Harry Reid’s advice to Anthony Weiner: ‘Call somebody else’

Add Sen. Harry Reid to the list of prominent Democrats who aren’t rushing to Rep. Anthony Weiner’s side.

Asked at his weekly news conference about the Twitter-tarred congressman, Reid replied, “I know Congressman Weiner. I wish there was some way I can defend him, but I can’t.

The Senate majority leader, a Democrat from Nevada, demurred when asked if the New Yorker should resign, saying, “I’m not here to defend Weiner.”

Reid was asked what advice he would give Weiner. “Call somebody else,” he told reporters, to laughter.

No doubt many of Reid’s fellow Democrats feel the same way. Earlier Tuesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) referred Weiner’s case—he’s admitted to contacting at least six women via social networks—to the House Ethics Committee for an investigation.

Pelosi’s Republican counterpart, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, called on Weiner to resign.

“We’ve got a lot of serious challenges in this country and a lot of work for Congress to do,” Cantor said after a speech in Louisa, Va., according to the Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Va. “The last thing we need to do is get enmeshed in a discussion about Congressman Weiner and his Twitter activities.”