The Blagojevich scandal and the Democrats

If defended by a capable lawyer I don’t see any reason why Blago shouldn’t emerge from his ordeal with a verdict of Not Guilty from the 12 jurors. Don’t those freedoms we supposedly enjoy include the right to dream over the breakfast table or the cocktail shaker of extorting large sums of money from ambitious politicians and venal businessmen? It’s one thing to dream and another to actually grab the bundle of cash, stick it in the refrigerator and say, The senate seat is yours. Fitzgerald pounced too soon. And even if the quid pro quo is there on film, juries can be forgiving, as their indulgent scrutinies of FBI footage of John Z. Delorean and Mayor Marion Barry attest.

Similarly, what's the difference between Jesse Jackson Jr hitting up a bunch of Indian businessmen for $1 million and pledging to dump it in Blago’s political campaign chest, in return for services rendered in the form of the senate seat? If this is felonious conduct, shouldn’t 98 per cent of all elected politicians in this country be behind bars? ...The Washington Post congratulates Obama for steering clear of the slime of Chicago politics, but what actually happened is that Obama moved to richer pastures. Not for him Tony Rezko’s dingy billfold, but the dignity of anticipatory bri. . . uh, campaign contributions from the Pritzkers, the Crown family, the big ethanol interests in the Midwest, the nuclear industry, Wall Street financiers, the biggest of big time money, now graterfully acknowledged in the form of Obama’s cabinet appointments. Obama raised more money than any presidential candidate in the history of American poltics, and here we are getting excited about Rod Blagojevich?

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn12122008.html

Of course the good government crowd is aghast...Nonsense. Good government is the province of states animated by the social democratic ethos of prim Nordics, like the Dakotas, or Washington in the Pacific Northwest. In the riper ethnic cauldrons of Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and of course New Jersey, corruption reigns in all its intricate and creative forms. In these states no politician is beyond the reach of an indictment, and this political certainty is the truest form of Americanism and the soundest check and balance against the arrogance of power.

WTF?

hahahaha wtf

Obama raised more money than any presidential candidate in the history of American poltics, and here we are getting excited about Rod Blagojevich? Obama raised more money than any presidential candidate in the history of American poltics, and here we are getting excited about Rod Blagojevich? Obama raised more money than any presidential candidate in the history of American poltics, and here we are getting excited about Rod Blagojevich? Obama raised more money than any presidential candidate in the history of American poltics, and here we are getting excited about Rod Blagojevich? Obama raised more money than any presidential candidate in the history of American poltics, and here we are getting excited about Rod Blagojevich?

oh shit a black man from chicago raised millions of dollars! what must he have been selling? he was selling the DOE secretary's job to a nobel prizewinner! tainted corrupt mother fucker practically belongs to the cyclotrons now.

Those prim Nordics don't know their place.

"riper ethnic cauldrons"

mmmm spicy ethnics

http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Profiles/20061011/244.ripa.kelly.101006.jpg
http://www.digital-tv.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/borat-high-five.jpg
http://www.newmoon.uk.com/ritual/cauldron.jpg

lol DOE

yeah that paragraph is an amazing gift

Nonsense. This is exactly the sort of scandal Americans understand and appreciate. Good government is the province of states animated by the social democratic ethos of prim Nordics, like the Dakotas, or Washington in the Pacific Northwest. In the riper ethnic cauldrons of Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and of course New Jersey, corruption reigns in all its intricate and creative forms. In these states no politician is beyond the reach of an indictment, and this political certainty is the truest form of Americanism and the soundest check and balance against the arrogance of power.

no Morbius lol @ you for reading crypto-bigoted paranoid trash because it's the only place that seems to meet your standards for near-pathological cynicism

thx for the screen name

Good government is the province of states animated by the social democratic ethos of prim Nordics, like the Dakotas, or Washington in the Pacific Northwest.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Still waiting for a plan to replace our vehicular matchstick structure called The Viaduct
Still waiting for any mass transit

uh oh, "CRYPTO"

[redacted]

"No payoffs here!"

http://kevincolby.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/hillary_clinton.jpg

^no content here

as per usual

politians gettin paid
wtf

The media in Chicago are a bit trigger happy. The thing is, they take something like this and then that is all there is to write about for weeks on end. In a time of dramatic political transition, I'm not sure it is appropriate.

