Congressman Weiner to resign

Easy there Tiger. No broad general statements. The liberal party leaders (Obama, Reid and Pelosi) have called on Weiner to resign over what is, in the end, an extremely petty item...particularly compared to the items that conservative party leaders have let slide completely or even assisted in covering up. You're not required to post every time a Republican does something wrong, but you've NEVER done it to my knowledge and I'm perfectly justified in pointing out that fact, particularly when your previous post was "You may have no standards for your elected officials. I do, though." Your standards only seem to apply to Democrats who have broken no laws, shown no hypocrisy and are guilty of no misuse of government funds. I laid out much earlier what my standards for resignation are. If a politician lies about something that is illegal, an abuse of his office or highlights vast hypocrisy based on how he built his career then he/she should resign. If a politician lies about something that we really have no right to know about anyway, and gets caught doing it, then his constituents should decide whether or not he continues to represent them at the next election.nocoolnamejim

B-b-b-ut even if they're true?! What a cruel world.

Just because one doesn't come to GS to condemn someone, doesn't mean the act doesn't occur. As I've already said, in the case of the ones I knew about, I did want them to resign. And I sometimes have a life.

I remember coming here during the whole hoopla with Spitzer. I railed on him pretty hard.

all this arguing is giving Weinergate a bad name!Allicrombie

I remember coming here during the whole hoopla with Spitzer. I railed on him pretty hard.

airshocker

Nor are you everyone else in the country. His constituents don't want him to resign. Poll resultsnocoolnamejim

I've long since not given a s*** about what many people in New York think. It's not their strong-suit, apparently.

Another Democrat. What a surprise.nocoolnamejim

I thought he was a Republican. Oh well, He was my governor, of course I was going to rail on him.

Another Democrat. What a surprise.nocoolnamejim

[QUOTE="Tokugawa77"]

Fair enough. My point was only that the public should care less about these scandals. They have the actual Hollywood for that. In my opinion, the politician in question shouldn't be forced to resign, if public opinion has shifted that much against him it should show in teh next election. Simple as that, we don't need all this drama.

Omni-Slash

I think in perspective to other political scandals, sending pictures of yourself to women online hardly counts as heinous, andis far fromillegal. If, though, you murdered someone, that is of course illegal and will earn you a lifetime in prison in addition to losing political office. Basically, petty things like this shouldn't make nearly as much noise as it has, but bigger things like using taxpayer dollars to disappear to Argentina to visit your mistress should make a somewhat bigger splash.

[QUOTE="Firebird-5"]

i guess my suspicions were right. either way i have already addressed this point

airshocker

There is nothing mundane about lying to us. You'd sing a very different song if this was a Republican in the hotseat.

But the moment a politician lies about their personal life (things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things at all), the torches and pitchforks suddenly come out.

I think in perspective to other political scandals, sending pictures of yourself to women online hardly counts as heinous, andis far fromillegal. If, though, you murdered someone, that is of course illegal and will earn you a lifetime in prison in addition to losing political office. Basically, petty things like this shouldn't make nearly as much noise as it has, but bigger things like using taxpayer dollars to disappear to Argentina to visit your mistress should make a somewhat bigger splash.Tokugawa77

I think I am pro sex scandals it would be better if we can get all our elected officials involved into them. After all when defending themselves it takes them away from murdering more people from third world countries, handing out more welfare to Banks and corprations and stealing more of our rights and privacy so please more sex scandals.

[QUOTE="nocoolnamejim"] Another Democrat. What a surprise.Omni-Slash

I actauuly don't want this to end, so many good jokes, so many laughs. This is a once in a life time oppertunity people.

:lol: at this topic. Who cares? If he resigns he is a moron, let the man do what he wants. People grow up, who are you to say what this man can and cannot do?

Okay, back again. Short work meeting. I'm defending a Democrat with the same standard that I would defend a Republican under. That's what is bothering me with this Weiner thing is that I highly doubt that many of the conservatives calling for his resignation in this thread would be doing so if it was a Republican. nocoolnamejim

:lol: at this topic. Who cares? If he resigns he is a moron, let the man do what he wants. People grow up, who are you to say what this man can and cannot do?

Jamiemydearx3

[QUOTE="Jamiemydearx3"]

:lol: at this topic. Who cares? If he resigns he is a moron, let the man do what he wants. People grow up, who are you to say what this man can and cannot do?

