Pressure Mounts On Weiner To Resign

The Wall Street Journal reports:

A person close to Mr. Weiner said he still is determined to hold onto the seat he first won in 1998. But Democratic aides said that if he continues to resist calls to resign, the situation could reach a boiling point Monday when House members return to Washington.

The controversy has become a national embarrassment for Democratic leaders, who have come under fire from Republicans for not moving more aggressively to demand Mr. Weiner's departure. Senior Democratic leadership aides expect more colleagues to come forward in the next few days to call on Mr. Weiner to resign.

On Wednesday, Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), head of candidate recruitment for the House Democrats' campaign arm, was the first House Democrat to call on Mr. Weiner to resign. In Arkansas, Sen. Mark Pryor told a radio station Mr. Weiner should resign. Former Democratic National Committee chief Tim Kaine, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Virginia, said Tuesday night that the congressman should go.

Democratic aides said the new calls for resignation were not part of a strategy by leadership to force Mr. Weiner out of the job, but rather individuals reacting when asked. Yet in the wake of such scandals, such pronouncements can have a cascading effect among politicians, as others see safety in chiming in.

"These things have a tendency to catch fire,'' said one senior Democratic aide.