His wife reportedly wants him to stay. Many of his own party leaders and constituents want him to go. The people he represents in his district are torn. So exactly what will embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York do?
According to his congressional staff, the New York Democrat had decided to enter a treatment program for his sexual troubles, saying he “needs this time to get healthy and make the best possible decision” about his future. Hmmm…
“Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” Weiner’s office announced. “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well.”
Despite Weiner’s belief that sexual rehab will quiet calls for him to resign, top Democrats do not want him creating a drag on the party and have publicly insisted that a treatment program is just not enough. And with more nude photos surfacing, one Weiner took of himself in the congressional gym, as well as the news that Weiner also had online contact with a teenager, his future in politics doesn’t look very bright.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, all issued statements urging Weiner to step down from Congress. But the strongest statement came from Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. “It is with great disappointment that I call on Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign,” Wasserman Schultz’s statement read. “The behavior he has exhibited is indefensible and [his] continued service in Congress is untenable. This sordid affair has become an unacceptable distraction for Rep. Weiner, his family, his constituents and the House–and for the good of all, he should step aside and address those things that should be most important–his and his family’s well-being.”
Interestingly, one Democratic district in New York must be eliminated due to restructuring. But some Democrats in congress who feared their district might have been on the block, now see Weiner’s seat as the easy target to be removed.