Omni-Slash

[QUOTE="Omni-Slash"][QUOTE="Jamiemydearx3"]

:lol: at this topic. Who cares? If he resigns he is a moron, let the man do what he wants. People grow up, who are you to say what this man can and cannot do?

lordreaven

[QUOTE="Jamiemydearx3"]

:lol: at this topic. Who cares? If he resigns he is a moron, let the man do what he wants. People grow up, who are you to say what this man can and cannot do?

Omni-Slash

[QUOTE="lordreaven"][QUOTE="Omni-Slash"] His employer.....sonicare

[QUOTE="nocoolnamejim"]Okay, back again. Short work meeting. I'm defending a Democrat with the same standard that I would defend a Republican under. That's what is bothering me with this Weiner thing is that I highly doubt that many of the conservatives calling for his resignation in this thread would be doing so if it was a Republican. Omni-Slash

I don't know which scenario is funnier. Wiener on twitter or that Chris Lee on Craig's list. Regardless, what is up with NY politicians? Dem, repub. doesn't matter. They can't keep their pants (or shirts) on.

[QUOTE="sonicare"][QUOTE="lordreaven"] We're already making fun of his name, all we need is a Wienner-Boehner pres bid now to make this complete. Or Wienner-Bush. Ok, I'm soo immature rigth now.Jamiemydearx3

Great. So now that the most evil man in Washington is out of office can we start focusing on actual goddamn issues already?

Pretty much every politician lies to us, and usually about much more important things than their fault in their personal life. For example, Obama likes to make the point that we don't torture anymore - that's a complete lie and he knows it - we torture all the time via extraordinary rendition. No one is calling for Obama's resignation over that. Michelle Bachmann is going around telling her supporters that if the debt ceiling isn't raised everything will be fine - that's a complete lie and she knows it. No one is calling for her resignation over that. When politicians lie about certain events and policies (which is virtually all the time, and is about things that actually matter), no one calls for resignations. People might get angry about it, but very rarely does a politician lose their job for it. Because truth be told we want to be told these lies - we don't like the truth. We don't want to hear about things like how at some point in time, taxes are going to have to be raised and how budget cuts are going to have to be made. In 1984, Walter Mondale famously said "Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did." It was a rare moment of honesty, and what happened as a result? Walter Mondale suffered one of the most humiliating loses in U.S. political history. Americans, by and large, punish politicians for being truthful.

But the moment a politician lies about their personal life (things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things at all), the torches and pitchforks suddenly come out.

-Sun_Tzu-

I'm sure those two actually believe what they're saying. Which is why I'm not voting for either of them.

Weiner got up in front of the country and lied. First it was something about hackers, and then he couldn't confirm or deny whether there were nude pictures of him out there, or if he was in them. Lolol, really?

Sorry, I have a problem with anybody who gets up in front of the country and lies straight to our faces.

Sorry, I have a problem with anybody who gets up in front of the country and lies straight to our faces.airshocker

So. . . every politician. Got it.scorch-62

Not every politician. We rarely see politicians who are proven to be wrong continue to lie about it like Weiner did.

Not every politician. We rarely see politicians who are proven to be wrong continue to lie about it like Weiner did.airshocker

Yet Weiner still practically did nothing compared to other congressmen who are still in office and were never called to resign.scorch-62

The fact that there are some people here who are perfectly fine with being lied to their faces astonishes me.

The fact that there are some people here who are perfectly fine with being lied to their faces astonishes me.airshocker

[QUOTE="scorch-62"]Yet Weiner still practically did nothing compared to other congressmen who are still in office and were never called to resign.airshocker

The fact that there are some people here who are perfectly fine with being lied to their faces astonishes me.

Ever heard of something called "context"? It's important. For myself, personally speaking, I try to view all things in context rather than issuing blanket decrees. Yeah, the dude lied. The context here: he was lying about a trivial matter that was none of anybody else's goddamned business in the first place.

It's frightening how people are up in arms over Weiner lying about e-mailing junkshots to a porn actress, but when Bush lied about about Iraq having WMDs, thus dragging this country into an unprovoked war, it was no big deal.

[QUOTE="airshocker"]

[QUOTE="scorch-62"]Yet Weiner still practically did nothing compared to other congressmen who are still in office and were never called to resign.worlock77

The fact that there are some people here who are perfectly fine with being lied to their faces astonishes me.

