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RedditThe governor of her state -- who also happens to be one of her highest-profile backers -- is in trouble, big trouble.
But Hillary Clinton doesn't want to go there.
Asked about the burgeoning prostitution scandal involving New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, the usually loquacious senator from New York said, "I don't have any comment on that."
Pressed on the matter again, and again, as she was campaigning in Pennsylvania for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton was steadily evasive.
"Let's wait and see what comes out of the next few days," said Clinton.
"Right now I don't have any comment," said Clinton.
O.K., it's clear that Clinton doesn't want to talk about Spitzer's troubles.
But it was not always so.
Last year, Clinton talked and talks about how very much she wanted Spitzer's backing, and how important she thought it was to her presidential campaign.
Getting Spitzer on board was critical to locking up New York state as she prepared to go national. When the two had run in 2006, Spitzer had actually run better than Clinton statewide, and she knew she did not want any uncertainty about his support for her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Clinton got her man. After some serious prodding, he endorsed her candidacy.
Now, he's another headache for Clinton.
Spitzer, who earned a national reputation as a crime buster, was busy apologizing Monday after having been linked--via a federal investigation--to a prostitution ring. The governor reportedly reportedly paid $4,300 to spend the night before Valentine's Day with a young lady at Washington's swank Mayflower Hotel.
"I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family... [and] my sense of right and wrong," admitted Spitzer, in a brief statement delivered at his Manhattan office. "I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust to my family."
Ouch.
Ouch for Spitzer.
Ouch for all New York Democrats, including a certain New York senator.
The first question this morning is the hardest one: Will Spitzer, one of Clinton's highest profile backers and the man who was going to lead the New York delegation at this summer's Democratic National Convention, quit politics?
The Governor's not saying. But the calls for a quit are already being voiced. New York State Assembly Republican leader James Tedisco declared that "[Spitzer] has disgraced his office and the entire state of New York. He should resign his office immediately."
If Spitzer quits -- and the betting is that, as details of the scandal come out, he will -- the governorship will go to his able lieutenant governor, David A. Paterson.
Paterson, also a Democrat and also a Democratic National Convention super-delegate, has always been a good deal more enthusiastic about the Clinton campaign than Spitzer.
Despite the fact that Clinton is the senator from New York state, Spitzer did not endorse her until after Clinton was forced to make a high profile visit to ask the Governor for his support. Even when it came, Spitzer -- whose own ambitions to be attorney general, vice president or even president were no secret -- did not campaign all that hard for Clinton.
While Spitzer spent time at the Mayflower, Paterson slogged through Iowa and other key states on Clinton's behalf.
After the endorsement was secured, Spitzer first became a problem for Clinton when she struggled to defend and then distance herself from his proposal to make it easier for immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses.
He is a much bigger problem now.
It's not that Clinton is tied in any way to the governor's troubles.
Rather, he is a distraction--the big player in her adopted home state who is now in big, big trouble.
The Clinton campaign immediately began sponging Spitzer's name from the Senator's campaign website--just as Idaho Senator Larry Craig's name disappeared from the website of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney after Craig's bathroom troubles in Minneapolis.
Clinton's still taking advantage of support from other key backers who've been wrapped up in personal scandals, such as San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has publicly apologized for having a relationship with the wife of a top political aide, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who broke up with his wife after conducting affair with a local television news anchor.)
But the Spitzer scandal is higher profile, and higher stakes stuff,
The Spitzer trip up is a made-for-TV -- and really made-for-The New York Post -- scandal. The media won't let go of this one, and sooner or later Tim Russert and Chris Matthews are going to be obsessed with everything Hillary Clinton has to say about it.
Clinton will be answering breathless questions about all her governor's troubles, about whether he should resign and, of course, about her impressions of what it means when prominent political players -- like governors or, say, presidents in the 1990s -- get wrapped up in sex scandals.
Double ouch!
The one bright side for Clinton is this: If Spitzer quits, Paterson will be the first African-American governor of New York state. He will instantly become Clinton's most prominent African-American backer.
Unfortunately, while Paterson more than deserves that prominence, and will use it well and wisely--his accession to of the governorship, should it come, will follow a torturous period for New York Democrats, including Hillary Clinton.
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"Let's wait and see what comes out of the next few days," said Clinton.
She didn't say "Everybody should take a deep breath"?!?!!??!
She ALWAYS says "Everybody should take a deep breath" whenever she wants to put something on the "back burner". It's amazing we're not all asthmatics given the number of times she's worried about our breathing!
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 09:57am
Under the Clintonian Logic, Hillary Clinton supports married men buying sex, from expensive prostitutes no less. Because Barack has taken flak for the positions of others who support him. Turn about is fair play, I guess. Why do you support prostitution Hillary? Why? Think about the kids?
In all seriousness this is why that line of spin is so absurd. A candidate's opinions should be his/her own. It's guilt by association, which really is only logical if there is clear proof that there was some nexus between the opinions/views/actions of the supporter and those of the candidate.
Posted by Tzimisce at 03/11/2008 @ 10:46am
Hillary just said that McCain is more qualified than Obama; and we're talking about her Spitzer problem.
Posted by lnh at 03/11/2008 @ 10:59am
Posted by TZIMISCE 03/11/2008 @ 10:46am
True, the Hillary fans were more than happy to demand Obama distance himself from Farrakhan....and then when he did, not accept it.
