Whether you think it's fair or not, he's toast.

[cali]

There's simply no way any politician can survive this. You know the old cliche, "a picture is worth a thousand words"? Well that holds true right here. And the other thing that dooms him is his lying to the leadership until 15 minutes before his news conference on Monday. Not to mention his having encouraged Ginger Lee to lie and offering his PR team's help.

It's all over. My guess is his resignation will come tomorrow.

Oh, Vitter. Yeah, Vitter got away with it, but a couple of points: Vitter did the whole prostitution thing years before it became public- that will always work in favor of someone caught up in scandal- it's the "old news" factor". And of course, we didn't have the masses of material that Weiner generated- pictures, etc.

Here's an article that makes it clear that Weiner is gone.

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders began an orchestrated effort on Wednesday to force Representative Anthony D. Weiner of New York to resign his seat, saying his sexually explicit Internet messages and subsequent lies about them were making him, and the party, the subject of ridicule.


The push came as an angry Representative Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader from California, concluded that Mr. Weiner was becoming too much of a problem for his colleagues as they planned to retake the House in 2012.

The first — and most notable — call for Mr. Weiner’s resignation came on Wednesday afternoon from Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz, Democrat of Pennsylvania, a Pelosi ally who is overseeing the recruitment of the party’s candidates for the 2012 election cycle.

<snip>

They are especially upset that the Weiner news exploded at a time when they believed they had the Republican party on the defensive over an unpopular Medicare proposal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/nyregion/house-democrats-step-up-calls-for-weiner-to-quit.html

[Whisp]

1. well there you have it.

can't spend the next year and half defending a stupid wiener. It's the only thing to be done really. He is not to be trusted anymore. What if there is more crap out there?

No one else's fault except his own.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. What I can't figure out

is why Weiner hasn't totally died of embarrassment. If that were me, and my naughty bits and generally skeevy behavior had been broadcast all over the Internet, I'd not just resign, I'd do my best to disappear completely. I'd be praying to God to make the earth open and swallow me, and if that didn't work I'd get a disguise, change my name, maybe fake my own death, and leave town -- maybe to someplace like Madagascar. I'd be too embarrassed to breathe in front of anybody on earth. How could anyone want to remain in the public eye after the whole universe has seen a creepy photo of his dick?

[pipi_k]

6. That's what I wonder

Because, like you, I'd be wanting a big old hole to open up and swallow me.

Of course, I have an exaggerated sense of shame anyway...I get embarrassed over things I do or say that wouldn't even bother someone else.

But this....

holy shit.

It's got to be part of whatever personality disorder he's got that made him think he'd be able to lie and get away with it in the first place.

Yech.

I know it's not our business, but really...when people get caught doing stuff like this, I just can't look at them the same way ever again.

[joshcryer]

27. Pfft, once you have his kind of naughty bits you aren't particularly embarrassed about people...

...seeing 'em. In fact, being well equipped is one sure fire indicator that people will invariably get to see 'em, in my experience. :P

[Solomon]

30. I too think he got something out of the pics being shown.

Just imagine, he's probably had to deal with jokes about his name his entire life. Musta been dying to pull it out and show it to every asshole who cracked on his name.

[Cid_B]

31. Ahh...

... but all of that implies that you would

a) Be smart enough to realize that such a thing could cause you an intense amount of shame and maybe you shouldn't send it to random women you have never met

b) Realize that bad things can happen and not be so full of yourself. He must have thought he was invulnerable. There was no way it could have gone any other way.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

35. Shame seems to be a foreign emotion for many politicians.

Publicity that would make most of us want to crawl under the bed and die seems to just roll off their backs.

[RandomThoughts]

3. What a coincidence.

Why arn't they talking in the news about how media narratives and smears are used to divert people from the topics like the unpopular Medicare proposal.

Why don't they explain how smears are used, and how it is used to threaten many people.

They are complicit when they let such tactics work.


Are they afraid they will get smeared?

