Live-Blogging the Debut of CNN's Parker Spitzer

Tonight is the debut of the new CNN show Parker Spitzer, with "rational conservative" political columnist Kathleen Parker and disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer. CNN is banking on this show and given the recent NY Mag article "Chasing Fox," they're pretty desperate to gain viewer share at the coveted 8pm time slot.

Just to get biases out of the way, I'm not a huge fan of Spitzer's. Plus his actions have led to our current governor, who's even worse. So in other words Spitzer not only screwed six-diamond hookers, he also screwed New York.

As far as Kathleen Parker goes, I know little about her. I know she's spoken out against Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck in the past, so she could be one of those rare conservatives who approaches the realm of politics cerebrally more than vocally.

So without further ado...

Paterson on a Mission from God

As if the shitstorm brewing over New York Governor David Paterson is not raining down upon him hard enough, recent comments made by the embattled politician are sure to keep his critics hounding him. Speaking to what the New York Times calls a "sympathetic crowd," Paterson stated that "I will keep governing to the end of the year, in the spirit of making the tough decisions and trying as hard as I can to fulfill the mission in which God placed me."

Where to begin? Primarily, God did not place David Paterson in the position of governor of New York. There was no Sermon on the Catskills decrying Paterson's rise to the governorship. In reality, David Paterson is governor of this state because of Article IV, §5 of the New York state constitution. That, and his predecessor liked to diddle prostitutes.

What makes Paterson's statement even more incredible is the fact that Paterson was a last-ditch pick as lieutenant governor from Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign that was so inept, they thought when warned that Paterson was a "hard partier," that it meant he liked to work out a lot. Paterson's own father wanted someone else in the spot, and the Harlem powerbrokers pushing the elder Paterson's candidate for lieutenant governor were "wildly pissed off" when it became public that the younger Paterson would be Spitzer's second-in-command.

But let's just pretend that God was in the business of manipulating state politics to let accidental governors rule in Albany. Would he really choose someone who cheats on his wife and dabbles in coke and the occasional witness tampering? I would hope not. Politicians in general need to follow Thomas Jefferson's advice and realize, "religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god," not man, his god, and the people of the state you find yourself governing.

Photo - Paterson leaving church after explaining the mission God has sent him on (NY Times)

Jenny Sanford: Setting the Example for Cheating Politicians' Wives

Jenny Sanford (MSNBC)

How many times have you turned on the TV to watch a press conference or seen a clip on the evening news about a cheating politician and see his wife standing by his side as he admits to the entire country his inability to maintain self-control? I always think to myself, "What is she doing with him? He publicly humiliated her and their entire family, and she's still going to stand by him like that?" Not Jenny Sanford. When the revelations of what Mark Sanford meant by "hiking the Appalachian Trail" became public, she started the process of officially leaving the governor (their relationship had been hanging by a thread when he disappeared off to Argentina.) Within a month she had moved out of the governor's mansion and had taken the kids.

Eliot Spitzer and his wife, Silda (NJ.com)

When Mark Sanford held court like a Greek philosopher expounding on the virtues of love at his press conference admitting he was having an affair with an Argentinian mistress, Jenny was not there. She put out her own press release after her husband's embarrassing tell-all, in which she minced no words when it came to her and her husband's relationship: "I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago." She goes on to say that Sanford can earn her trust and respect back, but it won't be anytime soon. Jenny Sanford had the stones to do what Mark Sanford could (and still will) not: stand up and do what's best for herself and her family.

David Vitter and wife Wendy (NOLA.com)

Some wives stand by their husbands despite their husband's ultimate sign of disrespect and public humiliation (Silda Spitzer and Wendy Vitter both stood by their hooker-visiting husbands [with Wendy saying she was proud to be the Louisiana sentor's husband]). Other wives may not be at the press conference, but are still with their men (Hilary Clinton stayed with Bill, Darlene Ensign has stayed with her unfaithful husband and previous 2012 Republican hopeful John Ensign.) But Jenny Sanford seems to be a rare breed (the only other wife of a politician caught cheating who I can think of that left him is Mary Pat Fosella who left Staten Island/Brooklyn Rep. Vito Fosella following the revelation that he had not only a mistress, but a kid on the side).

So why do Jenny Sanford's actions stick out so much? Why do other politicians' wives [seemingly] put up with their husbands' immature and unfaithful ways? Is it the allure of being a powerful man's better half? Is it to keep appearances? Are they so blinded by love that they don't see their husbands for who they really are? While we may not know the answer to those questions, Jenny Sanford makes it clear why she left her husband: her kids come first. Even more impressively, she has forgiven Sanford, but she's not running back into his arms. "I have put my heart and soul into being a good mother and wife. Now I think it's up to my husband to do the soul-searching to see if he wants to stay married. The ball is in his court." I think Jenny Sanford's already won the game.

