CNN is reporting that Gov. Blagojevich is in federal custody- I have not been following the case, so I honestly do not know what is going on, but the CNN Reporter, laboring under the tragic porn-star name of “Fuzz Hogan,” did mention Rezko.
*** Update ***
More here:
On the issue of the U.S. Senate selection, federal prosecutors alleged Blagojevich sought appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate.
Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of Blagojevich in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co.
Blagojevich and Harris, along with others, obtained and sought to gain financial benefits for the governor, members of his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state jobs and state contracts.
“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement.
“They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism.”
Apparently the crooked bastard was trying to “sell” Obama’s Senate seat.
4tehlulz
Never fuck with Bank of America. Just sayin.
Zifnab
Word.
Joshua Norton
There’s been a lot of sincere speculation over why Blago was taking so much time with his Senate pick for Obama’s replacement. Now it seems that he’s just been waiting for the highest bidder.
A lot of people in Illinois have been waiting for this day for a while now…
dr. bloor
Screwing around like that in Patrick Fitzgerald’s back yard is pretty much the definition of stupidity and lousy judgment.
Comrade Stuck
Apparently, the entire political apparatus in IL is rotted top to bottom. They can’t seem to keep a governor out of jail or indictment long enough to finish their term.
I think it is a testament to the personal integrity of Obama to come out of that environment unscathed by the corruption. wood/knockon
cleek
Chicago machine!
(just wanted to get that out of the way)
dr. bloor
Has Blago turned over Obama’s birth certificate yet?
El Cruzado
I’d be for promoting Patrick Fitzgerald to a more important position than the one he holds, but he seems to be doing such a great job there that maybe he can stay a little longer and clean house. God knows they need it up there.
jrg
O/T: The drug war continues to build on it’s crescendo of idiocy.
At least the cops did not shoot Barry Cooper’s dog. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gents.
Gwendy
Comrade Stuck, I think I’ve read that after his long-ish stint in the state Senate, Obama’s rise was so meteoric, that he pretty much bypassed the machine (minus a relatively innocent Rezko side-trip), knock wood.
Blago’s haircut is a sure sign of corruption. And I can’t wait for the juicy details of the for sale sign on the Senate seat.
TheHatOnMyCat
Jesus, NMYM. From governor to Stupid Criminal of the Year in one day.
Amazing, and sobering. It took me a little while to accept that this was not an Onion story.
What a maroon this guy must be.
Ash Can
This is why I LOL when I hear anyone call Obama a product of the Chicago Machine. No no no — THIS is what a product of the Chicago Machine looks like.
Punchy
This is easily the best name I’ve ever heard.
As for Blah-goy-avich (you’re welcome), according to my winger parents (who still reside in Illy), this guy is beyond dirty. Makes George Ryan look like an altar boy (who, as a R, probably takes that as a complement). Most recent Illy pollys have largely been corrupt muthaforkers.
Ben Richards
This is good news for Hillary AND john McCain!
Ash Can
@TheHatOnMyCat: His popularity ratings in IL are Bush-esque. I rarely vote for Republicans, but I voted for his rival without hesitation in 2006 and was wholeheartedly disappointed when she didn’t win.
The Other Steve
I guess not surprising.
BTW, did you see the deal yesterday? Chicago just sold leasing rights to parking meters for the next 75 years at a tune of $1 billion.
My question. Did they also give rights to enforce the meters? That is, write tickets and such?
This kind of stuff won’t end well. It’s a short term fix for a budget problem that is going to cost a lot long term.
Napoleon
Indictment here.
I am more then 1/2 way through it and a bunch of it is stuff that happened in the last month. Interesting stuff in there about the Chi Trib in light of the bankruptcy filing.
khead
"Always frisk your fellow conspirators"
– Arch Moore, 28th and 30th governor of WV
Xenos
Who is next in the line of succession?
TheHatOnMyCat
TOS, very interesting subject. With all the attention on Wall Street and Detroit these days, hardly anybody is noticing that state, county and city governments are going down the tubes with revenue shortfalls and crises of service delivery … and worse.
Your state, county and city are not able to borrow and to print money on a dime the way the Federal government can. When the revenues fall short, things start to fall apart, fast.
The parking meter scheme may not be pretty, I agree, but in the face of 2-3 years of being broke, a lot of small government are going to be doing desperate things.
Napoleon
@Xenos:
I don’t know. I posted that question in the thread over at TPM on the hope they will explore the question. As I said there:
If he leaves office who takes over for him, is it a Dem? I hope so because I thought from the beginning it was a mistake for Obama resign untill the last second, certainly no earlier then his replacement was ready to be appointed. If a Rep. will suddenly be in a position to appoint a replacement that would be a world class f-up on Obama’s part.
joe from Lowell
Ah, Patrick Fitzgerald. That guy is the real deal.
It would be tough to think of somebody who’s done as much good for this country over the course of half a career as Patrick Fitzgerald.
It’s good to know he’s on the case.
Gerald Curl
Maybe Governor B. can cut a plea deal where, in exchange for probation, he names Fitzgerald as the replacement senator.
Napoleon
Serious question, did he just all but guarantee that Obama makes him the sole holdover of all the District Attorneys? That indictment has Rezko’s name all over it and it involves the Ill. machine. If Obama replaces him now it looks like some kind of a fix.
Robin G.
Illinois politics is a mess. Whenever I’ve heard this guy’s name mentioned in the last 3 years, it was with an air of, "Well, sooner or later, we all know he’s going to be arrested or be given a set of cement shoes."
Napoleon
Well someone at TPM said the Lt. Gov is a Dem.
retr2327
"I think it is a testament to the personal integrity of Obama to come out of that environment unscathed by the corruption. wood/knockon"
I hope to hell you’re right. But one of the reported goodies that Blago was reportedly holding out for was appointment as HHS Sec’y. Hard to see how that deal gets closed — or even discussed — w/o someone close to BO involved.
