Here it is: the resignation statement. "It has been a tremendous honor to serve

[pnwmom]

the people of Western New York. I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.

"The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41498568/ns/politics-capitol_hill/t/congressman-resigns-amid-craigslist-scandal/


_______________________________

This was the announcement Congressman Christopher Lee made just hours after Gawker published a shirtless photo that he'd sent to a woman on Craigslist.

Maybe Weiner should take his lead from Lee, instead of the diaper guy still in the Senate.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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

[pnwmom]

4. His resignation letter makes a fine model. n/t

[QuintanarooBoy]

2. Shows how much I know!

I thought Lee was from northern California! :dunce:

[sofa king]

9. I thought he was from Middle Earth.

[lib2DaBone]

3. We have no jobs program.. because Weiner is too busy....

..too busy photo shopping his stiffie all over the web. Weiner is a Weiner.. a loser.. I'm sorry.

[CreekDog]

6. you're blaming Weiner for not having a jobs program?

is it his fault we don't have single payer?

if you're mad about those things, why don't you blame the administration who has fought against those things?

[lib2DaBone]

7. You're right. Good idea. I will do just that.

[CreekDog]

27. that's pretty odd

most people who blame the administration aren't calling for Weiner to step down.

why would you so easily go from one to the other?

[HipChick]

5. Or maybe not....here down in DC, he was looking for transsexual women

and he knew more of this story was coming out...it just wasn't about the picture..it was about a story coming out that would not gone down well with the morality police

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/02/report-craigslist-congressman-chris-lee-was-also-seeking-transgender-women

[aquart]

8. I remember that.

You do realize that Breitbart's best are now feverishly searching Weiner's follows to see if anyone had sex surgery.

[HipChick]

10. I don't put anything past that despicable turd

[pnwmom]

11. So Lee was smart to resign immediately.

When Weiner lied at his press conferences, he HAD to know that he had pictures out there, along with all the sexting. But he insisted he hadn't sent anything and he didn't know whose underpants were in the photo. And that some right-wing conspiracy was out to get him.

This really isn't about sexting or dirty photos. (Unless it turns out he did send something to a minor.) It's about lying and blaming others for 10 days, and trying to get others to help him lie. And it's about stupidity and ego.

[HipChick]

15. Bush lied to the American people...

He got others to help..Powell...

[pnwmom]

49. I wanted Bush to resign, and I was disappointed that he wasn't impeached,

though I understood their reasoning on that -- and his staying in office, being hated more and more, probably did help Obama get elected.

[aquart]

38. IOW, it isn't about any crime unless you can find a crime.

"STUPIDITY AND EGO" IN NOT A DISQUALIFICATION FOR OFFICE IN THE UNITED STATES.

Nor is it a disqualification for citizenship or voting.

[pnwmom]

51. Unfortunately, you're very right about that.

But there's nothing that says only criminals should ever resign.

[customerserviceguy]

79. And extortion

Congresscritters aren't supposed to put themselves in positions where an enemy can blackmail them. When Weiner let Breitbart on that stage, and the only thing he got in return was a false promise, we knew that he was extortable.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

12. Weiner is not going to resign. So move on.

Unless you have some other agenda to push.

[pnwmom]

13. No, thanks. But you can if you want to.

We'll see who's right about him resigning. In his statement today, he said he was going into treatment to help him make a good decision -- so he's clearly left the door open to resigning.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

18. Again, what's in it for you if he resigns?

Why do you want him to resign SOOOOOO badly? Please, his constituents are ok with the situation, so what is your agenda here?

[pnwmom]

25. I want him to resign for the same resign Pelosi wants him to resign.

He's sucking up all the media air. He's been at the top of google news for two weeks now, and -- with an investigation -- they'll be writing about this for months. When there are real problems Congress and the media should be focussing on.

[aquart]

40. I'm sorry you're sorry that Weiner is "sucking up air."

Anyone who is in the news more than two weeks should cease breathing?

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

53. You mean, you will be writing about this

for months.

And unless I missed it, we don't know if Pelosi called for his resignation, unless you are the "anonymous source".

[pnwmom]

64. Pelosi's investigation will take months. And yes, you missed it.

She has publicly called for his resignation.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/11/2262343/weiner-to-take-short-leave-as.html

It was unknown how long the New York Democrat would take, but it was clear that the temporary break was not enough to satisfy Democrats who were hoping a coordinated show of disapproval from top Democrats would force him to step down.

"The behavior he has exhibited is indefensible and Representative Weiner's continued service in Congress is untenable," said Democratic National Committee chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. She was joined by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Steve Israel of New York, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who all issued stern statements calling on Weiner's immediate resignation.

