Weiner falls limp to the pressure, strokes his way out of office.

@Surkov said:

@MikeinSC said:

@Surkov said:

I'm actually sadden by this. As a Democrat, I'm ashamed at how spineless and submissive most democrats are. Weiner was different and we need more people like him.

Don't the Dems already have enough people with impulse control problems and embarrassing acts in their past? Heck, Barney Frank is a poster child for that nonsense.

Both sides have their pariahs, but at least Weiner was good at his job.   

Judging by a spiraling deficit and national debt so massive each American is on the hook for over $500,000 each, illegal wars in Syria amd Yemen, deteriorating alliances, Iran openly discussing developing nukes now --- I don't think his efficacy is really a strong suit.

All I have to say is that when I'm old, and I look down to my grandkids I can happily reminisce about the time when celebrities, politicians and the like had no concept of responsibility on the internet and literally had no idea what they were doing.

But seriously, I have no sympathy for someone who screws up like that on Twitter. Twitter's about as public as it gets, why don't people seem to comprehend that?

This is all politics aside, of course. I don't have a stance on the issue. Just think people need to think more.

@MikeinSC said:

@Surkov said:

@MikeinSC said:

@Surkov said:

I'm actually sadden by this. As a Democrat, I'm ashamed at how spineless and submissive most democrats are. Weiner was different and we need more people like him.

Don't the Dems already have enough people with impulse control problems and embarrassing acts in their past? Heck, Barney Frank is a poster child for that nonsense.

Both sides have their pariahs, but at least Weiner was good at his job.   

Judging by a spiraling deficit and national debt so massive each American is on the hook for over $500,000 each, illegal wars in Syria amd Yemen, deteriorating alliances, Iran openly discussing developing nukes now --- I don't think his efficacy is really a strong suit.

I hope you don't legitimately think one person could control or affect all of those issues.     

So what's the big deal? 
I masturbate on chatroulette all the time, don't see how thats different.

@Pinworm45 said:

@Artemesia said:

So the dude has base human urges and that's somehow bad enough that he needs to be pressured into quitting his job as a representative of the people?

Whatever.

Are you ser.. Fuck it, nevermind

teehee

This scandal has nothing to do with his political viability. He shouldn't have caved. Obama has probably gotten his dick wet in a dozen women that aren't his wife since coming into office. Clinton did it, and so did Kennedy. Politicians cheat on their spouses for some reason; that leaves room to question their personal morality, but so long as they're doing their jobs, who gives a flying fuck?

This annoys me.

This scandal has nothing to do with his political viability. He shouldn't have caved. Obama has probably gotten his dick wet in a dozen women that aren't his wife since coming into office. Clinton did it, and so did Kennedy. Politicians cheat on their spouses for some reason; that leaves room to question their personal morality, but so long as they're doing their jobs, who gives a flying fuck?

This annoys me.

@Kombat said:

This scandal has nothing to do with his political viability. He shouldn't have caved. Obama has probably gotten his dick wet in a dozen women that aren't his wife since coming into office. Clinton did it, and so did Kennedy. Politicians cheat on their spouses for some reason; that leaves room to question their personal morality, but so long as they're doing their jobs, who gives a flying fuck?

This annoys me.

Are you saying Obama should be impeached?

Maybe the guy was a great leader. But in his position, he shouldn't be doing things like that. Can't say I disagree with him resigning.

Fucking lame, really. You can have Republican sex scandal after Republican sex scandal, but the moment a Democrat tweets a picture of his junk to some chick he's never met and he's basically forced to resign.

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

@benjaebe said:

Fucking lame, really. You can have Republican sex scandal after Republican sex scandal, but the moment a Democrat tweets a picture of his junk to some chick he's never met and he's basically forced to resign.

I think one of the biggest factors was Twitter. Well, that and the fact that the photos leaked everywhere.

Not to say he deserved what he got, it just didn't surprise me that he got what he did.

I will be forever a fan of this guy after this rant for healthcare to 9/11 heroes:

I have not watched The Daily Show since the network over here cancelled it last year but is he not a friend of JS and last time I saw that show they were championing him as the last honest man in Washington.  Has there been a mea culpa on the show?

