Deposed Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich earns my nomination for great American hero. What hyperbolic laurels would fit a loudmouth buffoon? Be fair. Blagojevich brought the media spotlight to an overlooked exploit of American political cronyism: a governor's solitary prerogative to appoint national legislators. Alright, Blago didn't mean to. But if the little Dutch boy had stuck his Rod Blagojevich into the dike, instead of his finger, would the little pervert be any less a hero? Had you wondered how so many otherwise quite obviously unelectable, pasty white men of entitled bearing, each of them visibly the creepiest of crooks, become unassailable political incumbents? They sneak into office aided by other white cronies. And the governor's appointment is the fast track. Blagojevich wanted his share in the payola, but maybe other governors have simply been more discrete. A look at just the appointments made after the formation of Barack Obama's cabinet, turns up odors of the most dubious of machinations. In this case, those chosen were Democrats who look more like Republicans, and certainly nothing like the kind of politician which the mostly progressive American voter would have supported in the last election. Should legislative seats be appointed by a governor? Someone has to do it I suppose. A governor is elected after all. Maybe in this instance he's representing his constituents in choosing a senator for them. But a recent Obama cabinet appointment episode calls that justification into question. When Obama picked Republican Senator Judd Gregg for Commerce Secretary, a deal was struck whereby the senator would only consent to the appointment if the senator's state governor agreed to allow a Republican replacement. Who then, can be said to have made the choice of that representative? Whether it's a bribe paid to a governor, fundraising shenanigans, or a favor offered by the president, it's still crooked.
Tag: Rod Blagojevich
Is Roland Burris a GOP Senate ringer?
Is there more to senator-aspirant Roland Burris being turned away in DC, than political theater? Illinois governor Blagojevich was caught asking for payola to decide the appointment. Did he get the money? Without asking, the DC Dems are acting like the unassuming Mr. Burris is the pay-to-play golden ticket holder. I suspect the undistinguishing features which allay our suspicions about the septuagenarian may be the very traits which interest his sponsors. In boxing, it's called a ringer. While some Democrats are content to ask the would-be junior senator if he'd consent to be a modest placeholder until the 2010 election, I think that's exactly what he's intended to be, but not for the Dems. Burris is a placeholder for the GOP. The uncharismatic Burris, regular-loser of elections, is meant to remove any incumbent advantage the Democrats would hope to cultivate in the next two years. Burris would waste that opportunity, then face a Republican challenger in the next election and lose. Who did you think was offering big bucks for the senate seat? Was someone going to pay multi-millions to put Jesse Jackson in Washington? If the Dems had dibs on the party affiliation of Barack Obama's old office anyway, why was Blagojevich expecting that an ally would pay millions to install one particular Democrat over another? Who would have been offering the millions, except bidders dismayed at Blagojevich's nonpartisan disloyalty. Maybe the Democratic Party's insufficient coffers, and the projected Republican gained foothold, is what drew colleagues to unleash investigators to nail the turncoat sumbitch politician. Though no one's asking such questions, Burris cuts short the proforma inquiries, about his links to the governor's alleged graft, with mock surprise that his personal record might invite suspicion. Except, what is Burris's public record but a trail of failed elections? He has no accomplishments other than the elections in which he played straw man or spoiler and he lost every one. Perhaps he has always been an innocent pawn. It would seem pretty damn racist to suggest the diminutive black man has never been accomplice to the scheme, even now. No one dares be seen critical of Burris, who would be the only African American in the Senate. And the media is not about to spoil the GOP fix. Burris is in, and apparently it's all legal. And inevitable. The best legal opinions the media want to parade before us explain that because the governor is still in office, his appointment of Burris is legitimate. Even though the crime is the very act which installed Burris. Does that make sense to you? A bank robber gets to keep the bank's money until he's faced a jury of his peers? A court order could secure the monies for the bank, lest the accused gamble it all in Vegas, or score big, and return with a better legal team. An injunction could prevent Blagojevich and partners from enjoying the fruits of their crime, until the mess is untangled. But the corporate media and the GOP have put the
Democratic Party awash in corruption scandal
What do Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Bernard Madoff have in common? They are both Democratic Party kingpins, the likes of which Barack Obama climbed his way to White House power with. Bernie Madoff ran a $50 billion ponzi scheme from Wall Street but he also poured money into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign war chest ($100,000 between 2005 and 2008) and made large contributions to important Democrats on the Finance Committees, like Rep Henry Waxman and Senator Charles Schumer. See "It's Kristallnacht Two!" An Ethnic Cleansing in America By ALEXANDER COCKBURN for more about Madoff. And keep your eye on Governor Blagojevich's hair piece, too, since this scandal has hardly but just begun. His defense should be, that selling of favors is actually the standard in our 2 corporate party system of American corruption, not a deviation from it! That's just the simple truth. These 2 corruption scandals are just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the overall corruption that Barack Obama's Administration represents and governs through. Barack Obama has yet to even take over the Presidency, yet he and his party have been cooperating with the Republican Party to give away literally trillions of US government money to be used in bailouts for the profit making of the super rich, more war making for the military industrial complex, and cover-up for the torture regime of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. These two criminal conspiracies, the Democrats and Republicans, co-govern this country, and it really is hard to distinguish the corruption of one group of these gangsters from the corruption of the other group. They are simply in it together. Corruption is the element that is collapsing The Empire, and the whole world hopes the collapse comes sooner, instead of later. Meanwhile, at home here in the US, there has been no bailout from this corruption that our country has yet to pay the full price for. One thing is for sure, a Democratic Party awash in corruption itself can play little part in moving things forward for the American people. We are caught between a rock and a hard place. Simple as that. Time to get over our 'lesser of two evils' buy in to all this top dog corruption and criminality at the very top. Time for patience is coming to an end.