So, why NOT ask her to distance herself from Spitzer....then STILL keep claiming that "For some reason, she allies herself with adulterous men!"?
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 11:01am
I hope some real news about the campaign comes along. That way we won't have to suffer through Nichols trying to make news.
Maybe on slow days the Nation could do some investigative journalism on the candidates' advisors, donors, policies, etc. Just a thought. Would probably be more interesting to read than 'A colleague of Clinton's who only kinda supported her made an ass of himself with a hooker. Whatever will she do?'
Posted by dentedpat at 03/11/2008 @ 11:14am
Mayor Newsom, Mayor Villaraigosa, Governor Elliott Spitzer, and Bill Clinton all have something in common - they support Hillary Clinton and their party finds absolutely nothing wrong with their behaviour. What amazes me is how many women over fifty years of age stand in line to vote for a woman who cannot condemn the conduct of men who are cheating on their wives with prostitutes, city employees, or White House staff. I thought feminism was all about empowerment and not about accepting the kind of conduct these men displayed while holding public office. I guess as long as the economy is doing well, we are not at war and the trains are running on time married men in power can conduct affairs with women other their wives with total impunity. What ever happened to disgrace and shame? What ever happened to fidelity to ones spouse? What ever happened to morality? Are we so short sighted that as long as things are going well in our Cities, States or our country that we accept any kind of behaviour? What is so very difficult about exercising some restraint and keeping your pants on when you are elected to the highest office of your city, state, or country?
Posted by mjkoch at 03/11/2008 @ 11:30am
Spitzer fallout seems like a non-issue to me, too, but there is one thing: The sight of Silda Wall Spitzer standing by her man has eerie echoes to what we all know about Hillary C's path to political stardom. Sympathy voting-block…?
Posted by klean2 at 03/11/2008 @ 11:36am
Posted by KLEAN2 03/11/2008 @ 11:36am
A Republican poster on another thread already noted that...
Silda Spitzer can now officially run for Governor of New York!
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 11:43am
Posted by KLEAN2 03/11/2008 @ 11:36am
A Republican poster on another thread already noted that...
Silda Spitzer can now officially run for Governor of New York!
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 11:43am
Sorry for the double
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 11:45am
It's amazing we're not all asthmatics given the number of times she's worried about our breathing!
Posted by MASK 03/11/2008 @ 09:57am
you (we) will all be if she ever gets to implement her ethanol plan.
(obama's, too)
Posted by frosty zoom at 03/11/2008 @ 11:49am
I thought feminism was all about empowerment and not about accepting the kind of conduct these men displayed while holding public office. I guess as long as the economy is doing well, we are not at war and the trains are running on time married men in power can conduct affairs with women other their wives with total impunity.
Posted by MJKOCH 03/11/2008 @ 11:30am
Third wave feminists agree with you!
Posted by habiba at 03/11/2008 @ 11:57am
Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 03/11/2008 @ 11:49am
Well, Barry Commoner is 90...but still alive, maybe you can talk HIM into running again!
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 12:01pm
MASK 03/11/2008 @ 12:01pm
1. Everything is Connected to Everything Else. There is one ecosphere for all living organisms and what affects one, affects all.
2. Everything Must Go Somewhere. There is no "waste" in nature and there is no "away" to which things can be thrown.
3. Nature Knows Best. Humankind has fashioned technology to improve upon nature, but such change in a natural system is, says Commoner, "likely to be detrimental to that system."
4. There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch. In nature, both sides of the equation must balance, for every gain there is a cost, and all debts are eventually paid.
yep.
Posted by frosty zoom at 03/11/2008 @ 12:15pm
"The peak of the [Presidential] campaign happened in Albuquerque, where a local reporter said to me, 'Dr. Commoner, are you a serious candidate or are you just running on the issues?'"
LOL......
Posted by frosty zoom at 03/11/2008 @ 12:16pm
US corn biofuels will expand Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone': scientists
19 hours ago
VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) -- A planned increase in US ethanol production from corn would spell environmental "disaster" for marine species in the Gulf of Mexico, said a co-author of a science study published Monday.
A boost in corn production will worsen the Gulf's so-called "dead zone," an area with so little oxygen that sealife suffocates, said Simon Donner, a geographer at the University of British Columbia in Western Canada.
"Most organisms are not able to survive without enough oxygen," Donner told AFP. "All the bottom-dwelling organisms that can't move away are probably going to die, while fish will migrate if they can."
Posted by frosty zoom at 03/11/2008 @ 12:18pm
sorry for the off-topicocity.
Posted by frosty zoom at 03/11/2008 @ 12:19pm
Whoa, check the numbs ...
Has GOP politicization of the Justice Dept trapped Spitzer?
Number of times each "client" is cited in the DOJ complaint:
client-1 (16 times) client-2 (8) client-3 (8) client-4 (18) client-5 (10) client-6 (11) client-7 (5) client-8 (6) client-9 (57 -- Gov. Spitzer) client-10 (7)
How come? HOW INTENTIONAL? A SET-UP BUILT ON GOP GOVT SPYING? Hmmm ... especially after last month's startling upset election reducing the GOP margin in the New York Senate to a single seat.
