Jonathan Capehart: Anthony Weiner must go

[cali]

By Jonathan Capehart


Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), you gotta go.

It pains me to say this because he is a loud and aggressive voice for those in his district and in the country who don’t have one. But the latest revelation — that he coached one of the women with whom he’d been sexting to lie — is a bridge too far. Yes, there’s a double standard for people in public life. And there are necessarily higher standards for people elected to positions of public trust. Weiner has violated that trust. He’s gotta go.

Everyone is telling him to go in one form or another. Leave aside the predictable rhetorical shoves from Republicans, such as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). Fellow Democrats are shoving Weiner toward the exit, too. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said yesterday that he would tell Weiner to “call someone else” if the humiliated and scheming pol called him for advice. Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said it would be up to Weiner and his constituents to decide his future as a result of this “deep personal failure.” Meanwhile, Senate candidate and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee Tim Kaine (D-Va.) outright called on Weiner to resign.

These aren’t the only signs that Weiner’s electoral house of cards is crumbling all around him. The New York Times reports today that the six-term congressman didn’t ’fess up to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) until 15 minutes before his jaw-dropping news conference on Monday. Every Democrat knows you don’t mess with Pelosi. Ever. Everyone, no matter the party affiliation, knows you don’t lie to donors. Ever. That’s why I found this interesting nugget in the front-page Times story among the most damning of all.

His campaign donors said they were especially shocked and furious because a week ago the congressman attributed his online travails to a “vast right-wing conspiracy,” a contributor who spoke with him said. “Everything is going to be fine,” Mr. Weiner said, according to the contributor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the uncertainty surrounding the congressman’s future.


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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/anthony-weiner-must-go/2011/03/04/AGjqW1LH_blog.html

[earthside]

1. Capehart is Correct.

Weiner will be gone by the end of the week ... if not sooner.

[cali]

2. I think he'll be gone too. I'm at a point where I just don't care one way or the other.

[oberliner]

9. Does his hawkishness with respect to Israel impact your ambivelance?

Is that part of the reason why you won't take a strong stand in favor of Weiner?

If his positions were more similar to those of your own Congressperson on that subject, might you be offering a more vigorous defense?

[elocs]

3. Weiner made his bed and now he gets to lie in it because he lied.

That is, of course, unless you hold to the juvenile code of behavior where why should you get punished if the kid down the street, your brother, whoever, got away with it.

All of us probably tried this ploy as kids and those of us with kids have had them try it on us. Fortunately, most adults see through that ploy. Most.

[DCBob]

4. Weiner has made about 10 big mistakes in a row..

He's over his limit.

[pnwmom]

5. K & R. n/t

[Arkana]

6. Sorry, Capehart's wrong.

Weiner didn't break any laws. If the voters of his district vote him out then that's their prerogative, but he hasn't done anything wrong other than show bad judgment in his personal life.

[Atypical Liberal]

7. Our actions infer future actions.

Just because he showed bad judgement in his personal life does not give him a pass, in my view. If someone has shown to be a scoundrel in personal dealings, who's to say he won't be a scoundrel in public dealings?

The fact of the matter is, this isn't about sex. This is about honesty, loyalty, and integrity.

Weiner was dishonest. He lied about what he had done, and, according to the OP, it is now coming out that he may have been coaching others to help him lie. This means his honesty is in serious doubt.

He was disloyal. Assuming his wife was unaware of his fetish, then he was disloyal to the person closest to him - his spouse. If you are going to be disloyal to your wife, who else might you be disloyal to? His loyalty is now in serious doubt.

Not only did he lie, but he attempted to pass the blame for his actions off onto others, namely Twitter when he said his account had been hacked, and the reporter who broke the story who was vilified for a week as having faked the photos or for trying to pass off fake photos that were, after all, real. Allowing others to take the blame for your own actions now calls his integrity into doubt.

Whether or not he broke any laws, he has now lost a ton of credibility.

[JanetLovesObama]

8. Being a registered Independent who loves

President Obama, I say Weiner must resign NOW. He has disgraced his wife and unborn baby, the Democratic Party, and most of all himself. Yes, I have heard all the "well blah blah did it over at the RepubliKKKan party and he didn't resign blah blah blah" and that's fine. We all know the RepubliKKKan party is nothing but a bunch of damn hypocrites. But there is such a thing as honesty, integrity, and decency which is expected by all Congressman on both sides. Weiner has shown he is dishonest, has no integrity, and decency is not in his vocabulary. Are Democrats so "we are not the party of family values" that they simply accept no decency nor honesty at all?? I sincerely hope not.

My number one concern is getting President Obama re-elected and number two is getting Democrats to take back Congress. Weiner will do nothing whatsoever to further my agenda and everything to prevent it. He needs to go NOW.

[sabrina 1]

11. 'Your agenda''??

I hate to tell you this, but this is not about YOU. Nor is it about the president. It is about Rep. Weiner's constituents and knowing NY, I have a feeling he will be reelected.

I'm not to pleased with this president at all. He will have to work a lot harder to win back the trust of many of those who worked so hard to put him in office, and who he apparently completely forgot about as soon as he got there.

His education policies are a disaster eg. His wars and his refusal to hold anyone accountable for war crimes, is more than disturbing.

But, he has time to try to reverse some of the disappointment people are feeling towards him. And so does Anthony Weiner. No one is perfect.

[sabrina 1]

10. They said that about Clinton also.

Yawn!

Let the people decide. Nancy Pelosi is not one of his constituents and I hope she does not take away their right to vote for a candidate they want to vote for. That is not part of her job.

The man likes sex! Everybody FAINT! :eyes: