[EL] Congressman Weiner

[Doug Hess]

Well, I guess if he sent nude pics or certain sexually suggestive text
via government device, I might agree that that is the sort of thing
that somebody should expect to get fired for in the private sector, so
perhaps some sort of "no sexting with your tax-payer phone please"
censure is in order.  But I fear that bloggers and web sites that give
muckraking a bad name will make people "gun shy" of public office
because anything can possibly be hung out in public. I would hate to
know what government officials do with their per diem in Rio.

Doug

On Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 1:30 PM, Rob Richie <rr at fairvote.org> wrote:
> If being stupid and/or lying about sex were a standard for forcing
> politicians from office,it would indeed be interesting to see how many
> Members of Congress would be left,
>
> As to Weiner using a government Blackberry for personal use as an excuse for
> an ethical violation? Please -- does any Member of Congress ever text a
> spouse to say he or she will be late for dinner or can't pick up the kids at
> school?. Not to excuse his gross behavior, but this seems like a return to
> the standards of Puritianical judges from Salem (something I take rather
> personally, as a direct ancestor of mine was among those murdered by the
> government as an alleged witch!).
>
> Rob
> On Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 12:38 PM, Paul Gronke <paul.gronke at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Maybe if he used a government Blackberry or web access, though I'm not
>> sure how they'd track the latter.
>>
>> It's unfortunate, I think, to see a pundit mention the "Chris Lee"
>> standard in the NY Times:
>>
>> David Birdsell, dean of Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs in New
>> York City, said it would be hard for Mr. Weiner to argue that his conduct
>> was any less damning. “By the Chris Lee standard, these are offenses that
>> merit resignation,” he said.
>>
>> No comment at all about whether such a standard is a reasonable one?
>>
>> ---
>> Paul Gronke     Ph:   503-517-7393
>>                        Fax: 503-661-0601
>>
>> Professor, Reed College
>> Director, Early Voting Information Center
>> 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd
>> Portland OR 97202
>>
>> EVIC: http://earlyvoting.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jun 7, 2011, at 5:29 AM, Doug Hess wrote:
>>
>> > All joking aside, what is the reasoning or grounds behind starting an
>> > investigation of the congressman (or the same with the NY GOP
>> > congressman that had the shirtless pic on craigslist but I guess left
>> > before it was investigated)?  That he sullied the image of congress?
>> > It seems odd to go looking for bigger violations if there is not yet
>> > any evidence of it (i.e., inappropriate romantic entanglements with
>> > somebody that does business with congress, etc.).
>> >
>> > Doug
>> > _______________________________________________
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>>
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>
>
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