Posted by sloper at 03/11/2008 @ 12:20pm
"Sen. Hillary Clinton said she had no comment on New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's possible involvement in a prostitution ring."I obviously am sending my best wishes and thoughts to the governor and to his family," she told reporters after visiting with reporters in a local pizza parlor. ::::::: um... AWHAT? Clinton is "sending her best wishes" to this guy?? Give me a break....
Posted by jro555 at 03/11/2008 @ 12:24pm
How come? HOW INTENTIONAL? A SET-UP BUILT ON GOP GOVT SPYING? Hmmm ... especially after last month's startling upset election reducing the GOP margin in the New York Senate to a single seat.
Posted by SLOPER 03/11/2008 @ 12:20pm
I don't think politics enters into this at all. Sure maybe the GOP wanted to trap him in something, that might be dubious in ethics, but he did have a choice in the matter, he didnt have to buy sex.
If you want to debate about whether or not he should be prosecuted under the Mann Act, when no one gets prosecuted under it, then you have a debate. He did something more wrong than just cheating on his wife, he bought sex, which is illegal. There really is no way around it, if it was just a sex scandal involving him and his mistress maybe I would say that's between him and his family, but it isnt.
There should be no wavering on this, its an ethics problem, a violation of the law, and he should be held accountable.
Posted by Tzimisce at 03/11/2008 @ 12:26pm
s-interns-The Rezko thing is going nowhere because,apparently,there isn't anything there.If there was the Clintons would be bringing it up on a regular basis and showing that there is something there..
Posted by i'm nobody at 03/11/2008 @ 12:36pm
Posted by S-INTERNS 03/11/2008 @ 12:26pm
Dear Hillary troll of the day,
1) your caps lock key is between the tab and the shift keys on the left side of your keyboard (i think its stuck)
2) tldr
3) see my post above
4) i like tacos.
Posted by Tzimisce at 03/11/2008 @ 12:38pm
Posted by S-INTERNS 03/11/2008 @ 12:26pm
Rezko is a choir boy compared to Spitzer, Norman Hsu, Peter Paul, and Andrew Grossman - all Hillary associates!
This high-end escort service is EXACTLY the kind of service you would expect Bill Clinton to frequent. In fact, Bill may have recommended the service to Spitzer!
Let's get deep into the other clients of the service and see what other surprise we may find.
This "secretive" stance of the Clintons is really troubling because who knows what would pop up if they were the Democratic nominee? Their refusal to devulge her tax returns or the donor list to the Clinton library suggests that there are some other shady characters and associations they have that are looming in the dark that if the public knew about would reject the Clintons out of hand.
We don't need any more sleaze in the White House, and for that reason alone, the Clintons should be rejected.
Posted by Metteyya at 03/11/2008 @ 12:42pm
Posted by TZIMISCE 03/11/2008 @ 12:38pm
You know for a supporter of a candidate we're told is "winning the important states" and is joking about making Obama HER Vice-President....
S_INTERNS sure is riled up for somebody who's SUPPOSEDLY "winning"!?!?!?
heheh
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 12:44pm
I don't think this is good for anybody. I think Paterson is a Clinton backer, too. She is, after all, New York's Senator. That said, it will make people remember Bill Clinton's...er, adventrures....and that can't be good for her at the Convention. She certainly has lost one superdelegate.
Posted by midnight04 at 03/11/2008 @ 12:46pm
Rezko is a choir boy compared to Spitzer, Norman Hsu, Peter Paul, and Andrew Grossman - all Hillary associates! Posted by METTEYYA 03/11/2008 @ 12:42pm
Who cares? I mean I know that the HTOTD (Hillary troll of the Day) thinks that we should care, but that seriously is the old kind of politics, and they are SO meaningless. IF Clinton or Obama are involved (actually implicated) in the wrongdoing of others or their own wrongdoing, then its an issue. That's not the case here and I think we should take the high road.
Posted by Tzimisce at 03/11/2008 @ 12:52pm
Governor Spitzer is a powerful and effective politician and this recent allegation about his poor moral conduct should not be a liability for Mrs. Clinton, though I'm sure it is. This is a tempest in a teapot, but unfortunately, Gov. Spitzer happens to live in a country that, at least in this respect, happens to be a miserable little teapot. The most damning thing about this scandal is that he has prosecuted prostitution rings in the past, so he is guilty of hypocrisy. Judging from very recent history, this should not be a big deal for a politician. I remember the most important politician in the land referring to himself as, "a loving guy." So far he has loved about 1 million Iraqis to death. Beside this kind of hypocrisy, Spitzer's should stand out as strongly as a candle flame next to a supernova. John McCain, that great maverick, is sucking up to Christian bigots like John Hagee and accepting endorsements from a president who should have been impeached and ousted from the White House in disgrace long ago. In a nation with real moral judgement, Spitzer, compared to this type of politician, should be seen as a saint. What Spitzer is accused of doing is not as serious as our national obsession with condemning victomless crimes and moral transgressions more severely than illegal wars and corporate greed. I know the real reason we go after prominent people who go to whores and/or commit adultery; it is because if we rooted out the real crooks in government, the ones who take money for political favors, those who twist facts and manufacture lies to justify ruinous and illegal wars, and the ones who deliberately misinform the public in order to enrich themselves and their friends, we would have to learn to live with anarchy for a while.
Posted by raaustin at 03/11/2008 @ 12:54pm
It's all about her poor judgment, Hillary: she surrounds herself with men of dubious morals and she will defend them to the bitter end. Bill, Elliot, Gavin, Antonio etc.
