OntheWilderSide

[Click here for information on the Green Party of New York State’s Governor candidate Malachy McCourt]

My co-editor didn’t think we needed to write anything about the Eliot Spitzer situation, because everyone knows about it and there was nothing interesting to say. Though, I think that we are a political blog, and a political blog operating out of New York, so that we should at least mention it.

So, even though my co-editor says that even people on desert islands have heard the news, I will state the obvious, and then try to offer a few, wilder thoughts about it:

Governor Eliot Spitzer, the Governor of New York, has been caught on tape, due to a federal wiretap. Some of the things that he did that are wrong on a variety of levels are: shuffled money in ways that could be illegal; hired a prostitute from a prostition ring that could have connections to even more serious wrongdoings; and been party to transporting a sex worker across state lines, which could have severe implications under the law. Many people are calling for Spitzer’s resignation.

Some thoughts:

-Right away I was interested in the story. As a progressive, and as a Green Party member, I was never that crazy about Spitzer. He is pro-death penalty. And, I am suspicious of the way that as Attorney General he allegedly went after corporate crime and insurance companies. I think in some ways, he did some corporations a favor by prosecuting them and then settling for low numbers, where the corporations were then forgiven and forever not truly liable for what they had done. That is my take and opinion on the corporate crime fame that Spitzer has.

-Right away I was interested, because I knew that the Lieutenant Governor is a somewhat progressive, African-American man, who has historically had a better stand on the death penalty. David Paterson is the Lieutenant Governor of NY, and he now stands a very good chance of getting the job of Governor.

-I feel very bad for Spitzer’s wife and family. Words cannot describe.

-I think that the newspapers should never, ever have written Spitzer’s wife into their stories, and especially they should not have put her photos in the paper. I think she deserves her privacy.

-I think that the whole situation is bad enough for women and the image of women, and, then the media made it worse with their sexist jokes and demeaning coverage. I do not think that the New York Post headline that used the word “Ho” was funny at all. I think it is demeaning to all women, and The Post should be ashamed.

-I think that it is a very political strategy for people–especially party-line Dems–to say that this is a “private matter” and focus on the prostitution/sin angle. The potential money laundering (if that happened) is not something that can be forgiven of a politician. (And, the money wasting is not something that should be forgiven of someone who is supposed to be a Democrat and who is supported by progressives.)

-I think it is dangerous to let Spitzer stay in office. He has broken the law. He has made the kind of mistake that leads to blackmail and problems with governance. He has put the government at risk, and he has put the people’s faith in government at risk. If his office and duties mean anything to him, he should resign. The sooner the better.

-I think it is ironic that Eliot Spitzer is/was a Super Delegate who had come out for Hillary Clinton. That should be interesting.

Filed under: democrat, Eliot Spitzer, hillary clinton, New York State Politics, Political Websites, rants Tagged: | David Paterson, democrat, Eliot Spitzer, Governor, hillary clinton, Super Delegate, Women