"Anthony's inappropriate behavior has become an insurmountable distraction to the House and our work for the American people," Israel said. His predecessor, Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, echoed the call, saying Weiner's "repeated violation of the public trust is unacceptable. He can best advance the issues he fought for by resigning immediately."

An aide to Pelosi noted that the congresswoman was aware of Weiner's intent to take a leave of absence when she called on him to "seek that help without the pressures of being a member of Congress."


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/11/2262260/weiner-to-take-short-leave-as.html#ixzz1P1ClTr4g

[xphile]

56. Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table back when she had the chance to

do the right thing.

So needless to say what she has to say on the subject means dick.

[NorthCarolina]

99. He's obviously "too progressive" for some, and they smell Liberal Blood in the water.

It's as simple as that really.

[HipChick]

19. His Aide also said he was not resigning...

Not sure what the agenda is here...

[pnwmom]

29. His statement, delivered by his aide, said he was entering treatment,

in part, to help him make a good decision.

That leaves the door to resignation wide open, in my opinion.

My agenda is the same as Pelosi's -- to get him off the front pages so we can go back to fighting about healthcare, the Ryan budget, the Supreme Court, and all the other issues that are infinitely more important than Weiner.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

31. Ah, it's all about who is "right"

And then you will start posting thread upon thread asking for Vitter to resign. No?

[pnwmom]

39. Vitter isn't the one getting in the way of Democratic message control.

Weiner is the one sucking up all the media air, when Pelosi and the other leaders need the media's attention on issues that really matter.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1279123

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

55. sorry, you don't know what Pelosi wants....

unless you have some kind of direct line to that, ahem, "anonymous source".

[pnwmom]

66. I KNOW she wants him to resign, because she's issued a public statement.

And, yes, I believe the anonymous source.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/11/anthony-wei...

Democrats said the concerted call for Weiner's resignation had been brewing for days, as senior party officials concluded the scandal was interfering with their attempts to gain political momentum in advance of the 2012 elections. Democrats hope to rebound from a devastating election last November in which the Republicans won control of the House.

"We had decided we were not going to have one more week of Anthony Weinergate," said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official added that Pelosi had spoken numerous times with Weiner in an attempt to persuade him to step down for the good of the party, telling him that because of the media focus on his predicament their attacks on a Republican Medicare proposal were going unnoticed. The Republicans have proposed major cuts in the government-run Medicare programme which provides healthcare to the elderly.

[sabrina 1]

73. Cowards and Nancy Pelosi should pay attention to her own dist.

She does not speak for Weider's constituents. How dare she ignore their wishes.

[pnwmom]

80. Maybe she's more concerned about the good of the whole country

than she is about some (not all) voters in his district.

[sabrina 1]

88. If that were the case she would not have 'impeachment off the table'

and allowed war criminals to go free, legitimizing crime at the highest levels of this government. Nor would she have handed over one trillion dollars to the corrupt Wall St. Gamblers who gambled away this country's treasure.

There are very few in DC who care about this country, they care about keeping their jobs.

[pnwmom]

89. By taking impeachment off the table, she helped ensure Obama's victory.

I think her judgment on that proved to be the correct one.

[Poll_Blind]

14. Congressman Lee was trolling Craigslist for hookups with transgender women.

The reason he resigned is because shirtless photos of him was the tip of his freak-ass iceburg.

The Craigslist Congressman and the Crossdressing Prostitute

PB

[pnwmom]

17. And Weiner was sending private messages to at least one 17 year old.

It's too early to rule out an iceberg under Weiner.

[Poll_Blind]

21. Your grim speculation is noted.

PB

[Tx4obama]

22. There is nothing illegal about REPLYING to a message a 17 yr old sent.

She direct messaged Weiner to tell him that folks on Twitter were harassing her because she was following him on Twitter.
He replied to her message with a G rated message.

It's time for everyone to get their minds out of the gutter especially when it is FoxNews that is pushing the story about the 17 year old!

[oberliner]

37. Was he flirting with her?

From the NY Times:

The girl’s contact with Mr. Weiner started in early April, after her trip to Washington. The congressman spoke to her school group, and she began following him on Twitter, posting a public message saying how much she liked his speech.

Two days later, Mr. Weiner began following her on Twitter. On her profile, she says she aspires to be president. In a private message he sent to her, he said: “How hip am I talking to a future president.”

Delighted that she had heard directly from a congressman, the girl wrote a public post on her Twitter feed: “talking to Rep Weiner from New York right now! is my life real?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/nyregion/weiner-says-he-sent-private-messages-to-girl-17.html

From the same article:

His third message to her was in response to a link she posted to a YouTube video of his giving a speech, with the message: “My true love.”

