Man, I am really getting sick of the Democratic party:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents for what U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald called a "staggering" level of corruption involving pay-to-play politics in Illinois' top office.Now since this is an ongoing investigation I can't say for sure that this guy is a crook but this guy is a crook. I'm watching FOX News as I write this and Fred Barnes of The National Review looks giddy as a school boy as he discusses this story with Brit Hume. If we're going to actually stand for change and turn this country around in the right direction then we need to get rid of this dirt bag, along with William Jefferson and every other corrupt Democrat in office. Don't get me wrong: there are plenty of corrupt Republicans out there as well (Tom DeLay and Ted Stevens come to mind right off the bat) but in order to clean things up properly we have to concentrate on disinfecting our own side of the aisle first.
Blagojevich is accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy, including alleged attempts by the governor to try to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. Blagojevich also is accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.
And of course this incident is just one more instance of the larger epidemic in this country: the practice of turning over great power and responsibility to our elected officials without insisting on even the most basic levels of public oversight. Why do the powers of this man's office as governor include the ability to choose anyone he pleases as the next junior senator of Illinois without any kind of accountability as to his reasons or methodology for making this choice? And why are we now surprised that he's taken advantage of this electoral trust to enhance the financial standing of himself and his family? While fully aware of the optimism inherent to what I wrote in the last paragraph, I fear that power and corruption will be forever linked; Orwell knew what he was talking about.
[Update: All talk about general corruption and needed reform aside, this guy seems to have been more of a brazen idiot than a sinister backroom deal maker:
Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being “stuck” as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife’s employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.Stephen Colbert would be quite envious of balls this huge.]
5 comments:
The question for many is what Obama knew about the pay or play on the Senate seat, and when did he know it.
It appears that the only thing Obama has done that is even remotely unethical is lying about communicating with Blagojevich's staff. After years of having his office bugged the only thing Blagojevich had to say about Obama was to call him a motherfucker for only offering "gratitude" for considering his Candidate #1; to intimate that Obama's done anything illegal is rank and baseless speculation, and it deserves to be treated as such unless evidence to the contrary surfaces.
JBW, Doctor Douglas is just pissed that Sarah Palin can no longer claim the crown of the nation's stupidest governor. Most pathological liar is still a toss-up, however.
to intimate that Obama's done anything illegal is rank and baseless speculation, and it deserves to be treated as such unless evidence to the contrary surfaces.
But of course, this is stock in trade for some on the right. Gin up the controversy by speculating about even the most remote possibilities of wrongdoing (with the reply "We're not saying he did anything wrong... We're only asking the questions." whenever called on the baselessness of the allegations), and then label the alleged wrongdoer "controversial" because there are all these questions surrounding him/her.
Even now, there are fools brining up all the Clinton scandals that never were, as proof that Obama's no different because he put people who were never involved in the ephemera that was the many Clinton allegations, in his cabinet. (And when the next Democrat takes the office and taps some of the Obama people, these idiots will drag out their many self-created & contrived controversies about the Obama administration as "proof" that that President is "controversial," too... It's an ongoing process of demonization & destruction in the pursuit of power...)
I agree, rep; it's just business as usual for these guys.
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