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

@Unknown_Pleasures said:

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

 The press? The press tried to avoid reporting it as much as possible. Breitbart spearheaded it and his behavior towards a reporter (attempting to have her arrested when entering his office) and a CNN producer (calling him a "jackass") turned the media against him.   Also, Breitbart at his first press conference was the single greatest moment of the entire scandal.

His constituents should've decided whether or not he should stay in office when his re-election bid comes up again in 2012.

He made a simple mistake and we lost one of the only good politicians in congress.

@Unknown_Pleasures said:

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

 The press? The press tried to avoid reporting it as much as possible. Breitbart spearheaded it and his behavior towards a reporter (attempting to have her arrested when entering his office) and a CNN producer (calling him a "jackass") turned the media against him.   Also, Breitbart at his first press conference was the single greatest moment of the entire scandal.

Here's his chat transcripts. If it's legit, and radar is pretty reputable. He basically cybers with a girl until the pictures surface, when he stops responding.

http://www.radaronline.com/sites/radaronline.com/files/Wiener-Facebook-Transcript-Watermarked.pdf

@GrilledCheez01 said:

He made a simple mistake and we lost one of the only good politicians in congress.

What exactly is the "simple" in the mistake of posting that picture to Twitter? He made a deliberate choice to post something incredibly stupid.

@Hailinel said:

@GrilledCheez01 said:

He made a simple mistake and we lost one of the only good politicians in congress.

What exactly is the "simple" in the mistake of posting that picture to Twitter? He made a deliberate choice to post something incredibly stupid.

I guess simple was the wrong word to use. Some better words would be that every person has lapses in judgement and plenty of great people take the wrong steps everyday.

@GrilledCheez01 said:

@Hailinel said:

@GrilledCheez01 said:

He made a simple mistake and we lost one of the only good politicians in congress.

What exactly is the "simple" in the mistake of posting that picture to Twitter? He made a deliberate choice to post something incredibly stupid.

I guess simple was the wrong word to use. Some better words would be that every person has lapses in judgement and plenty of great people take the wrong steps everyday.

Lots of otherwise good people make life-ruining lapses in judgment. It doesn't excuse Weiner from his own punishment. Had he not resigned, he was pretty much screwed, anyway. If not from direct punishment from Congress, then by the possibility of having his seat eliminated in the redrawing of district lines next year.

@GrilledCheez01 said:

@Hailinel said:

@GrilledCheez01 said:

He made a simple mistake and we lost one of the only good politicians in congress.

What exactly is the "simple" in the mistake of posting that picture to Twitter? He made a deliberate choice to post something incredibly stupid.

I guess simple was the wrong word to use. Some better words would be that every person has lapses in judgement and plenty of great people take the wrong steps everyday.

He took more than just a couple wrong steps. He had frequent lewd internet conversations with six women. Sure, I think some of his views are good, but that doesn't make up for what he did. People who cheat on their spouses are a very special type of asshole.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@TurboMan said:

I will be forever a fan of this guy after this rant for healthcare to 9/11 heroes:

This. He was one of a few Democrats who was willing to confront Republicans.

You know, I'm a conservative, but I have some respect for him after watching that video. I still hate that he's married and did shit like he did (cheating is inexcusable), but he really spoke his mind. Even if I didn't agree with him (and I do in this case) I'd appreciate his passion.

@SpikeSpiegel: Yeah, I guess I'm just a forgiving guy, sorry about that.

Let me makes this clear to the simple minded, if you think either the democrats, republicans, tea party, or others in power gives a shit about anyone other than themselves you are truly ignorant.

I phallic he kind of thrust resignation upon himself by being so teste. Best thread title in a while btw.

How biased people get when politics is involved pisses me off.

@Bloviator said:

How biased people get when politics is involved pisses me off.

Why would people not get biased toward their political views? People should stand up for what they believe in.

By the way, I'm a very VERY conservative person, yet I haven't insulted all of the liberals in this thread because I know it will derail the thread.

Not biased toward political views at all is not what I mean, but "how" biased bothers me.

@MikeinSC said:

@Unknown_Pleasures said:

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

 The press? The press tried to avoid reporting it as much as possible. Breitbart spearheaded it and his behavior towards a reporter (attempting to have her arrested when entering his office) and a CNN producer (calling him a "jackass") turned the media against him.   Also, Breitbart at his first press conference was the single greatest moment of the entire scandal.

