Barney Frank refuses to judge gay-friendly Anthony Weiner over ‘sexting’ photos

By JD Uy on June 14, 2011

Camera crews and news reporters outside of the Northwest D.C. home of Representative Anthony Weiner (Photo by JD Uy / MetroWeekly.com)

Congressman Anthony Weiner has been the focus of international media attention for two weeks for a “sexting” scandal which involves revealing photos and messages that he exchanged with several women online.

Today, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) talked to reporters saying this (The Hill):

”Given these circumstances, where I was myself engaged in activity I shouldn’t have been … I just don’t think it’s appropriate for me to set myself up as the judge of others.”

Roll Call reports that Frank thinks Weiner should have been honest about the issue sooner, adding (Roll Call):

”The chamber will have to vote on it at some time. I don’t think I should be a commentator on ethical behavior.”

Unlike a growning number of other Democratic leaders (Nancy Pelosi, Debbie Wasserman Shultz, Tim Kaine), Frank is not suggesting that Weiner should quit, and appears to be taking a more humble approach based on his own past. Frank was reprimaned by Congress in the late 1980s for actions he took while he was involved with a male prostitute, Steve Gobie.

Weiner’s troubles began two weeks ago when he tweeted out a picture of his underwear-clad crotch. At first he claimed that his Twitter account had been hacked, but several days later admitted that he’d lied. In a press conference he said that he’d accidentally made the message public instead of private, and that more photos existed because he’d been exchanging messages to half a dozen women online. Thanks to Andrew Breitbart‘s conservative news site and gossip sites like Gawker and TMZ, those women and the photos they received have trickled out in the media ever since (including one full-frontal nude shot).

Politically, he is known to be a strong champion of progressive issues and a passionate speaker on the floor of the House and in media interviews. According to OnTheIssues.org, Weiner strongly supports environmental issues, access to health care, reproductive choice, civil rights, and equality for gay men and lesbians.

A profile of Weiner on the Human Rights Campaign website gives him a 100% score on gay issues, including employment protections, marriage equality, access to benefits, student protections and family immigration.

MSNBC hosts like Rachel Maddow and Cenk Uygur have been pointing out the failure of Democrats to rally around Congressman Weiner in the way Republicans often do for their allies when scandals erupt. They also point out the hypocrisy of “family values” Republicans in demanding that Weiner step down, yet they say nothing about current Sen. David Vitter who had ties to “the DC Madam.”

Anthony Weiner represents New York‘s 9th Congressional District covering parts of Queens and Brooklyn. He’s married to Huma Abedin, an aide to Hillary Clinton, and late-breaking speculation claims that she is returning from work overseas, and she may ask her husband to resign. According to reports, he is currently on a two-week leave of absence and is seeking “treatment” for his actions. He has not publicly used his Twitter account since June 1.

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