i say yes,he is wounded,and stoopit,and an Aipac tool…..arrogance ,and no brains…strictly my imo

Which choice gets us fewer pictures?

he’s well on his way to being a crotchety old man…

Leaning left or right?

I say no. If Vitter can stay and he actually committed crimes and had sex then Weiner who did not should definitely stay.

Awww, jeez, Jane. No Button for ‘No Opinion’? ‘Don’t Give a Fig’? ‘Let the Voters Decide’?

Frankly, after Vitter, et al., I think the choice is political. Who would succeed him? Should he run again? Only if he’s up for it, a decision his district should make for him without chemical additives.

I say he should leave if his constituents think he’s done a bad job for the decisions he’s made, he should stay if his constituents like the choices he’s made

Well, his highest value was as a rhetorical warrior. Now every time he gets up to talk, people will point their cell phone cameras at his, uh, elevated phrases. Resigned or not, he’s finished.

Nope, gotta commit!

Why isn’t there a “it doesn’t matter” option?

“According to this NY1-Marist Poll, a majority of registered voters in New York’s 9th Congressional District — 56% — do not think Anthony Weiner should resign from Congress. However, one-third — 33% — believe he should, and 12% are unsure.”

http://content.ny1.com/downloads/Weiner-June-9th-2011-NY1-Marist-Poll.pdf

OTOH: I could care LESS and figure it’s up to his purported “voting” constituents.

OTOH: I truly believe that we need to move forward with new, uh, “standards” about this kind of behavior & resulting revelations.

IMO, IF the pol in question hasn’t broken a law, then I frickin’ don’t care. IF they broke a law: get lost, but have the book tossed at ‘em.

What makes me mad as hell is conservative hypocrits who not only fool around on their wives (I don’t care), but ALSO break big-time laws AND nothing happens, while their so-called “family values” voters are utterly accepting and complacent. I want THESE politicians *held accountable* and have consequences.

I won’t hold my breath to expect reality to actually have a sway in such matters, however.

Yes, he should resign. Not because what he did is worse than Vitter, for example, but because he will never be effective again. From things I have read, he is unpopular among the other critters and they’re not likely to cooperate with him after this.

Did Wiener ever do any real work in Congress, whatever real work in Congress is? Among the parties, his 2-3 hours a day in the gym, meetings with the Clintons, compulsive texting, appearances on cable shows, etc., what did he do in Congress? So how credible will he be on the cable shows advocating progressive causes which seemed to be his mantra? About the same as Spitzer?

Only after Vitter does.

yup wounded,and of no help,anymore…really stupid guy…jeeez

He should resign because he caved to Breitbart, let Breitbart take his stage, and then apologized to him

If Democratic Party leaders weren’t just enablers of the ruling oligarchy of America, they’d never let one of their own resign over something like this.

Just think about what Republican Party leaders do when one of their own – Vitter, et al – gets caught doing far worse.

Maybe he should resign for being one if the worst AIPAC whores in the Democratic party… but not for this silly “scandal.”

yup…..wherers Fred Astaire fom Damsels in Distress
NICE WORK if you can get it,and if you can get it,wont you tell me how

Ding!

My biggest *disgust* was weenie WHINER genuflecting to Breitbart and touching Breitbart’s hem in contrition. Pretty much can’t sink any lower than that….

PTOUI!!!!!!!

P.S. Still could care less about Anthony’s weiner, however.

Nope, gotta commit!

No we don’t… ain’t voting for something so irrelevant to anyone outside his district.

i nominate leftdcin72,comment about Weenie and our Ccritters in general,for the monumental question of the millenium

what the hell do we pay these twerps for?

well then, there you have it, his constituents want him to stay, simple stuff

btw

what do you think of his record, are we better off with him or with someone else, assuming we can get another democrat in office to replace this one

One one hand, sure if Vitter does first. On the other hand, only if we don’t lose the seat. On the other other hand, Dems, commanding the moral high ground, and calling for his resignation, should SHUT THE FUCK UP.

i disagree,he has that puss of his on camera,every-time he gets a chance…he has a D next to his name

If diaper wearing David Vitter who committed a crime can stay then Weiner who did not break the law can stay. If he is forced to resign it would be another victory for the fascists.

He should resign and dissappear now for a little while, now that he has made such a mess of it. Like in “watergate” the “coverup” (his pathetic denial,) is worse than the “crime”, (indescresion,) Of course he is no worse than… too many who do that stuff, but his ability to be effective, as representative, to “his district” likely is impaired about now… let them deside, on the other hand the congress doesn’t have to approve do they?

Since Republicans never resign for sex scandals, I first thought he should stay. Violet Socks changed my mind:

http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2011/06/09/sexual-harassment/

He wasn’t just engaging in consensual conversations. He was hitting up seemingly anyone who followed him he thought might be an attractive woman. That behavior was and is reprehensible. It’s not illegal, or subject to civil litigation (unless this included women working for him).

That said, it’s way, way beyond more than “inappropriate”. It debases women, and feeds a negative social construct that women couldn’t possibly be interested in politics without also wanting to jump their bones. This is more than self absorbed behavior, it’s incredibly chauvinistic.

Few things are more in opposition to my Democratic ideals.

Hope he stays in Congress. The more assholes we have in DC the sooner people in this country will wake up the fact our political class is made up of lying, egotistical, whoring little creeps like Weiner. Oh, and don’t bother me with any of the GOP vs. Dem narrative because it doesn’t mean jack shit.

No, I do not think he needs to forfeit his career over this.

Where’s the “Hell, no!” option?

FunnyDiva

aggressive hit man

imo…he did already

reminds me of the toe tapper

I’d like to see a poll that asks the question, “Is there a need for a new revolutionary party that serves the interests of the poor, the working and middle class and minorities of all persuasion that would be willing to prosecute crimes of private capital and past administrations?”

