The Brazen Hussy Blog
columnist: Sherry Baker

Topic: Politics
Eliot Spitzer: It's NOT about the Sex, Prostitutes or Adultery. IT'S THE FELONY, STUPID!

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Spitzer and prostitutes, the lovely call girl Kristen, the tragic wife, the resignation. Can’t anyone look deeper ? Where did the money come from to pay for these sex romps?And if prostitution is illegal, how come it’s ok for sex-for-money to be prosecuted by Spitzer but also enjoyed by him, without a legal consequence?

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by Sherry Baker
(Libertarian)
Thursday, March 13, 2008

The New York Times headlines scream: Spitzer Resigns; Felled by Sex Scandal.

Is that why he resigned  -- the scandal of having non-marital sex?

 Is that what all this is about?

I thought good ol' Eliot, described by his detractors in the press as "holier-than-thou", broke the law.

And got caught.

Whether it amounts to a misdemeanor or a big, fat felony remains to be seen. The New York Sun is reporting: The many prosecutors and tribunals to hound the governor are in a position to seek punishments ranging from a felony conviction down to a day at "John School" — a program in Washington, D.C., for men caught soliciting prostitutes.

But he wasn't just soliciting. He  was  metaphorically caught with his pants down in other ways -- he was happily using and paying huge amounts of money for a service he railed against as a prosecutor.  Let me say this one more time: HUGE amounts of money.

The boob tube talking heads, radio babblers and web bloggers are bubbling in a gleeful feeding frenzy. The media going after the obvious --  gosh, just how sexy and cute IS this prostitute Spitzer especially liked to do "not safe sex " things with!!!? And golly gee whiz, look how just AWFUL Mrs. Spitzer looks, propped up beside Eliot at his press conferences, appearing to be a barely animated shell of her former self.. Will she dump him or not??!!

But what about the hard facts, the deeper story here.

Did Spitzer, a GOVERNOR for Pete's sake, break the law? And was the WAY he was caught constitutional -- or not? Was it a case of  Big Brother runs amok ? Or, in fact,  was Spitzer so sure he was " above the law", throwing thousands at a prostitution ring,  he inadvertantly set a trap for himself via sheer arrogance?

 And what about the  tens of thousands of dollars he spent on hookers" --  whose money was it?

Was this money he earned or was it "appropriated" from other sources, i.e. was it taxpayers' bucks? And was on the taxpayers' time clock during his little sex romps or not?

How about, dear media, investigating THOSE points, not the bra size of Spitzer's fave call girl, "Kristen"?

Let me get this right out here in the open: I think prostitution should be legal. No, I don't think it is a wonderful profession or something that should be aspired to. But how can anyone who believes in personal freedom justify criminalizing sex-for-money between two consenting adults? Outlawing and demonizing prostitution is ludicrous , illogical and, lets' face it,it has never worked in the entire history of the world.

Doesn't that tell us something?

And puhleaze spare me the "can't we overlook sexual dalliances like the Europeans do" while trying to excuse the now ex-governor's secret life as a "john". Look, sexcapades are one thing . Breaking laws are another. Prostitution IS illegal right now in this country, whether it is a dumb law or not. Spitzer prosecuted people for prostitution and threw people in jail for participating in it. Now it turns out he engaged in it. It isn't the same as "just" having an affair.

And spare me the comparison to all the other famous leaders who have had this and that dalliance. I could care less that Bill Clinton had sex with Monica Whatsherface. What bothered me was that he was, I thought, working for the taxpayers in the Oval Office we PAY for and he should have kept his private moments with his private parts separate from his work.

And he didn't just lie about it he committed perjury and figured he was above that lil' ol' inconvenient law thing that says perjury is a BIG no-no. (Call me old-fashioned, call me a brazen hussy, call me a constitutionalist. I think perjury isn't akin to a little white lie. It MEANS something. Or should.)

Yep, Spitzer is married and he committed adultery. But who knows what the inner workings of his marriage are. Maybe it is an "open " relationship. Maybe Mrs. Spitzer is the victim of emotional abuse. Maybe , maybe, maybe.. we don't know and it is none of our business ( although I personally hope, if she is as sad as she looks, that she gets what we southerners call some "gumption" and kicks her philandering,spending-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-on-hookers husband to the curb).

The governor's sex life and marital woes are not the issues that should be the paramount ones to New Yorkers, to Americans, to so-called reporters. The problem here is that Spitzer is another example of a "leader" who is a hypocrite and thinks he's above the law.

It was fine and dandy to bust prostitutes but finer and dandier to be randier with them.Spitzer should have resigned. But  now it is time for the media, prosecutors, and the citizens to do the responsible work of finding out the details of just what he did. I'm not talking about sexual positions and kinky costumes.

I'm talking about following the money and the time frames and finding out if he really did break the law . If he did, and if he ripped off the taxpayers, it is time he pays the proverbial piper. And a resignation and saying  a non-specific, nebulous " I'm sorry" just isn't enough.

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2008 Sherry Baker, all rights reserved.
Published: Thursday, March 13, 2008
Last modified: Thursday, March 13, 2008

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