After leaving Congress because he accidentally sent a picture of his clothed but erect penis to the public while trying to send it to a young woman who was not his wife, Anthony Weiner made lots of money. The New York Times posits “Mr. Weiner’s lucrative stint in business could serve as a compelling campaign credential, blunting efforts to portray him as a career politician….”
But look at the work he did:
He has counseled a biofuel firm about expansion into the emerging markets of Latin America and Africa.
These are all companies he subsidized as a Congressman, and now he’s helping them deal with government. It tells us something about the incentives a Congressman has — regulate and subsidize businesses, and you’ll make yourself more valuable when you leave office.
It also reminds us that leaving office under a cloud of sex-related scandal isn’t a barrier to lucrative lobbying/consulting work afterwords. See Bob Livington, Chip Pickering, Tim Hutchinson, or Vito Fossella for other examples.
