Unlikely Pimp

[Joemailman]

He'll be convicted for illegal use of the banking system to support a criminal enterprise

Oh brother. The guy's real offense is he went to a hooker for kinky sex. THAT is what has people up in arms. "illegal use of the banking system to support a criminal enterprise" oooooh, ahhhhhhh. The fucker was transfering money to his whore house through a dummy name. Big Deal.

You go ahead and weep for Spitzy. I'm buying popcorn!

I don't care about Spitzer one way or another. He is resigning today, and I thank that is a shame. It's a missed opportunity for the country to move forward a little bit.

Swede, Leaper, Harvey: where were you guys when the Republican Senator, David Vitter, got caught with prositutes 6 months ago? I'm having trouble remembering your posts demanding his resignation. The only difference is that the reports about him were less sensational.

People are disgusted that the guy got caught paying for kinky sex. By forcing his resignation, it is a way for people to pump out their chests and declare that this is abhorent, unacceptable behavior. Feel morally superior. Feel satisfaction, schadenfreude, over this pathetic guy.

And who are the people most enthusiastic about damning others? Why people like Spitzer, of course! He lead the prosecutorial charge against prostitution. And Larry Craig took a wide stance against gays while in the Senate.

The public is engaging in mass hypocracy. Pretending that we as a people are above kinky sex with prostitutes. I'm not making an "everybody does it so its OK" argument. Not saying it's OK or not OK, just that sex lives have zilch to do with job performance in office and should be ignored.

It's sort of been my experience over the last couple of decades that people who make a public display of criticizing the morals of others while espousing their own morality usually have a few skeletons of their own in the closet. Spitzer, Vitter, Haggart (sp?), Swaggart, Craig come to mind.

Spitzer has resigned, but I suspect he'll be back. We tend to be a very forgiving country. If Bill Clinton decided to run for public office in New York, I'll bet he could win. The fact that Spitzer did not drag this out for weeks or even months will be appreciated by many.

[swede]

Harlan! Seriously. Snap out of it. I don't even feel like I'm arguing with the HH I know.

He'll be convicted for illegal use of the banking system to support a criminal enterprise

Oh brother. The guy's real offense is he went to a hooker for kinky sex. THAT is what has people up in arms.

He'll be indicted for the white collar financial crime. I doubt he'll face charges of soliciting. Stop pretending that some overprotective society is punishing him for using a prostitute's services. He's getting whacked, and deservedly so, for flaunting all kinds of laws on his way to the brothel. This guy built his career by wrecking the careers of others on trumped-up technicalities If you can't see the delectable irony of this prosecutor of white collar "criminals" and prostitutes getting caught laundering money as a way to pay hookers then you, sir, have lost your sense of humor.

You go ahead and weep for Spitzy. I'm buying popcorn!

I don't care about Spitzer one way or another. He is resigning today, and I think that is a shame.

Please understand me. I don't feel moral superiority over Spitzer.

I feel the same kind of delightful amusement I would feel if the leader of the local MADD chapter blew a .23 after driving her SUV into the front door of the courthouse.

[Joemailman]

Have you heard of DAMM? Drunks Against Mad Mothers.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Spitzer case tests limits of low behavior in high office
USA Today

Given his record as an uncompromising prosecutor and moral crusader, Eliot Spitzer's days as governor of New York look distinctly numbered after he was exposed as a client of a call-girl service. Certainly, it is hard to see how he could continue to be effective.

But Spitzer's predicament raises a question. Where would the Democrat stand now had he not cut his teeth as attorney general in New York, where, in addition to taking on Wall Street, he went after at least two prostitution rings?

If recent precedent is any indication, he would not be hanging on by a thread, with the state awaiting his resignation. Rather, he would be stage managing his political survival.

These days, there seem to be only two fatal taboos among "victimless" crimes perpetrated by high officials. There are those that involve the abuse of public office or money, as was the case with disgraced former New Jersey governor James McGreevey, who appointed his unqualified male lover to be homeland security adviser. And there are those, like Spitzer's, that involve blatant hypocrisy.