Napoleon
Awesome, from paragraph 73 of the document I link to above:
"During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife can be heard in the background telling ROD BLAGOJEVICH to tell Deputy Governor A “to hold up that fucking Cubs shit. . . fuck them.”"
r€nato
what a fucking tool, Blagojevich!
OriGuy
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. According to comments at the Washington Monthly, he’s believed to be clean. Of course, that’s not the default assumption in Illinois.
p.a.
He was just bringing free market principles into the political process. He might get an award from Cato.
Michael D.
It’s a tough economy. Give the guy a break.
Napoleon
@OriGuy:
I hope so. I am on page 60 of 78 and it appears that someone called Deputy Govenor A is knee deep in it as well. Also, although he is not named explicitly, it appers Sam Zell is knee deep in it and I wonder if he has real legal exposurer.
r€nato
Blagojevich thought he might run for Prez? Wow. How can someone with so many skeletons in his closet, possibly conceive of such a thing?
dr. bloor
Baby Jesus does not love me that much.
Napoleon
@retr2327:
That part of the document I link to seems to me pretty clear that he was kind of talking out loud about the idea and had not actually approached Obama or anyone close to him with some kind of an idea to trade appointments.
For example this quote :"ROD BLAGOJEVICH agreed it was
unlikely that the President-elect would name him Secretary of Health and Human Services
or give him an ambassadorship because of all of the negative publicity surrounding ROD
BLAGOJEVICH."
The Moar You Know
Good lord, what an embarassment. If true, I hope they toss his corrupt ass under the jail.
Dungheap
It doesn’t sound like Obama was playing ball:
Napoleon
@dr. bloor:
From my quick read it appears that the person referred to, who must have been Zell based on the description, knew enough facts to know the Gov was trying to do something illegal, but unless I missed something it appears he never actively went along (and in fact dragged his feet by claiming he couldn’t help out, basically).
The Grand Panjandrum
@Napoleon: When I first heard the report the governor had been arrested at his home early in the morning I wondered what made it necessary to do so in front of his wife and kids. Those sorts of things are normally done for suspects who are a flight risk. I am a little less concerned about that particular decision now if his wife did indeed spout those quoted words.
It is curious, though, that they would go to his home to arrest him.
Way to go Illinois! The last governor in prison and the current governor possibly on his way. Then, of course, are old buddy Dan Rostenkowski having become familiar with the inside of a prison cell fills the trifecta.
They sure are giving Louisiana some pretty stiff competition. Jefferson’s got nothing on Blago.
jcricket
@The Other Steve:
That’s nothing. PA was going to sell off the Turnpikes for a similar short-term budget fix. I think they backed off after public outcry, but it was close. You think people complain about all the prices of stuff now, just wait until the private sector starts gouging us all and we don’t get jack for it in return.
The whole US is just comically under-funded, and no one has the balls to raise taxes to fix the situation. Yes, we can cut down on waste, abuse and inefficiency in gov’t, but that’ll get us like 10% of the way there. Dems need to start framing things like Obama is trying to do – we need the tax revenue to invest in our communities, to form the building blocks (infrastructure, schools) on top of which the economy can flourish, or the safety net that protects our most vulnerable (social services). There’s two ways out: progressive or regressive taxation – that’s it. No laffer curve, no magical private sector to save us all (besides, they’re often more expensive, see IRS collections), and anyone who keeps telling you otherwise is lying.
Gwendy
Well, no. He’s not a moron.
I have a feeling Jessie Jackson Jr. is number five, though.
r€nato
good. Not that I had any doubts about that. Obama is much too smart and too clean to have been involved.
Naturally the wrong-wingers will try to tie Obama to this, but when the evidence comes out I am fairly sure Obama will smell like a rose.
(I wonder if any wrong-wingers will apologize for the nasty things they said about Fitz when he was going after Plamegate/Libby? Nah… I don’t wonder at all)
jcricket
Back OT, I’m really proud to be a progressive/liberal Democrat (seriously) at moments like these. Look at all the top posts at TPM. All Blagojevich, and all negative. No defense of the guy, whatsoever.
We’re not like RedState or right-wing blogs that rally around the corruption.
TPM even goes so far as to ferret out corruption on both sides of the aisle with their Muckracker reporting. While it may not be an "even" amount of animus for both sides some of that is due to the higher level of corruption amongst current Republicans :-)
No, seriously. Democrats shouldn’t rush to judge every politician accused of wrongdoing just to seem "above all reproach", but people like Blagojevich should be shunned once this level of corruption is obvious.
On the other hand, it does appear that Don Siegelman was railroaded into jail.
r€nato
I’m guessing this merely means that Blagojevich suggested to one of Obama’s aides that he’d like to be HHS Secretary. Given that Blago was pissed that all he was going to get from the PE was his ‘appreciation’, sounds a lot like Obama was not playing ball.
Besides, if everybody knew that Blago was dirty, surely Obama knew it too and knew enough to keep a healthy distance.
Napoleon
@The Grand Panjandrum:
Wild guess, but I think they thought he was just about to appoint himself Senator (he discusses it on the tapes they have of him) and Fitz cut him off at the pass, so to say. It is clear from the affidavit with all the facts in it that there was a lot going on in this investigation just the last few weeks.
Tracy
TPM is saying that "Senate Candidate 1," who Blagojevich was 100% against, is Valerie Jarrett.
That would seem to confirm that Obama had no desire to play ball with Blagojevich.
I’m so proud he’s my governor.
Nicholas Weaver
And its a wiretap-based case…
If you learned anything from The Wire: if you are caught on the wiretap, you are F@#)(*ed.
Thats what burners to arrange face-to-face meetings are for.
Go Go Gadget Fitzgerald! Time to chalk up another deserving trophy for your wall.
The Grand Panjandrum
@r€nato:
Yep. Didn’t take long.
The erudition is stunning, no?
Face
I promise you that this fact wont stop them from tying him to it anyways.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
Exactly so. Unless we consider Fair Tax or flat taxation an option. Which I don’t.
