Anti-Gun NY Gov. Elliot Spitzer Expected To Resign Amid Prostitution Scandal

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Updated: Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 5:37 pm -- Two items to add. First, news reports now say Spitzer used the services of hookers for nearly six years. Which leads to the second item. I received a handful of private emails asking why I'm bringing the Hammer down on Spitzer over sex. It's not about sex. It's about hypocrisy. The man literally thinks of himself as a crusader, and to be using such services and still prosecuting them at the same time in well publicized legal proceedings smacks of megalomania. The way he went after the firearms industry was borderline irrational. Considering the prostitute issue, it makes me wonder if he keeps guns in his house, despite his professed hatred of them. And remember, hatred is a sickness.

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Updated: Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 9:40 am -- He hadn't resigned yet, so now there is talk of impeaching the embattled anti-gun New York governor.

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Updated: Monday, March 10, 2008, 11:23 pm -- Hillary Clinton appears to have "scrubbed" her website of all references to fellow democrat New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer. Spitzer is a superdelegate for the New York senator and presidential wannabe.

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"In a interview two years ago, Spitzer, then-attorney general, told ABC News he had some advice for people who break the law. 'Never talk when you can nod, and never nod when you can wink, and never write an e-mail because it's death. You're giving prosecutors all the evidence we need,' he said."

Elliot Spitzer, who worked his way up as a self-described disruptor of corruption and championed himself a consumer rights guardian who used his state attorney general's position to declare war on the firearms industry, is in hot water tonight. Admitting this afternoon he was a client in a high-dollar prostitution ring following a huge story in the New York Times, Spittzer initially attracted the attention of federal investigators because of unusual money transfers. Federal officials first thought the watchdog attorney general turned governor was taking bribes. As it turns out, Spitzer, who used the alias "George Fox," was paying for sex to the tune of thousands of dollars an hour.

Okay, we're all human. And people will find what they need in the damndest of places. But Spitzer should have known better than to get caught up (or caught with his pants down) in something like this. He is a cunning politician and a brilliant tactician as an attorney, though some of his views were on the fringe of mainstream America.

His downfall, ironically, is good news for firearms owners. Simply put, he is not a friend of the Second Amendment. As New York's attorney general prior to his gubernatorial election, he felt legislation to impose draconian gun control on the American public was taking too long. So, in 2000, Spitzer filed a raft of lawsuits against firearms manufacturers. His unorthodox position was that the firearms industry was, in part, responsible for murders committed by criminals using guns. His efforts were blatantly not about crime control, but a political power play designed to cement bonds with deep pocketed, hard core, left wing activists.

Of course, his bias against guns was obvious; he never filed suit against automobile manufacturers because of the carnage that occurs daily on New York's streets and highways. More recently, his plan to give New York driver's licenses to illegal aliens was roundly criticized and became a lightening rod of controversy in the presidential primary races among a number of leading democrat contenders for the party nomination.

Within the firearms community, gun owners cried foul. "They could definitely get shotguns and rifles," said Thomas King, executive director of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. Ultimately, an unapologetic Spitzer withdrew his controversial driver's license proposal. New York residents overwhelmingly turned against him and his plan. By the time he finally pulled the plug on the license scheme, polling showed that fewer than 25 percent of New York voters would re-elect him governor if the election were held then.

Spitzer was feared but mostly hated on Wall Street. Spitzer busted up a payola ring affecting the music industry, and filed suits against some of the big players in the mortgage industry, though many federal officials felt he went on witch hunts and was guilty of "selective prosecution." His supporters felt he was a champion for the little guy against abuse of power, but if you look at his record, in my opinion, he was one of the biggest abusers. One thing is certain: he was a big marketer of his "crime-fighting" efforts.

He also dug himself a very deep hole -- repeatedly. During his first year as governor, while continuing to talk badly about firearms ownership, he released 215 convicted killers from prison. He also turned a blind eye when it became public that some law enforcement authorities in New York state were abusing their positions to illegally purchase fully automatic firearms for their personal use. And let's not forget the dirty tricks and perjury scandal that enveloped him for a short time.

Spitzer even had cases as state attorney general involving criminal prosecutions of prostitution rings and into tourism involving prostitutes. In 2004, he was part of an investigation of an escort service in New York City that resulted in the arrest of 18 people on charges of promoting prostitution and related charges.

"I just think it's ironic ..." said Steve Song of Manhattan, who works as a research analyst for an investment firm he declined to name. "Things come full circle." In an ultimate bit of irony, "Client 9" as Spitzer was referred to by women in the prostitution ring, "would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe. . ." Read an excerpt from the state's affadavit.

Spitzer, the man who crusaded to rid society of guns in a misguided effort to make us all safe (and because it didn't hurt politically), may resign as early as tonight. Elected governor in 2006, he entered office as New York's 58th chief executive, promising sweeping ethics reforms.

. . . Soon to be gone, but not forgotten.