As a legally, blind black man, the Lt would certainly

be a fresh face on the national scene.

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by: wmlawman @ Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 23:26:40 PM UTC

paterson is also

known for having had cordial relations with state sen majority leader Joe Bruno -- the bane of spitzer's administration -- during his own five years as minority leader.

political observers have sad that since the recent special election in SD-48, retaking the state senate is nearly a sure thing for democrats... getting spitzer out of there ASAP and allowing paterson to recast the political goals on which spitzer wasted so much political capital is quite necessary. (and could save spitzer up to 20 years in prison for violating the MANN act, i believe......)

It is difficult to get the news from poems, but men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there. --William Carlos Williams

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by: RichardPlatypus @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 11:40:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

spitzer needs to leave NOW

unpopular governors bleed their parties support faster than anything other than an unpopular president.  bob taft, ernie fletcher, blunt before he lame ducked himself, murkowitz before palin beat him in the primary.  the longer he stays in office, the worse our chances of gaining seats in new york get.  mccain and bruno will turn election 08 into a referndum on spitzer, we'll lose the statehouse, chances at the senate, a few house seats.  spitzy, ya tried, but you just didn't do a very good job.  

Top ten signs you're an SSPer #1: your favorite song is "Panic At Tedisco" and no one understands what you mean.

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by: doug_tuttle @ Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 23:44:32 PM UTC

You mean Murkowski.

Please, please don't call Frank Murkowski "Murkowitz"-- he is a far cry from Congressional candidate Ethan Berkowitz!

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by: The Caped Composer @ Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 23:51:02 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

my bad

n/t

Top ten signs you're an SSPer #1: your favorite song is "Panic At Tedisco" and no one understands what you mean.

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by: doug_tuttle @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 03:12:58 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Chilling Vitter cocktail

The most chilling thing is that the NY Daily New compared Spitzer's plight to his successful prosecution of Wall Street firms for insider trading.  It is hard to overstate how much this group of overpaid babies hates Elliot Spitzer.  Guess he opened up the window and let it happen.  The babies got their kill to go along with their billions.  Meanwhile, we enter a recesssion and their taxes were protected (by Schumer).

Compare Spitzer to David Vitter.  Vitter was also found in a madam's book.  He was guilty of a long term continuing relation, one which he publicly denied.  Spitzer had the one $5,500 tryst.  Vitter, of course, blames federal "beaurocrats" for Katrina's aftermath rather than the shoddy privatizers.  He was far and away the number one backer of Bush and blamer of the victims in Louisiana.  Rather than being indicted or resigning his office, Vitter admitted to a "sin."  The man is a Rhodes scholar.  He knew exactly what he was doing.  "Sins" are not punishable by federal law nor do they require resignation.

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by: David Kowalski @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 02:07:35 AM UTC

Vitter indeed

Such bullshit.  I really dont get why the Vitter story didnt blow up like it should have.

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by: Andrew @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 04:45:49 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

You poor, poor Spitzer Democrats.

I don't know what's more pathetic, the whining or the ignorance.  If you think this was a one-time act by the governor...whew!, you're naive.  Spitzer's numerous money transfers to shell corporations to pay for his hookers indicate this has been going on for quite a while.  That's how the IRS first found out about this, and later brought in the FBI.  Spitzer also violated the Mann Act (FEDERAL LAW) by taking a hooker across state lines, something a state prosecutor knows is a big no-no punishable by a prison term and hefty fine.  Spitzer's "relationship" was also current and on-going with documents proving his last "date" was a month ago.  To top it all off, Spitzer had sent people away for the very activities he was engaged in.  Remember his high profile bust of a high-end prostitution ring in Staten Island?  Way to lock'em up, Eliot!
All that being said, I really, REALLY hope that he does NOT resign, at least not for several months.  That would make it all the easier for the GOP to win back the governorship in 2010 and further cast the "culture of corruption" label back on the Democrats.

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by: newred @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 14:01:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You will notice . . .

. . . that no one here is defending Spitzer.  And I would venture a guess that the vast majority of us do not believe that Spitzer's crime was a single occurrence.  So, the "pathetic" "whining" and "ignorance" to which you refer is nowhere to be found here.  While these forums always welcome discussion in which reasonable people disagree, your tone has the distinct flavor of an unprovoked attack, which is not acceptable here.  

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by: The Caped Composer @ Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 01:41:23 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I, for one...

...would like to see Spitzer held up to harsh light and dishonored appropriately.

If we Democrats want to be the party of ethical politicians (yeah, I know how much of an oxymoron that phrase is), we'd better welcome a healthy dose of punishment for those who betray this goal.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 05:52:19 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

that was whining,

that was asking why a Republican Senator, who had two seperate, longterm paid relationships with prostitutes, didn't have it blow up like this, was it because Vitter was a Republican. It was hypocrtical just like Spitzer, because Vitter was a poster boy for the Religious right, and I hope that his political career in Louisiana is ended by it eventually, but it didn't blow up like this, prosecutors didn't threaten to charge him, he didn't resign, and then, it just blew over.  

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus

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by: ArkDem the Ragin Cajin @ Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 21:46:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

my heart is truely broken

A tragic day for locofoco's  everywhere.

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by: bentheben @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 04:07:34 AM UTC

No, he must resign...

and any former attorney general who allows himself to get caught up in a prostitution ring should be automatically disbarred! And I think that criminal charges can and will be filed against him. It's a terrible day for the jewish community, because when something like this happens, anti-semitism always rises.

It is terrible for Clinton, since they both won together, both with landslides and Clinton (at least publicly) calls him a friend and ally. She went out on a limb for him over the driver's license thing, as well. This is going to be a drag on her campaign and pennsylvanians are going to have six weeks to watch this thing play out in the news. The Obama team will automatically benefit from this, so I suspect that the Obamans will not say much at the onset and let the shock of this do their work for them. Clinton will distance herself from Spitzer as quickly as possible. The right will just love to try to compare Spitzer to Bill Clinton, which is a stupid comparison, but they will make it nonetheless.

If Spitzer does not resign, then his seat will fall to the GOP in the next election, guaranteed. No doubt the DEMS are lighting a huge fire under his ass in order to force him out, which is, imo, the right thing to do. He must go.

I am not sure everyone knows what an evil thing a prostitution ring is: most of these girls are hauled inland, most against their will, they are held captive more often than not, they are mistreated, often injured, and sold for an extremely high price. This is slavery in the 21st century, make no mistake about it.

The guy is a schmuck and a putz for having done it. One time is one time too many, and I bet we will find out that he has done it more than once. You know, he could have gone to a brothel and popped a normal prostitute, and, though it is abhorrent for a married man, it would not be this scandal.

DAMN. A former attorney general who based his career on fighting crime, and now this!!!

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by: bonncaruso @ Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 09:07:58 AM UTC

He's leaving.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 01:43:51 AM UTC