For fun and entertainment, find that guy or gal in your office who likes to bitch about taxes, and have them try to sell you an alternative to the present tax scheme. Get into a debate with somebody who wants to go Fair Tax or Flat Tax, and enjoy. If you think the Fair Tax threads we had here were entertaining, you will find it a lot more fun IRL.
myiq2xu
I guess Blago shouldn’t have advertised in the Chicago Tribune:
Zifnab
@ThymeZoneThePlumber: I know a few people who are big supporters of the Fair Tax until they find out what it is. Then the more you link them on it and the giant bureaucratic nightmare it becomes the more they recoil in horror.
The Flat Tax is also a great idea with conservatives until you start getting into the details, at which point its really just the Progressive Tax but with lower caps for rich people. Then you just point out "Why not lower the max tax rate to 15% and call it a night" and they say, "Why that’s a brilliant idea as it saves me the trouble of pretending I don’t want the thousands of dollars in tax credits and deductions I make heavy use of."
4tehlulz
Oh God, Sam Zell might be involved too.
Someone better get some medical help to the Tribune Co. building; schadenfreude poisoning is deadly if not treated immediately.
joe from Lowell
Obama playing ball? Not so much:
In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them.”
R-Jud
As a former IL resident this pleases me to no end, not least because "Rod" is such a fitting name for a prison inmate. If he’s sent to pokey, will they let him bring his hair dryer with him? He clearly spends a lot of quality time with it.
What I don’t like is that all the big headlines I see about this story have "GOVERNOR ARRESTED" "CORRUPTION" and "OBAMA" in close proximity. Cue more lawsuits (filed by professional poker players) over the P-E’s eligibility.
jcricket
No thank you :-) I tried a debate like this once, about 10 years ago, with a Libertarian I worked with. He was stuck on the whole "we should eliminate corporate profit taxes because they represent taxing money twice" thing. Got nowhere. Hope he got audited on whatever offshore tax shelter I’m sure he set up with the help of KPMG.
At any rate, it amazes me how otherwise pretty rational people can be so un-pragmatic and unreasonable when it comes to simple (yes, really) things like taxation.
I’m getting close(ish) to the level where the Obama-proposed tax increase would increase my taxes. And I’m totally fine with it. In fact, let’s go even higher at the higher income levels, I guarantee it will do nothing but good stuff (help balance the budget, pay for needed services). The economy will do better. The economy will not be crushed when we raise taxes on the top 5% and top 1% of earners in America.
Frankly, if you followed Obama’s plan, I bet the top 5% would end up netting-out even more than under Bush’s scheme. If the middle class and poor have more to spend, they will, pumping up corporate profits (which are dependent on consumer spending), which will raise stock prices (and bonuses for the high-level/exec employees), which gives top earners more income.
There you have it. Making taxes more progressive makes everyone richer. I think you can make a similar argument for nationalized healthcare (reducing the up-front costs and removing threat of bankruptcy/crushing healthcare debt). And probably stuff like mass transit, other social services (welfare, unemployment, etc). Better regulated trading platforms create more wealth (regulation = transparency = investor trust = more invesment).
The more I think about it, the more everything Libertarians and Republicans say about how to shape an economy so that it grows is wrong.
D-Chance.
Well, there’s "change you can believe in".
Heh, indeedy!
Can we get a "Yes, We Can!" chant started now, brothers and sisters?
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
And this has exactly what to do with the President-Elect, R-Chance?
jcricket
I read recently that wingers and Libertarians are arguing we should be more like Ireland (low corporate income taxes) to be more "business friendly". Some liberal blogger said, "Good idea, but that would actually involve raising corporate taxes."
Because of all the deductions and incentives and giveaways, our effective corporate tax rate (not marginal/advertised rate) is actually several points lower than Irelands.
This is Buffet’s argument too. That the rich, through a combination of capital gains taxes, deductions, etc. usually pay less as a percent of their income than the average person does. This is esp. true when you consider the impact of payroll taxes and the regressive sales tax, gas tax, tolls, etc.
John Cole
God, you are an idiot. This is Obama’s fault how? All we have seen so far is that he REFUSED to be party to this.
4tehlulz
@D-Chance.: 0/10
Joshua Norton
So that means that my housekeeper doesn’t have to pay taxes on what she makes from me because I’ve already paid taxes on the money? I’ll buy that. It makes her bookkeeping a lot less complicated.
Joshua Norton
And actually, my company paid taxes on the money they paid me, so I should get a free ride, too. Solid!
Zifnab
@D-Chance.:
Absolutely. Republicans would have fought tooth and nail to prop this guy up for another 4 years. Nice to see Obama’s first official act won’t be to quash all investigations and try to smear Fitzgerald as a super partisan RNC plant. Unlike Travis County DA Ronnie Earl who got dragged through the mud every time he investigated a Republican higher than dogcatcher.
That’s certainly change I can believe in.
Stagger Lee
You "haven’t been following the case" yet he’s a "crooked bastard". Well done, you have just won the Bill O’Rielly editorial award of the day.
PaulW
For one thing, how did this post on political corruption get mixed up with corporate tax issues?!?!?!
For another thing, every evidence shows so far that Obama and his reps were resisting Blago’s attempts at bribery/extortion over the open senate seat, so no this isn’t a reflection on the new Prez. In fact, the evidence shows that these wiretaps and recorded conversations are only from the past month: considering this guy has been under investigation for years (!) that only now did they nail this guy suggests that Obama and/or his people were tipping off Fitz’s office to clear this scumbag outta office.
Given the high-profile nature of this scandal, the number of people it’s embarrassing across the Democratic leadership, we can expect Blago to be standing at a podium this Friday exclaiming he needs to get away to spend more time with his family…
Oh, and this means Oprah gets the Senate seat now. It’s the only way.
John Cole
@Stagger Lee: Dude. Read the indictment. Those quotes speak for themselves. There is a there there.
Comrade Kevin
Republican corruption: isolated incident, every one
Democratic corruption: "ZOMG! That’s Change we can believe in! lulz!"
We’re going to get four years of this kind of stupid.
