Illinois Governor Arrested

[partofme]

Illinois is the state that borders us on the North so I'm sure I'll be hearing about this for a while. Looks like Blagojevich was trying to sell Obama's vacant seat and kick off conservative members of the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune in exchange for state assistance.

He was already pretty unpopular and looked like his positions in in jeopardy from what I could tell. During the state elections much of the advertisements for republican candidates would point out the associations of the democratic candidates with him.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/politics/10Illinois.html?hp

[Americano]

Illinois is the state that borders us on the North so I'm sure I'll be hearing about this for a while. Looks like Blagojevich was trying to sell Obama's vacant seat and kick off conservative members of the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune in exchange for state assistance.

He was already pretty unpopular and looked like his positions in in jeopardy from what I could tell. During the state elections much of the advertisements for republican candidates would point out the associations of the democratic candidates with him.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/politics/10Illinois.html?hp

Not even an indictment, which means the evidence has to be overwhelming, they slapped the cuffs on him. I read the link plus a couple of other reports and it sounds like he had both hands out for any and all bribes.

[partofme]

Not even an indictment, which means the evidence has to be overwhelming, they slapped the cuffs on him. I read the link plus a couple of other reports and it sounds like he had both hands out for any and all bribes.

What an idiot. Why would anybody that has gotten into that sort of position risk it all like that? He must have thought he was untouchable. Hopefully other elected officials will pay attention.

[Americano]

What an idiot. Why would anybody that has gotten into that sort of position risk it all like that? He must have thought he was untouchable. Hopefully other elected officials will pay attention.

Unrestrained greed at that level has always been a mystery to me. As governor the legitimate business deals he'd be privy to by special interests would have made him a very wealthy man. His ego had to be so large as to be beyond imagination.

[wphelan]

Blagojevich makes me sick. It makes me sick to think this guy got elected to a second term. He's the most arrogant politician I've ever seen. He even refused to live in Springfield in the governor's mansion and chose to fly to Springfield from Chicago instead. If that's not just a slap in the face to the people of Illinois, I don't know what it is. I hope he spends a good long time in prison. He might as well keep the streak of former Illinois governor's that go to prison alive.

[Michael]

What amazes me is that this guy, already under investigation for corruption, was actually fishing around looking for a fat kickback for himself and his wife from anyone seeking to be appointed to Obama's vacated Senate seat.

Like, did he not think the media would pay attention to who was going to get Obama's seat? That's guarenteed to be a media circus and that means if you burp, it will be reported in the national media.

This guy deserves to be locked up for sheer stupidity, let alone corruption.

Amazing that anyone that stupid can rise to the Governor's office... :ummm:

[wphelan]

Another thing to remember here is that Blagojevich is going to walk out of jail today and will still be the governor of Illinois. He still has the power to appoint the someone to the senate seat. He still has bills sitting on his desk that he needs to sign.

I don't know how anyone can accept the senate appointment and not look like they are part of the problem.

[partofme]

Nevermind. He just made the point. :)

[wphelan]

About the only person I can think of that would be able to accept the seat and not look corrupt would be former governor Jim Edgar. Now, this has about zero chance of happening for a number of reason, but I think that would be a decent choice.

[wphelan]

Here's the press release from the United States Department of Justice that gives a nice summary and explanation of all the criminal charges in the case:

http://media.npr.org/documents/2008/dec/illinois_release.pdf

[Donkey]

http://cgi.ebay.com/OBAMAS-ILLINOIS-SENATE-SEAT-FOR-SALE_W0QQitemZ160303950570QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item160303950570&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A13 18|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

[partofme]

http://cgi.ebay.com/obamas-illinois-senate-seat-for-sale_w0qqitemz160303950570qqcmdzviewitemqqptzlh_de faultdomain_0?hash=item160303950570&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3a1205|66%3a2|65%3a12|39%3a1|240%3a13 18|301%3a1|293%3a1|294%3a50 (http://cgi.ebay.com/obamas-illinois-senate-seat-for-sale_w0qqitemz160303950570qqcmdzviewitemqqptzlh_de faultdomain_0?hash=item160303950570&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3a1205%7c66%3a2%7c65%3a12%7c39%3a1%7c 240%3a1318%7c301%3a1%7c293%3a1%7c294%3a50)

____win____

[neorealist]

As an some one who has lived in chicago and grew up in IL, I can tell you...this is no surprise to us.

THis is politics as usual, but its going to get a lot more attention b/c there was a pre-existing relationship with Obama (to what degree is still speculated)

Blago should have included Mayor Daley's camp in the deal...he might not have gotten roasted then:lol:

[Michael]

From Matthew Yglesias, describing media 'coverage' of the Blago scandal...

I would only note that “coverage” is a generous description of what cable news is doing with this story. In principle, exposing public corruption is the sort of thing news organizations exist to do. But CNN, Fox, and MSNBC aren’t doing any reporting on this story — they’re just engaged in idle speculation and chit-chat about how their speculation is going to be damaging to Obama.
Indeed. US cable-media news is an echo chamber. They don't even pretend to cover real news.

Btw, I heard that the Illinois Legislature voted 113-0 to begin impeachment procedings against the Governor.

[drgoodtrips]

From Matthew Yglesias, describing media 'coverage' of the Blago scandal...


Indeed. US cable-media news is an echo chamber. They don't even pretend to cover real news.

Btw, I heard that the Illinois Legislature voted 113-0 to begin impeachment procedings against the Governor.

No surprise there. He certainly didn't win any friends in the state legislature... ever. He's a megalomaniac who couched every disagreement as Rod the Good fighting with the Evil Establishment (i.e. just about every other politician in Illinois). He was frequently secretive about his plans only to sandbag and cold-cock just about everyone he came into contact with. He tried to ram one of the biggest tax increases ever through the legislature without so much as bothering to talk to anyone about it beforehand (it was rejected unanimously, as I recall). And, all that was when he wasn't attempting end-runs around the legislature.

Actually, Blagojevich reminds me a lot of Dubya (comments about Congress being "red tape"), though I don't think Dubya would be as likely to take kickbacks and bribes, since he has no real need for them. It's a sad day when the best insulation against being corrupt is already being exorbitantly wealthy.

[Americano]

No surprise there. He certainly didn't win any friends in the state legislature... ever. He's a megalomaniac who couched every disagreement as Rod the Good fighting with the Evil Establishment (i.e. just about every other politician in Illinois). He was frequently secretive about his plans only to sandbag and cold-cock just about everyone he came into contact with. He tried to ram one of the biggest tax increases ever through the legislature without so much as bothering to talk to anyone about it beforehand (it was rejected unanimously, as I recall). And, all that was when he wasn't attempting end-runs around the legislature.

Actually, Blagojevich reminds me a lot of Dubya (comments about Congress being "red tape"), though I don't think Dubya would be as likely to take kickbacks and bribes, since he has no real need for them. It's a sad day when the best insulation against being corrupt is already being exorbitantly wealthy.

Corrupt is corrupt. The insider return on no-bid pentagon contracts, financial/energy deregulation and economic credit bubbles make Blago look like a chump change guy.