Ever heard of something called "context"? It's important. For myself, personally speaking, I try to view all things in context rather than issuing blanket decrees. Yeah, the dude lied. The context here: he was lying about a trivial matter that was none of anybody else's goddamned business in the first place.

It's frightening how people are up in arms over Weiner lying about e-mailing junkshots to a porn actress, but when Bush lied about about Iraq having WMDs, thus dragging this country into an unprovoked war, it was no big deal.

Yeah I don't get it.. You would think any one would have trouble telling hte truth by extreme embarrassing picture that of a personal matter that over a 100 million people will be seeing.. Its so easy saying such things when your ass is not on the chopping block being forced to disclose something extremely embarrassing to hundreds of millions of people world wide.

Ever heard of something called "context"? It's important. For myself, personally speaking, I try to view all things in context rather than issuing blanket decrees. Yeah, the dude lied. The context here: he was lying about a trivial matter that was none of anybody else's goddamned business in the first place.

It's frightening how people are up in arms over Weiner lying about e-mailing junkshots to a porn actress, but when Bush lied about about Iraq having WMDs, thus dragging this country into an unprovoked war, it was no big deal.

worlock77

It's most definitely our business when: 1) it seems he was doing this on our dime, and 2) there was a chance this could have affected his job performance. That makes it our business.

The fact that you're ignoring the important part of my statement astonishes me. Seriously: William Jefferson (D-LA) suspected of bribery in 2006, re-elected in 2006, sought re-election again in 2008 only to lose to a Republican, later convicted on 11 counts of corruption and sentenced to 13 years in prison; was never asked to resign. David Vitter (R-LA) solicited prostitution services from the 1990s to 2001 (after taking the seat of Bob Livingston who resigned due to an adultery scandal and after calling on Bill Clinton to resign over Monica Lewinsky), finally confronted after his number was published in 2007 as a customer, admitted to it and apologized in 2007, will never face criminal charges; was never called to resign until John Ensign admitted to his affair in 2009 (though only by the LA Democratic Party); remains in office today. Charles Rangel (D-NY) from 2008 forward faced multiple accusations of ethics violations and failure to comply with federal tax laws, faced trial in House Ethics Committee, was censured but not expelled, did not resign; remains in office today. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) crashed Mustang into barricade on Capitol Hill while intoxicated in 2006, later admitted he had an addiction to prescription medication and put himself in rehab, was admitted again in 2009; never asked to resign, did not seek re-election in 2010. And all Weiner did was post his junk on Twitter. Edit: It should also be worth noting that John Ensign (R-NV) was never explicitly asked to resign, though he did resign after allegedly being tipped off about his coming investigation from the Department of Justice.scorch-62

His actions wouldn't have been a big deal if he hadn't lied about them. Unless the rumors about him texting an underage girl are true.

I don't see why anything else in your post matters. Would you like me to make threads condemning them? I also don't see why people not asking for their resignations, or them not resigning takes anything away from what I'm saying. It's not my job to call for their resignation.

I was indifferent to whether he resigned or not.

I just found it odd as he would have a tough time being taken seriously anymore after the flood of bad press him and his family got.

[QUOTE="scorch-62"]The fact that you're ignoring the important part of my statement astonishes me. Seriously: William Jefferson (D-LA) suspected of bribery in 2006, re-elected in 2006, sought re-election again in 2008 only to lose to a Republican, later convicted on 11 counts of corruption and sentenced to 13 years in prison; was never asked to resign. David Vitter (R-LA) solicited prostitution services from the 1990s to 2001 (after taking the seat of Bob Livingston who resigned due to an adultery scandal and after calling on Bill Clinton to resign over Monica Lewinsky), finally confronted after his number was published in 2007 as a customer, admitted to it and apologized in 2007, will never face criminal charges; was never called to resign until John Ensign admitted to his affair in 2009 (though only by the LA Democratic Party); remains in office today. Charles Rangel (D-NY) from 2008 forward faced multiple accusations of ethics violations and failure to comply with federal tax laws, faced trial in House Ethics Committee, was censured but not expelled, did not resign; remains in office today. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) crashed Mustang into barricade on Capitol Hill while intoxicated in 2006, later admitted he had an addiction to prescription medication and put himself in rehab, was admitted again in 2009; never asked to resign, did not seek re-election in 2010. And all Weiner did was post his junk on Twitter. Edit: It should also be worth noting that John Ensign (R-NV) was never explicitly asked to resign, though he did resign after allegedly being tipped off about his coming investigation from the Department of Justice.airshocker

His actions wouldn't have been a big deal if he hadn't lied about them. Unless the rumors about him texting an underage girl are true.

