Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested yesterday morning on corruption charges that are wider and deeper than anything we have seen in the political sphere in some time.
Liberals, whose sole reason of existence is lashing conservatives, will be the ones reminding us that there is a presumption of innocence.
Yet today is not about them. It is not even about Barack Obama. After all, if “Blago” has any evidence on Obama, he will use it to save his own skin. He is not the Vince Foster type, one who will tragically fall on his sword over despair of hurting somebody he respects. Blago is being portrayed as a narcissist. Also, while it only takes one deranged Obama supporter to simply take Blago and kill him, the more realistic scenario is Blago quietly implying he can implicate Obama, and then having his bluff called.
Perhaps he can get an advance on a tell all book, and then disappoint people.
Nevertheless, the Tygrrrr Express takes pride in sitting back and letting stories play out.
There are ways that Blago (typing his last name repeatedly is a royal Chicago pain.) can escape, but they require major lifestyle changes. First, in the spirit of Dr. Seuss and his son Jesse Jackson Jr., I offer a rhyme of condolence for Blago.
No more Morton’s, Ruth Crists’ or Spago…
Time for Illinois prison food, Blago…
No more vacations in Mari Lago…
Surrender your passport Mr. Blago…
Sorry Bloggie. As a blogger, I almost feel bad for a guy named Blago.
Ok, enough of that. Now I know why people detest when Jesse Jackson does it.
Blago once held the same Congressional seat that Dan Rostenkowski and Rahm Emanuel did. Maybe the seat itself is corrupt. I will check with the CEO of Home Depot, or whoever installed the seat. It is leaking, so a plumber might be necessary. Then again, political plumbers are what started this corruption probe.
Perhaps members of the Chicago Department of Water and Power can take the fall, given that something in the water there seems to make people corrupt.
So what can Blago do to survive?
His first option is to immediately announce that he is a homosexual. Much of gay America, when not rampaging and engaging in violence against store owners and others that disagree with them (It is still ironic that they do not support republicans who wage war to spread peace), are spreading hypertolerance.
Hypertolerance does not mean being treated equally. It means that they get special treatment, which includes immunity from prosecution for any and all crimes.
Those who dispute this should examine how former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevy survived.
I personally could care less who he slept with. The fact that he chose a former soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces means he values protection. Some people like guns on their pillows, others want the entire soldier. Jim McGreevey was a corrupt politician who happened to be gay. He then held a tearful press conference announcing that he was gay, and played the gay card to perfection.
He resigned, but why is he not facing a prison term? Some felt that he “suffered enough.” This would be valid except for the fact that he was the sole cause of his own suffering. The media, lazy and boring, lost interest in the story.
The second option for Blago would be more difficult. He needs to become black. Whether this is done surgically, or by some other method I am unaware of, it would work.
William Jefferson had $90,000 stashed in his freezer. This was before the banking crisis that made such an option reasonable. My late Grandfather (rest his soul) found the mattress more appropriate, but may have used the freezer a couple of times. Then again, my grandfather obeyed the law.
William Jefferson is a corrupt politician who happens to be black. Yet apparently even Louisiana has a threshold for bad behavior. Remember, David Duke and Edwin Edwards are from Louisiana.
William Jefferson had his office raided by the FBI. Rather than support this, Nancy Pelosi condemned the raid. For some bizarre reason, Dennis Hastert gave Pelosi cover. Perhaps he wanted to be liked. Then again, Hastert is from Illinois as well. Who knows what is in his closet.
There are plenty of law abiding black Americans, but their persecution throughout history has led them to tolerate bad behavior among their own. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton should both be in prison. Jackson shakes down corporations with threats of boycotts. That is extortion. Sharpton never paid the money to Steven Pagones, and he never was held to the carpet for the riots that led in Jewish deaths.
Mel Reynolds eventually went to jail, only after he was caught in an underage sex scandal. Being a minority is a normally solid defense, but even that is not a defense against violating children.
Barack Obama could be caught smoking crack in a public bathroom without consequences, but even he would not escape punishment if a child was in there with him. Franklin Raines was the CEO of Fannie Mae, and he is going to retire wealthy, and unscathed. So will the black former CEO of Merrill Lynch, who pocketed $180 million dollars while driving the company down.
Yet outside of that extreme, Blago might wish to put on the song “Smooth Criminal,” and then head to the local plastic surgeon for a reverse Michael Jackson.
Speaking of Jackson, normally a democrat can rely on the good will of the black community. However, Jesse Jackson Jr. does not like Blago. Therefore, Blago is done.
He could have a religious conversion, but it would have to be to a protected religion. Judaism and Christianity would be out of the question. The only options would be Islam, or if he really wanted to be creative, Atheism. Religious zeal caused his illness, but now he no longer believes. The only thing more powerful than discovering religion is publicly turning against it.
If changing his sexual orientation or race is too difficult, and the religion angle is a no go, then the cliched and overused “illness” defense is Blago’s only salvation. This can come in various forms, all involving rehab.
Blago can enter alcohol rehab, and claim that his tape recorded corrupt tirades were the rantings of a drunken man who just needs love, help, and support.
While alcohol rehab is a conventional approach, drug rehab is more powerful. After all, if it was not for drug rehab stories, Hollywood celebrities would eventually be forced to get real jobs.
Mental illness is an option. Physical illness is not heart wrenching enough, unless it is AIDS. Cancer does not move enough heartstrings, and heart disease usually results in the victim being blamed. Former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker was dying, but that did not stop him for being convicted of corruption involving his predecessor.
Mental illness is difficult to understand. There are so many shades of gray. I have a relative who does viciously bad things. My family insists that they can’t help the way they are. They are just sick.
No. They are faking. It is an insult to people with real mental illnesses that we give an ounce of credence to people who are”b*tchy,” spiteful, and just downright mean.
Yet even allegations of mental illness give many people cocoons of protection because separating the fakers from the real victims is sometimes difficult. Therefore, in the same way it is better to free a guilty person than imprison an innocent one, giving a faker a pass is better than doubting a genuinely ill person.
