And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
Rev. Weiner? An odd thought, I know. But bear with me here.
Yesterday on Ricochet I wondered how the press would have treated Congressman Weiner if he'd been a conservative Republican instead of a liberal Democrat. Today Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League, does me one better. Can you imagine, Donahue asks, how the press would have responded if Congressman Weiner had instead been Reverend Weiner? Donahue most certainly has a point:
Priests who engage in lewd conversations with teenagers are suspended from ministry for committing a "boundary violation," and are charged with sexual abuse. But Rep. Anthony Weiner can send pornographic images of himself to young girls and he is free as a bird. Indeed, the majority of New Yorkers say he should not resign....
To top things off, Joy Behar believes that "Somebody is out to get him, apparently 'cause they don’t like his politics." Weiner agrees: he told a donor last week that this was all due to a "vast right-wing conspiracy."
In other words, if the guilty party were Rev. Weiner, he would be sanctioned by the Catholic Church's "zero tolerance" policy. But because he is Rep. Weiner, there are no penalties.
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May '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
Actually, if he were Father Weiner that would be a good story. Rabbi Weiner, might be different...
Jun '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
The only way he could get more protection and support than he already has would be if he was a public school teacher.
Dec '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
"But because he is Rep. Weiner [-D, New York], there are no penalties." I corrected that last sentence for you. And I will always bear with you, Peter.
Oct '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
Were he Reverend Weiner instead of Representative Weiner, with the same political orientation, the one thing which is certain is that the day, week, month, and decade after the fall he would still be “Reverend Weiner”, even though there is nothing whatsoever to be revered in his entire being (cf. “the Reverend” Jesse Jackson).
As long as this particular lying Weiner lives, as a current or former member of Congress, he may expected to be formally addressed as “the Honourable”. Fie on that—citizens should only call politicians “Honourable” if they are actually, you know, honourable.
Apr '11
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
The point has already been made by many Weiner supporters that because he was not a social conservative, his behavior was not hypocritical, and he should therefore receive a pass.
The pretzels these folks will twist themselves into with this depraved logic is mind-boggling. So basically, to be centured for an ethics violation, you have to have come out against it at some point in your life? Man, we have definitely entered the world of Rod Serling!
Aug '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
The Daily Caller has another interesting point on this story, about a detail of which I was unaware (including photos that do not conform to Ricochet's CoC):
http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/08/do-anthony-weiners-women-deserve-blame/
Did y'all know that some of the women that Weiner sent dirty Tweets to actually responded, with even MORE explicit Tweets? Clearly, in at least some of the cases, the communications were consensual. I had no idea that was the case.
This doesn't let Rep. Weiner off the hook, by any means. But (at least for me) it does put the whole "scandal" in a completely different light.
Until now, I was under the impression that the guy was sending UNSOLICITED pictures of his crotch to unsuspecting women. Apparently, that isn't necessarily the case.
Edited on Jun 8, 2011 at 11:59amJan '11
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
Different how, EJHill?
Aug '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
Dunno about the press, but if he'd been Rev Weiner, I would have laughed a lot less and felt outrage a whole lot more more (like, in this case, actually feeling outrage).
Congressmen are not required to personify Christ on earth. Christians -- especially those endowed with religious authority over others -- are.
Abuse of power, even by a minor religious functionary, is vile. Sexual abuse is particularly so, since sex is such a primal and intimate part of the human heart -- a heart which ministers in faith are called to save, not maim.
Sometimes I laugh at the sexual indiscretions of "reverends", but I can never laugh in the same way as I do at other folks.
Aug '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
Good point, Johnnie W.
And so sad.
May '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
How about "Imam Weiner?" Then the whole affair would merely be a convention of his culture, obviously.
May '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
One would be hard pressed to find many Catholics with that surname. Weiner, however has never been shy about playing his religion card when it was politically expedient.
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
In the end, the penalty for Tony Weiner is being Tony Weiner.
Mar '11
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
Definitely agree with Midget here. Immoral clergy deserve the condemnation they get.
But I do see your point. I guess for the liberal media, the lynch pin isn't so much the immoral act, but instead the hypocrisy. I get the impression that for them it isn't the indecency which is wrong, but that the cleric in question preaches against it-which they find offensive.
Feb '11
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
While I in no way defend what Weiner did, I don't see anything wrong with the fact that he would be treated differently if he were a priest. Weiner's behavior was reprehensible, but it was not illegal (from what we know so far, anyway), and there is nothing in the job description of "Congressman" that specifies that you will not engage in stupid sexual behavior. The job description of "priest," on the other hand, is pretty clear on that point.
Sep '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
I have no problem with the Catholic Church maintaining higher standards than does our Congress. (I'd like to think Rabbi Weiner would also suffer some sanction.)
None of that has any bearing on what Congressional standards should be, however. And the fact that standards for Democrats are different from those for Republicans -- and they evidently are -- is awfully interesting.
Jun '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
These days, it would be very hard for a shameless perv like Weiner to get into a Catholic seminary, let alone become a priest. They're much better at looking for and finding signs of sexual trouble. It's a very slow process, and gives time for the true personality to reveal itself, so to speak.
Jan '11
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
EJHill
One would be hard pressed to find many Catholics with that surname. Weiner, however has never been shy about playing his religion card when it was politically expedient. · Jun 8 at 12:09pm
Meaning Catholics wouldn't meet the stereotype, but Jews would?
How stereotypical of you.
Jan '11
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
I'm biased here, because (being an ex-Jesuit) I know a disproportionately large number of priests, and I know that they're doing great work. I hate that they get dragged down by the scandal. And that's an important point.
If I'm not misreading Peter Robinson and Bill Donohue, I think that's the real difference. It isn't that the sexual behavior is any less condemned, or that the priests who hold themselves out to be moral teachers shouldn't be aggressively condemned.
It's a lament that the rest of the priesthood gets dragged down with the abusers.
When an elected leader of the community, responsible for creating the law, abuses his authority, nobody leaps to the conclusion that all government is hypocritical. But when you hear that a priest in Outer Mongolia abused his authority, many people immediately leap to the conclusion that this destroys the moral authority of the whole church, which (I think) reveals a bigotry that's just itching to find an excuse.
Aug '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
I note that Nancy Pelosi has called for an ethics investigation into Weiner.
While I think that what Weiner did was remarkably stupid, remarkably pervy, and maybe even "morally wrong", I'm not sure it's an appropriate matter for a Congressional investigation.
Were his actions in violation of House rules? Did he break any laws? Did he violate an official Congressional code of conduct?
Unless the answer to any of these questions is "yes", he deserves to be punished in the court of public opinion and at the ballot box, but I'm not sure he deserves to be officially censured by the House of Representatives.
May '10
Re: And If He Had Been Rev. Weiner?
KC Mulville:
It's a lament that the rest of the priesthood gets dragged down with the abusers.
When an elected leader of the community, responsible for creating the law, abuses his authority, nobody leaps to the conclusion that all government is hypocritical. But when you hear that a priest in Outer Mongolia abused his authority, many people immediately leap to the conclusion that this destroys the moral authority of the whole church, which (I think) reveals a bigotry that's just itching to find an excuse. · Jun 8 at 2:29pm
Reminds of this classic cartoon at xkcd.com.