Weiner Deflecting Pressure to Resign
Rep. Anthony Weiner is facing intense pressure to resign, even from his Democrat colleagues and friends.
Not so fast. A Marist University poll for New York’s Channel One showed 51 percent of New Yorkers believe he should remain in office. A much smaller percentage said he should resign after sending lewd photos to a woman via Twitter.
The congressman told The New York Post Thursday he was going to remain in office. “I am going to get back to work as best I can,” he said.
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Sources say Weiner is getting advice from someone who has endured a similar situation: former President Bill Clinton.
Like Weiner, Clinton misled the public about the facts of his Oval Office tryst with then intern Monica Lewinski. The House voted for impeachment, but a trial in the Senate failed to remove Clinton from office.
Many are asking if Clinton lied and did not resign, why are Democrats so anxious to abandon one of their up and coming House members?
“There are a lot to issues surrounding someone's decision to resign after a scandal,” said Tom Simpson, a Democratic consultant in North Carolina. “The bottom line is it’s easier to replace a congressman than a sitting president; a lot easier. Everyone I know is praying for he and his wife to make the right decision.”
So far, only left-wing bloggers are coming to Weiner’s defense. “Democrats are willing to let one of their strongest voices on Capitol Hill be silenced over what amounts to silly-stuff,” wrote Rock Hacksaw, a Brooklyn blogger.
"If you’re going to call for Anthony Weiner to resign, let me see your hard drives,” said MSNBC analyst and former Democratic aide Lawrence O’Donnell.
The problem is, not all Democrats are circling the wagon for Congressman Weiner. Two former national Democratic Party Chairmen – Ed Rendell and Tim Kaine – have called on Weiner to step down. However, Democrat leaders in the House are staying mum for the time being. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has called on the ethics committee to investigate if he violated congressional rules.
Mike Bayham, a Republican political strategist in Louisiana said the bigger issue is not Weiner sending inappropriate photos, but where are the feminist members of congress?
“Personally, I find the call for Weiner’s resignation to be a secondary issue. I want to know where are all the feminist congresswomen who came out of the woodwork when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was accused many years ago. Many of these women are still in congress. Why aren’t they speaking up,” Bayham asked.
Friends close to the couple are saying Huma is encouraging him to remain in office, but she has yet to speak publicly. It is also being reported she is in the first trimester of a pregnancy.
“If a corporate CEO had done this there would be eight and nine figure lawsuits filed by now. But then again, no one ever said politics was fair,” added Bayham.
Assuming Weiner does stay in office, some pundits are speculating he will be drawn out of his seat after redistricting takes place in New York later this year.