The key to dodging a scandal is to make it boring. That means that something else must be more interesting.
With Bill Clinton, escaping Whitewater was easy because it was boring. Complicated financial transactions bore the media, and when the media, lazy slobs that they are, get bored, a scandal dies. Sex scandals keep them wide awake. The Lewinsky scandal was “just sex.” Democrats repeated this over and over again, and republican attempts to portray the issue as one of “the rule of law,” fell apart when Larry Flynt began exposing adulterous republicans. The situations were not analogous, but perception became reality.
Eliot Spitzer was not caught in a sex scandal. He was caught in a financial scandal involving money laundering and interstate commerce violations. Sex was the least relevant part of the scandal. His extortion of corporations was no different than that of Jesse Jackson. Yet in the same way sex scandals saved Clinton and Jackson, Spitzer is already repairing his image and mounting his comeback.
John Corzine was caught driving down the highway at a speed of 91MPH. He also had a former mistress on his payroll. Yet Corzine was hurt in the crash, and therefore had “suffered enough.” A guilty white socialist fighting to recover his health is almost as heartwarming as a Hollywood meth addict conquering addiction.
Blago needs to immediately discover some mistresses. He needs to possess pornography on his laptop, provided it is not kiddie porn.
He needs to drop the swagger and embrace the Swaggart, that being Pastor Jimmy. Once he is done crying about how he “has sinned,” all will be forgiven.
Right now people look at Blago and see a man that tried to sell a Senate seat. Granted that does not mean as much as 100 years ago when the Senate was respected, but it is still valuable to some. Besides, trying to extort money from a hospital is bad, especially a pediatric one. Again, scandals involving children are much tougher to defend.
Mike Tyson got to box again. Marv Albert is a well paid sports announcer. Americans are a forgiving people.
Blago is not a conservative republican. The media really do not want to destroy him. They want this to go away, because if it does reach Rahm Emanuel or Barack Obama, the media wants no part of it.
Blago has a ton of options. All he needs to do is figure out which approach he should embrace.
In the mean time, he could always pacify the black community onto his side by engaging in a bizarre move. He could show solidarity by appointing William Jefferson to the open Illinois Senate seat.
It would be a shining move of unity. After all, Mr. Jefferson has not been convicted of any crimes. Besides, any community run by Richard Daley would heartily embrace Mr. Jefferson. He would fit right in.
Of course there would be a scandal that smacks of quid pro quo when Blago runs for the Louisiana Congressional seat in 2010, but try proving it. Unless Blago and Jefferson are caught having sex with each other, the scandals will wither on the vine, hiding in plain view for all to see and few to care.
eric
Good work here as usual Eric, and you dredge up some old bad names from the Illinois political 10 million gallon septic tank alright, Mel “I won the lotto” Reynolds (what he famously said when his young sex victim was laid at his feet per se) Old Rosty Rostenkowski who’s stinking seat shared with Emmanuel and O bama, O bama, O bama (sorry, started catching ObaMoron fever there for a second) must be infected indeed because now Rosty’s chairman successor in Washington, Charlie Bahama Mama Rangel is having his way with the Ways and Means committee just like Rosty did.
All these guys have that obvious common thread that sews them all together like smelly, dirt covered, toe jamb residue filled socks, and like you said the media wants nothing to do with taking down Democrats, but they can’t ignore the stink around Obama anymore and one thing Fitz did say yesterday was that “THIS” indictment had nothing to do with O Bama -Obama (oops sorry, cant help it) but left open the rather large possibility that his and others’ three years of investigating Blago & Friends have some Obama stink on em, and I think his press conference and Two Fer Indictment Tuesday like Blago had yesterday is just a little ways up the road, a day late and a dollar short to save the country from Obamagate unfortunately.
But we’ll survive it somehow I hopes and pray. Thanks and have a good day say Ray ( I can mock Jesse Green Eggs and Ham too can’t I?).
You pretty much covered it, Eric. In fact, I think you did a better job of covering it than what I saw on Fox News yesterday!
Sheesh! Is anyone in Chicago politics actually honest, or does one have to be a crook to get anywhere in politics in Chicago? I’m not being sarcastic, because I’d really like to know. I realize there have been many crooked politicians from elsewhere, but Chicago seems to churn more of them out than anywhere else. You seem to believe that Blagojevich will get off. It wouldn’t surprise me either, but I truly hope he doesn’t, and that he never makes a comeback!
[…] https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2008/12/how-illinois-governor-rod-blagojevich-can-survive/ […]
Obama says hes had no contact with Blagojevich, is saddened and sobered, bla bla..
B.O.
“I’ll answer this one question. I had no contact with the governor or his office and so I/we were not aware of what was happening. As I said it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment.”
I fund it hard to believe that Obama has not had one discussion with Rodney over who his replacement should be.
You mean to tell me that theres not a transition process that should allow the replacement to have a clue about the goings on in an office hes about to take over ?
That Obama never once suggested to Rodney that his replacement have certain qualities and attributes ?
Obama may well have nothing to do with anything criminal, but as usual his statements are vague and empty of any real conviction.
Hes had “NO” contact with Blagojevich ?
Really ? C.mon.
The governor of the state he once represented ????
Give me a break.
The least he could of done was throw in the word “recently” or something that adds a little more reality to his comment.
I personally think that if Blago wanted to trim this down as much as possible the Obama implication/involvement angle might be his best play.
Ant threat of an implication or connection from Blago and Obama could well get on the horn to the US attorney and tell him shuit this guy up.
So far the liberals I’ve heard say that theres no chance Obama was connected in any way because Blago is on tape cursing Obama, calling him a motherf***** and to get f’d, so they are obviously not good friends.
Well, that doesnt really mean anything when you can hear him on tape using the same language and references to those that hes presently or wishing to doing business with.
Its a long shot for Blago to try the Obama angle, but I think its his best shot at getting some help in making a lot of this go away.
