I don’t think there is any right vs. left conspiracy here. The only conspiracy is using banks to spy on American citizens under the guise of catching money launderers. So awesome that one of the high-and-mighty government figures of the day, who had no problems with spying on law-abiding citizens to catch money launderers and prostitutes, was caught eyeball-deep in doo-doo by the very same spies he probably used to bust everyone else. I’m loving every minute of it. It’s about time these sanctimonious jerks in office got a taste of their own medicine. Unfortunately, the laws for lawmakers are different, as are the punishments. I doubt he even gets fined.

Republicans are talking impeachment if he doesn’t resign in 48 hrs.

I also love the conspiracy angles being tossed out. I’m an apologist or tin foil hat guy or just a weirdo because I thought Craig’s setup in the bathroom stunk, (though not some left wing conspiracy) but the Spitzer thing is pure republican chicanery? Puhlease. Its possible but unlikely. If you want to go down that road, I’d look at the super delegate, inter dem party angle.

Its likely that Spitzer is an arrogant wanker who was getting some on the side. Hopefully it was simply that and not that his wife was fridgid harvard law leftie type because then I’d have to have some sympathy for the hypocrite bastard.

Does anyone else here think that the investigation smells like it was politically motivated?

You mean a conspiracy? Everytime I start talking about conspiracies, my wife shoves an ice pick about 4 inches into my left ear. So I’m starting to lean more toward coincidence theory on most things now.

Since he *lived* by the bullshit, he can bloody well *die* by it, too.

To hell with Spitzer.

~

Fiscally conservative republicans shouldn’t celebrate when their own party waste huge amounts of money on government expansion or on pork projects that they favour (and fiscally socialist democrats likewise shouldn’t bewail a republican expansion of government).

Cops who advocate second amendment rights shouldn’t bay for blood when cops get killed by people reasonably exercising them.

People who think prostitution should be illegal ought not to visit prostitutes.

~

The principle itself says nothing about what libertarians should or shouldn’t support. It just says that if you support the legalisation of consensual crimes then you shouldn’t push for the prosecution of people who commit them.

Unfortunately because noone very much adheres to it in the real political sphere it kind of gets lost. No doubt Rush Limbaugh will be crowing about this latest democrat hypocrisy while popping a few more pills.

I was under the impression that libertarians were people who used their head to determine the best course of action or response, and not people who were slaves to any “principles”.

I’m libertarian. I’m a slave to principles. My number one principle is that government is not your friend and if you randomly kick an elected official in the nuts as hard as you can, there’s about a 95% chance he deserved it. Unfortunately, I never do that for fear I’ll accidentally connect with one of the good guys. In the case of Spitzer I’d think I’d be safe.

So, what makes this guy different from any other politico? Why is this headline news? Let me in on your secret; give me the keys to the joke.

Just goes to show how hypocritical all of these Washington A-holes are. Self-serving jerkoffs taking the “high road” so they can get a better office, with better perks and more money and favors. DISGUSTING.

Head over and try the jury nullification thing on Patterico. This time he might have an open ear. Former colleague in peril , brother law enforcement guy and all.

We’ve heard a lot about Jury Nullification on this blog in the last couple of days. I believe this is a prime candidate for nullification based on the grounds stated above.

Just saw this. Agree with the prostitution part, but money laundering laws have a purpose. A lot of damage can be done by real criminals. To be able to go after their proceeds is only sensible. It’s only a problem when the laws are used to catch Uncle John hiding his slush fund from Aunt Agatha.

Spitzer ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under the law. This should “send a message” to every one of his political buddies how bad these laws are.
Ain’t gonna happen. In his limitless arrogance he’ll ride it out Craig style.

Anybody else bothered that supposedly a bank report to the Feds got the ball rolling? It’s not only the Gubmint watching you, you got to assume it’s damn near everybody. Whatever happened to “Mind your own bussiness, not thy neighbours’ “?
Although I wouldn’t be surprised if the Feds lied on that little detail and it was really the Repub machine going after a Dem. But why Spitzer? Was he that much of a thorn in their side?

The reason why it’s dangerous to ignore principles in this case just because Spitzer is loathesome is that it endorses the idea that justice is fluid and that different rules apply to different people.

Logically, the correct attitude to this ought to be a condemnation from Spitzer of his own behaviour and a request that he be indicted and put in prison while libertarians protest that there is no victim and that therefore noone should be charged with anything.

Of course, we can assume that Spitzer isn’t going to argue against himself because his principles look to be shaky even by normal political standards. The question then is whether who he is has an effect on the libertarian position.

I say not, though I’d be less upset than usual if he fell foul of a system he contributed to.

I wouldn’t characterize libertarians as being “slaves” to principle. That’s a bit melodramatic. However, unlike most political activists, we actually do have principles, and we take them seriously. Do we hold on to them no matter what the cost? Of course not. No serious libertarian is going to allow the world to explode just to protect the sanctity of a given person’s property rights. However, we do take property rights seriously, and, in the normal course of events, you can count on us–guided by our principles–to stand up for property rights.

Having principles and using one’s head are not mutually exclusive. One can be guided by principles while not being a “slave” to them. Principles allow us to make sense of things, by giving us a starting point for analysis, etc. I outlined above a few of the principles that generally guide us. Another would be that we distinguish between vices and crimes. Here, I see plenty of vice, but no actual crime. As such, both my brain and my libertarian principle (admittedly there’s a lot of overlap there) tell me this guy shouldn’t be in prison.

Humiliated? Sure. Ruined political career? Absolutely. A cage? Nah.

I’m not counting myself as a libertarian (I’m just myself), so I may have the wrong misconception: I was under the impression that libertarians were people who used their head to determine the best course of action or response, and not people who were slaves to any “principles”. If that’s not so, I was wondering whether the principles you mentioned are codified somewhere I can read up on them, or whether they are open for anyone’s interpretation.

(For the record, I myself am full of glee - this couldn’t happen to a more appropriate person, and as Radley said in an earlier post, I also hope his fall will be “steep and severe”.)