It is the ultimate example of voters getting the representatives that they deserve. A recent poll shows 56 percent of constituents of Anthony Weiner want him to remain in office. I spoke on the Weiner scandal on CNN last night.
For years, Democrats have been criticizing the blind loyalty shown to politicians from Tom DeLay to David Vitter. Yet, in New York, voters want to retain a politicians who spent a week piling lie upon lie over the sending of lewd photos. In addition, some of the women complained that they only wanted to talk politics — making (if true) Weiner a type of virtual flasher. He then alleged that a crime of hacking was committed and attacked media — calling them foul names and blaming them for the scandal. Despite this record, the voters want Weiner to continue to speak for them. Weiner only admitted his lies when pictures emerged showing him and confirming his role. Stories have now emerged suggesting that he contacted at least one woman to try to convince her to lie.
What exactly does it take? Just because you like his politics and he attacks people you dislike does not excuse a member in such despicable conduct. When people complain about Congress being a cesspool, they need to consider how their own blind loyalties contribute to that problem.
Weiner is now saying that his wife is making him stay in office, though others have suggested that he needs this job. In the end, it is up to the voters to determine the minimal level of honesty and integrity required to be their representative in Congress.
Sources: NY Post
That some [CEOs] are not.
@Roco: When a CEO certifies a false financial document,
This is a false equivalence; the CEO is financially defrauding investors when s/he certifies a false financial document. How did Weiner financially deceive anybody with his lie? He did not; and he pointedly refused to engage any public service.
This is not a double standard, it is a single standard: Weiner has no legal responsibility to be honest about his sex life, and he was not. A CEO also has no legal responsibility to be honest about his sex life, and I can attest from personal observation of a few CEOs that they are not, and that is not a crime.
By now you’ve probably seen enough — literally — of Anthony Weiner, the New York City Congressman embroiled in a scandal involving online relationships with several women, including his sending suggestive photos taken from the House of Representatives gym. Members of both parties have called on Weiner to resign.
The raunchy emails from the married Congressman aren’t terribly shocking. Several studies have estimated that more than half of men and women are unfaithful to their spouses. The public outrage has stemmed in my opinion not from Weiner’s tweets, but his deception.
.Rep. Weiner lied to reporters, instructed others to lie and went so far as to invent a completely fallacious story that his Blackberry and Twitter account were hacked. “I was the victim of a prank,” he told reporters with whom he snapped and sparred, calling one CNN reporter a “jackass” (video).
In business, reputation is a company’s most important asset; no rational individual would buy or sell from a known fraud. On the exchange floor honesty was paramount because it’s the only way anybody would trade with you. Who would buy a futures contract from a guy with a reputation for defaulting? Who could trust Bernie Madoff with a 401(k) after his con had been revealed?
We wrote last summer about Warren Buffett’s famous remark: It takes years to build a reputation but only minutes to destroy one. The ease with which Weiner lied to every major news outlet in the country naturally challenges the credibility of any Congressman, let alone one known for hyperbole and colorful rhetoric.
While some are minimizing the scandal as unfortunate but not criminal , it’s worth remembering that in 2002 Weiner supported and voted for Sarbanes-Oxley, the massive financial re-regulation passed in the wake of the Enron scandal. Among other regulatory measures, the law required CEOs to personally certify the accuracy of corporate documents, levying criminal penalties of up to 20 years in jail and personal fines of up to $5 million for false certifications.
When a CEO certifies a false financial document, the government holds him criminally liable and personally accountable, including potential incarceration. The fallout from Rep. Weiner’s blatant fabrication? A temporary leave of absence for counseling, taken at his discretion, all while continuing to receive his Congressional salary.
The double standard brings to mind life on Animal Farm, where “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” and honesty, a necessity for business, can seem like a nuisance for those clamoring to regulate and control it.
But the hubris is hardly a surprise. In Rep. Weiner’s own words, via an email to one of his online followers: “Please understand i am a very important man.”
Jonathan Hoenig is managing member at Capitalistpig Hedge Fund LLC.
I think Hoenig pretty much says it all.
FFL:
A little more about the riots and the person at the center of it all.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&authuser=0&cp=10&xhr=t&q=lemrick+nelson&pf=p&sclient=psy&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=lemerick+n&aq=0s&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=4fb2a7fa4afe0265&biw=1600&bih=775
This went on for years as you will see.
Living in Jersey,This was also in the news often over the years.
Mike Spindell,
Thank you for your excellent accounting of those riots—I knew you would do justice to the topic.
