MetaChat - I like Spitzer.

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10 March 2008

I like Spitzer. As lame as cheating on one's wife with hookers is, and as irresponsible as it is for a high profile politician, and as horrible an humiliation this is for his wife and young daughters, I still can't avoid thinking, there are much worse things a politician can do. Much worse. Like, you know, war profiteering, etc. And I say this as

post by: matteo at: 13:34 | 34 comments

I say this as someone who has never, not even as a single man, bought sex because it goes so much against my sensibility (I won't say principles because I'm not big on such words).

But am I making any sense? Like, this is not the most horrible thing ever in the history of politics?

posted by matteo 10 March | 13:36

Oh man I JUST heard about that. I also like Spitzer. The early news reports I read just said "involved in a prostitution ring" as if maybe he ran it or something. I really see a bright line between sex worker no-victim "crime" (and cheating on spouses, lame as it is) and the sort of sleazy corruption that Spitzer railed against. This is a damned shame all around. I really had giddy "oh man this guy is going to FIX things" feelings about Spitzer.

posted by jessamyn 10 March | 13:37

as if maybe he ran it or something

same here, i had to read the story because the headlines made it look like he was a super pimp or something.

posted by matteo 10 March | 13:41

I have to disagree, if a man can't be honest in his own personal life, how can he in other facets of his life? Cheating on his wife put him in "shitheel" territory as far as I am concerned.

posted by King of Prontopia 10 March | 13:42

What a stupid way to throw away your career. This guy was Attorney General! NY's "top cop". He more than anyone should have known you can't do this kind of shit and not get caught. Stupid stupid stupid.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 10 March | 13:43

if a man can't be honest in his own personal life, how can he in other facets of his life

I don't think it's that clear-cut: maybe Dick Cheney never cheated on his wife.

Stupid stupid stupid.

Desire is a very powerful force. Also, power makes you think you're invulnerable.

But yeah, if it's true he even used his cellphone to book appointments, stupid it is.

posted by matteo 10 March | 13:51

Yeah, the reports I saw (on Fox News, while picking up my lunch) also said 'involved in a prostitution ring,' which seems... well, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, so I'm not sure how to end this sentence.

posted by box 10 March | 13:58

King of Prontopia: What if he weren't married? Is it only a problem of infidelity, or does the use of a sex-worker influence you at all?

posted by mullacc 10 March | 14:03

I'm not crazy about infidelity, but it's a private matter between spouses. Breaking the law, though, is everyone's business, and I would hope elected officials wouldn't do it.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 10 March | 14:10

I have little concern for people that want to betray their personal relationships. I do mind when people betray their public relationships. Good for him at the time. Too bad for him now.

posted by LoriFLA 10 March | 14:12

What a dumbass. Couldn't keep it zipped up for the length of his term. This saddens me.

posted by jtron 10 March | 14:17

My problem isn't so much that he may have cheated (which is scummy, but probably disgustingly commonplace), or even that he may have cheated with a hooker (because when it comes to cheating, I'd take meaningless sex-for-pay over meaningful in-love-with-the-other-woman stuff).

My problem is more that he's always claimed the moral high ground in his (pretty awesome) prosecutorial crusades, and I've always been right there with him. Now he looks like just another overzealous, empty-souled lawyer, not the great protector of All That's Right and Good. I liked the old idea of him better.

The other thing is, if it turns out not to be true, his name will always be tainted and his political career is pretty much already dead in the water. And that sucks.

posted by mudpuppie 10 March | 14:23

Leaving aside the morality of it all, wouldn't this kinda thing make him totally blackmailable? Or at least till now...

Stupid stupid thing. His poor family.

posted by bunnyfire 10 March | 14:29

Yeah, the cheating is a personal morality issue. The prosecution of prostitution rings whilst being involved in one is a professional issue, and thus part of the public interest. Very disappointing.

posted by eamondaly 10 March | 14:29

The part I have trouble with is the hypocrisy, as eamondaly points out. If you're making headlines routing out prostitution while soliciting their services, that is hypocrisy, whatever your political affiliations are.

posted by lleachie 10 March | 14:42

It is sad. He always seemed so noble to me, somebody really committed to doing good and doing right. I don't get how somebody so smart could be so dumb. Did he think he wouldn't get caught? And what is it that the $5000-an-hour call girls do that makes it seem worth the risk?

Apparently he found out on Friday that this was going to come out. Must have been some awful weekend at his house, these last couple of days.

posted by Kangaroo 10 March | 14:52

He made an interesting comment at his press conference, one that I fully agree with:

I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what is best for the State of New York.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 10 March | 15:05

King of Prontopia: What if he weren't married? Is it only a problem of infidelity, or does the use of a sex-worker influence you at all?

Even if he weren't married, the use of a sex-worker is not something I look for in an elected official. There are no little or harmless crimes for an elected official, however anyone may feel about the laws of the land, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect people to follow their oaths of office to uphold and follow the law. Unfortunately so many politicians seem to disagree.

posted by King of Prontopia 10 March | 15:10

Stress makes people do strange things, overeating a la Ian Paisley was NEVER viewed as a personal weakness cos it didn't have the social dsaapprobation that smoking, pot, drugs or alcohol did. Nowadays Ian Paisley is more acceptable since he lost weight (Ca will do that)

But what is the difference?, for example, it would be legal for this politician to sublimate his stress by overeating but not to indulge in anything that involves another human being who may have chosen to earn money this way?