Otherwise, embarrassed officials use dramatic admissions of personal failings as a defense against their serious violations of public trust. They trot out their wives, make an apology and then get back to their jobs. As the late New York senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously put it in a different context, deviancy has been defined downward.

Perhaps this is a legacy of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in President Clinton's administration. The public made clear that — while it did not approve of Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky — it had enough of politicians' sex lives dragged out into the open, particularly by their political adversaries.

But, unlike Clinton's affair with Lewinsky, soliciting a prostitute is a crime, no less so for officials who never prosecuted it. They are sworn to uphold the law even if they don't enforce it. They violate their oath and undermine their effectiveness in office with their solicitations, even if they do so on their own dime and with less hypocrisy.

To be sure, Spitzer isn't the only one guilty of hypocrisy here.

Republicans have been quick to clamor for Spitzer's resignation or impeachment, but they've been less vocal about Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who stays in office after being linked to a Washington prostitution ring and apologizing for "a serious sin."

Then there's the hypocrisy of those on Wall Street who cheered their nemesis' comeuppance, as if that made the sleazy financial behavior Spitzer exposed any less shady. Spitzer can be criticized for many things, but not for exposing corruption and conflicts of interest in the financial sector.

Now Spitzer, who parlayed his crimebusting credentials into the governor's mansion, becomes the latest official to test the parameters of public acceptance. Maybe his fate will remind even the most reckless, hubristic politicians of the limits to what they can get away with.

[swede]

Oh I'm sorry. I forgot to check in with the mainstream media.

I didn't realize Spitzer was a heroic "crimebuster."

I'll lay off now.

[Harlan Huckleby]

He'll be indicted for the white collar financial crime.

Oh brother! And what was this crime? He used a phony company name to hide his real name in wiring money to the brothe. Big F-ing Deal. It only came-up because of suspicion he might be engaged in REAL criminal activity, which he was not.

Stop pretending that some overprotective society is punishing him for using a prostitute's services.

Mary, Mother of God! If you don't see this that this incident turns on the sensationalism of his sexual escapades, you have your head buried in your crotch. (enjoy, my limber friend. )

He's getting whacked, and deservedly so, for flaunting all kinds of laws on his way to the brothel. This guy built his career by wrecking the careers of others on trumped-up technicalities .

Now we're getting somewhere. The public is ESPECIALLY fired-up because of the guy's hypocracy. The USA Today editorial got it right.

Running people out of office because of an over-heated bandwagon is not good public policy! Hypocracy should not be an impeachable offense.

Remember the fury of Republicans demanding Larry Craig resign? Then things died down after people got over themselves.

If you can't see the delectable irony of this prosecutor of white collar "criminals" and prostitutes getting caught laundering money as a way to pay hookers then you, sir, have lost your sense of humor.

I get it, I have no problem with people making fun out of the situation, that's not where I'm coming from.

It's a really bad idea to throw people out of office for their embarassing moments, even if minor crimes are involved. (soliciting prostitute, wiring money to whorehouse under false name, disturbing peace with wide stance in bathroom, etc. ) It amounts to mass hypocracy on the part of the public, encourages dirty tricks by the political parties, and leaves politicians more vulnerable to blackmail.

[The Leaper]

Abstinence is not a realistic standard. Powerful men seem to have powerful sex drives. And the madames say they are the kinky ones.

Sorry, Huck...the guy had a wife, and she ain't half bad...especially looking at his ugly ass googly face.

He didn't have to abstain from sex. Keep trying though. You might eventually find something logical to back up your support for the guy...but it isn't likely.

[The Leaper]

Running people out of office because of an over-heated bandwagon is not good public policy! Hypocracy should not be an impeachable offense.

He could be impeached because he possibly committed MULTIPLE FELONY CRIMES. A crime is a crime, Huck...you can't pick and choose which ones you wish to prosecute. If anyone should've known the law, it was Spitzer.

What part of that do you not understand...or do you PREFER to have criminals running our government?

[SkinBasket]

It's a really bad idea to throw people out of office for their embarassing moments, even if minor crimes are involved. (soliciting prostitute, wiring money to whorehouse under false name, disturbing peace with wide stance in bathroom, etc. ) It amounts to mass hypocracy on the part of the public, encourages dirty tricks by the political parties, and leaves politicians more vulnerable to blackmail.