I really had a very good laugh at your following, somewhat self-deprecating, comment; it was a “riot” (of laughter) in its own right:
“They didn’t succeed because of my perception of them as a cult and my tendency not to join any organization that would want me as a member.”
:
(still laughing…)
“Perhaps Mike Spindell can comment on this Black/Jewish conflict”
FFLEO,
I’m actually in a unique position to comment on this conflict because not only am I Jewish, but I worked in the heart of Crown Heights from 1968, through 1976 and afterward was an Assistant to the Director of the Office of Community Services that covered the district. So I know a lot about its workings and also the conflict that arose between Blacks and Jews. It is a sad tale intertwined with misunderstanding and prejudice on both sides, exascerbated by the demagoguery of politicians.
Crown Heights, Brooklyn was one hub of mid to upper middle class Jewish community in NYC, from perhaps the late 1920’s to the mid 1950’s. The brick apartment buildings and attached brownstones that made up the community were substantial structures of excellent quality. Jews from the Lower East Side of Manhattan; Williamsburgh,
Carnarsie and Brownsville, Brooklyn moved there as their fortunes improved.
in the early 1950’s more affluent black people, attracted by the excellent housing stock and good prices began to move in. A mixture of the growth of more attractive suburbs on Long Island and a fear of Black people, began a Jewish exodus. As those Jews left, they were replaced by more Blacks, both of American and West Indian heritage. Landlords, which I sadly admit were mainly Jewish, broke up the large apartments in the apartment buildings and converted the Brownstones from one to three family residences. The upkeep of the property deteriorated due to both the landlord’s and tenants lack of diligence.
There was a remnant of Jews who remained in the community. These were members of the Lubavitcher Hassidic Sect, which has its World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway, in the heart of Crown Heights.
The sect was led by a Rabbi (The Rebbe) Schneerson, an intelligent and charismatic man who looked like Orson Welles, though with a full beard and sidelocks.
The Hasid males dressed in black outfits and hats, that were really modern day copies of 17th Century Polish fashion. With their full beard, sidelocks and dress they were not only very identifiable, but seemed weird-looking to most people, even Jews like me. While the Lubavitcher’s were the most outgoing of the many Hassidic Sects, all Hasids tend to be clannish and converse mainly in Yiddush and/or Hebrew, although they speak English perfectly.
An atmosphere of mutual distrust and prejudice arose between the Blacks and the Hasids. This too was exascerbated by the fact that the Haasidic vote was as a bloc, as dictated by the Rebbe and his lieutenants. To me as a Jew, they seem cultlike. Also at one point for three years I was a liaison between my City Department and the
Lubavitcher Community, so I got to know them well. Although I was a complete hippie back then with a full beard and shoulder length hair they specifically asked for me to be the liaison. As was explained to me later, the Lubavitcher who heavily recruited young Jews back to the fold so to speak, felt I was an excellant candidate since all I’d have to do was cut my hair and grow sidelocks. They didn’t succeed because of my perception of them as a cult and my tendency not to join any organization that would want me as a member.
Because of their very, high birthrates and bloc voting the Lubavitcher became a caterd to political power in the area. The Black residents naturally resented this. Part of the resentment was that 24/7 a patrol car was stationed in front of their headquarters.
Black people saw this as them receiving undue political/police preference and indeed at the time i felt the same way. I later learned it was not a defense against the Black community, but against the Satmer Hassidic Community, of Williamsburgh that had made death threats against the Lubavitcher Rebbe. As for the Satmer, don’t ask, because that is a long tale in itself. Leave it at the fact that while I have no love for the Lubavitchers, I despise the Satmers.
This then is the context for how this all led up to the Crown Heights riots. The Wiki article linked below gives a fair description of the riots:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Heights_riot
The sad truth of all this is that peoples suffering oppression and discrimination are not immune from visiting it on others. Remember
the Pilgrims metamorphosis from Europe to America. Both sides were
wrong in what happened, but as a Jew I hold my people to a higher standard of avoiding prejudice and so must admit that is was rife within the Lubavitch Community, prior to the time. Also though, Al Sharpton, who is highly intelligent and who I admire on many levels, has all to often added oil to fires in his own interests.
The riots overwhelmingly polarized the large Jewish community in NYC and did directly lead to the Mayoralty loss of the amiably incompetent Dinkins to the visciously incompetent (sociopathic)Giuliani. Weiner no doubt used this riot for his benefit politically, but so then did many in that time of racial polarization. Time have changed in Crown Heights, understanding and cooperation have flourished between the communities. Given the context I give Weiner no credit for his actions, but they were no different from those of most Blacks and Whites in NYC at the time.
