I'm sure that, by now, everyone has heard the news about New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's ties to a prostitution ring. I must say, it comes as a major disappointment after Spitzer established himself as the ethical white knight who fought Wall Street corruption during his tenure as the state Attorney General. During the run-up to the gubernatorial election, Spitzer was heralded as the next FDR. It is, therefore, amazing to see how quickly his political capitol evaporated, as he clashed with State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer). That was disappointing enough; this latest offense is nauseating. Right when the public is just beginning to build enthusiasm about the political process and the Democratic party, something like this happens, reminding everyone of the Lewinsky scandal of ten years ago, and reinforcing the idea that all politicians are sleazy, self-serving, Huey Long-esque megalomaniacs.
Meanwhile, if Spitzer steps down, Lt. Gov. David Paterson will become the Governor. I'm very interested to see what effect he'll have on the state and congressional races in New York if he ascends. Is his name too tied to Spitzer's, or will his presence provide a breath of fresh air for the party? I cautiously await . . .
be a fresh face on the national scene.
unpopular governors bleed their parties support faster than anything other than an unpopular president. bob taft, ernie fletcher, blunt before he lame ducked himself, murkowitz before palin beat him in the primary. the longer he stays in office, the worse our chances of gaining seats in new york get. mccain and bruno will turn election 08 into a referndum on spitzer, we’ll lose the statehouse, chances at the senate, a few house seats. spitzy, ya tried, but you just didn’t do a very good job.
The most chilling thing is that the NY Daily New compared Spitzer’s plight to his successful prosecution of Wall Street firms for insider trading. It is hard to overstate how much this group of overpaid babies hates Elliot Spitzer. Guess he opened up the window and let it happen. The babies got their kill to go along with their billions. Meanwhile, we enter a recesssion and their taxes were protected (by Schumer).
Compare Spitzer to David Vitter. Vitter was also found in a madam’s book. He was guilty of a long term continuing relation, one which he publicly denied. Spitzer had the one $5,500 tryst. Vitter, of course, blames federal “beaurocrats” for Katrina’s aftermath rather than the shoddy privatizers. He was far and away the number one backer of Bush and blamer of the victims in Louisiana. Rather than being indicted or resigning his office, Vitter admitted to a “sin.” The man is a Rhodes scholar. He knew exactly what he was doing. “Sins” are not punishable by federal law nor do they require resignation.
A tragic day for locofoco’s everywhere.
and any former attorney general who allows himself to get caught up in a prostitution ring should be automatically disbarred! And I think that criminal charges can and will be filed against him. It’s a terrible day for the jewish community, because when something like this happens, anti-semitism always rises.
It is terrible for Clinton, since they both won together, both with landslides and Clinton (at least publicly) calls him a friend and ally. She went out on a limb for him over the driver’s license thing, as well. This is going to be a drag on her campaign and pennsylvanians are going to have six weeks to watch this thing play out in the news. The Obama team will automatically benefit from this, so I suspect that the Obamans will not say much at the onset and let the shock of this do their work for them. Clinton will distance herself from Spitzer as quickly as possible. The right will just love to try to compare Spitzer to Bill Clinton, which is a stupid comparison, but they will make it nonetheless.
If Spitzer does not resign, then his seat will fall to the GOP in the next election, guaranteed. No doubt the DEMS are lighting a huge fire under his ass in order to force him out, which is, imo, the right thing to do. He must go.
I am not sure everyone knows what an evil thing a prostitution ring is: most of these girls are hauled inland, most against their will, they are held captive more often than not, they are mistreated, often injured, and sold for an extremely high price. This is slavery in the 21st century, make no mistake about it.
The guy is a schmuck and a putz for having done it. One time is one time too many, and I bet we will find out that he has done it more than once. You know, he could have gone to a brothel and popped a normal prostitute, and, though it is abhorrent for a married man, it would not be this scandal.
DAMN. A former attorney general who based his career on fighting crime, and now this!!!