Blago sure ain't dumb no matter how crooked he may be

[dsc]

His appointment of Burris turns out to have been a brilliant move given the tapes of both Reid and Durbin stating that several black candidates were unacceptable. There is no way politically that they can refuse to seat Burris now. Frankly I think the legally are on very thin ice too but politically this is a nightmare come to life. Reid and Durbin were both blooming idiots to think that the tapes of them saying no to three famous black politicians wouldn't see the light of day if they decided to not accept Burris. At this point Fitzgerald needs to release his tapes to the Illinois general assembly and let them impeach or not impeach as they see fit. After that, we can worry about a legal case against Blago. In the meantime, let Burris be a caretaker and let Illinois clean up their acts in time for 2010. After all, they reelected Blago while he was under investigation and left him with appointment power when it was clear he would soon be able to use it. All in all Burris will be fine as Senator for two years.

[polichick]

1. Ol' Blago definitely outplayed them...

What in the world were Reid and Durbin thinking?!

[dsc]

2. God alone knows

I mean they knew they had been taped and still just figured they would get away with this simply unfathomable.

[Believing Is Art]

3. It's actually sad that he's such a greedy narcissist

He's not dumb and he's managed to do some good things in Illinois. But he's a crook and everyone has hated him for a long time. I wonder if it's possible to transplant Blago's policies into a decent human being.

[dsc]

5. One can hope

I think Fitzgerald deserves a big part of the blame for this. There is no excuse for him to not have indicted by now.

[SoCalDem]

10. He could easily be president

but he would have to move to Serbia.. they LOVE him there:)

[depakid]

4. What I find morbidly amusing is how the Dems have yet to even take power

and are already self-destructing.

Between Reid, Blago and Paterson, they can't even manage to fill two Senate seats without creating major controversies!

[Believing Is Art]

7. Yeah but how much of that is just circumstance?

1. Things suck right now. A lot.
2. The election was very celebrity-ish.

I think both of those factors are causing people to pay closer attention to anything political. With every move under such scrutiny, there will be more controversies.

[ewagner]

6. Blago is "street smart"

and I doubt Reid can hold a candle to him in that department...

Blago is crooked for sure but we would be better off just quietly seating Burris and letting the whole affair settle down.

btw: a Chicago resident friend of mine asked me an interesting question last night.

He asked, "Do you really think Mayor Daley didn't give Blago the idea?" Daley doesn't want to lose a Senate seat to the repubs...he needs somebody who is a Chicago party loyalist...My friend thinks this was possibly a Daley operation...

[fla nocount]

8. I think that your friend knows that it was a Daley operation.

Nothing in the state happens without the Daley stamp and that includes BO, Durbin and Rahm. It's been a slick machine going back at least as far as Everett Dirksen. Benevolent corruption is something that you learn to live with, some even find comfort in it.

[ewagner]

13. "Benevolent corruption"

I lived in Chicago for a while in the 70's and worked ward level politics for a while. I understand completely the term "benevolent corruption".

Nothing went anywhere without the consent of the ward/precinct captain and eventually the alderman...in return you were expected to support the alderman/precinct/ward captain in every way possible...including "gratuities" for services...

but also....

When there was a death in a family in the precinct, there was support...sometimes financial support...for that family....or, if there was a confirmation in a family that couldn't afford a new confirmation dress, that dress showed up in an unmarked box on the doorstep...

It was corrupt. True. But there was almost an old-world benevolence to it that was .....I dunno.....


compensating?

[fla nocount]

12. Some background on Illinois/Chicago politics.

"But more than that, Obama brings with him the baggage of Chicago's political culture - the roughest in the US."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/03/obama-white-house-barackobama

[OHdem10]

9. Blago is much smarter politically. He knows and will not hesitate

to play "hardball".

[SoCalDem]

11. and.. if and when he "goes down", he's grabbing hold of everyone he can

and taking them with him...sometimes it's best to not poke a snake..

[mucifer]

14. But, blago is doing the same things that landed gov Ryan in jail.

Ryan also got bribes for campaign funds. Why did Blago think he was above the law and do exactly what Ryan did? That's not very smart. And Blago was shaking down a children's hospital. It doesn't sound that smart to me.