That would make him more, not less, representative of the power-hungry that occupy Capitol Hill. For them, sex and sexual attraction are expressions of power, not intimacy or fulfillment.

yeppers

James Fallows has a series of interesting posts on this matter.

Many people have written in to disagree with my saying that Rep. Anthony Weiner has hurt himself so badly that he now weakens his side in the national debate (which I generally agree with) by staying rather than going. This was meant to be not a moralistic but a sad-realities-of-life argument: he was in a position where a lapse of discipline would hurt a lot of people who were depending on him, and he let that lapse occur.

okay ,used to really like the guy….he is another turd blossom

Ah come on Jane, I can’t believe you’re actually wasting time on this.

we agree
he is now sadly a bad weeener joke

this person speaks for many in the Dem party…so this is unimportant,why?

If he resigns I would want Alan Grayson to move to NY and take his seat. That would work for me. I’d still rather him stay if nothing more than due to Vitter staying.

The Democratic establishment are trying to push Weiner out. His constituents want him to stay. I genuinely want to know where people come down on that. I think it’s a serious issue.

I didn’t think Weinergate was important next to other pressing issues, like the White House and John Boehner getting together to keep the vote off the floor of the House condemning the action in Libya because they thought it might pass. That’s news. Anthony Weiner’s twittering habits seemed rather unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

But now it’s become an issue of Democratic leadership deciding who gets to stay in office, and who doesn’t. That actually does have news value in my book.

he was in a position where a lapse of discipline would hurt a lot of people who were depending on him…

Yeah. He’s a (Vichy)Democrat. By definition he hurts a lot of (the American) people!

So…longer term, what would a resignation over such a manufactured scandal mean for other non-Republicans? IMO–it would just enable even _more_ of the same from the Breitfarts and FauxNoises of the Establishment Media. So now I’ll STFU except to say let his constituents decide.

2 new trails for Wiener,and Sampson

Hike Naked: Germany Opens New Nude-Friendly Nature Trails

When “Germany’s first hiking trail for nudists” opened on May 29, 2010 near the town of Dankerode, enthusiasm was running high – and not just among those who enjoy braving nature in the buff. Mayor Monika Rauhut hailed the trail as “the latest attraction here in beautiful Wippertal.” (See 8 new natural wonders of the world.)

The trail was an instant hit, which got us to wondering if such a thing might be a good idea in Switzerland, where the issue of nude hiking will soon be taken up by the Supreme Court. The “unofficial spokesperson” for Swiss lovers of the outdoor activity isn’t so sure. But Puistola GrottenpÖsch (not his real name) does see some upsides. A sanctioned trail would give many people an opportunity to experience the “bodily freedom” that only hiking in the nude offers – an experience that “fills you with happiness,” he says.

The weiner that swung as Americans got burned.

Using others in that way is what every fashionable slaveholder has done since some humans became more equal than others and institutionalized the practice. The point is to flout the slaveholder’s superior, life/death decision-making position within the caste system.

“Dangerous Liaisons“(film opening. Based upon history and, unfortunately, real persons.)

Excellent. Thank you for the explanation.
May I hope there’s a more detailed post to that effect in the works and the poll is a preliminary measurement of Lake opinion?

So, longer term…does Rep Weiner’s staying on prolong the dreaded Circular Firing Squad of big-D Democratic politics, or give the Democratic Leadership more scope to prove just how out of touch and shallowly self-serving they really are (and would it help if more so-called liberals/progressives finally got that message?)

FunnyDiva

So much for my STFU-ing…oops.

If the thread gets more “WTF?/why-waste-time?” comments than stay+resign votes, that’d get your point across pretty strongly.

guess the pesky insects might be a problem…a Brazilian before hitting the trail?

The difference between Vitter’s case and Weiner’s case, is the same difference that (I think) Pres. Johnson described between serving in the the Senate and serving in the House of Representatives: the same difference as that between chicken salad and chicken sh!t. Weiner will be shunned even by his own Democratic caucus and won’t be able to effectively represent his constituents. He should go.

That my $0.02 anyways. (:>

Just like Clinton.

An old man in power preying on young women which is creepy enough.

Lie, lie, lie, until someone provides proof, then confess.

And the only thing your apologist supporters remember is “consensual fun, what’s the big deal.”

Your last paragraph expresses what I’m thinking well.

I vacillate – if there’s no more than what we know, I don’t even buy into the sexual harrassment tack, on which I usually have a no-tolerance pov. But I’ve seen no evidence the women he sent pix/msgs to objected (facts otherwise would change my opinion).
It’s so easy to block someone on Twitter or de-friend on FB, I can’t help feeling if someone was offended, they would have done that.

Second, it’s up to his voters.

Third, Vitter’s still there, Ensign stayed for two years until he was a day or so from being expelled…and Breitbart. Breitbart and his ilk never have qualms about manufacturing “scandal,” he just lucked into something real for once.
If Weiner resigns now, Breitbart will step up his manufacturng and we’ll lose more effective Dems.
I think the R’s calling for resignation are doing so because Weiner caused them damage.
So for now, I come down on, no, no resignation, even if he never accomplishes anything again.

But now it’s become an issue of Democratic leadership deciding who gets to stay in office, and who doesn’t. That actually does have news value in my book.

Agreed. Very much. And it’s about standing up to the double standards. I really don’t care if he is ineffective now or if we have to endure this “story” for the rest of his career. If he quits he’s caving to the double standard.

And I despise the play where party leaders decide who serves and who doesn’t ~ while perpetuating the fucking double standard with jack boots.

They are all one party anyway ~ why not be of one mind on these issues as well?

Oh, and Weiner resigns when Vitter resigns AND IS INDICTED.

Oh. And his constituents want him to stay. So. Not our business. And NOT Pelosi’s business either. Butt out, lady. Weiner’s “off the table.”

So for now, I come down on, no, no resignation, even if he never accomplishes anything again.