Incidentally, Dinkins was a better Mayor than Giulliani turned out to be and is a good person. However, Dinkins also made some serious errors and was thus ineffectual. Giulliani though, was in my opinion not only incompetent, but was corrupt.
Politics is a hotbed of amorous intentions
Published: Sunday, June 12, 2011, 6:16 AM
By John Farmer/The Star-Ledger
Things are in short supply in Washington these days (money, bipartisanship, good judgment) but one item at least can be found in abundance — lust.
The place is a hotbed of heavy breathing.
The case at hand involves Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), the well-known internet photography buff. While Weiner’s adolescent advertisements for himself hog the headlines, he’s actually just the latest in a long line of lechers on the Potomac.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_john_farmer/2011/06/politics_is_a_hotbed_of_amorou.html
Swarthmore mom,
My husband and I watched “True Grit” Friday night. I was disappointed. I thought the movie was quite boring–even though I like Jeff Bridges.
Swarthmore mom,
Well, your imDb link answered my questions definitively. Although the era and topics are very interesting, I simply cannot abide Brad Pitt or S. Penn. I consider them in the same realm as Rep. Weiner.
Thanks again, though, for your review and the good 1950s memories it elicited for me of that area.
FFLEO, You might be interested in the Coen brother’s “True Grit” that was filmed near Austin.
Swarthmore mom,
Thanks for the review. I lived in the Fort Worth/Eagle Mtn/Mansfield area (blackland farming country) in the early 1950s and I am well acquainted with Lake Whitney. I might be interested in that film on DVD/BluRay. Thank you for the imdb link, which I will access in a few minutes..
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi612735001/ The moving was somewhat tedious and perplexing yet at the same time very psychologically enlightening and inspiring. It has everything – childhood ,science, love and fabulous cinematography. You have to go out and discuss with those you see it with. Nature, grace and god are consistent themes. I will keep thinking about it. FFLEO, the boys are growing up in 1950’s Waco and everything is authentic.
Ms. EM,
I need to read Salon more often. I have even missed Greenwald for a week or so. Here is an excerpt from your link there. Perhaps Mike Spindell can comment on this Black/Jewish conflict. I had forgotten all about that riot.
Indeed, Rep Weiner seems “hateful”
{Quote:
“Just weeks earlier, the Crown Heights riot — a deadly, days-long affair that brought to the surface long-standing tension between the area’s black and Jewish populations — had played out a few miles away from the 48th District. The episode had gripped all of New York and had been national news. It was just days after order had been restored that Weiner’s campaign distributed its anonymous leaflets, which linked Cohen — whose voters he was targeting in particular — to Jesse Jackson and David Dinkins, who was then New York’s mayor. It is hard to imagine two more-hated political figures in the 48th District at that moment. Jackson just a few years earlier had called New York “Hymie town,” and it was an article of faith among white voters in Weiner’s part of Brooklyn that Dinkins had protected the black rioters in Crown Heights — and thus endangered the white population — by refusing to order a harsh police crackdown. (Two years later, Dinkins would lose to Rudy Giuliani by an 80-20 percent margin in the 48th District.) The leaflets urged voters to “just say no” to the “Jackson-Dinkins agenda” that Cohen supposedly represented. At City Hall, Dinkins held up the flier and branded it “hateful.”
End Quote}
FF LEO,
Here’s a link to the earlier article about Weiner’s dirty trick in his first campaign:
The dirty trick that launched Anthony Weiner’s career
A career that could end with a dumb online picture scandal was launched with race-baiting
BY STEVE KORNACKI
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/07/anthony_weiner_1991
Excerpt:
You can certainly make a compelling case that Anthony Weiner should not have to give up his seat in Congress or his career in elected politics because of the online photo scandal that has engulfed him this week.
But if this does end up being the end for Weiner’s public career, it might not be quite the injustice it seems like — at least if you know how his career began.
Ms. EM
Thanks for that last article. Justice delayed, perhaps.
And the freak isn’t sick, at least not likely in a provable scientific manner. Oh the loony left. They pretend they love science and it is the left that most subscribes to the unscientific scam called modern psychiatry.
Now he is going to rehab. LOL
The woman Anthony Weiner smeared speaks out
The victim of the race-baiting attack that launched his political career talks to Salon
Salon, 6/10/2011
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/10/anthony_weiner_mailer/index.html
Excerpt:
Earlier this week, we recounted the long-forgotten story of Anthony Weiner’s first run for public office — an upset victory in a 1991 race for a City Council seat in New York that was keyed by a race-baiting flier that Weiner’s campaign anonymously distributed to voters on the eve of the election.