No, it's not a bad idea. If he was willing to commit a litany of "minor" crimes to get himself fucked on a regular basis, what's to stop him from using the same "minor" crimes to further whatever other frauds he wants to commit to further his personal agenda while in office?

Demanding a higher standard of elected officials than we demand of other run-of-the-mill "minor" criminals isn't hypocrisy. It's common sense. And politicians aren't vulnerable to "dirty tricks" or blackmail unless they're doing something they shouldn't anyway.

It's nice you're such a champion of protecting public officials' criminal behavior and misdeeds, though. Very noble cause.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Abstinence is not a realistic standard. Powerful men seem to have powerful sex drives. And the madames say they are the kinky ones.

Sorry, Huck...the guy had a wife, and she ain't half bad...especially looking at his ugly ass googly face.

He didn't have to abstain from sex. Keep trying though. You might eventually find something logical to back up your support for the guy...but it isn't likely.

not talking about abstinence from married sex, abstinence form extramarital sex.

[Harlan Huckleby]

It's a really bad idea to throw people out of office for their embarassing moments, even if minor crimes are involved. (soliciting prostitute, wiring money to whorehouse under false name, disturbing peace with wide stance in bathroom, etc. ) It amounts to mass hypocracy on the part of the public, encourages dirty tricks by the political parties, and leaves politicians more vulnerable to blackmail.

No, it's not a bad idea. If he was willing to commit a litany of "minor" crimes to get himself fucked on a regular basis, what's to stop him from using the same "minor" crimes to further whatever other frauds he wants to commit to further his personal agenda while in office?

Demanding a higher standard of elected officials than we demand of other run-of-the-mill "minor" criminals isn't hypocrisy. It's common sense. And politicians aren't vulnerable to "dirty tricks" or blackmail unless they're doing something they shouldn't anyway.

It's nice you're such a champion of protecting public officials' criminal behavior and misdeeds, though. Very noble cause.

Senator Vitter broke the law when he solicted sex from a prostitute.

Did you call for him to resign? It is not too late for him to resign. Should he resign now?

[SkinBasket]

Senator Vitter broke the law when he solicted sex from a prostitute.

Did you call for him to resign? It is not too late for him to resign. Should he resign now?

Not that it matters, but I happen to think he should.

You're still trying to equate the multitude of crimes that Spitzer committed just to commit solicitation to other cases of solicitation (or attempted solicitation) with the only link being that they were also "minor" crimes.

Just interesting to see how vehemently you want to protect the illegal activities and moral misdeeds of this particular politician.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Senator Vitter broke the law when he solicted sex from a prostitute.

Did you call for him to resign? It is not too late for him to resign. Should he resign now?

Not that it matters, but I happen to think he should.

Haven't heard a lot of calls for Vitter to resign, from you or anyone else.

You're still trying to equate the multitude of crimes that Spitzer committed just to commit solicitation to other cases of solicitation

Spitzer was not drummed out of office because of his "multitude of crimes."
He was run-out because of his history, and the sensational nature of his offense. He had no political support because he was viewed as a hypocrit.

If you believe this is about his multitude of crimes, I can't convince you otherwise, just disagree with how you read the situation.

[Harlan Huckleby]

What part of that do you not understand...or do you PREFER to have criminals running our government?

Soliciting a prostitute is a crime. Why did you not call for Vitter's resignation?

Do you think this scandal would have played-out any differently if Spitzer had paid cash for his prostitutes rather than wiring the money in a sneaky way? Of course not. He was brought down by political pressure, and the public doesn't care about some technicality. And either do you.

[SkinBasket]

The IRS and FBI typically don't get involved in solicitation cases because they are "sensational" or because the criminal is a politician with a history of busting prostitution rings.

You're ignoring the fact that the crimes other than solicitation, along with the staggering amount of money it's alleged that he spent on solicitation - which shows this criminal behavior was a regular part of his life, not a one time mistake or lapse of judgement, that sets this case apart from all the others you've mentioned.