"No payoffs here!"

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/04/politics/main4649271.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_4649271

you're being a goddamned numbskull, morbs

lol @ all the books on the sidebar of that page

http://www.lulu.com/content/2088844

glenn greenwald is totally OTM about the stupidity and irrelevance of this bullshit on his blog today

^ j.d. otm about greenwald's otmness. but still greenwald doesn't mention a pretty interesting feature of this case that everyone else seems to be forgetting too: blagojevich threatened to pull illinois' money out of the bank of america THE DAY BEFORE HE WAS ARRESTED

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/08/illinois-governer-suspend_n_149272.html

maybe it's all just a big coincidence

Surprised that the first piece linked here wasn't from st*rmfr*nt.

WINGNUTZ THEY PLANT THIS STUFF BUSHCO EVIL THEY MUST BE STOPPED NO WAY WOULD RAHM DO THIS NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY

http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/1333057,CST-NWS-SNEED16.article

*sigh* literalism ... CABINET POST = payoff

'prestige' make the Clintons come.

do what stuff don

morbs can you change your username to SNEED HEARS RUMBLES

you know we've been having a few discussions here and there about how the anglophone press corps just keeps getting worse and worse and worse, all of us, even obama cultists like me, yet you continue to delve into the tarry seams of the barrel to find whatever you can to try and illustrate some point. You know who else does that, Morbius? Wingnuts. You are so fucking paranoid and disillusioned that you're aligning yourself with the jesus wingnuts who think our president-elect is the antichrist or some such shit. I don't know if you realize this. I guess I hope you don't.

cockburn is like hitchens on a wheatgrass-juice bender. (i can be entertained by either, but i prefer the one with the gin.)

btw doc feel free to refute my position and show me how blind I am by posting a link to a politics op-ed by a community college professor printed in the daily oklahoman

this thread is early xmas for new screen names

daily Oklahoman?

btw I was in Scandinavia recently and you know what? they don't like Obama because he's a liberal !!!

takes one to know one lol

They don't like liberals - they think they are dangerous and right-wing.

When I asked just what was meant by liberal in this instance, I was, incredibly patronizingly, told 'You should go and read more political history', as though the word is politically unambiguous, which of course (as this whole exchange showed) it is not.

Of course my experience was only of a tiny fraction of people who would probably consider themselves on the left of Swedish / Danish opinion, not that they necessarily do anything about it. But I was quite surprised by the total lack of enthusiasm for Obama among them. They all saw him as just the continuation of things they didn't like. I felt that they were somewhat politically naive and myopic. But perhaps Dr Morbius would say that they were correct.

of course scandis are naive. they have a white, homogeneous culture. they can paint themselves as left-wing as they want in their utopian bubble where there's never any cultural conflict.

see first sentence of this thread

sahib shihab and the danish radio jazz group

permissions to broadcast jazz must be carefully considered in 1960s denmark.

pinefox u dumb

what is the root of liberal

I admire the prim nordics but seriously what the fuck ever pretending to be in any place to criticize a nation-state where 99% of the population isn't related. Go fuck yourselves.

dear troll going by jackie wilson in this particular setting,

please stick to entertaining your ringtone 77 fanclub and leave the rest of the boards alone.

I dig the new Jackie Wilson persona

instance. i'm dumb.

liberal rightwingers can be way crazier than hawkish neo-cons in losing their what did you say, jesus something yeah i'll leave your board alone

the discussion about obama and scandinavia surfaced in the election threat as well iirc where I made pretty much the same point to pretty much the same use. the danish should be left out of it though since they're basically all racist.

I have to admit, possibly the most vociferous Obama-sceptic I met in Scandinavia was not related to any of the local population - he was a Pakistani who grew up and studied in England, and had been living in Copenhagen for the past year.

Hot air?

Or trouble?

In these states no politician is beyond the reach of an indictment, and this political certainty is the truest form of Americanism and the soundest check and balance against the arrogance of power.

