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Politico...
Democrats worry
Anthony Weiner will hurt agenda
By Jonathan Allen & Jake Sherman
6/12/11
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.
Still, 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.”
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