I think the press was somewhat reluctant at the start with Brietbart being the main pusher or the story since he has a history of spreading blatant falsehoods, though I think it was more clear from the start here that he was on to an actual scandal.   I don't think that Weiner should have resigned. He is one of the few worthwhile politicians that I would group with people like Bernie Sanders.  The only area I know I really disagreed with him was on the Middle East particularly in reference to Israel.

@YamiB said:

@MikeinSC said:

@Unknown_Pleasures said:

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

 The press? The press tried to avoid reporting it as much as possible. Breitbart spearheaded it and his behavior towards a reporter (attempting to have her arrested when entering his office) and a CNN producer (calling him a "jackass") turned the media against him.   Also, Breitbart at his first press conference was the single greatest moment of the entire scandal.

I think the press was somewhat reluctant at the start with Brietbart being the main pusher or the story since he has a history of spreading blatant falsehoods, though I think it was more clear from the start here that he was on to an actual scandal.   I don't think that Weiner should have resigned. He is one of the few worthwhile politicians that I would group with people like Bernie Sanders.  The only area I know I really disagreed with him was on the Middle East particularly in reference to Israel.

Breitbart challenged the press to name a single time he lied about anything. They, as per usual, failed to actually come up with a single lie he actually promoted.   Weiner being gone is not a bad thing. There are plenty of mediocre intellects who happen to be pricks to be voted into office.

@Jeffsekai said:

@TurboMan said:

I will be forever a fan of this guy after this rant for healthcare to 9/11 heroes:

Oh man it is that guy. Sucks he had to back down. This video is so awesome.

Dude... he doesn't mess around. Except on twitter...

I think its a shame. What he does in his personal life doesn't have any bearing on his job performance. His constituents wanted him to stay, and ultimately he was pushed out because of internal politics.

"...strokes his way out of office" 
 
That doesn't even make any sense.

Weiner holds no regrets. Just a mistake here and there.

I really liked all the great headlines this scandal brought forth.

It's funny to see how quickly the Democrats turn on each other.  And we wonder why we can't accomplish anything. 
Oh well, maybe if we keep being complete pussies, the Republicans will start feeling sorry for us. 

@MikeinSC said:

@YamiB said:

@MikeinSC said:

@Unknown_Pleasures said:

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

 The press? The press tried to avoid reporting it as much as possible. Breitbart spearheaded it and his behavior towards a reporter (attempting to have her arrested when entering his office) and a CNN producer (calling him a "jackass") turned the media against him.   Also, Breitbart at his first press conference was the single greatest moment of the entire scandal.

I think the press was somewhat reluctant at the start with Brietbart being the main pusher or the story since he has a history of spreading blatant falsehoods, though I think it was more clear from the start here that he was on to an actual scandal.   I don't think that Weiner should have resigned. He is one of the few worthwhile politicians that I would group with people like Bernie Sanders.  The only area I know I really disagreed with him was on the Middle East particularly in reference to Israel.

Breitbart challenged the press to name a single time he lied about anything. They, as per usual, failed to actually come up with a single lie he actually promoted.   Weiner being gone is not a bad thing. There are plenty of mediocre intellects who happen to be pricks to be voted into office.

I still disagree on Weiner leaving being a bad thing. Along with Sanders and the now gone Fiengold he was one of the few national politicians that seemed to be pushing back against the regressives instead of rolling over and taking it.  Off the top of my head Breitbart released the Shirley Sherrod video which was edited in a manner to make it seem that she supported the idea of discriminating against poor whites seeking assistance from the agency she worked for.  The full video revealed the the point she was making was that her initial idea from the past were wrong and that economic class not race was what mattered for who needed help.  He also promoted the O'Keffe Acorn videos, which were heavily edited to cast ACORN in a bad light leading to the removal of funding for ACORN by Congress.

It's funny to see how quickly the Democrats turn on each other.  And we wonder why we can't accomplish anything.  Oh well, maybe if we keep being complete pussies, the Republicans will start feeling sorry for us. 

@Chirag4 said:

"...strokes his way out of office" That doesn't even make any sense.

