New York State of Mind, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

July 13, 2013 Martha Thomases 1 Comment

Oy.

It wasn’t bad enough that Anthony Weiner decided to run for office of New York City Mayor.  Now Eliot Spitzer wants to be Comptroller.

Both men were forced to resign from elected office (Congressman and Governor, respectively) because of sex scandals.  In both cases, the offenses were more or less victimless (as in, the activities were among consenting adults), but they were also incredibly stupid.

Neither was the first politician to be caught in a sex scandal.  Neither was the first man who had to resign because of public pressure.

However ….

 

 

In both cases, especially Weiner’s, they might have been able to muddle through.  After all, David Vitter is still a Senator.

I liked Weiner when I saw him on The Daily Show, and I thought he got a raw deal.  There is no doubt in my mind that in any group of 100 powerful men, at least 55 of them are using the Internet to flirt with women they don’t know.  I, myself, found myself flirting a ridiculous amount when I first discovered Instant Messaging back in the 1990s.  No, I didn’t arrange for assignations, nor did I send any salacious photographs.  I thought I was being charming.  Nevertheless, when I encountered some of these men later, in real life, a few of them suggested we hook up.  Men who knew my husband and my son.  I was able to rebuff them without threatening any relationships, but, as a result, I understand how tricky it can be to communicate online.

Spitzer is more problematic.  I thought he was a terrific Attorney General and only an adequate Governor.  As Attorney General, he held Wall Street’s feet to the fire, which they didn’t like.  He also campaigned against prostitution.  Just as any public figure who spends a lot of time bashing gay people inevitably gets caught with someone “lifting his luggage”, maybe we should suspect politicians who rail against prostitutes.  To my mind, he had to go because of his hypocrisy.

However, neither Weiner nor Spitzer was well-liked by his colleagues, and no one stood up to defend him.  We’ve had two decades of mayors who don’t play well with others.  We don’t need any more.

And we don’t need four years of dick jokes.

For some reason, Michael Bloomberg has a reputation as a liberal.  I don’t know why; maybe it’s because he’s Jewish.  It certainly doesn’t have anything to do with the way he governs (despotically) or those whom his policies favor (rich people, real estate developers).  I think he’s a narcissistic autocrat.  It might have helped him start and run his company, but it’s not so good for the city.

There are a bunch of good people running against Weiner.  Personally, I like Bill de Blasio, and I’ve voted for Bill Thompson before and would happily do it again.

Spitzer only has one serious opponent, Scott Stringer.  I like him, too.

I like all of them.  I like their policies.  I like their records.  And I like that I know nothing whatsoever aboutt their sex lives.