Anthony Weiner speaks truth to power, and we want to shut him up?

[Hugabear]

I live in Florida, so he doesn't represent me, but I like him. He's one of those who isn't afraid to get up and say what needs to be said. He doesn't care if he offends the rethugs, steps on their toes, or hurts their little feelings. He ferociously defends the truth, exposing conservative lies. He's been one of the right-wing propaganda machine's favorite targets.

Watch these videos and then tell me if you think we should muzzle this voice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omM2s4wBPRQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20GeY7sQseg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJFivQYjC-Q

http://youtu.be/KBqtyvn7OVw

http://youtu.be/MB8yIejitAo

Honestly - after watching Weiner speak, do we really want to shut him up?

[Poll_Blind]

1. Watching those the first of those videos- that's rockin'!!!

:thumbsup:

PB

[MilesColtrane]

2. Would you let him speak "truth to power" to your 17 year old daughter?

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hugabear]

4. Please show me evidence that he sent anything inappropriate or illegal to an underage girl

I take it you're one of the ones who want to throw him under the bus, his voice of reason and years of service be damned. It's perfectly acceptable for other Congressmen to lie about health care and other issues that have a direct impact on all Americans. But apparently it's not okay for Weiner to lie about a personal indiscretion which affects nobody but himself and the people directly involved.

[sabrina 1]

5. Will you apologize for that remark when you learn that he did

nothing wrong and that the a source close to the family of the girl has confirmed that?

[MilesColtrane]

12. It's a question, not a comment.

[Hugabear]

14. Again - please show evidence where he sent anything inappropriate

Or are you just making the insinuation because you don't care if he gets thrown under the bus?

[pnwmom]

16. How does the girl know about his cape and tights comments?

Or does she think all Congressman talk about wearing capes and tights?

[Hugabear]

20. Batman wears a cape and tights. Is he inappropriate?

Here's the Twitter message in question:

“I came back strong,” he wrote. “Large. Tights and cape. ...”

And that's it. Nothing sexual following it, no photos, nothing. As far as any of us know, he could have been using superhero imagery, since tights and capes are symbols of superheros. There was absolutely nothing sexually suggestive in any of the messages. If the girl's own parents are satisfied that there was nothing inappropriate, then shouldn't that be enough?

[pnwmom]

21. In his conversation with Lisa Weiss, he talked about his cape and tights

within a sexually explicit conversation. But we're supposed to believe he talked to this teen about his cape and tights and left the sexual stuff out. Okay, maybe so. But I'd be more likely to believe him if he hadn't already told so many lies.

You don't seem to be aware that all that is PUBLIC are the tweets that SHE made. (Among them, this one. "Ethel: I love 69ing big hunt + like to use honey mustard as lube. Ohh yeahh baby I love bdh weiner May 22")

That sounds "suggestive" to me. What about to you?

We don't know yet (if we ever will) what HE said to her in private messages.

[Hugabear]

23. Again - show us evidence

Yes, it's perfectly rational to believe that he knew to draw the line with someone who was underage. While he may have taken the superhero bit too far with one woman, with the 17-yr old girl, he very well may have just left it at that.

Besides - the girl's parents have stated they didn't see anything inappropriate or they would have gone to the authorities.

Now if it does come out that he was sending sexually explicit private messages to an underage girl, then I'll have no problem with him being removed from office and prosecuted. But I'm not going to condemn the man based on rumor and unfounded accusations.

[pnwmom]

25. You're right, nothing has been proven yet. And maybe nothing will.

Even if he was involved with sexting with a 17 year old, he could have texted her without any record of those texts being made. (According to other DUers, some phones/servers keep these records, some don't.)

How would her parents know, honestly? My kids have known more about our computers, cell phones, etc. than I have since they were in their early teens.

[ClassWarrior]

30. That's the only way people can keep this story alive. By lying about it.

Reminds me of the Rape-Publican campaign stragegy.

NGU.

[sabrina 1]

31. No, it was a statement. A smear and it should be apologized for.

Weiner is a democrat being targeted by a vicious, hateful, racist ideologue. This is democratic site, not a republican site, and using rightwing smears against democrats without any of proof, is, as far as I now, against DU rules.

[aquart]

11. Did your 17 year old daughter watch the MTV awards?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIvp2y1N-RI

Maybe she knows a lot more than you think she knows.

[sabrina 1]

6. Someone wants to shut him up.

But no, I do not. But I do think it's time to start working on Breitbart.

[aquart]

9. Or, at the least, stop doing Breitbart's work for him.

[sabrina 1]

15. Yes, I'm trying to think of one instance when the Democrats

actually stood up to that moron.

