I had Spitzer at the top of my list for presidential candidates

[WilliamPitt]

in '12 if we fuck things up this time, or in '16 if we don't.

This sucks.

Keep. It. In. Your. Pants. If. You. Hold. Office.

Is this too much to ask?

:banghead:

[madinmaryland]

1. "had" is the keyword.

He'll probably resign in the next few days. Will never hold public office again.

Hypocracy is thy name.

[nels25]

6. Just curious

if he does not resign,does the state of NY impeach and remove him form office??

As I understand it the legislature is split with the lower house being held by the Dem's and the upper house barely held by the GOP.

Just asking??:think:

[madinmaryland]

10. He has basically said he committed a crime, so it may

be possible to impeach and remove him, if that option exists in NY. Given that he has not been very popular with the houses in NYS, it may be possible to get enough votes for impeachment.

:shrug:

[JackRiddler]

17. The Republicans may well try.

State politics has been a personal Bruno v. Spitzer crusade for more than a year already.

I don't see how Spitzer can keep the job, simply because this isn't adultery - it's a crime by the law book. It shouldn't be, but he's cooked. He knew he was dealing with an illegal organization. Also, did he ever indict any johns when he was prosecuting prostitution rings? How can he answer that?

So here's an obituary for his governhorship:

He took his success as AG and thought he could be governor in the same fashion. His style was highly autocratic, he made a lot of enemies unnecessarily. He alienated Democrats in the legislature and gave the opening for a Republican slime campaign. The legislative pickings of his strategy have been slim and none.

The biggest achievement he had to tout was a reform of workers' compensation law in New York in the neo-liberal mold. Permanent "partial" disability due to workplace related condition now only counts for 10 years of insurance payments, for example. Patients can no longer choose their own pharmacy and drug claims contested by the insurer - all of them, usually - go without coverage.

[NewHampster]

2. It's the demands of the job

or the opportunities that present themselves.

He wouldn't have been any good anyway. Not such a great Gov. so far.

[MrCoffee]

3. I second that emotion, Will

If you're going to get busted, don't get busted for exactly the same shit you locked people up for and made your name on.

[NightWatcher]

4. my grandfather's best advice: 'keep it in your pants and dont do the drug'.

I did inhale, but have been able to obey the other part to date

[Warpy]

5. Well, as I'm finding out, keeping it in your pants

if you've made a name for yourself "cleaning up" prostitution is essential.

I never wanted him for President, but I thought he'd make a great AG.

[Junkdrawer]

7. Apparently, so did KKKarl...

Siegelman
Spitzer

[spanone]

8. are they all complete idiots? don't they know they're gunning for each other?

my goodness elliott

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. I liked, respected and supported his run for Governor

He did great things as AG against the wall-street criminals.
He hurt the Democratic Party and his career.
I'm extremely disappointed on the power of his dick.

[malaise]

11. Yes it is

Politics is all about sex. More women have brought down men than anything else.

[JackRiddler]

12. Yes actually.

Call. Off. Your. Old. Tired. Ethics.

- COYOTE, acronym of the prostitutes' union calling for decriminalization.

These scandals will never end. You're talking about revising human drives - the kind that alpha people tend to have in surplus. The same energy that got Spitzer where he is may also be what drove him to live out this particular fantasy. For $5500 and the damage to his governorship and party in New York, I sure hope he at least had a good time.

One day, these scandals may become obsolete - when Americans grow up and legalize prostitution, as is the case in many European countries. When they choose to stop the exploitation and oppression of women at the hands of pimps and gangsters. When, in general, they stop caring at all who (among consenting adults) is fucking whom - of whatever gender. It's business only to the adults involved and their other partners.

Your man Clinton had a big chance once to make that happy day come closer. Instead of playing the puritan game and saying "I did not have sex with that woman" (the latter phrase making him look like a total heel as well as a hypocrite and liar), the most important quote in his career could have instead been:

"Sexual relations I may or may not have with consenting adults are none of your business, and of no bearing to the political life of this nation. Let's talk about something that matters."

[Seeking Serenity]

13. I wouldn't feel too sorry for him.

After a period of self-imposed public life exile, he'll end up with a nice job with some Wall Street law firm.

"Cry thou not for me."

[JackRiddler]

32. Or else...

He'll manage the family fortune and re-emerge as a philanthropist.

[frazzled]

14. You didn't read the New Yorker profile on him last December

I did, and (not having known much about him), I had to say "ouch." Seems like he wasn't a well-liked fellow, even among Democrats. (warning: ;it's really long.)

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/12/10/071210fa_fact_paumgarten

He was going to have a hard enough time politically before this latest incident--I think this is a permanent nail in his coffin.

[housewolf]

15. Yeah, it's a real shame that our country is so Puritanical

that this kind of thing can ruin a terrific political figure such as Spitzer. I was counting on him, too.