Stagger Lee
Yes, I live in Illinois and there’s been a there there for some time. The timing stinks to high heaven and this is a federal arrest. What, Illinois can’t catch it’s own crooks. This smells like Bush justice to me.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
Riiiight. Everybody knows that Fitzgerald is in Bush’s pocket.
Face
Shouldn’t this arrest been made on November 2nd? 3rd? Really, the DoJ needs a new calander, or at least employ someone who can read one.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
Was there a senate seat for sale on Nov 3?
Just wondering.
Napoleon
@Stagger Lee:
A huge chunk of what is alledged in the supporting affidavit happened within a few days of the election through a couple of days ago. 6 weeks ago Fitz had nothing to this case.
Indylib
@Robin G.:
And this is why I decided to live on the Wisconsin side of the border when we moved back to this area last year.
Stagger Lee
Oh I get it, Fitzgerald made a bunch of noise on the Scooter trial so he’s covered as not being a Washington crony. I see how that works now. BTW which penitentiary is Scooter in?
Comrade Ed Drone
Actually, with Patrick Fitzgerald heading this up, it seems, any order to act on a sitting governor in election season was probably quashed, and DOJ (or at least the Illinois branch thereof) reverted to the "no attempts at influencing elections" practice that used to be the standing operating procedure till Bush and Gonzo tried to politicize the judicial system. This has something to do with honor, which is why Republicans don’t "get it."
Ed
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
I see Stagger Lee is racking up the Blago Points today.
Dude got caught red-handed trying to peddle a Senate seat. If that’s not Grade-A idiocy, I don’t know what is.
Zifnab
@Comrade Kevin: And a fair helping of "Republicans are being unfairly persecuted!" every time a GOP crook gets picked up and thrown in jail.
Xecky Gilchrist
Fuzz Hogan? That’s almost as bad as "Wolf Blitzer".
Zifnab
@Stagger Lee:
Shorter Stagger Lee: What’s a Presidential Pardon?
The Grand Panjandrum
While listening to the Fitzgerald Press Conference underway right now I am reminded that he is a credit to the much disgraced DOJ. I am also reminded that you don’t want to fuck with this guy.
Blago’s is toast. Good riddance.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
I saw what you did there, and I think I liked it. ;)
Stagger Lee
I see most are trying and convicting him before the facts are in. We’ve had a corrupt government nationally for a long time, maybe just maybe Fitz should clean up his own back yard before worrying about mine.
Stagger Lee
@Zifnab
I know what a presidential pardon is, do you know what commutation of sentence means?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Trying to peddle a senate seat is not a state crime, wanker, it’s a federal violation. Likewise, screwing with the media as well, I believe.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Hmmm, just wondering, did NoIQ get a new persona already?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Hey John? #52… am I wrong or did you ban NoIQ a little white ago? Just checking.
J. Michael Neal
This is a guy who thought he could run for president. The only people he discussed HHS with were his wife and the voices in his head.
Stagger Lee
I see, a little incestuous site where a new poster comes on and is labeled as and old troll because he doesn’t conform.
I’ll say this and never darken your door again, this is a part of a whole to take down Obama and Democrats in general.
J. Michael Neal
Maybe it’s the best, but the White Sox have a pitcher named Lance Broadway. That’s the best gay porn name in history.
John PM
My question: What effect does the indictment have on Blago’s ability to appoint someone for the remainder of Obama’s Senate term? Anyone who was appointed now would appear to have a large mark against them.
I can only hope that the Illinois General Assembly quickly gets together and ousts Blago from office (since the prick would never do anything as decent as resign), allowing Pat Quinn to assume the governorship and appoint the replacement Senator. Quinn is a straight-up guy and not part of the Combine that negatively affects most remaining Illinois politicians.
I also hope that this indictment has the side-effect of getting Dick Durbin to STFU about asking President Bush for clemency for Jim Ryan, our most recent governor to convict.
BTW, to Stagger Lee, the feds have to operate here in Illinois because Illinois does not arrest its own. The various States’ Attorneys and the Attorney General are all part of the same corrupt machine. If you really are from Illinois and not a Machine tool you would know that. So, STFU about Fitzgerald cleaning up his own back yard, since that is in fact what he is doing as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
P.S. – I am looking forward to reading John Kass’s column in the Chicago Tribune tomorrow, assuming that he still has a job in light of the Tribune’s bankruptcy filing.
Jeff
As an aside, I found this interesting:
Any ideas on likely Texans? The Deputy is probably talking out of his ass.
Comrade Stuck
@Stagger Lee:
It’s looks like to me that bitch slapping corrupt government IS Fitzgerald’s backyard. Somebody should call Webster’s Dict. and offer a alternate definition of hell. Being under investigation by Patrick Fitzgerald.
Stagger Lee
.
Blagojevich has been under investigation for a long time. This is just the most recent allegation. Had there been enough proof before now don’t you think they would have busted him before?
And fuck you, wanker.
joe from Lowell
Can we get a "Yes, We Can!" chant started now, brothers and sisters?
Damn straight!
Three years after "Heckuva Job Brownie" came to prominence, it’s great to see that we have a president who doesn’t go in for backscratching and seat-selling in the area of appointments. Did you read some of those quotes from Blago, how ticked off he was that Obama wouldn’t play ball?
Yes We Can!
Yes We Can!
Yes We Can!
joe from Lowell
Local corruption is routinely investigated by the Feds. I remember the FBI snooping around the little town I grew up in, because there were allegations the Building Inspector was selling permits.
Face
IIRC, 538.com said on Nov. 3 the sale would be approx. 97-and-change % likely.
sparky
@myiq2xu: Word. That’s what he gets for copying Hillary’s Craigslist ad.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
+5 Blago Points! What part of ‘Busted for peddling Senate seat vacated within past month’ are you not understanding?
Meanwhile, Cuyahoga County commissioners are unfairly targeted by a hyper-partisan Bush Administration. I’ll pass on that legal strategy to Messrs. Dimora and Russo, I’m sure they’ll find it handy.
Napoleon
@Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more):
Good ol’ Frank Russo is one of my neighbors. We are going to miss him when they send him to the big house, but I do hate it when the Feds show up and raid a house in the neighberhood.