Posted by orangeal at 03/11/2008 @ 12:56pm
Posted by TZIMISCE 03/11/2008 @ 12:52pm
I like that one, TZIM...... "HTOTD"
simple, concise, just enough NASA acronymish...heheh
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 12:57pm
Posted by RAAUSTIN 03/11/2008 @ 12:54pm
RAA, you might want to hold off on the "It's just about sex" line of apologia for Spitzer.
Word is...he might be dirtier than just his bedroom antics.
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 12:58pm
Why is this considered newsworthy? The entire campaign season has been filled with banality and triviality. Why can't we discuss actual issues, such as Iraq, healthcare, the drug war, prison populations, a living wage, corporate welfare, fair elections, etc, instead of all this stupidity. By avoiding real issues and choosing to discuss supermarket tabloid type topics we play into the hands of candidates who either have no substance or are afraid that the public might actually learn more about what their politics really are, but we also assume that people are not intelligent enough to grasp more than the trivial, and that all discussions of politics have to be presented as a black and white issue or a for or against decision. This type of coverage just furthers this effort by wasting valuable time and energy covering the irrelevant rather than discussing what truly matters to the electorate.
Posted by thanser at 03/11/2008 @ 12:59pm
It's all about her poor judgment, Hillary: she surrounds herself with men of dubious morals and she will defend them to the bitter end. Bill, Elliot, Gavin, Antonio etc.
Posted by ORANGEAL 03/11/2008 @ 12:56pm
Why go there to prove the "lacking judgment" argument? She either a) voted for war for political reasons b) though Dubya wouldnt invade and was fooled or c) wanted war. All are poor judgments. Hillary decided to run in a handful of states, and when that strategy didn't work, she wrote off many states as small and not counting. Her campaign is constantly backbiting with each other. Finally, they actually ran out of money do to poor spending habits.
We could go to who she surrounds herself with, but I think we could just limit it to those areas, or actual policy and strategic decisions.
Posted by Tzimisce at 03/11/2008 @ 1:02pm
Just a quick refresher course lest we forget what has happened to many "friends" of the Clintons
1-James McDougal - Clinton 's convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr's investigation.
2 -Mary Mahoney - A former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown. The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House.
3- Vince Foster - Former White House counselor and colleague of Hillary Clinton at Little Rock's Rose Law firm. Died of a gunshot wound to the head, ruled a suicide.
4- Ron Brown - Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown's skull resembling a gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his will ingness to cut a deal with prosecutors. The rest of the people on the plane also died. A few days later the air Traffic controller committed suicide.
5- C. Victor Raiser II- Raiser, a major player in the Clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in July 1992
6- Paul Tulley - Democratic National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotel room in Little Rock, September 1992. Described by Clinton as a "dear friend and trusted advisor".
7- Ed Willey - Clinton fund raiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the woods in VA of a gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide. Ed Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House. Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton fund raising events.
8-Jerry Parks -Head of Clinton's gubernatorial security team in Little Rock. Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside Little Rock. Park's son said his father was building a dossie r on Clinton. He allegedly threatened to reveal this information. After he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house.
9-James Bunch - Died from a gunshot suicide. It was reported that he had a "Black Book" of people which contained names of influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas.
10-James Wilson - Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide. He was reported to have ties to Whitewater.
11- Kathy Ferguson- Ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994, in her living room with a gunshot to her head. It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit. Kathy Ferguson was a possible corroborating witness for Paula Jones.
12-Bill Shelton - Arkansas State Trooper and fiance of Kathy Ferguson. Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiance, he was found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiance.
13-Gandy Baugh - Attorney for Clinton 's friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window of a tall building January, 1994. His client was a convicted drug distributor.
14-Florence Martin - Accountant & subcontractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry Seal Mean Airport drug smuggling case. He died of three gunshot wounds.
15- Suzanne Coleman - Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General. Died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, ruled a suicide. Was pregnant at the time of her death.
16-Paula Grober - Clinton 's speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death December 9, 1992. She died in a one car accident.
17- Danny Casolaro - Investigative reporter. Investigating Mean Airport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority. He slit his wrists, apparently, in the middle of his investigation.
18- Paul Wilcher - Attorney investigating corruption at Mena Airport with Casolaro and the 1980 "October Surprise" was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993 in his Washington, DCapartment. H ad delivered a report to Janet Reno 3 weeks before his death.
19-Jon Parnell Walker - Whitewater investigator for Resolution Trust Corp. Jumped to his death from his Arlington, Virginia apartment balcony August 15, 1993. He was investigating the Morgan Guaranty scandal.
20-Barbara Wise - Commerce Department staffer. Worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29, 1996. Her bruised, nude body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce.
21- Charles Meissner -Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.
22- Dr. Stanley Heard - Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash. Dr. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton's advisory council personally treated Clinton's mother, stepfather and brother.
23- Barry Seal -Drug running pilot out of Mena Arkansas , death was no accident.
24-Johnny Lawhorn Jr. - Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill Clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop. He was found dead after his car had hit a utility pole.
25-Stanley Huggins - Investigated Madison Guaranty. His death was a purported suicide and his report was never released.
26- Hershell Friday - Attorney and Clinton fund raiser died March 1, 1994 when his plane exploded.
