Assume for the sake of this question that there is no criminal indictment - he was merely a customer and (for whatever reason) won’t be prosecuted. Also assume that he refuses to step down from office.
So, what happens now?
Well, he remains the governor, of course. What I want to know, however, is how does this affect his ability to govern? Please be detailed, if you can – my knowledge of the inner workings of politics is almost nil. In what way would he be hampered as a governor (if at all)?
I would think that he almost has to resign, but if he doesn’t, he would be the lamest of lame ducks. Nobody would support him and everyone would distance themselves…
OK, but politically, what does that mean? That’s the point of this thread. What does it mean to be a lame duck? How, exactly, does that affect his ability to be governor?
Well, the Governor of a state (or President, or Mayor, for that matter) has a lot of “soft power” over the legislature. Even though he can’t himself introduce bills or vote for or against them, he can influence the legislature to introduce or support bills he supports, or to oppose bills he opposes. This is especially true when it comes to members of his own party. This is largely because of his popularity. If a legislator votes the way he wants, and introduce bills he wants, the Governor will say good things about him, they’ll have photo ops together, etc. On the other hand, if a legislator defies the governor on something important, he can forget about getting favors from the governor in the future. And, of course, the state Democratic party will throw their influence behind the governor, because “a rising tide lifts all boats”, so to speak…the Governor is the most visible face of the state party, and the party will want to join in his high approval ratings.
Now, when Spitzer is in a situation like this, a lot of that power goes away. The legislature won’t be afraid of defying him, because he won’t be able to help them if they obey or hurt them if they don’t. The party Chairman won’t back him up because he doesn’t want the party associated with the governor.
He will resign. He faces possible criminal charges. Four people involved have already been charged under the Mann Act. This link has the prosecutor filings. Spitzer is finished politically whether he resigns or not.
Thanks, Captain Amazing. This is what I was looking for.
However, in New York, the Assembly is controlled by the Democrats and the Senate isn’t very far from the same state, so any legislation that the Governor would propose would probably have some Legislature support anyway, no?
I think it will all blow over after a few months. It’s New York, not Alabama. The State Legislature still has a job to do and I don’t see why specific policies would suddenly change just because the Governor (Heaven forfend!) ordered a hooker. Does anyone really, sincerely care? I know the Republicans will try to make an issue of it, but I don’t think it’s a can of worms they really want opened. It would be too easy for Spitzer to complile a list of all the republicans in the NY State Legislature who patronize escort services.
True, the Democratic governor and Democratic Assembly would probably take similar stances on a lot of issues. But a lot of it comes down to legislative priorities. If Spitzer decides that the most important issue facing New York State is environmental protection, lets say, while Silver thinks that welfare for the state’s poor is more important and the environment isn’t such a big deal, without much influence, Silver can make sure that welfare bills get priority in coming up for debate and vote, while Spitzer’s environmental bills are on the back burner.
This is especially true in New York, because Sheldon Silver and Elliot Spitzer don’t like each other very much, and they’re fighting for control of the state party. Look at the fight they had over the selection of a Comptroller to replace Hevesi, for instance.
New York has some unusual state politics. The Democrats and the Republicans have settled into an unofficial deal - they’ve agreed to divide up the power in the state rather than waste their energy fighting each other. The Democrats control New York City and the State Assembly. The Republicans control upstate New York and the State Senate. They obviously compete but both sides have agreed not to overturn the system.
And this was what Spitzer promised to change. I believe he sincerely meant it but he didn’t really have a plan to back it up. What happened was that he rushed headlong into a confrontation and then discovered that the system was a lot more powerful than he was. Joe Bruno and Sheldon Silver have already shown that Spitzer cannot defeat them and they can defeat Spitzer. So essentially Spitzer had already become a lame duck before this scandal came out. This scandal will embarass him personally but he had already lost his power politically and it won’t make things that much worse.
Bruno was just quoted in the NYT as saying that if Gov. Spitzer doesn’t resign within 48 hours, Bruno will push for impeachment. Maybe it’s just bluster, but it’s also a striking reflection of how far Spitzer’s star has fallen.
If Spitzer remained in office, wasn’t indicted and wasn’t impeached (all enormous “ifs”), he would be able to do very little other than the barebones minimum duties left to him by the Constitution: sign or veto bills presented to him (and probably have any vetoes overridden), appoint officials (and have any iffy nominees speedily rejected by the legislature), draft a budget (probably DOA), hold Cabinet meetings and press conferences, etc. But he’d be politically radioactive and his influence on state politics would likely be nil. Any measure or policy he supported would pass in spite of, and not because of, his involvement.
But I think it’s moot, because he’s almost certain to resign.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Bruno was just quoted in the NYT as saying that if Gov. Spitzer doesn’t resign within 48 hours, Bruno will push for impeachment. Maybe it’s just bluster, but it’s also a striking reflection of how far Spitzer’s star has fallen.
It’s James Tedisco, the Assembly Minority Leader, who has been promising impeachment. Bruno and Silver for that matter are keeping their heads down.
The longer he waits the more he taints HRC. I haven’t watched any TV since this broke but I bet Bill & Monica have been on TV in the last 24 hours. She’s going to have to comment on this eventually too.
Did Clinton resign for his dalliances? Not “no” but “Hell, no”! His lusts overwhelmed his duties; much is the same here (Mann Act notwithstanding).
Spitzer may be forced out of office (possible, but not probable), and, yes, he will be a Lame® Duck - he’s still reeling from the Driver’s License to Illegals debacle - but, unless you understand New York politics thoroughly, you really can’t grasp the intrigue that would shame the Borgias. By the time the “investigation” (read: smear campaign) is over, Spitzer’s term will be about over, anyways. Not that I’m a big Spitzer fan, but there’s a lot of this that will NEVER be public knowledge…really, it seems like everybody’s just jumping on the Rumors and Innuendo Bandwagon again…