John Cole
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII: No, just told him I was tired of his racist PUMA bullshit. His posts last night were an epic for strawman construction.
Oh, wait. I don’t want to upset his delicate feminist sensibilities- I mean “strawpersyn.” Failing to correct that would have been a slap in the face to Hillary! Wolverines!
Puma dipshit scumbags. Now I am off to drink beer with a cardboard cut-out, because we are all sexists now.
Napoleon
Make sure you squeeze her cardboard boobies and take a picture.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
@Napoleon: I’m gonna miss Smilin’ Frank’s mug on every gas pump in the county, myself.
@John Cole:
NoIQ cracks on his ex-wife every chance he gets. He’s as feminist as Phyllis Schafely.
joe from Lowell
Since the incriminating evidence, in the form of quotes from wiretaps, are all post-election, it would seem that a Nov 2 indictment would have been premature.
demimondian
@Tracy: You realize, of course, that this sets up a win-win for the fRight-Wing? Once it comes out that Blago tried to lean on Obama, and got told to take a long walk off a short pier, they’ll next jump on the claim that Obama set him up right now so that he couldn’t spill the beans on the PE?
Punchy
It is painfully obvious that you do not hail from Ill’annoy. If you did, you wouldn’t be nearly as vociferous in your support of this fucking loser. Most of us Illyians are simplying nodding our head and muttering "about time"….
This linkage needs to be repeated as much as possible: White Sox….gay….Sox…..gay porn….gay….White Sox….porn for gays…..Jim Thome……gay….Bobby Jenks……I hate the fucking…..gay Sox…..(go cubs!)
jcricket
No no no. You don’t understand how libertarian arguments work. You are only exempt from regulation, rules, requirements and taxation if you are a large multi-national corporation or blindingly rich person who gets their money through investments or inheritances.
Otherwise, you should be subject to the normal policies and such.
GailVortex
Ah, it is times like this than I am truly Proud to be a Lifelong Resident of the Land of Lincoln.
[puke]
I think, if Illinois doesn’t have Louisiana beat in the category "Quantity of Governors Who Became Guests of the Government–Prison Division" , we must if you limit the timeframe to the last fifty years. Blago, Ryan, Walker, Kerner: can Louisiana match such a distinguished group of public servants?
Napoleon
@Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more):
Me too, especially the defaced ones. By the way, he has a granddaughter in my little 3 yo neices preshool class, and she goes by Frankie. Poor kid.
Meridien
Imagine Blago thinking he would even be considered for a cabinet position of any stripe. Regarding his appointment to senator for Obama’s choice for his replacement, "The only thing I’ll get was their (Obama’s administration) appreciation. F-k them." And told to wait and give Obama his choice, "…Give this m-f his senator? F-k him.
For nothing? F-k him."The only ties to Obama at this point is he is from Illinois too. As the former Senator, anyone would expect he would have had contact at some time with the Governor. But how would Obama be implicated in any of this? Especially since Blago thought of him as "m-f" And how would Obama, as smart as he is, even WANT to dirty himself with a governor, even of his home state, who’s awash in so much controversy? Please. If Obama DID know of Blago’s dirty dealings, he’d try to distance himself from it for his own political well-being. Smart. What was he supposed to say to Blago, anyway: "Hey, cut it out"?
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
All Bob Taft got here was a slap on the wrist. Thanks to Ney and Traficant, though, I’m sure we’re near the lead in the Quantity of Congresscritter Conference.
J. Michael Neal
Yeah, the FBI busted a city councilman here in Minneapolis for corruption. He was convicted of making sure his benefactor got permits. All for $1,500 in free plumbing.
Christ, Minnesotans are so inept at corruption (what, you didn’t even get cash?) I’m almost embarrassed to live here.
4tehlulz
Blego currently is as innocent as Richard Nixon.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
@Napoleon:
Seriously? Ugh, yeah, poor kid.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
Yeah, and watch out for paper cuts.
Ash Can
I’m betting that Stagger Lee is a wardheeler in Dick Mell’s 33rd.
PS: It’s times like these when I miss Mike Royko so badly I could cry. Forget John Kass, just think of what Royko would have to say about this.
Napoleon
@Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more):
My brother showed me a picture of his kid in a dress up thing for Halloween and there is an obviously Mediterranean looking girl standing next to her dressed the same and he says "by the way, that is Frank Russo’s grandkid, their whole family were there at the show, and she goes by Frankie, although I assume she really is a Francine or something like that".
On reflection I do not think he mentioned whether her last name is Russo.
You mentioned Traficant also. I grew up in Y-town and when he first got in tax trouble (which he beat, unlike the thing that sent him down the river), he tried to hire my dad to help him beat the rap and my dad declined.
Stagger Lee
@Punchy
Whatever, I hope you like paying more than 3% state income tax because for what ever else the governor did he did not raise our taxes. I have no love for him I just find it obscene that when allegations are made against Republicans they form a circle around their man/woman while Democrats can’t wait to throw them to the wolves. If you think for one minute the right won’t use this as a club to beat Obama and Dems with you thicker than I am.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
@Stagger Lee:
If you think this will actually stick, then it actually makes sense that you’re stumping for Blago.
burnspbesq
@Ash Can:
Or Molly Ivins.
God, Molly would be having a ridiculous amount of fun with this, plus Kay Bailey forming an exploratory committee to think about a primary challenge to Governor Goodhair.
At least we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that Molly and Royko are ROFL in Heaven right now.
PanAmerican
He and Mell haven’t got on since the garbage dump dust up.
Famous last words. The whole Illinois political establishment was dying to off this guy. He handed them the blade on a silver platter. Looks like Rahm went to Fitz after the attempted Valerie Jarrett shakedown.
No, FUCK YOU, asshole.
burnspbesq
The only thing that worries me is the possibility of jury nullification if the trial is held in Chicago. Maybe Fitz should ask for a change of venue. The Central District sits in Rock Island, that might work.
Comrade Stuck
From one of the recorded transcripts of EBay Blago.
