NY Governor Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring

reply to post by Enthralled Fan


The very same remarks were said about Bill and Hillary Clinton. They're still married and doing well. They are not normal people who do things as normal people would. Folks should get over that notion.

Originally posted by Areal51

The very same remarks were said about Bill and Hillary Clinton. They're still married and doing well. They are not normal people who do things as normal people would. Folks should get over that notion.

You know something? This is why America is failing. Do you think it was let go because they are similar to most American's? (The Clinton situation)
Are they really representative of the people of America?

It's pretty scary actually.

"We the People for the People?"

What ever happened to that?

Why must the people be expected to lower their standards and ignore crap like this from our elected officials?

Must be all the drugs in the water!

reply to post by Areal51


Hillary needed Bill to achieve her political goals.

Bill cheated on Hillary for years and it was no secret, so for her fidelity was far less important than becoming president.

A far better comparison would be the wife of the former Governor of New Jersey, whose wife was on Fox this afternoon.

Maybe they will stay together. Maybe he had her blessings. I don't know their relationship, but if I were a betting man, I would be betting on a divorce.

Bill Clinton never tried to convince anyone he was perfect. Scandal was on his tail all the way to the White House, but for Spitzer, morality was his stock and trade.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott

Bill Clinton never tried to convince anyone he was perfect. Scandal was on his tail all the way to the White House, but for Spitzer, morality was his stock and trade.

I heard some of his ads today for his campaign on the radio today while driving in a car.

It was pretty puke worthy, considering he's the the reverse of what he preached.

The guy needs to be impeached if he does not step down. What he did was bad enough, but to be a bold faced liar on top of it?

He's one of those guys you really hope has fond memories of his hookers. Because you know darn well, they are going to be called to testify against him. Unless they get paid off somewhere along the line, which will be a whole other thread topic.

If this guy gets off, America should be outraged. I know he doesn't represent my values. I'm not sure about New York, but I am sure most people in that state feel very dissapointed.

[edit on 11-3-2008 by Enthralled Fan]

I don't understand his crime. Why on earth would he go to jail for a misdemeanor??

Sorry if I missed it has he done anything else ...besides the Mann act...which is never prosecuted??

And don't misunderstand me I think he should resign. He showed an incredible lack of judgement. That lack of judgement is the reason he should be leaving office.

My heart to his wife and daughters!

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


The public expects what they know most likely will not be delivered to perfection. Still, they have the hope that exceptional performance will be delivered. The thing about he Spitzer case is that his meeting a prostitute doesn't have anything to do with his function as governor. At least he had the discretion of using a private establishment, a hotel, instead of public office space. At least he didn't transgress in his family's home and in the bed that he shares with his wife. He even went so far as to have his name and method of payment concealed. He even practiced his marital indiscretion somewhere other than his home state. It could be argued that he undertook those actions out of respect and courtesy to the public and his family. A sophisticated public would understand that.

What I'm getting at is that the transaction was a private transaction that became public under the aegis of The New York Times. Now if it had been the hooker who went running to The New York Post with the story, would we be so concerned? That's highly doubtful. We might have been curious. At the least titillated.

I'm not condoning Spitzer's actions, I'm just saying that eliminating all that's ideal about his post and what he is supposed to represent would show the situation in a light that's more true than what's being splayed all over the media at the moment. Each and every political scandal tells us that we should not hire individuals for public office based on our ideals. We should hire them on what we realistically can expect them to accomplish. We should also hold those individuals to reasonable and achievable standards. And we should regard those who court our vote through the promotion of deluded ideals in the same manner as one who tries to sell us snake oil. Politicians should be held accountable for their actions instead of their failure to maintain our deluded ideals. Ultimately the people are responsible for who they elect, that's why it hurts so much. If folks took more responsibility then perhaps they would hurt less.

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


All good points. It's just that in this instance Spitzer's actions pale when compared to those of some Catholic priests. If folks recognize him as a politician they will get over his infidelity quite quickly. He has had an impressive career as a politician. Good things did get done under his direction.

reply to post by Enthralled Fan


What's puke worthy, Enthralled Fan, is that we American's have to glamorize everything. Politics is probably the grimiest game in the land. And the jobs that those elected and appointed have to do is just as grimy. But we've got to have our Dallas and Dynasty and Knots Landing. We must have South Fork! And if we've got to hate JR we've also got to love him because he only wants to make Daddy proud.