In a blog post on Tumblr, she later shared the contents of that private message from him. In it, Mr. Weiner appeared to liken himself to a superhero.

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

[pnwmom]

44. Why say to a 17 year old , "My true love"? Ugh.

[HipChick]

57. He didn't say that to her...she said that to him

Turning and twisting story?

[oberliner]

63. The wording was a little confusing in the article

Here is where that comment is mentioned:

His third message to her was in response to a link she posted to a YouTube video of his giving a speech, with the message: “My true love.”

That sentence is oddly constructed - I don't think the poster was trying to twist and turn anything.

[pnwmom]

67. You're right -- I can see now that the sentence can be taken both ways.

Thanks.

[Maru Kitteh]

94. He continued to have private conversations with a 17yo girl who was being flirtatious with him

1) It was dumb of him to have any private exchanges with a 17yo girl that didn't arrive on letterhead stationery from his office.

2) It was simply wrong of him to continue private conversation with a 17yo girl who was clearly flirting with him. He was speaking from a position of authority and he was SUPPOSED to the the adult in the situation.

Just disgusting.

[pnwmom]

43. He sent her at least 5 messages, not just that one.

And one was remarkably similar to the one he sent to the adult, Lisa Weiss, during a sexting session.

http://blogs.forbes.com/kiriblakeley/2011/06/11/weiner-tweets-a-teen-family-angry/

After the teen wrote on her Twitter profile that she wanted to be president one day, Weiner sent her a note saying, “How hip am I talking to a future president.” In another, he wrote: “Came back strong. Large. Tights and cape.”

If these came from a public figure who wasn’t simultaneously sexting numerous women and firing off pictures of his privates, the mention of “large,” “tights” and “cape” would be innocuous. But coming from Weiner, it sounds a bit icky—especially considering he had already used the “tights and cape” line with his Las Vegas sexting partner, Lisa Weiss.

_____________________________________________



(Honestly, what do you think the word "large" referred to in that line? "Came back strong. Large. Tights and cape." Weiner is not a large man.)

[WolverineDG]

50. Go large or go home

Absolutely nothing to do with sex. Or boobs. Unless you're obsessed with those subjects, of course.


dg

[pnwmom]

69. And how does that fit in this context?

[oberliner]

77. I believe it is a super hero reference - fighting against the bad guys

He used that expression on more than one occasion in reference to his speaking out against RWers.

[WolverineDG]

91. You are so obsessed with making everything he says sexual

that you are now pretending you've never heard "Go large or go home"?

How about "Large & in charge"?

dg

[Maru Kitteh]

95. Why would a 46yo man continue private conversations with a 17yo girl who was flirting with him?

What did the supposed adult, speaking from a position of authority, do? As the adult it was his responsibility, but he chose to keep having private conversations with her.

[oberliner]

76. He did use that same expression with one of his adult "sexting" partners

But I agree that it has nothing to do with sex, per se.

[WolverineDG]

48. age of consent, if anything you consider "untoward" was going on

which according to the teen & her mom, there wasn't.

sorry if the thought of a 17 year old even thinking about sex gives you the vapors. I mean, really, how dare she!

:sarcasm:

dg

[pnwmom]

52. Under Federal law, which applies here, the age is 18.

She's only a high school junior, which was clear from both her profile and her tweets. He had no business sending her private messages. Anything he wanted to say to her, he should have said as a public tweet.

[WolverineDG]

60. Well, then, let's fire up the tanks

force that kid from her home at gun point & lock her up in CPS jail. It's for her "protection," after all.

:eyes:

Over-react much?

dg

[pnwmom]

62. If he did nothing wrong, why did he lie about having no contact with a minor?

He said in his tell-all press conference that he'd had, as far as he knew, no contact with any minors. But she was clearly a high school student -- it was obvious from her profile and his tweets with her. So why, when he was finally coming clean, did he still try to cover up his contact with her?

[WolverineDG]

90. Because he knew there are people out there who get the vapors

& bend & twist things all out of proportion to fit their repressed, puritanical views on sex.

dg

[hobbit709]

92. +1

The self-appointed Guardians of Moral Virtue are everywhere.

[Canuckistanian]

16. You seem to be anxious to get rid of him

Unrec. Big Time.

[pnwmom]

20. Look at google news. He's been hogging the top of the page

for a couple weeks now. And, barring a juicier story, he's going to stay there till he resigns.

He's not worth the distraction we've had from real issues for all that time.

[RB TexLa]

26. You think because of google news, work on issues isn't going on?

Really?

[pnwmom]

32. I think that Democratic "message control" has been severely impacted.

Weiner is not supposed to be at the top of google news.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1279123

[HipChick]

34. yeah...he dethroned Palin

[RB TexLa]

35. Do you realize in the halls of power where things are decided, what's on top of google news means

absolute shit?