The again, the charges weve heard are supposedly just the tip of the ice berg and if they do amount to enough I think an abused childhood may be the only other way out.
I think everyone is tired of the rehab shtick.
Then again, maybe he throw everything together and say he was abused as a child and has secretly been a gay black athiest alcoholic whos been addicted to drugs, sex and himself his whole life
Democrats who attacked Gov Sarah Palin…..what’s that now, no purity test for Obama?
http://bellalu0.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/blagobama/
Yep, here it is.
I knew there was no way that Obama sayibg he hadnt been talkin to Blogjecich could be true.
“But with a little research, ABCNews exposed the Obama-Blagojevich senate seat discussions. Appearing on Fox News Chicago on November 23rd, senior adviser David Axelrod made what was a non-controversial statement at the time which now directly refutes Obama:
————————————————————————————-
“I know he’s [Obama] talked to the governor [about the Senate vacancy] and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them.”
————————————————————————————-
And that makes sense. Given that Blagojevich was (allegedly) tape recorded admitting that he attempted to trade the appointment for an Obama cabinet position (reportedly Secretary of Health and Human Services), Obama’s denial cannot possibly be true. And it would be irresponsible for Obama not to make his opinion known. In fact, Obama insider Valerie Jarrett is thought to be one of the leading candidates.
Sorry, heres my link to the above info.
http://www.rightpundits.com/?p=2534#comments
Yet another partisan corruption rant. Bla bla bla. And this from a guy who supports perhaps the most corrupt administration in American history. Amazing.
JMJ
Really ?
I didnt know Eric was a Clinton fan.
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Like I said, theres more.
RECORDS SET
– The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
– Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates*
– Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
– Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
– Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
– First president sued for sexual harassment.
– Second president accused of rape**
– First first lady to come under criminal investigation
– Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
– First president to establish a legal defense fund.
– First president to be held in contempt of court
– Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
– Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
– First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court
* According to our best information, 40 government officials were indicted or convicted in the wake of Watergate. A reader computes that there was a total of 31 Reagan era convictions, including 14 because of Iran-Contra and 16 in the Department of Housing & Urban Development scandal. 47 individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine were convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes with 33 of these occurring during the Clinton administration itself. There were in addition 61 indictments or misdemeanor charges. 14 persons were imprisoned. A key difference between the Clinton story and earlier ones was the number of criminals with whom he was associated before entering the White House.
Using a far looser standard that included resignations, David R. Simon and D. Stanley Eitzen in Elite Deviance, say that 138 appointees of the Reagan administration either resigned under an ethical cloud or were criminally indicted. Curiously Haynes Johnson uses the same figure but with a different standard in “Sleep-Walking Through History: America in the Reagan Years: “By the end of his term, 138 administration officials had been convicted, had been indicted, or had been the subject of official investigations for official misconduct and/or criminal violations. In terms of number of officials involved, the record of his administration was the worst ever.”
**Selene Walter accused Ronald Reagan of rape 39 years after the alleged assault in the 1950s. No further information is available on this case. The Juanita Broaddrick case involving Bill Clinton was investigated by the congressional impeachment counsel. According to counsel David Shippers those conducting the interview “have assured me that she is the most credible witness that either one of them have ever talked to”
STARR-RAY INVESTIGATION
– Number of Starr-Ray investigation convictions or guilty pleas (including one governor, one associate attorney general and two Clinton business partners): 14
– Number of Clinton Cabinet members who came under criminal investigation: 5
– Number of Reagan cabinet members who came under criminal investigation: 4
– Number of top officials jailed in the Teapot Dome Scandal: 3
CRIME STATS
– Number of individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes: 47
– Number of these convictions during Clinton’s presidency: 33
– Number of indictments/misdemeanor charges: 61
– Number of congressional witnesses who have pleaded the Fifth Amendment, fled the country to avoid testifying, or (in the case of foreign witnesses) refused to be interviewed: 122
SMALTZ INVESTIGATION
– Guilty pleas and convictions obtained by Donald Smaltz in cases involving charges of bribery and fraud against former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy and associated individuals and businesses: 15
– Acquitted or overturned cases (including Espy): 6
– Fines and penalties assessed: $11.5 million
– Amount Tyson Food paid in fines and court costs: $6 million
CAMPAIGN FINANCE INVESTIGATION
– As of June 2000, the Justice Department listed 25 people indicted and 19 convicted because of the 1996 Clinton-Gore fundraising scandals.
– According to the House Committee on Government Reform in September 2000, 79 House and Senate witnesses asserted the Fifth Amendment in the course of investigations into Gore’s last fundraising campaign.
-James Riady entered a plea agreement to pay an $8.5 million fine for campaign finance crimes. This was a record under campaign finance laws.
CLINTON MACHINE CRIMES FOR WHICH CONVICTIONS WERE OBTAINED
Drug trafficking (3), racketeering, extortion, bribery (4), tax evasion, kickbacks, embezzlement (2), fraud (12), conspiracy (5), fraudulent loans, illegal gifts (1), illegal campaign contributions (5), money laundering (6), perjury, obstruction of justice.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
– Number of independent counsel inquiries since the 1978 law was passed: 19
– Number that have produced indictments: 7
– Number that produced more convictions than the Starr investigation: 1
– Median length of investigations that led to convictions: 44 months
– Length of Starr-Ray investigation: 69 months.
