From New York-26 to New York-9

Does anyone remember NY-26?

It was just two weeks ago that Democrats scored their biggest victory since Republicans trounced them in the midterm congressional elections.

The win in the 26th district of New York significantly increased the Dems’ hopes of winning back the House, and had the GOP retreating on its controversial Medicare reform plan.

{mosads}Politics, however, is fickle.

Now, instead of talking about NY-26, the political world is talking about New York’s 9th district, represented by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D). Specifically, discussion has focused on whether his political career can survive the sex scandal enveloping him.

Without a doubt, the lawmaker has harmed his party, sapping it of electoral momentum. It might be regained, but for now has dissipated.

On Monday, Weiner admitted that he was lying when he said repeatedly last week that his Twitter account had been hacked into. In an excruciating news conference in New York, Weiner apologized more than 25 times to his wife, to his constituents and to conservative author and blogger Andrew Breitbart.

Breitbart’s release of suggestive photos that Weiner sent to women prompted the congressman’s decision to come clean. It remains to be seen whether he has told the whole truth.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who vowed to “drain the swamp” in Washington several years ago, wisely called for an ethics investigation. 

Weiner, a former aide to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), has long had his eyes on becoming mayor of New York City. That won’t happen, at least not soon. Weiner will, on the contrary, have enough trouble keeping his House seat.

The key for any politician in hot water is to make sure that the scandal subsides as quickly as possible. What members of his or her political party say about it is also vitally important. In that regard, things do not look promising for Weiner.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he could not defend Weiner, though he stopped short of calling for him to resign.

It is probably just a matter of time before Democrats go that far, however, as the story is unlikely to go away, especially with Washington and New York media outlets digging deeper into the matter.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) lost his Ways and Means Committee gavel because of a myriad of ethics controversies. But he is well-liked by Democrats, and that helped him hold on to his seat. 

Weiner, however, doesn’t have many friends in the House. And he isn’t regarded as a team player. During the last two cycles, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has singled him out (among others) for not paying party dues.

The DCCC wants to win the House back. If Weiner continues to be a distraction to that goal, the pressure for him to resign will intensify.