Want to be a Senator? Start the bidding.

[TheCultofAbeLincoln]

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald declared Tuesday a "sad day for government."

"Gov. Blagojevich has taken us to a new low," he said. "This conduct would make [Abraham] Lincoln roll over in his grave."

Fitzgerald said the government had bugged the governor's campaign office and placed a tap on his home phone.

FBI agents arrested Blagojevich, a Democrat, and his chief of staff, John Harris, without incident at around 6:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. ET) Tuesday, FBI spokesman Ross Rice told CNN.

Each was charged with a count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and a count of solicitation of bribery, authorities said.

The corruption charges were in part related to the selection of President-elect Barack Obama's successor, said the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois


http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/09/illinois.governor/index.html

Wow, you lefties must be loving this.

He thought that he could literally sell Obama's senate seat. Not in the way bourgeois have for years, but literally auction it off to the highest bidder. So if you're on any other debate sites, go throw this at the cappies, it's fucking comical! Like the political cartoons used to show how big money runs politics is no longer a metaphor.

I think he's trying to get an insanity plea. That'd be his best bet.

[Robert]

Great minds think alike, Abe. Here's a post I made on another forum not 30 minutes ago:




The complaint alleges in part: "(b) beginning no later than November 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS have corruptly solicited and demanded the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of ROD BLAGOJEVICH, intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with State of Illinois financial assistance in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field. "

Now, can you imagine the newspaper trying to execute upon that juvenile demand by the governor even if it had wanted to? My advice to any current or future governor: If you are going to corruptly conspire against any group of individuals, do not conspire against professional editorialists of a major metropolitan newspaper. They tend to find out when you try to get them fired for exercising First Amendment rights, and when they do find out, they tend to tell others, like their millions of readers. Most of whom vote.

I wonder if this guy can develop an insanity defense.

[Dean]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/09/illinois.governor/index.html

Ah... the man who criticised AlJazeera references CNN. :rolleyes:

[Chapter 24]

Illinoisans have had a strong dislike of Blagojevich for quite some time now. Well, maybe the intense hatred comes from Springfield, where I live, because he won't live in the governor's mansion. Either way, he's quite unpopular here, mainly due to the current budget crisis. Of course Illinois isn't exactly new to corrupt governor's. Take George Ryan, who illegally sold government licenses and has been accused of more than once for campaign racketeering and fraud.
Anyway, just thought I'd bring this up. I was waiting for the moment that this thread would start, just so I could post an "Illinoisan experience" on the subject. Reactions were mostly positive when people here found out he was arrested, while some such as my mother feels like it's embarrassing and reflect poorly on our state, and almost makes her feel shameful for being an Illinoisan. But that's certainly not the case for me, because I don't identify myself as being an "Illinoisan" and I also know that these kinds of scandals aren't exactly foreign to the rest of the country.

[spartan]

If a seat is vacated then shouldn't there be a by-election for it instead of selling it to a successor?

So much for democracy.

[Robert]

What are you talking about? Of course it shouldn't be sold. That's one of the reasons the democratically elected Bush administration's Justice Department has charged the fool with corruption.

Lightning, you and your mom take heart. The folks in Louisiana suffered from a long history of corruption culminating in the arrest conviction and imprisonment of Edwin Edwards. The new governor is an Ivy-League educated Indian named Bobby Jindal who
has dramatically improved government and state finances without a hint of scandal.

Jindal has set the standard for efficient governance and politics for a long time to come in Louisiana. A similar pendulum swing could occur in Illinois.

[synthesis]

That's one of the reasons the democratically elected Bush administration's Justice Department has charged the fool with corruption. The fact that the perpetrator was a member of the rival party had nothing to do with it, of course.


Jindal has set the standard for efficient governance and politics for a long time to come in Louisiana.

He also thinks abortion should be illegal even in the case of rape or life-threatening complications. So much for "small government."

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

corruption?
*yawn*

[Robert]

The fact that the perpetrator was a member of the rival party had nothing to do with it, of course.

"Of course" is right.

