Spitzer busted for prostitution ring
This, just now from The New York Times: “Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.” His press conference is probably happening right now.
The wiretap recording, made during an investigation of a prostitution ring called Emperors Club VIP, captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a room. The person briefed on the case identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9 [...] The affidavit says that Client 9 met with the woman in hotel room 871 but does not identify the hotel. Mr. Spitzer stayed at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on Feb. 13, according to a source who was told of his travel arrangements.
And, in what may be my only brush with political scandal, I was at the Mayflower Hotel that night, and I ate breakfast the next morning in the hotel restaurant, about ten feet away from Governor Spitzer. I had granola at the buffet, and I can confirm that he, instead, ordered off the menu. Nuts.
Update: Fox News reports that Spitzer will resign following his indictment.
Update: Politico’s Ben Smith on the man who would replace Spitzer.
Update: The Times says he will not resign.



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back to top56 Comments to “Spitzer busted for prostitution ring”
Shouldn’t that headline read; Democrat Governor Spitzer?
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That comment was for RDean’s benefit.
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Wow what a why to blow a career huh? Of course if Vitter didn’t resign, maybe he should rethink that decision.
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I posted this on Whirled Views 3.10 (post 36)about an hour ago.
He didn’t resign, maybe it doesn’t matter in N.Y.
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A public consultant on the news just said that Spitzer probably took umbrage that he is listed as Client No. 9 rather than Client No. 1. Apparently, his ego is that strong. His wife was standing by him when he made the announcement. She looked better than McGreevey’s wife, though.
Incredible that a former attorney general, someone who prosecuted prostitution rings, did this. If he doesn’t resign, the minority leader is urging impeachment.
Of course, this is really Bush’s fault — federal wiretapping! No wonder the Dems don’t like that law.
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Let he who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. Original sin is bound by nobody’s politics.
Thank God that neither is grace for sinners.
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When Spitzer ran to be governor, he emphasized that he “would be ready on day one.” Hillary plagiarized this slogan and is using it now against Obama.
Although he claimed to be ready on day one, his first year was less than stellar. He might be resigning now after his 2nd year.
This doesn’t bode well for Hillary if he was the model for her campaign.
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NJL
YOU WRITE:…….
“Of course, this is really Bush’s fault — federal wiretapping! No wonder the Dems don’t like that law.”
Well of course the DEM’s will blame Bush, LOL, this wouldn’t have happened if there were no federal wiretapping. This is a serious subject, but it sure proves the fact as to why the DEM’s oppose such laws.
And to think this happens after the Clinton Oval Office act with Monica……. and the Presidential election 7 1/2 months away.
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I don’t think this will have an effect on Hillary. No one thinks this is the type of change she wants. Spitzer used the word “change” today in his little speech, so if any word is going to have an effect, it’s that one.
(They are reporting that not one person interviewed on the street in NY wants Spitzer to stay, but a poll around the state says 32% say he should remain in office.)
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Victoria, who else could be at fault but Bush, wink wink?
Do none of these politicians understand that when they run on “family values” or as Spitzer did “I’m gonna clean things up” that it applies to them, too?!?!? And the guy is a lawyer, a prosecutor. It’s astonishing how anyone can be so educated and accomplished but so incredibly stupid at the same time.
This comes at a bad time for NY. They’re working on their budget due to be voted on in April.
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He could escape conviction if he can produce….say….a gay lover that will swear they were together that night. Should be easy enough for a secular socialist to arrange I would think
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I am once again reminded that lefties, just like all terrorists, have no self control, no shame and can never be satisfied.
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Harrison and Spitzer at the Mayflower Hotel on the very night of a prostitute assignation. What has the world come to. WorldMag blog has become a hot place.
May we believe that Harrison had Granola the following morning? WorldMag would be well advised to commission a Ken Starr investigation into these suspicious circumstances. Could it be that RDean was there also?
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Let’s see if the Democrate hold their own to the same standard (this time) as they do the Republicans. I haven’t seen it in my lifetime.
It seem that Moral standands just don’t mean anything.
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NJL – 10
That made me laugh. YEP, Bush has be involved, after all it’s those wire-taps, and if it weren’t for those everything would be just dandy.
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Peter – 13
That’s hilarious! WHO KNOWS who was there, maybe we should investigate.
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What many of you have alluded to, but never said:
“If this guy were a Republican, it would make a difference.” As it is, he will likely resign, and things will go on as before. Since he didn’t say “micoca”, the Washington Post won’t care.
