Bold New CNN Show: The Sheriff of Wall Street Who Visited Prostitutes as Governor & Did No Jail Time…

From the press release for a new CNN show featuring Wash Post columnist Kathleen Parker and former NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer:

Spitzer, a Democrat who resigned as governor in March 2008 after acknowledging visiting a prostitute, is a well respected political mind and a take-no-prisoners prosecutor who has been often referred to as the "Sheriff of Wall Street."

"Take no prisoners" or "do no time"? I like Parker, but Spitzer, yeesh.

Reason.tv's interview with Spitzer's former madam, who did time for supplying the "well respected political mind" with hookers even as he pushed for prosecution of prostitution rings. Kristin Davis is running for NY governor on a platform focused on legalizing sex work, pot and gay marriage and pointing out the inequities of a criminal justice system that, er, put her in jail and let Gov. Spitzer go on to CNN.

Comments

[P Brooks]

"Well respected" by imbeciles, maybe.

[Kristin Davis]

I'm meeeeelllllltinnnnnggggg...

[John]

Maybe Spitzer can ask Parker if she wants to earn 14 dollars the hard way.

[Al Czervik]

Oh, this your wife, huh? A lovely lady. Hey baby, you must've been something before electricity.

[R C Dean]

"visiting a prostitute"

Geez, could we softsoap this any more.

He didn't visit her so much as he hired her and fucked her. And crossed state lines to do so, and tried to launder the money he used to pay her.

[Jerry]

Let's keep this sophisticated.

[John]

And he was married and she was a former teenage runaway half his age. Not that that should matter. But married men fucking troubled teenagers is just the kind of thing that anti-prostitution types point to as evils associated with it. Basically, he was about one step above Lawrence Taylor and two steps above guys who travel to Thailand.

[libertymike]

John, how can you say that L.T. is a step down from Spitzer? Are you factoring in the hypocrisy in your assessment?

[John]

LT's hooker wasn't of legal age. And she was apparently not there of her own choosing. LT is pretty bad.

[libertymike]

But his pretty bad can not compare to the bad of Spitzer who had the power, and frequently used it, to incarcerate prostitutes and their johns.

[Tulpa]

Sorry, no. Screwing an underage girl who is not consenting is worse than anything Spitzer is known to have done.

As a prosecutor, he was enforcing the law. You don't like it, get the law changed. Not even remotely comparable.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm not comparing Spitzer's Hogate with L.T.'s alleged crimes, but I'd hesitate to say that what Spitzer did as AG was enforcing the law. He did quite a bit that wasn't in any statute book in New York.

[libertymike]

Oh, you have evidence that the girl did not consent?

Even if the girl did not consent, a proposition which is dubious, it still does not come close to the CUMULATIVE damage done by Spitzer. He acted under the color of law, used money confiscated from those who make and produce on a voluntary consensual basis, for the purpose of initiating force against those engaging in voluntary consensual activity.

Because of Spitzer, New York taxpayers were forced to make greater sacrifices so this kosherite could wage his war on prostitution. New York, you might have noticed, is teetering on bankruptcy. Yes, there are many reasons why this is so; nonetheless, conducting a war on prostitution is not an exercise of sound fiscal judgment.

Moreover, and more importantly, Spitzer disprupted the lives of thousand of people because of his hooker crusade. Part of that dispruption was, of course, the spectacular misallocation of resources occaisoned by his actions. Cops, courts, defense counsel, the Park Avenue variety as well as public defender, missed work, lost productivity-you know, OPPORTUNITY COSTS.

How about those who were incarcerated? What about their families?

Tulpa, you are just bat shit to think that the damage caused by LT, if there was any damage at all, could even remotely compare to the evil wrought by Spitzer.

[Warty]

But at least he only jacked off in front of her. Supposedly.

[libertymike]

You sound like a prosecutor, RC.

[R C Dean]

You take that back!

[libertymike]

Taken back.

[Pro Libertate]

You shoud've said "Taken aback."

[libertymike]

You are correct.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Meh, it's CNN. That's practically the same as a prison sentence. Solitary confinement, really.

[Tim Geithner]

Well, I respect Elliot.

But he should have held out for Secretary of Commerce. I mean, he earned it, right?

[Winded]

Yeah, talk about weak language..."resigned...after acknowledging visiting a prostitute". First, I don't ever remember Spitzer acknowledging that. His apology and resignation used terms like "lapses in judgment" and "have hurt people close to me." Not once did he say what he had done, that was left for (some of) the media to fill in.

And couldn't they have at least said "patronizing a prostitute"? "Visiting a prostitute" sounds like a boy scout project or something.

[R C Dean]

Dang, Winded. Your Boy Scout troop sounds a lot better than mine.

[wylie]

They put the *rawr* in Tiger Scout....

