Just Say No to Candidates Strutting Their Smut

This past Tuesday, the people of New York City spoke, and it’s safe to say, ended the attempted political comebacks of Carlos Danger and Client Number 9.

In the case of Carlos, otherwise known as Anthony Weiner (no relation, thankfully), his embarrassing showing with just 4.9% of the vote may be just the message he needed to make sure he never, ever runs for public office again. It wasn’t enough that he was previously forced to resign from public office in disgrace, publicly embarrassing his then-pregnant wife. He had the gall and ego to try it all over again, with none other than Sydney Leathers waiting in the wings to out him, while Carlos continued his old tricks of sexting and distributing pictures of parts of himself over the internet that no other human being needs to see. And in the process, causing what may be irreparable damage to his wife’s promising career, should she decide not to throw Carlos out on his butt. Having grown up with the same last name, I can only imagine the torment his infant son will endure when his school friends are old enough to access all of this information online.

Number 9 may be another story. He lost respectfully with 48% of the vote cast, which hopefully is not a signal to our former governor that people may actually want him to run for anything again. Although no new scandals broke during his campaign, he has proven that public service is not the life for him.

There are many factors that contributed to Weiner and Spitzer’s brazen runs for office. In Weiner’s case it was the reported $5 million left in his campaign treasury from his prior days in public office. He basically had no choice but to use it for another political campaign, no matter how ill-advised and no matter what collateral damage it wreaked on his family. Spitzer, on the other hand, just has too much of his father’s money to resist the temptation to waste some of it (multiple 7 figures worth) to satisfy his need for attention, despite the fact that it was most likely the last straw in ruining his marriage and caused unfathomable embarrassment to his three daughters, who are all old enough to know exactly what was going on.

But the real question is what possesses these men (and countless others), with the kinds of skeletons they have in their closets, to force themselves on the public and to subject themselves to certain media scrutiny of every aspect of their lives. Do they think the Ashley Duprees and Sydney Leathers of the world are going to remain silent while these narcissistic egomaniacs strut their stuff in public, trying to garner financial support and votes? Hopefully Weiner, Spitzer and anyone else with issues like theirs will think twice before attempting such an ill-fated fiasco again. Secrets and skeletons will be revealed; the media will do their jobs; and best of all, the voting public has resoundingly demonstrated that it will exercise common sense. New Yorkers are neither stupid nor naïve enough to buy what candidates like these are selling. Kudos to the voters in NYC for sending the right message.

Tonight is the beginning of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. For those of you who observe the holiday, may you have an easy fast.