This morning, I spoke with the victim of that attack, Adele Cohen, who was depicted in the Weiner flier as being a puppet of Jesse Jackson and David Dinkins. The Jackson/Dinkins linkage was particularly devastating to Cohen’s campaign because the September ’91 primary played out days after the infamous Crown Heights riot, in an overwhelmingly white district just a few miles away. Cohen ended up losing to Weiner, who admitted the flier was his only after the ballots were counted, by 195 votes.
“It’s been 20 years,” she told me, “and for the first year I was really upset — I mean upset. And then, you know, 19 years, I calmed down. But now it’s all up there in my face again, and I’m distressed, personally. He had an opportunity to do something good for people, and he really messed it up.”
Cohen, a lawyer who ran in ’91 with the support of a citywide labor/progressive coalition, had been one of the two favorites in the race, along with Michael Garson. Weiner, then a 26-year-old aide to the local congressman, Charles Schumer, was the underdog.
“Anthony had no credential whatsoever, other than that he worked for Chuck,” Cohen said. “He was a college graduate from the state university and went to work for Chuck and then ran. What bothered me the most is that I thought you needed a credential to run for public office, so I actually went to law school, so that I would know what I was doing. So at the time, it bothered me that this kid who was the same age as my kids had no credential whatsoever.”
The same Weiner swagger that viewers of cable news are now familiar with was on display even back then.
“I know that he had more nerve than I had,” Cohen recalled. “I would stand outside a supermarket and hand out literature. It’s private property — one doesn’t go in there. And he walked right past me, walked right in and shook everybody’s hand and walked out. Got a lot more hands shook that way. So I remember that.”
She added: “He’s very self-confident. A credit to his mother — I mean, how do you turn out that self-confident, that you’re going to do what I’m hearing he’s done and think that it’s not going to affect you and your career and your wife? I feel really bad for her and her parents.”
When the Jackson/Dinkins mailer went out a few days before the ’91 primary, Cohen and her lawyer tried in vain to stop it. She recalled coming home the Friday before the primary and being told by her daughter that Schumer had called to say that he had nothing to do with it. A few hours later, he called again and personally conveyed this to Cohen, who still has her doubts.
“It was just a little too ‘The lady doth protest too much,'” she said.
Weiner ended up winning in a tight race, finishing 125 votes ahead of Garson and 195 ahead of Cohen. Does Cohen believe the mailer made the difference?
“Yeah. Oh yeah. 195 votes? You reminded me — thanks a lot.”
“I’ve pondered on the fact that I’ve never, ever, ever met Jesse Jackson,” she said. “And I’d carefully distanced myself — as much as I could could while being respectful — from [Dinkins]. He was the mayor. One shouldn’t be trashed for respecting the mayor of the city of New York.”
Anthony Weiner Taking Leave Of Absence To Seek Treatment
TPMDC
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/anthony-weiner-taking-leave-of-absence-to-seek-treatment.php?ref=fpa
Excerpt:
Rep Anthony Weiner (D-NY) will leave Congress temporarily to tend to his personal life, a spokeswoman for the Congressman, Risa Heller told TPM on Saturday. The move falls short of a resignation, which Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a group of top Democratic officials publicly demanded earlier the same day.
“Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” the statement reads. “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well. Congressman Weiner takes the views of his colleagues very seriously and has determined that he needs this time to get healthy and make the best decision possible for himself, his family and his constituents.”
@Brian: I wonder what “a person with a Ph.D. in Engineering” could plausibly refer to?
It wasn’t referring to you. If I want to call you names I have no problem in doing so directly. I could have as easily said a person with a Ph.D. in Chemistry or Art History; I just happen to have a Ph.D. Engineer on my mind, one that isn’t you, and for work-related reason that have nothing to do with this conversation. I believe your self-obsession is interefering with your comprehension of the point — Which is that of the hundred (or whatever it is) of the possible degrees there are that entitle a person to be called “Doctor,” only a few of them should command any respect in this particular legal/political forum, and in my view any others demand respect under false pretenses.
That’s what I think, in general. In specific, your degree and registration does not impress me, I find your thinking terminally sloppy and so stupidly circular it cannot even be wrong, because it makes no testable claims. I find your personality so unscientific and your philosophy so alien and self-serving I wouldn’t work with you for a minute.