[cali]

10. maybe because the facts don't support the claim of a smear

[Cid_B]

39. Hence the reason other dems are calling for Weiner to go away..

They were moving towards the offense regarding Medicare and then the dumbass took it all away from them. You want to blame someone blame him...

[ProSense]

4. Vt's Leahy calls for Weiner to step down

Vt's Leahy calls for Weiner to step down

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont says he thinks a resignation by New York Congressman Anthony Weiner would be in the best interests of his constituents and the U.S. House.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, says it's Weiner's decision whether to resign, and Congressman Peter Welch says he's awaiting the outcome of a House Ethics Committee investigation. Welch calls Weiner's behavior appalling and self-destructive.

<...>

Leahy also says he supports the House Ethics Committee investigation, but says he would welcome a decision by Weiner to resign voluntarily.

[flamingdem]

21. Oh jeez now the puritans have to get into the act nt

[cali]

22. Leahy is hardly known as a puritan.

and he's a liberal.

[DianeK]

38. What is this snarky remark about?

[Hamlette]

5. Cinton did when a huge percentage of Americans said "ENOUGH" to the GOP and the media

Clinton ended up seeming sympathetic because everyone was piling on him. His ratings went to 70% or so.

I'm not a huge fan of Weiner. Never have been as his AIPAC ties are too blinding strong for me.

But the silver lining is we get to keep saying Vitter (who actually did break the law) Vitter (who actually did have sex) and Vitter (who did not resign).

[cali]

7. It's a different situation.

and vitter wasn't prosecuted because of the statute of limitations

[Hamlette]

8. but there was no investigation, not ethics committee, no calls for his resignation by republicans

it is a different situation because Vitter is a hypocrite and the Dems are afraid of our own shadow.

We should stand up to this bullies and say "it is private, get back to business"

[cali]

9. largely because it happened 6+ years before it was revealed

I don't much care whether Weiner goes or stays but I don't think he's worth fighting for at this point.

[PRETZEL]

33. I agree that this isn't a fight the Dems should undertake,

whether Weiner decides to stay or go should be his and what his constituents want. From what I saw last nite, he still seems to have support in his district which should be more important from his point of view. If his constituents feel he should stay, I think that should trump what the general public opinion is.

I will say that if he decides to stay then he needs to stay out of the public eye as much as possible, get the help he needs, fully cooperate with the ethics committee and accept their decision. If the ethics violations (i.e. use of goverment phones or computers) for this escapade of his, then that's a whole different ballgame. Right now, we don't know and to the Dem leadership decide what they feel is best for his district I think is short sighted.

We should be more that capable of having another Congressman take up the charges that Congressman Weiner has been championing for years. We shouldn't allow ourselves to have the message lost with the messenger.

[Pterodactyl]

11. Time for the scuzzy pervert to go!

We don't need to stone him or anything, but do we really need scuzzy perverts as representatives? We have lots of good honest people who can fill that spot. Weiner should go and make room for someone else who won't be an embarassment to his constituents, the party and the nation.

[cali]

actually, that's not how I feel. I really don't care about his sexual exploits

as long as they're legal. it's the stupidity and lying that get to me.

[uncle ray]

34. so call for Clarence Thomas to resign.

it would make a hell of a lot more sense considering he is in a lifetime position vs. Weiner who can simply be voted out next election if that's what his constituents want.

[TheKentuckian]

19. Oh yeah???? Well, why the fuck aren't any in Congress now if such upstanding folk are in abundance?

What the hell is upstanding to you because our priorities must be light years apart if you think Wiener is in the top 80% of the villains giving over our nation to a greedy few to squeeze into oblivion.

We are flushing our future down the toilet be an idiocracy.

[CakeGrrl]

12. No one's fault but his own. Bad choice at a really wrong time.

It's difficult enough for Dems to mount a fight against Repubs/MSM, and when they do, this dumb act gives the MSM the excuse they need to divert.