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Let’s make a deal:
Gov. Spitzer resigns if (Republican) Senator Larry Craig resigns from office. Gov. Spitzer is only accused. While Senator Craig has a conviction.
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“A deal,” Anlir? That runs against any and every notion of justice. Should we start judging people by what others have done elsewhere? The two cases are not identicle by any means.
As I recall, on his own demerits and not on any partisan basis or false comparisons, most Republicans I recall wanted Larry Craig to resign. I know I did.
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Ah. So the Governor is innocent until proven guilty eh? And when he’s proven guilty? Will you still sing the same tune? Did you sing this tune when other Republicans were not convicted yet? I’d bet a $50 you didn’t….
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One can never underestimate the ability of the Republicans to ignore the corruption of their own members. The Republican leadership voted not to censure or remove Larry Craig from the Senate who was convicted in a court of law for a sex crime. Yet they’re in high dungeon over a man who hasn’t even had his trial yet. One would be tempted to call them “hypocrites”, but they wear that as a badge of honor.
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Here’s a take on the Spitzer story from the lunatic left at Daily Kos:
I’ll bet you $50 to $500 that this story…
is the unseamly [sic] underside of Bush’s FISA fanatcism….that this government..OUR government…is casting a net “in search of terrorists” so wide, and so deliberately. so as to reel in … like this…and use it politically.
If Spitzer has a taste for call girls, I won’t defend that… Neither am I prone to jump on it and go to town. I’m strictly of the Larry Flynt camp…Let it all out, and let the hypocrites wither in the light of day.
But I have a very discerning internal alarm. and that alarm tells me that this story only hit the news because the NSA, or the FBI…was snooping on this guy because he is so on the record as a trust buster and corporate cop.
Mark my words…this has the Bush Administration’s fingerprints all over it…and if the MSM digs a little deeper, they will find what Congress is afraid to look for…evidence that Bush’s wiretap program has less to do with terrorists than it has to do with political foes.
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“He who is faithful in a little is also faithful in much.” And vice versa.
(Didn’t mean the pun–maybe that’s a spelling error?)
I haven’t cared for Governor Spitzer since he took office as AG of NY and immediately tried to close down all the PCCs in the state on bogus charges.
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I recall one of the conservative WMB’ers posting that he did not believe Vitter — also caught in a prostitution scandal — should resign. Why not? Because he agreed with Vitter’s politics. It was that blatant. I see some gross double standards going on in this thread, and some reactions that are not befitting sinners saved by grace alone.
I don’t like to be a nag, but I’m just calling it like I see it.
The wiretapping mention interested me in the original post, but I gathered from the article that this was one of those legal uses of wiretapping where an investigative body had gathered evidence and obtained a court warrant for a narrow and specific purpose. So all the guffawing about why Democrats are really against wiretaps is a red herring.
I am sorry for this man’s family, and I wish Christians had enough integrity to view with equanimity the sins of any public official of either party.
But until then, don’t let me interrupt the celebration.
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JJF
JJF you write:……
“I am sorry for this man’s family, and I wish Christians had enough integrity to view with equanimity the sins of any public official of either party.
But until then, don’t let me interrupt the celebration.”
It’s not the integrity of Christians which is a point of debate, its the Governor of N.Y. Four hours with a W_____. Please lets keep this in perspective.
We have all had enough of Clinton/Monica and now the Gov. of New York. And what did he represent? …. what was his stand, when standing against crime? …. please, can you name them, or should we blame President Bush?
There is no celebration, it’s disgusting!
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You know what the most disgusting thing about all this is? It’s that Spitzer, and every other perv from McGreevy to Vitter, always drag their wives along for the mea culpa press conference.
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JJF at #23: I recall one of the conservative WMB’ers posting that he did not believe Vitter — also caught in a prostitution scandal — should resign. Why not? Because he agreed with Vitter’s politics. It was that blatant. I see some gross double standards going on in this thread, and some reactions that are not befitting sinners saved by grace alone.
It’s so predictable it’s almost funny. NJLawyer and Victoria have been having this fantasy of liberals blaming Bush when no one has even hinted of that. (I blame Spitzer and Spitzer alone … so will most all of us, and I will bet that NJLawyer and Victoria will continue to insist that liberals blame Bush even when exactly 0 of us do.)
Meanwhile Chas is chortling that the Washington Post “won’t care,” when right now it is the lead story on their Web site and will no doubt be the lead story in tomorrow’s paper editions.
And of course, the many Republicans who have been caught in equally sordid situations (Vitter, Craig, Mark Foley) well, they apparently don’t exist to our friends here.
