Comments on: Open Thread: Spitzer Prostitution Scandal

By: Luxan King

Luxan King — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:48:50 +0000

I saw Spitzer's whore's photo today. Mrs. Spitzer is absolutely gorgeous compared to this bimbo - what was Spitzer looking for? What an idiot. Pray that the four ladies (pretty and intelligent at that) will hold their heads high on their own dignity and let Mr. Spitzer pay his own penalty. May Jehovah God help them all.

By: SandraOmyOconner

SandraOmyOconner — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:07:27 +0000

But did he and his hookers use public transportation or bicycles to get to their trysts?

If so all can be forgiven hell he is a democrat.

Re Elect Ted Kennedy. Hell Elect the whole Kennedy family. It's St Patricks.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:06:41 +0000

Momos: You're probably right about this scandal hurting CP, as it will be used as an excuse by Albany to do nothing. They'll be able to blame their inaction on Spitzer. But it's also Bloomberg's fault for not making a better sell. Rhubarbpie: Couldn't agree more. Bloomberg in Albany is nothing to look forward to. Gizler: As far as I can tell, Larry Craig's "crime" was to tap the foot of the guy in the next stall. I guess you can be arrested for that in Minnesota, but if it were me, I would've just told him to f*** off. Imagine if one could get busted for striking up a conversation in a bar -- essentially the same thing.

By: rhubarbpie

rhubarbpie — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:54:57 +0000

Re Bloomberg as governor: Be careful what you wish for.

By: Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:50:00 +0000

This is Bloomberg's pet project, for a while he was content to trot it out and let it sit in his resume. There is some serious agitation going on this month though. Losing Spitzer can help especially if Patterson fears Bloomberg in 2010. If Patterson wins this now he will take it out of Bloomberg's quiver in the event of a Bloomie run for Gov.

Regardless, if it goes down now and Bloomberg run for Governor he won't be able to hide congestion pricing under his tunic like he did in the last Mayoral run. He is out of the closet on this now. So either Patterson sells it or he has to face Bloomberg on this issue next cycle.

By: momos

momos — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:26:36 +0000

Re: #20 Eric
I agree, the major responsibility for CP's fate lies with Bloomberg and his tepid, unsustained pitch for it. Since Bloomberg has done such an inadequate job, it has fallen to Spitzer to push Silver and the Assembly into passing CP. My point was simply that now that Spitzer is out of the game, CP's chances have significantly diminished. But your point is very important: if Bloomberg had pushed hard enough in the first place, Spitzer's problems wouldn't matter so much. And let's not let Silver off the hook either.

Re: #17
The Albany liaisons surely occur via SUV, but since the Legislature has been talking up high speed rail they must be catching on.

Re: #19
Paterson is a very smart guy and is very progressive on environmental issues. He's a believer in the peak oil theory. Listen to a 25 min interview with him on Northeast Public Radio here: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1194729

Re: #24
5%? I'll bet 10.

Re: #25
Good point. Paterson would establish himself as a leader in his own right by passing CP or some other "difficult" public policy.

By: Felix

Felix — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:12:52 +0000

I have no idea how this will play out, but why not be optimistic? First, this means Bloomberg, a potential governor in 3 years, is a lot more powerful now. Second, there's no reason to think Paterson won't want to please the broad coalition of interest groups lined up behind cp, as well as the daily newspapers in the city. He'll look like a more effective leader if he pushes this through and he'll get lots of good press.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:53:14 +0000

How I wish I were an investigative reporter living in Albany. First thing I'd do is take a picture book of everyone in the state legislature, visit every brothel in town, and say "have you seen any of these people around here?" I'm betting regime change in the state legislature would reach at least a level of 5%.

By: BicyclesOnly

BicyclesOnly — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:20:24 +0000

I hadn't known Spitzer lived on the same block as Bloomberg . . . saw the media hoopla there on my way to work this morning . . . including 10 media satellite vans and a helicopter hovering overhead, spewing fumes and blockng traffic.

The only poential silver lining is potential support for CP from a Bloomberg admnistration in Albany.

What a huge disappointment.

By: Gizler

Gizler — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:01:53 +0000

Actually, what Larry Craig did was quite illegal. When I have to take a shit in the airport, I want to know I can do it without two old codgers boning in the stall next door. But I agree that Spitzer has to go.

I was very excited when his governorship started, I thought he would be great for the state. To say this is disappointing is an understatement.