You know how a row boat works? You stroke your paddles to make the boat move?

@Bruce: Yup :D.

Also, I somewhat agree. I am a conservative, but I do think he was a good democrat because I hated the guy before the scandal popped up.

@President_Barackbar said:

Yes I'm not afraid of a few dick jokes thank you.

Followed.

@YamiB said:

@MikeinSC said:

@YamiB said:

@MikeinSC said:

@Unknown_Pleasures said:

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

 The press? The press tried to avoid reporting it as much as possible. Breitbart spearheaded it and his behavior towards a reporter (attempting to have her arrested when entering his office) and a CNN producer (calling him a "jackass") turned the media against him.   Also, Breitbart at his first press conference was the single greatest moment of the entire scandal.

I think the press was somewhat reluctant at the start with Brietbart being the main pusher or the story since he has a history of spreading blatant falsehoods, though I think it was more clear from the start here that he was on to an actual scandal.   I don't think that Weiner should have resigned. He is one of the few worthwhile politicians that I would group with people like Bernie Sanders.  The only area I know I really disagreed with him was on the Middle East particularly in reference to Israel.

Breitbart challenged the press to name a single time he lied about anything. They, as per usual, failed to actually come up with a single lie he actually promoted.   Weiner being gone is not a bad thing. There are plenty of mediocre intellects who happen to be pricks to be voted into office.

I still disagree on Weiner leaving being a bad thing. Along with Sanders and the now gone Fiengold he was one of the few national politicians that seemed to be pushing back against the regressives instead of rolling over and taking it.  Off the top of my head Breitbart released the Shirley Sherrod video which was edited in a manner to make it seem that she supported the idea of discriminating against poor whites seeking assistance from the agency she worked for.  The full video revealed the the point she was making was that her initial idea from the past were wrong and that economic class not race was what mattered for who needed help.  He also promoted the O'Keffe Acorn videos, which were heavily edited to cast ACORN in a bad light leading to the removal of funding for ACORN by Congress.

He released the video he was given and Sherrod was not the target --- the NAACP (the point was that the audience had no problem with her admission of bigotry against white farmers) was the target. And, note, she admitted to discriminating. She changed her ways, but it doesn't change what she did do. The ACORN videos were quite accurate.

By April 1, 2010, the attorney general's office had completed its investigation and Brown announced its findings. O'Keefe and Giles received immunity from prosecution in exchange for providing three full, unedited videotapes. Brown noted that the terms of the exchange did not exempt O'Keefe or Giles from being sued by the ACORN members filmed in the videos. ... In his report on the investigation, Brown stated, "The video releases were heavily edited to feature only the worst or most inappropriate statements of the various ACORN employees and to omit some of the most salient statements by O'Keefe and Giles. Each of the ACORN employees recorded in California was a low level employee whose job was to help the needy individuals who walked in the door seeking assistance. Giles and O'Keefe lied to engender compassion, but then edited their statements from the released videos." For instance, a much-publicized recording of a visit to the San Diego office, in which an employee is purportedly seeking information to help smuggle underage girls from Mexico into the United States to work as prostitutes, did not mention that the employee's 'contact' in Mexico was actually a police official. The employee collected as much specific information as possible, then contacted Mexican police, warning them of the plot. Brown stated, "ACORN was not the criminal enterprise described by O'Keefe in his 'Chaos for Glory' statement – it did not receive billions in federal funds and did not control elections. ACORN is, however, disorganized and its operations were far from transparent, leaving it vulnerable to allegations of illegal activity and misuse of funds." Brown also said that despite appearing in the publicized videos as a "1970s Superfly pimp ... [i]n his actual taped sessions with ACORN workers, he was dressed in a shirt and tie, presented himself as a law student, and said he planned to use the prostitution proceeds to run for Congress. He never claimed he was a pimp."

I'm always a little annoyed when sex scandals come about. The whole moral issue with a sex scandal is that the person has done something wrong to their partner, not to the public and not to their colleagues. What he did was wrong and because some people fail to draw a proper line between peoples' personal lives and work lives this would have had a negative impact on his image as a politician, but what he did he did on his own free time, he didn't whip his dick out on the job or on public television and he shouldn't have to have his job compromised for that. Do we really value politicians with "cleaner" personal lives over politicians who are good at their job? Having said that (and I believe it's a point that stands in the majority of situations) in this situation he did do something wrong to his colleagues and the public in that he repeatedly lied and in that regard I believe it is fair that he steps down.