– Total cost of the Starr investigation (3/00) $52 million
– Total cost of the Iran-Contra investigation: $48.5 million
– Total cost to taxpayers of the Madison Guarantee failure: $73 million
OTHER MATTERS INVESTIGATED BY SPECIAL PROSECUTORS AND CONGRESS, OR REPORTED IN THE MEDIA
Bank and mail fraud, violations of campaign finance laws, illegal foreign campaign funding, improper exports of sensitive technology, physical violence and threats of violence, solicitation of perjury, intimidation of witnesses, bribery of witnesses, attempted intimidation of prosecutors, perjury before congressional committees, lying in statements to federal investigators and regulatory officials, flight of witnesses, obstruction of justice, bribery of cabinet members, real estate fraud, tax fraud, drug trafficking, failure to investigate drug trafficking, bribery of state officials, use of state police for personal purposes, exchange of promotions or benefits for sexual favors, using state police to provide false court testimony, laundering of drug money through a state agency, false reports by medical examiners and others investigating suspicious deaths, the firing of the RTC and FBI director when these agencies were investigating Clinton and his associates, failure to conduct autopsies in suspicious deaths, providing jobs in return for silence by witnesses, drug abuse, improper acquisition and use of 900 FBI files, improper futures trading, murder, sexual abuse of employees, false testimony before a federal judge, shredding of documents, withholding and concealment of subpoenaed documents, fabricated charges against (and improper firing of) White House employees, inviting drug traffickers, foreign agents and participants in organized crime to the White House.
ARKANSAS ALTZHEIMER’S
Number of times that Clinton figures who testified in court or before Congress said that they didn’t remember, didn’t know, or something similar.
Bill Kennedy 116
Harold Ickes 148
Ricki Seidman 160
Bruce Lindsey 161
Bill Burton 191
Mark Gearan 221
Mack McLarty 233
Neil Egglseston 250
Hillary Clinton 250
John Podesta 264
Jennifer O’Connor 343
Dwight Holton 348
Patsy Thomasson 420
Jeff Eller 697
FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES: In the portions of President Clinton’s Jan. 17 deposition that have been made public in the Paula Jones case, his memory failed him 267 times. This is a list of his answers and how many times he gave each one.
I don’t remember – 71
I don’t know – 62
I’m not sure – 17
I have no idea – 10
I don’t believe so – 9
I don’t recall – 8
I don’t think so – 8
I don’t have any specific recollection – 6
I have no recollection – 4
Not to my knowledge – 4
I just don’t remember – 4
I don’t believe – 4
I have no specific recollection – 3
I might have – 3
I don’t have any recollection of that – 2 I don’t have a specific memory – 2
I don’t have any memory of that – 2
I just can’t say – 2
I have no direct knowledge of that – 2
I don’t have any idea – 2
Not that I recall – 2
I don’t believe I did – 2
I can’t remember – 2
I can’t say – 2
I do not remember doing so – 2
Not that I remember – 2
I’m not aware – 1
I honestly don’t know – 1
I don’t believe that I did – 1
I’m fairly sure – 1
I have no other recollection – 1
I’m not positive – 1
I certainly don’t think so – 1
I don’t really remember – 1
I would have no way of remembering that – 1
That’s what I believe happened – 1
To my knowledge, no – 1
To the best of my knowledge – 1
To the best of my memory – 1
I honestly don’t recall – 1
I honestly don’t remember – 1
That’s all I know – 1
I don’t have an independent recollection of that – 1
I don’t actually have an independent memory of that – 1
As far as I know – 1
I don’t believe I ever did that – 1
That’s all I know about that – 1
I’m just not sure – 1
Nothing that I remember – 1
I simply don’t know – 1
I would have no idea – 1
I don’t know anything about that – 1
I don’t have any direct knowledge of that – 1
I just don’t know – 1
I really don’t know – 1
I can’t deny that, I just — I have no memory of that at all – 1
ARKANSAS SUDDEN DEATH SYNDROME
– Number of persons in the Clinton machine orbit who are alleged to have committed suicide: 9
– Number known to have been murdered: 12
– Number who died in plane crashes: 6
– Number who died in single car automobile accidents: 3
– Number of one-person sking fatalities: 1
– Number of key witnesses who have died of heart attacks while in federal custody under questionable circumstances: 1
– Number of unexplained deaths: 4
– Number of northern Mafia killings during peak years of 1968-78: 30
– Number of Dixie Mafia killings during same period: 156
It is important in considering these fatal incidents to bear in mind the following:
The fact that anomalies need to be investigated further carries no presumption of how a death actually occurred, only that there remain serious questions that require answers.
The possibility of foul play must be taken seriously in a major criminal conspiracy in which over two score individuals and firms have been convicted and over 100 witnesses have pled the Fifth Amendment or fled the country.
If foul play did occur in any of these cases, that fact by itself does not carry the presumption that the the Clinton machine was involved. Given the footprints of organized crime, drug trade, foreign espionage, and intelligence agencies on the trail of the Clinton story, such a assumption would not be warranted. It is also well to keep in mind the classic prohibition era movie in which the corrupt poitician’s job was not to engage in illegal acts but to avoid noticing them.
ARKANSAS MONEY MANAGEMENT
– Amount of an alleged electronic transfer from the Arkansas Development Financial Authority to a bank in the Cayman Islands during 1980s: $50 million
– Grand Cayman’s population: 18,000
– Number of commercial banks: 570
– Number of bank regulators: 1
– Amount Arkansas state pension fund invested in high-risk repos in the mid-80s in one purchase in April 1985: $52 million through the Worthen Bank.
– Number of days thereafter that the state’s brokerage firm went belly up: 3
– Amount Arkansas pension fund dropped overnight as a result: 15%
– Percent of Worthen bank that Mochtar Riady bought over the next four months to bail out the bank and the then governor, Bill Clinton: 40%.
