"Hot Rod" Blagojevic

Scumbag or fall guy?

Editor's Note: Thomas's commentary is in blue and Marcie's is in purple.

Unless you have been living in a Taliban cave for the last couple of weeks, you know that US Attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, arrested Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on charges of corruption. Now no one will deny that Governor Blagojevic has not done some shady deals in the past; "pay-to-play" is common within the Chicago Machine. But his arrest came on the heels of the discovery that he was trying to sell President-Elect Barack Obama's now-vacant Senate seat. Federal investigators moved in on him before he could "sell" the seat to the person offering the largest "reward," be it millions in campaign contributions, or a lucrative appointment. The problem that we see with this is that, as of yet, no serious evidence has been reported about his alleged criminal dealings, and that is why neither Thomas nor I believe that this is really about a crime. It is about silencing a man who could prove to be a thorn in the new president's side.

I know. You're sitting back, and reading that lede and you're thinking we're smoking something and not sharing, but just think about it for a second. Mr. Fitzgerald moved in before the seat could exchange hands, and he hasn't provided any other details about Governor Blagojevic's supposed criminality, save that this Senate seat deal that didn't go down. Almost immediately, Mike Madigan, the Speaker of the Illinois House, moved to convene an impeachment committee against Governor Blagojevic. His daughter and Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, filed a brief to the Illinois state Supreme Court asking them to declare Governor Blagojevic unable to continue to carry out his duties. The local and national media tried to paint the Governor as some insane nutjob whose arrogance and possible paranoia caused him to go in this direction. In other words, the state Democrat Party and the media are trying to throw Governor Blagojevic under the bus, and none of them have a compelling case to do so.

We are well aware of the taint of corruption surrounding the Governor. Much of this was revealed in the trial of Chicago "fixer" and friend of Barack Obama, Tony Rezko. Mr. Rezko, it was proven, used his ties to top political figures like Governor Blagojevic, State Senate President Emil Jones, Chicago Mayor, Richard Daley, and even Barack Obama himself to shakedown companies and boards in Illinois in an effort to funnel money into the coffers of the main players in the Chicago Machine. Do not think for a moment that we are defending Governor Blagojevic because he is, in essence, indefensible. We are sure that whatever Mr. Fitzgerald has on him will be enough to put him behind bars for quite a while, but if his case hinges solely on the sale of the US Senate seat, he has no case because it did not exchange hands. Furthermore, on the court-approved wiretaps that Mr. Fitzgerald revealed the day of the Blagojevic arrest, he stated to the press that the governor was recorded claiming that if he did not get what he wanted, he would keep it for himself. That is a perfectly legal option he could have taken, but he was holding out for something more.

Here's what we think is really going on behind the scenes, and it could very well be backed up by the fact that Tony Rezko is talking to federal investigators which lead to his sentencing being put off for a second time. (Tony Rezko will go to jail, make no mistake, but if he rolls on the governor, he could shave time off his sentence.) We think the Democrats in Illinois are trying to get rid of Governor Blagojevic because his arrest and case threatens the incoming Obama Administration. Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's Chief of Staff, and head of the transition team, had direct discussions with Governor Blagojevic about not only Barack Obama's seat, but his own House seat. Mr. Emanuel even told the Governor to appoint a "seat-warmer" for him because he intended to return to the House, and challenge Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her powerful position in the House. (For the record, that is unconstitutional. The Governor can't appoint someone to fill a House vacancy. Article I, Section 2 forbids this.) If Mr. Emanuel is implicated in the sale of the Senate seat, then it reflects on the incoming Administration.

So the only answer the Democrats have is to get rid of the Governor, preferably by impeachment. Speaker Madigan believes he has enough votes to impeach Governor Blagojevic. The question is whether Senate President Emil Jones will push for and gain the necessary votes to remove the Governor. If this scenario goes down -- where Governor Blagojevic is impeached and removed -- then the connection to the Administration is moot. The media will not follow up on what happens to him unless a key Illinois politician is taken down with him. If the media connects any dots that leads to the incoming president, that will be buried, and that is a fact backed up by the media's refusal to truly vet Barack Obama in the primaries or the general election. As long as Governor Blagojevic sticks around, the media has to report on what is going on with him. The media, as much as the state Democrat party, wants Governor Blagojevic gone. In fact, we could even posit the notion that the Democrat in Illinois are being told what to do by Mayor Daley. those familiar with the Chicago Machine know that nothing happens in Illinois without Mayor Daley's involvement.

So what will happen? No one knows for sure, and even we can only speculate. If he is impeached, but not removed, he serves in disgrace, and given his low approval numbers (due in no small part to the corruption he is connected with) if he runs for reelection in 2010, he will likely lose. But we don't see the Democrats keeping him around for the remainder of his tenure. They want him gone; they need him gone. With his connections to Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel (who served as chief strategists in his two elections as governor) they need him out of the way, off the front pages of the newspapers, and not be the lead story on the evening news. The longer he stays in office, the worse this will reflect on the incoming Administration in Washington, DC. So don't expect these guys to take an excessively long time to get rid of him. And you can expect the national media to avoid discussing him as much as possible because they know the damage he could do to their golden boy who is about to be inaugurated. With Governor Blagojevic's chief of staff resigning (John Harris) the danger is even greater that another person might be willing to roll over on him, and on the whole Chicago Machine. If that happens, Barack Obama could be implicated in the dirty dealings, and Rahm Emanuel may be forced to resign as he faces his own questionable relationship to the disgraced Illinois Governor.

He is a scholar of history, especially American history, and the United States Constitution. She has finished her undergrad studies, graduating with a BA in English and history and will move onto law school this fall where she will specialize in Constitutional Law. Together, Thomas and Marcie form the vanguard of conservative opinion at Hamilton, Madison, and Jay -- a blogging site devoted to advancing the conservative cause by challenging the liberal lies and deceit spread by the media, and espoused by the Left in general. Both are expert debaters, and have beaten many liberals into submission with their collective wit, and unmatched knowledge. The pair is married, and resides in Arizona

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