Eliot Spitzer busted
(posted by Angelica)
Jonathan Kulick over at Mark Kleiman’s worked out the rates for the prostitute hired by New York governor and former NY State Attorney general Eliot Spitzer at $1750/hr.
When I first read the story my reaction was “how could he have been so stupid.” Well, Spitzer’s not the first and he won’t be the last prominent man to ruin a stellar career because of illicit nookie. It still seems like a shame, though. Then I read the following:
Though his signature issue was pursuing Wall Street misdeeds, as attorney general Mr. Spitzer also had prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state’s organized crime task force.
In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.
“This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,” Mr. Spitzer said at the time. “It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.”
Don’t you just love that tone of contempt in his voice? “Nothing more than a prostitution ring.”
The hypocrisy-level here is positively Republican. But I guess hypocrisy about sex really permeates our whole society, it just kind of collects a bit more among the conservatives.
UPDATE: Wow. Brad Spangler just wrote the most awesome response to this. Bravo Brad:
So now Spitzer is resigning the New York governorship over the matter of his being a client of a prostitute. It seems to me that the most shameful aspect of this, even worse than breaking his promise to his wife, would be that he could have worked to legalize prostitution, but chose to instead just violate prohibitions he felt perfectly comfortable prosecuting others for breaking.
Spitzer breaking his marriage vow to his wife violates the trust of one person, or that of their whole family at most. Spitzer at the head of the state of New York can do far more damage to a lot more innocent people. That he has produced such damage in his role as prosecutor to people engaged in the sex trade (among others) and should then lose his political career over his own involvement in the sex trade seems fitting, even if it isn’t quite justice. A libertarian understanding of the word justice would include compensation to his victims, such as the people he has unjustly prosecuted in the past for crimes against the state that aren’t crimes against persons or property. Until we can bring about true libertarian justice, though, poetic justice will have to do.
Zing! By the way, Brad, it’ll cost one a lot more than $50 for the paid petard hoisting.
March 11th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Spangler is spot on. While Mrs. Spitzer has every right to be majorly pissed — except in the unlikely event the couple had an understanding permitting Eliot this sort of…diversion — the only reason to approve of Spitzer getting busted here is the sheer hypocrisy of his having ruined other lives prosecuting the same “crime” he indulges in.