Anthony Weiner is back and making waves on social media — but not quite in the ways he is famous for.
The scorned former New York City mayoral candidate took to his Facebook to reflect on 2013, a year that left him behind in the polls in the Democratic primary for Gotham’s top spot and facing yet another scandal regarding his tawdry texting habits. But Weiner appears to have bounced back, capitalizing on the “fundamental optimism” coursing throughout the country and slamming the “tea party wackadoo wing” of the GOP, all while taking stock of yet another scandal-filled year.
“It certainly didn’t go as I had hoped. I continue to be deeply sorry that my personal mistakes undermined an amazing campaign that included too many amazing staffers to mention and hundreds of volunteers and many of you who kept active from afar with ideas, contributions and encouraging notes. (Even the snarky comments of our opponents weren’t entirely humorless),” Weiner wrote on the social media site.
Weiner said he and his wife Huma Abedin, who stood by his side despite correspondence proving he strayed from the marriage, were “buoyed by the kind wishes of friends and total strangers.” But, the former Congressmen said, it’s hard to get down in the dumps when you are “watching a little boy sprout before your eyes,” referencing his son, Jordan.
Though the former Mayoral candidate kept his plans for the future hush-hush, he said progressives need to continue to lead the debate on healthcare and try to implement policies that stimulate a sluggish economy, especially with the growth of power from the Tea Party.
“Although my Republican friends have to decide what to do with the tea party wackadoo wing of their party, it does not constitute a strategy to simply sit back and watch them immolate,” Weiner wrote.
While reflecting on his campaign, which all-but-imploded as his quest to run City Hall continued, Weiner said there were several key tenants his team remembered, which just may put his name and face in bookstores nationwide.
“Our team has to be a font of ideas and debate,” he wrote. “I tried to run my campaign on this theme and the response was amazing. (Who knows, maybe I have a third book of ideas in me!)”
Then-Rep. Weiner (D-N.Y.) first found himself in the midst of a scandal after he posted inappropriate photos of himself on Twitter in 2011, which led to his resignation from Congress. Then, as the New York City mayoral race heated up in 2013, a woman by the name of Sydney Leathers said she had exchanged tawdry photos with Weiner, who operated under the pseudonym Carlos Danger.
The scandal plagued his campaign, and he lost the Democratic mayoral primary in September.
But Weiner’s reflections on 2013 certainly didn’t rule out any chances of him hanging up his political hat. Could Weiner be hinting at a further career in politics? Only time will tell — and he’ll probably leave a trail on social media, too.