Why do we think our representatives have to be so much better than we are? Are we so disgusted by human weakness? Yes we want Superman but we're not willing to pay for Superman, so we want a Superman seem-a-like.

Ho-hum

posted by Wilder 10 March | 15:22

If I was going to do something like this, I'd always have a "sting group" waiting, so if another sting group from the hooker's end came busting through the door, your "sting group" could come busting through the wall from the hotel room next door ala Kool Aid guy with badge. Voila - off the hook(er).

posted by Hellbient 10 March | 15:31

thanks admins for deleteting my double, I meant of course "disapprobation"

posted by Wilder 10 March | 15:34

Like, this is not the most horrible thing ever in the history of politics?

So what? The current admin isn't running ethnic concentration camps south of Fallujah, does that negate the culpability of this money laundering venture by extension?

Nothing worse than a hypocrite except one with power.

posted by appidydafoo 10 March | 15:47

I also really hate to see how this is going to become a factor in the presidential campaign. But I'm betting it will, somehow.

posted by mudpuppie 10 March | 15:53

That's a brilliant strategy, hellbient.

posted by Atom Eyes 10 March | 16:06

There are no little or harmless crimes for an elected official

I very seriously doubt that any major elected official can pass this test.

I consider this extremely sad. I used to like Spitzer when he seemed to be a big consumer advocate. But from what I've heard in passing, things haven't gone so well for him as Governor. However, this is not a money/corruption/kickback/influence-peddling issue, so it pretty much falls off the low end of my radar, just like the Lewinski thing.

posted by DarkForest 10 March | 16:13

Fox again for the win: they keep showing clips of Spitzer together with Hillary Clinton. and they had "Fox legal analyst" on, Jeanine Pirro, who of course was the shockingly bad alleged anti-Hillary candidate the GOP came up with in '06 only to ask to withdraw soon thereafter, and having her run for NY AG instead.

she lost that, too.

Fair and balanced!

posted by matteo 10 March | 16:16

Wilder, that's not the same thing at all. Take the pruriency out: imagine that he prosecuted every restaurant in his neighborhood for hiring illegal aliens, but not his favorite, because he likes the lasagne there. Or if he went on a campaign to shut down illegal liquor sales to minors, but not the 7-11 his son went to, because he didn't want his boy to get caught. It was a clear abuse of power, period.

And on preview, DarkForest, it's definitely a money/corruption/kickback/influence-peddling issue, on all counts. I really liked Spitzer, but this is a big deal, and not because of the OMGSEX!!~! factor.

posted by eamondaly 10 March | 16:26

And on preview, DarkForest, it's definitely a money/corruption/kickback/influence-peddling issue, on all counts.

Can you say specifically why?

posted by DarkForest 10 March | 16:45

Nowadays Ian Paisley is more acceptable since he lost weight

I assume Hillary Clinton will take some of the credit for that, too.

posted by scody 10 March | 17:14

Money: The crime was primarily an act of commerce. The ring was also busted for laundering over a million dollars. That's big-time money.

Corruption/Influence-peddling: As AG, Spitzer prosecuted a number of similar prostitution rings. He did not prosecute the service to which he was a client. That's corruption. It's also unlikely the Emperors Club didn't know who he was and didn't leverage that into some sort of advantage.

Kickback: Certainly, they must have come to some sort of understanding that he wasn't going to have them arrested. According to the Smoking Gun documents, he paid $4,300 for four hours with one escort, but with the minimum price per hour at $1,000 and a mention of Eliot being a "difficult" client, one would think there was a special "don't-arrest-me" deal there.

posted by eamondaly 10 March | 17:16

Just what the Dems need. Another example of someone who should keep their johnson in their pants but, somehow, can't.

posted by danf 10 March | 17:37

Money: The crime was primarily an act of commerce.

Any rich person can indulge in this sort of thing. Was public money involved here?

The ring was also busted for laundering over a million dollars. That's big-time money.

Are you suggesting that Spitzer was involved in this money laundering somehow, or was knowingly shielding them in this? That would be an extremely big deal. Otherwise, I don't see how money laundering figures in.

Kickback: Certainly, they must have come to some sort of understanding that he wasn't going to have them arrested.

I think we can take for granted he wasn't trying to pull some sort of 1-man sting operation. I'm not sure that meets the definition of kickback though.

posted by DarkForest 10 March | 17:52

I'm just amazed at the name of the agency: the Emporer's Club. That's fucking chutzpah. Me and Hugh were in the laundromat and then the bar when this broke. The consensus was that New York was overdue for a scandal of this sort.

posted by jonmc 10 March | 19:01

I'm not sure that meets the definition of kickback though.

Kickback? No. Abuse of powers for personal gain? Yes.

posted by Orange Swan 11 March | 11:29

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