Great minds think alike! :-)

Thanks for reminding me. Forgot to mention, along with Ensign, Coburn. He needs to go, too, for his part in arranging the bribery of Ensign’s mistress’s husband and finding him an illegal lobbying job.

When those guys are gone, then Weiner should go. Or when Weiner’s constitutents vote him out. Those guys caused real emotional and financial harm to real people, people to whom he owed much, much better.

Without further facts now unknown, I don’t think Weiner caused such harm. As said, you can cut someone off on Twitter or FB so quick and easy; no physical contact, no threats, no harm, or so little in comparison to Ensign and Coburn as to be a gnat to a B-52.

On edit, Thx, Reader!

okay,so he’s OUR WEINER now

Hmmmm …

Should Weiner be wacked?

Should he merely be gently abraded. since being a Dem he ain’t so evil as t’other guy?

Should he be patted and praised for having risen to the occassion so immensely well?

Weiner appears to be guilty of a form of desperation which led to several instances of very poor judgment … which “necessitated”, apparently” some recourse to, shall we say, “innovative” dissembling? Now normally that last would be called “lying” but this is the highly forgivable Political Class we are talking aboat (thoughts to many friends in Canada). The public is willing to forgive torture, being lied into war (not “once”, but repeatedly, if history is to be believed) most sexual “peccadillos”, even male politicians so desperate for the thought of being “desired” by hundreds, thousands, or even millions of women… that they can’t even recognize their own nether regions … giving confusion a bad name and making the sexual congress of Congress a laughingstock (one does wonder if female politicians are going to be filling the electrons of the net with what ever “peep” shots are considered “hot”, by way of “evening things out”?).

As long as good judgment, honesty, and rational perspective are not requirements of high or even low office … well, then anything goes … whatever it wants to “go” with.

And, so long as politicians are not required to know their backside (or their front-side) from anyone else’s or even from a hole in the ground, then we can count on getting politicians that throughly measure up to the standards set for and expected of them.

It ain’t the politicians’ fault.

It’s ourn.

;~DW

I voted no, and am always happy to be with the majority on anything.

I confess I like Anthony Weiner very much, and may not be objective in my view of the matter.

The bottom line is that I see no reason why Weiner’s actions are anybody’s business but his own. The weird thing is that we live in a culutre wqhere we are encouraged to feel it is our right to peer into someone else’s affairs.

I realize he lied about his escapades. But, since his escapades are none of our business in the first place, he is perfectly free free to lie about them. I felt the same way about Monicagate (i.e., the perp/victim should say “Mind your own business, you bunch of pervs.”

Of course, my calculations are thrown off if a law has been broken, or government funds misused. Just focusing on the sexual aspect here.

As for the possibility that Weiner would or will be “ineffective” if he stays on, we need to think about why. Would Democrats oppose a good bill because Anthony’s name was on it? Would they really refuse to help a duly-elected Congressman, even if he was doing good work? Yes, that would render him ineffective. But if the Democrats intend to behave this way, our problems go deeper than one Congressman. Methinks we need a whole new batch of Democrats.

Times R Tuff

Ummm, well, none of the above means we have to like him. Doubt I’d want to be his dinner partner…although a month ago, I probably would have. Smart, funny….oh well.

In my humble experienceobservation, the nicest (apparently) guys can have the weirdest, most unexpected ummm, uh, quirky tastes when it comes to sex….

And as for the ‘sexual harassment’ arguments. These were ALL social relationships, not working, or even constituency, relationships. Sorry, but this shit happens everyday. No relationship is equal. And men still have access to more power than most women do – no matter their juvenile behavior. Those are the facts. For now.

His career? Shouldn’t the question be about whether he can represent the people in his district? Or have I slipped into some archaic form of thinking about democracyt?

It’s between him and the TOS with his service provider(s).

Exactly.

They all lie. All. the. time.

Sacrificing Weiner is not going to stop the lying. Far from it: it will enable more and bolder lying … as if that were remotely possible.

The only “honest,” coherent, response is for him to stay and for the leadership to leave him alone until they go after all the other liars in all parties and government leadership.

Agree with you, plus agree with Jane’s “take” on why she asked this question.

I, too, am *steamed* at the so-called “Democratic establishment” who suddenly now are trying to push out Weiner. Why? Esp if Weiner’s constituents don’t care. Also agree with a prior comment about how what Weiner did hardly rates, imo, as sexual harrassment… if the women who got his posts didn’t like it, then don’t accept them, de-friend him, etc. I think we have to be clear on what sexual harrassment constitutes (my opinion; like minds may disagree).

I dislike tribalism, but *why* are so-called “Dems” hell-bent on turfing out Weiner?? All this pearl-clutching on the fainting couch about how – forevermore – NO ONE will be able to look at/listen to Weiner without thinking about his tackle need to take a deep cleansing breath.

Yeah: we here at FDL commence to discussing Diaper Vitter, but really? Who else does? I despise the likes of hypocritical crook Vitter, but his consituents voted him back in despite what I feel is a much egregious “mental image” to have going for him. Vitter needs to have the book thrown at him for other issues, but linking Weiner to Vitter is also specious, imo (in terms of whether Weiner gets tossed out or not).

Boo hoo… so Anthony showed his tighty-whities on teh Twitter… guess what? I never looked at it, and others didn’t *need* to do so either. IMO, this is making a mountain out of a mole hill. Sooner, rather than later, a new scandal du jour will take over the braindead hive-mind, and only political junkies will reference Anthony’s weiner.

In terms of THIS issue, I say: let his constituents decide.

All the rest of the “issues” about Weiner, like AIPAC, are *separate* and unrelated issues. I thoroughly disagree using something tangential as a ruse/tool to tar & feather someone. Stick on the topic and decide on the one issue. Then move on to the others.

JMHO, of course.

That is exactly how they decide things. It’s all about comity and social relationships. That’s why they don’t go after their friends across the aisle but they want to be rid of someone like Weiner who rocks the boat. Our problems are very deep.

