Blago, indicted, and on the radio

By Michael J.W. Stickings

You may have heard that ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was indicted yesterday -- along with five others, including his brother, a top fundraiser, and two former chiefs of staff -- on "political corruption charges":

The sweeping indictment comes four months after Blagojevich was arrested and charged with engaging in pay-to-play politics in a major federal complaint that accused him of trading state jobs, contracts and regulatory favors for campaign contributions.

The criminal complaint charged Blagojevich with attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama and seeking the firing of Tribune editorial writers in return for state help on the sale of Wrigley Field.

Well, good. He and his cronies are only getting what they deserve.

As I mentioned the other day, though, Blago seems to have found the makings of a new career in talk radio, filling in as a guest host on a Chicago morning show. On Tuesday, TNR's Christopher Orr posted a snippet of Blago in action:

Blago: Let's take a call or two.

Newsman: Are those headphones going to mess up your hair?

Blago: I brought my brush.

Meteorologist: You brought the football?

Blago: I'm not governor anymore, it is a smaller brush.

The football? Yes, I suppose you'd need a brush that big.

But -- oh, how the mighty have fallen!

Talk radio just got a whole lot worse

By Michael J.W. Stickings

CNN:

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be back on the airwaves Wednesday, serving as a fill-in host on a Chicago talk radio station.

Blagojevich will host the Don Wade and Roma Morning Show on WLS-AM — a show the station refers to as "the most positive, optimistic radio show in the universe" — alone from 7-9 am Wednesday. The station confirmed to CNN that the gig is a one-time occurrence.

So that would be... today.

But to tune in or not to tune in? On the one hand, it would be a shame for Blago to succeed. Surely we don't want that. On the other hand... why the hell not? There is rarely such opportunity for unintended hilarity, and it could be rather entertaining.

A question, though: Is Blago being brought in to guest host because the irony was just too much to resist?

If you want "positive" and "optimistic," after all -- and how stupid is that slogan? -- he's not exactly the best choice.

Unless it's positivity and optimism regarding his own massive ego and delusions of entitlement and superiority.

Yeah, this could be hilarious. Blago on Blago, ad nauseam. What could be better?

Burris & Son: Partners in corruption, with a load of Blago thrown in for good measure

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Oh, Roland, you and Blago made quite the pair, didn't you? But, I must ask, was there ever any room for all of your monomaniacal ambitions and tendencies? I mean, each one of you is bad enough alone. But the two of you together? Awesome.

The Chicago Sun-Times has the latest:

The son of embattled Sen. Roland Burris is a federal tax deadbeat who landed a $75,000-a-year state job under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich five months ago, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

Blagojevich's administration hired Roland W. Burris II as a senior counsel for the state's housing authority Sept. 10 -- about six weeks after the Internal Revenue Service slapped a $34,163 tax lien on Burris II and three weeks after a mortgage company filed a foreclosure suit on his South Side house.

Why does it not surprise me that you named your son after you? And why does it not surprise me that there are yet more indications of corruption surrounding your appointment, by Blago, to the Senate?

Are we really to believe that everything was on the up-and-up here?

Yeah, sure. Do you really think we're that stupid?

(For all our Burris coverage, see here. Warning: It's scandalicious.)

Illinois governor wants Burris to resign

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Rod Blagojevich's replacement, Gov. Patrick Quinn, today called on Sen. Roland Burris, to resign. Burris should "act as quickly as possible for the best interests of Illinois," Quinn said. "This should not be a matter that takes weeks."

It seems unlikely that Burris will resign, at least not without a protracted fight to keep the job to which Blagojevic appointed him. Indeed, as TNR's Jason Zengerle points out, "the real story... is that Quinn is asking the legislature to set a special election within 115 days -- which would spell an end to Burris's temporary appointment," meaning that Burris might soon have to decide whether to seek the people's support to remain in office. But would he even be the Democratic nominee? That also seems unlikely. Would he run as an independent? Perhaps, but he'd surely lose.

Is there any way he could actually win a special election? Surely not.

