You Can't Avoid Boyd

When Capitol Hill’s a Rockin’, Don’t Come a Knockin’

Within the last week, Anthony Weiner, a congressman from New York, made headlines when he posted a dick shot (not the Brett Farve type, but a classier underwear one) on his Twitter account. The picture was intended to be a direct message, but was posted to all. After claiming his account had been hacked and that it might not be his junk, he admitted on Monday that he sent it, the junk belonged to him, and he had been in inappropriate electronic relationships with six women over three years. None of these women were his wife, Huma Abedin Weiner. I feel bad for Huma because that might be the worst name of all time. I should feel bad for the congressmen/congresswomen who are not allowed to behave in their private lives as we can, but I don’t. When they were elected to their positions, they gave up that right.

Weiner joins an esteemed list of politicians who have been subject to controversial sex scandals:

· Christopher Lee, a married New York Congressman, resigned after he was caught sending a shirtless pic to a female via Craigslist. Rumors began circulating this wasn’t his first experience trying to seek out ladies/transgenders via Craigslist.

· Mark Sanford, former South Carolina governor. His extramarital affair became a national story when he went missing for a week in June 2009. It was discovered he was in Argentina during that week, visiting his mistress. He finished his term under constant pressure to resign.

· Elliot Spitzer was the governor of New York until it was discovered that Spitzer loved the whores. He resigned.

· Mark Foley was a Florida congressman until it was discovered he wrote sexually suggestive e-mails to a teenage male page. He resigned.

· Larry Craig, former Idaho senator. In August 2007, he was arrested after trying to give away a ham sandwich via a foot tap (code for naughty time) in the men’s bathroom at a Minnesota airport. Due to constant pressure from the GOP, he was going to resign but decided against it. He finished his term despite constant pressure and many rumors of previous ham sandwich exchanges.

· Bill Clinton, former President. There were numerous ladies who claimed they were diddled by Clinton during his two terms. The most famous, Monica Lewinsky, led Clinton to become only the 2^nd President ever to be impeached (on obstruction of justice and perjury charges, not for just getting a blowjob.)

Weiner did nothing illegal. In fact, people could make the argument that he did nothing immoral as he claimed he has never had sex with any of these women. Yet, many people are calling for him to resign. And it’s not just the Republicans. House Majority leader Nancy Pelosi is requesting an ethics probe on this matter while Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has gone on record saying he can not defend the actions of Weiner, based on his online relationships and lying to the public. These are the top two Democrats in Congress and neither one of them have Weiner’s back. We live in a society where there are different rules for certain people. Is it fair? No. But it is what it is. With great privilege comes great responsibility. Politicians (along with athletes and celebrities) are held to different, higher standards than others. None of my friends would be told to quit their jobs if they sent a dick shot to a random girl on Twitter. Anthony Weiner could never write for a blog called “Handjobs for Ham Sandwiches”.

It’s amazing how Anthony Weiner potentially ruined his political career over this picture. Many thought he’d be the favorite for mayor of NYC later this year, but that dream is definitely over. We will see if he decides to continue his term as congressman despite the current backlash against him. All this so he could flirt with girls over social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Professionally, I don’t think he should have to resign. There have been other politicians who finished their term who have done worse (see Larry “Tap Dancing” Craig above). Personally, I think he should resign. It will be hard to represent the state of New York while trying to repair his marriage and being ridiculed by the media. The heat from this will eventually die down and he can rebuild his reputation later on, but he needs to focus on his priorities right now. He needs to decide if he wants to be with Huma or if he wants to be the Casanova of Facebook. Either way, I just want to live in a world where I can go on Twitter without dick shots and just focus on the important stuff, like what Kim Kardashian is up to.

         -Written by Marcus Boyd