NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer linked to prostitution ring

Not much in the way of details. But there's probably a lot of guys in the joint who'd like to have a piece of his rear end.

NY Times: Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring

From the NYT article:


Hypocrite lying politician- just like the rest of them...

Why is anyone surprised he used his position to crush the competition? I'm betting €50 that his group contacted the customers of those he busted to let them know that all hope wasn't lost.

woof.

Well we don't know what the connection is. Maybe he was a John?

Apparently he was a customer. FOX just said it's just been announced that he's expected to resign shortly.

Why is prostitution illegal in US?

In some States it is legal.

Well, that must be convinient for Obama, a prominent supporter of Hillary is disgraced.
hmm...

WOW, as a NYer I am shocked. Just goes to show you that power corrupts even the most seemingly ethical people and makes them feel they are above the law. (even though I personally feel prostitution should be legal)

My cousin and his fiance work for Spitzer...guess they will be out of a job.

I am from NYC (not upstate) and I agree that it is surprising to see Spitzer caught up in this, it does not seem his style.
Note that he made the call himself, he didn't use an aide. That was not smart, always use your trusted aides, but make sure that they are expendable in moments of crisis.
What a strange story, why was there a federal wire-tap on a prostitution ring? Harassing brothels is usually left up to local law-enforcement, typically vice-squad types that get something on the side.

Is she relaed to Xaviera Hollander???

The war on terror takes another horny soul. Damn, why did I use the credit card? Did I say that out loud? Never mind, no comment.

your tax dollars at work, much like the three-trillion dollar war
the past eight years has undone a lot of what the USA had built up
now we can only watch it go down the drain


Transporting young gulls across the staid lion for immoral porpoises?

info about the web site and the affidavit at:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years...82emperor1.html

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years...82emperor6.html

He finished up at 12:06 AM on valentine's day, what a romantic!

Wonder where the Clinton post went? Don't the Mods know that in US politics this is a huge negative on the Clinton campaign? I mean if Clinton can link Rezko and Obama then we can certainly link Hillary and Spitzer! Maybe Hillary was providing services to the Republicans!

AFAIK, Spitzer merely endorsed HRC. Unless he was a personal friend and had dealings with her like Obama and Rezko did, I don't see how that endorsement can be considered analogous to Obama's ties to Rezko:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080310/ap_on_...Q2bNhxUhRSs0NUE
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/812715,...rezko26.article

BTW, Rezko was also a fundraiser for the Governor of Illinois, speaking of whom:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Blagojevi..._investigations

Blagojevich has endorsed Obama, just as Spitzer endorsed HRC. Is Spitzer endorsement any more embrassing for HRC than Blagojevich's for Obama? I don't see how that can be the case at this time. As I see it, the endorsement by a home-state governor of a presidential candidate who is a US Senator and a member of your own party is unremarkable in itself; however, if one is going to make an issue of Spitzer's endorsement of HRC, the most appropriate analogy to consider actually is Blagojevich-Obama- an endorsement which is not likely to be one that Obama is boasting about right now.

We will see the fallout over the next few days, Pennsylvania is coming up
you cannot do congressional pages(Studds), cannot do white house interns (Clinton), cannot do lobbyists(McCain),now cannot do professionals(Spitzer)what's left for a politician to do?Screw the voters!

Why am I not surprised that a sex scandal concerning the democrats appears just in time for an election?
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Bush is free to approve torture, oversee the destruction of Iraq,
give huge contracts to companies that provide funding for the RNC and republican candidates
If the meantime puritan, perverted, or simply puerile voters are distracted by stories of a "high-class sex ring"

The investion started by the IRS looking for something in Spitzer's transactions:


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/nyregion...amp;oref=slogin

It is ridiculuous. What did he do? Paid for sex. Greatest sin ever. A crime against all humanity. Why dont you torture him? Isn't American police aware of Craigs list?

It's a problem if you prosecute people for doing it while engaging in it yourself.

Well, this is actually the third Clinton SuperD to admit to having an affair. What is it with the Clintons and having affairs?

At this point he has possibly broken a Federal law

Oh Jebus F**ing Christ!!! Can we NOT have the Eurovol/Conq boring battle of the "I am the superior TT political analyst" thread regarding Obama and HRC boil over onto another thread

This will have NO, impact on the Presidential race...zero, zilch, none!!! It is irrelevant. It's an issue for SPITZER...PERIOD! His dick, his problem.