It's not even a sex scandal. He didn't even have sex.

@MikeinSC said:

@YamiB said:

@MikeinSC said:

@YamiB said:

@MikeinSC said:

@Unknown_Pleasures said:

Press forced him out pretty much....he didn't have a choice.

 The press? The press tried to avoid reporting it as much as possible. Breitbart spearheaded it and his behavior towards a reporter (attempting to have her arrested when entering his office) and a CNN producer (calling him a "jackass") turned the media against him.   Also, Breitbart at his first press conference was the single greatest moment of the entire scandal.

I think the press was somewhat reluctant at the start with Brietbart being the main pusher or the story since he has a history of spreading blatant falsehoods, though I think it was more clear from the start here that he was on to an actual scandal.   I don't think that Weiner should have resigned. He is one of the few worthwhile politicians that I would group with people like Bernie Sanders.  The only area I know I really disagreed with him was on the Middle East particularly in reference to Israel.

Breitbart challenged the press to name a single time he lied about anything. They, as per usual, failed to actually come up with a single lie he actually promoted.   Weiner being gone is not a bad thing. There are plenty of mediocre intellects who happen to be pricks to be voted into office.

I still disagree on Weiner leaving being a bad thing. Along with Sanders and the now gone Fiengold he was one of the few national politicians that seemed to be pushing back against the regressives instead of rolling over and taking it.  Off the top of my head Breitbart released the Shirley Sherrod video which was edited in a manner to make it seem that she supported the idea of discriminating against poor whites seeking assistance from the agency she worked for.  The full video revealed the the point she was making was that her initial idea from the past were wrong and that economic class not race was what mattered for who needed help.  He also promoted the O'Keffe Acorn videos, which were heavily edited to cast ACORN in a bad light leading to the removal of funding for ACORN by Congress.

He released the video he was given and Sherrod was not the target --- the NAACP (the point was that the audience had no problem with her admission of bigotry against white farmers) was the target. And, note, she admitted to discriminating. She changed her ways, but it doesn't change what she did do. The ACORN videos were quite accurate.

The Sherrod thing is absurd even if he was trying to target NAACP in general.  Why would an audience show disapproval in the middle of a story being told that ultimately had an anti-racist message?
 
The ACORN videos were not accurate. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACORN_2009_undercover_videos_controversy#Investigation_by_California_attorney_general

By April 1, 2010, the attorney general's office had completed its investigation and Brown announced its findings. O'Keefe and Giles received immunity from prosecution in exchange for providing three full, unedited videotapes. Brown noted that the terms of the exchange did not exempt O'Keefe or Giles from being sued by the ACORN members filmed in the videos. ... In his report on the investigation, Brown stated, "The video releases were heavily edited to feature only the worst or most inappropriate statements of the various ACORN employees and to omit some of the most salient statements by O'Keefe and Giles. Each of the ACORN employees recorded in California was a low level employee whose job was to help the needy individuals who walked in the door seeking assistance. Giles and O'Keefe lied to engender compassion, but then edited their statements from the released videos." For instance, a much-publicized recording of a visit to the San Diego office, in which an employee is purportedly seeking information to help smuggle underage girls from Mexico into the United States to work as prostitutes, did not mention that the employee's 'contact' in Mexico was actually a police official. The employee collected as much specific information as possible, then contacted Mexican police, warning them of the plot. Brown stated, "ACORN was not the criminal enterprise described by O'Keefe in his 'Chaos for Glory' statement – it did not receive billions in federal funds and did not control elections. ACORN is, however, disorganized and its operations were far from transparent, leaving it vulnerable to allegations of illegal activity and misuse of funds." Brown also said that despite appearing in the publicized videos as a "1970s Superfly pimp ... [i]n his actual taped sessions with ACORN workers, he was dressed in a shirt and tie, presented himself as a law student, and said he planned to use the prostitution proceeds to run for Congress. He never claimed he was a pimp."