I didn't say much about Weiner because I didn't feel like being attacked

[cali]

but I thought he did it from day 1. Look, I don't think what he did, unsavory as it is, is a big deal, though I think it's pathetic how often grown men are ruled by that little bit of gristle between their legs. But Weiner made it way, way worse than it had to be by the stupid lying. No, I don't think he should resign, but let's face it, we can't blame that scumbag Breitbart for this: It was self-inflicted.

[Uzybone]

1. "little bit of gristle between their legs"

Ive never heard it referred to that way. I almost spit up my drink at that one.

[lbrtbell]

35. I was LMAO at that, too! n/t

[Monk06]

54. That is not a little bit of gristle it is a substantial piece of brisket !! N/T

[rurallib]

2. did he do anything illegal?

Truly Weiner made some errors. Yet the media has blown this way out of proportion as always happens when a Dem does anything and I mean anything (pretty much anything Pelosi says is immediately twisted into a pile of lies and fed to their mushrooms).
Compare this to how Vitter was handled. And Vitter what Vitter did was illegal - or at least it used to be.

[cali]

8. and a lot of the reason it blew up in the media was Weiner's handling of it

and his lying. Stupid. Oh, and where did I say anything about it being illegal?

[rurallib]

23. didn't say you did

it seems the whole to do is over something that while stupid, is not illegal.
Lying to the press is not illegal. I offer the years 2001 - 2009 Bush Admin as proof.
Vitter, Ensign, Coburn and others on the other hand are or were involved in illegal conduct

[Never Stop Dancin]

31. actually, Sexting IS illegal (n/t)

[rurallib]

38. Over the age of 18?

Well then, unlike Vitter et al., he will be prosecuted most likely

[JuniperLea]

58. Bullshit...

I guess you need to haul me and my boyfriend in if that's the case.

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lbrtbell]

37. We won't know until the investigation's over

If he used a government computer, blackberry, etc., to send these messages or photos, then he definitely did something illegal.

[bbinacan]

3. I did say something and

was viviously attacked by my fellow DUers. You were wiser than me.

[PeaceNikki]

7. I saw that.

Don't let it get to you. I was recently called a "Koch plant" here. I literally LOL'd. If I am a "Koch plant" they're totally doin' it wrong.

[bbinacan]

49. Even a mod

made an attack on me.

[dorkulon]

40. Same here. /nt

[Peregrine Took]

4. I don't like the way he "used" Rachel Maddow.

He took advantage of a friendship/political alliance and went on her show and lied through his teeth.

It tells you a lot about his character. I guess he'll stick around as long as they'll have him but his actions are a black eye on the whole Democratic party in my opinion.

If he had any class he would just go away.

[Bake]

10. And the way he used his friend Jon Stewart, too.

Stewart defended him vociferously.

Can't wait to see the Daily Show tonight.

Bake

[lbrtbell]

42. Whoa, what a thing to do to Rachel!

Jon Stewart, too. :(

[dkf]

5. I didn't believe he would have tweeted it.

I was perfectly fine thinking someone intercepted some pics he sent to his wife.

[KittyWampus]

6. Doesn't say much about you if you took Breitbart's word for it.

[cali]

11. It says I don't trust politicians when it comes to sexual escapades

Particularly ones with the rep Weiner has re women. It says I've had some experience around this. Oh, and I didn't believe Breitbart for a nano second about Sharrod. It says I'm far more astute and perceptive than the likes of you, dearie.

[RZM]

18. That's an odd statement

Facts and the truth matter a lot more to me than Andrew Breitbart. If you keep your eyes closed too long you'll eventually miss something you might want to know.

FWIW, I was wrong on this until today. Not that it matters much, but I would have preferred to be right.

[KittyWampus]

26. My eyes were open. And I saw a proven liar with less than credible evidence. Weiner did it-

I still support him. And it could have easily, until today's facts, been that he was hacked. In fact, that was the most logical answer up until today.

[pipi_k]

It was logical right up to the time

he said:

Weiner: This was a prank that I’ve now been talking about for a couple of days. I’m not going to allow it to decide what I talk about for the next week or the next two weeks, and so I’m not going to be giving anything more about that today. I think I’ve been pretty responsive to you in the past.

Bash: You’re here, which we appreciate. But you’re not answering the questions. Can you just say why you haven’t asked law enforcement to investigate what you have said is a crime?

Weiner: If I was giving a speech to 45,000 people and someone in the back of the room threw a pie or yelled out an insult, would I spend the next two hours responding to that? No. I would get back..

http://news.maars.net/blog/2011/06/01/anthony-weiners-awkward-press-conference/

He wouldn't spend two hours talking about an insult or a pie, yet he spends whatever length of time dancing around the bush giving non-answers to a very simple question...was that him, and did he send it?

After that, the logical answer is that he's being evasive. And, rightly or wrongly, evasive people get the doubt they deserve.


I didn't believe Breitbart so much as I doubted Weiner because of the way he acted. Weiner dug his own hole. He didn't need anyone else's help.

[bbinacan]

47. So you chose to jump my ass

for an assertion I made that was true.

