"It profits me but little that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquillity of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from my path, without my care or concern, if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life."

--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Weiner Redux - And When Exactly Did They Know It?

UPDATE:  Bumped to the top from yesterday.... apparently nude and semi-nude pictures of Weiner taken at the Congressional Gym (in the basement of the Rayburn House Office Building) have surfaced, according to this story in TMZ.   In other words.... photos he took at work! 

So, again, I ask the question.... did the Democratic leadership know about Weiner's proclivities?   Did anyone see him doing this kind of stuff?   And, if so, when did they know it?   (Also, for that matter, since I doubt there's a separate gym for Democrats, did Republicans know that Weiner was... well, a weiner?)


The Democratic leadership is trying to cut Anthony Weiner off at the legs.   Here is a statement from former Speaker of the House and current House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi today:
"Congressman Weiner has the love of his family, the confidence of his constituents, and the recognition that he needs help.  I urge Congressman Weiner to seek that help without the pressures of being a Member of Congress."
Meanwhile, DNC chairwoman and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the scandal a "sordid affair" and said that "it is with great disappointment that I call on Representative Anthony Weiner to resign."

OK, so why are they doing this now, after two weeks?  Why are they doing it to Weiner when they didn't do it to Bill Clinton as President when the Monica Lewinski scandal broke?   Why are they doing it to Weiner when they didn't do it to Ted Kennedy when he killed Mary Jo Kopechne? 

Here's why I think they are doing it.   First, and most obviously, they know that the scandal has metastasized.   It's no longer Anthony Weiner, victim of a "hack," or even Anthony Weiner, Congressman who likes to talk dirty on the Internet to strangers.   Now, inevitably, it seems like it's going to be Anthony Weiner, pervert and child molester, who chatted online with underage girl(s).   This story broke yesterday, primarily through the work of the blogger Patterico here and here and here (oh, heck, just read all of Patterico... he did the heavy lifting for the MSM on this one... it's the work Americans won't do!)   Weiner is going into "rehab" (whatever that means), but it won't help him if he's shown to have talked dirty with a 17 year-old.   As the father of two daughters soon to be teenagers, I can say that would make him radioactive, no ifs-ands-or-buts about it.  

But that's not why the Democratic leadership are moving so quickly to cut Weiner loose, I think.   They're doing it, I'd lay dollars to donuts, because someone is going to ask a question of the leadership along these lines:   What rumors had you heard about Anthony Weiner's sexual preferences and peccadilloes?   Had you heard rumors that he had an interest in young girls?  

In other words, the Watergate question:   What did you know, and when did you know it?

They want him to go away, and quickly.  

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