Remember – Wasserman-Schulz said she wouldn’t criticize her Republic opponents during election season because they were her colleagues in Washington. Bizarre idea to us out here, but rules of the game for herself and the rest of them. And now she’s in charge of of the Democratic party organization.

and that is why we are hopelessly broken

what is truth…truthiness

he coached these women to lie for him too….he is a turd

i thought he showed his penis,mebbe im uninformed

I say he stays and let his constituents decide.

Also, the Dems could use this as a teachable moment. If he resigns, he adds to the unemployment rolls. Supposedly increasing unemploment is not what the Dems want to be contributing to at this time.

I’m not a fan of Weiner because of his obsequiousness to the Israel lobby, but I voted no for the following reasons:

1. To spite Andrew Breitbart and his gang of thugs.
2. Because Republican senator David Vitter proved last year that you can ride out a sex scandal (even one that involves committing many misdemeanors with prostitutes) and be re-elected. Weiner’s re-election would make me laugh at Breitbart and his ilk.

I was a yes but did not want to participate ’cause I don’t care too much. Then I saw this http://www.salon.com/news/anthony_weiner_dny/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/06/10/anthony_weiner_mailer and I came back to say hell yes! He was a creep before we all found out he was a creep.

It’s not like he asked his female subordinates about pubic hair on his can of soda pop.

Back atcha! Agree w/you. Disappointed in his behavior; don’t *like* it. But … well, there’s far worse things. Too bad it’s like this, but it appears to be the case.

MoDo (not always my favorite but sometimes ok) had a good editorial (I feel) about Anthony’s behavior (and others of his ilk):

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/09/3687337/viewpoints-his-tweetin-heart-web.html

Well, sadly, “When in Rome …”

Now I know precisely how hoi paloi felt.

Yes I do.

:~DW

Bingo!

There is that… agree on both counts.

we are Rome….in its decline….but i guess im just old

That was my initial reaction to Weiner’s apology to Breitbart who had no right to demand an apology after he refused to apologize to Sherrod. However, Weiner’s resignation would be a much bigger feather in Breitbart’s cap, so I say no to resignation.

Since I didn’t look, I have NO idea… and wish to keep it that way.

If so, though, I still don’t care. That’s just me, of course.

And that sound that you hear is definitely a fiddle…

Naw, it’s the hypocrisy of the democracy “they” rode in on, sadly.

Too many choose to forget what we remember, or once (and still) felt was that which mattered.

(And it wasn’t money ….)

DW

There’s no point in hiding it ~ the more of it that gets out there and gets people riled up, for whatever reason and including the republicks, the sooner the status quo stops being our only rule of law.

Good points all and you made me chuckle.

Rats! Then I say ‘No’. But he only should have apologized for lying, not sexting.

The key is to have a short, thought out statement that tackles the top line questions and then refer people back to it,” Weiner is alleged to have written in a June 1 email. “Have a couple of iterations of: ‘This is silly. Like so many others, I follow Rep. Weiner on Twitter. I don’t know him and have never met him. He briefly followed me and sent me a dm (direct message) saying thank you for the follow. That’s it.’”

The next day, Weiner asked Lee if she needed assistance in crafting a message to put out to the press and public. “Do you need to talk to a professional PR type person to give u advice? I can have someone on my team call. (Yeah, my team is doing great. Ugh).”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56395.html#ixzz1OuLgB2fT

well the Italians have BearlessScumi,and we have……………..

does it matter if the recipients of these photos didn’t consent?

Or are women on the internet just fair game to anyone who wants to send them pictures of whatever? Are they expected just to take it and like it or not, and just shut up about it?

From what I understand, at least one of these women did not consent or in any way solicit any kind of sexual interaction with the guy.

So do you think she’s just a prude who should lighten up and deal with a congressmen she contacted about politics sending her a photo of his penis? Is that something women now need to expect and get used to — that men will do this regardless?

Exactly when and where do women have the right to consent and not the right to consent?

Ah, y’know, even, so, I guess avoiding giving Breitbart a win is at the top for me, the more I think about it. Given half a chance, he’ll take down every Dem in Congress with fake stories.

guess im a prude too
he is disgusting
have you no decency sir

no!

Remember when Senator Rabbi Lieberman rent his garments during a Senate speech saying Clinton should resign because Lieberman’s granddaughter had to hear the words ‘oral sex’ when she watched TV?

Does Lieberman have any great-grandchildren by now, and are they allowed to watch TV or use cool phones?

MESSAGE TO CCritters
when you get caught
immediately applologize,and say you forgot little pill
repeat

immediately say im zoooooooooooooooooooreee

Honestly, I think being able to cut off by de-friending and blocking/reporting for spam is not “just taking it.” That’s taking action. And perhaps there should be some punishment; getting kicked off Twitter and FB altogether, for example.

But I think Ensign did far worse, and he got away with it for TWO YEARS while his party supported him to the end. Vitter committed a crime, and Craig committed a crime (whether it should be one or not is irrelevant) and they both stayed, Craig eventually giving up.

I don’t care if he’s a creep; he’s an elected creep, and giving in to Breitbart will cause far more damage.

oh no,just got ugly picture in head of Joe-lie getting hummer
argh!@#$%

I’m afraid that, in terms of this kind of thing happening, it’s very very hard to close the barn door now.

I disagree with the behavior, but I doubt it will stop. If people don’t want to have something like this happen to them… at this point, they need to stay off social media and/or be very careful about how they use it.

My understanding (albeit limited) is that at least some of the women contacted him first telling him how “hot” he is. Does that give him the right to display naked photos? No, not really, but otoh… why would anyone write to a stranger to tell them that they’re “hot”??