Do you see me battling?

Hey, if you think this is irrelevant, then don't read the thread. I, for one, am interested in discussing this with other ex-pats
and if you are so naive as to believe that this will have no impact, then go rent some hollywood DVD with exploding cars, that is an typical response to today's problems.

Hey Villager...yep that is me...completely uninvolved and uninformed. NOT. Oh and I didn't even have a t.v. for the last year, so guess I missed all those mindless shows.

I am from NYC too, as you like to point out, and so I am well aware of Spitzer's impact or lack there of.

This will have no impact on the PRESIDENTIAL race, but he will resign and it will effect therfore NYS. And consequently my social life as he was to be attending an event I will be at in Sept...but hey that is just vapid, shallow me.

Oh and FYI...best not to use lame lines like the below on TT...

CNN last night:
New York Govenor hires a hooker - two hours.
Five US soldiers killed in Iraq - ten seconds.

Ah...but what are the lives of young men and women when SEX is on the agenda...

Would be different I think if everyday there were pictures and biographies of those KIA on the frot pages

Gemini: sorry about your family's loss of employment and your reduced partying opportunities.
There will have a serious impact, people are now distracted, their eyes are not on the ball, democrats across NY state will be discussing this story for the next two weeks at least. I do not see how this can help the democrats in the run-up to the convention, and there have been too many strange happenstances in the states over the last 10 years, perhaps I am a bit paranoid, perhaps I take Krugmann too seriously.

Hmmm, I'm not inclined to see a political connection in the investigation. The list of powerful figures with an axe to grind is just too long (irrespective of the primaries). From mobsters to Wall St to just about anyone he crusaded against. Other than potentially losing one Super-D I don't see Hillary being hurt significantly.

I think he cannot just get off like that by standing up their with his stupid ugly wife and confessing.
I want to see a photo of hooker, how he contacted her, what hotel, how much he was charged, what services she provided.

Ah Villiager...for a NYer, though I would be surprised if a native, you don't exactly DO sarcasm...do you.

You do however concur with my point...this will effect NYS and NOT the Presidential election.

The parts of the hooker I saw looked pretty tasty. There are screen grabs out there somewhere.

Charming BB. And it is "there"

And his wife has what exactly to do with this??? I guess she drove him to it.

Gemini: I was born at St. Vincent's, attended primary school up to college degree in/on Manhattan,..native enough?
but you're right, my touch for irony and sarcasm have been worn down by the blank looks I get in response here in Germany.
Here you can be blunt, but you must be honest, unless you are using local dialect and know the other people since grade school.

As to the outcome of the Spitzer thing, it has already displaced real news, just another in the long line of silly stories that are used by the media to numb us into submission. Have you noticed that when you go back to the States, people there talk about completely different things from us ex-pats? It is like stepping into a controlled environment.

Well if was some ordinary guy she wouldn't be there. She is there because she likes the glamour, the fame, the money. The guy is a hypocrit, I hope he goes down.

Just thought I would post a few headlines.

Spitzer scandal may hurt Clinton

Democrats rocked as Clinton ally Elliot Spitzer is embroiled in sex scandal

Clinton Declines Comment on Spitzer

Nope, don't see a connection at all.

You want to spin this Spitzer chickenshit into something worse than Obama's Rezko connection? Gimme a break. Frankly you're becoming pathetic and you'd probably even make Goebbels blush.

EUROVOL: PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE THE REASON WHY I WILL NEVER VOTE FOR OBAMA.

Obama supporters may fervently wish that Spitzer's downfall will hurt HRC, but I also do not see it happening with the possible exception, as DH ably pointed out, of the potential loss of a superdelegate. If such logic were operative, Rev. Wright's support and that of Louis Farrakhan would have already sunk Obama, let alone the Senator's dealings with Rezko.

Spitzer's departure would actually help NY Democrats in the long run. He made a lot of enemies on Wall Street prior to becoming Governor, and has made a lot of political missteps while Governor. Having a low-key figure like Paterson as Governor will help the party's image and may make compromise in Albany more likely.

Two questions :

1. Would this be big news if the guy was not married?
2. If yes what is the difference being with someone who is there because you are famous and who is there because you are paying her?