– Percent of purchasers from the Clintons and McDougals of resort lots who lost the land because of the sleazy financing provisions: over 50%
THE MEDIA
– Number of journalists covering Whitewater who have been fired, transferred off the beat, resigned or otherwise gotten into trouble because of their work on the scandals (Doug Frantz, Jim Wooten, Richard Behar, Christopher Ruddy, Michael Isikoff, David Eisenstadt, Yinh Chan, Jonathan Broder, James R. Norman, Zoh Hieronimus): 10
FRIENDS OF BILL
– Number of times John Huang took the 5th Amendment in answer to questions during a Judicial Watch deposition: 1,000
– Visits made to the White House by investigation subjects Johnny Chung, James Riady, John Huang, and Charlie Trie. 160
– Number of campaign contributors who got overnights at the White House in the two years before the 1996 election: 577
– Number of members of Thomas Boggs’s law firm who have held top positions in the Clinton administration. 18
– Number of times John Huang was briefed by CIA: 37
– Number of calls Huang made from Commerce Department to Lippo banks: 261
– Number of intelligence reports Huang read while at Commerce Department: 500
UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA
– FBI files misappropriated by the White House: c. 900
– Estimated number of witnesses quoted in FBI files misappropriated by the White House: 18,000
– Number of witnesses who developed medical problems at critical points in Clinton scandals investigation (Tucker, Hale, both McDougals, Lindsey): 5
– Problem areas listed in a memo by Clinton’s own lawyer in preparation for the president’s defense: 40
– Number of witnesses and critics of Clinton subjected to IRS audit: 45
– Number of names placed in a White House secret database without the knowledge of those named: c. 200,000
– Number of women involved with Clinton who claim to have been physically threatened (Sally Perdue, Gennifer Flowers, Kathleen Willey, Linda Tripp, Elizabeth Ward Gracen, Juantia Broaddrick): 6
– Number of men involved in the Clinton scandals who have been beaten up or claimed to have been intimidated: 10
THE HIDDEN ELECTION
USA Today calls it “the hidden election,” in which nearly 7,000 state legislative seats are decided with only minimal media and public attention. But there was an important national story here: evidence of the disaster that Bill Clinton was for the Democratic Party. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Democrats held a 1,542 seat lead in the state bodies in 1990. As of 1998 that lead had shrunk to 288. That’s a loss of over 1,200 state legislative seats, nearly all of them under Clinton. Across the US, the Democrats controled only 65 more state senate seats than the Republicans.
Further, in 1992, the Democrats controlled 17 more state legislatures than the Republicans. After 1998, the Republicans controlled one more than the Democrats. Not only was this a loss of 9 legislatures under Clinton, but it was the first time since 1954 that the GOP had controlled more state legislatures than the Democrats (they tied in 1968).
Here’s what happened to the Democrats under Clinton, based on our latest figures:
– GOP seats gained in House since Clinton became president: 45
– GOP seats gained in Senate since Clinton became president: 7
– GOP governorships gained since Clinton became president: 11
– GOP state legislative seats gained since Clinton became president: 1,254
as of 1998
– State legislatures taken over by GOP since Clinton became president: 9
– Democrat officeholders who have become Republicans since Clinton became
president: 439 as of 1998
– Republican officeholders who have become Democrats since Clinton became president: 3
THE CLINTON LEGACY: LONELY VOICES
Here are some of the all too rare public officials, reporters, and others who spoke truth to the dismally corrupt power of Bill and Hill Clinton’s political machine — some at risk to their careers, others at risk to their lives. A few points to note:
– Those corporatist media reporters who attempted to report the story often found themselves muzzled; some even lost their jobs. The only major dailies that consistently handled the story well were the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times.
– Nobody on this list has gotten rich and many you may not have even heard of. Taking on the Clintons typically has not been a happy or rewarding experience. At least ten reporters were fired, transferred off their beats, resigned, or otherwise got into trouble because of their work on the scandals.
– Contrary to the popular impression, the politics of those listed ranges from the left to the right, and from the ideological to the independent.
PUBLIC OFFICIALS
MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ was a prosecutor on the staff of Kenneth Starr. His attempts to uncover the truth in the Vincent Foster death case were repeatedly foiled and he was the subject of planted stories undermining his credibility and implying that he was unstable. Rodriguez eventually resigned.
JEAN DUFFEY: Head of a joint federal-county drug task force in Arkansas. Her first instructions from her boss: “Jean, you are not to use the drug task force to investigate any public official.” Duffey’s work, however, led deep into the heart of the Dixie Mafia, including members of the Clinton machine and the investigation of the so-called “train deaths.” Ambrose Evans-Pritchard reports that when she produced a star witness who could testify to Clinton’s involvement with cocaine, the local prosecuting attorney, Dan Harmon issued a subpoena for all the task force records, including “the incriminating files on his own activities. If Duffey had complied it would have exposed 30 witnesses and her confidential informants to violent retributions. She refused.” Harmon issued a warrant for her arrest and friendly cops told her that there was a $50,000 price on her head. She eventually fled to Texas. The once-untouchable Harmon was later convicted of racketeering, extortion and drug dealing.
BILL DUNCAN: An IRS investigator in Arkansas who drafted some 30 federal indictments of Arkansas figures on money laundering and other charges. Clinton biographer Roger Morris quotes a source who reviewed the evidence: “Those indictments were a real slam dunk if there ever was one.” The cases were suppressed, many in the name of “national security.” Duncan was never called to testify. Other IRS agents and state police disavowed Duncan and turned on him. Said one source, “Somebody outside ordered it shut down and the walls went up.”
RUSSELL WELCH: An Arkansas state police detective working with Duncan. Welch developed a 35-volume, 3,000 page archive on drug and money laundering operations at Mena. His investigation was so compromised that a high state police official even let one of the targets of the probe look through the file. At one point, Welch was sprayed in the face with poison, later identified by the Center for Disease Control as anthrax. He would write in his diary, “I feel like I live in Russia, waiting for the secret police to pounce down. A government has gotten out of control. Men find themselves in positions of power and suddenly crimes become legal.” Welch is no longer with the state police.
DAN SMALTZ: Smaltz did an outstanding job investigating and prosecuting charges involving illegal payoffs to Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, yet was treated with disparaging and highly inaccurate reporting by the likes of the David Broder and the NY Times. Espy was acquitted under a law that made it necessary to not only prove that he accepted gratuities but that he did something specific in return. On the other hand, Tyson Foods copped a plea in the same case, paying $6 million in fines and serving four years’ probation. The charge: that Tyson had illegally offered Espy $12,000 in airplane rides, football tickets and other payoffs. In the Espy investigation, Smaltz obtained 15 convictions and collected over $11 million in fines and civil penalties. Offenses for which convictions were obtained included false statements, concealing money from prohibited sources, illegal gratuities, illegal contributions, falsifying records, interstate transportation of stolen property, money laundering, and illegal receipt of USDA subsidies. In addition, Janet Reno blocked Smaltz from pursuing leads aimed at allegations of major drug trafficking in Arkansas and payoffs to the then governor of the state, WJ Clinton. Espy had become Ag secretary only after being flown to Arkansas to get the approval of chicken king Don Tyson.
