32 CommentsEliot Spitzer, the governor of New York, has just resigned, days after the Times broke the story that he was “Client 9” of a high-end escort service. Spitzer made the announcement standing next to his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, who was wearing a very fetching Hermes American Flag-ish scarf.
Spitzer’s long-awaited resignation completes a tri-state trifecta of governors who’ve resigned in disgrace (after John Rowland of Connecticut and Jim McGreevey of New Jersey).
Lieutenant Governor David Paterson, CC’77, will take office on Monday, becoming the state’s first black governor. Paterson for Class Day speaker?
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32 Comments
@nevermind conan or paterson for that matter.
let’s get spitzer for class day.
I mean, what he did was illegal, and was certainly outlawed by society. And above all, dumb. But I don’t find his actions inherently reprehensible. I will concede that violating the trust of his family was reprehensible. Nonetheless, getting caught was his biggest mistake.
An analogy:
suppose society frowns on those who wear green shirts. Suppose the govt outlaws wearing green. Suppose a man promises to a woman at his marriage never to wear green. Then he is caught by the feds wearing a green shirt.
wearing green was not in itself awful, although it was socially unacceptable, illegal, hurtful, and extremely stupid.
@aargh not only did you just skip reading the earlier posts which mentioned why spitzer’s actions were an unconscionable breach of trust and act of corruption but on top of that your basically minimizing the pain and deception he was responsible for to his 3 kids and wife as well as reducing prostitution to a offensively retarded analogy about green shirts
we understand moral relativism and how some crimes you may believe are ‘victimless’ may actually just be a product of our societal values genius..this isn’t an nyu blog..don’t waste your time penning anymore more laughably vapid analogies
however the analogy ignores the fact that those who wear green shirts probably never contribute to a cycle of physically and emotionally abusing, raping and using women who often were already troubled in the past and who usually were forced (whether coercively or not) into prostitution (just to give you an idea studies usually find about 80% of prostitutes have been beaten by customers and something like 50 have been raped by them)…
Hell elliot’s own hooker is a 22 years old (which means a senior at columbia age) and is now in the middle of a fed prosecution she probably never thought off when she initially resorted to prostitution–From her own profile:
“een here since 2004 and I love this city, I love my life here. But, my path has not been easy. When I was 17, I left home. It was my decision and I’ve never looked back. Left my hometown. Left a broken family. Left abuse. Left an older brother who had already split. Left and learned what it was like to have everything, and lose it, again and again. Learned what it was like to wake up one day and have the people you care about most gone. I have been alone. I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own.”
http://www.myspace.com/ninavenetta
And she’s at the the ‘top’ of the food chain so to speak in what is a vicious profession—there are thousands of 20ish streetwalker and outcalls who don’t make a 500 or 1000 bucks for trysts with some random governor—most of them work to subsist and are forced to put up with the depravity of men who apparently are only a little stupider than you
@still don't know why prostitution, in and of itself, is an immoral act, despite your scathing response.
if spitzer had beaten or raped her, then I would not hesitate to call him scum. But he didn’t. Thus, his actions in and of themselves do not bother me.
I think the problem is this: you’re attacking something different to the action i’m defending. I’m defending the simple act of paying money for sex. Nothing more, nothing less. Meanwhile, you’re making the case for prostitution being reprehensible because of the likely consequences during your average “tryst” (primarily: rape, beating). And guess what, I agree with you: in those cases, prostitution is a terrible thing because of what it leads to. And if wearing a green shirt were usually accompanied by such actions, I would reach the same conclusion, i.e. it’s bad, not in and of itself, but because of its awful ramifications.
What then to do about prostitution? Why not just legalize it? For the 203,456th time, it is only bad because people say it is bad. If it were legalized, it could be much better controlled, and the rape, coercion, etc you describe would be much, much easier to stop.
NB para 4 of your response proves my point, not yours: “[she] is now in the middle of a fed prosecution she probably never thought off [sic] when she initially resorted to prostitution.” Your premise here is that prostitution is bad, not because its inherently wrong, but because it’s illegal and girls go to jail for it when they are caught. If prostitution were legal, would she be in the same unenviable position you describe?
As a final point, is it just me or do men and women have utterly different reactions to this scandal?
@whoa i hereby revoke your privileges to use the phrase “in and of itself” in any of its forms (including the plural “in and of themselves”).