@ Villager

How you think this is a silly news story is beyond me. When powerful elected officials engage in hypocritical behavior this crass, it deserves to be shouted from the mountaintops. Just because there is a sexual angle to the story doesn't mean he shouldn't be burned at the stake, figuratively speaking. I don't care if it's prostitutes or cheating on taxes or illegal betting. Whatever. Mr Goody Two-Shoes, the crusader for truth and justice has been exposed as a lying, law-breaking, hypocrite. And he's the governor of NY. THAT is news.

The issue isn't what he did, the issue is his hypocrisy alone. He has a reputation of cracking down on prostitution and has prosecuted people for doing so, for him to turn around and do the same thing he has condemned others for is what people are taking issue with. Whether he's married or not is irrelevant.

If instead he had been a proponent of legalizing prostitution this would be a non-event.

Eurovol, you dumb fuck. You're violating the same goddamned cardinal rule that Hilary did in giving McCain an endorsement and trashing Obama at the same time: Don't trash the Party.

You act in some regard as a representative of the Democratic Party here, and even if you were to be an outright representative of Obama, he's continually kept to the high road. Countering her false statements is not the same thing as trashing her and taking delight in her troubles. Unless you're another one of Carville's Let's-Lose-Another-Election monkeys.

woof.

Hey EV, I don't have time right now to read the pieces...have to go play with 10 one year olds , BUT, I still think that DH is right, at the most she will lose a SuperD when he steps down. I don't really see people saying...oh because he endorsed her...and of course he would she is the NYS Democratic Senator...therefore I won't vote for her and vote for Obama. If there is ANY shift in the votes I can only see this helping McCain, but not Obama...my 2cents.

@Villiager...well we have the same stomping grounds, except I am a NY Hospital baby. For gods sake don't lose your sense of humor...once NYers lose that it is all over . And yes, you are definately reading too much P.K., I personally think a lot of his pieces have been really off lately.

@DanHessen

No problem, you are right that Spitzer broke the law, and that he will quickly be out of office.

Hypocritical??? Ye without blame may throw the first stone.

How many men have never in their lives visited a bordello - very few; I do not know whether I would vote for a sanctimonious virgin. Spitzer was stupid (doing such a thing in a risky fashion while being a prominent office holder), and for this reason alone should be hounded from public office, disbarred, whatever. How could he be so dumb?? Some self-destructive streak.

However, the whole Clinton/Monica inquisition was simply a political ploy to destroy an effective presidency. Given that the current administration is a fiasco, I would think twice before supporting an investigation into personal details of the candidates. I am much more concerned about their public records and stated views.

"Shout it from the Mountaintops" you say?? This sounds like holy-roller talk to me. Are you from one of them snake-handling tribes out in fly-over country?

Gemini: yeah, Kugman has had some weak moments, but there have been so many spot-on pieces over the last eight years that I cannot give him up. Unlike most opinions which are simply emotional reactions to nonsense, from Krugman you can actually learn some history and analysis. His criticism of Obama is not completely unfriendly, Krugman’s standards are just set somewhat higher and stricter than most.

Well, I've never used the services of a prostitute and I don't think that makes me a sanctimonius virgin. Just someone who likes to keep his tackle clean.

"Shout it from the Mountaintops" you say?? This sounds like holy-roller talk to me. Are you from one of them snake-handling tribes out in fly-over country?"

Dude, that's just weird.

Hopefully you don't mean them two.

DanHessen: correct me if I am wrong, but the phrase "Shout it from the Mountaintop" has strong Christian overtones. the only reason you would have used this phrase in relation to a sinner like Spitzer is that you have a stone-throwing gene buried in your DNA

I did not write the stories nor the headlines. I am merely pointing to the fact that the media will link the two and that you should never underestimate the stupidity of people to unconsciously be affected by the "headline" links without ever reading the stories to see if there is any real connection. The theory is that it shouldn't have an affect, but the reality is that there is a headline story on every news stand connecting them. I mean look at how many people have Rezko and Obama connected without knowing more than "headline" information.

Personally, I know that there is no connection with Clinton and Spitzer's fall from grace and all this is about a Crusader that got caught with his pants down.

So tell me again how it is my fault that the MSM is playing stupid to sell newspapers and how I am "trashing the party" by pointing out here that the MSM are playing stupid to sell newspapers?

If you two didn't have a bug up your ass about me, you might actually read what I post for what it is instead of demonizing whatever motives you make up in your head that I have.

Villager. I've beeen an atheist for over 30 years. If you're not careful, you may sprain an ankle making such silly assumptions.