[pnwmom]

45. Wrong. Being at the top of google means Weiner's a major media distraction.

Pelosi and the other leaders realize that and want it to be over.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1279123

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

41. if he is not supposed to be at the top of goggle news

quit trying to keep him there.

Unless, there is another reason a person from the PNW would be so interested in a congresscritter from NY.

He has stated that he will not resign. His constituents are good with the decision. For the sake of the party, move on. please.

[pnwmom]

46. All the leaders of the party want him to resign. He should move on.

Now. Please.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1279123

[Scottybeamer70]

58. Methinks you are the one with the "google" problem.......

I'm gonna have so many on ignore soon that I will be talking to myself....:rofl:

[Canuckistanian]

28. And you're going to help that resignation along, any way you can

Disgusting.

[pnwmom]

33. I support Nancy Pelosi in her call for his resignation.

And her reasons for calling for it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1279123

[HipChick]

36. I support getting rid of Pelosi..

[pnwmom]

47. She's a far more effective leader than Weiner ever was.

Or now, ever will be.

[HipChick]

59. Yes..she was so effective that she lost the house..

[xphile]

61. +1

I agree wholeheartedly. As far as I'm concerned taking advice from Ms. "Impeachment is off the table" about who should remain in office is really quite pathetic. She is really not in a position to speak on the subject.

[RiverStone]

81. +1 Me too!

[Canuckistanian]

93. As long as we're trading links...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1285819

[Poll_Blind]

24. +1 Jesus Christ, tell me about it!

PB

[Bluebear]

71. +

[RB TexLa]

23. It was stupid of him to resign over something that was no one's business

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

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

[Poll_Blind]

42. +1 Amen. Not to mention changing the subject line after posting to be even MORE click-bait.

Just disgusting.

PB

[xphile]

54. His constituents want him to stay. And their opinion means a hell of a lot more

in this instance than yours does.

Your Republican-like harping deserves a one fingered Brooklyn salute.

[pnwmom]

68. And Pelosi's means a lot more than yours. n/t

[xphile]

74. Pelosi's opinion means less than dick. She took impeachment off the table. Clearly she doesn't

know when the hell people should be forced out of office.

I'll stick with the constituents who apparently have more sense than both you and Pelosi. I always thought Pelosi needed to go her damn self.

[Arkana]

65. Weiner should tell the Democrats to fuck themselves, quit the party, and run as an Indie.

He could be the Bernie Sanders of the House.

[mazzarro]

78. Better Yet - Quit the Democratic Party and Stay In Congress As An Independent -- n/t

[Bluebear]

70. When does an obsession become a sickness?

[sabrina 1]

72. We are Democrats. Lee was a family values Republican.

He was exposed as hypocrite.

Weiner was not.

I don't take my lead from Republicans. All Lee had to do was admit he had been wrong about his anti-gay, anti-sex before marriage nonsense and he could have run as an Independent. The sex part was fine, nothing to quit a job over.

Democrats don't have the problem he had. We don't think sex is a sin (well, maybe the party leadership does, but ordinary people as the polls show, do not)

So Weider has no need to resign.

[mazzarro]

75. Quit Your Nagging - Wiener Should Stand And Stay Strong! -- n/t

[RiverStone]

82. Strong? He already is a limp Weiner!

Remember George "Macaca" Allen?

Weiner has etched in stone that he is a liar and it will never go away. If he was strong, we would not have repeatedly and willfully lied about his sexual impulses. I give not a shit about the sex part, it's the lying and I'm not willing to lower the bar so low as to say --- go ahead, stay on The Hill. He burned his own bridges (or britches).

[Bluebear]

84. Limp weiner! HAhaahaH!HAhAHAAHaH!!!!

:eyes:

[inna]

83. unrec. sickening.

[Angry Dragon]

85. Enough of the bullshit

let's attack the people that have not come up with a jobs bill and then we will ask Weiner to resign, maybe

[PassingFair]

86. My heart sank when I read this.

So you can STFU.

Please.

[hobbit709]

87. Weiner didn't have Lee's little predilection.

But I see we have self-appointed Guardians of Moral Virtue here.

[Texasgal]

96. I'm sorry Weiner.

You should have known better.

Please get well and try to mend your fences in your personal life.

[Marr]

97. I thought there were suggestions that the Chris Lee thing led somewhere much more...

controversial, shall we say? I didn't follow the story, but I could swear there was a lot of speculation that he got out ahead of it and resigned before the really embarrassing things were widely publicized.

[Motown_Johnny]

98. Because he was attempting to have an extramarital affair

apples and oranges