Illinois Governor Arrested

I was wondering too and hoping it wasn't Jesse Jr. Still hoping. Just because it's being reported dont mean it's true especially if it's on Blogojenvich's word. The implications on Obama on this thread are funny. Bushies talking about corruption are projecting. Obama's the one America chose and it was an easy pick.

what do you mean by "no interest"? Did he care? Of course he cares. Did he want/have influence? His and Rod's relationship is cool-to-cold. There's no way that Obama has to yes the pick.

The one thing that Obama did as an IL Democrat that still rubs me the wrong way is to make campaign stops on behalf of some Very Shady IL Democrats. The next such stop he'll end up explaining (I hope) is his luke-warm support for Todd Stroger Jr for Cook County Board President (I've ranted about that before).

His willingness to support party regulars bothered me a great deal (and still bothers me) but I don't see any evidence that he and the gov were tight or that Obama was to have any say in Blagojevich's pick.

Only in your wet dreams.

There is probably guidance in the election of 1824 when John Q. Adams was elected by the House when no candidate got the required number of electoral college votes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1824

Obama And Blagojevich: Did You Know?
by BarbinMD
Wed Dec 10, 2008 at 09:06:26 AM PST
As the usual suspects dust off the guilt by association skills they honed during the recent presidential campaign, there is an aspect of the Rod Blagojevich scandal that isn't getting the attention it deserves.

From the criminal complaint against Blagojevich:

As detailed below, in early October 2008, the government obtained information that ROD BLAGOJEVICH was accelerating his corrupt fund raising activities to accumulate as much money as possible before the implementation of ethics legislation on January 1, 2009, that would severely curtail ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s ability to raise money from individuals and entities conducting business with the State of Illinois.

And while this may not seem as exciting as engaging in idle speculation on how Blagojevich's corruption might taint Barack Obama, it is key to understanding how and why the utterly corrupt and contemptible Blagojevich was brought down, in part, because of a phone call Barack Obama made three months ago.

Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say...

Mr. Obama used leverage that he had seldom employed " publicly, anyway " and strongly urged Mr. Jones to bypass Mr. Blagojevich and approve the ethics bill, banning the so-called pay-for-play system of influence peddling in Illinois...Mr. Obama’s intervention deepened a rift between him and Mr. Blagojevich that had been growing for some time.

As noted in the criminal complaint, because of the passage of this bill, Blagojevich accelerated his fundraising shake down efforts, and because of that:

...the government obtained court approval to intercept oral communications in certain locations in the offices of Friends of Blagojevich. In addition, as part of its investigation, the government obtained court approval to intercept wire communications on the home phone of ROD BLAGOJEVICH.

And without those wiretaps, we never would have learned that:

ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. **** them."

...and chances are, Blagojevich would still be cheerfully screwing over the people of Illinois, extorting corporations, and busily plotting to sell a US Senate seat to the highest bidder.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/10/12626/492/938/671309

Why are you hoping that it isn't him in particular?

Please don't tell me that you think JJ and JJjr are dedicated public servants with no self interests.

When was the last time you went to a sporting, music, or other public event in Chicago and found anything to drink except Budweiser (except the Obama victory rally where alcohol of any kind was prohibited)? Who do you think owns the Budweiser distributorship for Chicagoland and has Very Lucrative Ties to the city for all public events? How do you suppose that distributorship came about?

According to NPR, just a few minutes ago, Jackson has acknowledged being Candidate #5, claiming he made no offers of any kind to Rod.

Many of the responses of the right-wingers in this thread have made my 'Best of Idiots on A2K' permanent file. I am grateful.

Cycloptichorn

Do you silly Obama haters ever give up?

First it was slightly amusing now it is becoming real sicking.

Now this is some good old fashioned left wing greed that we can believe in.


Greed that we can believe in ~ Obama

I'm hoping it isn't anybody. I'm glad it wasn't Obama pushing Valerie Jarret and that Blagojeveich said he was offered nothing from them, Candidate 1, and said f*ck them and called Obama a motherf*cker. If Jesee Jr. is guity I'll be sorry for him and called for his resignation. But I hope he aint guilty and hope no politiccian is guity of corruption ever again. a farfetched hope I know considering the crimes against humanity committed by America in my lifetime. Bushie's crimes make Blago's crimes look like stupid pranks.

BillRM, Chicago and Illinois politics has become amusing, and in fact sickening.

For anybody that cares, check this out:

http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/Blagojevich_Indictment/2008/12/09/160064.html

Blagojevich Scandal: What Did Obama Know, and When Did He Know It?

"...Fitzgerald stated Tuesday that “there is no allegation in the complaint that the president-elect was aware of it and that is all I can say,” according to ABCNews.com.

The 76-page criminal complaint refers to the president-elect and his representatives at least 40 times, however.

..."

You that hate GW are a sad and negative group.

Accept the fact that your messiah is false and
that all that worship him are genetically flawed.

Did the Bush Haters?

I doubt the Obama haters will.

One of the good things about Obama being elected is witnessing how quickly the worm has turned

Mass murder, lying us into war is what I hate and of course. If anything is worth hating it's mass mrder and wars of choice built on lies. Like Vietnam and now Iraq.

blueflame, you are 1 delusional character.

And George Bush got rid of one mass murderer.

And the war for Iraq has eliminated many more murderous evil doers.

I can tell you why he got arrested.

Americans can tolerate alot from our politicians.
We can tolerate greed, incompetence, criminal acts, and everything else you can think of.
But all of them at once is stupid, and we cant tolerate stupid.

It's not only the Iraq war that Bush got us into; he's also responsible for the bank and credit crisis that he tries to blame Clinton for after running this country into the ground for eight years. It's as if he had no say or influence during his two terms in the white house - except getting us involved in a war based on WMDs that were never found.

All the Bushites continue to claim all of Saddam's WMDs were shipped to Syria, but we could have found that out without the war if Bush had let the UN Weapons Inspectors do their jobs. He, instead, wanted his war as payback for the attempt on his pappy's life on a country that had no means to start a war or sustain one against any "coalition of the willing." Even Bush's bribes didn't work with Turkey.