Anthony Weiner's All-Time Top 5 Rants [VIDEO]

(July 30) -- American politics is often a predictable spectacle, a never-ending series of rote talking points that can cause the average viewer's eyes to glaze over.

And then there's New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, among the most engaging partisan warriors to appear on the American scene in recent memory. Here are five of the Democrat's outbursts that have already become the stuff of legend, not to mention YouTube, starting with his latest headline-making blowup.

1. "It is a shame! A shame!"
On July 29, Weiner took to the House floor during a debate on whether to pass a bill to provide $7.4 billion in health care benefits for rescue workers who toiled at ground zero following the 9/11 attacks. Ultimately, the bill did not receive the two-thirds vote it needed to pass, but Weiner's impassioned performance became an instant viral hit.

2. "You're being a shill for this company."
Not one to shy from a fight, Weiner is a frequent guest on Fox News. The subject of May 23's "The O'Reilly Factor" spot was Weiner's investigation of Goldline, a company that advertises heavily on the network, and which employs Glenn Beck as a spokesman.

3. "The Republic Party"
Following the maxim "turnabout is fair play," Weiner lambasted GOP members of the House using a technique employed against his own party -- derisively removing the last two letters of the party's title. Just as hearing the words "Democrat Party" chafes Democrats, Weiner's insistence on terming his opponents the "Republic Party" sounded equally grating to the ear.

4. "Fake Memos"
On March 20, in the midst of the long back-and-forth over health care reform, Scott Garrett, a Republican congressman from New Jersey, got a taste of Weiner's debating prowess. After reading from what he claimed was a memo of Democratic Party talking points on health care, Garrett could not respond to Weiner's demand that he cite the source of the document.

5. "The Republican Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry."
Weiner's wordplay does not always produce the desired effect. On Feb. 24, he found himself overstepping his bounds when he claimed that the Republican Party was bought and sold by the insurance industry. That characterization (and re-characterization) earned him a swift rebuke when the remark was ordered removed from the official record.