Anthony Weiner, the congressman who sent photos of his junk to any woman who cared to look, has announced that he will step down. Regardless of his actions, Weiner’s hand was forced on this issue. Democrats and Republicans were calling for his head, eager to prove something and looking for someone to make an example out of. This is, after all, election season.
Wiener may be a lot of things. He may be an asshole. He may have the Brett Favre complex. And he may be a fiend and a hound. But at the end of the day, the biggest question should have been: was he a bad congressman? The answer to that question is undoubtedly no. Weiner’s sexting obsession is a problem, but a personal one that pales in comparison to what other elected officials do on the clock at Capitol Hill. After all, even Clinton got to stay in the White House after he had an intern polish his knob.
When polled, more than half of Weiner’s district wanted him to stay in office, giving evidence that he could have won his reelection bid next year. The only people who clamored for his removal were other politicians, looking for someone to point fingers at and distract the media. The fact that Eliot Spitzer was calling him out should be enough evidence that this is not worth our time. Weiner is only guilty of being horny. Usually that’s a prerequisite for being a politician.
Scandal is nothing new in the field of American politics. We as consumers like to have a good political scandal every few years, and the politicians love to see adversaries fall. But Weiner is different. Once he’s gone, the House will have lost the most electrifying and passionate orator that anyone has seen in some time. His only crime was being stupid.
Hunter S. Thompson said it best. “In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”
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