The long-lost voice of former Rep. Anthony Weiner — a failed New York mayoral candidate whose political star fell over a sexting scandal — came to life this week, right after he sent out a very public rebuttal of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s rebuke of former Minority Leader Eric Cantor.
Ms. Warren recently derided the “revolving door” that separates government from the private sector, referring to the announced Wall Street employment of Mr. Cantor and saying such transitions “worries” her, during an interview with Katie Couric of Yahoo News.
On that, Mr. Weiner said: “There is a lot about Eric Cantor not to like for progressive Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and me. His positions on policy and his role as obstructionist in chief are reasons enough for us to be happy he lost [his re-election bid]. But to gild the lily of cynicism with an overblown critique of his post public life seems petty,” he wrote in a Business Insider op-ed.
Mr. Weiner opened his op-ed by pointing to his political and policy similarities with Ms. Warren.
“In my time in Congress, I used to describe myself as a member of the fighting wing of the Democratic Party,” Mr. Weiner wrote. “Today, that would probably be called the Warren wing. And honestly, I can’t think of any time I agreed with Eric Cantor. Still, despite my admiration for Warren and disagreements with Cantor, I think her attack on his new gig with the investment bank Moelis was off base.”
He questioned Ms. Warren’s characterization of Mr. Cantor’s new job as evidence of a revolving door.
“Well, it is a door and a lucrative one at that. But revolving? If he wants to return to politics, maybe his Wall Street connections will help his raise money for a future campaign, but fundraising has never been a problem for him,” Mr. Weiner wrote. “There are lots of real reasons to be cynical about the state of politics nowadays, but Warren overshoots by making Cantor’s move seem more troublesome than it really is. She’s also wrong to question Cantor’s expertise.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.