Then again, this is Illinois we're talking about. Anything is possible.

For all our Burris coverage, including on this latest Blago-related scandal (with Burris lying repeatedly about his connections to the former governor prior to his appointment), see here.

Roland Burris, liar

By Michael J.W. Stickings

First he said he had no contact with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office, then he said he did (but denied fundraising), and now, the corruption oozing ever faster, he has admitted that he engaged in fundraising for Blagojevich "at the request of the governor's brother at the same time he was making a pitch to be appointed" by the governor to Illinois's vacant Senate seat (Obama's old seat), according to the Chicago Tribune.

Roland Burris. I didn't like him then, I don't like him now, and I certainly don't trust him to tell the truth.

**********

UPDATE: His own party is distancing itself from him, and the state attorney's office in Springfield is looking into it:

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan announced today he has turned over to the Sangamon County state's attorney in Springfield a series of documents relating to U.S. Sen. Roland Burris' testimony before a special panel that recommended the impeachment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

*****

The speaker's move comes on the heels of comments by his daughter, Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan who Monday night said the local prosecutor in Springfield should look more closely into Burris' testimony and other affidavits filed under oath.

Looks like it may soon be time for a prosecution.

It's only arrogance if you're wrong

By Carl

Today's news seems to be themed. Let's scan it quickly, shall we?

1) He will not Blago gently into that good night:

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is lashing out at lawmakers who booted him from office, calling his removal a "hijacking."

2) Christian Bale's F-bombing:

"I want you off the f***ing set, you pr***," Bale reportedly says at the start of the audio recording, which TMZ reported was sent by the film's executives to their insurance company in case the actor didn't finish filming the movie.

"I'm sorry," Hurlbut reportedly replies.

"No, don't just be sorry. Think for one f***king second," Bale reportedly shouts. "What the f*** are you doing? Are you a professional or not?"

The man said to be Bale appears to grow angrier as Hurlbut replies to him in a calm tone, "Yes, I am."

"No, no. Am I gonna f***ing rip your lights down in the middle of the scene? Then why the f***are you walking right through, 'Duh-duh-duh-duh-duh,' in the background," the man said to be Bale, sing-songs. "What the f*** is it with you? What the f*** don’t you understand?"

3) Iran in Space:

For the Iranian government, it is an important milestone along the road to reclaiming Persia's ancient claim to major power status, which it feels the jealous west is trying to deny it.

It is also enormously significant in Iranian internal politics. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got elected promising economic benefits for the common man and modernisation. He has made a complete mess of the first part of that mission. Delivering the second is important for his prospects of re-election in June, in the eyes of both the average voter and – even more importantly, given the controlled nature of Iranian democracy – the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

All of these items have one thing in common: central to the event is a sense of entitlement, of hubris. Of arrogance.

I know a little something about that.

We've all had our "Bale moments." We've flipped off the driver who cut in front of us, or swerved around someone in the supermarket to beat them to the express line and then argued with them when they raise the mildest objections.

We've all had our "Blago moments," too, trying to defend the indefensible with outlandish comments and thin-skinned objections.

And we've all had our "Ahmadinejad moments," where we try to recapture past glories in an attempt to re-establish ourselves as players in a game. In this instance, Iran is trying to raise the spectre of the old Persian civilization, one that was on the cutting edge of technology and knowledge, centuries ago. Who among us hasn't played a game of basketball years after our sneakers have been put away?

All of these (less so in the case of Iran) are pretty laughable, but mostly because the folks involved are wrong, and wrong for the wrong reasons.

Blagojevich wasn't impeached and removed from office for criminal convictions. He abused the power of his office, something that's fairly clear from even the minuscule evidence that was presented in the Illinois legislature. His objection that he wasn't allowed to present a defense has some merit, to be sure, but from what he's said about the witnesses, it seems he was determined to practice his defense against any criminal charges Patrick Fitzgerald was going to bring. That was a waste of time.

