The Blagojevich Senate Scandal
This is a juicy one, make no mistake. It's absolutely incredible how in the 21st century, we can have '20s-style political maneuvering.
Ill. governor arrested in corruption scandal
Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois, arrested on corruption charges related to his constitutional authority to appoint a new Senator upon the seat being vacated by President-elect Barak Obama. Incredibly, he was apparently trying to either get paid for the appointee, or get political favors by appointing someone. In addition, he was trying to force Tribune Co. to fire editorial writers who were criticizing him.
Probably the most amazing thing about it are the conversations. He did absolutely nothing to hide the fact that he was literally selling Obama's seat! A quote from the above article, "'I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden,' he said of his authority to appoint Obama's replacement, 'and I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing. I'm not gonna do it.'"
Probably one of the most comical things, though, is that he knew that it wasn't safe to use the telephones, even warning some of his people against using them, but he used them himself to discuss all these other things. He must have literally believed in "Do as I say, not as I do."
I like some of the comments the pundits here say: Illinois governor's arrest stuns politicos, like Don Rose, "I think this is beyond ordinary sanity. We're talking about something clinical here."
And poor Obama. He's not exactly in the middle of this mess, but he is a product of the same Chicago machine. This article discusses some of that: Big risks for Obama in Blago scandal. I think it's very likely that the media are going to take a microscope to the Chicago political machine and all its corruption, personified by Gov. Blagojevich, and it will be extremely difficult for Obama to differentiate from that, especially since he made it a point during the campaign to mention his involvement in Chicago politics as an example why he's ready to lead. About the only thing he can do now is call on him to resign, which he has. He can't really even pardon him of the crime, either. Leastaways, not until he's a lame duck.
The group that obviously has the most to gain from this would be the Republican Party. Not only would they have something to be able to keep Obama's feet over the fire a little bit, they would also be able to gain a seat in the Senate at the same time. There are calls out—from Democrats—to have Obama's seat up for special election rather than by gubernatorial appointment. With a special election comes the (sidelong) possibility of another Republican in the Senate. I have no party affiliation and intend on keeping it that way for a very long time, but the concept of ANY party having nearly a stranglehold on government is an abberation. More discussion: Special election could give GOP hope.
Ill. governor arrested in corruption scandal
Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois, arrested on corruption charges related to his constitutional authority to appoint a new Senator upon the seat being vacated by President-elect Barak Obama. Incredibly, he was apparently trying to either get paid for the appointee, or get political favors by appointing someone. In addition, he was trying to force Tribune Co. to fire editorial writers who were criticizing him.
Probably the most amazing thing about it are the conversations. He did absolutely nothing to hide the fact that he was literally selling Obama's seat! A quote from the above article, "'I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden,' he said of his authority to appoint Obama's replacement, 'and I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing. I'm not gonna do it.'"
Probably one of the most comical things, though, is that he knew that it wasn't safe to use the telephones, even warning some of his people against using them, but he used them himself to discuss all these other things. He must have literally believed in "Do as I say, not as I do."
I like some of the comments the pundits here say: Illinois governor's arrest stuns politicos, like Don Rose, "I think this is beyond ordinary sanity. We're talking about something clinical here."
And poor Obama. He's not exactly in the middle of this mess, but he is a product of the same Chicago machine. This article discusses some of that: Big risks for Obama in Blago scandal. I think it's very likely that the media are going to take a microscope to the Chicago political machine and all its corruption, personified by Gov. Blagojevich, and it will be extremely difficult for Obama to differentiate from that, especially since he made it a point during the campaign to mention his involvement in Chicago politics as an example why he's ready to lead. About the only thing he can do now is call on him to resign, which he has. He can't really even pardon him of the crime, either. Leastaways, not until he's a lame duck.
The group that obviously has the most to gain from this would be the Republican Party. Not only would they have something to be able to keep Obama's feet over the fire a little bit, they would also be able to gain a seat in the Senate at the same time. There are calls out—from Democrats—to have Obama's seat up for special election rather than by gubernatorial appointment. With a special election comes the (sidelong) possibility of another Republican in the Senate. I have no party affiliation and intend on keeping it that way for a very long time, but the concept of ANY party having nearly a stranglehold on government is an abberation. More discussion: Special election could give GOP hope.
posted by omahaprogrammer at
5:40 PM
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