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Mar 12 2008
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Society + Culture
By MWC NEWS   

Translation

Sex, Politics, and Ethics: Who Gives a Shit?
by Alex Hanna

New York Governor Spitzer
New York Governor Spitzer

http://www.theseminal.com/

As lgs said to me in a conversation yesterday, I sure came to New York at an interesting time. Everyone is absolutely a-twitter chatting about Governor Spitzer's prostitution snafu, and I can't help but seeing some variant of this damn picture everywhere I look. The wordless Spitzer, biting his lip, with the haggard wife standing near by. Spitzer, known for his straight-shooting, ethnical stance when it comes to Wall Street, seems to have hit quite the roadblock in his political career.

But even though this guy was supposed to be the new Force of Good from which evil ran, who really cares that he hired a high-class escort? I overheard a woman with an archetypical Brooklyn accent during breakfast today remarked, "Men will always hire prostitutes, but he shouldn't have done it as Governor." Okay, so from her original premise, men will always hire prostitutes, an affair that is personal and ought not to have any political impact (unless he's giving subsidies or passing legislation in its favor). However, she concludes that he should not do this because he is in the public eye and a political figure. This logic doesn't follow. The man was engaged in some sex in a private location, making little to no impact on his public life.

One may say, "But this impacts his credibility as a crusader of ethics?" Does it really? I see a major difference between trying to root out corruption between government officials and financial backers, and getting some poon-tang on the side. One has real consequences for the economic interests of the people of New York state, the other should probably just upset his family.

I hope savvy members of the Left and the blogosphere will see that as long as we keep on talking about the politics of "family ethics" and expect our lawmakers to be either married or celibate, then we're falling into discussing issues that have no place in politics. MSM does enough with that by taking pictures of both Spitzer and his wife, and also discussing his family situation.

Enough.

We are giving it credence by reprimanding Spitzer for it, as well as Bill Clinton (although we can chastise him for the perjury), and hell, all those DC Madam Senators. But not Larry Craig, particularly because it was majorly tied into his politics (his anti-gay sentiments, support for anti-gay legislation).


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1. 12-03-2008 14:43
FACTBOX
Sex scandals in U.S. politics 
 
Following are some other sex scandals involving politicians in the United States. 
 
* IDAHO SEN. LARRY CRAIG was publicly admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for improper conduct after his arrest in a sex-sting operation in a men's toilet in June 2007. 
 
The Republican lawmaker pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after he was caught in an undercover investigation of lewd behaviour in a men's room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. He later tried to recant saying he agreed to a misdemeanour charge without consulting a lawyer and in hopes of quickly disposing of the case. He remains in the Senate. 
 
* LOUISIANA SEN. DAVID VITTER, a Republican and social conservative, apologized and admitted "a very serious sin" after he was linked last July to a Washington escort service. Vitter said his misdeeds occurred several years previously and he had dealt with them in confession and marriage counselling. He remains in the Senate. 
 
* MARK FOLEY, a Florida Republican, resigned from the House of Representatives in 2006 after it was disclosed he had sent sexually explicit text messages to teenage boys who served as interns in the House. The revelations led to charges that Republican leaders tried to cover up the matter. 
 
* NEW JERSEY GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY, a Democrat, stepped down in 2004 over a gay affair with a man whom he hired in 2002 to head the state's Homeland Security department. 
 
* PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, a Democrat, had a sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky, then 21, which led to his impeachment after accusations he lied about it under oath. He survived the impeachment process and was able to serve out his term but his presidency, which ended in 2001, was badly damaged. 
 
* FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH, a Republican, has admitted he was having an extramarital affair while leading the impeachment charge in Congress against Clinton. 
 
* SEN. BOB PACKWOOD, a Republican from Oregon, resigned in 1995 after 26 years in Congress. He had been accused of sexual misconduct with 17 women, among other charges. 
 
* REP. BARNEY FRANK, a Massachusetts Democrat who is homosexual, was reprimanded in 1990 after it was learned that a lover had run a prostitution ring out of his Washington apartment. 
 
* SEN. GARY HART, a Colorado Democrat, saw his second presidential bid end in 1987 when it was learned he spent the night on a yacht, named the Monkey Business, with a woman who was not his wife. 
 
* REP. DAN CRANE, a Republican from Illinois, and REP. GERRY STUDDS, a Democrat from Massachusetts, were censured in 1983 for illicit affairs with underage pages. Crane, who had had sex with a teenage girl, was voted out of office but Studds, who had had an affair with a boy, was returned to office many times. 
 
* REP. WILBUR MILLS, a Democrat from Arkansas and chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, was caught in 1974 with stripper Fanne Foxe, who performed as "the Argentine firecracker." Foxe leapt from Mills' limousine after it was stopped by police and jumped into the Tidal Basin. Mills went into treatment for alcohol and retired two years later. 
 
source: Reuters
Guest
Shahram
2. 13-03-2008 22:28
FACTBOX
People care because some of these guys are hypocrites who use their office to preach against the very thing that they do on the side. I go to www.larryflynt.com to see what he's up to, because he has done a lot to expose their hypocrisy.
Guest
cc-dm@live.comNOSPAM! ">Randy

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