Similarly, Iran doesn't really need to send up a satellite to prove it is ready to lead once again in advancing knowledge. A simple and truly free, secular election would go a long way to proving that, an election not controlled by a fear-ridden Assembly of Experts, grasping to keep power against the samizdats of information the Iranian people have been accumulating.

And Bale, for whatever reason, didn't need to tear into the DP who made a simple yet ugly mistake. Having been in a similar situation myself, you turn it into a blooper reel, let the guy get his job done, and move on. Let the director handle any fall out. Keeping in mind that a few days after this incident, he was arrested in London for assault, it seems likely there's a deeper motive for this outburst.

Arrogance can take many forms: the arrogance of a president who pretends to know everything he needs to know before committing to war, or the arrogance of a driver who claims a parking spot as his own, even though there's already someone waiting for it. The president might be right, he might be wrong. If he's wrong, it's arrogance, hubris. If events prove him right, then he's a leader, a genius.

It's a thin line that separates arrogance from genius. Again, a line I've straddled often. In no way do I intend to defend the arrogance I've noted above, but I'm proud to be considered arrogant, because it means I'm willing to step up and give things a try, and not sit on the sidelines cheering other people on, and following like a sheep. And I'll succeed much more often than not, which is why I keep trying to forge ahead.

It's really only arrogance when you fail epically and you don't learn from it. If you can't balance the humility of having been thrown out of office or dealing with your problems yourself rather than taking them out on others, or surrendering to the notion that perhaps your best days lie ahead, not behind, then you truly are arrogant.

(Cross-posted at Simply Left Behind.)

He's OUT! -- Blagojevich convicted by Illinois Senate, removed from office

By Capt. Fogg

It was unanimous; Rod's out and Quinn's in.

Bye-Bye Blogojevich, seeya later old boyavich. Actually I hope not. The defiant Rod, who was portraying himself in dramatic fashion today as a victim of his own excellence, was stripped of his job and title this evening by the Illinois Senate in a 59-0 vote. Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, Blagojevich's two-time running mate, has been sworn in as the state of Illinois' 41st governor. (I never heard him say "so help me God" either. I can't wait to see if Fox News will accept him.)

Blago commuted the sentences of two felons just before he left the building -- one is a convicted drug dealer who now works as a janitor in the same homeless shelter Mrs. Blogojevich once worked at. His record will be wiped clean, and he may well deserve it. The other is a crooked real estate tycoon who was convicted of theft back in the 1980s. He recently bought Oprah's farm in Indiana, so he can't be doing all that badly. I wonder why he deserves the special favor, don't you?

Anyway, cold as it may be in Springfield, it's time to open the windows and air the place out -- and maybe to count the silverware.

(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)

Just. Go. Away.

By Carl

Seriously, dude, how much of an invitation did you really need?

Rod Blagojevich, the absentee impeachee governor of Illinois, is in New York City today, trying to...

Well, I'm not quite sure what he's trying to do. Drum up sympathy? Maybe, altho it's really hard for me to feel sympathetic to such a monstrous creation of the Daley political machine as Blago.

State his case?

Well, I'm not sure he's being particularly successful in doing much more than making an utter ass of himself. To wit:

Illinois' beleaguered Gov. Rod Blagojevich said today that when he was deciding who would take President Obama's Senate seat he considered appointing talk show queen Oprah Winfrey.

Um-hmm. Is he seriously suggesting that Oprah might want to bail him out of this jam, or else face the music from her audience and the press over "pay-for-play" accusations? There's certainly an underlying nuance to this.

And then there's this:

Blagojevich, wearing a blue ivy league shirt, told NBC's Amy Robach that he has not prepared mentally for possibly going to prison. The impeachment was triggered by Blagojevich's Dec. 9 arrest on criminal charges, including trying to auction off President Obama's vacant senate seat.

As Dec. 9 unfolded, Blagojevich told NBC, "I thought about Mandela, Dr. King and Gandhi and tried to put some perspective to all this and that is what I am doing now."

Blagojevich is not going to participate in his defense because he says the rules are rigged against him. He will not be in Springfield for his trial; instead he will be doing nationally televised interviews.

