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Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[quote]A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois' U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:

A substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;

Placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;

Promises of campaign funds – including cash up front; and

A cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.[/quote][quote]Blagojevich said: "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain." He added later that the seat "is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."[/quote]this guy is toast, if not legally, definitely in the elections.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

wow. that's all I can say. wow.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[QUOTE=toasty;685588]wow. that's all I can say. wow.[/QUOTE]

Ditto on the Wow. Watching the press conference now and can't believe all of the stuff this guy is being accused of. I heard Obama's seat for sale to highest bidder, fire the entire newspaper staff of editors at the Tribune, etc.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

hmmm.. labor unions.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

I'm sure this never happens and goes unnoticed with other greedy, powerful politicians.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

I remember when he first got into office, he was doing some pretty progressive things, like dealing with Canada re Rx drugs, etc. and I was pretty excited to see what he'd do. There's been a lot of smoke circling him for a while now so I can't say I'm completely surprised, but I am blown away at how brazen he apparently was. Again, wow.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

if there is one place u dont fuck around with its the post vacated by the presidential elect...

jackass

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

free public transport for the over 65's !! nicely done IMO

but there has been smoke for a long time as toasty said.

There is some room in ex Govenor Ryans cell I think! :)

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

my 'surprise-o-meter' didn't budge.

Corruption is in the goddamn job description.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[quote=toasty;685667]I remember when he first got into office, he was doing some pretty progressive things, like dealing with Canada re Rx drugs, etc. and I was pretty excited to see what he'd do. There's been a lot of smoke circling him for a while now so I can't say I'm completely surprised, but I am blown away at how brazen he apparently was. Again, wow.[/quote]

if you ever expected this douche to do anything good, then you werent familiar at all with the chicago political machine... but then again you expect good things from obama too... how long have i been saying shit about the corruption in il and you kept dismissing me as a right-wingnut... gtfo

[quote=thesightless;685669]if there is one place u dont fuck around with its the post vacated by the presidential elect...

jackass[/quote]

welcome to illinois... home of our pres elect

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

^betting he's going to pull a hillary and move his family to another state.

that is too goddamn close for comfort

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

It would be REALLY REFRESHING to see someone in Barack Obama's camp tipped off the FBI or Fitzgerald about the attempts that G-Rod made to buy a cabinet post!!!

That's just me.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[QUOTE=shosh;685716]if you ever expected this douche to do anything good, then you werent familiar at all with the chicago political machine... but then again you expect good things from obama too... how long have i been saying shit about the corruption in il and you kept dismissing me as a right-wingnut... gtfo

welcome to illinois... home of our pres elect[/QUOTE]

dude, I can see Illinois from my house and do more work in Illinois than I do in Missouri. I am very familiar with the Illinois political machine. I do not, however, see Obama as being cut from that cloth. Hope I'm right.

They actually just read excerpts from Blago's taped phone calls on CNN a bit ago where he is complaining that Obama won't return his calls and that "all I'm gonna get from him is appreciation", not cash, following that up with "Fuck him." Sounds like they were tight... :roll:

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

This is bad news for Obama dude. G-rod aside, Obama is going to be embroiled in this for at least his first year in office. We're talking depositions, potential for perjury, and so forth.

And Obama DID, as it is now being reported, have several conversations w/ Blago regarding who to put into office, according to Axlerod.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/antunesrj/Nelson_haha.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[QUOTE=88Mariner;685802]This is bad news for Obama dude. G-rod aside, Obama is going to be embroiled in this for at least his first year in office. We're talking depositions, potential for perjury, and so forth.

And Obama DID, as it is now being reported, have several conversations w/ Blago regarding who to put into office, according to Axlerod.[/QUOTE]

Well, we'll have to see how it shakes out.

