US Elections

On Anthony Weiner

By Jonathan Bradley in Newcastle, Australia

9 June 2011

UPDATED BELOW.

Jill Filipovic has the correct take on the scandal surrounding Representative Anthony Weiner's lewd Twitter pictures:

It’s not clear to me that the women on the receiving end of the Weiner pics actually asked for them, or that there was ongoing banter before Weiner sent his sexy photos (having seen a handful of the photos, I use the term “sexy” loosely here). If these were ongoing relationships, I understand it a little more. But if they were largely unsolicited dick pics? That’s another basket of weasels.

Anthony Weiner's fellow Democrats have not offered much in the way of support for the New York Congressman, but I've seen strenuous arguments, particularly from liberals, that this is a trivial matter that should be of concern only to Weiner's wife. Feministing, for instance, echoes a Paul Waldman suggestion that media outlets begin stories on the matter by explaining why they're covering it at all. It's a far cry from the left's usual reaction to conservatives caught in sexual improprieties, be they Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, John Ensign... (...Newt Gingrich, Chris Lee, etc.). Many exhibit an unbridled sense of schadenfreude when ardent proponents of "family values" are unmasked as hypocrites, and this has a nasty habit of transforming into smugness. I'd like to know a bit more about Weiner's actions before I too strenuously defend his right to sext.

Amanda Marcotte is right to draw a "distinction between 'men sending pictures of themselves to women who are welcoming of such pictures' and 'men who send such pictures unbidden'." If he is the former type, then Weiner should certainly be left alone. According to ABC News, Huma Abedin, the congressman's wife, is standing by her husband, which should end any speculation the rest of us may want to engage in over the marital propriety of his actions. But if this is less sexting and more an online equivalent of flashing, Weiner's actions are a lot more suspect.

Meagan Broussard, one of the women with whom Weiner exchanged pictures, first contacted the congressman by writing on his Facebook page "Hottttt." Broussard told Chris Cuomo that on her side it was "not very personal, but him, he was very personal with his own business," and that it took just "three days, four days" before their interaction became romantic. "It was nothing like a relationship," she said, but agreed with Cuomo that their interactions were flirtatious. When asked how much of the interaction consisted of "sex talk," Broussard said, "He would attempt all the time."

It's not clear whether this was two people who both knew what to expect from each other, or whether Weiner was sending off dirty pictures to women who had given no indication they would be interested in such a thing. These women have every right to their privacy, of course, but I would prefer to know more about them before I defend too strenuously actions that might well have been sleazy or even predatory. If so, the women in his district might reasonably wonder whether they can safely contact their congressman. That is not to say Weiner was sleazy or predatory, just that the context in which these pictures were sent isn't clear.

As for Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger who broke the story, this is a major victory. He should not, however, gain credibility from it. He is still the muckraker who, for instance, attacked Shirley Sherrod by using deceptively edited video footage. Just as the National Enquirer's coverage of the John Edwards story didn't make it a respectable media outlet, nor should Breitbart now be considered in any way a serious journalist.

UPDATE: RadarOnline has released a purported transcript of Facebook conversations between Weiner and Lisa Weiss, a woman from Las Vegas [PDF]. (Be warned, that transcript is explicit.) Weiss seems not to mind Weiner's attentions in the slightest.

Tags: Andrew Breitbart, Anthony Weiner, Huma Abedin, Lisa Weiss, Meagan Broussard, Sexting

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