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There are many people who viewed former Congressman Weiner’s sexting as offensive because the “game” he was playing contained lewd and graphic images. It didn’t matter to most that this man was married. Studies show that more than 50% of males and females alike at some point in their lives act out unfaithfully in their marriages. And so, many of Representative Weiner’s supporters initially minimized his inappropriate behavior by pointing out that while such behavior may be bizarre or undesirable, it certainly was not criminal as a citizen supporter from Anthem,
Arizona points out.

“Democratic leaders buckled to Beltway hysteria, Republican pressure, and the fear of losing at the next election. Weiner was called a “distraction,” as if his departure would free Congress from Republican gridlock and start fixing the economy, create jobs and stop the wars.


They accused him of “lying” about non-criminal sexual escapades, as if President Barack Obama and Rep. Nancy Pelosi would confront the Republican and “tea party” lies on critical issues now that they silenced Weiner.


Democrats can’t afford losing a strong voice. Anthony Weiner needed counseling, not a life sentence.”

Ms. Jenkins is not alone in her sentiment. Attorney and pundit Jonathan Turley sees Weiner’s behavior as “baffling, bizarre, and utterly reprehensible”. But, he also emphasizes that Weiner’s behavior was not “criminal”. His only crime, according to Turley’s article, is that his activity “resurrected the image of Andrew Breitbart.” Turley compares and contrasts Weiner with the behavior of Senator John Ensign (R-NV), I suppose to demonstrate how Weiner acted more responsibly.

Even The New Republic put up an article screaming, “Anthony Weiner: Morally Repugnant, But No Criminal”. In the article, The New Republic cites opinions from several legal sources, ending with this banal assessment by Law Professor Bridget Crawford,

“Sexual harassers may or may not be stupid, and stupid people may or may not be sexual harassers. The stupid and the sexual harassment Venn diagram…parts of it overlap. But, in the case of Anthony Weiner, “This falls in the stupid category.”

Having read all of this, I came across an article by Jonathan Hoenig, managing member at Capitalistpig Hedge Fund LLC, and a declared Objectivist.

He eloquently addresses the irrelevancy of Representative Weiner’s behavior being criminal or not.

“In business, reputation is a company’s most important asset; no rational individual would buy or sell from a known fraud. On the exchange floor honesty was paramount because it’s the only way anybody would trade with you. Who would buy a futures contract from a guy with a reputation for defaulting? Who could trust Bernie Madoff with a 401(k) after his con had been revealed?”

Using Warren Buffet’s oft quoted remark that “it takes years to build a reputation, but only minutes to destroy one”, it should be clear that Mr. Weiner, no matter how much good he did in the past, instantly transmuted into a person who could no longer be trusted to do the people’s business. After all, this was the Congressman who in 2002 supported and voted for Sarbanes-Oxley, the massive financial re-regulation passed in the wake of the Enron scandal. Among other regulatory measures, the law required CEOs to personally certify the accuracy of corporate documents, levying criminal penalties of up to 20 years in jail and personal fines of up to $5 million for false certifications. In 2004, Weiner introduced a bill designed to combat campus sexual harassment that ended up stalling in committee. This is a man who found lying significantly immoral enough to punish people by taking away their freedom and their individual property.

Looking at Representative Weiner’s behavior another way, he not only lied to the press, to staff, to friends and colleagues, and to the American people; he encouraged others to lie for him and in support of covering up his reprehensible behavior. Had these same people lied for him to the government, they would have been charged with a crime and punished with fines and imprisonment; yet, he, as a member of the government, can lie all he wants to his constituents and the American public in general without fear of the same sort of punishments imposed on his sorry carcass.

If a damaged CEO is no longer considered sound enough in reputation to effectively function as the captain of his industrial or economic ship, how can anyone consider an equally compromised and untrustworthy member of the government to faithfully guide the ship of state and participate in negations where trust is critical to national security? At this point, I think it is appropriate to remind ourselves that these officials are our servants. When servants misbehave or breech the trust of their employers, they are fired. Applying the same philosophy to members of Congress or to the President should be a no brainer – and that leaves me wondering about the intellect, integrity and honesty of those who would look the other way. And yes, I believe Senator Vitter should have offered to resign, initially, but I have no problem with him serving at this time. There is a great difference between his case and Representative Weiners that should not be overlooked. He confessed his transgressions to his wife before his name became associated witht the D.C. madame in a public way. He, his wife and their spiritual advisor/counselor worked through his infidelity and so far as anyone knows, have restored the faith and trust in their marriage that existed before this ugly revelation. He did not lie or pursuade others to lie. And, finally, if 50% of men and women enter into illicit relationships at some point in their marriages, that would mean half of the Congress is, perhaps, engaged in the very behavior they looked aghast at when it came to Senator Vitter.