Another day, another story of a politician caught (metaphorically speaking) with his pants down. Since I’ve conveyed no mercy upon Republicans who can’t keep it in their pants, it’s only fair that I acknowledge New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a prominent Democrat, for the moral reprobate and world-class hypocrite he apparently is.
The moral of this story, I suppose, is that hubris, hypocrisy, arrogance, and moral failings don’t respect party lines. While Republicans have of late proven themselves to be first-class perverts, beating the drums of morality while so many of their members talk a walk on the wild side, Democrats are hardly immune to the disease.
The sad thing about Eliot Spitzer is the reality that his until now ascendant political star has gone dark. Spitzer may be a brilliant attorney, but he likely will have trouble getting elected county dogcatcher after this fall from grace. This is what happens when you set yourself up as the defender of morality and doing the right thing…and then you get caught dipping your pen in the wrong ink. Cheaters never prosper, eh?
I’m one of those libertines who has a difficult time believing that prostitution should even be a crime. What happens between consenting adults should not be a concern of the state. The prostitute that Spitzer got busted for seeing was paid something like $4300 for her, um, efforts. That kind of remuneration normally doesn’t accrue to someone you might try to paint as a “victim”. No, schtupping a high-priced hooker hardly seems like criminal activity. If you have to pay that sort of money to get laid…well, a fool and his money are soon parted, no?
The question of Spitzer’s alleged money-laundering to cover his tracks? Well, that might just be evidence of a crime…and if he broke the law, he should be prosecuted. Betcha didn’t expect to be on the other side of the equation, did you, Governor?? Pardon me if I tapdance on the carcass of your now-moribund political career. Oh, and don’t you think it’s time to do the right thing and RESIGN…before you’re impeached?
(Kinda gives a whole new meaning to “The Rise of Eliot Spitzer”, doesn’t it?? Ah, but I digress….)
The folks I really feel sorry for are his wife and children. While Eliot Spitzer deserves every bit of public infamy and ridicule coming his way, his family deserves better. No one can know what’s going on in the Spitzer household, of course, but the Governor is certainly correct in that he needs to work on rebuilding trust within his family. While his wife stood beside him at yesterday’s press conference, she looked as if she wanted the Earth to cleave and swallow her whole- and who could have blamed her? Her husband deserves to be humiliated as a liar, a cheat, and perhaps even a criminal, but she certainly deserves better. Their children certainly don’t deserve to be subjected the sort of scrutiny that’s bound to accompany the very public demise of their father’s political career. Nice work, Governor….
I’ve said this many times before, but their are few things I detest more than rank, aggressive hypocrisy. Add a stunning level of hubris and arrogance, and what you have is something truly odious and disturbing. Eliot Spitzer, despite whatever personal demons he may have been wrestling with over the years, was apparently arrogant enough to think that he could continue his moral crusade on the one hand while engaging in patently immoral and possibly illegal behavior on the other.
I could care less if Eliot Spitzer buggers goats in his off hours. What I do care about is the hypocrisy, the arrogance, and the hubris evident in his actions, and in the cavalier manner in which he’s betrayed his family. If his wife sticks with him, she deserves a medal…and she would certainly qualify as a far better person than I could ever claim to be.
Eliot Spitzer, if there’s any justice in this world, will have a suite waiting for him in Hell. It’s just too bad that he has to drag his family along for the ride.
Oh, before I forget…if you’re wondering what a $1500/hr hooker looks like, this ought to satisfy your curiosity.
