I think what happened to Weiner is a damned shame. It’s not that Weiner is without fault, it’s that ours is the greater shame. Rather than rant, let me quote from an apparently somewhat less horrified American. Steve Benen writes:
I may be in the minority, but I’m still not at all convinced Weiner’s misdeeds warranted a resignation, but I’m at least somewhat hopeful that his departure will encourage the political world to shift its attention back to my weighty issues.
Benen probably meant “more” weighty issues and that’s where the shame lies. Apparently the country is in a sour mood. Why wouldn’t it be? Neither party seems able to lead. Major problem after major problem remains unaddressed by a rancorous, partisan right which, in spite of its inability to come up with clear policies and act on them decisively, insists on center stage. Now it finds itself torn apart from within. There’s no question but that the Weiner show has been a useful distraction from its own problems. Benen adds:
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), meanwhile, remains a senator in good standing, despite his lies and habit of hiring hookers. Rumors that he could be heard laughing his ass off after learning of Weiner’s resignation are unconfirmed.
To tell the truth, I could care less about Vitter. I haven’t needed any more proof than I got during just the first year of Bush/Cheney that the Republican party in its present form is a party without a conscience or any moral standing whatsoever. And proudly so. They remain unshaken by the venality of the Louisiana senator.
So forget Vitter and take a look at what the Democrats have become. The party of conscience and progress appears to be led by Nancy Pelosi and Steve Israel who, in their choice to hound Weiner instead of, say, the moribund Speaker of the House, gave me the creeps.
Mickey Edwards is right: both parties have become “private parties” who feel no obligation to constituents. I’d be boiling mad if I were a Democratic voter in New York’s 9th district.
Congressional Dems and Congressional Republicans are more like each other than like any of us. That’s where our shame lies. We let them get away with it. The worst among us egg them on and are satisfied with the occasional shows they put on for us in the colosseum. This time the lions tore Anthony Weiner apart for the people’s distraction. The worst among us didn’t just watch — they’re still cheering.