Gov. Arrogance of New York

Opinion Journal:

When we last checked on New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, he had got himself into an ethics imbroglio over the matter of trying to destroy a political opponent. His descent has continued--to where a poll this week reports that only 25% of New Yorkers say they'd re-elect him. The other 75% can't say they weren't warned.

Mr. Spitzer's most recent setback came this week, when he retreated after being routed by his own party on his proposal to issue drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. In trademark Spitzer style, the Governor presented his proposal in September as a fait accompli. He then moved swiftly into bullying mode, calling one early critic of the plan "factually wrong, legally wrong, morally wrong, ethically wrong."

Also this week, Mr. Spitzer reversed course on a plan to force online retailers like Amazon.com to collect sales tax in New York on purchases delivered to the state. The plan would have violated Mr. Spitzer's explicit campaign promise not to raise taxes as Governor, and he scotched it after the New York Sun exposed the effort.

But Mr. Spitzer's biggest problem remains the ethics probe, which is getting more serious now that the state's ethics watchdog has found inconsistencies in a top aide's testimony and referred that matter to a prosecutor for possible criminal charges. Mr. Spitzer must have thought he'd put this scandal behind him when his successor as Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, issued a tough report this summer but found no criminal wrongdoing. However, the inquiries have continued in the state Senate and at the Public Integrity Commission despite Spitzer Administration stonewalling.

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Given Mr. Spitzer's fall in the polls, it's tempting to say New Yorkers have learned something new about the man who said on his inauguration day that, "we must change the ethics of Albany and end the politics of cynicism and division in our state." But the bullying, the arrogance and the focus on destroying anyone who stood his way were on full display when he was Attorney General.

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The NY Post calls the internet sales tax idea the Grinch tax. It is a fair comment.

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Francis is the putative author of the Grinch tax - a bizarre proposal intended to impose new Internet-shopping taxes just in time for the Christmas rush.

Even the astonishingly tone-deaf Gov. Spitzer seems to have recognized the PR disaster lurking in that little gem, for it died a swift death shortly after news of it leaked to The New York Sun.

But the Grinch tax wasn't a tax at all, complains Francis: "It's only a tax increase to the person who is paying."

Could he possibly believe that?

Does Spitzer believe that?

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I think the Democrats need to try that on their next change in the income tax. Tell to the custom woodworker who kids receive SCHIP benefits because the rich can no longer afford to pay the extra cost of custom work. Will he notice the way the tax on someone else is keeping him from getting business. It was much less subtle when Congress passed the luxury tax on yachts putting companies out of business and workers out of work.

Opinion Journal has captured the essence of the Spitzer style. While the Clinton style is much more subtle and sophisticated, I bet it was still an interesting collision when he was asked to drop his drivers license proposal, for the time being. But, like gays in the military, or the Boy Scouts, don't expect the issue to go away. It is not a liberals DNA to concede they are wrong about an issue, they are just a little off on their timing and message when the public rejects their ideas.

Meanwhile on the immigration front, there is some evidence that legal immigrants who have navigated the system and have been sworn in are choosing to be Republicans, because among other things they resent the Democrats desire to let others skip the process. Not only has immigration become a difficult issue for Democrats with voters in general, but it is a difficult issue with the newly naturalized voter too.