Spitzering into the Wind
Filed under: US Elections
Resigning in disgrace to face a possible litany of serious federal criminal charges, after vainly and arrogantly struggling to hold on to his position by any means possible or, at least, to extort freedom from criminal prosecution, New York's Democrat Governor Eliot Spitzer has unleashed a torrent of stupidity, exposing the underbelly of American society in a way rarely seen. It's a valuable learning experience for all that should not be missed. Hard to imagine how the news could be any worse for the Democrats.
By the way, it now turns out that the prostitute is an aspiring singer who had a MySpace page that on Thursday morning had nearly 3 million hits but by Thursday afternoon had been mysteriously closed. Choice quote on how she found her music: "It started when I moved in with a musician during my odyssey to New York. One day, I was in the shower singing 'respect.' He and his lead guitarist burst in, had me repeat it and it started. We wrote, rehearsed and toured. After recording a bit with them, I decided to move to Manhattan to pursue my music career."
America reacts.
In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Cliff Johnson of Barrow, Florida, writes:
This is why prostitution should be legalized. This should be a private matter between Eliot Spitzer and his wife. This should have no reflection on his capabilities as governor. How long is this country going to live in the Dark Ages?
Uh, Mr. Johnson, sorry to disturb your (crack) pipe dream, but Eliot Spitzer was a PROSECUTOR. He PROSECUTED prostitution charges MANY TIMES, and never once called for the crime to be abolished. You're defending Spitzer from charges that he himself countenanced. That's just plain crazy.
And then there was Harvard Law student Jessica Corsi, exposing the far greater idiocy of Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz:
I believe that the comments by Prof. Alan M. Dershowitz of Harvard Law School about prostitution were irresponsible and insensitive. As a second-year student at Harvard Law School, I have been taught by my professors that making hyperbolic, unlikely and unsupported statements, such as Mr. Dershowitz's assertion that "prostitutes aren't victims -- they're getting paid a thousand dollars an hour" is irresponsible generally and particularly so when speaking with the press. Through my Harvard Law seminar on women's human rights, I have read empirical studies that document that murder, sexual assault and post-traumatic stress disorder rates among prostitutes are much higher than among the general female population, belying the accuracy of Mr. Dershowitz's avowal that prostitutes are not victims. Finally, Mr. Dershowitz's admonishment that resources devoted to ending prostitution should be apportioned to fighting terrorism is insensitive because it ignores the continued economic, racial and sexual exploitation of women and children the world over and seeks to distract us by generating fear. As such, Mr. Dershowitz's statements are a disservice to gender equality and the fight to end violence against women and children.
But even the brilliant student didn't go far enough. Even if we don't consider the prostitutes themselves to be victims, and even if we legalized it, there would still be victims of the non-crime. Take one look at Spitzer's innocent young daughters if you doubt that. They are his victims. Professor Dershowitz might also be interested in a story in the NYT today which indicates that 25% of all girls and 50% of all African-American girls aged 14-19 are infected with a sexually-transmitted disease. And this guy's a professor! At Harvard! Yikes!
And then there was Mary Ellen Byrne of Philadelphia, who wrote:
Once again we see the iconic photograph of private and public shame, disgrace and betrayal: the "ashen-faced" wife stands stoically by and behind her husband. This time it is the wife of Gov. Eliot Spitzer; earlier, we saw the wife of Gov. Jim McGreevy of New Jersey, the wife of President Bill Clinton, the wife of Senator Larry Craig. These sordid "private" matters become public humiliations for these wives. Let us hope that the next time such a sex scandal occurs, the wife is empowered and courageous enough to say no to the photo-op. Let the husband stand alone -- like a man.
Not so fast there, Mary. I fell for that one too at first. But it turns out that Spitzer's wife was the only one telling him not to resign, and so she appeared with him at her own instigation in order to try to save his job (and her position as first lady of the state). Of course, that doesn't mean she was happy to have her husband get blown (pardon the pun) as a john, and certainly in that sense she too was one of his victims. So much for the victimless crime! There is carnage everywhere you look.
Finally, let's not forget the fact that there was plenty of evidence of Spitzer's unfitness for office long before he was elected. Let's not forget that he won office with a Stalin-like 70% of the vote because institutions like the dastardly New York Times editorial board (and many others) endorsed him without giving any warning as to what problems might result. Think they've apologized for their error? Think again. We're now going to have a governor here in New York who is (literally, physically) blind and totally unqualified for the position, because nobody told us we might see Spitzer blown out of office. Shame on them. And shame on us for not demanding better.
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