I hate to sound like a prude, but …

A lot of people make the choice to avoid social media, partly for reasons to avoid this kind of stuff. It is prevelant. Let the buyer beware. There’s almost no way to stop it, to my knowledge.

ya know lawyers are disbarred for these actions
it is their position of power,that makes it egregious

Yes, those are the facts for now. And as long as “progressives” continue to discount women’s perspectives and continue to evade issues like a woman’s right to consent or continue to view men through the lens of “boys will be boys,” those will stay the facts.

apples,oranges…but enuf…the subject now bores me

He should quit, I’m pissed. I really thought he was great. I now think he’s to dumb to serve.

Exactly. AIPAC whores, don’t let the door hit u in the ass on the way out.

Right. Just like women who don’t want to be assaulted shouldn’t drink. And women who don’t want to be sexually harrassed shouldn’t work on Wall Street. So women who don’t want to be sent unsolicited pictures from men should just stay off the Internet and social media.

At what point do we hold men responsible for their behavior?

Aipac will never let him be throne out imo…he knows they got his back

nehva

One last comment….I’ve read some eye-opening posts around teh web in the last week or two—young men saying they have lots of xxx pix of selves on their phones, and send them frequently. Usually say it goes with casual relationships, and that girls reciprocate. There’s certainly been lots of talk about prosecutions (!), usually of teen-age girls, for “sexting”, sending full frontal photos, and they get prosecuted for “disseminating child porn.”

It’s common enough that some states are revising child porn dissemination statues to exempt kids who think it’s “normal,” because it’s so common in their age group.

Frankly, I’m really really glad I’m way out of the age group where this is considered normal, but it helps me conclude that this just isn’t in the same league with Vitter, Ensign, Foley, Massa, etc., etc., etc.

Do you have an example of that?

The phenomenon is so new that I sure haven’t heard of it happening. Sending to a client could lead to a complaint…but then again, there don’t seem to have been complaints from any of the young women.

I don’t want to argue with you, I’m trying to approach this from a cold practical political point of view.

I keep coming back to: it ain’t nearly what Vitter and Ensign did, and they didn’t quit (I count Ensign ’cause he hung on til the day before he would have been expelled…two full years! Otherwise, he’d still be there. And he committed crimes.)

Yeah, I can see the Pew Trust funding polling on a question like that.That would be like them asking if you’d prefer a 7.62 or a 5.56 revolution.

That’s why my post and link above might be of interest. Go see how da Weiner first got elected and the woman that he left in his wake.

When you link to Politico-style toilet tissue you might as well link to Drudge.

253 votes YES?!? Really?

Vitter resigning would be a big blow to the mockability of Republicans. Just sayin’.

I am not discounting women’s views at all. But women have to protect themselves too. If any woman feels they have been the victim of unwanted advances from Rep. Weiner, they should seek out legal advice. They could also choose to go public in an effort to embarrass him. These actions have costs and risks. There is no cut and dried solution. There is no rescue.

I am not convinced that Weiner sent things the women he was not already interacting with.

All the same things can be said of online bullying to my mind, by comparison. And there is no easy resolution there, either, even though the behavior is very, very damaging.

Here’s where I am coming from. Because of ‘innocent’ interactions I have had with male colleagues who years -YEARS- later confessed that their support of me was based on attraction, I can no longer take any male interaction in the business world at face value. It has a huge impact. I know of no other way to protect myself from the corrosive effects of this. It’s not supposed to be this way. But it is. And I have to live with those facts. I believe we all do. There is no rescue.

When Vitter and Craig do.

Read it. My conclusion stands, barring new information. I’ll repeat, the damage of his resigning now, because of the power and credibility it would give Breitbart and his buddies, would be far worse. If Vitter resigns, then Weiner can/should go the same day.

Re: lawyers being disbarred — a search shows no such evidence. Found one instance of a reprimand, the lowest form of discipline of lawyers. One advisory opinion on sexual relationships between lawyers and clients which mentioned in passing that “sexting” would “likely” be a cause for discipline.

I dislike arguments that overreach. And must point out (I am a former lawyer), that the discipline that has occurred in such cases has been based on the client relationship. The D.A. that sexted and emailed a domestic violence victim had additional egregious characterisitcs that set his case apart from this.

Like I’ve said, if he turns out he pressured somebody into meeting him and having sex, all bets are off. For sexting apparently willing recipients, nope, for all the reasons already set forth.

Hey, Sweetie, ask Jane to poll the FDL readers if they think Joe as Gore’s VP cost Gore the election or if they think it was Nader.

Were he a school teacher, would you say he stay or go?
Were he a police officer, would you say he stay or go?
Were he your Priest, would you say he stay or go?
Were he the school bus driver, would you say he stay or go?
Were he your boss, would you want his to stay or go?

Gawd, I really wanted to be done…but your broader statement in the last graph really got to me.
It’s one reason I stopped “being” a lawyer. I just got tired of battering my head against the double standards, the secret opinions, feelings, reactions, etc., of the men who dominate the profession. I never thought the women’s movement fixed everything, but the reality was disheartening. I got to where I couldn’t do it anymore (along with a bunch of other reasons, but that was in there.)
You are right. Most men know not to express these attitudes out loud, at least in a woman colleague or adversary’s hearing. But eventually, they become visible. There seems to be no way to get around them, at least for me.

He’s none of those things; all of those people have bosses and contracts.

Elected officials answer to their constituents. If they don’t want to vote him out, it’s their business. They are his boss.

Excellent, teja ~ those were the lines of thought popping up in my head and with your firsthand knowledge of the field you set it all out very nicely. Thanks!

All of this applies to the other arguments about harrassment and imbalances of power. Even in the most egregious cases, where justice is sought, justice is often denied. As women, we simply cannot assume we have any legal, moral, or values-based protection.

Hell, these days, some men pretend to support women’s issues to hide an abusive nature. I know too well.

I can see your point, regarding the Dem Leadership. Which begs the question, would the Dem leadership care, if their constituency spent zero time on this issue? It’s already clear New Yorkers could care less, so why are they continuing to press the issue? My guess, it has more to do with the Republican noise machine than anything else. If I’m right about their motivation, then what we say doesn’t matter. Since what we say, feel, believe, regarding this issue, has no impact, why not spend out time more productively?