Seriously, we have a celebrity complex where anybody who has power must be glamorized and perfected in the media and in our own eyes in order to get any attention from us. So we make perfect beds and demand that our favorite people sleep in them. We follow well written scripts in the media with great interest. We are greatly disappointed when such persons make a mess of things. We want a happy ending even if it's two terms long.

Our inability to face certain realities and responsibilities is what's puke worthy. Yeah, Spitzer and other politicians are guilty of selling miracles. We are guilty of buying them.

I don't think blaming the American people is going to gain much traction in this case.

This was the advice he gave to criminals in an interview with ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross two years ago.

"Never talk when you can nod, and never nod when you can wink, and never write an e-mail because it's death," the then-New York attorney general said. "You're giving prosecutors all the evidence we need."

abcnews.go.com...

ABC News has now interviewed one of Spitzer's girls with whom he had relations a couple of years ago.

This is going to snowball, because there will be others coming forward to tell their stories, as well, and the public is not going to be charmed by all this.

It is this that takes the case far beyond a mere sexual indiscretion.

According to sources, Spitzer could face federal charges under money laundering statutes as a result of the way he allegedly manipulated his own funds in possible violation of bank secrecy laws to pay for his allegedly illegal activities -- sex with prostitutes.

abcnews.go.com...

abcnews.go.com...


[edit on 2008/3/11 by GradyPhilpott]

reply to post by Areal51


Yes, it all has to be glamorized in some way. People do now treat Political leaders as some sort of glamorized rock stars.

Maybe we should have American Idol decide who the President should be.

About fits, don't you think?

It's very sad that people don't see the forest for the trees, and will follow a vote because of what you said.

And people wonder why America is going to hell in a handbasket!

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


Ya, we can only pray that people will pay attention, but I doubt it.

The guy who got caught playing footsie under a toilet stall is still fighting hs conviction.

Now, there are funky people out there, who are always going to be funky, but do they have to be so blatant about it?

I mean, paying a hooker for 4,500 who could sell her story for a half a mil? LOL........

That was just chump change to her. When are these loosers going to learn?

Originally posted by Leo Strauss
I don't understand his crime. Why on earth would he go to jail for a misdemeanor??

Sorry if I missed it has he done anything else ...besides the Mann act...which is never prosecuted??

And don't misunderstand me I think he should resign. He showed an incredible lack of judgement. That lack of judgement is the reason he should be leaving office.

My heart to his wife and daughters!

There is only one reason, well perhaps more, for someone to feel risk
free in this type of operation. The uber government has been accused
of drug and child trafficking (see Cathy Obrien) so why not a sex ring
to keep government officials in line. Perhaps the basis of all government
conspiracy theories from JE Hooever, JFK down to others.

Unlike Watergate, the dam might not break to go anywhere, their
might be anywhere to go, in Spitzergate.

ED: Here's the thing, the FBI had a file on JFK. Why not one on
Spitzer and the controls to 'take him out' at will.
He was in Washington DC, when he does that he gets and escort.
Been doing it for years.
Like Pavlov and the trained dogs or good old MK-ULTRA lessons.
He just got outed by the under government.



[edit on 3/11/2008 by TeslaandLyne]

Tesla,

I agree it seems almost impossible that the governor of a state would feel safe repeatedly seeing prostitutes unless he felt "safe" in some way.

I mean c'mon! He knows the hooker could sell a book for a million bucks.

He must have thought it was OK to behave in this manner. Could he possibly be that stupid or consumed with his addiction??

It is possible he had the OK to engage in this behavior with this particular agency. An approval from his masters.

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


That's all speculation. I'll wait to see what happens.

Also, accepting responsibility is not the same thing as merely placing blame. Accepting that we are responsible for making bad choices should lead to our making better choices. Spitzer is a public official and the citizens of New York who voted for him hired him for the job of Governor. He made a mistake, he failed expectations and all concerned have to wrestle with what has happened.