What a sweetheart.
also
Maybe to North Waziristan?
This fucker is Nixon Re-incarnate.
Stagger Lee
If you think this needs to "stick" to be politically toxic you haven’t been paying attention to how republicans operate. When they are done showing Blago and Obama’s picture side by side or morphing into one another in every ad between now and 2012 Obama will be a one term president and those majorities now enjoyed, fuggitaboutit.
demimondian
@Stagger Lee: Wow. Someone who actually forgets that politics is a real-life instance of the Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma. Mind you, that’s not surprising, in a sense, since there are damned few real-life instances of IPD…but politics is one of them.
Look, dude, the party can choose to defect from cultural norms when confronted with something like this, or it can choose to cooperate with those norms. Just like IPD, voters will cooperate with a party which violates those norms…for a while. However, sooner or later, enough voters choose to defect. Can you say "2006"? How about "2008"?
Oh? Maybe "1932"?
Circling the wagons can keep a few minor malefactors safe. In the long run, though, the party is better served by throwing them to the wolves.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
@Stagger Lee:
Wait… wait… its all coming back to me now… Rezko… Wright… Obama’s doooooooooomed…
Thanks for playing, here’s your 50 Blago Points. Mr. Fitzgerald will now escort you to the door, though he would like to ask you a few things before you go.
demimondian
@Stagger Lee: Concern troll is concerned.
Comrade Stuck
Well, I see your point, especially since it worked so well for them in 2008, ie Rezko, Khalidi.
Your concern is touching though, but maybe a little ratfucky, maybe.
Napoleon
Sometimes I wonder how people like Stagger Lee manage to make it through the day without accidentally killing themselves.
Stagger Lee
Nice little enclave you have here. Anyone have children with a third eye yet?
Napoleon
Obama’s Senate seat on E-Bay.
demimondian
@Stagger Lee: Nah, not all of us share your _Hundred years of solitude_ world.
Screamin' Demon
Yes. After all, given that he is the Messiah, he surely has magic powers that allow him to see into the future, and know that this was going to happen.
Now, now, John. Respectable people never drink before 5 p.m.
And then they get hammered.
BP IN MN
Even apart from the moral considerations, if a) we think Blago is guilty (which I do) and b) think the case is likely to be prosecuted successfully, what would Democrats gain from standing up for Blago? Circling the wagons around someone who looks clearly guilty doesn’t help at the polls; it just makes you look clueless and arrogant.
Stagger Lee, you seem to think Republicans will use this to taint Obama despite the lack of any real connection to him, but will only do so if Dems don’t rally around Blago. If we do, then are the Republicans going to not try to tie Obama to this? Or are you just concerned with looking weak? Yeah, the country’s really looking for four more years of not being willing to admit any errors.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
@Stagger Lee:
Touched a nerve, did we? You do know all those Blago Points you’re accumulating won’t be worth #### once he’s in the Big House, right? You should try offering your services, for what they’re worth, to the Daleys.
John Cole
Seems to me the way to protect honest Democrats from the taint of corruption would be to get rid of the corrupt Democrats (and voters just threw us a bone by voting out Jefferson and taking him off the table as a potential problem), not to circle the wagons around the corrupted ones.
But that is just me.
Stagger Lee
I agree.
I’m feeling a little betrayed pissed off and well…very much like a Bush voter today. I’ll get over it and see it for what it is in a couple of days.
Some of the posters that frequent your site will still be assholes tomorrow I suspect.
John PM
@burnspbesq: #123
Given that Fitzgerald is on a role in convicting Illinois politicians and their cronies for corruption in Illinois, jury nullification is highly unlikely. In fact, given Blago’s low approval ratings (lower than Bush), a jury might convict him of crimes with which he was not charged…"Your Honor, we find the defendant guilty of being a douche baggy asshole." The only way Blago gets off is if the jury is composed of 12 senior citizens who are receiving the free rides on public transportation, and even then the most he could hope for would be a hung jury. Blago is so toxic in Illinois that I doubt that Big Jim Thompson and Winston & Strawn will extend him the pro bono $20 million criminal defense that they provided to Jim Ryan.
Comrade Stuck
@Stagger Lee:
No, tomorrow is Wednesday and that is "nice to concern troll" day. Come back Thursday though, we’ll be assholes again.
Librarian
Are you sure he isn’t related to Boss Tweed?
Shawn in ShowMe
We’re still over a month away from the inauguration and Rahm is already laying the smack down. Pay to play? Let me make a phone call to my friend Patrick.
Cyrus
@Stagger Lee:
The governor of Obama’s state indicted, and the affidavit quotes the governor saying "fuck him" about Obama because Obama wouldn’t offer him a bribe? If this was planted by anyone, it was planted by Obama himself.
Let me put it another way. Blagojavich had been under investigation for one thing or another since 2005. It’s pretty damn likely that sooner or later he was going to get caught at something. From Obama’s point of view, can you imagine a better way for Blagojavich to get indicted than this? If it’s something from 2005 or 2006, then Tony Rezko was involved, and we all know that name. If it’s something from 2009, then Blagojevich would have already appointed a Senator who would then be tainted. Given that Blagojevich was already in office and was always corrupt, and given that Obama genuinely isn’t involved, having it happen during a sort of political grace period for Obama is the best possible outcome for him.
Wait, why am I bothering to address these comments to you? You have shown no interests in the facts of the matter (Fitzgerald’s reputation and jurisdiction), and you said you’d never darken the door of this blog again, so clearly you aren’t even reading this. My mistake.
Stagger Lee
@Comrade Stuck
So good to see an asshole that has the capacity for self recognition.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Stagger Lee: There are only three posters at BJ. Two are assholes and one is an idiot. And while there seems to be about a gazillion commenters, near as I can tell the two to one ratio still applies.
Comrade Stuck
@Stagger Lee:
Momma always said, "tell no lies" ,wear clean underwear, and you will go far.
demimondian
@Just Some Fuckhead: I’m an idiot. I insist on being an idiot.
Stagger Lee
No your mistake is thinking someone can’t have an emotional stake in someone they voted for. I know he’s crooked, now.
