Anthony Weiner, a Democratic Congressman from New York, resigned on June 16th after an emotionally charged scandal where he was caught sending sexually suggestive pictures of himself to women he had met on the internet. He initially lied to the media, but later on came clean.
What is striking to me about this scandal is that it seems to be irrelevant to actual governing. Sexual escapades sometimes show character, but sometimes they do not. He cheated on his wife, which is immoral. But spousal cheating and sleaziness are not grounds for dismissal from the United States Congress. Our system has become so dysfunctional that private sex lives somehow became part of our evaluation of governing skills. Politicians that peddle lies about taxes increasing revenue and spreading hate for homosexuals do not receive the same scorn.
Anthony Weiner broke no actual laws. He didn't try to pay off a campaign staffer like John Ensign, the Republican Senator from Nevada did. However, he was a liberal firebrand, who supported a reform of the health care system by transforming it into Medicare for all. He called out Republicans for their hypocrisy on tax cuts ballooning the deficit and then their refusal to raise them. It's a travesty that in our system an individual's private sexual life seems to be more important than their actual governing record.
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