[Raine]

19. Who would take Breitbart's word but looking and listening

to Weiner last week he came off as lying and evading and today he himself admitted he lied.

[Gregorian]

9. Haha. Gristle.

Until now I have avoided all the threads related to this topic. But I totally agree. My gristle has very little effect on how I live. Maybe it's hormonal. :)

[Gin]

12. just heard there was a naked crotch pic sent also.....he should go away

no credibility left....looks like a fool...tears & all...dem or rethug doesn't matter...he hurt his own image..

[Gregorian]

25. Sadly, we're dealing with monsters for opponents.

Otherwise this kind of thing could be considered a fairly innocent mistake. He handled it very poorly. I thought highly of the man until now. But faced with sociopath republicans, this could turn into something more serious, for him and for us. I was fooled. I honestly didn't think he was the kind. Of nearly all in Congress, I thought Weiner was fresh and clean. Maybe I should run for Congress.

[Mimosa]

45. It is hormonal. But common sense is something Weiner has shown he lacks.

I don't think we ought to be saying 'yeah, but David Vitter got away with his whoring '. Why shouldn't Dems expect BETTER from ours?

[JohnnyLib2]

13. Self inflicted and plumb foolish.

:banghead:

[Raine]

14. No attack from me

I'm on your side. Weiner lied last week, it was obvious.

[Puglover]

15. It IS pathetic.

I have the gristle. I know. But the older one gets the less it rules. But it's always there.

I just never thought much about it. It astounds me that these folks in the spotlite do this. But alot of them do. It was self inflicted. And Breitbart was right and is a scumbag. Let him have it. It won't change the fact that Weiner is a passionate progressive.

Although as someone said upthread, he does owe Dr. Maddow a huge apology.

[oberliner]

16. You started several OP's about it with articles suggesting it was a hoax

Now you are saying you thought he did it from day one?

[cali]

24. No I didn't

I posted the story the day it came out with an update from kos saying it was a hoax.

I posted a Salon story critical of his performance during his first CNN interview.

I posted this morning that Breitbart claimed more photos and evidence.

I posted this thread.

Hardly what YOU are claiming I did.

And yeah, I suspected from day 1. And after that first CNN interview I was pretty damned sure.

[oberliner]

30. Yes you did

Here is one of your posts:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1190867&mesg_id=1190867

It includes links to articles calling the affair an "easily debunked fraud" and an "epic fail".

Here is another:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1235700

In this you write that Breitbart is "at it again".

[cali]

39. One more time: the first link was on the first day of the story

(in fact I think it was the first thing posted here about it) I updated it to include the other side of things. None of those words are mine. None as in zero? Do you get that? I was trying to be fair, whatever I personally thought and include both sides of a fast moving story. Surely that's not to hard to understand.

And yes, I wrote Breitbart was at it again. So? I didn't say he was wrong or didn't have the evidence or was lying.


duh.

[oberliner]

63. Never made any claim that any of those words were yours (none as in zero)

Just claimed that you posted articles suggesting it was a hoax - which you did do.

You posted a link to a Daily Kos piece whose entire premise is, in fact, that the whole thing was a hoax.

Writing that Breitbart is "at it again" certainly implies something other than believing that the incident was true "from day one".

No need for "duhs" or any other childish rejoinders.

[JuniperLea]

52. Are you 100% sure Brietbart WASN'T at it AGAIN?

Do we know anything about the woman? Or women? Were they dressed as hookers and pimps? Oh, wait... that was the other Brietbart story.

Still... makes you wonder.

[oberliner]

59. I'm not 100% sure of anything

It did seem clear from Weiner's press conference, however, that he had some serious lapses in judgment and was very sorry for whatever it is he did.

[JuniperLea]

61. Those were his words...

But you can't even be 100% sure about his true feelings because of what he said.

I think there's still a lot more to this story, but quite frankly, I'm not sure it's anyone's business.

[Catherine Vincent]

17. lol. I'm curious what name is for the women. :-)

[aquart]

20. If you mean he was vulnerable to attack, yes, he was.

Let's say then that I don't blame Breitbart so much as acutely appreciate his ability to destroy liberal assets using the outraged self-righteousness of liberals to do it.

Weiner didn't lie to me about Clarence Thomas. Did he? Am I supposed to doubt that? I don't.

Weiner was doing a damned fine job until all of you allowed Breitbart to derail the dialog and keep it on Anthony's weiner instead of what's going on in our government. Damn right this blow was self-inflicted. Breitbart handed us the gun and we aimed it right between our eyes.

MEN LIE ABOUT SEX. It's a dependable rule.

Tell me, in your instincts, did you smell a whiff of Rather and Clinton?

