Nothing to Weinergate save Weiner’s (Alleged) Dishonesty
If Congressman Anthony Weiner weren’t married, the latest story about the recent tweet from his account should be the biggest non-scandal since a federal judge allegedly found pubic hairs on a can of Coke.
As usual, Jennifer Rubin asks all the right questions about this scandal and makes all the relevant observations:
First, if he lied he’s toast. As embarrassing as a raunchy tweet might have been, the recipient isn’t a minor, and the requisite “allow my wife and I privacy” would probably have been sufficient to quell the storm for a liberal Democrat in a safe seat. It’s a truism that voters will put up with a lot, unless you lie to them.
Exactly. She has more, so just read the whole thing.
To be sure, this kerfuffle does raise (yet again) the issue of media bias. As per Althouse, “Imagine if Anthony Weiner were a Republican. (I know, it’s such a hackneyed visualization, but it’s important here.) The liberal/lefty blogs would be shredding him mercilessly.” (Via Instapundit.)
Look, Congressmen are human. They have the same weaknesses, the same strengths, as the rest of us. If Weiner’s twitter wasn’t hacked, Mr Weiner did something a lot of (single) men do when they’re lonely and longing for human connection. Not just that, he pulled the tweet within five minutes of releasing it.
That the Democrat is married does, to be sure, add another wrinkle to the story. But, beyond that, the real issue, if indeed he tweeted the picture in question, is that he lied about it.
UPDATE: He’s not answering questions.
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Someone else said it first, but… Perps hire lawyers. Victims call the police / FBI. Which has Weiner done?
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — May 31, 2011 @ 4:45 pm - May 31, 2011
Weiner’s ever-changing story raises red flags; therefore, this is not some little non-story. He who throw stones must not live in glass houses. Weiner is finding out about this first hand; he deserves a taste of his own rotten medicine. Let the investigation begin!
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — May 31, 2011 @ 4:49 pm - May 31, 2011
ILC, if you haven’t already, read Rubin’s post. She makes a similar point.
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — May 31, 2011 @ 4:51 pm - May 31, 2011
The issue is, Dem’s took a much milder scandal and converted a safe GOP seat (NY-26) to a Dem seat. With the power of incumbency, that will stay a Dem seat for years.
Is the GOP willing to do what’s necessary?
This has all the potential to be a great story – penis, photos you can actually show on TV, modern tech that everyone understands, cute girl with big boobs. The victim-wife who is close to Hilary, also victim-wife. My word, how much more could this BE a tee up for a tough GOP strategist?
Doesn’t even matter if Weiner quits, this could turn lots of people throughout the nation against pervy Dems – if it were marketed correctly.
Comment by Less — May 31, 2011 @ 4:54 pm - May 31, 2011
As somone has already said — Weiner will be working with O.J. to find the real perpetrators.
Comment by TooMuchTime — May 31, 2011 @ 6:32 pm - May 31, 2011
He made the decision to do a very stupid thing. For that alone, he should be “fired” by the voters who should question his ability to make sound decisions given his position. Idiot.
Comment by Mary — May 31, 2011 @ 7:43 pm - May 31, 2011
Remember when Rep. Weiner was pushing for more visas for foreign models?
One quote I recall from back then was that he was just trying to get more potential dates.
This was back when he was single.
Just a month or two before getting engaged.
Comment by Nan G — June 1, 2011 @ 12:42 am - June 1, 2011