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New York, 6:35 AM
Thu Nov 26
45 posts in the last 24 hours
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I'm getting tired of people trying to make excuses for him. I'm a democrat and I want to see him in stocks in Daly Plaza so that I can throw rotten sauerkraut and used-up CTA cards at him.
12/09/08
There's a lot of smoke so far, but no fire.
12/09/08
I wonder why Blagojevich thought Obama would even consider helping him out, considering that the president-elect is now the most powerful person in the world and Blagojevich is a governor that no one likes.
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somewhere in my high school era livejournal i called him out as such in 2003. you're welcome, peter fitzgerald.
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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."
- from cbs2chicago
Granted, none of that has been proven in court - and I suppose it could be Bush impersonating the guy on the wiretaps or somesuch - but they're talking about a lot more than a little support on an issue.
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I don't think you're being naive. Not saying I'm 100% sure he walks or anything, but...
Bribery convinction are not easily won. Seriously. Watch how this plays out. It's never as simple as they make it sound in the indictment. Juries think the same way you do. Though I believe federal juries tend to be much more tough on corruption defendants than juries in high-corruption states like Ill., NJ, Louisiana. (maybe some lawyers here can say for sure...)
12/09/08
Until there's something where Blog says, "Hire my wife and I'll appoint whomever you want to the Senate," I'll believe this indictment is bullshit.
12/09/08
STOP KIDDING YOURSELF!
12/09/08
So far, the announcement of the indictment is driving the reading of his comments instead of his comments being interrogated to see if they support the indictment.
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This was just over 3 years ago... I was 18 at the time and even more naive than I am now, so I don't know how true any of this is, but I'll just say that these are very similar circumstances.
i'm just saying..........
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eh.
12/09/08
Not unusual. What is unusual in Blagojevich's case is being so blatant about it. There's all kinds of horse trading going on everywhere and at all levels of government.
Vote trading, state board appointments, state contracts, Pac donations, etc. There are lots of ways to do someone a favor. But you have to make sure it doesn't cross the line.
The justice dept. has a hard-on for the blatant quid pro quo. Straight-to-your-bank-account personal enrichment is the original sin. Ted Stevens spent years trading votes for porky Alaska nonsense. What got him fucked up was accepting a free grill and deck furniture.
Blago-whatever was incredibly stupid.
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which is why after that job, I decided I didn't want to go into politics. Especially not in Chicago.
12/09/08
I once covered a federal corruption trial (in Rhode Island, actually). The prosecutors spent most of their time trying to convince the jury that there's a difference between everyday cronyism and taking a bribe.
We're so inured to regular ol' political shenanigans that proving corruption cases is harder than it sounds.
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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.
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