DAVID SCHIPPERS was House impeachment counsel and a Chicago Democrat. He did a highly creditable job but since he didn’t fit the right-wing conspiracy theory, the Clintonista media downplayed his work. Thus most Americans don’t know that he told Newsmax, “Let me tell you, if we had a chance to put on a case, I would have put live witnesses before the committee. But the House leadership, and I’m not talking about Henry Hyde, they just killed us as far as time was concerned. I begged them to let me take it into this year. Then I screamed for witnesses before the Senate. But there was nothing anybody could do to get those Senators to show any courage. They told us essentially, you’re not going to get 67 votes so why are you wasting our time.” Schippers also said that while a number of representatives had looked at additional evidence kept under seal in a nearby House building, not a single senator did.
JOHN CLARKE: When Patrick Knowlton stopped to relieve himself in Ft. Marcy Park 70 minutes before the discovery of Vince Foster’s body, he saw things that got him into deep trouble. His interview statements were falsified and prior to testifying he claims he was overtly harassed by more than a score of men in a classic witness intimidation technique. In some cases there were witnesses. John Clarke was his dogged lawyer in the witness intimidation case that was largely ignored by the media, even when the three-judge panel overseeing the Starr investigation permitted Knowlton to append a 20 page addendum to the Starr Report.
OTHER
THE ARKANSAS COMMITTEE: What would later be known as the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy actually began on the left – as a group of progressive students at the University of Arkansas had formed the Arkansas Committee to look into Mena, drugs, money laundering, and Arkansas politics. This committee was the source of some of the important early Clinton stories including those published in the Progressive Review.
CLINTON ADMINISTRATION SCANDALS E-LIST: Moderated by Ray Heizer, this list was subject to all the idiosyncrasies of Internet bulletin boards, but nonetheless proved invaluable to researchers and journalists.
JOURNALISTS
JERRY SEPER of the Washington Times was far and away the best beat reporter of the story, handling it week after week in the best tradition of investigative journalism. If other reporters had followed Seper’s lead, the history of the Clintons’ machine might have been quite different.
AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD of the London Telegraph did a remarkable job of digging into some of the seamiest tales from Arkansas and the Clinton past. Other early arrivals on the scene were Alexander Cockburn and Jeff Gerth.
CHRISTOPHER RUDDY, among other fine reports on the Clinton scandals, did the best job laying out the facts in the Vince Foster death case.
ROGER MORRIS AND SALLY DENTON wrote a major expose of events at Mena, but at the last moment the Washington Post’s brass ordered the story killed. It was published by Penthouse and later included in Morris’ “Partners in Power,” the best biography of the Clintons.
OTHERS who helped get parts of the story out included reporters Philip Weiss, Carl Limbacher, Wes Phelan, David Bresnahan, William Sammon, Liza Myers, Mara Leveritt, Matt Drudge, Jim Ridgeway, Nat Hentoff, Michael Isikoff, Christopher Hitchens and Michael Kelly. Also independent investigator Hugh Sprunt and former White House FBI agent Gary Aldrich.
SAM SMITH of the Progressive Review wrote the first book (Shadows of Hope, University of Indiana Press, 1994) deconstructing the Clinton myth. The Review provided extensive coverage of the topic.
————————————————————————————–
I would put my money on Clintons reign being the most corrupt.
Not “Perhaps” as you say, but “actually”
And please, spare me the illegal war, Halliburton,wire tapping, guantanamo detainees constitutional rights shpeel.
In 8 years all the left has on Bush is a bunch of hyperbolic derainged opinions and conspiracy theories.
I myself would like to see him brought up on dereliction of duty when it comes to not doing enough about Osama.
Passing on opportunities to kill him or bring him in, his pi$$ a$$ little pot shots he took at him
That was , how do you say …?
“A complete and utter failure”
The worst part about all this is that Obama has recruited a cabinet where you’ve got a majority of people who operated under Clinton and are either loyal to him or Hillary.
Throw in a self proclaimed leader whos from the most politically corrupt state in our country with associations and connections to some of the nastiest people in our country and oooooooh boy !
Its going to be a rollercoaster 4 years man !!!
Wow. What a waste of blog space. What it has to do with Bush is beyond me, but… at least Clinton didn’t leave the country on the verge of depression, at least Clinton didn’t start an unneccessary war for profits and oil, at least Clinton left the country in surplus tather than historically high deficit, at least Cliton was popular here and around the world…
I’ll take the Clinton administration’s petty crimes over this administration’s disasterous treason any day.
JMJ
“What it has to do with Bush is beyond me, but… ”
Look, I dont buy into this crap that both parties are as corrupt as each other. I clearly believe and have seen mounting evidence that libs/dems are more corrupt. So, if you’re going to label the Bush administration as “perhaps the most corrupt in Americas history I will simply point out with credibilty how incredibly wrong you are.
“at least Clinton didn’t leave the country on the verge of depression,”
yea, he was only partially responsible for it happening.
“at least Clinton didn’t start an unneccessary war for profits and oil,”
Unnecessary is subjective and a matter of opinion, “illegal” hasnt cut it so far either, so you can toss that one.
What oil ?
Sure, it takes products to fight a war, from that comes profits.
Brilliant deduction.
“Clinton left the country in surplus tather than historically high deficit, at least Cliton was popular here and around the worl”
Yea well, when you shrink the military and spend 8 years on the cheap not going after your enemies its easy to save money.
Had he done what needed to be done, which is being done by Bush, he would of had no surplus.
Its easy to stash cash when you dont tend to your responsibilities.
“I’ll take the Clinton administration’s petty crimes over this administration’s disasterous treason any day.”
