Calls for the resignation of embattled, embarrassed and digitally emasculated Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) present a cauldron of dilemmas dipped in hypocrisy. The resignation game is a political tradition as hallowed and gray as politics itself. But, there is a serious problem when fellow elected Members call the shots rather than the people in Weiner’s district having a final say.
It’s one major reason why he shouldn’t resign.
The issue, contrary to the headlining topless Twitter photos of Weiner, is not so much the Congressman flashing himself in crude e-scandal fashion. At issue is that Weiner had very little political capital to leverage in the first place with his fellow Democratic Party colleagues – forget about Republicans who are pretty much on sideline throwing jokes.
For the most part, Weiner had been viewed derisively as a media hog (or that unflattering, family un-friendly word that starts with a “W,” whichever you prefer), out for self and driven by visions of New York City Mayoralty.
Weiner was the fast-talking, witty, bomb-dropping megaphone of House Democratic talking points, much to the chagrin of two demographics within that caucus: the other rising-star Democrats who wanted some of that oxygen and senior, old school Democrats who shifted uncomfortably at the thought of Weiner as a loose cannon. It turned out that he was loser in more ways than one, fulfilling the worries and private predictions of many Capitol Hill prognosticators and haters who were itching for a downfall.
It got worse during the inflated Health Care Reform wars in 2009 when Weiner suddenly pushed and bullied a “single-payer” amendment into the health care bill, following his public thrashing of Democrats pulling away from the beloved progressive “public option.” Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, forced to give a vote on the Weiner amendment, and others blamed Weiner for nearly derailing the entire effort. They also felt he misled them. Pelosi, who infamously holds grudges as long as Philly facial hair, never forgave him for that. It didn’t help, obviously, when Weiner initially lied about the first Twitter photo. Which brings us to this point of legendary point-of-no-return Pelosi vengeance.
Political tit-for-tat shouldn’t be a good reason to force the resignation of a sitting Congressman, but that’s the way the Hill game is played. Strangely enough, many Democrats voicing loud support of a resignation call the affair a “distraction.” But, constantly putting resignation on blast creates the tidal wave of distraction that is the TMZ fanfare we’re witnessing at the moment. So, in a sense, the resignation bandwagon is as distracting as the photos – it feeds the media beast, which can’t stop reporting on it.
In reality, Weiner’s troubles and any-day-now resignation offers great political cover for other Members casting the stone. It’s a chance to divert attention from their own personal indiscretions and ethics foibles.
Weiner should rip a page from the playbooks of the late Rep. Adam Clayton Powell (D-NY) and current Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), two ethics-scarred and long-sitting African American Members of Congress who boldly defied all assorted calls to step down. In Rangel’s most recent case, there was one year where President Obama was suggesting he resign and then the next year, after winning yet another round of primary challenges, that same President offered props at a New York City National Action Network gala dinner. Rangel appears as though he’ll be staying in his seat till either retirement or transition. Powell, Rangel’s predecessor, also stiffened up and had the entire Congressional body kiss his back pockets. Even as Weiner contemplates resignation, colleagues like Rangel and Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) another black Member with leadership clout, are backing him up.
Ultimately, the resignation game takes the fun out of democracy. Albeit bizarre and unbecoming, there was nothing criminal in Weiner’s actions. He now faces the dog house of an unsavory moment and his wife’s scorn. But, on real, does it really justify his colleagues giving him a rhetorical pink slip if it’s not violating any law? University of Baltimore ethics expert Joshua Kassner raises the specter of a “weird sort of paradox” when that happens. “I certainly understand the need of the Congress to keep its members from abusing their privileged position,” notes Kassner. “However, in a democracy there is something odd about a body comprised of representatives from other places deciding whether YOUR representative should be punished. It is those who the Congressperson represents that should ultimately decide his/her fate.”
Charles D. Ellison is Chief Political Correspondent for The Philadelphia Tribune, author of the critically-acclaimed urban political thriller TANTRUM and a nationally recognized, frequently featured expert on politics.
