Weinergate

When I heard that Congressman Anthony "At Least I Wasn't Born Richard" Weiner is being accused of using Twitter to send some girl a photo of his (clothed) wang, my first thought was: Is this even news? He's a member of Congress, and therefore a complete idiot. I think real news is something along the lines of "Three term Congressman manages to not get lost on the bus." I sort of expect members of that august body (both puns not intended) to tweet photos of their Johnsons on a regular basis. Why even bother denying it? The lopsided Democratic constituency in Brooklyn isn't going to actually vote for a Republican unless you literally were caught selling poisoned milk to schoolchildren. And even then it'd be a close election.

But this post on Slate's "Double X" blog is pretty stupid. The gist--the press (particularly liberals in the press) should give a pass to liberal politicians caught doing things like this (e.g., sending sexually provocative photos of themselves to young women when you're already married) because those polticians "vote right" on women's issues and therefore are not hypocrites, as conservatives who engage in similar dalliances are. Has Slate started handing out blogging assignments to slow third graders again?

I don't recall any liberal Democrat in Congress ever coming out in favor of cheating on one's spouse. I don't know if Rep. Weiner ever spoke in favor of infidelity, but it's a safe assumption he has not. In fact, all politicians of both parties are essential "family values" politicians, they only differ on certain wedge issues (gay rights, abortion, family planning, etc.). None of those wedge issues has anything to do with sending suggestive pictures to another woman while you're married. If the liberals were "pro-cheating" then yes, no hypocrisy there--likewise, if Weiner helped his wife get an abortion, again, no hypocrisy there.

I dont' know if Weiner actually did send the photos--he denies it at this time--but if he did, it's really between him and his wife. I couldn't care less if he's a liberal "family values mean living wages for working families" Democrat or a conservative "family values mean two-parent households" Republican. I'm more concerned with the fact that they've all been doing to the American people what Anthony Weiner is being accused of trying to do with this young woman.