[Johonny]

21. I agree- it was low hanging fruit

[VOX]

33. Actually, it was low-hanging Fruit-Of-The-Loom.

Sorry. :evilgrin:

[Demoiselle]

22. I. Don't. Care.

I also don't care that Congressman Vitter gets turned on by wearing diapers.
We will now suffer a week of discussion in the "press" about this, while people remain unemployed, our countrymen and women die in Afghanistan, our planet continues to steam in pollutants and the very rich continue to loot our country.
Ten years ago I would have pointed out that we don't elect our political leaders to join the priesthood. Oops, I can't really use that metaphor anymore, all things considered.
But what I want in a political leader today is the same thing I've always wanted... a person with brains and a committment to do what's right by ALL of us. Anthony Weiner's statements and actions and voting record over the years convince me that he is one of those leaders. Yes, I am always befuddled by the penis-oriented nonsense that some men engage in...but....I HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT. As do we all.

[HardWorkingDem]

27. I hear you and tempted the crowd and was resoundly attacked for it...

I think this episode is a good moment to learn here at DU, too.

After his inconsistent statements last week I felt something was going on, mentioned it here and was attacked for it. Then today, I made another post and was again attacked (oddly just hours before his press conference).

I hope we learn from it here at DU.

[DeadEyeDyck]

28. I did say it and I was attacked

My third grade teacher asked if I was sure if a dog ate my homework and I replied, "I could not say with certitude." It didn't work then and I was quite sure I recognized the pattern.

[Never Stop Dancin]

29. let's not be making anti-man comments, mkay?

[Name removed]

43. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[demgrrrll]

32. I said he was either really really smart or really really dumb

and I guess you don't have to ask where I am with this right now. My first response was Oh no. Then I read that he was evasive about the age of the person or persons he contacted and that really puts me off. How does this compare point by point with the Vitter issue. I think if anything else bubbles up he is on thin ice.

[alcibiades_mystery]

36. I thought he did it from day 1, too

I didn't chime in because the whole thing strikes me as farcical.

[boston bean]

41. prior to today, i censored myself too. nt

[11 Bravo]

44. I remember when Republican Rep. Helen Chenoweth was caught in an adulterous relationship.

I'm curious about how long a post referencing grown women being ruled by that little gash between their legs would have remained on this forum.

[DainBramaged]

46. And I will gladly recommend your thread.

[cali]

50. thanks.

:hi:

[stevenleser]

48. No difference between powerful men and powerful women. Gristle not withstanding

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1242220

[bbinacan]

51. Rec n/t

[TheKentuckian]

53. I still don't give two shits about some none of my beeswax silliness and am offended that liberals

doing the Puritan pearl clutch like a bunch of 40 year old virgin Dana Carvey style Church Ladies.

[Garbo 2004]

60. Problem is, the poltical damage that results.

If he were a private citizen, no one would care. That would be his families concern. And perhaps his employer if he was using his employer's equipment to send his messages. As a Dem member of Congress who was personally reckless and publicly lied about it, he will not get a media pass on this and the Repubs will exploit this. That's a valid basis for consternation.

[JuniperLea]

55. Yep, he lied... I have never heard of a man coming clean...

When it comes to sex. The lies come first until they are nailed, pardon the pun.

Plus, we don't know anything about the woman or women concerned... I think it would be super easy to get a guy like that to ruin his life... even easier if paid to do so.

I sat on the fence a long time with this one, and I really see no need to leave that spot until we know more about the situation. Oh, he's still scum! But had scum wouldn't surprise me, not with Brietbart and his hired actors and all. I want to know more about the accuser.

[murray hill farm]

56. It is the incredible stupidity of what he did..

that just blows me away! Not what he did or why he did it..that really is not the point. It is that he just did such a stupid thing when he must have..Must have known how it would be just a matter of time when it all would become public and of the consequences of it. It was just incredibly stupid. And it is that he chose to take that risk anyway. A death wish? Politically anyway to have just gone ahead with it. It is this that will be the problem in his political future.

[spooky3]

65. That's what always stuns me, too. I can understand (almost) the stupidity

of posting the stuff in the first place, and I understand that in other cases if someone really believes s/he is "in love", that bad judgment may be the result. Many of us have done equally stupid/weak/whatever things. But I really, really do not understand how otherwise smart people who hold important public positions convince themselves that once the media have some evidence, that the full story won't come out. This is particularly true when others have recently been "caught" and have paid a huge price, such as Edwards. You'd think it would serve as a warning.

Why in the world don't people in this position say, IMMEDIATELY once the evidence is out there, some version of what Weiner said today--that he made terrible mistakes, he is sorry to everyone he harmed, but the mistakes are personal ones (and unrelated to the work he does) that he will not further discuss publicly. Don't try to lie your way out of it. You will fail at that. AND you will have added to your transgressions and have given people you respect (your wife, Rachel Maddow, Jon Stewart, constituents, donors, etc.) reason not to trust you, since being capable of lying in one situation means it's possible in other situations. Morals/ethics/whatever aside, I do not understand the sheer stupidity of that.

[toddwv]

57. I knew when he refused to say that the pics weren't his.

After that, I was just waiting for the hammer to drop.

[Lucian]

62. Isn't it a little childish to call it "that little bit of gristle between their legs?"

Not all grown men are driven by their penis.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

64. I thought immediately the crotch pic was real and his, but being romantic,

believed he took for his wife.

I was lectured on a DU thread how it wasn't a real photo but I know enough about photography to know that the lecturer was full of crap.

I am disappointed in Weiner's stupidity.