Oh, my dear teja ~ that means a lot to me. It’s really affected me as well. In many ways.

Then why are we even having this conversation?

I would prefer this was not a topic of discussion either. However, as long as the dem leadership deals with the rep noise machine by ousting people like Weiner instead of actually really fighting the rep noise machine or calling for resignations on the other side for similar or worse behavior, letting it ‘go’ keeps us in the ineffective status quo. Except, operatives like Breitbart manage to remove real fighters like Weiner. So we lose by ignoring what should be a trivial issue.

Yer chasin’ yer tail there now sweetie. You’ll hurt yerself.

Never knew I was so out of touch with other FDLers. Scary.

Whenever anyone asks him if he’s going to resign, or when he’s going to resign, he should begin with:

“As you recall, David Vitter was paying for the services of Prostitues, with whom he liked to wear diapers. Ask me again after David Vitter has resigned.”

Acceptable political discourse is very narrow in the U.S. It swings from right of center to far right. The distraction, propaganda and indoctrination has been quite effective.

I’ve ceased caring what the Democratic establishment wants. It doesn’t care about Main Street America, so why care about its wants except to ask in whose interests does it want what it wants. Mr. Weiner has been exposed as typical, I would say, not as untypical of what Washington attracts. Like a whistleblower, that makes him unattractive to the PTB. If his constituents say he should stay, that’s good enough for me. They ought to demand that he represent them, not the DLC.

Let’s deal with this after we take care of the war criminals and those who committed crimes against humanity. There is much important work to do. How about global warming?

I have no sympathy for that AIPAC tool, but let his voters decide.

Resign for writing bad porn to a consenting adult?

Harsh.

Why is it this is such a big story demanding so much attention?

Because everybody is an expert about sex. Financial fraud, Economics, War, and Unemployment are hard to grasp.

Weiner isn’t…

(sry)

Resigned or not, he’s finished.

As Ian Welsh points out, that’s only because he’s a moderate lefty. If he were a righty, no amount of sexual indiscretion or dalliances disqualifies you from being a sage statesman for Meet the Press.

-stewartm

Anthony Weiner is a flawed human being, but he is a good congressman. And for those who argue that we are “better than that,” I agree – at least in theory – in a perfect world.

But, we don’t have enough of the “good guys” left that we can afford to puff out our self-righteous chests and demand Weiner resign because he used extremely poor judgment and got caught having some e-mail fantasies and sending some “cock pics” over the tubes. “Stoopid,” yes, but who hasn’t done stupid things when we thought we were doing them in private?

With all of Anthony’s flaws, he does passionately fight for us, and we can’t honestly say that many of them (our Democratic office holders) do, including, at least most of the time, our Democratic president.

Exactly. And THAT’s the outrage. If you ask me …

does it matter if the recipients of these photos didn’t consent?

Or are women on the internet just fair game to anyone who wants to send them pictures of whatever? Are they expected just to take it and like it or not, and just shut up about it?

My understanding is that these women he met via some sort of site where people go to seek hookups. Such pictures and comments would be par for the course on such a site, and not unexpected. His pictures and comments weren’t sent to women just ‘out of the blue’.

As one other poster has said, on personals sites, this has become the new norm. Many, many, many, people post revealing pictures of themselves.

-stewartm

But there is at least one woman who didn’t consent, didn’t solicit these interactions, and was surprised when she got those photos. You don’t see something wrong there?

One last comment….I’ve read some eye-opening posts around teh web in the last week or two—young men saying they have lots of xxx pix of selves on their phones, and send them frequently. Usually say it goes with casual relationships, and that girls reciprocate.

You’re exactly right. On many dating and personal sites posting revealing pictures of oneself is very common. It’s almost the new ‘normal’.

And that’s another one of the things that gets me about all of this–the stark contrast between an idealized standard of ‘normal’ sexuality, as pontificated by those of conservative bent (often as revealed later by those themselves massively breaking the rules they seek to enforce on others), and human sexuality in this country as it really operates. Almost 70 years after Kinsey, we’re still beholden to the idealized standard vs how people actually behave.

-stewartm

Were he a school teacher, would you say he stay or go?
Were he a police officer, would you say he stay or go?
Were he your Priest, would you say he stay or go?
Were he the school bus driver, would you say he stay or go?
Were he your boss, would you want his to stay or go?

Easy. Stay. That behavior’s not unusual at all. Really, it isn’t.

-stewartm

Who is she? Can you provide more evidence? All I’ve seen you say is “one woman didn’t consent.”

Read yesterday’s NY Times article about Gennette Cordova, then stroll over to Echidne’s site, Shakeville, and Reclusive Leftist to get some feminist views regarding Weiner’s interactions with Cordova.

But there is at least one woman who didn’t consent, didn’t solicit these interactions, and was surprised when she got those photos. You don’t see something wrong there?

That’s news to me. I have not heard this. I’d like to see more evidence of this as well.

But as a general rule–even if so, such a violation in my book is at most boorish behavior. Women are not shrinking delicate flowers, they are just as capable as men are at handling the situation themselves and will not swoon or faint if they see pictures of male genitals or nekked guys. If someone sent me pictures that weren’t welcome or made advances to me, I believe I could correct that problem on my own.

-stewartm

Jane, here’s why I think Anthony Weiner should resign:
1. On his way out the door, he could use his resignation speech to name all the Republican hypocrites in the Congress and nail the media for being so hysterically biased. The Congress–even the best of them–desperately needs someone to tell them that no one is fooled into thinking they’re in any way better than the rest of us.
2. As Knox mentioned, Rep. Weiner genuflected to Andrew Breitbart. He will not be able to stand up the way he once did.
3. He did lie, which makes him less effective. It might also make a good precedent if he were to resign because of the lying.
4. His district will probably elect a Democrat, perhaps even a better one. FDL could help make that happen!

