The Quiet Conservative March 12, 2008
That Couldn't Happen Here
The news is covering the meltdown of New York Governor Elliot Spitzer with typical tabloid zeal.
It has all the hallmarks of a great scandal. You have the privileged son of an extremely wealthy man
(Poppa Spitzer is reportedly worth more than 500 million) who attended all the right Ivy League
schools. The man attended Harvard Law. He went on to become famous for fighting Wall Street
corruption, but only the Republican side. You have the popular wave that led him to the governor’s
mansion. A New York Camelot.
Then, having set up the story of the hero, you have the fall. You find out the sleazy underside.
You find the high end prostitutes and the rumors of decades of private use, while cracking down on
prostitution rings in public. You even find out from anonymous sources the ‘kinky’ requests Spitzer
supposedly made. Just like Clinton branding the name “Lewinsky” in the public mind, we now have
the Spitzer brand of “Client 9”. As of late last night we already have “Client 9” T-shirts hitting the
web for sale. We in Kansas can look at this from a distance. Because, after all, that couldn't happen
here.
Elliot Spitzer, as it is now being reported, isn't the white knight he was marketed as. It seems he
made his rise to political power through destroying people. It didn't matter if those people were
innocent or not. The press is now reporting about the personal threats Spitzer made to people who
opposed him. This is the letter to the Wall Street Journal about just such a threat. It was copied
from the Wall Street Journal Archives:
Scary
"It's now a war between us," Eliot Spitzer told me. "I will be coming after you."
by JOHN C. WHITEHEAD
Thursday, December 22, 2005 12:45 p.m. EST
Last April, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed piece by me titled "Mr. Spitzer Has Gone
Too Far." In it I expressed my belief that in America, everyone--including Hank Greenberg--is
innocent until proven guilty. "Something has gone seriously awry," I wrote, "when a state attorney
general can go on television and charge one of America's best CEOs and most generous
philanthropists with fraud before any charges have been brought, before the possible defendant has
even had a chance to know what he personally is alleged to have done, and while the investigation is
still under way."
Since there have been rumors in the media as to what happened next, I feel I must now set the
record straight. After reading my op-ed piece, Mr. Spitzer tried to phone me. I was traveling in Texas
but he reached me early in the afternoon. After asking me one or two questions about where I got
my facts, he came right to the point. I was so shocked that I wrote it all down right away so I would
be sure to remember it exactly as he said it. This is what he said:
"Mr. Whitehead, it's now a war between us and you've fired the first shot. I will be coming
after you. You will pay the price. This is only the beginning and you will pay dearly for what
you have done. You will wish you had never written that letter."
I tried to interrupt to say he was doing to me exactly what he'd been doing to others, but he wouldn't
be interrupted. He went on in the same vein for several more sentences and then abruptly hung up. I
was astounded. No one had ever talked to me like that before. It was a little scary.
It's up to others to make their own conclusions. I have only set out here what happened.
Mr. Whitehead, former chairman of Goldman Sachs, is chairman of the Lower Manhattan
Development Corp.
The quote from Spitzer was placed in bold font so you couldn't miss it. The man Spitzer went
after, Hank Greenberg, was never charged. Yet he was forced out of his job by Spitzer. But wait,
that couldn't happen here. This is New York we are talking about, not Kansas. As the new day
breaks Governor Spitzer still hasn't resigned. There is a tussle as to whether he will try and stick it
out using the Clinton model, or whether he is stalling while trying to work a deal with the Feds to
avoid criminal charges. Breaking news indicates he will resign next Monday. We’ll see if there was a
deal.
The Governor made the typical press conference announcement with his wife at his side. This one
was a little hard to take as a mea culpa considering this wasn't some long ago discretion. His last date
with a hooker in Washington D.C. was less than a month ago. Why his wife didn't smack him with a
podium microphone and announce bidding for a divorce lawyer is beyond wonder. One can only
think of their three daughters who are suffering from his betrayal and wonder what kind of example
this sets for them. But we’re in Kansas, not New York, and that can’t happen here.
In Kansas, the idea for The Quiet Conservative began as soon as the 2006 Kansas Attorney
General’s race ended. People should have been disgusted that a highly regarded district attorney
would run for Attorney General, while saying he would quash a criminal investigation into the
possibly illegal activities of Dr. Tiller in Wichita. The infamous abortionist had poured over
$200,000 into the Attorney General’s race in 2002 and showed every indication he would do so again
in 2006. He did. Talking to Republican legislators at the state level Dr. Tiller had a reputation of
being the number one contributor to the Democratic Party here in the state. He had his hooks in
plenty of politicians and the “Snoop Dog” mailers were funded by him. To cross him, or oppose
abortion, meant you might face a lot of money being funneled to your opponent in an election
campaign. Dirty tricks like that mailer cost Kline the 2006 spot. Although, it is important to give
credit for the assist to a biased, corrupt press, and an inept campaign by Republican officials.
To take on people who thought nothing of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an election
The Quiet Conservative sought financial backing. Constantly wealthy potential donors were told of
the dangers of crossing powerful people who had no scruples or conscience other than their lust for
power. What the response from the donors was: That can’t happen here. Politicians glibly said,
“Go ahead and write what you want. They can’t stop you.” The politicians are right, they can't.
But they can see you get fired from your job, make sure you can’t get another, smear your name,
and drive you to bankruptcy. “That can’t happen here” is the belief. The fantasy is such
unscrupulous people only live in New York.
When Morrison took office as Attorney General he threatened Dr. Paul McHugh with destroying his
professional license. Dr. McHugh had spoken out about Tiller’s failing to comply with Kansas
reporting requirements. Dr. McHugh was the former head of Johns Hopkins Psychiatry. Although
Dr. McHugh had spoken only in general terms he quickly retreated from the case rather than be
destroyed by Morrison. He probably wasn't as financially secure as Mr. Whitehead.
When the scandal of Morrison’s affair with Mrs. Carter came to light, there were indications that
Morrison might have threatened her too. Why would Morrison risk his career to shield Tiller and
Planned Parenthood? What were the connections between the abortion providers and the
Democratic politicians they funded so generously? What other stories are waiting to be told? What
is going on in our state government that isn't being reported? What news isn't reaching the every day
voter? We might never know. The Quiet Conservative cannot look until it has the tools to do so and
the backing to expose the corruption of powerful and vindictive people.
Because, it can happen here.