Maybe Bill Clinton’s political survival emboldened Anthony Weiner. After all, the former president, who just happened to officiate at his fellow Democrat’s wedding, lied about an extra-marital tryst he had in the White House. And he served out his second term.
Yet, the question that keeps coming up is not just why Weiner, like his fellow partisan, lied about his flirtations with a twentysomething woman not his wife, but also why he repeating his denials in regular appearances on cable (and broadcast) news. At least, Bill Clinton didn’t go on a media tour with a duplicitous dog-and-pony show. He just wagged his finger, claimed he did not have “sexual relations with that woman” and attempted to move on.
Thirteen years later, with a stronger conservative presence in the media, particularly the new media and with the prominence of one such conservative (whom Mr. Weiner’s allies targeted), with a record of breaking stories of corruption on the left, surely Mr. Weiner must have known that some of the right would relentlessly pursue the truth of this matter.
Did Mr. Weiner, given his reputation as an anti-Republican attack dog, really think the media would cover for him on this?
Or maybe it was just the Democrat suffered from, as Ed Morrisey put it, “severe lack of judgment.”
RELATED: Where are all the feminists, you know those gals once so outraged about a distinguished conservative jurist allegedly telling a female co-worker about a pubic hair on a can of Coke?
RSM and Patterico have been tracking whether Weiner’s additional dirty-dalliances on Twitter did, in fact, involve underage girls: http://patterico.com/2011/06/10/robert-stacy-mccain-explains-what-we-know-and-why-we-should-care-about-congressman-weiners-online-interactions-with-underage-girls/
If Twitter and the blogosphere had been around back in 1998 would Clinton had survived the fallout? It’s difficult to say but a presidential “crotch shot” online would not have helped him at all. That’s what hurt Weiner the most. Add to this that his wife if pregnant? Oh man, that raises the number of folks who look at him as being a complete and utter bastard.
John, I think the lie hurt him more than the crotch shot. Had he just admitted acting inappropriately when the story broke, he would have made Republicans look like prudes rooting around into his private, shall we say, affairs.
But, by lying about it, he encourage them to do just that (root around in his affairs) so they could justify their accusations.
That said, do agree with your point about his wife’s pregnancy, that he kept doing this, knowing that he would soon be a father. . .
*Exactly*! Where are the women lining up to rant over another oversexed politician thinking he doesn’t have to abide by common decency and exhibit respect toward women?? Any girls disgusted by the eJohn’ing of Weiner?? Jeez….[echoes]…well, I’m disgusted. Men who behave like teenagers when their wives are pregnant are lowlifes.
Daniel, both your and Morrisey’s explanations make sense, and I suppose it’s some combination of that and a weird sexual arrogance. I also read Malkin’s piece and as usual she’s spot on.
Yesterday I had a conversation with two liberal colleagues at work about the matter. They were both of the opinion that this scandal is not a reason for him to resign, nor a reason to cease their support of him (and presumably their vote if they lived in his district). The reason, they said, was that there was “a line” between private and public life, and that as long as he didn’t lie about a governmental matter or steal money it was all ok. “Are their no limits to personal behavior?” I asked. I got what I expected, the classic reduction to the absurd: “Well, if he killed someone….”
Ah yes, let’s bring it out to a level that’s completely unrealistic so that we can avoid the hard moral issues.
What’s also interesting is that both readily admitted that if it had been a Republican he would have been forced to resign long ago.
At this point work interrupted and we were not able to continue our conversation. Too bad, because I had more questions for them along the lines of “Weiner didn’t lie about one indiscretion, or one instance of consensual sex. He lied repeatedly and boldly, and made false accusations about others. If he will do this, even if it’s “only about sex,” can you really trust him on governmental matters? What does this say about his overall trustworthyness?” and, getting back to my other point, “Isn’t this sexual harassment, and aren’t liberals supposed to be against that?”
Why did Weiner lie?
Watch Rachel Maddow and the rest of the media beclown themselves and you’ll understand why.
Given that Weiner knew he had the complete and mindless support of the Obama Party, the gay and lesbian community, “progressives”, and the media, why would you not think you could get away with anything?
Weiner lied because he knew the MSM would play to his defense; they did & the story was just a asterick until Breitbart made it a bigger story. The MSM could no longer ignore it. Why did Weiner lie? He’s an arrogant SOB.
The media and the Feminists are covering for him. Latest one is Jeanne Garafalo. I say keep him in the house, he is defanged, can’t come out as the attack dog he was, he will probably get reelected again, but in some other district a Dem will fall, cuz non coastal Americans will realize that Weiner is the face of the Dem party and why support that?
Perhaps, though a good PR campaign might have overcome it. Regardless, adding together his lies, the “crotch shot”, knowledge that he sent this photo to women – possibly even one under 18 and that his wife is pregnant I don’t see how he could extricate himself from this mess. At the very least it’s been entertaining to watch Pelosi support his staying in office, only to do a complete 180 the next day. Oh Nance, you do amuse me sometimes…
I’d like to see Weiner stay in the house.