Even as we speak, Bono is re-writing "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" to include the following stanza:

One man caught on a hidden wire tape
One man he did slip
Free at last, they took your seat
But they could not take your hairrrr!

The rules are rigged against him, to be sure. Why? BECAUSE HE'S FUCKING GUILTY, and the law is designed to punish the guilty and exonerate the innocent, as best as society sees fit.

Rod, dude, seriously. It's time. Put down the cap pistol, cowboy up, and let the trial begin. Face the Legislature, defend yourself honestly, and let the dignity of the proceedings remind you that it's not nice to screw around with the public trust. This wasn't a blow job you are accused of getting -- or giving, for that matter. It's a reminder that people in power need to remember why they were trusted with that power.

Power that you abused.

(Cross-posted at Simply Left Behind.)

Blagomania; or, my own personal Pearl Harbor

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Here's what (still) Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich told the AP yesterday:

Dec. 9 to my family, to us, to me, is what Pearl Harbor Day was to the United States. It was a complete surprise, completely unexpected. And just like the United States prevailed in that, we'll prevail in this.

TNR's Isaac Chotiner calls it the Quote of the Century. At the very least, it our Quote of the Day.

And I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to the three-hour Ben Affleck epic on the whole sordid affair. (Matt Damon as Blago?) A day of infamy captured forever in craptastic celluloid wonder. Can enough justice ever be done, though, to Blago's superlative self-absorption? The only word for it -- and I do hope it one day enters the psycho-medical lexicon -- is Blagomania.

Blago impeached, Burris exposed

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Blago, in case you missed it. And what a worthy fellow he is.

**********

And let me repeat: There's no way the Senate should seat Roland Burris -- even if Obama wants him seated. It looked like it was inevitable, what with Reid et al. ingloriously caving in, but now it has emerged that Burris did, contrary to his own initial testimony, "[reach] out to a close friend and former chief of staff to [Blagojevich] to discuss the Senate seat. That appears to contradict Burris' statement in a sworn affidavit that he had no contact with any of the governor's 'representatives.'"

Burris, of course, is defending himself, claiming that the "close friend," Lon Monk, was no longer one of Blago's representatives, but Burris clearly knew that what he told Monk would get through to Blago. As he told Monk, "[i]f you're close to the governor, you know, let him know I'm certainly interested in the seat."

Corruption runs rampant. So does the lying.

And now the whole Burris affair goes back to Reid. I have no confidence in him whatsoever -- but maybe, with Blago now impeached, and with Burris caught lying, just maybe he'll reconsider. (But I doubt it. I suspect we're stuck with Sen. Burris.)

Obama clears Obama on Blago

By Creature

Which would be a conflict of interest had not the very independent Patrick Fitzgerald cleared the president-elect from all wrong doing weeks ago. Now, the Right will still call for an independent counsel of some kind, but that's only because they are intentionally dense (if not outright dumb).

See Meme for more.

(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois Supreme Court rejects case against Blagojevich

By Michael J.W. Stickings

From the Chicago Tribune:

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Supreme Court has rejected Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan's attempt to have Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared unfit to hold office, court officials said.

The high court issued the order without comment.

Stay tuned. This is one story that isn't about to fade away anytime soon, not with the sensation-seeking media on the bloodthirsty prowl and with Obama's similarly bloodthirsty opponents, along with their various enablers and mouthpieces in the media, looking for the next Whitewater to undermine Obama's yet-to-begin presidency.

Media needs its own open question page

By Libby Spencer

I wasn't at all surprised to see Ben Smith throw himself on the fainting couch over this, but I was surprised to see MoJo's Jonathan Stein join in the hand wringing over the "flaw" in the new Open Question page on the Obama transition site.

Notice something missing? The hot topic of the week, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, is absent. It's not because the American people are more substantively minded than the Blago-obsessed press. It's because Obama supporters using "Open for Questions" are using a tool on the site to flag as inappropriate any questions relating to the Illinois corruption scandal. The submissions about Blagojevich, of which there are plenty, can only be found by searching for the word "Blagojevich." And they all have a label on them reading:

"This submission was removed because people believe it is inappropriate."