Putting aside the absolute bizarreness of "in these states" meaning "states that have black people in them," this sentence doesn't have the courage of its own convictions. (lol... convictions.) If indictment is a certainty, how is it also business as usual? I mean, go ahead and be cynical, be bitterly cynical, be Camus cynical, but don't act like your cynicism is the answer to anything. Fuck you.

of course scandis are naive. they have a white, homogeneous culture. they can paint themselves as left-wing as they want in their utopian bubble where there's never any cultural conflict.

this is a joke right?

go ahead and be cynical, be bitterly cynical, be Camus cynical, but don't act like your cynicism is the answer to anything. Fuck you.

This really should be our national sub-motto.

I bet he finishes up w/ self-immolation or something

Hey Rod, nice shot

Shoulda smelled this, no, O Practical Dems??

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/02/burris-now-acknowledges-fundraising-effort-for-blagojevich.html

Christopher Kelly, a key figure in the federal corruption probe into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is dead.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office today confirmed that Christopher Kelly of Burr Ridge was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 10:46 a.m. The office said Kelly died of salicylate intoxication.

According to medical reference guides, salicylates are used in anti-inflammatory and pain relief medications.

that is such a terrible, terrible way to die.

Results 1 - 10 of about 285 for "Christopher Kelly" and "Vince Foster". (0.11 seconds)

CHICAGO (AP) -- Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he's ''blacker than Barack Obama'' and tells Esquire magazine that he was a real person in a political arena dominated by phonies.

Blagojevich, referring to the president as ''this guy,'' says Obama was elected based simply on hope.

''What the (expletive)? Everything he's saying's on the teleprompter,'' Blagojevich told the magazine for a story in its February issue, which hits newsstands Jan. 19.

''I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,'' Blagojevich said. ''I saw it all growing up.''

The White House refused to comment.

The twice-elected Democrat was impeached and removed from office last year after federal prosecutors arrested him on corruption charges that included trying to sell Obama's old U.S. Senate seat. He has pleaded not guilty.

Blagojevich continues to accuse prosecutors of persecuting him for routine political deals.

One of those deals, he said, was the possibility of naming Attorney General Lisa Madigan to Obama's Senate seat in exchange for cooperation on important programs from her powerful father, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

He used an infamously coarse word to refer to the attorney general.

''If I can get this, how much do I love the people of Illinois to make that (expletive) senator?''' Blagojevich said.

Blagojevich is appearing on NBC's ''Celebrity Apprentice'' this spring and his trial is expected to start later this year.

http://www.verumserum.com/media/2008/12/blagobama.jpg

I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes.

Blago always was and always will be a total shitheel. End of story.

~this~ guy?

"I grew up in a five-room apartment." Is this supposed to signify poverty?

or blackness...

I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes.

presumably he used the shoe polish on his face?

seriously though, can we show some mercy and stick him in jail for the rest of his life, for the sake of the dignity of his family?

Jury selection begins tomorrow.

Reasons why this trial will be awesome fun to follow:

The judge
The defense attorneys
Lots and lots of this face:
http://willpen.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/blago2.jpg

More reasons:
Patrick Fitzgerald
The possibility that Rod can and will name names

Blagojevich left his Ravenswood Manor home with his wife and two children at 8:24 a.m. today to take the children to school. But he and Patty returned for him to change clothes, and he headed out again about 8:50 a.m. for court.

My god that is riviting.

The defense subpoenaed Rahm Emmanuel and Valerie Jarret to testify. I don't think Emmanuel testifying is going to be particularly earth shattering though. He's too much of a professional to be entertaining in that context, and I'm pretty sure if there's any dirt on the president, Emmanuel will shield him and take the fall himself.

Rod on the stand, however, is going to be delightful:

"'I can't wait to get on there, swear on the holy Bible to tell the whole truth and to begin to give clarification and explanations and confront my accusers and confront those who are lying,' Blagojevich said."

Emmanuel will shield him and take the fall himself.
i bet he'll find someone else to take the fall. this dude LOVES to protect himself. anyway, i think you're right. he'll just answer some questions and it won't lead anywhere.

i heard the 848 show about the judge last night. seems like he's pretty well regarded and considered fair/measured.

A tattoo tribute to Blagojevich
June 10, 2010
SUN-TIMES STAFF

Jeremy Scheuch, a 31-year-old event planner from Humboldt Park, is planning to make a trip down to the Dirksen Federal Building in the coming weeks.

He's got something to show the courthouse's most famous current defendant -- Rod Blagojevich.

