by: Trent Derr - American Exceptionalism
Ok by now, we’ve all heard about it. Weinergate. Representative Anthony Weiner started with denials, followed by hedging, and finally followed by admission. All of this seasoned with Weiner’s shocked response to the question regarding whether he was going to resign – “No, I’m not going to resign.” The guy who has been married less than a year who had phone sex, exchanged sexting messages, and sent pornographic photos to no less than six women over Facebook and Twitter doesn’t have the class or common sense to know when to resign. Duh…
However, why does this whole drama around Anthony Weiner’s behavior really matter to the country at large? For one, he was engaged in having phone sex, sexting, and sending pornographic pictures utilizing the assets of the US Congress. This will be at least one reason why Weiner will be investigated by the House Ethics Committee.
Second, employers have a right to establish standards of conduct for employees, especially for behavior during work hours. It is common for senior level employees to have morality and behavioral clauses that apply to their employment. Often the clauses are not only intended to prevent legal claims against the company but more importantly to prevent the employee from damaging the reputation of the company. Clearly all of these conditions apply to Weiner. All congress people work for the citizens of the United States so congressmen are employees. There is no doubt that this type of behavior damages the reputation of Congress and the US Government at large. Finally, it has become obvious that Representative Weiner was sexting, having phone sex and distributing pornographic material during “normal” work hours. Any employee I can think of that worked for a company in the United States would be terminated for Weiner’s behavior. They would be gone immediately. Continue...