The worst I think was the way they so quickly dumped Shirley Sherrod, despite knowing what Breitbart does after the truth about ACORN came out.

There are people here who actually wanted Weiner to have committed a crime so they could gloat over it. Who needs Breitbart with democrats are doing the work for him?

The list of his victories with the help of Democrats is long and growing. And now, I hear, he's after Al Franken and Sen. Sanders.

I wonder how quickly they will be dumped when he begins his campaign against them.

[Hugabear]

17. Throwing progressive icons under the bus is a favorite pastime here on DU

There's a rather lengthy list of progressives who have been thrown under the bus at one time or another here on DU: Keith Olbermann, Michael Moore, Alan Grayson, Al Franken, etc.

[aquart]

36. It's like being pursued by piranhas.

[Horse with no Name]

7. Not only do some WANT to shut him up, they NEED to shut him up

any voice that speaks for us is marginalized, ridiculed, or find themselves getting inconveniently killed.

[EFerrari]

35. This. n/t

[JDPriestly]

8. Thanks. As far as I know, he doesn't take money from lobbyists in order to do their bidding.

Congressmen get lonely in D.C. Ensign did. Vitter did. Others have. They do stupid things. Weiner's stupid things did not involve unwanted touching of others or even paid-for touching of others. Let's keep things in perspective.

[Heidi]

10. I think the right wants to shut him up. Many Dems would prefer for him to just zip up. (nt)

[Hugabear]

13. There are a few DUers who would like to shut him up and forget about him

There have already been a couple of un-recs on this thread. Just browse through this forum, there are plenty of threads saying he should resign. Even several threads spreading the unfounded accusations that he sent inappropriate messages to an underage girl, even though that has already been refuted by the girl's parents.

[Heidi]

19. I just recommended this thread.

I don't think he should resign, and I don't know anything about those accusations. (It's 8:30 on Saturday morning here, and I haven't looked at the news.) But if the parents have refuted the allegation, I don't think it should be repeated ad nauseum in a progressive community.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

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[akbacchus_BC]

22. Truth to what power? Bashing the President at every opportunity! Weiner sucks!

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hugabear]

26. Obama kept troops in Iraq, and continues to bomb Pakistan. Would you like him to resign as well?

n/t

[sabrina 1]

29. So did most of the Dems

And I agree that they all should have resigned for that. That was much, much worse than this. And Obama needs to go if he continues to start new wars all over the place also, and assumes the powers of a king ordering assassinations in other people's countries, wouldn't you agree?

But he should not go because of Andrew Breitbart. I will never help Breitbart destroy democrats. We should decide that, not some moronic, racist idealogue.

[cali]

27. he was an effective spokesman. Do you really think he can be again?

Not a chance. Oh, and he was not a hardworking legislator. I hate to keep comparing my rep to Weiner, but not only his he more liberal (and not an Israel no matter what guy) but he's accomplished more legislatively in less than 5 years than Weiner did in over a decade.

[ClassWarrior]

28. Not after the whining hypocrites who are silent about Vitter get done with him.

But that's the intent, isn't it?

NGU.

[cali]

34. Had Vitter's criminal activity been exposed at the time they happened

it would have been a much bigger scandal. I'd bet he would have resigned. Maybe it's just human nature, but old sexual scandals just don't have the punch of ones that unfold before us. Not to mention that Weiner's came fully illustrated and with vivid text provided by the Congressman himself. Fair? No, but life isn't fair.

[aquart]

37. Bullshit. And GUTLESS.

You've decided what OTHER people think so that's how YOU are going to think?

Could you be more easy to manipulate?

[sabrina 1]

39. And that we all care what 'other people think'.

Not to mention that after Vitter's 'sins' were discovered on the DC madame's list of clients, she 'committed suicide'. She had just done an interview and stated clearly that she was frightened but wanted people to know she would never commit suicide.

But I guess if it was murder, it's old news now.

We have Larry Flynt to thank for exposing Vitter. And I did not know that Vitter was the replacement for Livingston after Flynt exposed HIM as a hypocrite. And he took that position supposedly because he was 'pure' and filled with 'family values'.

This country is badly need of a good cleansing. Sometimes I feel sick just reading about these people.

[divvy]

40. .

.

[cali]

32. If there's a more hackneyed bullshit line than "truth to power"

I don't know of it.

[Raine]

33. Yeah, really. Having a big mouth and grandstanding is great

but it doesn't go far enough especially the way he sure dropped the single payer/public option so fast.

[aquart]

38. New meme! New meme!

Go for it.