[Seeking Serenity]

18. Puritanism? I don't think it's that.

As I posted in another thread, I don't think his problems were over the sex qua sex, as in "Oooh, he was having sex. Shocking! Get rid of him!" It's more of the fact that his acts (or those of anyone else in a similar situation) affect other people, say, his wife and daughters. Whether we like it or not, that is a betrayal of trust that still cuts deep.

Maybe you think it shouldn't, that cheated-upon wives or husbands should just take it with a "la-ti-da, so he or she was screwing someone else, big deal" atitude, but we're nowhere near that as a culture. Is that Puritanism?

Not to mention the "prosecute-whores-and-then-use-them" hypocrisy that has already been metioned here ad infinitum.

[housewolf]

21. The Puritanical attitude comes from the fact that a prostitution is illegal

and considered to be a great crime in our country. It is not in some other countries. It's illegality is purely based on our Puritan/evangelical heritage.

I am very sorry for his wife and children if they feel that he betrayed them (granted, they probably DO feel that way). Unfnortunately that is their personal pain to deal with.

I am also very sorry for Eliot Spitzer. I take him at his word that he is disappointed in himself, I believe that he probably is.

What's wrong with this whole thing is the false expectation that our leaders should be "pure" and that we hold our leaders up to super-human ideals. Each and every one of us is human. Each and every one of us has faults and weaknesses. What's wrong is jumping to outrage over events like this and accusations of hypocrisy - rather than moving to compassion for Gov. Spitzer and his family for the difficulties they now face.

It is so common in life that the very thing that an individual fights against, campaings against, donounces most strongly, judge most severely - these things jump out and come back and bite you at some point. Either personally or through someone in your family. Psychologyists call it "an Attack of the Shadow." To me, it calls for compassion, not condemnation.

[mzmolly]

23. Sorry, he broke the law and he knew it when he did so. He also trumpted the desire to

improve ethical standards in politics.

If he had gone to Nevada, this wouldn't be as much of an issue. If he'd had an "affair" it would not be as much of an issue.

[Seeking Serenity]

24. Were you ready to extend that same compassion to Larry Craig or Vitter or

keep going down the list?

I suspect I know my answer.

Awfully hard on us to call out the Repubs' moral lapses with regard to sexual issues, but then be willing to extend sympathy and compassion to one of ours when he or she gets caught. That bears all the hallmarks of a double standard.

[housewolf]

28. Uh... excuse me...

Have you seen any posts from me criticizing Craig or Vitter? Or calling out Repubs on moral lapses?

I think you have me confused with someone else...

[MrScorpio]

16. For the record, I actually like Spitzer

It was his stand against the robber barons that made me give a thumbs up. Yeah, even despite his support for Hillary, as I am now supporting Obama.

But he fucked up this time.

I hope he finds his way.

[Taverner]

19. Spitzer was supposed to be Kerry's AG too...

I do think there is definitely some spinning out of control with this story too on the medias part.

The story started as "Spitzer involved in Prostitution Ring" not "Spitzer saw a hooker"

[DinahMoeHum]

20. It's the hypocrisy more than anything else that drives me nuts.

Fuck.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[mzmolly]

22. "Keep. It. In. Your. Pants. If. You. Hold. Office."

Hear, hear! Or at the very least, don't pay for it. THAT is against the law in most states. A mistress, while not ok, is not generally illegal. I'm glad he didn't pull a Larry Craig however and drag this on with denials.

[JerseygirlCT]

25. Apparently for some people it is. I'll never understand that. nt

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

26. Me too. And then the cookie crumbling began

He was an actual idol to me when he took on the wrongdoing on Wall Street as Attorney General. I saw him as the one man re-incarnation of Teddy Roosevelt.

Things went downhill fast when he became Governor. And, this, this is the pale. He is just one of those guys who goes the extra mile to prosecute the sins he knows exist within himself. The hypocrisy is harder for me to take than the prostitution stuff.

[calimary]

27. Will - I thought I'd submit this since you are clearly not the only one who had high hopes

for Spitzer. If I were from the Dark Side, I'd be looking EVERYWHERE for ways to kneecap potential "problems" before they "got out of hand" at the ballot box against MY candidate.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2985993#2986043

My suspicions were aroused when the coverage of this mentioned - a wiretap.

I would love your take on it. Another DUer here posted about it too - "anybody here smell a rat?" I think I put that link into the thread above.

[SoCalDem]

29. Apparently you ask too much, Will

I don't understand it either..

Bruno is having a big ole party tonight ..:(

he got even

the investigation (which Gonzo signed off on) started last year.. check the date on this from Bruno's website archives

http://www.senatorbruno.com/43/news/07-07-05/senator_bruno_calls_for_investigation_into_governor_spitzer_s_use_of_state_police_to_monitor_elected_officials.aspx

[JI7]

30. me too, attorney general of the United States, VP running mate President

i would have loved to see him in any of those roles.

he was one of my personal picks for Kerry's running mates in 2004.

i was so happy he became governor of ny.

[moondust]

31. Yeah.

Brilliant future. Dumb as hell. Cut to black.