Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Excellent news!
I hope they hang high this power-mad, ego-maniacal, fraud.

Gov. Spitzer is essentially a thug wearing an expensive suit.  He rode his “style” all the way to Albany (thanks in large part to his party affiliation and a press-hound tenacity that nearly puts Chuck Schumer to shame) and now seems to think that he can continue to behave badly in a job in which he doesn’t enjoy the ability to indict a ham sandwich.

Even though I suspect that Mr. Bruno’s skirts aren’t entirely clean in this matter, Spitzer is clearly playing in a tougher league than he has before.  Furthermore, there’s another thug sitting in his former chair (i.e., Mr. Cuomo) who is probably relishing the ability to make Spitzer’s life miserable without having to actually indict any of his democratic buds.

On the whole a sordid situation for the voters and taxpayers of the Empire State.

Slope Oaks brings up a point that I had forgotten, Anrew Cuomo. Cuomo was shafted, really shafted, by the Dems and the Attorney Gerneral spot is a consolation prize. He certainly has no reason to cover for the Democratic Party in the state.

That said, the lt. governor is a nobody, and I fear that the loss of a strong governor would be the loss of the third leg of a tripod. Little gets done now, but with Bruno and Silver alone making the decisions nothing will get done.

On the third hand, perhaps that is a feature, not a bug.

I am intrigued by how often these stories mention the Attorney General’s report, while playing down or even not mentioning that said Attorney General is the notably ambitious Andrew Cuomo, or that both Spitzer and Cuomo are Democrats. I’m not sure exactly how playing down the connection would fit or refute the standard theories of media bias.

This is one of those scandals which, since it has never happened before, people are uncertain how scandalous it is, or even whether it is, or ought to be, illegal. Naturally, partisanship and personal advantage will color reactions. And in this case, we just don’t know all the details; nor will we ever, except possibly if there’s a formal investigation with testimony under oath. Of course, whether we should start such an investigation is also a polarizing question, and inevitably carries a sense of prejudgment about how serious the affair is.

Hey Bainbridge, you think you’re safe on the other coast?  I’m a fucking steamroller, and I’ll roll over you, too.

I am very thankful not to be living in the Dumpire State . New York voters exhibit such masochism :
three terms for Andrew Cuomo ‘ s Daddy MARIO as
Governor , the election of Mrs . CLINTON ( the “ New
Yorker “ carpetbagger from ARKANSAS ) , oppressively
high taxes that abuse the Middle Class - - and now , the elevation of a menacing public nusiance the likes of Eliot Spitzer to serve as the Chief Exec . for at least one term , with the NEW YORK TIMES ‘ s blessing . Abysmal ! I am inclined to think the citizens of New York deserve better , until I recollect that they , as voters , are complicit .

The ham - handed tactics of Attorney General Spitzer
were bound to continue in some lame fashion during his Governorship . Who knew he and his toadies would get caught so soon ? I just hope the Democratic Party shan ‘ t be touting Governor Spitzer as the ‘ next Roosevelt ‘ in 2 0 1 2 or 2 0 1 6 . I wonder how DailyKOS , et . al . , rationalize the ‘ dirty tricks ‘ of the Democrats ‘ most Nixonian pol .

Eliot Spitzer , Russell Feingold ; what kind of indoctrination do these crypto - fascists receive at Harvard Law School ? What ‘ progressive ‘ foolishness moves ‘ Blue ‘ State voters to support them ?

TAMNYTD,

Hey, I’ve got two degrees from Harvard (not law) and I live in Massachusetts just 10 miles from the New York (and Vermont!) border. It doesn’t necessarily turn you into a pinko. (Some have even gone to the other extreme, with, for example, the John Birch Society having been founded in Mass.)

It’s sad to think of the decline of the Empire State, and of course not a coincidence that New York has, at least since the Depression, had unusually high state (and federal) spending on the welfare state and other things, a large state payroll, and very high taxes. Damaging as these things have been for New York City, the decline of numerous small industrial towns has been worse, as the shrinking presence of IBM, Xerox and Kodak has not been replaced with much entrepreneurial activity

Hodak Value...kudos.
Your comment elicited a big belly laugh.

I’m sure Spitzer does have the Prof. on his enemies list.