The charming Anthony Weiner

Addressing the Republicans from the House floor (see the video), Rep. Anthony Weiner of Brooklyn said, “I mean you guys have chutzpah. The Republican Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry.” There was a demand from the Republican side that the “words be taken down,” a measure by which a member is disciplined for inappropriate speech; according to Wikipedia, after a member’s words are taken down, he cannot speak again for the rest of the day. But then, after a brief pause, Weiner came back into the well and asked for permission to withdraw his words (perhaps withdrawing the words removed the punishment, though that wasn’t clear). The moment his request was granted and he was given leave to speak, he said, in a loud, insistent voice and evidently relishing the sound of his words, “Make no mistake about it. Every single Republican I have ever met in my entire life is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry.” Again the words were “taken down,” and again, after some time, Weiner was allowed to speak, but this time he used milder language. For his adolescent and outrageous antics there were apparently no consequences.

* * * Note that Weiner did not say, “every single Republican I have ever known,” but, “every single Republican I have ever met.” Which, taken literally, would mean that the moment he meets a Republican, Weiner can tell, he can tell—maybe just by looking into the Republican’s eyes—that’s he’s a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry.

- end of initial entry -

Paul K. writes:

Anthony Weiner must be competing with Alan “Republicans Want Sick People To Die Quickly” Grayson for class act of the House of Representatives.

Our peevish president does not set a very good tone himself. While constantly accusing his opponents of seeking to score cheap political points, he was startlingly rude to John McCain, when he responded to him by saying, “”Let me just make this point, John, because we’re not campaigning anymore. The election’s over.”

McCain looked like he’d been slapped in the face. I’ll bet he was thinking, “You s.o.b.—sometimes I wish I’d run a real campaign against you.”

LA replies:

I didn’t see it that way. It seemed to me that McCain took the remark in good grace, making a self-deprecating joke about how he’s aware every day that the election is over.

Richard S. writes:

Is there anyone who has not knowingly overstepped the bounds, acted with chutzpah at least once in his life? The difference is that those who look back on such a moment with shame, are chastened by it, stand a chance of growing into men. Those, on the other hand, who continue to break the rules and take malicious glee in getting away with breaking them will forever remain adolescents.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 25, 2010 02:01 PM | Send