27- Kevin Ives & Don Henry - Known as "The boys on the track" case. Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A controversial case, the initial report of death said, due to falling asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the 2 boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Many linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a Grand Jury.
THE FOLLOWING PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE IVES/HENRY CASE:
28-Keith Coney - Died when his motorcycle slammed into the back of a truck, 7/88.
29-Keith McMaskle - Died stabbed 113 times, Nov, 1988
30-Gregory Collins - Died from a gunshot wound January 1989.
31-Jeff Rhodes - He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a trash dump in April 1989.
33-James Milan - Found decapitated. However, the Coroner ruled his death was due to "natural causes".
34-Jordan Kettleson - Was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990.
35-Richard Winters - A suspect in the Ives/Henry deaths. He was killed in a set-up robbery July 1989.
THE FOLLOWING CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD:
36 -Major William S. Barkley Jr. 37-Captain Scott J . Reynolds 38-Sgt. Brian Hanley 39-Sgt. Tim Sabel 40-Major General William Robertson 41-Col. William Densberger 42-Col. Robert Kelly 43-Spec. Gary Rhodes 44-Steve Willis 45-Robert Williams 46-Conway LeBleu 47-Todd McKeehan
Posted by Metteyya at 03/11/2008 @ 1:14pm
Posted by MASK 03/11/2008 @ 12:58pm "Word is...he might be dirtier than just his bedroom antics."
Okay, then let's clear the forest to see the trees and dispense with all this tripe about Spitzer's naughty little shenanigans. I, and I'm sure most of the public, can't get to the root of the problem with his governorship when all we hear about is his involvement with prostitution. If he has truly violated the public's trust then let that be the story. So what is the real dirt on him? Has he taken bribes from H & R Block or National Right To Life ?
Posted by raaustin at 03/11/2008 @ 1:32pm
Posted by METTEYYA 03/11/2008 @ 1:14pm
You imply Billary were responsible for all these deaths, many of which occured before they went to DC.
Now how did they manage all that so successfully?
Bet Nostradamus predicted most of it to.
There are many sound reasons of substance to oppose Billary & support Obama. As a reason, however, putative Mafia-style serial murders by the dozens don't qualify as anything more than an insult to the brain & a gutter appeal to ignorance ... so similar to CheneyBush & rightwing "reasoning" for imperial wars & dismantling of the constitution.
Posted by sloper at 03/11/2008 @ 1:40pm
Posted by RAAUSTIN 03/11/2008 @ 1:32pm
The "real deal" may be Mob ties to the "Emperor Club" and if Spitzer was getting his nookie from there he either voluntarily or INVOLUNTARILY (i.e. blackmail) might look the other way or push the AG of NY to not prosecute.
Again, in fairness, Spitzer's rep as a "fighter of corporate corruption" is not a free pass to turn this into "Oh, it's just about sex"....if it isn't!
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 1:47pm
Posted by SLOPER 03/11/2008 @ 1:40pm
'Fraid METTE is really losing it....he's quoting from Jerry Falwell's "The Clinton Chronicles"!
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 1:47pm
sloper-It is odd that the Clintons have so many dead people around them.Voting for them causes a rise in the suicide rate of their friends.
Posted by i'm nobody at 03/11/2008 @ 1:49pm
Posted by MASK 03/11/2008 @ 1:47pm
I'm just saying that there are TOO many coincidences here, don't you think?
Posted by Metteyya at 03/11/2008 @ 2:23pm
I never thought I'd see the day where I'd have to make Mett a tinfoil hat!
Where this is going to impact her is the same way Wolfson's Kenn Starr comment will: it drags up the negatives of her husband's administration. Which, if she's going to run on her record, she should be brought to account not only for his negatives but her own.
Posted by yutsano at 03/11/2008 @ 2:29pm
Oh and Rezko is this little thing we call a strawman. Then again I haven't seen much logic come out of Mr. Caps Lock.
Posted by yutsano at 03/11/2008 @ 2:30pm
men will be men....it isn't her problem.
BTW I found some fantastic articles…A MUST read for EVERYONE "The Hussein Dynamic" at http://savagepolitics.com/?p=171 and "Follow the Money" at http://savagepolitics.com/?p=165
The writing is BRILLIANT and goes beyond what the MSM feeds us. It was about time!!!!! Their sections for "Humor" and "Political Analysis" are FANTASTIC!!!!
http://savagepolitics.com
Posted by elsylee at 03/11/2008 @ 2:32pm
Hillary Clinton is a horrid person, but I don't really see how this affects her at all.
Posted by Kevin_OKeeffe at 03/11/2008 @ 2:38pm
And how would Barack Obama respond if the governor of Illinois were caught in a similar situation? "It's time for change, let's move on!"
Posted by Spengler47 at 03/11/2008 @ 2:40pm
"'Fraid METTE is really losing it....he's quoting from Jerry Falwell's "The Clinton Chronicles"!"
Jerry Falwell was an ass, but a lot of that stuff in 'The Clinton Chronicles' was solid investigative journalism. Something doesn't become a lie merely because its critical of someone with a 'D' next to their name.
Posted by Kevin_OKeeffe at 03/11/2008 @ 2:45pm
Posted by SLOPER 03/11/2008 @ 12:20pm
"Amazing how Senator David Vitter's name never leaked out of the Justice Department after the arrest of the D.C. Madam, but Eliot Spitzer's name leaked out of the Justice Department within a week of the initial arrest in the Emperor V.I.P. case.