But we should never consent to Weiner being forced from office purely for private sexual conduct. Jefferson, FDR, Reagan, Eisenhower– none of these could have served as president under Clinton Rules.

Read yesterday’s NY Times article about Gennette Cordova,

I read it at BET’s.

http://www.bet.com/news/national/2011/06/09/be-careful-what-you-wish-for.html

Soon after, Weiner began following her on the social network. Then some of his critics began sending her harassing messages and the two began a direct online correspondence about Weiner’s detractors. Cordova said that she never sent the congressman any suggestive messages but she was surprised by how casual he was. She did not, however, see the humor of the underwear photo, which Weiner said during his Monday press conference that he’d sent to her “as part of a joke.”

Bad for Weiner that he did what he did. Sending revealing pictures of oneself to someone else on a personals account is one thing, sending them via a Tweet is something else.

However, it must be said that the much-touted ‘porn’ in this case a picture of a man in underwear. Which you can see in almost any clothing magazine.

-stewartm

Ms. Cordova said she had mixed feelings about the congressman who propelled her, and himself, into a political maelstrom.

“I certainly don’t condone his behavior,” she said, “but I think that’s a personal matter between him and his family.”

If these women who were offended wish for his resignation then they should make their case. Weiner certainly deserves an Ethics reprimand but I still don’t think ‘tweets’ rise to the level of assault.

I don’t think anyone’s saying it rises to the level of assault. I think people are wondering if it rises to the level of harassment.

I’m just curious to know where progressives feel women’s rights and boundaries begin and end.

Boorish behavior is exactly what they called sexual harassment 20 years ago and date-rape 30 years ago.

Like I said, check out Echidne, Shakesville, Reclusive Leftist.

Or not.

I’ve pretty much given up on the idea that progressives will anytime in the near future develop feminist consciousness. Progressive feminism pretty much begins and ends at abortion rights, and I imagine that’s because progressive dudes are okay supporting anything that will save them from potential paternity payments.

You might also check out Arther Silber’s comments on this issue.

No.

I can’t get up any interest in this. With all the important issues going begging for sensible attention, who cares about Weiner’s indiscretion. Let his wife settle with him as she sees fit. (Cast iron skillets float before my eyes.)

The general gist I get from Echidne and Shakesville is “Women can’t be consenting adults because misogyny won’t let them!”

I’m sure more things will come out and if becomes apparent that Weiner was sending unwelcome tweets my opinion will change.

It sounds like Ms. Cordova got a tweet she wasn’t expecting but she also doesn’t appear to be calling for his resignation.

No. Women aren’t consenting adults when they don’t say yes. It’s pretty basic.

Are you saying Weiner continued to send tweets to a woman after she asked him to stop?

Sexting isn’t grounds for resignation. Supporting apartheid in Palestine is. Weiner only appears to be on the left in relation to the nutters liberals fixate on. Let Weiner step aside and that district could elect someone to left of him. It is a safe district. Not a chance in hell of a tea party type winning there.

Resign and run for re-election and once re-elected stay quiet.

But if the above is not possible, just hang around until Vitter resigns. The Dems now have an excellent excuse to have Vitter ads running in every state. But their corporate masters may not allow such ads.

voted that he should go,
1. He is stupid and careless.
2. He makes himself liable to blackmail
3. We have a higher standard than the Republicans who kept Vitter et al.
4. Did I mention that he is careless?
5. He will be the subject of late-night jokes as long as he remains.
5. Women voters and constituents will be creeped out.(crept out?)

I still believe in the idea that Caeser’s wife must be above suspicion.

Weiner has made a fool of himself. It’s bad enough in the WH, but we can’t condone it in Congress, too.

And isn’t a bit lame to say other people have made asses of themselves, so it’s okay for Anthony? Hypocrisy times two is doubled hypocrisy.

Late to this fest. If Colbert isn’t making it up, the x-rated weiner-pix is not shrouded in Fruit-of-the-Loom. He’s shown the pix (semi-covered) a couple of nghts.

Also, did weiner ask for ID? What if one of his correspondents turned out to be a 14 year old boy with some computer/tweeter knowledge and a sense of the ridiculous? And even if that hadn’t yet happened, how far was Weiner going to go before he finally got caught?

And, jeez, Weiner is NOT a 23 year old…..he did not grow up sexting in his youth. If I found that my kid’s 3rd grade teacher was doing this, I’d certainly want him gone. It’s just creepy behavior for any adult male to be sending out pix of his erect penis to women he doesn’t know…..or at all. Sheesh.

Frankly, I understand the lying better than I understand the behavior from a sitting Representative, recently married, with a pregnant wife.

Anthony is one of the few Democrats that doesn’t squeak like a mouse and run when Republicans say boo. When the party can find 5, 10 or a dozen like him then maybe he should retire.

Are you saying that while they’re talking about politics, unless she explicity tells him not to send her crotch-shots, she has implicitly consented to receive them unsolicited?

I’ve seen this opinion on stopmebeforeivoteagain, that Weiner is a Zionist zealot. Or is Zionist zealot redundant? The opinion is from someone who knew him when.

Nope, but please show me where ‘only’ politics was being discussed? I believe even Ms. Cordova talked about him being ‘her boyfriend’.

Weiner was stupid, not a stalker.

Let me correct. At this point it, to me, it looks like Weiner wasn’t harassing anybody. New information may change that.

No, Ms. Cordova did not refer to him as her boyfriend and in fact is having issues with media harassment as she tries to make clear to her friends, family, and others at her college that she was not in any kind of relationship with Weiner. She was a college student corresponding with him about politics. That’s it.

If his constituents support Weiner, which appears to be the case, he should not resign.

Still, he is a problem for the national Democratic stance now. He can’t be expected to carry water for the party on major issues as he did before, so there is some liability there. He can’t effectively help with face time on TV. I’m not sure who should take that task going forward.

Weiner has made a fool of himself.