Scheuch on Tuesday night got a huge Blagojevich tattoo on his upper right thigh, a tribute to Chicago complete with a Chicago-style hot dog, downtown skyline and a slice of deep dish pizza.

It also has wads of cash and "Chicago Style" written in script. It's his "26th or 27th" tattoo.

"I have meaningful tattoos, too, but it's OK to be fun and stupid," he said.

Scheuch's friend, tattoo artist Bethany Cisco of the Tattoo Factory at 4441 N. Broadway, did the inking.

"I love Blago. I think he's hilarious," she said.

it's OK to be fun and stupid
the blago creed

WHY DIDN'T YOU POST A PIC?

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/7/2010/06/500x_2010_06_jeremy_chicago_style.jpg

I didn't see the pic! That is AMAZING!

it's actually pretty good design. I mean, I wouldn't want it tattooed on my body, but maybe like airbrushed on a tank top?

would totally wear that on a tank top

Do they still have those t-shirt airbrush stands at malls? Let's make this happen.

i dunno, but there's a place on howard that i jog past regularly that does custom airbrush jobs...
it's a little sketchy but i bet they would do it

As the owner of a bad tattoo near my crotch, I want to say that having Blago on your uppper thigh so that you see him every time you are being intimate is not a good thing.

You should get your bad tattoo covered with a picture of Rod's face.

and then on that tattoo give rod a mustache tattoo that reads "it's ok to be fun and stupid"

crossposted from Chi thread:

A federal jury today convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich of only one count against him: lying to the FBI. Jurors said they were deadlocked on the other 23 counts against the former governor, and all four counts against his brother Robert.

Mistrial! Whaddya know.

So....what is the sentence.

A federal jury today convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich of only one count against him: lying to the FBI. Jurors said they were deadlocked on the other 23 counts against the former governor, and all four counts against his brother Robert.

Blagojevich faces up to 5 years in prison. The former governor pursed his lips and shook his head slightly.

Patti rested her head on the chair in front of her and shook her head no several times.
Blagojevich looked at her with an annoyed look on his face.

As jurors filed out, Patti collapsed into her seat and the former governor's attorney, Sam Adam Jr. moved next to Blagojevich and put his arm around him, rubbing his back.

Declaring a mistrial on the 23 counts, U.S. District Judge James Zagel gave the prosecution until Aug. 26 to decide whether to retry Blagojevich and his brother.

"We could be here tomorrow (to try him again)," said Assistant U.S. Atty. Reid Schar, indicating the government intends to retry both the former governor and his brother.

The verdict was announced shortly before 4:30 p.m. after 14 days of deliberation.

Blagojevich and his wife arrived at the courthouse for the announcement around 3:45 p.m.

"God bless you, God bless you, I didn't let you down," Blago said as he shook hands with admirers. He also high-fived spectators.

MOST BORING TRIAL EVER.

Haven't sentenced him yet.

I know that, I just wondered what kind of sentence he could get for just lying to the FBI. That's too bad I know that people with no life were hoping for some really exciting breaking news but the truth is that lots of locals have better things to do.

The word Blago always makes me think of

http://www.perpetualmemoryloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/gabbo1.gif

He also high-fived spectators.

From AP:

Jurors deliberating in the corruption retrial of Rod Blagojevich told a judge Monday they have reached a verdict on 18 of the 20 counts against the ousted Illinois governor, and attorneys in the case agreed that the verdicts should be read.

guilty x 17

one not-guilty?

yeah, funnily enough a bribery charge

A not guilty verdict sometimes means the jury just didn't find the evidence sufficient to establish guilt, not that they think he was innocent.

I always felt pretty sure he was guilty but hearing the jury read out the verdicts (while Patty sobbed) was def like "Oh shit." Have they said when sentencing is going to happen?

I wonder if Pat Quinn is going to continue this awesome jailed IL gov trend.

I hope he puts his own twist on it and just straight up robs five or six liquor stores.

feel like there's a Tribune-article-commenter-esque joke about concealed carry firearms that would be hilarious here, but I'm not on point enough to come up with one

Maybe Quinn will tweet pictures of his balls to Blagojevich in jail, brag on the phone about it, deny it, then admit it, and THEN rob 5-6 liquor stores.

God I hope so!