Vitter, recall, owned up to his dalliance with a prostitute after Hustler called him to ask for comment before publication. Not that employees of the George W. Bush Justice Department would ever act in a political fashion, of course. But it is curious."
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002588
Posted by hsuBfools at 03/11/2008 @ 2:46pm
Is Vitter still in office?
Posted by hsuBfools at 03/11/2008 @ 2:47pm
http://savagepolitics.com Posted by ELSYLEE 03/11/2008 @ 2:32pm
Kneejerk rubbish, thinly veiled bigotry, a print version of the O'Reilly-Limbaugh school of thought & humor. If that's one's taste, fine. But no, not remotely brilliant nor incisively analytical. Waste of time.
Posted by sloper at 03/11/2008 @ 2:48pm
This is SO a non issue.
Oh well, at least this time it was a babe
Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 03/11/2008 @ 2:49pm
This probably doesn't directly affect Clinton, but any sex scandal reminds people of our prospective "First Gentleman's" behavior. This whole vast right wing conspiracy is a witch hunt, but wouldn't it be nice to have a progressive President who didn't feed it? The problem is that a very small percentage of the stuff written about the Clintons is true - just enough to make everyone doubt their overall credibility. Sure, they will make up ridiculous things about Obama. But since people have good reason to trust him, the charges won't stick and linger the way they do with the Clintons who are demonstrably liars.
Posted by Be Good at 03/11/2008 @ 2:58pm
The Spitzer scandal should make voters answer one question, "Do we really want to get dragged through the Big Dog/Monica disgrace all over again?" For their is absolutely no question that if HRC steals the nomination, the Right Wing noise machine will relive the sorid affair, "blow by blow". It is time to put an end to the Clinton/Bush regimes and leave their disgusting, tragic legacies in the rear view mirror.
Posted by eyecolor at 03/11/2008 @ 3:39pm
Spitzer epitomizes the sleazy machine that Clinton has had at her ruthless disposal. Seeing one of her key surrogates go down in flames is very gratifying. Too bad Rendell wasn't "Client #8". However, this will not stop the craven monster's scorched earth lust for power.
I attended a wedding in Atlanta on March 9th for a brilliant young African American couple- he an independent photographer from Georgia Tech & she an Oncologist from Emory University Hospital. The reception was filled with powerful, highly educated African Americans from across the country, all ardent supporters of Barack. Believe me, if HRC somehow steals the nomination there will be a November "Black Out", as the black community will be outraged and turn their collective backs on the General Election. Factor that reality into the "who is more electable" equation.
Posted by eyecolor at 03/11/2008 @ 3:53pm
So I finally put Mett on ignore for that peice of desperate stupidity. So Clinton is engaged in Rovian tactics for trying to make people think that Obama is a drug peddler and a Muslim (I accept she is doing this and agree it is vile, especially the Muslim thing since it is playing on religious and ethnic intolerance to get ahead. Completely morally indistinguishable from race baiting) but Mett thinks it is fine to bring up tired old shit about how the Clinton's might have murdered people. Nevermind that these rumors have been out there for years and no one (despite the massive amounts of time and money the right wing media has devoted to these stories) has found anything evidence they are implicated in the deaths of anyone. All that matters for Mett and trash like Mett is political expediency. Truth and the principles of good citizenship are things to be discarded when they don't help your candidate.
There is a reason Mett and the republicans do this shit. They don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to a policy debate. The republicans don't have one because, despite having many smart people in the organization, their policies are so manifestly in the interests of the rich alone that a case cannot be made to the American people without lies. With Mett it is far simpler. Mett lacks the knowledge or intellect to engage in a policy debate. Mett has tried a few times, to be sure. There were those lists of votes of the other democratic candidates which were full of mistakes about Senate procedure (treating a vote to table a bill as a vote for the bill, treating voting against an amendment to a bill as voting against the bill, things like that). There was that attempt to argue against the Clinton (and Edwards, though he was electorally irrelevant by then) plan for the mortgage crisis that depended on claiming (without presentation of evidence) that mostly speculators were being foreclosed on and on not understanding that freezing the interest rate on subprime loans does not freeze the interest rates set and influenced by the Fed.
This is what happens when commitment outweighs knowledge. Rabid desperate flailing around like this. The willingness to say anything to get ahead. Rove.
Posted by dentedpat at 03/11/2008 @ 4:18pm
To Euler (HTOTD),
"Since we've descended to calling people monsters, lets focus on the Obamas, a couple of slimy freaks." Ad hominem much?
-I like tacos...
Posted by Tzimisce at 03/11/2008 @ 4:19pm
Posted by DENTEDPAT 03/11/2008 @ 4:18pm
We have been debating POLICY for almost a year here, but I think "a lot" of people have forgotten just how sleazy the Clintons really are!
IT WAS ABOUT TIME FOR A REMINDER!
Like Edwards, Hillary wants us to stay locked into the "issues world" that they created and defined with their campaign strategists, and not look outside this box for indications of who these people really are and where they will really stand when the campaigning is over. That may make it easy on the Clintons and the Edwards of this world, but the American people are tired of deception and want to know the truth this time!