The site's users have a right to vote up and vote down whatever they'd like. If Blago-related questions get voted down, or are out-voted by questions about stem cells and Constitutional safeguards, that's fine. But the transition should find a way to ensure that polite, reasonable questions about uncomfortable topics don't disappear from the radar because of the well-meaning but ultimately anti-democratic fervor of supporters.

Undemocratic? Excuse me guys, but the site is open to everyone, supporter or not. The fact is the only ones obsessed with Blago are the media and the GOP. The rest of us lowly hoi poloi really are "more substantively minded" and would prefer the questions be prioritized according to their actual importance. Blago is not Obama's problem, no matter how many pixels you waste in your single minded pursuit of the next ginned-up controversy.

And there's a simple way to prove it. The media sites could start their own pages, using the same format, where readers could weigh in on what stories they would like to see covered. I'm willing to bet that they would get the same result on Blagojevich.

The media needs to get a clue. Your industry is failing because nobody gives a flying leap about what you think is important. You've become just as removed from reality as the people you're supposed to be watchdogging. A little responsiveness to the public hunger for actual journalism from the all powerful elite media would go a long way towards restoring their rapidly waning credibility.

(Cross-posted at The Impolitic.)

Demands not seen in eight years

By Creature

Why do the press and the GOP now demand a full accounting from Obama regarding the Blagojevich pay-to-play scandal when over the last eight years they have never held George Bush to that standard? I'm not saying Obama shouldn't be transparent. I am questioning the double big-D standard.

(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)

Top Ten Cloves: Tricky things about attempting to sell a Senate seat

By J. Thomas Duffy

News Item: Obama: I Am ‘Appalled And Disappointed’ By Illinois Scandal, Blagojevich Needs To Resign

10. Try to move it quickly ... Just remember Andy Card's warning - "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce a new Senate Seat in August."

9. Get it placed in a few movies, or television shows, and people will line up to buy it like Happy Soup!

8. Ticket brokers, but you have to be careful of the various states that have "scalping" laws.

7. Talk to Sarah Palin, cut her in, and maybe you can package it with the Bridge to Nowhere.

6. Two words - Time Share!

5. If you're willing to put "GoldenPalace.Com" on it, you could get millions!

4. You could get Billy Mays, butit's a tougher sell if the seat doesn't mend something.

3. eBay, but it probably would sell faster if it had an image of the Virgin Mary with it.

2. Holy Cow! ... Too bad Phil Rizzuto died ... Think of the potential - "Hi, I'm Phil Rizzuto, from the Senate Seat Store" ... You could have sold it like hotcakes!

1. SenateSeat! ... Apply directly to Rod Blagojevich! ... SenateSeat! ... Apply directly to Rod Blagojevich! ... SenateSeat! ... Apply directly to Rod Blagojevich! ...

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Bonus Blago's Bazaar Riffs

Josh Marshall: Amazing

Robert Stein: Selling Obama's Senate Seat

Steve Benen: THE INEVITABLE PUSH

Nate Silver: Appointed Senators Rarely Win Re-Election

Rex W. Huppke: Rod Blagojevich shows foulmouthed side ...Etiquette experts say such language still unprofessional

Prescott Carlson: Bla-lego-vich








(Cross-posted at The Garlic.)

Politics as usual

By Creature

Politico:

National Republican Committee Chairman Mike Duncan called on President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday to disclose any communication he has had with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested Tuesday for allegedly attempting to sell Obama’s Senate seat.

"President-elect Barack Obama’s carefully parsed and vague statements regarding his own contact and that of his team with Governor Rod Blagojevich are unacceptable," Duncan said in a statement.

This is why playing nice and embracing bipartisanship, while noble in theory, is usually a waste of time in practice.

(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)

This seat's for sale

By Capt. Fogg

Let's hear it for young Rod Blagojevich,
Put his state up for sale, oh boyavich!
They surely won't fail
To put him in jail,
Where his cellmate will make him a toyovich.


(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)