Why Political Perversions Get A Pass

One can hardly imagine the incredible stupidity of a sitting congressman tweeting sexually explicit images of his body over the Internet without hiding his identity. What is even more unimaginable is hearing his constituents defend his behavior as something personal that isn't interfering with his congressional duties. These remarks came from women in his Queens/Brooklyn district who were polled after the married Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted lying about texting X-rated conversations with several women including a porn star. As of this writing, Congressman Weiner has refused to resign although pressure from his party may force the issue. Given the history of sex offenders in the Democrat Party, in particular, President Bill Clinton, Weiner's determination to hang on is easy to understand.

In spite of the fact that he was impeached for lying about a sordid dalliance with an intern in the Oval office; his lie to the American people with his "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" speech; his unbelievable statement, "that depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is", Bill Clinton is still regarded as a great president and an honorable statesman. His memoir sold millions and people with no brains stood in line for hours on Fifth Avenue for his book signing.

Barbara Walters, host of The View, who no longer has a working brain cell remarked, "we had a president named Bill Clinton who went through a great deal of trouble, weathered the storm and is now not only respected, but he's beloved by many people with a very good marriage."

Allegations that he sexually assaulted several women while Governor of Arkansas and a few more as president apparently don't bother Ms. Walters or feminists who routinely excuse men for bad behavior as long as they're pro-choice Democrats. Ms. Walters also urged Weiner to stay in Congress saying, "I think the pictures are disgusting. But I think he has hit rock bottom, and this may be what he needed so that he changes his life. He has been a good and effective congressman."

Exactly what he has done in Congress besides tweeting is a mystery to anyone who has searched for meaningful legislation in his name. Nancy Pelosi, minority leader of the House had originally said Weiner could stay in office although has reversed her decision and insists now that he leave. He has now declared that he will take a leave of absence to get help for his sex addiction. That's great news for his supporters like comedienne crackpot Janeane Garafalo who said "everyone lies about sex." On the Bill Maher HBO show she added, "Anthony Weiner deserves to be supported and hopefully he will be mayor of New York one day. I'm serious. He is a Democrat [who] actually fights for the things liberals and progressive and rational people care about."

Weiner has also received support from admitted tax cheat Rep. Charlie Rangel who gets reelected time and time again despite his record of corruption.

Although sexual peccadillos in both the Republican and Democrat Parties have become more frequent since the Clinton scandal, there is a marked difference in their outcomes and the media coverage. In most cases the GOP offenders tend to quit or they lose the support in their districts.

New York GOP congressman, Chris Lee, sent out a shirtless picture of himself in response to a Craigslist dating ad and when discovered promptly quit in shame.

Anthony Weiner's text photo of his exposed genitals is all over the Internet and yet he is more popular at home than before.

Congressman Mark Foley, R-Fl, was accused of sending sexual emails to former pages. He immediately resigned in September of 2006 and the scandal was said to bring on the loss of the GOP House that November. Wasn't it coincidental that the 10-year-old emails were uncovered just before the elections which cost the GOP the House?

In 1983, two congressmen were charged with having sexual relations with male pages. Gerry Studds, D-Mass, and Daniel Crane R-Ill, were both censured by Congress. While voters rejected Crane's bid for reelection, Studds was reelected six times until his retirement in 1997. What does that tell us about the Democrat voter?

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, was recently reelected in spite of the ongoing reports of his part in the deplorable housing collapse. It has now been revealed that while he was exhorting his colleagues in Congress that Fannie Mae did not need to be regulated, he had secured a job there for his boyfriend, Herb Moses.

Back in 1985, Frank hired a male prostitute, Steve Gobie, who used Frank's residence for his escort service. Frank was reprimanded for using his congressional office to fix 33 of Gobie's parking tickets and for misstatements in a memorandum relating to Gobie's criminal record.

Frank's current boyfriend, James Ready, was arrested and charged by the Maine police officials with possession as well as cultivation and use of marijuana alongside other drug paraphernalia and later pleaded guilty in 2008. This brouhaha made no difference on Election Day when Frank handily won reelection.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, aka Client #9, went down in flames after it was learned he was a steady customer of high-priced call girls. His long suffering wife, Silda, wrote a book, "Rough Justice - The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer" in which she blames herself, saying, "The wife is supposed to take care of the sex. This is my failing; I wasn't adequate."

Well that explains why it took so long for women to get the vote.

And what is Spitzer doing now? He's hosting a CNN political talk show.

My own congressman, Republican Vito Fossella, whom I had interviewed on a number of occasions and whom I had hoped would run for mayor, was caught in his own scandal when he stopped on a DUI charge while rushing to check on his sick love child. He did not run for reelection and his conservative constituents did not encourage him to return.

In 1960, JFK ran for president with the support of many religious Catholics who would have been shocked if news of his multiple adulterous sexual liaisons had ever leaked out. He would never have won because the electorate then was far more principled than what exists today.

There is no excuse for the sins of our politicians but what is even more disturbing is the absence of any sense of morality in the voters who keep these corrupt perverts in office. When it comes to fixing blame for the moral decline of our nation, Pogo said it best: We have met the enemy and he is us.

Alicia Colon resides in New York City and can be reached at aliciav.colon@gmail.com and at www.aliciacolon.com