Sex Scandals

The Loss Of The Anthony Weiner Congressional Seat In New York: Its Meaning

The 9th Congressional District in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, was represented in the past decade by an aggressive, outspoken Democrat named Anthony Weiner, who was noticeable for his fighting spirit against conservatives, the Tea Party Movement, and the Republican Party. He made a lot of news with his confrontations on the floor of the House of Representatives in the past few years.

But Anthony Weiner also had a fatal flaw, not unique to him among politicians, and that was his private sexual drives, which led to him putting text and pictures of his naked body on Facebook and Twitter, erupting in a scandal which forced him to resign in June of this year.

Now, as a result of his antics and stupidity, a district which was Democratic controlled since 1923, has gone to the Republican nominee, and it is being interpreted in different ways.

Let the author point out that this district was the one in which he resided for 15 years before his move to Florida in 1989, and he lived specifically in the community known as Fresh Meadows in the Flushing area of Queens County.

The thought that MY district is now represented by a Republican is hard enough to take, but the issue is its meaning!

Some would say it is an aberration, and a reaction against Anthony Weiner himself, as a similar situation with an upstate New York district, traditionally Republican for a very long time, went to the Democrat a few months ago after a similar sex scandal.

It should also be pointed out that this district will disappear due to the mandated change in district lines for all members of the House of Representatives after reapportionment of seats with census results now in, and therefore, the whole district will be divided among others, with New York losing two seats in the House of Representatives. So the new Republican, as much as if the Democratic candidate had won, is unlikely to be able to stay in Congress more than one year. In fact, since Weiner was personally not well liked in the New York delegation, he probably would have been thrown into a primary against a fellow Democrat in a newly established district, with a good chance of being defeated, without the scandal which unseated him!

Having said all that, some see the defeat as a repudiation of Barack Obama on the economy.

Others see it as a repudiation of the stand on Israel and the Palestinians that Obama and his administration have promoted, seen at least by Orthodox and Hasidic Jews, a large portion of the Jewish population of that district, as anti Israel.

Still others see it as a repudiation of the Democratic nominee, who while Jewish, supported gay marriage in the state legislature, something that Orhodox and Hasidic Jews loathe with passion!

Does this mean that the general Jewish population is ready to abandon Barack Obama and the Democrats nationally?

The answer is who knows, but while it seems highly doubtful that large numbers of Jews will vote Republican, it is certainly a warning to Obama and the Democrats to work hard to convince Jews that Obama is NOT working against Israel’s interests, that they will fight for more jobs, and at the same time, NOT back off on gay marriage and gay rights!

Orthodox and Hasidic Jews have the right to be against gay marriage, as much as many Catholics and evangelical Christians, but that does not mean that their personal prejudices should deny equality in all ways to gay and lesbian Americans! This needs to be seen as a civil rights issue!

Since the percentage of Jews who are Orthodox or Hasidic is small, and since most Jews believe in the New Deal and Great Society programs that continue to be defended by Barack Obama and his party, this election, most likely, is simply an aberration!

The Harassment And Bullying Of Anthony Weiner By New York Media: Disgraceful!

The New York media has always been more difficult and aggressive than most other media, but what they have just done to former Congressman Anthony Weiner is totally disgraceful!

The New York Daily News and the New York Post, both well known for being “rags” rather than reputable journalism, destroyed Anthony Weiner, harrassed, hounded, and bullied him to the extreme, sensationalized his faults and misdeeds to such an extent that it was literally impossible for him to survive in office!

Did Anthony Weiner conduct himself in a proper fashion on the internet, on Twitter and Facebook? Obviously, NO, but did his sins deserve the kind of mistreatment that he suffered?

The author thinks other politicians have conducted themselves in far worse fashion and have not been assaulted in such a vicious way!

And the fact that his party, the Democratic Party, also brought such great pressure on him is very different than what the Republican Party does with its transgressors! And in so doing, we have lost a major progressive voice for the middle and lower classes!

No one is saying to give Anthony Weiner a free ride, and overlook his faults, but if his district wanted him to stay, that should have been the ultimate decision maker!

So, as suggested yesterday by the author, Anthony Weiner, IF he is willing to do it, should announce for the special election, and leave it to the people to decide in his district, as to whether they want him back or not. Democracy should rule, not the reckless and insulting behavior of the New York media, best defined as TRASH!

Would It Be Better To Have More Females In Political Power? The Answer Is Yes!

Because of the Anthony Weiner scandal, on top of the scandals involving John Edwards and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chris Lee, and further back to Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, John Ensign, David Vitter, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Foley, and Bill Clinton, and many others, the question arises: Would America be better with more female political leaders?

The answer is YES, as history tells us of very few cases of female political leaders misbehaving, at least in a sexual way, as women are wired differently.

It is not saying that women never become involved in sexual liaisons and scandals, but at least in political terms, it seems not to occur very often, with no outstanding cases that come easily to mind.

Women, of course, are a small part of American political life, although the numbers are growing. According to a Rutgers University Research Center, women hold only one out of every six seats in Congress, about one fourth of all seats in state legislatures, and six governorships and eight mayoralties of the top 100 cities.

Women who run and win office do so, according to research, to accomplish something, while men run to be somebody! According to the research studies, women in the House of Representatives introduce more bills, get more involved in legislative debates, and give more one minute speeches in daily session, in fact double the amount Congressmen give.

The argument is that men in politics are motivated by testosterone induced connections between sex and power, with the thought that powerful men attract women, while powerful women turn off men! Men are more reckless and more likely to feel invincible.

So with the growing role of women in politics, the emphasis should be on them being encouraged to run, and the American people overcoming sexual stereotypes, and start to accept powerful women such as Nancy Pelosi, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Michele Bachmann and Marsha Blackburn as legitimate figures in the House of Representatives, and to see women Senators and Governors and Mayors as qualified for themselves, not to face discrimination because of their gender.

American politics would be far better with more of a balance between men and women, and get rid of the old myth, that in politics as in business, it is a man’s world!

The Anthony Weiner Disaster: No Solution Is Good!

New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, admired by many for his willingness to fight for his principles, and hated by Republicans because of his strong attacks on their party and its policies, has put himself in an impossible position by his involvement in “sexting” on Twitter, Facebook, and on email.

For a member of Congress to be involved in a sex scandal is nothing new, unfortunately, but his lies and deceit for a week make his finally “coming clean” much more problematical. It is sad how a talented politician can be so self destructive, and can risk his career, and his new marriage, all because he has no self control over his sexual urges.

Should Weiner resign? Some would say yes, and others would say no, but some politicians have stuck it out, and have survived, such as Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, and President Bill Clinton. Of course, many more have quit under the pressure, and the intensity of the attacks, and a planned investigation by the House Ethics Committee, and the lack of public support by his Democratic colleagues are telling signs of his likely failure to be able to stay in office and leave it to the citizens of his congressional district to decide his fate.

In fact, his seat is likely to be disappearing during reapportionment of seats in the House of Representatives, with the fact that two congressional districts will be eliminated for the state of New York in any case.

So, sadly, Weiner, who once hoped to run for NYC Mayor, is probably doomed and likely to be forced out soon. Public scrutiny of public figures makes one realize that if he or she cannot keep his behavior within norms, then his or her humiliation and embarrassment is legion, so expect Weiner to resign under fire very soon as another victim of his own shortcomings!