Anthony Weiner has Balls. The Dems in Congress Need Them.

[grahamhgreen]

Seems like a perfect fit to me.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. He should send them pictures.

[pnwmom]

2. They don't need him. He's just a distraction now.

And it's his own damn fault for letting this whole situation get out of hand with 10 days of press conferences and lying.

[emilyg]

6. He did it to himself.

[aquart]

8. Gosh, you try hard.

"10 days of press conferences?" I must have missed most of those.

It's so pathetic. You know there was no crime so you need to make lying about NO CRIME a crime.

Fortunately for all of us, Weiner didn't panic like Spitzer and resign.

So far as we know, all Breitbart has left is one shot which is possibly Weiner's hand on his dick. A position that will be familiar to 100% of the men on this planet.

Probably you don't watch Maddow, but her show made a point of saying that if you don't resign, the fuss goes away.

[midnight]

16. Could you imagine if there were ten days of press conferences for

Thomas to explain if what he did was a federal crime....Not claiming spouse income for years....

[tavalon]

13. Yes, they do need him

and we need to stop taking sactimony lessons from the Republicans. This is between Weiner, his wife and the girl who got the picture. If he leaves because of media pressure, the media will have won again. And the lamestream media needs to be marginalized, not strengthened.

[kenfrequed]

27. Being distracted is the distraction.

The media's distration is a distraction.

Why are we playing by a different set of rules with this? Did Vitter resign? He actually had real sex, with a real person, who happened to be a prostitute (which actually broke the law- by the way). Why the hell would you call on a fellow democrat to resign because he legally sent photos to a consenting adult?

Because the media is pursuing a story by Breitbart? Is that a reason to call for his resignation? Friggin Breitbart? Because he was soooo... honest about the Acorn thing. And what was the result of going along with that? The poor and underclass of America, who tend to vote Democratic, was destroyed.

Screw that! Fight!

Ignore the story and everytime anyoen anywhere brings this up two things should spring to the fore:

1: We are here to discuss real issues! If you are not than you are the problem!

2: If you can't let go of this, then when are you calling on Vitter to resign?

[ClarkUSA]

3. I won't miss his wafer thin record of achievements, media whore grandstanding, or manipulative lies.

[aquart]

9. Of course you won't, he isn't leaving.

Well, I do hope not. And Maddow certainly gave him encouragement tonight.

[Raine]

11. Agree, he's more big talk than action. nt

[tavalon]

14. Um, Anthony Weiner is one of the best congresscritters out there

And there aren't many.

[kenfrequed]

30. Exactly.

And this 'accomplishments' crap is something I often see from blue dog backers when they are trying to undercut progressvies that can't get their bills out of committee.

Weiner is a good guy that stands up to the other side and stands up for the poor and working class and the elderly. We don't need more collaborators and cooperators with the repug-niks.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

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

[sabrina 1]

4. That's probably why they want him gone. He was always willing to stand up to Republs while most of t

prefer to give Repubs what they want so they won't throw a temper tantrum.

Weiner is tough, so I think he'll be around for a long time. And I hope he remembers when he is Seantor or maybe even president one day, who was ready to throw him overboard for the sake of their own miserable careers.

[emilyg]

5. Yes he does - we've seen them.

[Hamlette]

7. He plays one on TV

I am not a huge fan of Weiner. I love when he appears on TV because he is smart and he won't let shit get past him. But. . .

when it comes to supporting OTHER dems, Anthony is MIA

Which is of course why so few dems are standing up for him or even throwing him under the bus (I'm so sick of that phrase I can't believe I just typed it out loud)

I hate that the GOP bullies march in such lock step but in part is how they have more power than they should.

I don't advocate we march in lock step but if you want to go it alone, as Weiner has/does, you gotta do it all alone.

(My biggest bitch with Weiner is he is one of the strongest supporters of AIPAC and I don't think that group does us any favors as a country. (Really? Foreign aid to Israel? 29 standing ovations for that freaking, lying, war monger Netynhayu. Yah hoo is right, f him and all his supporters.)

That said, Weiner should not resign, it is none of our business, the media is making too much of it. I can't help but add there might be some metaphor here re: how Weiner treats his wife given their backgrounds.

[deacon]

10. He has balls and everyone has seen a picture of them. n/t

[girl_interrupted]

12. Damn skippy! No cowering to a creep like Breitbart!

I'm glad Weiners constituents feel the same too!

Anthony Weiner Scandal: In Congressman's District, A Chorus Of Cheers June 9, 2011


According to a recent poll by Marist and NY1, 56 percent of those interviewed said that Weiner shouldn't resign, while only 33 percent said he should (12 percent said they hadn't made up their minds).