You have to understand he was hunted by republicans from the time he took office. I couldn’t take them seriously being who they are and knowing it’s what they do.
I hope you’re right, I hope Obama can’t be smeared with this but I’ve seen more guilt by association for ten elections in the last one.
For those that think reverend Wright had no effect on Obama you must have missed how close Hillary came. I never felt McCain had a chance.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
@John Cole:
Oh, apologies. I thought "you are no longer welcome here" meant he was no longer welcome here. Silly me! I’ll shut up now.
demimondian
@Stagger Lee: So, let’s make something clear. *You* were the one who was taken in, not anyone else. The rest of us have taken a fairly clear-eyed view about Blago from day one, which is that he was dirty, and that he hadn’t been caught yet. I’m sorry you ignored the reality of the man’s corruption, but that’s the other reason that old hands want corruption rooted out quickly and aggressively — their presence inevitably stains clean politicians.
demimondian
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII: Given that Cole has said the same thing to any number of people without actually enforcing it merely speaks to his wisdom. It’s hard to get banned — why shouldn’t it be? It’s easy to get asked to go away — again, why shouldn’t it be?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Are you seriously suggesting the Republicans made all of those damning statements fall out of his mouth?
::rolls eyes::
Could you be any more of a Blago apologist? Get off of it, dude, he was arrogant in his stupidity and didn’t know how to keep his big mouth shut. He apparently thought he was the ultimate law and untouchable, up until they hauled him away in handcuffs.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
News to me, and I’ve been posting on this blog for over four and a half years. The only times I’ve seen him say such things is when the threats were followed through. I must have only seen the really serious cases.
Stagger Lee
You’re right, I was, but it doesn’t make you any better when you look like a villager with a pitchfork in your hand before the trial.
I don’t think I ignored anything. I’m not a member of the justice department and this is the first charges that have been officially leveled against him.
Comrade Stuck
Every democrat in office is hunted by republicans in every state. And to only a lesser degree, the reverse is also true. Unless there is something that can be claimed as bounty, then those hunts end up being of the Snipe variety.
**The State of Alabama is excluded, as it is open season on dems year around, whether or not dems provide opportunity for a successful hunt.
BethanyAnne
So, you know, I’ve been accused of worshipping entropy (or, by another friend, simply unable to *not* stir up sh*t I happen across). But, that said, if I were in Blago’s spot right now, I’d appoint Alan Keyes to Obama’s seat immediately. Just to watch the chaos.
Bethany
mellowjohn
punchy,
you hate the white sox. why would you hate any team that’s won a world series within the past 100 yea…
oh, never mind.
Stagger Lee
I haven’t heard the tapes but I’ll stipulate to your knowledge of them. I have heard they are damning in which case haul his ass to court.
I apologize for my hot headed attitude and any offense I gave.
It’s another bad day for my home state and Democrats in it.
demimondian
@BethanyAnne: There’s a good reason that the Whip in the Illinois HoR launched impeachment proceedings this morning — and it isn’t because he’s been prepping the groundwork for months. I’m quite sure that every Dem in Springfield is having absolute palpitations over Blago getting bail and pulling exactly some such stunt.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
What part of wiretap transcripts do you not understand? Do you seriously think the federal government would indict a sitting state governor on trumped up charges without tape to back up the proof, and witnesses? Are you really that daft? This is not a Karl Rove operation, this is justice, fair and honest, being aimed at someone who just yesterday made public statements about how much faith they had in wiretapping. This was a con artist who was making bold statements and was too stupid to realize how deep he was in the kaka.
demimondian
@mellowjohn: Watch it. Them’s fightin’ words to any Yankees fan.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
You have the transcript in an affidavit of the indictment, have you read it?
Shawn in ShowMe
Group hug.
P.S. With Blago out of the picture, Pat Quinn, who actually has a track record for serving the people, will make the Senate appointment. That’s a good thing.
demimondian
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII: Indeed. Circus is right here — go read the transcripts. They’re damning.
The problem Blago had is the simple one which any crook has: John Stuart Mill was right when he differentiated between the kinds of things the law should act on and the kinds of things which are offensive, recognizing that I, as a person, can look at the pattern of corruption which has sprung up around someone and conclude that he’s dirty, even though he hasn’t been convicted. Blago is exactly such a one — and he *still* is such a one, and will be until a day comes when he makes the transition to prison stripes.
I want him out of office, either way, though.
bago
Goddammit! There goes my good name.
Comrade Stuck
@Stagger Lee:
No need for that. If there were, this blog would be nothing more than an eternal Mea Culpa, and there would be no time for giving much needed (and unneeded) offense. How could we look at ourselves in the morning mirror with that kind of Fail staring back?
demimondian
@bago: Look, bagel, you *never* had a good name.
Just Some Fuckhead
@demimondian: Lox of us beg to differ.
Sloegin
A commenter over at Crooks and Liars mentions that a local Chicago station had a story about Rahm Emmanuel dropping the dime on Blagojevich when they got wind of the scheme.
Interesting if true. Politicos aren’t clean, but some are cleaner than others.
demimondian
@Just Some Fuckhead: That’s a disreputable schmear!
Stagger Lee
@Circvs
Unfortunately, no.
Just as Mr. Cole had not followed the case before declaring him a crooked bastard on the reportage of one "Fuzz Hogan".
I stand guilty before you and throw myself on your mercy.
Gravenstone
@BethanyAnne:
I’m sure this has been raised re. Coleman vs. Franken, but the Senate (and House) are ultimately the final arbiters of their own membership. If Blago were to appoint someone in a transparent ploy to stir controversy, there is no guarantee the rest of the Senate would accept their new "colleague" and thus force either a new appointment or potentially a special election.
Comrade Stuck
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Fitzy solves another Caper. Put that in yer pipe and smoke it.
TheHatOnMyCat
There is nova way we are starting another pun chain …..
demimondian
@Comrade Stuck: That’s Matzo clever, Stuck.
demimondian
@TheHatOnMyCat: Blame it on the bossa Nova.
passerby
Sorry if someone has pointed this out yet:
The arrest at Governor level of politics is sweeter than honey.