But Democrats should not force out a Democrat for making a fool of himself anymore than Republicans force out any of their own when they do far worse. There’s a reason why Republicans let their guys who’ve shamed themselves stick it out: it makes sense politically.

Forcing Weiner out for bending over to Breitbart makes some sense, but forcing him out for these text/photo exchanges, imo, would be a mistake politically. It would be an even bigger mistake now that Breitbart has already stupidly released the x pic.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time that Democratic Party leaders made a political mistake…

In response to maa8722 @ 161

The best thing Weiner can do is recede into the background for a good long while. Forcing him to leave in disgrace will not help the Democratic Party brand.

Great point. Overall, I agree. He shouldn’t resign.

Have you made up your mind, Knox.
Is that your final answer? :-)

I guess those tweets I read were forged.

Unless anyone was under the age of 18 and/or laws were broken, Weiner might want to put his head down and just work quietly for now, then his constituents can vote him out if they want to. What might not sell in the Bible belt may be ok in his district.

I voted no. He is a goofy ass, but compared to so many of the rest of them . . . At least he doesn’t go back to his constituents and lie to them about death panels in the health care bill like Grassley did. At least he doesn’t hang out with Nazi lovers who play dress up on the weekend like John Boehner does–what an insult to all the Americans who died in World War II. At least his sexual extra curricular activities are virtual which is more than you can say for Vitter. At least he can speak in sentences that use polysyllabic words which is more than at least 1/3 of Congress are able to do. At least he doesn’t belong to a religious cult like The Family and advise his fellow congressmen to bribe his lovers family like Tom Coburn. And I’m fairly certain that Weiner (had he been a Senator) would have voted on behalf of rape victims being represented in a real U.S. court of law as opposed to in a Corporate Kangaroo Arbitration court with corporate lawyers instead of a judge and jury which is how the following 30 Republican Senators voted: Alexander, Barrasso, Bond, Brownback, Bunning,Burr, Coburn, Crapo, DeMint, Ensign, Enzi, Graham, Gregg, Inhofe, Isakson, Johanns, Kyl, McCain, McConnell, Risch, Roberts, Sessions, Shelby, Thune, Vitter, Wicker. ’nuff said.

absolutely not

People and their sexual expressions can be really, really weird. The internet has provided a way to dream your dreamy sex dreams in the most robust and icky ways. I view what Anthony Weiner did as getting caught masterbating by his mom. It is very embarrassing but not that unusual. In this modern life, we can be caught doing the most mundane and silly things. Think I will go live in a jungle somewhere.

I don’t like Weiner very much, and he displayed stupidity and bad judgment in a personal matter, but he broke no laws and, to my knowledge, has not previously been sanctimonious on relevant issues. As the always superb Glenn Greenwald points out, we must apply the same standards to those we like as to those we dislike, and the voters of his district will have their chance next year to replace him if they wish.

The larger point is this: it’s time to stop playing gotcha and get serious. It would be preferable to have a personally flawed but competent, dedicated and honest progressive than a dour, prudish corporate pawn, constitution-shredder and warmonger in office. Had many of our greatest leaders were subjected to the gotcha game, they’d have never led, and our nation would be much the worse for that.

Wow, can’t believe the vote totals . . that many folks think he should stay?

The man’s a skank, a disgrace, n he was NEVER a progressive.

I can’t believe 82% of the poll support this guy. For ANY reason.

I do think that David Vitter should resign.

He should run for president. He has wiener recognition.

Who cares? sleeze is the name of the game – vitter, cheany, edwards, pick your “star”.

Here are my thoughts.
there are very few progressives.
Anthony Weiner had some good political points and at least reminded people about the middle class and our seniors.

I do NOT think he should resign.

For those who claim he lied, why are we not holding ALL LIES ACCOUNTABLE?
Most of the Congress and Senate tell the people lies every single day.Those lies directly affect our lives most often to our detriment while they are praising themselves for the bribes they take to destroy our security.

Why should I be angry at Anthony Weiner for having a few quirks.
He did NOT run his campaign based upon morals, or a god complex or religion!
As such, unlike the Sanfords, the Gingrich’s, the Vitters, he is not a hypocrite. He lied because he was afraid of the 24 hour press.

But at least he is not lying about Medicare, Social Security, and taxes.

Everyone else including the White House is lying.

When they speak of job creation they never mention the percentage of jobs slinging hamburgers at McDonalds. That will not pay the mortgage nor make up for losing one’s pension. They do NOT talk about the thousands of public service workers being laid off in droves for political expediency. They pretend the Congressional Health care plan is free when we pay for that with tax monies. Our politicians speak of freedom of speech but jail whistle blowers when they are embarrassed. Our politicians lie all the time without any accountability due to the corporate press which pays them.

Until you go after ALL the liars, I wonder how in your right minds can you be so outraged at Anthony Weiner. He did not steal, he did not break the law. He has a few quirks. So do most of the people on the web today, facebook and twitter. And the young who publish everything by this standard will never be able to hold office.

Go after the lies that affect our lives and damage our nation and our welfare.

Its time to go after those who want you dead when you turn 65. After all, when you run out of cash, there will no doctor available to help you with this current crowd in Washington.

I can’t believe 82% of the poll support this guy. For ANY reason.

Voting no to “should he resign?” is not necessarily the same as supporting him. Could be a protest vote against Breitbart’s MO, a refusal to play into the IOKIYAR meme, a simple judgement that he’s stupid but didn’t do anything illegal, it’s up to his constituents, the D leadership should butt out, or any other number of reasons besides blind support for “our guy.” In fact, I’d bet many of the “no’s” would’ve voted the same way if it had been an R instead (not that this much attention would’ve been given to the issue). Do those voting “yes” think the Clenis should’ve resigned too?

No archaic thinking. It’s just that I do not believe that this personal and marital problem has anything to do with his effectiveness as a people’s representative or his ability to work.

I actually see it as a treatable mental health problem.

But that’s just me.