Tuesday: So.... ???

Don't members of the public mess up their marriages, have open relationships.. swinging parties and other events... as in some places prostitution is legal.

Are these serving people formally members of the public? So why if the public can be human do we expect politicians, etc to be robots?

(V): I agree that if you've done nothing illegal, there's no reason to just up and resign your position. It's up to your constituants to vote your butt out for being an immoral creeper! If you've broken the law (ahem, Vitter) you should be thrown out of public office. Taxpayers shouldn't pay the salaries of criminals.

lizrising: “Diaper Dave” was forgiven and re-elected because if he stepped down the Republicans would lose a seat of power to a Democrat!!

Tuesday: Then it should have been left as a private matter. Between him and his missus and any relevant family.

If we went by a rule that everyone who strays and is in public office has to resign.. Does that mean teachers, the bin men, police officers, etc all have to quit?

(V):

> If we went by a rule that everyone who strays and is in public office has to resign.. Does that mean teachers, the bin men, police officers, etc all have to quit?

What about those who work for private companies but are paid contracts by taxpayers?

For example, the roof leaks in a government-owned building. The government hires a roofing contractor to fix that roof and the contractor is paid with tax dollars. The contractor does the same thing as Weiner did. Should that contractor be sacked and scrutinized publicly?

Another example. A "security contractor" is hired by the CIA to do some work among terrorists in Afghanistan. This contractor turns out to do what Weiner did. Should that contractor be ridiculed publicly and sacked?

What about a CIA operative doing a sensitive intelligence matter? If his identity is revealed publicly it would jeopardize an intelligence operation. He goes on to do what Weiner did. Should that person be scrutinized publicly?

There are a lot of examples of this. Many private companies are paid millions of dollars in contracts. Some of these companies do multi-billion dollar projects paid for by taxpayers. If the CEO of one of those companies uses his money and position to become a philanderer, should he be scrutinized publicly and sacked? After all, that CEO will make millions at taxpayers expense.

Tuesday:

> Are they out campaigning with a different face?

No, they are tendering contracts and getting paid with tax dollars. The difference is that they are not in the public eye like politicians are. Private contractors can get away with it because they are never elected into office, they don't need to give public speeches, and they are not held to the same level of accountability as politicians are. If a banker receives a huge bailout, and uses that bailout money for his own self-gratification, there is no accountability. But politicians are a different matter. People expect them to be "righteous", to always tell the truth, to always be honest, to respect women, etc. But those who make millions in tax payer dollars do not have such expectation thrust upon them. It is a double standard.

Artful Dodger:

> Politics isn't like that. It's about the power. It's weak to resign. Most politicians are addicted to power so resigning isn't part of their makeup. Some do resign, but most don't. They just ride out the storm. Then people forget.

The difference with big private contractors is that instead of power, it is money, and since they are not in the public eye, nobody even finds out what they are up to. We never hear: "This guy makes rifles for the military, rakes in millions, and is a philanderer. He should resign!" Instead, the rich CEO takes his money, enjoys his life, makes strategic campaign contributions, and continues on in his ways. For him there is no storm to ride. People don't need to forget his wrongdoings, because they never knew them in the first place.

Artful Dodger:

I am talking about big powerful men that are not in the public eye. Like politicians, they get paid with tax dollars, but they are exempt from public scrutiny. We live in a wolrd of hypocrysy and double standards, that is all. Taxpayers don't care as long as they don't know about it.

Übergeek 바둑이: Bilderberg group baby, Bilderberg group