When Weiner DM’d her, could he be certain she wouldn’t say she loved him? Or otherwise express her crush? No. In fact, he could be pretty confident she would say something along those lines.
So why DM her? Why, if not precisely for that?
Patterico find the NYT spinning for Weiner:
BONUS MEDIA ANALYSIS: I love that bit [in the NYT’s restatement of the scandal] about how he sent out “a photo . . . of himself in his underwear.”Yeah. That’s one way to put it. There is also the tidbit, which goes unmentioned, that in his underwear was the clearly visible outline of an erect penis. You know, the thing that really makes it a scandal. But why report that part?
While we’re complaining about the New York Times story, please note how it takes the above “Tights and cape shit” quote and cleans it up as follows:
“I came back strong,” he wrote. “Large. Tights and cape. …”
Interesting how the reporter omits any reference to the word “shit,” which infuses the communication with a creepy, seedy familiarity that would make any father’s blood boil. A Congressman talking about “tights and cape” is odd. A 46-year-old Congressman talking to a high school junior about “tights and cape shit” is very different. By using a period followed by an ellipsis — not just omitting the profanity but pretending it was never even there — the reporter twists the facts to make Weiner’s conduct more innocent.
That is a good point. For one thing, it tends to prove my hunch that Weiner’s communications with the girl are, as I keep suggesting, flirty, familiar, and friendly.
It’s not that I’m saying “Oooh, he said a dirty word!” You do not get kicked out of Congress for saying the word “shit.”
No, it’s the context here. We have a 46-year-old married Congressman who should not be DMing a 17 year old girl who “loves” him in the first place.
But he goes further than merely DMing her. He can’t even keep “The Line” strong here. He can’t treat her in an arms-length, somewhat standoffish, “Look, I’m a married adult and you’re a cute highschool girl so I have to be a little stiffer than I might like” manner.
No, in his DM, he says to her he’s “Large” — and we have seen what he’s usually referring to with this; possibly a little wink-wink-nudge-nudge — and that he’s doing his “tights and cape shit.”
…So I just have to restate the question I’ve restated a dozen times: Why is a 46 year old married Congressman treating a 17 year old girl, who is not in fact his equal (she’s a kid!), like any of-age woman he might meet for drinks in a DC bar?
It’s not appropriate. This girl has a crush on him — she says she “loves” him again and again in public tweets — and he’s… acting like one of her super-cool popular-clique classmates? Flattering her crush, even as her crush flatters him?
And the New York Times apparently understands this — because they cut that out of the Tweet. “…” shall stand in for an inappropriately-familiar “shit.”
How modest. How very observant of middle-class bourgeois social mores.
Yeah.
Or maybe it’s just cleaning up after Weiner.
…Nor did he, say, write a DM to a girl explaining that he had to be the grown up and stop following them. Look at this suddenly-unearthed DM Weiner wrote to a girl:
Look, I am beyond flattered by your finding me worthy of affection, but the fact is the fact, I’m a married 46 year old Congressman and you’re a young girl. While I will always be flattered that you say such wonderful things about me, I have to stop following you or communicating with you, except maybe for a public tweet. I’m sorry, it’s simply too dicey a situation, and I don’t think it’s fair to communicate with a girl who has a crush on me — it just feeds the crush and winds up hurting more. But good luck in all your endeavors — I know you’ll be great — and thank you for supporting me.
Oh wait, that isn’t a recently-unearthed DM; that’s just something I made up. That’s what someone should say when confronted with this situation.
Did Weiner say anything like that? Well, based on the girl’s tweets,um, no. Based on the girl’s tweets, he just told her to keep it quiet.
Looks like everyone else is now spinning AWAY FROM Weiner, as fast as they can:
Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA
So now Weiner is going “in treatment.”
I just published the following on the NYT website as a comment on their article about Weiner entering “treatment:”
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
The NYT’s has become such a sham…many long time readers cannot stand the Paper anymore, others are indoctrinated after a half a life time of reading the paper…Old timers will remember the long gone days of “Good journalism” but will question today the quality of that same ‘good journalism’ they have been getting since the inception of the internet revolution…To some it’s become a ‘why bother’ paper…
So when I comment that Liberals are [ amoral ] (and evidence here tells me it starts at a young age). I have to ask myself is it just me?