The situation is not about who is to blame. We know who to blame. Spitzer is to blame. However, the situation is also about citizens taking responsibility. After all it is their government. Now either they push Spitzer away, try to sweep the whole matter under the rug and hope it goes away, or they take responsibility and censure Spitzer. Impeach him if they can. Demand his resignation if it is what they want or put him to work to fulfill his obligations. The people should decide that and not the glorifying media. The people should take a hard and cold look at what has happened. They have to decide if they want who they voted into office to stay in office. Would it serve them best if Spitzer stays or if he goes.

reply to post by Leo Strauss


Yeah, risk free to high government officials.

But he didn't know the law about $10,000 limit or the tracing
on the operation. Also being international and not home grown.

Either it is ignored when told to and cracked down on when found out.
No Hunt in jail this time asking Nixon for one million dollars
Wow, those were the days.

And Hunt was implicated with the CIA, Bay Of Pig, Dallas and JFK.

No inside job here unless Spitzer felt risk free thinking it a safe operation
for whatever reason. Can't trust the government inside or out.
Yet some operations do work along normal lines.
As we see now.

ED: Perhaps Spitzer is rich enough to be Illuminati, right now
he is out of business.


[edit on 3/11/2008 by TeslaandLyne]

I still think it is insane that prostitution is illegal in the first place. I think they should outlaw the practice of law, which is a far more diseased plague on the human species, and legalize prostitution.

Personally, I would fight the accusation every step of the way. It is no bodies business what I do with another consenting adult, except the wife. If she finds out and wants to scold him in public and divorce him, so be it. I would think that after so many years of marriage, her thoughts would turn to the tennis pro or someone like that.

So if Spitzer can plead this down to a misdemeanor, does he have to resign?

I find it funny when Democrats do this, its a resume enhancement. If a Republican does this, all of a sudden hes immoral and has to resign. Oh, the joys of double standards.

And before anyone tries it, I am a social liberal and fiscal conservative. I just note these double standards with a great sense of humor. I personally think what people do in the privacy of a hotel room when everyone is consenting doesn't only not matter, but shouldn't be a legal issue.

But again, it doesn't work that way. Democrats get caught doing something like this and people praise them for it and think its a resume enhancement. Republicans get caught and is hypocrisy and resignation calls all over the place.

Oh the sweet irony.

[edit on 12-3-2008 by pacificwind]

reply to post by pacificwind


Isn't it the republican who push the whole sex is immoral issue? It seems to me that when republicans get caught, democrats mainly make fun of it, and don't make it a moral issue, while republicans do things like vote for an impeachment that they know has no chance of a conviction, when a democrat gets caught doing what everyone else is doing.

According to ABC News, Spitzer will resign today.

New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson has told New York officials that Eliot Spitzer will resign as governor today. The resignation letter, which was drafted yesterday, is expected to be submitted to the New York secretary of state this morning, according to officials involved in the process.

abcnews.go.com...

This pretty much explains why his goose is cooked.

"Spitzer has now lost the credibility to continue to serve as an effective governor and a believable agent for reform," said Citizen Action, a good-government group in New York City that had supported him.

Helen Desfosses, a political scientist at State University of New York in Albany, outlined the political stakes: "Every member of the New York state Legislature is up for re-election, and they don't want this scandal getting any more attention than it already has. The sooner it gets off the front pages, the better."

www.usatoday.com...

Even Democrats are chomping at the bit.

There was widespread speculation, some reported in local media, that he would resign Tuesday afternoon, and the state capital of Albany has been in a surreal state of limbo, with politicians from both parties thinking a resignation is imminent. Spitzer would be replaced by Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson, a Harlem Democrat.

"I don't know what the mechanics are, what the deliberations are, " said state Sen. Bill Perkins (D), also of Harlem. "I know it's inevitable there's going to be a change. . . . I'm anxious to get it done. David is going to be the new leader, and I'm anxious for that to get in place."

FBI Watched Spitzer Before February Incident

[edit on 2008/3/12 by GradyPhilpott]