Democratic leaders face a no-win situation this week as the House convenes for the first time since Rep. Anthony Weiner acknowledged sending sexual photographs and text messages to a half-dozen women over the past three years.
Reps. Nancy Pelosi of California, Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Steve Israel of New York ? the House minority leader, the Democratic National Committee chairwoman and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, respectively ? failed to force Weiner from office after going public Saturday with previously private demands that he resign from the seat he has held since 1999.
Continue ReadingStill, several House leaders ? Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson of Connecticut and Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra of California ? pointedly did not join the choreographed team push. None of them has directly called for Weiner to resign, though Hoyer did say Sunday on CBS?s ?Face the Nation? that he hopes ?he would make that judgment.?
It was striking to some Democrats that Pelosi called on Weiner to resign, because he had supported her in leadership elections. Now Weiner, who?s always been a bit of a loose cannon, may feel free to make trouble for Democratic leaders if he stays in office.
?She fired the shot. And if he doesn?t resign, she fired and missed,? said a Democratic lawmaker. ?He?s not the kind of guy you want out there doing [stuff]? to retaliate.
So during a weekend in which it was revealed that Weiner had nonsexual online interaction with a 17-year-old girl in Delaware, new self-snapped pictures of him grabbing his towel-wrapped private parts surfaced online, and he said he would take a leave of absence to seek professional treatment, Democrats are divided over what to do about a salacious distraction that?s now in its third week.
Although few are directly defending Weiner, many progressives believe that a new standard is being applied to the New York congressman, who has not been accused of breaking any laws. And it seems likely that some of his Democratic colleagues will make a similar case behind closed doors.
When Democrats congregate, some lawmakers are going to argue ?why are we cannibalizing ourselves,? said a senior Democratic aide. ?Plus, he?s not going anywhere, so we just look like a bunch of idiots.?
After all, many members of Congress have survived much more serious incidents of sexual misconduct ? not to mention sins of corruption and malfeasance ? with few urging them to give up an office to which they were duly elected. Recent polls by Marist University suggest Weiner?s constituents ? and New Yorkers more broadly ? don?t believe he should resign.
world ending may 21st guinea kye allums keyshia cole ivanka trump kyrie irving enes kanter
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.