Lhota Launches Preemptive Strike On Weiner, Ask Former Dates To Come Forward

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Republican mayor candidate Joe Lhota has launched a novel strategy.

He wants women who dated Anthony Weiner to come forward and spill the beans. As CBS 2's Marcia Kramer reported Tuesday, it's designed to round up support among female voters in Campaign 2013's race for City Hall.

Lhota is beating the bushes for women who dated confessed sexter Weiner. He wants them to come clean about their experiences, which, he apparently thinks, will convince other women not to support the Democratic mayoral wannabe who, right now, occupies the number 1 poll position.

"I think they will come to the right conclusion after enough women come out and talk about what it was like to be with him and date him and things like that," Lhota said Tuesday. "Woman are going to have to decide for themselves."

It was a novel campaign move by Lhota, who made the comments on the Andrea Tantaros radio show.

Everyone knows about Weiner's sexting scandal -- the risqué pictures of himself that he tweeted to at least six women he didn't know. Voters also know that when first outed he lied about it.

"This was a very dumb thing to do," Weiner said back on June 6, 2011.

But this is the first time anyone is asking women who actually dated him and know him -- not the strangers he sexted -- to kiss and tell.

"If anybody wants to help me beat the Weiner," Lhota said.

For his part, Weiner was not amused.

"I've been hit by right wing Republicans my entire career and I'm just going to keep on doing what I'm doing, talking about specific issues to help the middle class," Weiner said.

Weiner said he intended to run a campaign of ideas and he was quite dismissive of Lhota's campaign, implying that he was idea-less and trading on his days as deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani.

"So far it just seems like him trying to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up to be a candidate that has ideas of his own," Weiner said.

Voters seemed to dismiss the Lhota tactic.

"I think to rehash all this nonsense is just that, nonsense," one Harlem resident said.

"It wouldn't influence my vote because I'm not going to vote for him," added Jame Berrier of Midtown.

CBS 2's Kramer spoke to a number of political experts about Lhota's move. Some said it's wise to try and take out Weiner now, so he won't be a factor in November

Others said Lhota could face a backlash from voters who think that as a Republican Lhota should stay out of the Democratic primary.

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