Ever heard of George Ryan? He is the former governor of Illinois. He is already in federal prison. He was prosecuted by the same Republican Justice Dept. that is now after the current democratic governor on similar federal charges.

Ryan was a Republican.

[synthesis]

"Of course" is right.

Ever heard of George Ryan? He is the former governor of Illinois. He is already in federal prison. He was prosecuted by the same Republican Justice Dept. that is now after the current democratic governor on similar federal charges.

Ryan was a Republican.

If I recall correctly, that was the product of a ten-year-old investigation, which would have put its date of birth in Clinton's era. I never said Democrats don't do the same shit.

[Robert]

So when Bush took over as president he lacked the power to tell his own Attorney General to dismiss the investigation and the case? Or did Bush just forget to pardon him after the conviction or something?

How about Governor Edwards, the lifelong democrat governor of Louisiana, indicted and convicted by the democrat Bill Clinton's Justice Department (after Republican efforts failed, btw.) Governor Edwards is still in prison.

I recall having a similar debate with a leftist when publishing mogulette Martha Stewart (an American and very rich home decorating queen) got arrested for insider trading and lying to federal agents about it.

"She won't spend a day in jail," he solemnly intoned. "The upper class never does. Only The People!"

Of course she did go to jail. Did he admit he was wrong? Not on your life.

[Raúl Duke]

corruption?
*yawn*

Corruption?

That's the usual state of affairs in Puerto Rico.
Doesn't suprise me that it can happen in the U.S. (or anywhere else too).

[synthesis]

So when Bush took over as president he lacked the power to tell his own Attorney General to dismiss the investigation and the case? Or did Bush just forget to pardon him after the conviction or something?

I'm saying that their motives and priorities aren't as pristine as you envision it.

They have a lot of people around them, saying, "Help me get this fucker, and I'll owe you one." I'm saying that there are a lot of favors waiting for Bush once he leaves office, just like there were plenty for Clinton.

[TheCultofAbeLincoln]

Great minds think alike, Abe. Here's a post I made on another forum not 30 minutes ago:

That they do.


Ah... the man who criticised AlJazeera references CNN. :rolleyes:

I criticized a word in the al-jaceera coverage. I read it for middle eastern news all the time.

Likewise, you should understand me going to an american news source for domestic american news.


Great minds think alike, Abe. Here's a post I made on another forum not 30 minutes ago:

Definitely.

It seems to me that the governor is still holding to world that is quickly falling apart around him.

[Robert]

I'm saying that their motives and priorities aren't as pristine as you envision it.

Yours is a cheap and easy accusation. The DOJ could never prove to your satisfaction, or to anyone's satisfaction, that they are "not motivated by politics in their prosecution of Democrat and Republican governors," though why they should need to prove it given the ample evidence to the contrary is hard to imagine.

I doubt you can prove that you are not secretly planning a murderous purge and an archipelago of gulags after the Revolution. Not that I would ever suspect such an ambition residing in today's modern communist.:rolleyes:

[Schrödinger's Cat]

As Jesus said, "Alright, fine, I'll go to hell." Or something like that.

[synthesis]

Yours is a cheap and easy accusation. The DOJ could never prove to your satisfaction, or to anyone's satisfaction, that they are "not motivated by politics in their prosecution of Democrat and Republican governors," though why they should need to prove it given the ample evidence to the contrary is hard to imagine.

I doubt you can prove that you are not secretly planning a murderous purge and an archipelago of gulags after the Revolution. Not that I would ever suspect such an ambition residing in today's modern communist.:rolleyes:

Well, I am. That sounds pretty entertaining, to be honest.

You have a very naive view of the system you promote, like most people do, regardless of the system. Obviously, it would be a lot easier for the Bush administration to get "caught" stifling an investigation on a member of their own party than it would be to get "caught" prosecuting a member of the opposition party for something that person actually did.

You should try being a professional criminal for awhile. You'll understand a lot more about politics that way - I am completely serious. In general, ambitious people do whatever they're pretty sure they can get away with, and politics are a cesspool of personal ambition.