Weiner to resign: “Fall on your sword, Weiner” is the Post’s cover.
The New York Daily News dubs him the “Pee Wee Herman of Congress” and its cover: “Putz’s porn star.”
The New York Times: “Mr. Weiner spent much of the past 24 hours apologizing over and over to stunned Congressional colleagues and Democratic leaders angry at him for misleading them and the public. Even neighboring House Democrats seemed shaken, with many of them worrying that worse disclosures may still surface. In a tense telephone call with Mr. Weiner, during which he apologized, Representative Nydia M. Velázquez of Brooklyn scolded him, as she recalled: ‘How can you explain that somebody can be so smart but so stupid?’”
“Asked if Mr. Weiner should resign, she replied, ‘The most important thing in this business is credibility.’”
“A full 51% of city voters think Weiner should not be forced to resign his Queens-Brooklyn House seat, a New York 1-Marist poll taken hours after the congressman fessed to sext-capades found,” The New York Daily News writes. “However, 56% think the ambitious politician should not run for Gracie Mansion in 2013, a depressing total for a candidate many political observers had pegged as the front-runner before the scandal broke.”
“Rep. Anthony Weiner insisted he will not resign, but a cloud now looms over the New York Democrat’s once-bright political future,” Roll Call reports. “His New York City mayoral ambitions are all but dead, and his hold on his Congressional seat is in jeopardy.”
“While House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stopped short of calling for Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign, her demand for an ethics investigation into his online affairs clearly signaled that her Caucus thinks it's time for him to go,” Roll Call writes. “Democrats said Pelosi's unprecedented decision to swiftly call for an ethics investigation — and her harsh words for the New York Democrat — has sent a not-so-subtle sign that leadership does not want to see a protracted scandal at a time when Democrats are battling for control of the House.”
“When John Boehner rose from Minority Leader to Speaker in January, he not only expanded his staff and his paycheck, he more than doubled the expense-account check he cashes each month,” Roll Call writes. He receives a direct payment from taxpayers each month of $2,083.33, up from $833 a month. “Boehner now appears to be the only Member of the House accepting this money in direct payments each month.”
“Republicans want a short-term increase to the debt ceiling if the talks led by Vice President Biden do not produce sufficient spending cuts, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday,” The Hill reports.
How strong is the Snooki Lobby? “Republicans have targeted for repeal a tax on tanning-bed services meant to offset costs of the new healthcare law,” The Hill reports.
“Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and one-time White House chief of staff Andy Card have joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s campaign against burdensome regulations,” The Hill notes. “Bayh and Card will travel around the United States to provide a “bipartisan message on regulatory reform” through speeches, events and media appearances, according to a memo that was obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.”
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Saw a poll yesterday that the people in his district want him to stay. Let them prove that with a special election he runs in. My concern is that he's become ineffective in Congress losing trust and credibility and just for that reason alone should resign.
If the handwriting isn't already on the wall, it should be. As liberal as I am, I certainly won't leap to defend anyone who used his office to meet women on the Internet for the purpose of engaging in smarmy relationships, compromising him and making him open to possible blackmail or worse, and then lied repeatedly to constituents, colleagues, the media, and the public. How can we possibly continue to trust him to do the people's business?
I really don't want to hear anymore about how this was "private." It wasn't. If it was nothing but a "private" matter, then why didn't he just admit it? Why did he work so hard to cover it up? Because he knows better, that's why. Weiner has stated publicly that he uses social media for his business, and it is clear that he would have had no access to most or all of these women if he weren't a Congressman. Any one of them could have blackmailed him over this. If that alone isn't an abuse of trust, I don't think the mere possibility that he might have used his office phone to engage in this activity makes it that much worse.
For far too long, we have allowed our standards for public officials to deteriorate. That needs to end, and this would be a good place to end it. Well, that, and David Vitter's resignation for what was essentially identical bad judgment AND it was illegal.
Anna Molly, I couldn't agree with you more.
For me, it is not even the acts themselves that are disturbing, it is that Mr. Weiner would lie about them in the first place, and lie again to cover them up.
I can appreciate that his constituents would be willing to forgive him and I can acknowledge that their voices are influential. I can appreciate that he is a strong liberal voice in the house. But these are critical times in the liberal vs conservative discourse.
I will also add that should Weiner be compelled to resign, the same should also happen to all other members of congress in similar situations. Vitter, for instance.
Very sad.
Truthfully I am very disappointed, I thought this kid was on the ball, he seemed to speak up and stand his ground. Then he pulls these punk stunts, like I have said before when a man does something like this it becomes the one thing his opponents will always remember, and the the one thing his supporters can never forget. Sad thing when a man plays fast and loose with his family's good name. Whether it is fair or not, or whether others are doing the same or worse is not the point, if it's not criminal it is damn creepy, he lied repeatedly, I can't defend his actions or condone them, in the end he slipped himself the weenie he should just go. By the way I'm human, and have my faults, I have been called a sawed off little prick, but I have never sent anybody a picture to prove it.
