What has Weiner done wrong?

(image: Carlos Danger, a.k.a. Anthony Weiner)

Weiner’s great sin isn’t what Nancy Pelosi now describes as his “reprehensible” behavior toward women. After all, in his latest fiasco, Wiener is interacting with women by their own consent and Pelosi has overlooked behavior far worse in others. No, the great sin of Anthony Weiner, at least in left-wing political circles, is that his name is Weiner, he got caught, and it’s too funny for the mainstream press to ignore.

Sure his behavior is juvenile, vulgar, disturbingly self-destructive, but the left has made it a habit to ignore the actions of their standard-bearers in circumstances far more wicked.

In a left-wing political culture steeped in moral relativism, where there are no absolutes, where everything is relative, where to question or judge any sexual act or preference is prudish at best, bigoted at worst, it’s difficult for me to see where Weiner has done anything “wrong” according to that standard. His actions were consensual. His wife has forgiven him. The women involved were not his employees. He didn’t use taxpayer dollars.

I’m not saying that I think that he’s done nothing wrong. I’m just saying I find it odd that THIS is the behavior that many on the left find too heavy to bear. He didn’t leave a girl under a bridge to drown (Ted Kennedy). He is not accused of rape or sexual assault (Clinton, Brock Adams, David Wu). He didn’t have a brothel running out of his home nor was he running to a brothel outside of his home (Barney Frank and Elliott Spitzer).

But despite what amounts to years of moral relativist training for most people (in public schools and universities and in pop culture), the truth of bad behavior is hard to miss. There’s photographic evidence for them to see, and the comedic effect of his actions combined with his name guarantee massive coverage.

Weiner’s sexual habits are unlikely to lose him favor by themselves, but the visual and public nature of his failings embarrass the Party. And I suspect that that is where his greatest sin lies in the eyes of much of the left-wing establishment.