Why Eliot Spitzer Needs to Resign

Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know by now that Eliot Spitzer pays hookers to have sex with him. Obviously when this news broke one would assume that Spitzer's political career was essentially over (I would argue it is), but he is holding back on resigning. The media is spinning it as "Spitzer Says to be Weighing Resignation" or "Will prostitution-linked governor quit?" I'm wondering why it is even a question. There is no way that he can survive as governor with this over his head. He was an Attorney General of New York, the highest law enforcement officer of the state, and he pulls this shit as governor? You wanna talk hypocrisy, talk about Eliot Spitzer.

What's even more criminal than the outrageous price he paid ($4,300 for an hour or two with "Kristen"), is the fact that he ran on a "Mr. Clean" premise and that he would be a change from politics as usual and would clean up Albany. There is no greater "politics as usual" than the combination of sex and money. And there is little that is dirtier than outright paying a woman to have sex with you.

A look at Spitzer's short time as governor, however, would leave one thinking to themselves "Maybe this is not so surprising after all." Just look at the whole Joseph Bruno affair. In what has been labeled "Troopergate", it appears that Eliot Spitzer knew about all of the actions that he claims his aides took without his knowledge. These actions, such as misusing the State Police to keep tabs on Bruno, etc., were blatant abuses of power and led to an investigation by the Attorney General's office. Many New Yorkers believe that Spitzer was lying through his teeth about this affair (and I'm inclined to believe them). The melodrama got so weird that one of Bruno's people called up Eliot Spitzer's father (an 83 year old) and bitched him out on the answering machine about loans given to Eliot during the 1994 Attorney General elections in New York. You can hear the audio of the phone call here (the man who made it, Republican consultant Robert J. Stone, Jr. said that someone framed him by compiling various recordings of his voice and stringing it into that message). So while Spitzer went to Albany under the guise of cleaning it up, he ended up simply participating in its bullshit.

Back to Spitzer's being a john. It seems that this information did not come about from snooping for personal information on Spitzer (like he and his aides did on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno), but a routine check into public corruption, as the IRS noted that Spitzer was moving around a decent amount of cash while trying to make sure no one knew about it. This is what first led investigators to Spitzer. It only turned up later that the money was going to shell companies of Emperor's Club VIP, the company that Spitzer used to get his gals. It seems that the main issue here is how Spitzer paid for the prostitutes. It appears that he made a clear effort to hide the authentic use of the money by transferring it to shell companies, among other things. This is called structuring, which is essentially moving money around to conceal how the money is being spent and where it is ending up. Some news outlets are reporting that this crime carries a maximum of five years in the pokey.

But "structuring" is not the only crime Spitzer may be guilty of. He paid for sex, which is prostitution and is punishable (for the first offense) by a fine of $500 (which is peanuts compared to what he was paying for the hoes) and imprisonment of no more than 90 days in the District of Columbia. There is also a very old record on the books called the Mann Act (of 1910) that makes it illegal (a felony, even) for someone to transport a woman (in 1978 the act was amended to make it gender-neutral in order to tackle child pornography) for prostitution or other immoral acts. As alleged in the affidavit released regarding this case, "Client-9 [Spitzer] would be paying for everything - train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time, and hotel." (Top of page 35). So, in the sense that he paid for the transportation, he was responsible for her transportation and could be charged under this statute. Whether or not he actually will be is up to the prosecutors.

In conclusion, there really is no way that Eliot Spitzer can maintain his position as governor of New York. He ran on a platform that he was going to reform Albany, and one of the first things he did was use dirty tricks to attack Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. On top of that, he is lying about not knowing the actions that his aides undertook to try to discredit Bruno. Now, of course, this whole prostitution thing. News outlets are reporting that this is not Governor Spitzer's first time using prostitutes and some say that it happened in Florida, too. In any event, Spitzer needs to step down from the governorship, as there are important legislative matters that need to be tended to (such as the state budget which is facing a $4.6 billion deficit). I will leave this post with a quote from Mr. Spitzer himself in 2004 after busting an intricate prostitution ring as Attorney General: "This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure. It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring." One could say the following about Mr. Spitzer now: "He was a governor who won in a landslide and promised to bring reform to Albany. He was, however, nothing more than a john."

Photos - Eliot Spitzer (commons.wikimedia.org), Joe Bruno (nymag.com), The New York State Capitol in Albany (photo.architect's flickr)

Governor Eliot Spitzer Apology