Even if you're comfortable with what he did, ugh, he's just too stupid to stay in office for thinking something like this could be kept hidden. The egotistical arrogance involved is somewhat breathtaking too.
I completely agree with Anna, if what he did wasn't "wrong" then why the need to cover it up? Guy needs to go, alls he's good for anymore is late night talk show joke punchlines.
Of all the pretty hard left liberals I know,(I'm an independent moderate) not a single one of them think he should keep his seat. They are uniformly disgusted that one of "theirs" pulled this crap and made Breitbert look good.
The handwriting DEFINITELY should be on the wall for Weiner and every other congressman/woman that is elected to go to Washington and then insults their voters by these kinds of actions. The USA has a tremendous amount of issues to address and the personal and character actions of congressmen should be made accountable. These people have given themselves every imaginable PERK (paid for courtesy of taxpayers) to compensate them of their work for the good of the country. Over the past several years it is become quite obvious these congressmen do not take their jobs seriously. I imagine we have seen just the tip of the iceberg to this kind of behavior. A line needs to be drawn and an automatic dismissal be made anytime this kind of activity is discovered.
i'm a life long dem and anyone that stupid should not be making decisions about our direction
Are we SURE that Weiner isn't a Republican in disguise? I swear, I think Weiner is a Republican plant ... needs watering everyday, too!
When an adult shows himself to be a LEWD EXHIBITIONIST, there are a few jobs that he removes himself from qualifying for, such as school teacher of minors, pediatrician, judge, and representative of the electorate in the nation's highest assembly: Congress, among other lines of work, for reasons obvious.
U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner has let sound judgment lapse into moral turpitude on many occasions over the past few years and he's been caught at it, in addition to lying vociferously to the media for all to see and hear. Rep. Weiner need not cling on to his job — he must do the right thing and resign; he's unfit to lead and a disgrace. Most voters do not want to be represented in Congress by a lewd exhibitionist like Anthony Weiner.
His party, the democrats, leadership immediately called for an ethics investigation. Big surprise they would leap to investigate one of their own.
Republican Committe Chair calls for is resignation. No surprise there but none of their business since he does not represent them.
Senate majority leader says he cannot support him. Big surprise since he is not a Senator why is Reid even talking.
The only people who have a real say in this are his constituents in New York and the House Ethics Committee. Everyone else is just showboating.
"Perhaps inevitably, the Clintons have been pulled into the "sexting" scandal surrounding Rep. Anthony Weiner "
HAHA....from one perverted politician to another......
wahow! how about sanford saying he is going on the appalachian trail, but really leaving country, leaving his state without a commander in chief; ensign paying off a mistress (via his parents,) getting mistress' husband a lobbying job, employing mistress' son; craig trolling the minnesota airport bathroom soliciting males; boehnner covering up colleague scandal with male pages; scarborough scandal about a dead intern; vitter's name at the top of the dc madam's list; gingrich's witch hunt on clinton, when he was doing the samething -- cheating on first wife or was that his second wife?; and the gwb mistress NO ONE in dc talks about.
really??? talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
when is enough ,enough? humm?
Dems always get a pass on this stuff!!!!!!!! enough is enough!!! The New York political machine is a joke., Look a the disgrace that Rangle brings to the house, now this this PLEASE!!!!!!
Most of you Dems are deminted. Give me a break. Elitest,conseeded,lothing,better than anyone else. What a party you people support.
as far as the govenator from Calf. goes. He is a Dem in Repb clothing. he is no conservative
He married a lib and he is a lib
Regarding this Anthony Weiner stuff....frankly, I feel the same sense of profound disappointment that I felt when it became apparent that President Clinton had lied to the people of the country. I thought that Anthony Weiner was becoming a rising star in the ranks of the Democratic Party. I enjoyed listening to him on the talk shows and I thought he had a great spunky spirit that added spice to the debate......and I'm saddened at the direction that his political career has taken.
One thing that I've learned over the years about people who seem to exhibit the trait of being a pathological liar, is that they themselves rarely change......only our perception of them changes. Anthony is still basically the same person that he was yesterday and two months ago and and two years ago. The traits that I have admired in him, like his firebrand style of debate and his quick biting wit....are still there......but now that MY perception of him has changed, it will take some time for me to be able to listen to him without some sort of double entendre going off in my head.
Maybe it's because I've never sought out arousal while sitting in front of my computer that I seriously don't understand what could have motivated the congressman to do something like this.....I guess I'm of the school of thought that shuns the idea of cybersexing because it's so much more fulfilling to have the real thing.....so this entire sophomoric masturbatory episode does definitely make me question his judgment. If I were living in his district and had the opportunity to vote for the man, I probably couldn't do it.....but that doesn't mean I'd vote for the Republican instead....I would hope that I had a better alternative.
So I basically do hope that Congressman Weiner falls on his sword and resigns before he becomes a liability to the Democratic Party in general. God knows that Bill Clinton's indiscretions gave us 8 years of Bush Jr.......and that was an absolutely unmitigated disaster.