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11 Jul 2011 22:17

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Politics: Alan Grayson to run for Congress again

  • Remember Alan Grayson? He’s the ex-Congressman from Florida known for saying things like, “I have trouble listening to what [Dick Cheney] says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth while he’s talking.” As one of the few Democrats willing to throw rhetorical bombs, he attracted a moderate liberal following in 2009, but was defeated in the Great Democratic Purge of 2010. Today, he announced that he’ll be running for Congress again next year. We’re split on this; on the one hand, Grayson would fill the vacuum left by Anthony Weiner and provide a vocal, fiery voice for progressives in Congress where none currently exists. On the other hand, he aired a misleading, morally-reprehensible ad in his 2010 re-election campaign, so we’re not exactly heartbroken by his absence. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2011 16:30

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Politics: Media outlets cut away from Pelosi’s job talk

  • ‘Less jobs, more Weiner,’ media pleads: This is the sort of thing that, after what’s already been a very overblown frenzy over the scandal (and today’s resignation) of Anthony Weiner, serves as an instant representation of what’s frustrating us right now. What makes this even worse is that Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly and stridently called for Weiner’s resignation. As the Democratic Leader, that condemnation is part of what Weiner seemed to feel forced his hand. Is there really even anything left to ask her about this? source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2011 00:09

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Politics: Sex scandals hurt Republicans more than Democrats

  • -7.7% effect of a sex scandal on the average Republican politician’s vote share
  • -4.9% effect of a sex scandal on the average Democratic politician’s vote share source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jun 2011 22:26

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Politics: Anthony Weiner: Disproportionately well-known

  • Only in America can sending a dirty tweet make you more well known than being one of the most powerful people in the country.
  • Tom Jensen at Public Policy Polling • Reflecting on the fact that Anthony Weiner has higher name recognition than John Boehner. Also in that poll: Weiner’s national approval rating is 8%. His disapproval? 70%. Yikes. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 14:13

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U.S.: The White House annoyed about this Weinergate thing

  • The president feels, we feel at the White House, this is a distraction, as Congressman Weiner has said himself, his behavior was inappropriate, dishonesty was inappropriate.
  • White House Press Secretary Jay Carney • responding to Weinergate. He didn’t go so far as to say Weiner should resign, though. It seems like the White House is pretty upset about this whole thing, which is understandable. Obama just made a speech about jobs today, and it’s easy to imagine him being fed up with Weiner getting all this press. Not only is Weiner’s situation bugging Democrats, but he’s taking press away from Obama. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jun 2011 11:21

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Politics: Weinergate: Story somehow centers upon teenage Delaware girl

  • They were made aware of an alleged contact between Congressman Anthony Weiner and an area teen. The teen has been interviewed and disclosed no information regarding any criminal activity.
  • New Castle County Officer Tracey Duffy • Describing what happened when the New Castle police department interviewed a teenager who talked to Anthony Weiner via Twitter. While the consensus — from the teen, her family, the police department and  Weiner himself — seems to be that the conversation was innocuous, the fear is that he actually said something really creepy to a teen, in a Mark Foley sense. But, in case you needed proof that this is a media circus, we’d like to pull this sentence from the story: “A shirtless man approached reporters standing outside the family’s house and began threatening them with an ax. New Castle County police took the man into custody.” Good God, really? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2011 10:32

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Politics: On Anthony Weiner and the drumbeat for his resignation

  • This is a massive overreaction and I don’t understand it.
  • Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Executive Director Melanie Sloan • Offering one of the few defenses to Rep. Anthony Weiner, who has been told by members of both parties that he should resign. Even close friends of his — including Fox News commentator Kirsten Powers, an ex-girlfriend of Weiner’s — are forcing the issue. In that case, what’s a little surprising is that he went out of his way to help Powers when her parents were stuck in Egypt during the Arab Spring, and she defended Weiner long after many correspondents quit. It took a lot for her to turn on him — though she now claims he used her. But for us, Sloan’s point — that Weiner likely did nothing illegal, considering that all of his affairs were virtual in nature, and a guy who actually paid for prostitutes, Sen. David Vitter, is still in office — isn’t really getting heard. He screwed up, but really? Really? Come on now. People do worse things every day.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

09 Jun 2011 03:06

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Offbeat: Someone had to do it, right?

Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jun 2011 18:34

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Politics: “Opie and Anthony” show leaks a pic of Weiner’s penis from Breitbart’s phone

  • yesterday Andrew Breitbart detailed that while he had an extremely sexually explicit photo of Rep. Anthony Weiner, he had no intention of revealing it (unless Weiner attempted reprisals against him), displaying some respect during a rough time for the congressman.
  • today A picture of Anthony Weiner’s penis hit Twitter, snapped by radio host Greg Hughes (“Opie” of “Opie and Anthony”) when Breitbart showed it to him, unbeknownst to Breitbart. Protip: Don’t show sensitive photos to shock jocks, then get surprised that they “violated” your trust. source
  • UPDATE: The photo was not taken by Greg “Opie” Hughes via cell phone, but rather was a still from a video feed the show operates, which captured the image when Breitbart showed it. Seeing as the Opie and Anthony folks ran with it, however, and Breitbart flashed it in the first place (the stark opposite of what he’d said he’d do), the story is basically unchanged.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jun 2011 17:46

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Politics: Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner’s wife, is pregnant

  • Okay, so this is pretty awkward timing, for obvious reasons. Knowing nothing of the private lives of these two (besides those things that both we and Anthony Weiner might rather he’d kept to himself), it’s probably safe to say that a major political and sexual scandal wasn’t their dream backdrop for ushering in this news. We’d be remiss not to say, though, what would be expected in most cases but may get drowned out due to the mess of “Weinergate” — congratulations to Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner on expecting their first child together. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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