[JohnnyLib2]

13. If he had another last name, he'd have more chance of survival.

But that's not the case. This will be joke material forever.
If anyone in Congress should be aware of that reality---it's him. :shrug:

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

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

[Vinee]

15. If I were fortunate enough to be a representative, I promise you I wouldn't do stupid shit like this

He fucked himself-he and he alone. I once thought he was quite intelligent. I was wrong.

[RiverStone]

16. Agreed - Weiner's exit needs to be immediate to salvage any respect

This should not be the news; our recall in Wisconsin should be the news!

He is a drag on our party and too damaged to be effective. Really too bad as we will miss his punch, but he brought it on himself.

[flamingdem]

17. David Vitter survived it FLYIN' HIGH IN DIAPERS! nt

[cali]

23. One more time: Vitter's protitution exploits happened in 1999 and

2001 and weren't discovered until 2007. So by the time it was revealed, it was "old news". Hell, the statute of limitations had expired. He was able to play the whole that was a long time ago and I've reformed card.

[Nye Bevan]

18. I disagree. Remember what a huge story Larry Craig's toe-tapping was at the time?

And Craig actually broke the law, unlike Weiner, and was arrested and convicted. At the time I was sure he would resign. But he didn't. No matter *what* the story, everybody eventually gets bored and moves on to something else.

Weiner will be a punchline for the rest of his life and will never rise above his current office. But I don't think he will necessarily resign. He may well not run for re-election, but if he does, I think he will win (assuming that his district is not abolished).

[notesdev]

20. You know the saying: don't get caught with a dead boy or a ...

pic of your dick on the Internet

[Skidmore]

24. After hearing more about this mess since yesterday, I think he should go.

I do realize it is up to the people of his district, but right now this crap is sucking the oxygen out of the air when we need to be fighting the Rs. Weiner's stupidity is hamstringing us. Medicare is in jeopardy as well as SS. Let's focus the fight where it needs to be. And it is not on this foolish man. He went into public service with the full knowledge that his behavior would be scrutinized. As a public official and a creator of laws, he should be well aware of

[joshcryer]

25. Do you think for one instant that if he 'left' we'd magically "start fighting the Rs"?

Hell, frankly I think he should stick around just to absorb the media bullshit for the next 6 months until the ethics probe is over.

[Skidmore]

28. Josh, I just am responding to the total lack of coverage or discussion

of anything else in the news and on this board, for that matter. We, as individuals, are caught up in this muck created by one person. And, on a personal level, I also respond to his behavior as a woman. It irks me. But that's me. I don't understand why this behavior is considered respectable or defensible in any way.

[joshcryer]

29. We as individuals can ignore it, and we will because we have a short attention span.

And we won't focus on the Rs because we never do. It'll be something else in the news. I remember just the other day the mass body discussions. Dozens of OPs over a complete non-story.

[joshcryer]

26. I would tend to agree, but I'd wish he'd fight it out.

Just for the hell of it. So many Republicans stick around even after they've been indicted on shit, why can't he?

[Wind Dancer]

32. Unrecommended ...

.. due to the number of active threads already addressing these concerns.

What about the behavior of Clarence Thomas? Where is THAT outrage?

DU needs a Weiner and Palin group given the obsession by many members.

There ARE more important issues at hand.

[SOS]

36. Weiner is a fighter. Always has been.

He should not resign!

To hell with the backstabbing Democrats in the Congress.

The election is 17 months away. The Congressional cowards don't need to fret about it.

The Japan tsunami has already been forgotten by the American public as well as the war in Iraq.
The American attention span is one week. This will be ancient history by the fall of 2012.

You support your friends and teammates when they screw up.
That's the only honorable response.

It's amusing that a body of revolving door, bribe-taking, paid-off corporate lackeys
even has an "ethics" committee.

[AtomicKitten]

37. Had he not done the full court denial tour, he might have stood a chance.

WTF was that all about anyway? As always in politics, the cover-up is worse than the "crime."

I don't know how this is going to turn out; that isn't up to me. If he resigns, I and I think a good chunk of the Democratic Party will miss his sassy voice on the floor of the HOR.