By: Doc Barnett

Doc Barnett — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:42:14 +0000

A lot of people think that the only way to get a c.p. plan initially passed is with some serious political might or trickery, that voters aren't willing to think through the issue enough to respond in their own interests. So I wouldn't say that Bloomberg failing to move that mountain translates to arrogance or poor salesmanship. On the bright side, that mountain will get smaller as pricing shows long term success in other cities. When our subway is falling apart and personal car overuse continues to be a millstone around the city's neck, the nationalistic rejection of evidence expressed in "New York is not London!" is going to resonate a lot less. People are going to realize (after being hit in the head with debris in a deteriorating station?) that they take transit much more often (or infinitely more often) than they drive into the zone, and that someone else is having the better of them with the status quo. Wait for this moment. And for the off chance that the Assembly has grown-ups in it that want to show how quickly they can get back to work and claim hundreds of millions of federal dollars now, c.p. supporters should be ready.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:57:25 +0000

What Larry Craig did doesn't really seem to be illegal. Spitzer, on the other hand, appears to have violated a Federal law. He needs to go, now. Momos, if congestion pricing fails, it won't be due to Spitzer's lawbreaking -- it'll be the fault of Bloomberg's arrogance and inability to properly sell the plan. I hear from many people -- who, like me, believe that CP is critical to the future of NYC -- who feel that the Mayor has never made a truly effective pitch for it, either to the voters or Assembly members.

By: rhubarbpie

rhubarbpie — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:55:21 +0000

Paterson is a product of the Harlem Democratic machine. While considered more liberal than Spitzer (he opposes the death penalty, for instance; Spitzer does not), he is not known as an innovative thinker or ambitious law-maker. I doubt he's thought a lot about any of the questions many of us care about, though I suppose we can hope for the best.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:14:06 +0000

Hey, jbird,

Ease off the capslock button, buddy. Bad for the eyes to try and read it.

At least Spitzer and Clinton weren't tapping a foot in an airport bathroom stall...

Telling a whole political affiliation to "go to Hell" is just childish. Shame on you.

By: d

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:06:28 +0000

At least the prostitute took Amtrak to DC.

By: Cap'n Transit

Cap'n Transit — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:29:46 +0000

Here's a page with excerpts of Paterson's speech:

http://local.theoildrum.com/story/2006/10/28/93252/616

And the most effective and immediate way to establish some kind of impact on our environment is through conservation. Conservation doesn't mean privatization. It doesn't mean austerity. It just means doing more with less, not just doing with less.

We're asking New York businesses to raise profits by reducing their utility costs, not by reducing their businesses. We're asking the families in New York to lower their utility bills, not to lower their expectation of a lifestyle. Conservation is good business sense, because if it saves energy; it saves money. Because energy is the new currency.

We want to make sure that the community action agencies, the not-for-profits and the weatherization organizations, get the proper funding that they will need. So we will use conservation in the short-term. We will implement it to get immediate results, but we want to pursue renewable energy sources as a long-term solution to New York's energy uses.

Unfortunately, he didn't make a connection to the inefficiencies of car-dependent lifestyles.

By: s

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:17:40 +0000

This streetsblog commentary is way more informative and insightful than anything that was on the mainstream airwaves last night. Thanks for discussing the implications of Spitzer's scandal--how it might actually impact us.

By: momos

momos — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:14:39 +0000

Re: #6 Red

You're absolutely right. Both the budget and congestion pricing had to be negotiated by the end of the month. The negotiating environment was bad enough. Now it's downright destroyed. Spitzer is weakened if not replaced entirely, while the uproar in Albany will give the Assembly cover to do as it will.

If there were several months for things to settle it would be difficult enough; with critical deadlines in 3 weeks, forget it.

This is so tragic. Congestion pricing dies not in a debate over its merits but in the ashes of a Governorship imploding from a sex scandal.

By: fdr

fdr — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:09:56 +0000

Bruno is next in line after Paterson, not Silver.

By: jbird

jbird — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:36:21 +0000

THIS IS A DAMN OUTRAGE! DEMOCRATS, GO TO HELL! FIRST CLINTON, NOW SPITZER! MAYBE IF THE MEN WHO RAN THIS COUNTRY THOUGHT WITH THEIR RIGHT HEAD, THIS COUNTRY WOULDNT BE FALLING APART.