[Aresen]

I wonder what the badge for that is?

[Pro Libertate]

Well, I checked. It could be several: American Business, American Culture, Communication, Mammal Study, Motorboating, Personal Management, or Salesmanship.

[No It's]

Spread Eagle Scout

[Pro Libertate]

You're making that up.

[No]

Scout's honor 😉

[Madame Beata]

Don't you patronize me!

[Ska]

I went to a strip club in San Juan last weekend.

Strip clubs in the states will never come close to that experience.

[John]

Really? How so?

[libertymike]

I bet both LT and Spitzer could enlighten you on the subject.

[Ska]

Grrr.....I posted this really long reply and got 400 error.

There were definitely girls that would have gone the Spitzer route, but that's not my scene. However all the girls expect you to touch them, unlike over here. So when you buy a dancer a drink you can grab her tits, grab her ass, spank her, whawtever. Hell, I bit a chick's ass. Where in the states you can do that without a bouncer tossing you? The girls were also pretty freaking hot (I am partial to Latinas).

[JW]

I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[Kroneborge]

Hmm, I went to a strip club in GA where the only rule was no penetration.

There was a bouncer shiny a flashlight in this girls snatch telling my friend to "eat the pussy"

[Tulpa]

I've never understood the point of strip clubs. Especially in the age of ubiquitous net.porn. Just seems like paying to get teased. Not my place to judge, but if you're into that it seems pretty pathetic.

[Douglas Fletcher]

My half-assed theory is that strip clubs are for guys aged around 25-50 who still have a fantasy that there's a beautiful woman somewhere on Earth who'll just shut up and never say what she thinks.

I think the guys under 25 usually don't have enough money to go to strip clubs very often, assuming they did want to go, and the guys over 50 have just plain given up on the delusion described above.

[zoltan]

Strip clubs : men :: rom-coms : women

[Jesus]

What's wrong with visiting prostitutes?

[Pontius Pilate]

You really have to ask?

[Pro Libertate]

Here's what I have to say about Spitzer.

Other than thinking he's an asshole for doing that to his wife, I don't care much about his use of prostitutes. But as one of the most power-abusing, self-seeking AGs in modern times, yeah, I hate him.

[J sub D]

And here is my take on the Empire State's former governor.

[Pro Libertate]

I stand by my comment in that thread, too:

I'll forgive Spitzer if he--

(1) Publicly repudiates his bullshit anti-corporate crusader crap;
(2) Legally changes his name to Client Number 9;
(3) Sheds his Democratic persona in favor of a Libertarian one;
(4) Campaigns for legal changes in line with his new libertarian values; and
(5) Marries Jeri Ryan. No divorce. Test case for legalized bigamy.

[Aresen]

I'm OK with all but "Legally changes his name to Client Number 9".

A friend posts as "Number 6". I wouldn't want any confusion among the dyslexic.

(Even so, I still wouldn't vote for Spitzer, assuming I could.)

[Pro Libertate]

I think everyone knows the difference between Number 6--who is not a number but a free man--and Client Number 9.

Canadians vote in New York elections?

[Aresen]

I said "assuming I could".

OTOH, if the dead can vote in Chicago (among other jurisdictions), why shouldn't Canadians vote in NY?

[Pro Libertate]

I know you said that, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Most of our dead vote in Illinois or Louisiana.

[Tulpa]

Here's what I have to say about Spitzer.

[Ted S.]

I'm just a boring classic cinema blogger, so for me it was just a reference to Governor Gantry and Willie Stark (yes, I know both movies were based on books), in a post on the movie Manhattan Melodrama, selected because it has a governor who cavorts with the underworld, costing him his job.

That, and watching William Powell and Myrna Loy is much more appealing than any of our politicians....

[P Brooks]

His apology and resignation used terms like "lapses in judgment" and "have hurt people close to me."

The picture of Spitzer at the microphones with his wife behind him was precious. She looked liked she was imagining herself putting a bullet behind his ear. Or, possibly, in his dick.

[Aresen]

"...putting a bullet behind his ear. Or, possibly, in his dick.

Wouldn't the latter be a much smaller target and therefore harder to hit?

[JB]

I will never, ever do a day in jail for any "crime" I commit until Spitzer is behind bars.

Any system filled with such rank hypocrisy should be fully resisted.

[kevin R]

like David Vitter of La, there is a separate set of laws for those in power.

How many people are permanently labeled as sex offenders for a similar act?

[Mike G]

Eliot Spitzer makes John Profumo look better every day.

[TB]

If you've seen the interviews about the new show, Spitzer's co-host has a real howler:

"What we have resisted is having our anchors insert their personal points of view for an hour and shoving them down people's throats."

Hello?! Ask Ashley for a comment on that.