Smile, Obama gave you one, its already to go on the 20th
I challenge you to find a list on Bush that is half as condemning.
My list is a list of facts and actual events.
So dont give me a list on Bush that consists of moonbat conspiracy theories and accusations that hold no water.
Looks like the Obama cabinet, libs and gang are already starting the term off with a bang.
Yuk yuk, he hasnt even been sworn in yet and already the craps hittin the fan.
Hes already been caught in a lie about his conversations with Blagojevich that didnt exist over his old seat…
If anything proves that libs are more corrupt, at this rate, it’ll be the next four years.
:-)
My take on this is that there are two issues:
1. Blagojevich’s attempt to trade an ambassadorship for a senate/cabinet appointment in the Obama administration.
2. The attempt to sell the Senate seat after #1 had broken down.
Issue 1 is certainly unethical, but it looks more like sleazy political horse-trading than actual corruption. Issue 2 is the only clear-cut illegality – though a clever lawyer could argue that Blagojevich was merely soliciting campaign/charitable contributions rather than donations to his personal account (though I wouldn’t be surprised if they amounted to the same thing). Unsurprisingly, the first issue is getting more coverage than the first because of the possible involvement of Obama.
The interesting thing, which no-one has picked up on yet, are the two lines in the indictment, “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation”, and “advised Rod Blagojevich to be leery of promises for something two years from now”. This implies that some negotiations with Obama had taken place (or at least feelers had been extended). By mapping out a detailed scenario involving the SEIU, the indictment also implies that third parties had also been approached, possibly as intermediaries between Blagojevich and Obama.
One plausible scenario is that Obama was prepared to cut some sort of deal with Blagojevich, but only for the vague promise of a post in the future. Under this plan the appointment would take place in mid-November 2010 after Blagojevich had slunk back into private life, minimising any fallout by dumping it the aftermath of the midterm elections. Blagojevich, being both greedy and sceptical, especially after seeing Obama’s allies passed over for cabinet posts (at least initially), demanded the completely unrealistic idea of an upfront appointment to; the cabinet, an administration job or a non-profit position. This destroyed any prospect of a deal.
Of course, the closest that I have been to Chicago is a week in Independence, Missouri and it is a bit ridiculous for a Brit like myself to try to understand the psychology of machine politics in the Midwest. However, such a scenario might be plausible and certainly it would illustrate the difference between power politics as played by a two-bit hack like Blagojevich, versus the manipulations of someone who has a longer term view, like Obama.
My take on this is that there are two issues:
1. Blagojevich’s attempt to trade an ambassadorship for a senate/cabinet appointment in the Obama administration.
2. The attempt to sell the Senate seat after #1 had broken down.
Issue 1 is certainly unethical, but it looks more like sleazy political horse-trading than actual corruption. Issue 2 is the only clear-cut illegality – though a clever lawyer could argue that Blagojevich was merely soliciting campaign/charitable contributions rather than donations to his personal account (though I wouldn’t be surprised if they amounted to the same thing). Unsurprisingly, the first issue is getting more coverage than the first because of the possible involvement of Obama.
The interesting thing, which no-one has picked up on yet, are the two lines in the indictment, “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation”, and “advised Rod Blagojevich to be leery of promises for something two years from now”. This implies that some negotiations with Obama had taken place (or at least feelers had been extended). By mapping out a detailed scenario involving the SEIU, the indictment also implies that third parties had also been approached, possibly as intermediaries between Blagojevich and Obama.
One plausible scenario is that Obama was prepared to cut some sort of deal with Blagojevich, but only for the vague promise of a post in the future. Under this plan the appointment would take place in mid-November 2010 after Blagojevich had slunk back into private life, minimising any fallout by dumping it the aftermath of the midterm elections. Blagojevich, being both greedy and sceptical, especially after seeing Obama’s allies passed over for cabinet posts (at least initially), demanded the completely unrealistic idea of an upfront appointment to; the cabinet, an administration job or a non-profit position. This destroyed any prospect of a deal.
Of course, the closest that I have been to Chicago is a week in Independence, Missouri and it is a bit ridiculous for a Brit like myself to try to understand the psychology of machine politics in the Midwest. However, such a scenario might be plausible and certainly it would illustrate the difference between power politics as played by a two-bit hack like Blagojevich, versus the manipulations of someone who has a longer term view, like Obama.
The Morni…er, Afternoon Scramble – 12/10/2008…
This one goes out to Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D)…
Katie Favazza wonders what is on Blago’s iPod. He strikes me as a punk rock fan.
Charles Henrickson wishes all the DUmmies a Merry Fitzmas, complete with……
Didn’t Spiro Agnew do the same thing?
JMJ
Micky2,
I was thinking something similar…I did not have contact with that man…reminds me a lot of I did not have sex with that woman. Maybe this is Bill Clinton’s 3rd term. Chicago, Chicago, and all that Jazz…
http://rattlergator.typepad.com/rattlergator/2008/12/chicago-politics-never-fails-to-amaze.html
What’s the big deal here? Blago’s busted. That’s it. Move along. Nothing to see here. Meanwhile, back in What Really Matters Land, 700 billion in TARP funds are being distributed without anyone seeming to know anything about how, to whom, for what, when, anything. And Red State senators are blocking the Auto bailout for the favor of foreign automakers. And, oh yeah, the wars! What ever happened to them? Well, the British today announced the impending end of their Iraqi mission. But nooooo, let’s drone endlessly like bored teenage girls about goofball scaldals and the Clintons! Jeez. No wonder the GOP became irrelevent at record speed.
JMJ
“What’s the big deal here? Blago’s busted. That’s it. Move along.”
Yea well, theres others bro.
I know you guys would love to just move along and pretend it never happened.
He isnt officially busted. No trial yet, there will be other charges filed on connected cohorts, seats need to be filled, money needs to be traced, donation amounts to be determined to be legal or illegal.
It aint over by a long shot buddy.
It ties to the corruption on the left that the right will use as a comparison to boost the image of this “new face” the right is supposed to be putting on.