You just can't take $10,000,000 from Saudi oil dictators as the Clintons have done and expect the American people to believe you are serious about energy independence.
Posted by Metteyya at 03/11/2008 @ 4:29pm
I just called a troll a troll, merely a statement of fact. The high road was to not implicate Clinton with the behavior of proxies unless there is clear and convincing evidence to do so.
Posted by Tzimisce at 03/11/2008 @ 4:38pm
Wow. Expensive hookers! At least Spitzer, a good Democrat, did not exploit cheap labor! EV
Posted by EnviroVarmint at 03/11/2008 @ 4:43pm
Posted by KEVIN_OKEEFFE 03/11/2008 @ 2:45pm
KEVIN, IF you're an Obama supporter...and/or solid Democrat/liberal/progressive, etc.
I will bet you a $1000 that if somebody were posting the "solid journalism" of "The Clinton Chronicles"...for the same purposes, perhaps to aid the OPPOSITE side of the aisle...
you'd call it out for what it was.
But since we're in the midst of a Civil War among Democrats, and since "she started it"....all bets are off and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, huh? Even if it's Jerry Falwell and Richard Mellon-Scaife?
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 4:50pm
EULER....a question or two (to resolve a dispute here)
1. Did your son serve in the Iraq War?
2. Are you a veteran as well?
3. If Obama is the Democratic nominee, will you vote for John McCain?
4. If you don't answer these questions, is it because it might "give away" a previous nick you used on this blog?
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 4:52pm
Why all the womanizers support Hillary Clinton? Can you imagine an administration with Eliot Spitzer and Bill Clinton in important government positions?
Posted by Jason432 at 03/11/2008 @ 5:06pm
MASKy: Have you picked McCain's VP yet? Top banner this thread?
Posted by Happy at 03/11/2008 @ 5:48pm
Evidently, the New York GOP has threatened Spitzer with impeachment if he doesn't resign. That alone is reason enough for him not to resign.
Posted by jread_21205 at 03/11/2008 @ 5:55pm
I really think that it is the Obama camp that should be worried: the parallel image of the great idealistic crusader going up to change government seems obvious. The next thought for many people may be - look what happens to someone like that - he gets run over by the Republicans and stupidly screws up his personal life.
Posted by Frisius at 03/11/2008 @ 5:59pm
Posted by EULER 03/11/2008 @ 6:22pm
What was so intrusive about my questions?...except that, if you answered them honestly, they would either indicate you are NOT the person we suspect...or admit that you are and engaging in a deliberate deception?
None of them would reveal your name, really your age or gender, location, etc.
Just show if you ARE that poster we suspect...again, if answered HONESTLY (which that poster is not really prone to do by the way!)
Posted by Mask at 03/11/2008 @ 7:36pm
mybluecollar.com/videos/834686b158 had a perfect sketch for all this insanity. Can't wait to check out SNL's skewering. At least no more tax dollars with aide in a hookers "tuition".
Posted by lisa_seagren at 03/11/2008 @ 8:44pm
Hillary's Iraq surge: Violence killed at least 42 people Tuesday
Posted by winyahn at 03/11/2008 @ 9:29pm
Re: Mask - I had thought about ignoring your posts,
That's all you need to know Mask.
Posted by Tzimisce at 03/11/2008 @ 9:49pm
LOL, we're all sure Frank's still here....Euler? Is it you frank??
Posted by TheCraftyB at 03/11/2008 @ 9:53pm
Posted by MJKOCH 03/11/2008 @ 11:30am: I thought feminism was all about empowerment and not about accepting the kind of conduct these men displayed while holding public office.
MJKOCK, your thoughts about feminism are as comically irrelevant as your slack-jawed, knuckle-dragging moral code. Maybe most feminists are just like most civilized, intelligent adults in that they don't give a damn what politicians do with their dicks. Maybe feminists are concerned with where politicians stand on the real moral questions of social justice, how to make a better world for our children and how to defend the basic liberties that are the real moral basis of democracy against the thugs and vandals that currently hold power in Washington. And it's becoming clear that the prosecution of Spitzer is a political vendetta being waged by these vandals in retaliation for the fact that--surprise!--Spitzer stands on the right side of most of these serious moral questions. Take your head out of your ass and stop being a stooge for Bush $ Co.
Posted by oisin at 03/11/2008 @ 10:14pm
Legalize prostitution and make it retroactive at least 6 years and all this goes away, except for his family of course.
Posted by Lucem ferre at 03/11/2008 @ 10:55pm
Actually, I now think it's a excellent thing. I really, really hope Patterson is sworn in, I think he would be SO much better.
Good riddance, "Mr. Clean." Hah!
Welcome, Gov. Patterson!
Posted by tshirttt at 03/11/2008 @ 11:33pm
This is a little english teacherish of me but shouldn't the word be EXPUNGING and not sponging?
"The Clinton campaign immediately began sponging Spitzer's name from the Senator's campaign website--just as Idaho Senator Larry Craig's name disappeared from the website of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney after Craig's bathroom troubles in Minneapolis."
Posted by Dale-Z at 03/12/2008 @ 02:16am
Hillary seeking support of Spitzer would be no different than Obama seeking the support of his state's Governor...would we be hearing all about how much of a problem this would be for him if his Governor was in trouble? This is pure unadulterated media bullcrap, trying to link Clinton with Spitzer...that she had to endure public humiliation with her husband may be the reason she is reluctant to discuss this...First of all, this is a distraction and tabloid garbage, the sex angle at least...that The Nation would stoop to the level of piling on Hillary about this shows you the level of the shilling for Obama the liberal media has taken on. It is just absurd. The Nation sullies itself with this mindless bologna.
