Is this the weirdest scandal yet or what?

Note: This is cross-posted on my professional blog at the Marshall Independent.

The Anthony Weiner scandal has been called “the gift that keeps on giving” by commentators with a low taste for word play. But after we’ve wrung all the fun that can be had about a sexting politician with a hilariously appropriate name there is so much about this case that is just… weird.

Weiner, as you may remember, resigned in disgrace from the U.S. House of Representatives in 2011 after he was exposed as a serious weirdo.

He “sexts,” that is to say he sent cell phone photos of his naughty bits to various women. Worse, he pushed the wrong button and sent them out to a Twitter list. Worst he told stupid lies a child could see through.

Sooooo, after a cooling off period, during which Weiner made oodles of money as a “consultant” (i.e. influence peddler) he threw his hat into the ring for Mayor of New York, and weirdly enough polled at the top of the field.

Except he kept sexting. Then lied about it and said he’d never do it again. Then he did it again.

The weirdness just keeps piling up. Weiner is an intelligent guy, so he didn’t know these strangers he’s sexting with were going to go the press for their 15
minutes of fame?

Weiner’s wife Huma Abedin is standing loyally by her man, calling him a great husband and father.

Getting weirder here. Weiner is, how shall I put it?

Butt ugly.

Sorry, he’s got an athletic build and obviously spends a lot of time in the gym, he even exercises there, but no one could look at that face and call him anything but homely.

Abedin on the other hand, is a babe. An exotic beauty with great fashion sense. You have to wonder how tightly wrapped a guy is who gets his jollies sexting when he can go home to that.

Abedin is also a powerful person in her own right. She’s worked for the State Department and as Deputy Chief of Staff under Hillary Clinton and is currently on Hillary’s transition team.

Bill Clinton himself officiated at the Weiner’s marriage, on which occasion Hillary said, “I only have one daughter. But if I had a second daughter, it would be Huma.”

There are rumors about Hillary and Huma, but lets not go there. It’s weird enough already.

Where we should go is that Abedin was raised in Saudi Arabia and has close family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Her late father, mother and brother were all members. And during the time she worked for Hillary she also worked at a journal founded by a top al-Qaida financier, Abdullah Omar Naseef that allegedly promotes an Islamist ideology.

The Muslim Brotherhood is an organization founded in Egypt in 1928 as a Pan-Islamic movement with the credo, “Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”

In spite of running hospitals and charities, these are not nice people and the Brotherhood is banned in several Arab countries for good reason.

That alone would seem to make her, if not a security risk, then at least a legitimate subject of inquiry. Yet when Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and four other House Republicans raised the issue, they were crucified.

Why? It’s a legitimate question and need not be asked in an offensive way. Many Americans with Eastern European ties went though the same during the Cold War.

But – and this is a big but, Abedin dresses in ways that would get her beaten by the muttawas (religious police) in Saudi Arabia, and married a Jew!

Among fundamentalist Muslims in Saudi Arabia or her mother’s native Pakistan, she would be murdered by her own family for this!

All of this is of course meat and drink to conspiracy theorists. But paranoia aside, what does it all mean?

I don’t know, but it sure is weird!

This entry was posted in News commentary, Op-eds, Politics. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *