It's official, Anthony Weiner is a Democratic contender in the race to name Michael Bloomberg's successor as mayor of New York City. In a YouTube video he posted overnight Wednesday, Weiner, accompanied by quiet background music, describes his middle-class upbringing in Brooklyn.
The man that the late Andrew Breitbart outed as an obscene Twitter tweeter asks New Yorkers via YouTube for their support as he and his wife Huma Abedin, a former aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, sit on the stoop of their Park Avenue apartment building.
The soft-spoken plea from Weiner contrasts with his reputation for heated, angry outbursts on the House floor while he was a Congressman from New York State. YouTube user 'simmyjaye' compiled a "Best-Of" series of clips of Weiner's former antics, and many members of Congress likely remember the less tepid Anthony Weiner.
One such man is Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who represents part of Long Island. Frequently a subject of Weiner's ire, the Republican has endured both a television interview with an irate Weiner and a famous House floor episode during which Weiner, after being yielded the floor by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., implores King to "sit down".
A few years ago, the debate over a 9/11 victims compensation bill, which some Republicans balked at due to the procedure with which it was being administered on the House floor, reached a fever pitch when Weiner called out King and his colleagues for holding up the bill's passage on procedural grounds. King, also a supporter of 9/11 victims and their families, was likely surprised to be the subject of the diatribe, seen below.
Anthony Weiner's mayoral candidacy may have more gas in the tank than many think. His campaign war chest reportedly holds $4.3 million as of late, and he is only trailing another high-profile Democrat, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, D-Manhattan, by ten points according to Quinnipiac.
Weiner has also released a detailed plan of more than 60 points that outlines how he intends to make New York City friendlier to the middle class if elected. Getting one big elephant in the room out of the way, Weiner explains early in the campaign video that he "made some big mistakes, and I know I let a lot of people down," asking the public to forgive him of his past shortfalls.
The New York City mayoral field is already crowded on both sides: Quinn, Weiner, City Comptroller John Liu, and advocate Bill de Blasio are only a few of the Democrats vying for the primary nomination in September. The winner of that contest will face the top Republican contender, which will be any number of people including former MTA Chief & former Giuliani administration official Joe Lhota and businessman John Catsimatidis, among others.
Below is Anthony Weiner's official mayoral campaign video:
Below is Anthony Weiner's famous House floor rant against King and other GOP officials, posted to YouTube by the Associated Press:
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