Robert Schlesinger

Anthony Weiner Is Not the First Victim of a Sexless Sex Scandal

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June 16, 2011 RSS Feed Print
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Anthony Weiner is resigning and so gains the dubious distinction of being the first politician to leave office because of Twitter text-capades, a scandal that literally could not have taken place even five years ago (Twitter was launched in the summer of 2006). Securing one’s place in scandal history is cold comfort at what might be the end of a once-promising political career.

But despite what some, Andrew Sullivan for example, have suggested, Weiner is not the first politician to flame out in a sexless sex scandal.

[Read: Little Evidence Weiner Broke Law in Twitter Photo Scandal.]

That distinction, I believe, belongs to the late lamented Jack Ryan. He was the GOP nominee to run for Senate from Illinois in 2004. With movie star good looks and a movie hero name, Ryan seemed like a creditable candidate to keep the seat in Republican hands as incumbent Peter Fitzgerald was retiring. Then the scandal hit: His ex-wife, TV star Jeri Ryan (best known as Seven of Nine, the blond Borg clad in skin tight costumes in Star Trek: Voyager) alleged in their divorce papers that he had taken her to a whips-and-chains sex club and suggested the couple give the kind of performance one does not see on broadcast television. She allegedly demurred. [Read Whispers: Weiner's Sassy Twitter Pals.]

Resistance was futile, and soon enough, Ryan’s campaign was assimilated into political scandal history.

As the Washington Post’s David Montgomery wrote at the time:

Two things make this sex scandal breathtakingly unconventional, and it is not the whips and cages:

The people in question were

married.

And:

No sex occurred.

This may be the first sexless sex scandal to bring down a politician. Ryan is being punished for kinky thoughts he denies thinking. Talk about the pain of unrequited love.

Readers with keen memories know the coda to the Ryan scandal, of course. When Ryan stepped aside, Illinois GOP-ers were forced to tap carpetbag candidate Alan Keyes, who lost resoundingly to an obscure state senator named Barack Obama.

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Anthony Weiner

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Apologists for Democrats who misbehave always want to make the problem a “morality” story, the most famous being Clinton and Monica.

The author tries to defend Wiener by saying he was unfairly tar and feathered with sexless sexual behavior, just as Clinton was hounded only about sex and not something important.

Of course the attempt to ridicule the antagonists is a lie. Clinton’s problem was not Monica, Clinton’s problem was the perjury he committed in a court of law causing his disbarment in addition to impeachment. Nixon’s was going to be impeached for the lesser crime of burglary.

Wiener lied in the extreme about what his sexless sex acts, is such extreme lying ever justified? Everyone knows the appearance of male genitalia; the bizarre behavior of sending photographic images of your own to unknown women with a wife a pregnant wife who works for Hillary Clinton creates a very serious question of character and judgment. Does the author disagree?

Most interesting though is the author’s cretin sense of character for leaders of our country at least leaders from the Democrat Party.

William of DC 12:54PM July 13, 2011

Faced with his argument being disproved, he move on and ignores all his arguments disproven.

What a guy. I'll keep showing the errors of you statement.

_____

brucetee_ Just following the FAMILY VALUES of barry... He does have family values ? Or do we own family values ???

brucetee_ Says " libya situation,this is a joint action "... SO WHAT ???

So WHAT does that have to do with the price of rice in China ???

Still need Congressional approval... If "wide support" why not follow the LAW instead of breaking the law ? Force of habit ???

Democrat Congress and Democrat president passed PAY AS YOU GO. Did they follow that law ? Only when a Republican forced the issue.

barry campaigned against Bush actions then promptly followed in Bush's footsteps. Bush not so dumb after all.

barry receives Nobel Peace Prize and promptly goes to war all over.

barry said he would reduce our debt and proposes $$$ 9.5 new debt in his budget according to CBO. Even Democrat laughed at that piece of legislation while burning that bill.

Latest of course is laughing over HIS ignorance concerning “SHOVAL READY”. barry does have the ears of a CLOWN.

Gov. Walker in WI got blessing of his laws against the UNIONS in courts. See any articles here on that ? Of course not. Liberal embarrassment we must go off topic to make the fool of a liberal. Enjoy my OFF TOPIC BRUCETEE.

_____

Liberal went HOG WILD over shooting incident in AZ blaming us. Liberals try to blame conservatives for tornados, floods, red tide, and pollution. Liberal major lie recession was OUR fault not Bill Clinton. Tax cuts to rich INCREASE government revenue and creates JOBS. We PROVE and liberals simple deny or ignore the evidence.

I'll irritate liberals at every opportunity, as liberals numbers DROP.

I'm going to go off topic to counter comments just as YOU do. But unlike YOU will provide evidence and not hide when wrong like YOU.

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brucetee don't you JUST HATE junior of DC correcting you. You are use to it, it happens anytime you speak or write !!! You said awhile back Newt was FIRED. As usual you were WRONG. One of few times you admitted your stupid & ignorant statements...

Bill Hedges of MO 10:46PM June 17, 2011

I see you have misconstrued my comment totally.

I also see that you misconstrue virtually every single rational response put to you by anyone since you have come onto this forum.

i think you're on drugs, and, you're just not worth any further effort!

....and you're a liberal dem, eh? (....no surprise!)

Harry Reasoner of MA 10:44PM June 17, 2011

Robert Schlesinger

Robert Schlesinger

Robert Schlesinger is managing editor for opinion at U.S. News and World Report, overseeing all opinion editorial content. He is the author of "White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters." E-mail him at rschlesinger@usnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rschles.

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