Weiner is the same ‘type’ of Liberal who will [fight] against [stuffy conservatives] and for [taxpayer money] to [fund abortions], yet will ‘encourage’ a young high school girl to “talk dirty to me”…. rather shouldn’t he be telling her how inappropriate [‘this is’] she is a young girl and probably should be concentrating on her Education [another endless Liberal fight for Tax Payers Money ]. Instead, he just continues down the path of encouragement because it feeds Weiners ego. So much for “thinking about the Country” [the taxpayer] and about being a ‘good role model’ Mr Weiner…
Look, all I’m trying to do here is point out the hypocrisy. Put the taxpayers money where your two brains are Mr Weiner…don’t encourage [amoral ] behaviors and bad choices because I don’t, as a taxpayer, want to pay for the end result.
Lastly, shouldn’t having a position as a Political Figure, Law enforcement, Teaching, Lawyers, and even Religious (all) PARENTS etc… hold those people to a higher standard… “As Leaders?” “As role Models”? Again, is it just me? Or are these things so out of “Vogue” in the days of Hope and Continued amoral Change?
Perhaps this is why the Liberals hate Sarah Palin so much, she is actually a ‘Great Role Model” Intelligent/Smart, has great Common Sense, and is a “Good Mother” too… Everything amoral liberals hate…or envy…
@Faith7: I was really hoping that this wouldn’t turn into a holier-than-thou thread. Have you forgotten Mark Foley? Otherwise known as the gay Weiner. Larry Craig? Newt Gingrich? Richard Ensign? David Vitter?
Remember Harold Carswell, who, if not blocked by the Senate Dems, would have been the first Supreme Court Justice to be arrested (and later convicted) in a men’s room for homosexual solicitation? And who would have been on the Court for more than 20 years. Literally dictating morality.
Sex is a lot of things, but it has no political boundaries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_sex_scandals_in_the_United_States
@runnswim AOL ->-> I see I touched a nerve…
I was commenting on the article NYT and Weiner… Not those you mentioned in your ‘Aha.. but, but, … those guys did it too’.. moment…
Yes, and all these men [you mentioned] had to face the consequences of their actions, tarnished careers, Media bashing etc… However, many stepped down on their own accord….Weiner tells us “he is not stepping down” his Liberal [amoral] beliefs and behavior says he feels he is ‘special’ and “Believes” he has done ‘nothing wrong’…
No holier-than- thou. Liberals admittedly are [ amoral ] they have no moral standards to hold themselves up to… This way [their warped belief system] they ‘think’ they cannot be held “accountable” or “responsible” for their poor behavior and poor Life choices. Liberals admittedly use the mime “the end justifies the means” ->-> the “anything goes” mantra is very telling…..
“Sex has no Political boundries” I am fully aware of that which is why: If you look at my fifth paragraph, I said [Political Figures ] I think by not pointing the finger left, right or in between, I included [ALL -> Political Figures] not just some…
@Faith:
You think you touched a nerve? How would you feel if I wrote that you are [ amoral ] and “have no moral standards”
Why do you feel it necessary to speak like this? I criticized Weiner and said that he should resign or be forced out. You responded that this was an example of amoral Democrats. I accurately responded that sexual impropriety has no political affiliation. You made excuses for Republican sexual impropriety and called me amoral.
And you are in anyway surprised that you “touched a nerve?” Truly, there’s no hope for the future of this country if each half of the country views the other half as being devoid of morality.
We are better than this. Surely, you are better than this.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Hillary is helping Oscar Weiner to go mobil………. Look at this link! Now they will be able to do it from the vehicle! This is in the line of national priorities?
Highlights: New State Department Iphone APP Available
Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:00:00 -0500
New State Department Iphone APP Available
The Department of State is pleased to announce the release of a new IPhone App, Smart Traveler, that invites you to see the world with easy access to frequently updated official country information, travel alerts, travel warnings, maps, U.S. embassy locations, and more. Go
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