Anthony Weiner may have annoyed some of his old constituents by missing the Memorial Day parade in his former congressional district in Forest Hills, Queens, but judging by reports from another parade he attended Monday, they’re in the minority. If there were any vocal detractors in the crowd, the clot of press BuzzFeed’s Ruby Cramer described flanking Weiner as he marched in the Laurelton Memorial Day parade on Monday did not notice them. Rather, Weiner spent the morning basking in affection from residents and parade spectators, and carrying on a seemingly unending exchange with the press. And while that “love-fest” was happening, his main rival in the Democratic primary, Christine Quinn, caught flack for backing out of an education debate Weiner plans to attend on Tuesday.
Cramer described Weiner’s still-small campaign operation, which left him with a tiny parade contingent:
In lieu of supporters or staff, Weiner has a bevy of reporters and cameramen to march with. “Wave! Do something!” says one of the six photographers pacing backward ahead of the candidate, tired of the same shot. “Wave? Do something?” Weiner says. “Why don’t you just do an oil painting and take all the fun out of it?” He later ribs a Post reporter, “I have no idea how a struggling newspaper has nine reporters covering us.”
Politicker’s Ross Barkan related his own Weiner anecdote:
As he waved and shouted, “Hello my name is Anthony Weiner,” one woman cried from her porch, “I know!”
“Everyone knows your face,” she added, referencing the infamous Twitter scandal that led to his political downfall two years ago.
Mr. Weiner then turned to Politicker.
“That was just for you,” he offered. “I got you some copy.”
Weiner hasn’t picked up much in the way of formal endorsements. His one-time mentor, Sen. Chuck Schumer, cut off a question about supporting the candidate with a terse “I’m not commenting, Bob,” to Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation, and his highest-profile political allies, the Clintons, have made it clear they’re not going to back him or anyone else in this race. So reports like Monday’s, of the public going nuts for a comeback candidate, certainly help him cultivate an image of grass-roots support.
And as Weiner rode his wave of good coverage Monday, his key opponent picked up some less-than-stellar ink of her own, foregoing a debate organized by New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, which the group’s spokesman, Billy Easton, said they had rescheduled twice to accommodate her. Quinn’s campaign claims a scheduling conflict made the debate impossible, but Easton said of skipping the event, “It’s a big mistake.” Not as big as accidentally tweeting your own dick pic, though.