Here's an interesting play-by-play of the scheme leading to Blagojevich's arrest from The Daily Beast -- quick and intriguing read:

[url]http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-12-09/wiretap-fck-obama/[/url]

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

Well, Blago is reportedly heading back into the office today to get back to work. Tell you what, you've got to have a set of stones to pull that off. Might be a tad awkward, I would think.

I understand that you're innocent until proven guilty and all that, but I'm not sure how you put those things he was caught on tape saying in a context that isn't absolutely damning. Truly one of the most offensive instances of abuse of power I've seen in my lifetime. People have resigned in shame for far less, and this guy just strolls back in to the office, business as usual. Unreal.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

everything was explained away yesterday. all pretty straightforward.

until obama said he never talked to G-Rod.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[QUOTE=88Mariner;686043]everything was explained away yesterday. all pretty straightforward.

until obama said he never talked to G-Rod.[/QUOTE]

Well G-Rod pretty much confirmed that, complaining that Obama wasn't returning his calls.

Here's what we know:

1. Blago was pissed at Obama for not playing along or offering anything other than "appreciation" (which could very well have been the result of communications with staff, not Obama himself)
2. There are increasingly strong indications that Obama's Chief of Staff tipped off the Feds

Sounds to me like although Obama was tangentially "involved" in this whole clusterfuck, he was more part of the solution than part of the problem. Am I missing something?

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[quote=toasty;686047] Am I missing something?[/quote]

perspective? perhaps Blago was outed because he wouldn't put in Obama's choice? What else would be the impetus for Rahm? All of this could have been avoided, assuredly, if Obama's choice was used.

Food for thought...

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[QUOTE=88Mariner;686071]perspective? perhaps Blago was outed because he wouldn't put in Obama's choice? What else would be the impetus for Rahm? All of this could have been avoided, assuredly, if Obama's choice was used.

Food for thought...[/QUOTE]

When I first heard about this, my first thought was "please don't let Obama be implicated in this, because it would really be disappointing," so I am not blind to the idea that he might not be squeaky clean. I am close enough to Illinois, both literally and figuratively, to know that Blago is a scumbag and that Illinois politics in general is shady, but I hold Obama to a higher standard. You might not believe this, but if he were on those calls, too, and was OK with what Blago was doing, I'd be calling for his head.

Perhaps Rahm's impetus was that Obama actually wanted to shut this guy down. Remember during the Pennsylvania primaries, Obama refused to dole out "street money" to the local pols?

[QUOTE]The Los Angeles Times: "Flush with payments from well-funded campaigns, the ward leaders and Democratic Party bosses typically spread out the cash in the days before the election, handing $10, $20 and $50 bills to the foot soldiers and loyalists who make up the party's workforce. It is all legal -- but Obama's people are telling the local bosses he won't pay. That sets up a culture clash, pitting a candidate who promises to transform American politics against the realities of a local political system important to his presidential hopes.”

“Obama's posture confounds neighborhood political leaders sympathetic to his cause. They caution that if the senator from Illinois withholds money that gubernatorial, mayoral and presidential candidates have willingly paid out for decades, there could be defections to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. And the Clinton campaign, in contrast, will oblige in forking over the money, these ward leaders predict."

More: "Neither the Clinton nor the Obama campaign would say publicly whether it would comply with Philadelphia's street money customs. But an Obama aide said Thursday that it had never been the campaign's practice to make such payments. Rather, the campaign's focus is to recruit new people drawn to Obama's message, the aide said.” [/QUOTE]

[url]http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/11/877410.aspx[/url]

He ran on a platform of trying to diminish the impact of influence-peddlers, and this would be an example of doing that very thing. For the time being, I'm going to give the guy the benefit of the doubt until there's an actual reason to suspect wrongdoing. What you're suggesting is, as far as I'm aware, nothing more than rank speculation.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

Well do we on here actually believe that Obama isn't a sell out?? You have to be a sell out in order to get the media attention and corporate sponsorship that he received during his campaign. I wouldn't doubt it if this goes all the way back to Obama (which it won't because Obama is a sell out)

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

Not to belabor this point, but why the hell is this guy still in office? Even though he is technically still the governor, he has lost public trust and the ability to govern. Just when you thought George W. Bush was the lamest lame duck ever, along comes Rod Blagojevich. His deputy governor has resigned, he's getting calls from Democrats to resign, and I'm frankly not aware of anyone that thinks that him staying in power is good for anyone. The dude is toast -- why stick around?