Victoria’s post #24 takes denial of reality to new heights.
It’s really pathetic.
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I don’t care what the political party. If you cannot honor your wedding vows why should I believe anything you say or sign.
We should not delight in anothers shortcomings.
Yes I believe we should all take heed lest we each should fall.
However, he who has been granted much, will and must be held to a higher standard. If found guilty, he should pay the same as he demanded of those he prosecuted.
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#26, SteveG wrote; “It’s really pathetic.”
Yes indeed, your post at #26 was.
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JJF (see #24),
You did not even name that so-called “conservative blogger.” And even if you could give the blogger’s label, it could have been a “liberal” pretending to be a conservative. You just can’t know. It is illegitimate to blame and smear groups or ideologies based on some isolated possible poser on a blog whom you don’t know at all.
And bringing in other cases for partisan purposes and comparisons is classless and irrelevant–unless of course all you care about are partisan comparisons.
So, you saw no certifiable “double standard” at all. You may have simply read a blog post by someone you have no way of knowing was being sincere.
Also, you gave no evidence whatswoever that “Christians” lacked any integrity to view with equanimity the sins of any public official of either party. That was nothing but an umproven smear of an entire religion on your part.
You cannot know from a blog post if someone is a real “conservative” or a real “Christian,” so your attempts, JJF, to use this case to smear those groups falls on its face to fair-minded readers (Christian or not).
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Well, I’m reading in the NYT this morning that Spitzer will resign by tonight. So, as far as I can see, the only difference in consequences is that I had to read most of the article to find out he’s a Democrat. When It’s a Republican, the party affiliation usually appears in the headline.
I’m praying for this guy’s hurting wife (and him, too).
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SteveG, do you know what a joke is? Do any liberals ever laugh? What I said about Bush was a joke. Lighten up. You liberals are so touchy, and then you get so tetchy. But perhaps you should reread Peter Leavitt’s posting from the Daily Kos. I wasn’t too far off.
The thing that triggered this investigation is that he paid in cash. His bank is required by the Bank Secrecy Act to file a form when certain types of transactions take place. He made quite a few, evidently, and they linked up to a certain company that was being investigated. Spitzer knew the drill, he actually told a reporter a few years ago that criminals hand the evidence to the prosecutors via bank records, emails and text messages. The government certainly had enough evidence to get a judge to give them the wiretap. This was not datamining.
No Christian or conservative here took up Larry Craig’s,Vitter’s or Foley’s defense and the liberals here know it. And they can’t claim this is “just sex.” This is real criminal activity by a former prosecutor who made his name prosecuting the same type of crime. He knows better, and he has admitted to it in public. The public has a right to expect its governor not to engage in criminal conduct.
Victoria is absolutely correct when she says there’s nothing to celebrate here. What this man has done to himself is one thing, but what he’s done to his family is appalling. These people met in school and have been together for 20 years. He put no value on that.
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Innocent until proven guilty? He’s not even convicted yet, as Anlir says, but this from Adler, pretty much sums it up. A conviction is pretty much irrelevant in the face of the evidence and impending resignation. And if Democrats are as pure as the driven snow (as some seem to assert- certainly in comparison to those evil dirty Republicans!) then why the need to “refurbish” the Democratic party and “clean up” Albany? Hmmmm?
http://wcbstv.com/breakingnewsalerts/spitzer.prostitution.ring.2.673848.html
There’s a lot of finger pointing going on here, and has been for some time. Our resident liberals have wasted no opportunity to trash the Republicans and Conservatives for their scandals in high places. Indeed you can see how it is by the way it continues to come up. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, naturally the conservatives want to point out how hypocritical it is for the Democrats to trash the Republicans when they have their own garbage to take out. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. So stand up and take your medicine folks….
There are many of us who decry the actions of anyone who does this sort of thing, regardless of his political affiliation… but that doesn’t prevent the libs from screaming about how evil the Republicans are. All I gotta say about that is…
What part of ALL have sinned don’t you get?
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This just in!
Prostitute linked to Eliot Spitzer forced to resign from Escort service in disgrace!
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NJLawyer at #32: SteveG, do you know what a joke is? Do any liberals ever laugh? What I said about Bush was a joke. Lighten up. You liberals are so touchy, and then you get so tetchy.
I have quite a good sense of humor. Maybe your jokes just aren’t funny? Just sayin’.