Even now, he doesn't seem much in danger of losing local support, and nowhere is that support more evident than at the Queens Community House, a sprawling network of project buildings and community-service centers based in the Queens neighborhood Kew Gardens.

Weiner has a longstanding and closely intertwined relationship with the organization, which provides services and housing to low-income people. His district office in Kew Gardens shares a building with one of the center's branches, a sleek, tall, not-very-Queens-like office building outside of which a dozen reporters from the local press camped out Thursday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the politician hustling past.

But his main connection to the organization is political. Over the course of his 12 years as a congressman, he's consistently argued and voted in favor of funding non-profit groups that help the poor, and people at the community center seem to value this aspect of his governance that most. Meryl Branch-McTiernan, 28, the organization's communications coordinator, said she thought Weiner had been a powerful voice for "modest- to low-income people trying to make it into the middle class, as he says in his speeches."


Pullano, the director of the teen program and a longtime resident of Weiner's district, said he was disappointed by the media coverage of the scandal, pointing to the fact that the city's community centers face massive budget cuts. "It will affect thousands of families," he said. "It will basically gut the youth program in the center, the after-school program, the leadership program, the evening teen center, the outreach and athletics center, pieces of the high school transitions program and pieces of the summer youth program."

Weiner, he said, had always fought to protect those programs.

"And no one's talking about that,"


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/09/anthony-weiner...

[Capitalocracy]

15. Dems should be required to prove they have 'em before taking office.

Release the balls certificate!

[TorchTheWitch]

17. yeah, let's go back to when only men could be congresspersons

Great idea.

:wtf:

[Capitalocracy]

19. You know it's a joke, right?

And a metaphorical term, to boot.

sigh

[grahamhgreen]

24. Or the photos! ;-D

[Cerridwen]

18. I want to make sure I understand this.

Only those 'with balls' need apply in congress.

Cool.

As a ball-less person, I don't have to worry about the Democrats. Right?

How do you think appealing to only those 'with balls' will play out in an election?

At least one person has asserted that those of us with 'no balls', i.e. women, cost the Democrats the 2010 election. Do you agree?

[grahamhgreen]

34. No, I'm using balls as a figure of speech only

What I mean is people who have the moral turpitude to stand up to the ruling elite.

[Vidar]

20. Well said!

[TheCowsCameHome]

21. ...and the world has seen them.

This guy has really made himself a mess.

[George Wythe]

22. Balls without brains is not a good combination.

[RandomKoolzip]

25. So...let me get this straight:

A guy caught sexually harrassing young women over the internet via sending unsolicited pictures of his genitalia has what it takes to represent liberals in Washington...and what it takes, apparently, are male genitalia - "balls." This doesn't sound a person capable of facilitating progressive solutions to any problem I can think of, least of all women's issues.

[KharmaTrain]

26. All That Matters Are His Constituents...

Those are the people who voted him in and apparently want him to hang tough. They'll get a chance next year to pass the final verdict on this circus if he choses to run for re-election (which I expect he will) and they re-elect him (which I expect they will).

For those clutching pearls that somehow this flavor of the moment will have some major impact on the balance of power in the House or next year's elections, take a deep breath. I'll bet few will remember this circus a month from now yet alone 15 months. Also, if this "scandal" is so bad as to supercede destroying medicare or busting unions, then this country has far worse problems than some Congresscritter's overworked Twitter and libido. Fortunately I don't believe that's the case.

Lastly for the moralizers out there. Yes the guy's a stupid jerk and a reckless one at that. Is this a major character flaw? Certainly and one that also makes him shoot from the hip and the hero to so many. He takes chances and unfortunately this crosses over into his personal life. Sadly it also gives ammo to his enemies who are many. Stupid yes...illegal? Or Impeachable? Hardly. Should he resign? No. Anything beyond that isn't my business...nor anyone elses.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

28. K & R'd based on post title alone. nt

[ensho]

29. yes, but his balls are stupid - we have enough stupid in the House

as it is

[grahamhgreen]

31. I don't think the leadership is stupid. I think they are complacent and complicit. We know what the

solutions are - we just need the leadership to implement them (end the wars, tax the rich, end 'free' trade, etc.).

[cherish44]

32. yeah and they're hairy

ew

[Zax2me]

33. Balls to lie to America in interviews for over a week.

More of that we don't need.
His VOTES, yes, more, too many spineless votes too often elsewhere in the party.
But Weiner is no longer a measurable benchmark.
Tainted.