I don't see why anything else in your post matters. Would you like me to make threads condemning them?

Yet again, people lie over trivial things all the time to avoid embarrassment.. This is on a scope far greater than anything out there.. To me thats the natural response of ANY ONE that is faced with something extremely embarrassing in their personal life infront of 100s of millions of people.. Airshocker please come back to us when your forced to tell these many people something extremely embarrassing with your personal life.

It's most definitely our business when: 1) it seems he was doing this on our dime, and 2) there was a chance this could have affected his job performance. That makes it our business.airshocker

It doesn't bother me he was pushed out the door, because I think the same would have been asked of most employees at any other job. What's wrong is how many politicians keep their positions after doing things waaay worse.

Putting a dick picture on the internet and not owning up to it when caught (which 99.9% of people would do if they thought they could get away with it) isn't really a priority on my "List of Things Politicians Should Be Fired For."

David Vitter solicited prostitution services "on our dime." He actually did something illegal "on our dime."scorch-62

What does this have to do with Weiner?

Yet again, people lie over trivial things all the time to avoid embarrassment.. This is on a scope far greater than anything out there.. To me thats the natural response of ANY ONE that is faced with something extremely embarrassing in their personal life infront of 100s of millions of people.. Airshocker please come back to us when your forced to tell these many people something extremely embarrassing with your personal life.

sSubZerOo

Anthony Weiner has never been embarrassed to speak his mind about anything else, why should this matter?

I don't put myself into a position to show embarrassing parts of my personal life.

[QUOTE="sSubZerOo"]

Yet again, people lie over trivial things all the time to avoid embarrassment.. This is on a scope far greater than anything out there.. To me thats the natural response of ANY ONE that is faced with something extremely embarrassing in their personal life infront of 100s of millions of people.. Airshocker please come back to us when your forced to tell these many people something extremely embarrassing with your personal life.

airshocker

Anthony Weiner has never been embarrassed to speak his mind about anything else, why should this matter?

I don't put myself into a position to show embarrassing parts of my personal life.

Lets say that you did? What would your response be? Most likely every one elses.. Deer in head lights.. This isn't saying he is fit to lead or defending him specifically for partisan reasons. I just find it awful to think that people suddenly can't trust the politician because he was trying to prevent something from extremely embarrassing from coming up..Lol embarrassed to speak his mind? You mean on subjects in general.. That is alot different from being asked if thats your erect penis publically.. He was of course a idiot for ever posting such things, no argument here.. But the mere fact people expect that any one is going to come clean about this isn't living in reality.. People lie about embarrassing stuff all the time.. And this is usually only to a small group of people.. Not a entire nation.

What does this have to do with Weiner?airshocker

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

Ever heard of something called "context"? It's important. For myself, personally speaking, I try to view all things in context rather than issuing blanket decrees. Yeah, the dude lied. The context here: he was lying about a trivial matter that was none of anybody else's goddamned business in the first place.

It's frightening how people are up in arms over Weiner lying about e-mailing junkshots to a porn actress, but when Bush lied about about Iraq having WMDs, thus dragging this country into an unprovoked war, it was no big deal.

airshocker

It's most definitely our business when: 1) it seems he was doing this on our dime, and 2) there was a chance this could have affected his job performance. That makes it our business.

Sorry, but "maybe", "might", "could" don't cut it. If you want to argue why he should have resigned (against the will of his constituents I'll add) then come up with a sold argument, not speculation.

I don't like him personally. But I think the public in general shouldn't care about politicians' personal lives. To me, its the same about caring celebrities personal lives. Who honestly cares who cheats on who? Is it going to ruin your personal life?

If its not directly affecting the work he does as a congressman, the general public has no reason to care. But thats me. The media blew this story out of proportion, as usual.

And honestly, anything Pelosi or Reed says I would take with a grain of salt at best.

KamuiFei

So if he didn't resign, many people would take this with them to the voting booth next election any way.

So if he didn't resign, many people would take this with them to the voting booth next election any way.BuryMe

People who have done far worse still remain in office. I don't see how its very "fair" - but meh.

resigning because he is an untrust worthy bastard i agree with, resigning because people who are not your constituency pressure you to i disagree with.