Why I still feel that Weiner should stay

[dsc]

We have heard the following reasons as to why he should go.

1) The stupidity of sending pictures calls his judgment into question.

2) The fact he lied about sending pictures makes him untrustworthy.

3) He might have sent pictures to minors.

4) The picture that started it all was sexual harassment as it was unsolicited.

5) He took some of his pictures at the House gym meaning he used government provided assets to facilitate the sending of pictures.

Let's start with 1. yes it was dumb. People do dumb things. We can assume he has learned his lesson.

2) He lied about sex give me the fainting salts. We all lie about sex. He hasn't been shown to have lied about anything remotely relevant to his job.

3) I might have run over a busload of nuns when I was speeding the other day, but I didn't. You don't get to punish people for crimes they might have committed. If he did send a pic to a minor then I will be first to say bye bye.

4) No, a single pic of a clothed male isn't sexual harassment. If he repeatedly sent such pictures then yes it would be.

5) really. So if a Congressman uses the gym to make private dinner plans with his mistress out he goes. It is the HOuse gym not the Sistine Chapel. He took pics of himself in a gym, again, get the fainting couch.

The bar for upending an election should be very high. This doesn't come close.

[Logical]

1. Any middle aged man who send a picture of a bulge in his underwear to....

A 21 year old college student who had no previous sexual conversations with her is a fucking pervert! It is that simple!

[LAGC]

2. He didn't just lie, he made up the hacker story which got the media all interested.

Like sharks tasting blood in the water, vultures circling their prey, etc.

The fact that he became a media spectacle is all his own damn doing. Its doubtful anyone else would have even come forward if he had just owned up to his "mistake" of sending that unsolicited underwear pic and apologized. That would have been the end of it, and no one would have been calling for him to resign.

[Zywiec]

3. You don't get to punish people for crimes they might have committed.

I hope this wasn't meant as a factual statement.

[dsc]

9. yeah it was

people are punished for crimes they did commit not what might have happened under some other senario.

[Zywiec]

11. So it's okay to speak with a police officer posing as a minor?

I mean the person on the other end is not really a minor after all, right?

[dsc]

13. that is the exact opposite of the theory in Weiner's case

There they are sending pics to what they think is a child, here Weiner says they are adults but since it is the internet, and people lie, he may have send a pic to a minor and thus must go.

[Zywiec]

14. I wasn't speaking about Weiner at all,

only responding to the OP's claim that "people are punished for crimes they did commit not what might have happened under some other scenario".

[dsc]

17. it actually is a crime though

or else they couldn't be arrested for it.

[KharmaTrain]

4. The Only People Who Matter Are His Constituents...

This breaks down into other issues...if Weiner does stay how effective an advocate for Progressive causes can he be compared to what he was. For now he can't show his face on the House floor yet in front of a camera. While I've said that I'd like him to stay, for those who think he can be what he was is pipe dreaming.

Once again, the only people who can and should determine his political fate are the voters of his district. The leadership can stand on its head but they're not the people Weiner works for. He also doesn't work for DU or any Progressive cause...he works for the people of his district. They'll have the chance to pass judgement next year. IMO, if he resigns before that, it's a reflection of his own downfall and his inability to be an effective legislator. Either way, the choice is his and the voters of his district...not Russert Jr. or Barack Obama or Kharma Train...

[trueblue2007]

12. I AGREE. IF HE LEAVES.... i hope he runs in the special election.

[cali]

5. He cares more for indulging himself than working for progressive causes.

And he is so done, whatever you want.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. .

[FLPanhandle]

7. Stay or Go, it doesn't really matter.

He's not going to be a leader on any issues anymore. Party leadership have already washed their hands of him. He's just a vote in the House right now.

[robcon]

8. You didn't mention the main reason he has to resign: false accusations.

All the rest is forgivable. Not false accusations about others.

[Iggo]

10. I feel he should stay if the people in his district say he should stay.

[Taverner]

15. I agree, you agree, but too many people don't agree

They're perfectly happy pissing away our most progressive lawmakers

And I worry nothing will get done until this whole thing stops

So - I can see why he would step down

We've lost some of the best progressives because of this kind of shit. Spitzer and now Weiner.

Yet the GOP just needs a "come to Jeebus" moment and they're forgiven

I will never understand why Democrats and Progressives in general are alight at the fact of losing

[backscatter712]

16. K&R. My fainting couch collects dust these days.

If Clinton can survive Monicagate, Weiner can survive Weinergate.

Maybe if our country wasn't so fucking uptight about sex, we could actually get something done instead of screeching at each other.