Blago and the Bars
Illinois politics is a funny game of shoots and ladder. The direction one takes on the ladder depends on whether you are shooting or getting shot in the back. The good politicians know to carry a lot of bullets but are selective when pulling the trigger. Men like Tony Rezco, Ed Vrdolyak and former Gov. George Ryan shot with reckless abandon hoping to be the last man standing. Then there is Gov. Rob Blagojevich who doesn’t have many friends, few weapons and the aim of a six year old taking a leak in a wind tunnel. Couple that with a big hairdo and even bigger ego and you get one of the worst politicians in Illinois history.
Blago as we like to call him, is being indicted on numerous charges but one being that he was attempting a pay-for-play scheme with the selection of President-elect Obama’s Senate seat. The following is from the Criminal Complaint filed by the FBI:
Paragraph 87: In particular, ROD BLAGOJEVICH has been intercepted conspiring to trade the senate seat for particular positions that the President-elect has the power to appoint (e.g. the Secretary of Health and Human Services). ROD BLAGOJEVICH has also been intercepted conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for his wife’s placement on paid corporate boards or ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s placement at a private foundation in a significant position with a substantial salary. ROD BLAGOJEVICH has also been intercepted conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for millions of dollars in funding for a non-profit organization that he would start and that would employ him at a substantial salary after he left the governorship.
Paragraph 90. Later on November 3, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke with Advisor A. By this time, media reports indicated that Senate Candidate 1, an advisor to the Presidentelect, was interested in the Senate seat if it became vacant, and was likely to be supported by the President-elect. During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated, “unless I get something real good for [Senate Candidate 1], shit, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH later stated, “I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain. You hear what I’m saying. And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself.” Later, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that the Senate seat “is a fucking valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”
The rest of the complaint reads like the script of a movie. Blago put his foot deep into the mix this time and he should be going away for a long time. It really is a shame that our most recent governors have ended up in prison. That doesn’t say a lot about the selection process. Maybe now we can get an honest governor in Springfield. I feel sorry for the person that gets Obama’s seat because they will have a bullseye on their back the size of Lake Michigan.
Update: Just so everyone is very clear on where I stand. I believe this is a very GOOD DAY for Illinois. I do not support the bastard and am glad to see him go. I can't wait for the perp walk :D Blago is a crook and to have him and Bush out of my hair in the same year is something I thought was possible only in my dreams. Now, all we have to do is get rid of Todd Stroger and I will be riding high on political utopia.
12:38 PM You guys need a seriously big scrub brush up there to clean up these messes. This makes me wonder how we can trust anyone or anything that comes out of that swirling cesspool until the people actually rise up and start voting for decent human beings.
I'll refrain from the obligatory Obama reference until actual evidence shows up, though. Or 2004. :)
12:49 PM Patrick,
I'm actually happy to see him go. He's a crook and everyone in Illinois knows it which is why is approval ratings are so low.
8:17 PM You can bet the usual culprits will connect this to Tony Rezko via Mayor Daley via Dan Rostenkowski via Mrs. O'Leary's cow and finally to President Barack Obama.
I am sure that even as I write this, Sean Hannity is blathering on about this and asking what did Obama know and when did he know it?
5:46 AM Dave: I am sure that even as I write this, Sean Hannity is blathering on about this and asking what did Obama know and when did he know it?
Yeah, that's EXACTLY what both Hannity and Rush were asking....
Although Rush was having almost too much fun with it. :)
5:55 AM This is going to back fire on the Right because America is looking for leadership at this point in time and since it isn't coming from the current occupant of the White House then Obama is leader by default.
I am going to watch the wingnuts go apeshit and dig themselves a bigger hole with the American electorate.
6:41 AM Dave: I would expect it. I'm going to ignore them because the joy of seeing Blago leave is just too much to not fully embrace.
Rod: They have 8 years to have their panties in a knot and in a few weeks this story will be dead and they will have to find something else to pin their hopes upon.
1:26 PM After reading the Complaint against him, I've having the urge to watch Goodfellas again.
6:23 AM James,
Take courage in the fact that Illinois doesn't make even the top three list of most corrupt states. Most corrupt state? North Dakota! followed by Louisiana, then Alaska!
I hope this gives a wake-up call to the good people of Illinois to be more careful in whom they choose as their next governor.
The US is running out of space in the federal pens to lock these bastids up!