And they can’t claim this is “just sex.” This is real criminal activity by a former prosecutor who made his name prosecuting the same type of crime. He knows better, and he has admitted to it in public. The public has a right to expect its governor not to engage in criminal conduct.
I agree and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t. (Not syaing they’re not out there, but I don’t know any of them.) This is a tragically stupid mistake made by man who should know better, and causing great harm both personally and professionally to him and those close to him.
There’s no blame to place except squarely on his shoulders.
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Nobody tops the New York Post for coverage of a local NY political scandal. Check out their “Ho No!” headline coverage.
I still think Spitzers wife looks like Jennifer Aniston (an older JA).
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Selling political favors is legal in DC, but selling your companionship isn’t?
I guess some prostitutes are more equal than others …
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#36 – still think Spitzers wife looks like Jennifer Aniston (an older JA).
Yeah, so what, Travis?
NightTrain – Another excellent point(#26) you’ve made!!
These wives claim they’re standing by their men’s side for the sake of the children – what is this teaching their children? It’s all so disgusting and yucky to me. I’d be darned if I’d stand there in public and hold their hands.
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Joel Mark (#30):
That would be because I do not have perfect recall. But google will serve as a second best:
Peter L said this:
I respect that opinion, as long as it is consistently applied even to political opponents. If it were not, I would suspect the opinion is nothing but a religious justification for keeping around a political ally.
MH said this:
DR said this:
And later this (the quote I was referring to):
Peter L and DR have longstanding reputations on this site, so it is highly unlikely that either is a “liberal pretending to be a conservative.”
As I said earlier, I’m fairly certain DR and Peter were both sincere.
But the double standard I was speaking of is not simply that some people call for one man to resign and the other to remain. It is an issue of tone. Follow the links above and read the posts on the Vitter thread. Even conservatives calling for Vitter’s resignation (like yourself) do so in a gracious manner, often recognizing man’s original sin and universal need for repentance. They praise Vitter for his apology, praise his wife for her courage, they are generally very consoling, even when tough.
This thread, on the other hand, is filled with crass jokes about liberals and New York and the real reason Democrats oppose wiretapping, and liberals like terrorists having no self control, and RDean, Spitzer, and Harrison having gay sex (which seems like a really bizarre slam unless the poster has a affably teasing relationship with Harrison).
So I do see a strong double standard by some posters. And I see that even those of you who don’t join the chuckles don’t admonish your cackling allies, either.
I hope this post provides the evidence.
Finally, I do not intend to smear an entire religion. Rather, I care enough about our religion’s integrity that I point out where our brothers and sisters are making fools of us all.
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…already questioning how he could survive a possible scandal of the magnitude suggested by the first report.
Simply by following the Clinton legacy. Billy Jeff blazed a new trail by brushing aside the antiquated notion of a single standard and separating the public from the private. Actually, American cultural drift made it a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, there’s nothing here to see; move along.
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#1: Shouldn’t that headline read; Democrat Governor Spitzer?
#2: That comment was for RDean’s benefit.
Of course it’s a Democrat. The prostitute is a “girl”. Oops, sorry, that was a “low blow”.
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SteveG, there have been a few people interviewed, one was a politician, the others on the street, who fail to comprehend that Spitzer has admitted to violating the law, believe it or not. You are right that this is tragic, not only for his family, but I just don’t understand how someone who knows what he knows having been a prosecutor would trash his life like this. I’ve heard that it’s a megalomania, that people in power never think it will happen to them, but this fellow can not only lose his family, but he can be disbarred. He literally put everything on the line here.
Victoria laughed at my joke, so it was funny to someone. You liberal guys really have to start seeing the humor in things. (Even Hillary understands that she does better when laughs at herself.)
JJF, I think you are very selective in your quotations. The next time this happens on the Republican side, be ready to be called out. (I trust that we won’t be reading any more jokes about Bush.)
The part that I don’t like about this is that I’m hearing Spitzer is negotiating and that his resignation is part of it. I can see negotiating a plea, that’s done all the time, but the resignation shouldn’t be a bargaining chip. He should be treated like any other defendant. I think he’s forfeited the perks of his office.
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At least he wasn’t trying to pick up homosexuals in the men’s restroom. Glad to see he was just your normal politician – cheating on his wife with other women.
Craig’s scandal had gotten me worried that the new stance of America’s politicians was going to be a “wide” one.
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Considering what he has already acknowledged, and the laws that were apparently broken and the extent of moral hypocrisy inherent in this scandal (given his own legal and moral crusading against others), the longer Spitzer hangs in there and makes excuses, the more he undermines his effectiveness and his Party.
