Finally, a democrat rep calling for the Weinermeister to step down:
Key Dem calls on Weiner to resign
By: Jonathan Allen
June 8, 2011 03:03 PM EDT
The dam is beginning to break for Rep. Anthony Weiner as he battles to save his career from a sex-scandal made for the internet age.
Rep. Allyson Schwartz, a leading official at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, called for the New York Democrat to resign on Wednesday after a picture of a man’s genitals — purportedly a Weiner self-portrait — began circulating on the Internet. Contacted by POLITICO, a Weiner spokesman neither confirmed nor denied that the picture was of Weiner.
“Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress. In light of Anthony Weiner’s offensive behavior online, he should resign,” the Pennsylvania congresswoman, who serves as chairwoman of recruiting and candidate services for the DCCC, told POLITICO.
Indiana Rep. Joe Donnelly also told POLITICO Wednesday that he thought Weiner should resign.
Donnelly, who is running for Senate, said that the Brooklyn congressman has “disgraced the Congress” and indicated he would give away the campaign contributions he’s received from him.
In softer tones, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) made clear to an Arkansas radio station that Weiner ought to leave Congress.
“Ultimately that’s up to him, and his constituents and his family but I think at this point it would probably be a good thing if he would go ahead and resign,” Pryor said on KUAR in Little Rock.
Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine) told a local television station on Tuesday that it would be best if Weiner walked away.
Taken together, Schwartz, Pryor and Michaud appear to be the vanguard of what could become a much stronger push from Weiner’s Democratic colleagues. Two lawmakers, Reps. Betty Sutton of Ohio and Tim Walz of Minnesota, have heeded GOP calls to give up campaign cash they received from Weiner — though neither has said he should resign. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, who is running for an open Senate seat in Virginia, said Tuesday that Weiner should resign because he lied about the scandal. And Democratic sources told POLITICO that members of Weiner’s staff are looking for other jobs.
Even one of Weiner’s closest Republican friends says it’s time for him to go.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said he is “sad” for Weiner because he’s “lost the trust and faith” of people around him. “Since he made the admission, I think he has no choice but to step down,” Chaffetz told POLITICO Wednesday afternoon. “It’s more than just once or twice, this is a huge pattern of bad judgment,” Chaffetz said.
Earlier Wednesday, radio shock jocks “Opie & Anthony” — Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia — posted a photograph of a man’s genitals that they say was from an image from Andrew Breitbart’s phone of a picture originally taken by Weiner of himself. Breitbart, whose conservative Web site BigGovernment.com broke the Weiner story, was a guest on the program Wednesday.
Late last month, Breitbart brought attention to a photograph of Weiner in gray boxer-briefs that the congressman had inadvertently posted to a public Web platform while trying to share it with a female college student in Washington state. Weiner originally said that his account had been hacked and that he was the victim of a prank. He did a tour of cable television talk shows, attempting to throw cold water on the idea that he was engaged in sexually charged online relationships.
But as Weiner’s account proved to have holes — and interactions with other women began to be reported — Weiner admitted at a wild Monday press conference that he had sent sexually explicit photographs and text messages to six women over the course of the past three years. Less than a year ago, he married Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He said Monday that he and Abedin would remain together.
Before Weiner took the podium, Breitbart, who attended the press conference, told reporters that he had a more graphic image of Weiner in reserve but said that he didn’t intend to make it public if Weiner copped to his online relationships. But by Wednesday, Breitbart let radio hosts take a picture of the image on his cell phone, and it was quickly uploaded into cyberspace via Cumia’s Twitter account.
On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is the highest-ranking Republican to say Weiner should give up his seat. House Democratic leaders have urged the ethics committee to initiate an investigation into whether Weiner broke any House rules — one of which is behaving in a manner that reflects well on the institution.
Weiner, who became a hero to progressives in fighting for a “public option” in last year’s health care overhaul, is not without some fresh support. The Website ActBlue, which collects contributions for Democratic candidates, reported an uptick of $40 in donations to Weiner over the course of a couple of hours on Wednesday. One vehicle for giving to the embattled New Yorker is headlined “Breitbart Has Won NOTHING: Donations for Weiner.” The account had received one contribution for $25.
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