Posted by MCE337 at 03/12/2008 @ 02:42am
Under the Clintonian Logic, Hillary Clinton supports married men buying sex, from expensive prostitutes no less. Because Barack has taken flak for the positions of others who support him. Turn about is fair play, I guess. Why do you support prostitution Hillary? Why? Think about the kids?
That's quite a leap in logic on your part, and a repellent one at that.
Posted by MCE337 at 03/12/2008 @ 02:42am
hope some real news about the campaign comes along. That way we won't have to suffer through Nichols trying to make news.
Maybe on slow days the Nation could do some investigative journalism on the candidates' advisors, donors, policies, etc. Just a thought. Would probably be more interesting to read than 'A colleague of Clinton's who only kinda supported her made an ass of himself with a hooker. Whatever will she do? Posted by DENTEDPAT
EXACTLY...The Nation has now joined sites like Drudge and Huffpo that submerge themselves in scandal bilge...if it has any connection to Hillary, why even better...we can taint her with the same brush of scandal and innuendo. Focus on politics and Bush's vetoing outlawing waterboarding. Focus on terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Focus on Colombia/Venezuela/Ecuador drama. Enough with Hillary bashing, even by proxy.
Posted by MCE337 at 03/12/2008 @ 02:47am
Paterson has always been a good deal more enthusiastic about the Clinton campaign than Spitzer."
with full apologies, please ponder this in all its meanings:
just shows how blind Paterson is!
Posted by MEGACEPHALUS
Contemptible...now imagine an insensitive and callous comment like this directed at Obama...I am sure you and his fellow whiners would be ranting and raving to the rafters...you are repellent in your shamefulness.
Posted by MCE337 at 03/12/2008 @ 02:49am
Overlooked by Nichols in his Hillary muckraking and many others in the media as The Nation becomes a tawdry supermarket rag...a blogger from abcnews.com points out the hypocrisy of media in its coverage of an Obama superdelegate who has his own scandal: the mayor of Detroit:
[A] highly-connected Barack Obama superdelegate was mired in accusations of corruption, bid-rigging and a dead-stripper sex scandal. Usually the media love to report the downfall of party bigwigs, but not in the case of Detroit's youngest mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Much of the media downplayed the mayor's scandals and did not report his party, let alone his status as a Democratic power player who can influence the election. Kwame, who is the son of Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI), is not just any mayor. He was a Democratic rising star, who spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and is the superdelegate to the 2008 convention thanks to his position as Vice President of the Conference of Democratic Mayors. But now "The First Hip Hop Mayor" is in serious trouble, with members of the city council calling for his resignation. Controversy has engulfed his two terms, and the latest bout involves a report that his wife assaulted a now-dead stripper whose shooting is still unsolved. At the same time, the mayor's longtime pal Bobby Ferguson won at least $45 million in city contracts while reportedly receiving inside information from Kilpatrick and his chief of staff. Posted by: wordsandwords 1:50 AMMark As Violation
Posted by MCE337 at 03/12/2008 @ 03:03am
It's a sad day when, we the people of the United States, are only worried about a sex scandal! At least Spitzer had sex with a female in a plush hotel, not some sleezy bathroom. I fault him as being stupid for wiring money to an off shore account. He should have known that it would end up being a threesome with big brother, once found out!
Posted by Jackie54 at 03/12/2008 @ 06:48am
well, after spitzer is out of office i think his wife should run for governor next election.
consider all the experience she has watching him a] fight crime and b] run the complex state of new york.
she would be able to take charge from day one... no learning curve here.
she is a woman-let all who would dare to criticize her many qualifications face the wrath of now, media matters, and every over 60 year old woman in the state.
she has proved she is tough, standing by her man in his most trying time, keeping a stiff upper lip.
after she does a term as governor... she could run for PRESIDENT!
Posted by ariaadne at 03/12/2008 @ 08:32am
deja vu all over, again??? so, Paul,
. . . on, on to the next carnival,
what's a poor woman s'posed to do!!?? when her "arguably, plausibly first, best choice" for her VP 's caught in a ring, with his thing hanging out?
down the tracks, to the next. carnivals on wheels, in town . . .
note to john nichols--please omit "torturous" from your rhetoric; it's tainted, not blessed, with the currency of republican news-commentator ignorance. the word is the spawn of an illiterate "professional" journalistic presumption. it is an 'acquisition' "They" have latched onto, fawning upon its aura of ten-gallon hattedness, or its sesquipedalian pseudo-frisson, its effect of the galloping of many many feet--oooh! say pentapedalian, or duodecapedalian next! oooh! ye gods of private enterprising!! Save me from the Off-Topic Straying!! And only i am saved, to tell . . . yadda, hadda . . . having heard a proper use of its sound-alike, years ago, before the republican agenda had demolished public education in Murikia, a time when one might have learned, in public schools that taught basic literacy, that had the word and a common definition for it, and That Word Is: tortuous. sorry, my bad. i just had to weave that in. yo dude; party on.
Posted by camarada at 03/12/2008 @ 09:53am