The thing is that its not your garden variety corruption, this is classic, and its bigger and at levels and magnitudes we havnt seen, probably ever before.
Most folks are educated on these matters have said that this is just the tip of the ice berg.
To top it off everyone is getting tired of Obamas two and three stage answers. He says one thing, two days later elaborates on it a little, then a little more, then Axelrod is found to of said something totally different a couple days earlier.
So hey, dont wish for this to go away anytime soon.
The childrens hospital, Wrigley field and the tribune, who are the candidates ? Rodneys wife…
Theres a lot of work to be done here. A slew of charges stemming from a 5 year investigation are going to keep you guys busy for a while.
If its any consolation it does appear that Obama was backing away from Blagojevich early enough in the game to give him some clearance here and his aids I believe told Blogjevich that they werent paying for anything.
In favor of foriegn auto makers ?
Hardly, just because we dont want to pump a bunch of money into failure and extortion doesnt mean favoring its competition. Where did you pull that out from ?
Yea so iraq doesnt need the Brits anymore, big deal, whats your point ? That they grew weary ? Not !
As a matter of fact everything there is winding down on all fronts.
Of course in a couple months you’ll probably hear Obama taking credit for all the troop reductions and success.
“What ever happened to them? ”
Good news doesnt sell.
” But nooooo, let’s drone endlessly like bored teenage girls about goofball scaldals and the Clintons!”
Look buddy, be careful.
It was you who initiated the goofyness when you brought Bush into this and called his cabinet more corrupt than what we see happening.
Remember ?
By the way Jersey.
I dont appreciate being accused of making something up, or facts when you indeed have no facts to prove I did.
https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2008/12/wwwd-what-would-weezie-do/#comment-11774
Micky, selling seats may be new rather new twist these days, but it’s nothing new in the history of this country. Back in the days when Senators were almost all appointed, bribery and other illegal and unethical schemes for seats was rampant. Same went for bench seats. Being a lot riskier today, it’s less prevalent, as far as anyone knows. What makes Blago so unique is how a lunatic like that ever got so far up in office in the first place. We all know that Illinois has chronic corruption problems, but this is just nuts. The goods new, though, is that he got caught. The system worked. And if more people are involved, and it looks like there are, they’ll get caught too. So, if anything, I’m happy with the way things worked out as should be you. If you expect this to move up, however, rather than sideways and down, you’ll probably be disappointed. It looks like a lot of people, including our president elect, didn’t take this psychotic Blago very seriously and stayed out of his crazy schemes. This should all be wrapped up pretty quickly and quietly. Only the Fox News wierdos will remain hung up on this for any real time to come.
“In favor of foriegn auto makers?”
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the GOP senators who most disfavor the auto bailout happen to come from states that have foreign automaker plants. If you want to think otherwise, fine. By the way, I’ve got a bridge for sale. Interested?
“Yea so iraq doesnt need the Brits anymore, big deal, whats your point?”
Well, you’d think you guys would be whooping up the “success” in Iraq! Where’s the ticker-tape parade? When are the troops and mercenaries coming home? The SOFA, as it stands now, would have us leave in pretty short order. Isn’t that good news? No? Oh. That’s right. You guys want to stay there and keep bleeding our troops and taxpayers forever for profit and oil. It’s amazing. I’ve never seen a war won where the victors refuse to celebrate victory. I guess it won’t really be over until the profiteers say so – and that gets to Bush.
Worst. President. Ever.
As for that study – of course most common criminal inmates are probably going to lean Democrat – they are mostly minorities and working class or poor. On the other hand, the Skinhead gangs probably prefer Republicans. Whatever. I’d bet if you studied white collar felons, the numbers would be reversed. And you can only study those who get caught, all told much less than half of all criminals. All that study proves is that the “Drug War” is really just a “Race and Class War.”
JMJ
http://sarah-palin-2012.blogspot.com/2008/12/7-questions-obama-needs-to-answer.html
I got a few questions of my own like, Who is Vera Baker, and why is she in Martinique, we can start with 7.
Why you say this;
“If you expect this to move up, however, rather than sideways and down, you’ll probably be disappointed. It looks like a lot of people, including our president elect, didn’t take this psychotic Blago very seriously and stayed out of his crazy schemes.
When I already said this;
“If its any consolation it does appear that Obama was backing away from Blagojevich early enough in the game to give him some clearance here and his aids I believe told Blogjevich that they werent paying for anything.”
Just goes to show that you’re either suffering from ADD or up to your usual disengenuous games making up false arguments.
Of course they support the foriegn auto makers.
They’re not the ones asking for money .
DUH???
Iraq was not a war meant to conquer anything, but rather a war of implementation.
So you ticker tape statement was stoooooooooopid.
Troops have been coming home and are on their way home as troop reductions have been consistant for months now.
Pay attention.
History proves Carter was the worst.
Even today we are being told the situation in our economy is in the worst its been since the days of Carter.
And todays situatation has been pretty much chalked up to him and Clintons pushing the CRA.
Bush did not create the housing bubble that started all this.
Of course I’ve proved this and verified it in the past but you’ll continue the same childish tyrade regardless of the facts.
And most criminals “ARE” democrats.
Not “probably”
Voter registration has proved this as per the two sources I provided which is still far more than your usual opinions.
[…] How Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Can Survive | THE TYGRRRR … […]
There’s more here than meets the eye!
When Obama held that press conference and said he’d had no discussions with Blogjevich about his successor, it opened up a can of worms.
ABCNews quickly exposed the Obama-Blagojevich senate seat discussions, through a Fox News interview in Chicago on November 23rd, of Obama’s senior adviser David Axelrod, whose comment at that time was non-controversial, but which, now leaps out as directly refuting what Obama said the other day. Then, an article by an obscure female Chicago reporter, written just the day after the election, claimed that Obama and Blago had a meeting scheduled for the following afternoon, and would be discussing Obama’s successor.
Was that meeting held? What, if anything, is Obama hiding? Stay tuned.
http://www.saccoservices.com