It’s better to have these people there, where you can watch them and remind yourself what true liberalsim is about.
Weiner thought the MSM would protect him and cover for him. That first presser in the hallway of the House took, Tony totally by surprise. That his old friends in the MSM media would continue to ask him questions, and ask him for answers instead of rolling over, took him completely by surprise. You know Tony had to be asking himself….damn, they let Clinton stay, Rangle stay, Kennedy stay…..
Is it because he’s Jewish, with a Muslim wife?
Two consenting adults sending each other pictures of their genitalia is markedly different than sexual harassment in the workplace. I don’t think you know what feminism means.
Ah Levi, nice job.
Who could have guessed the libs would back
Tony Weiner. What if Tony was sexting with minors? What if they were consenting minors. Liberal Democrats are not only defending the boob Obama, the evil moron Debbie W S, and now the perv Weiner.
His poor poor wife. No liberal sympathy for her huh? Guess Hillary will have to councel her.
Nice job Democrats. Nice hope n change. Way to change the tone in Washington.
At least Tony now admits he needs professional help….give him a call Levi.
I have been trying to think like a garden variety liberal about Huma …. the Weiner-wife. Suppose things go really bad between Huma and Sexter. Shouldn’t she be encouraged to dump the Weiner hump so her mental health isn’t always jarred by a living reminder?
C’mon, Planned Parenthood aficionados, step up to the vacuum. Prepare to help rid this feminist of her terrible scourge.
Jesus buddy, learn to read. I was responding to Dan’s nonsensical question about why this isn’t riling up the feminists.
You’re out of your mind if that’s your impression of what garden variety liberals think. Turn off the talk radio for a few minutes one of these days, why don’t ya?
The real interesting question is, why are libs defending a middle-aged married liberal politician for doing something we think a teenage is an idiot for doing?
Levi, old lib:
There is no medical reason for partial birth abortion, save a 1 in a million last minute complication when it is the life of the mother or the infant, but not both.
Roe v. Wade, silly as it is in terms of legal thinking and way too old medical technology, made abortion more difficult to obtain after the first trimester. However, Levi, old lib, late term abortions abound and Planned Parenthood is the go-to abortion mill.
“The health of the mother” has been construed by lib judges and politicians to include worrying about finances, not being committed to raising a child and other such elastic definitions of convenience.
Now think of poor, dear Huma who married up with a cad, got herself joyfully pregnant and then had the kitchen sink dumped on her. Maybe, she would just like to be rid of the Sexter and all her memories of him.
All the memories of him might very well include killing the fetus. You have objections to that? Where is your liberal compassion. Or, do you mostly dislike having names and faces attached to your baby killing?
You libs are all bumper sticker slogans and weasels when it comes to reality. Let Huma and the Sexter be your guide. You will kill huge numbers of black babies and trailer park trash, but liberal and known political elites are an entirely different matter in your scheme of social justice and consciousness. After all, Huma owns the blob in her womb and she has a perfectly clear right to choose to kill the little sucker. Right?
I guess you just don’t deal well with chickens that come home to roost.
Poor Anthony is left lamenting:
I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner,
everyone would be in love with me.
Wow, what the hell is this shit? You’re really steering the Anthony Weiner story towards abortion? Huh? How? Why? What is it that you want me to say here? That Huma should go have an abortion? Is that what you think of people who are pro-choice?
That religion of yours has rotted your brain to the core. Do you actually believe you’re doing any of your own thinking?
No, Levi, I am just trying to be a detached, statist death panel judge who makes sure the government provides the means for people to kill themselves, get killed in the womb and step up to the plate when they cost the government healthcare too much money.
Huma has the “choice” of what to do with here blob of cells. Right? I will let Barbara Walters and her panel of yentas work on Huma. She just needs the option to dump the hump. Right?
Your reaction, however, makes me think you don’t have the stones to be a liberal. You are all compassionate in theory and pretty prickly when it comes to specific cases. Tell me again about Trig.
However, I do apologize for offending your moral relevancy and inadvertently stumbling across some personal hidden code of decency in your guided by instinct world. Apparently, you find a touch of “evil” in my suggestions.
Of coruse since this isn’t what happened, Levi is forced to lie again to pretend it is.
Once again, Levi and the truth have nothing in common. (And adies, this is why Levi is single. He thinks this kind of behaviour is fine for a married man.)
Now hush Levi… adults are talking
Oh who cares. I’m not going to argue with you over your absurd misrepresentation of the pro-choice position. None of what you’re saying begins to resemble the liberal argument, so why should I bother?
Poor Levi,
Corneredby Heliotrope, he’s forced to pretend that what Helio so perfectly put, isn’t what he really beleives. He can’t even articulate what he says he believes, or even lie about what he believes. (Which is unusual, he lies about most everything else.)
Well, I guess that leaves Levi licking his wounds and the feminists, licking their wombs. Or something.
Welcome to the world of liberal principle.
Levi is shocked! Shocked! he tells ya’.