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“Ahhhh … he’s one o’ them … so fire at will.”
While “our” guys often get a pass from many of “us.”
Sorry. JJF @ 39 hit the nail on the head.
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JJF,
No, you offered no evidence at all to justify your smear of “Christians.”
When you wrote; “I wish Christians had enough integrity to view with equanimity the sins of any public official of either party,” that was a mindless and irrational smear.
I see the vast majority of Christians calling for equality under the law. Most of the Christians I know don’t want politicians of any stripe to be immune–not Clinton, not Criag, not Barney Frank, not William Jefferson, not Vitter, not Spitzer, not Kennedy, and not Foley (who resigned immediately when his scandal came out and yet, because it was election time, the media never let it go until after the 2006 voting).
JJF, you may have evidence for isolated bloggers or people of any stripe who have no integrity, but you have no evidence to back up your broad-brushed irrational smear of “Christians.”
What will interest me is how the media will handle this one and how long.
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It’s ironic he was so pro telephone tapping.
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And guess who was running the prostitution ring? Surprise, surprise, it was an Israeli Jew. This is from the Jewish newspaper The Forward.
http://snipurl.com/21jvv ]
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Do liberals have any standard for personal conduct for politicians?
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Somebody please explain this to me (I don’t expect to necessarily agree with the explanation, but I just want to hear it): some Dem apologists for Spitzer, like Alan Dershowitz, are saying that this ethical issue shouldn’t matter, it’s a private affair (literally and figuratively I suppose), and what goes on behind closed doors between consenting adults is his own business, yada yada. But why does it matter with Larry Craig? Don’t get me wrong, Craig is a sleaze and should have resigned a long time ago. But why is one a private matter and the other not? Just wondering.
I suppose someone could say one is behind closed doors and the other is behind those weird swinging doors in a public restroom…
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NJL, I think those liberals draw the line at infantilism; wearing diapers and being treated like a baby by his hookers. That’s what Republican David Vitter allegedly did, and that’s just too much for those liberals. If it transpires that Spitzer was wearing diapers with his hookers, I imagine the liberals will demand he resign.
What’s the conservative standard for personal conduct by politicians? They apparently have no problem with Diaperboy.
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TJ at #50: Somebody please explain this to me (I don’t expect to necessarily agree with the explanation, but I just want to hear it): some Dem apologists for Spitzer, like Alan Dershowitz, are saying that this ethical issue shouldn’t matter, it’s a private affair (literally and figuratively I suppose), and what goes on behind closed doors between consenting adults is his own business, yada yada. But why does it matter with Larry Craig? Don’t get me wrong, Craig is a sleaze and should have resigned a long time ago. But why is one a private matter and the other not? Just wondering.
I don’t know, TJ. I think Dershowitz is wrong on this one.
If this were a case of a private citizen, I might agree. But Spitzer holds a public office of great responsibility, and has made his name by prosecuting exactly these kinds of crimes.
I really hate hypocrisy, and I have no sympathy for him. He needs to resign and be disbarred, and he needs to disappear from public view and get his life in order.
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We seem to be in agreement on this one, SteveG. While I wouldn’t justify, under any circumstance, a husband cheating on his wife, and especially via a prostitute, the fact that he is a public official compounds the problem. Even if he were single, though, he should resign. He broke the law, he campaigned on ethical reforms, and he is a hypocrite, as you have stated. Regards of party affiliation, he should salvage some dignity (what little is left) and resign, imho.
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SteveG – Spitzer made his name by prosecuting prostitution rings, but Vitter ran on the plank of family values.
Seems to me both should resign. At least Spitzer is leaving. I guess 1 out of 2 isn’t bad.
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#49: Do liberals have any standard for personal conduct for politicians?
Perhaps you could ask Foley or Craig or Pastor Oil, I mean Haggard. Of course, they don’t have as much experience with “girls”. No wonder the Republicans are so fixated on the gays. That’s why the are so mad at Spitzer and Clinton. They were messing with girls.
You think this is why Republicans believe you can be “recruited” or, get this, “turned”? If you get bitten, you can be “turned”? Sorry, I laughed so hard I almost, well, nevermind.
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Hey Vicki,
Where ever you are, I found your soulmate.
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/ok_rep_sally_kern_cen/8u673uu9z7bewkjj?
Last week, a secret recording emerged of a disturbing speech by Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern stating that homosexuality is a bigger threat to our nation than “terrorism or Islam.” Rep. Kern has refused to apologize for her remarks.
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