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

For the same reason the Sen Stevens and Sen Craig won't resign for their actions. They believe that the US is so corrupt that nobody will kick them out.

Can't you see the trend here?? It is scary to think where that $850 Billion bailout is going then..

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[quote=toasty;686249]Not to belabor this point, but why the hell is this guy still in office? Even though he is technically still the governor, he has lost public trust and the ability to govern. Just when you thought George W. Bush was the lamest lame duck ever, along comes Rod Blagojevich. His deputy governor has resigned, he's getting calls from Democrats to resign, and I'm frankly not aware of anyone that thinks that him staying in power is good for anyone. The dude is toast -- why stick around?[/quote]

and this was BEFORE things broke on monday..... :lol:

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

and of course, he refuses to leave.

[URL]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_re_us/illinois_governor[/URL]

typical behavior of a greedy, shameless cockface. :evil::lol:

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

"Blagojevich, [B][U]whose 52nd birthday was Wednesday,[/U][/B] is charged with conspiracy and solicitation to commit bribery, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and 10 years, respectively."

Ouch!

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

impeachment efforts are now officially underway:

[url]http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/12/illinois-democratic-lawmakers-begin-impeachment-effort-for-gov/#more-32470[/url]

Here's a bigger question -- who would vote to [B]not [/B]impeach the guy? That's a vote that you could be guaranteed to come back and haunt you the next time you're up for reelection.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

According to a Blago spokesman:

[QUOTE]“I don’t even know if he knows about those things [like Barack Obama saying he should resign]. I mean, I think he’s got bigger things to worry about, like the state budget, the economy, things like that. Making sure the state continues to run and not those types of things.”[/QUOTE]

:lol::lol::lol:

via Wonkette's post:[URL="http://wonkette.com/404924/upbeat-positive-hairsuited-moron-blagojevich-forges-ahead#more-404924"] ‘Upbeat,’ ‘Positive’ Hairsuited Moron Blagojevich Forges Ahead[/URL]

Seriously, WTF is this guy doing at his office right now? He has completely lost his ability to govern...

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

sign that guy up for the iraqi information minister slot!

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

[IMG]http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/53290/original.jpg[/IMG]

Spot on IMO. :lol:

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

not only is the guy a total asshole, he's also a fucking idiot. Who talks openly on an telephone line about how he wants cash for a Senate seat? :roll: what a dumb piece of shit...

oh, and as if that wasn't enough this dumbfuck also likes to shake down [B]children's hospitals[/B] for cash.

[URL]http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/09/blagojevich.affidavit/?iref=mpstoryview[/URL]

[quote]On October 8, Blagojevich told a person described only as "Individual A" that he was willing to make $8 million available for Children's Memorial Hospital, but "I want to get [Hospital Executive 1] for 50."

Individual A felt that Blagojevich was talking about a $50,000 campaign contribution from the hospital's chief executive officer and that the $8 million referred to a recent commitment by Blagojevich to secure state funds via "some type of pediatric care reimbursement."

"Intercepted phone conversations between Rod Blagojevich and others indicate that Rod Blagojevich is contemplating rescinding his commitment of state funds to benefit Children's Memorial Hospital because Hospital Executive 1 has not made a recent campaign contribution," the affidavit says.[/quote] can we just give him the death penalty? please?

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

Sounds like he's not going to resign and fight to keep his job. God, I hope so and it gets to be an even bigger mess in Illinois. I hope he starts naming other corrupt politicians too.

Re: Illinois Governor Blagojevich in federal custody

like Obama??