I can certainly understand the temptation some Democrats might feel to argue that Spitzer‘s hiring of prostitutes being a personal issue. I would make two points:
- If I were in charge of writing laws, I do not believe that anyone belongs in jail for procuring or (certainly) selling sex for money, or that any criminal sanction more severe than a ticket for the purchaser should be involved.
- If poor sex workers are thrown in jail under existing laws, then affluent white johns sure as hell should be too. This goes double for people who have positions that might allow them to work to repeal laws they don’t feel are just.
And as Sam says, it’s not as if he didn’t aggressively prosecute other people for similar actions when he was AG. I don’t have any sympathy for him.
–Scott Lemieux
