Anthony Weiner won't go, but his District Might

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This would be fitting justice:



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432304576371574025153898.html

JOHN FUND ON THE TRAIL  JUNE 7, 2011, 1:04 P.M. ET.Weiner Won't Go, but His District Might
If Mr. Weiner manages to survive a pending investigation, his district may not survive the redrawing of congressional district lines in Albany..

By JOHN FUND
New York Democrats are furious with Rep. Anthony Weiner over his fall from grace and his decision to remain in Congress, which will be a lingering embarrassment to them. But even if Mr. Weiner manages to survive a pending House Ethics Committee investigation, his district may not survive the redrawing of congressional district lines that is about to be conducted by state legislators in Albany.

.New York must lose two House seats in 2012 due to slow population growth, and one of those districts is almost certain to be in New York City. Mr. Weiner represents a sprawling district in Queens and Brooklyn that borders six other congressional districts and thus could be an easy target for elimination. Due to the Voting Rights Act, none of the existing districts with a majority of black or Hispanic voters can be realistically rubbed out. But Mr. Weiner lacks that protection and already sits in a district where he is on shaky political ground, having won with only 59% of the vote in the Democratic landslide year of 2010.

Ironically, the only thing that might save Mr. Weiner's district would be if the process of redrawing the lines were turned over to an independent commission that would be charged with not drawing districts designed for or against individual incumbents. But Mr. Weiner has been a vociferous opponent of that idea, which is supported by former New York Mayor Ed Koch and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Last March, Mr. Weiner told the TV show "Capitol Tonight" that he wants the responsibility of redrawing district lines to remain in the hands of elected officials, insisting that politicians can be fair in their judgments. "I believe that the fair process here can be the political process, too," he insisted. "I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with saying: let politics have its way."

We'll see if Mr. Weiner is singing that same song after his Democratic colleagues in the state legislature have rendered their final decision on his political future.