Tell Spitzer: Do NOT Resign

In light of the current pressures on New York's governor Elliot Spitzer to resign, I just sent him the following message:

Dear Governor Spitzer,

I am troubled by the simultaneously vague and sweeping character of your recent statement -- especially when you said your actions violated "any" sense of right and wrong, without specifying which actions did so.

To make plain what concerns me, let me ask: If you had had an affair with someone who was not a prostitute, would anyone be calling for your resignation? Similarly: if you had blown the same amount of money at a race track, would anyone be calling for your resignation?

I must suspect that in both cases the answer is no. What the public reaction -- including yours -- to this news reeks of is sexual puritanism.

For you to resign without further explanation would reinforce public intolerance toward prostitutes and their clients -- even those who aren't in sexually exclusive relationships. For this reason, I urge you not to do so.


His web form and other contact info can be found at http://www.ny.gov/governor/contact/index.html.