@my bad that was overkill.
@Fanne Fox No, really guys, the water was really cold. And I think I have chemical burns, too.
@Elna Silda! Be strong! Leave him!
@Only in American would a governor resign over a sex scandal. Hypocritesl.
@Elna Well, the problem is that this was not a consensual affair. Prostitution in this country is, regrettably, illegal and subject to state and federal prosecution. If the Emperor Club lady is an American, it might be better for him; if not? It’s gonna get hairy.
@a couple things spitzer isn’t resigning because of a ‘sex scandal’
I imagine it’ll be because of what is likely repeated illegal prostitution involvement which has completely tarred the reputation he ran on–one of an anti-corruption reformer who actually recently was even signing in anti prostitution laws. And prostitution isn’t illegal all around the country. Instead of bargaining with the feds right now, Spitzer could have gone to Nevada or Rhode Island (the only way brown frat boys get laid) for legal prostitution. He still would have been a dirtbag for cheating and prepetuating the horrible system of prostitution (the people who claim its a victimless crime should read some statistics on the portion of prostitutes who get beaten, abused, raped and who are forced into the profession either psychologically or because they’re destitute) but it wouldn’t have had the same legal implications.
As always though, to the foreigners who so haughtily and arrogantly dismiss this as a irrelevant sex scandal (this isn’t sarkozy-esque or whoever you dimwits are thinking about), please learn what the heck the laws are and the facts of the are before speaking or stfu.
In any event, even if it was a sex scandal by a politician that was married, it certainly goes to their character and you can sure as hell bet I hold my politicians to a higher standard in that regard than I would a plumber, secretary, mike rowe or a fellow student.
@Shut it. It’s still no big deal and should not have been made public. He could have gone on to higher posts, and we certainly need intelligent politicians these days. Rather than focus on his Pecker, focus on the criminality perpetuated by the current administration. Bush has made us all prostitutes! and whoring an entire nation is not a victimless crime. You are also unbelievably naive to hold politicians to higher standards he he he
@also I don’t think this is a case of international trafficking violations, though empire was initially busted as an international ring. In Spitzer’s case it’ll probably hinge on interstate transport and the mann act (which is a relevant act regardless of how it was misused in the past).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Act
@Chromeo maybe for spring concert? Which would be sweet, but nothing compared to Brown…they have freakin’ M.I.A., Umphrey’s McGee and like 5 others who are all excellent
@Haven't we already learned from the McCain debacle that politicians are terrible graduation speakers? They use the platform to stump, disregarding the nature of the event and the venue. I say we get Conan. I know the speaker’s supposed to be affiliated to Columbia, but where has that gotten us in terms of speaker quality for the past four years?
@The talk show host, that is, not the barbarian.
@matthew fox was an amazing class day speaker
@Agreed Matthew Fox was awesome. I vote they get the Todd from Scrubs.
@What is wrong with these women? How do they just stand by these scumbags during these press conferences? Stop listening to Eliot’s PR people, Silda, and get the hell out of there already.
@Umm Not only is she not leaving him (yet), she was one of the only people trying to convince him to stay governor. Not sure what her staying has to do with Spitzer’s PR…more likely she just likes being associated with a powerful man.
@... is he the first blind one?
@ZvS Wikipedia thinks so, but the citation is bogus…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Paterson#_note-0
@Unbelievable As he’s walking out:
“Governor, did you ever think it would come to this?”
“Silda, are you leaving him?”
I really don’t care what he did; retarded questions like those at a time like this are dispicable.
I would expect nothing else from the American press.
@sorry *despicable
@mcgreevy the fact that he was cheating on his wife, and couldn’t control his lover.
@what was disgraceful about mcgreevey? his being gay?
@mcgreevey 2 also, that he gave the NJ head of homeland security job to his lover.
@interestingly he also gave the NJ head of homeland security head.
@minus one For Clinton.
@WHEN WHO is playing at OUR spring concert?? it seems like all the other ivies have announced their line-ups, hopefully we will have someone good!!!!
@Fanne Fox Hey, does anyone have a towel? I’m really cold.
@silda my heart goes out to you. eliot is a gross looking bum.
@alexw Silda Wall Spitzer is pretty hot:
http://www.wheresthepaper.org/NYT061110HerNextJobFirstLadyOfNY_files/image002.jpg
She looks like Jenna Fischer/Pam Beesly.