Whither the Withered Weiner

Okay, we know now beyond doubt that Congressman Anthony Weiner is a wiener, not to mention a liar. This is serious, but is there really any sense in calling for his resignation? The Congressman has not done illegal that I know of. It is not clear that he has violated any professional code of ethics. He isn't a Republican. So why should he resign?

Granted, he has revealed himself to be such a deplorable buffoon that the voters may well decide to resign him in the next election. One doubts it. Barney Frank is still in office. The voters, however, should probably be the one to make the decision unless Weiner makes it for them by stepping down.

Comments

[caheidelberger]

I hang my head in shame. I was so hoping for the rhetorical joys of the Kucinich-Weiner ticket in 2016. Rep. Weiner has said a lot of right stuff about health care and other policies, but he has just crashed his credibility.

The only saving grace of this disgrace: excellent alliterative headlines. Well done, Dr. Blanchard. :-)

[Jimi]

No...He should not resign, because this allows future Right Wingers to stick around longer when they do this stuff. In the past, most of the time the Republican is forced to resign right away, with a few exceptions, but now Weiner can be used as an example to prevent that from being the case.

It's a Race to the Bottom, and American Politicians are in the Lead!

[caheidelberger]

Curious: is the absence (?) of equivalent stories of female politicians behaving so stupidly a sign of inherent female superiority or simply a lag in women achieving such high positions that they might be intoxicated by said power?

[Bill Fleming]

"withered weiner" "...hang my head in shame"
...and the hits just keep on comin'.
Cory and Ken, you guys are killin' me over here

[larry kurtz]

Rep. Weiner should be commended for distracting attention from Israel's actions on the Syrian border. Good job, Ken: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/06/07/west.bank.mosque.fire/

[Stan Gibilisco]

Cory, I'd have to say that the relative lack of shady doings by female politicians (accounting for their fewer numbers compared to males in the field) lies in biology. As I read somewhere when I was a kid: "The male is the hunter and the female is his target." It's hard to commit a sexual indiscretion in a passive role, unless it take the form of a false accusation of rape.

Lest someone accuse me of sexism, I might add that (1) the notion of "inherent female superiority" (as Cory put it, not seriously, I hope) is sexist too, and (2) if a sexist hypothesis is ultimately proven true, its sexism makes it no less true. Maybe females really are superior. Maybe males really are scumbags. Life goes on.

We might yet see serious abuse of power by a female politician; we've already seen the abuse of power by at least one female corporate executive. I'll bet, however, that when and if a female politician ever "pulls a weenie," it will not involve the female as the initiator of unwanted sexual advances!

Actually, I feel sort of sorry for Rep. Weiner. With that name and all ...

I marvel at how the Internet brings out the stupidest behavior in people. What do these fools do? Get stoned and then hit the mouse? There ought to be a law ...

[Stan Gibilisco]

Oh well, the world did have Catherine the Great. The world did have Empress Theodora. Neither of them had Internet access, either!

[Dave]

Should I repost ALL of the GOPers who've Cheated and/or lied? (...)

[Bill Fleming]

Stan: ...and Cleopatra... and Isis... and Shakti ...and Kali... and Lillith...

Dave: No. Please.

[Ken Blanchard]

Dave: you can. But you would still be missing the point.

Cory: thanks. That one was an inspiration.

[Dave]

I still haven't seen any of your post where GOPer indiscretions are ridiculed...

[Ken Blanchard]

Dave: you might pay some attention to Cory's posts. He gets the point. The problem isn't Democrats or Republicans; it's men, and the general political culture.