Posted on 03/16/2008 10:24:40 AM PDT by Clint N. Suhks
Ben Stein Says The Feds Driving A Governor Out Of Office Is A Scary Thing
Like every other American, I was stunned by the fall of Elliot Spitzer. Of course I feel terrible for his family and for him. He fought the law and the law won.
But something sinister is happening here and it scares me.
Governor Spitzer was elected by an immense majority in the third most populous state. He got millions of votes. Now he's out of a job and in disgrace, and a man the voters did not vote for as governor is governor.
Why? Because some nosy civil servants at the IRS started a fishing expedition against Spitzer because they suspected he might be moving around money for political bribes.
So they wiretapped him and they found he was using the money he was moving around to buy the services of prostitutes.
Now, this is illegal in most states, and clearly it is in New York and in DC. But let's be honest: Men hire prostitutes by the thousands, maybe tens of thousands, every day They also bring women across state lines for sex every day.
The punishment for the men who hire hookers is usually nil, or at most a small fine close to what you'd get for a traffic ticket.
However, in Governor Spitzer's case, he got outed, humiliated, disgraced in front of his family, and then the voters lost the guy they voted for.
It is deeply scary to me that a few employees of the federal executive branch can start a train rolling that has such immense effects on the electoral process. Basically, a few career civil servants have nullified the will of the voters of the Empire State (over something clearly wrong, I don't doubt that, but it's not a political crime, not treason, not terrorism).
Having elected officials kicked out of office by appointed officials is a very dicey proposition. Over hiring prostitutes?
I strongly suspect that if the feds followed a hundred young male elected officials around for a year, they would find some sexual hanky panky among a lot of them, and some money or gifts changing hands often. If the feds prosecuted them all, it would basically mean that federal prosecutors have a veto over the electoral process.
That is dangerous.
More will be revealed but it all scares me. Elections are a lot more important than call girls.
You’re right, it isn’t anyones business. Well, except for it being illegal in most states. It does, after all, only effect those two consenting adults. Now if we can only convince the wives who have had STD’s carried to them via these “two consenting adults” then we will be on our way to legal whores for all. Some of those who literally had their deaths carried to them by these consenting adults won’t get to have their say in this, but I suppose the two consenting adults, is bigger then their right to life.
Ben’s entitled to his opinion but he’s got the important facts wrong.
Spitzer wasn’t the victim of a premeditated IRS “fishing” expedition. They were investigating the prostitution ring and someone recognized his voice among the wiretaps. Then and only then, did they turn their attention to him.
If I got that wrong, someone please correct me.
Ben Stein ain’t so old, he and Sly Stallone went to junior high together. Apropos of Barry Goldwater and Arnold, I’d like to know more about this wifey of his and her influence...
Does anyone honestly believe that Spitzer would not have used a prostituion charge against his republican enimies if he had the chance? What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Ben missed this important point.
And what about the state assembly ready to commence impeachment hearings, are the votes for those Representatives less valuable than the ones who voted for Spitzer in the first place? Our system has a way to deal this.
As cops are held to hight standards, so should the governor.
Stein enjoyed/enjoys the company of prostitutes.
Exactly.
If he refused to resign, he could have been impeached and removed from office, thanks to our system of checks and balances.
Spitzer actually deserves a little credit for doing the right thing by resigning - unlike Bill Clinton.
Awwwww
It scares him that EVIL LIBERALS GET BUSTED!
Frankly I don’t care HOW they got busted. If he wasn’t STEALING Taxpayer money and PAYING WHORES he’d still BE Governor.
And, if the People didn’t CARE that he STOLE taxpayers money for paying WHORES, then he likely woulda borrowed a line from slick willy and said “Even Governors have private lives” and he’d still BE Governor.
But guess what ya liberal wanker... he didn’t and people obviously DO care and so the poser is DEPOSED.
Yea for the good guys!
So Ben, you find nothing wrong with a Governor using taxpayer funds for political bribes or buying services of prostitutes?
It must be disturbing for Ben to see that people in the seat of power can possibly be held to the same standards as regular folk.
Me too, Ben’s probably being a bit reactionary. I remember the 900 FBI files and the indiscriminate use of the IRS and other investigative/persecution arms of the government utilized by Clinton. Perhaps Ben presumes this the natural progression?
Pity they took down the EmperorsClubvip.com website.
He ignored the second branch of government, the judiciary, that approved the wiretap based on the preponderance of the evidence. He also ignored the elected state representatives ready to impeach him. Stein is an idiot and probably visits the same hookers.
Blackmail is a good point.
this is a republic, not a democracy. Sometimes the majority is wrong and certain values must always come first.
The problem, Ben, is that the man the voters voted for was not the man the voters voted for.
when you have the public trust, nothing is private and you should be held to a high standard.
The voters voted for a LAW AND ORDER guy, not a lying, whore hopping imperialist who thought himself above the law and immune to the consequences.
Eliot is entitled to the SAME consideration or "mercy" he showed the targets of HIS persecutions to earn his name as the ENFORCER - NONE!
Ben is a good and wise man, but in this case he must be blinded by his own prejudices....
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