Jadedly, I wonder how many other politicians conduct their offices like this, Pay to Play? The ones that do are having "Oh Shit!" moments right now as they realize that the Train is pulling into the station and they may have to pass thru a checkpoint. Bet they’re paranoid as all hell.
Today is a great day. Feels like Christmas.
TheHatOnMyCat
Luckily this was caught by my spam gefilte.
myiq2xu
I’m the one and only.
You said a lot of things to me but "racist" wasn’t one of them.
TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst)
Yes, I’ve had this conversation with my idiot right-wing brother. "Money should only be taxed once", sayeth he…I ran an example by him just to be sure he didn’t really mean something else. No, that was what he meant. The first time a dollar is taxed should be the last time. What a completely MORONIC position! Plus, on top of that he thought that somehow there would still be enough revenue to take care of "National Priorities", which to him, of course, are solely limited to military spending and keeping illegal immigrants out of the country.
I told him he was an idiot and that we couldn’t really discuss the issue of taxation any further…EVER.
Comrade Stuck
@demimondian:
I rella appreciate that.
TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst)
Hmmm…that smells a little fishy to me.
Laura W
You’d think politicians today would act in a more circumspectcision way.
(Please don’t flame me. My head is already on fire.)
TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst)
That’s a cutting remark, Laura.
Ron
@Shawn in ShowMe:
Unfortunately, he isn’t out of the picture yet. He is the governor unless he resigns, is impeached, or is convicted. I don’t see him resigning. Impeachment would have to wait til the legislature was back in session and conviction will take some time. I suspect that he may get to make an appointment despite all of this. Unfortunate for whoever he appoints, because whoever it is will have Blago’s taint on him/her.
Laura W
@TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst):
You’re the brisst!!!!
demimondian
@Laura W: I don’t think any of these meet the minimum bar mitzvah for reasonable humor.
Laura W
@demimondian: Sorry.
I believe in castrating my internet far and wide.
PaulW
Biggest winners in this whole debacle:
The guys who filmed "The Untouchables"
Everyone is linking the "That’s teh Chicago Way!" clip from Youtube as I write this.
Expect the SNL skit this Saturday to have Darrell Hammond as Connery and Fred Armisan as Obama-playing-Costner mocking up the Chicago Way scene for all its worth. ;)
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Awww, come on, it’s a great tuna.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
@Stagger Lee:
Read it, and then get back to me (link is a pdf file)
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
@NoIQ:
Actually it was, I guess you missed it.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Blaggy do be fucked.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Well, aren’t you chipper about that, it’s an edgy venture.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
He bleeped himself.
TheHatOnMyCat
Excuse me, I need to empty my swim bladder.
Xenos
@Just Some Fuckhead: I am not an asshole!
Laura W
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII:
Dicey.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Oh Koi ;)
bago
Blago will roe this day!
demimondian
@kommrade reproductive vigor: Blago doo be doo.
demimondian
@TheHatOnMyCat: I bet you think that’s a great lateral line to use on the girls.
demimondian
@bago: How can you have such a caviar attitude?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Do you go to Delhi for that procedure?
dobrojutro
n/m
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Up your knows.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
So you realize now that Obama wasn’t even President Elect until 11/4? Good save!
TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst)
Yes, you could wind up with egg(s) on your face…rather expensive eggs, though.
DougJ
Maybe Fuzz Hogan can start in the upcoming film "Blago’s Taint".
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Yes, purchasing requires possessing a lot of clams.
Laura W
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII:
Warsaw
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Nah, for better results you should travel further east… if not Delhi, then you should try Cut-Man-Do.
Laura W
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII: You win. I am stunned I got as far as I did.
You are probably more sober than I (provided you don’t have a sake cellar), and not laboring under an exploding head/chest cold.
(I takes my excuses where I can finds them.)
I would like to add that if anyone has a head cold, go shove your head in the freezer.
Magic!
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
@Laura:
No, I’m not sick, and to be quite honest, I only imbibe rarely, with sake being the main choice on Sundays and certain Wednesdays.
Hope you feel better soon.
TheHatOnMyCat
Kanpai!
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
::clink::
:)
How was your nap?
TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst)
Is that an Offishial concession?
Well, with that I think I will squiggle home.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
No, it was a shellfish confession, she was being shellfish when she made it.
;)
TheHatOnMyCat
Guzzling some coffee and trying to wake up …..
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Which still tells me absolutely nothing about how your nap was.
::sigh::
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Okay, give me the silent treatment, I just wondered if you dreamed of fifty five moments in heaven or something along those lines.
pattonbt
Just a couple of quick thoughts here….
Coming in from the other side of the world I dont get the US days news back and forth as the story breaks so I see a more developed story when I start checking in for the day here in Aus.
In some ways it sucks because I dont get to participate in the ebb and flow of the story dynamic, but I get a better picture of the totality of the scene.
That said, I think this is actually great news for Obama!! (no pun or humor intended)
Obama comes out of this looking pretty good and like the man he ran on being. We have corrupt D pol (Blago) who tried to squeeze D Obama to play ball, Obama, by the rights nuts dreams is a ‘Chicago pol’ all the way (i.e. corrupt) and yet Obama rebuffed the corrupt pol of the same state and party and best of all its in the corrupt pol’s own words on wire tap. I mean we have a corrupt dem gov calling Obama a motherfucker for not playing ball and being all principled like and stuff. All sorts of WIN for Obama.
And Stagger Lee, you made a comment that this is a bad day for dems. I disagree, this is a great day for dems. Sure Blago looks bad and Illinois (my birth state) look pretty messed up, but the reaction from the left seems to be ‘let Blago fry’ and ‘good riddance to bad rubbish’. Plus making Obama look good is even better.
I mean if this were Bush and Blago was an R – Blago would get a cabinet appointment.
Of course all this is subject to ‘based on what we know now’. I reserve the right to change my mind at will for any reason whatsoever and claim I was right all along.