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orichalcum at 03:28pm on 09/12/2008
orichalcum at 03:28pm on 09/12/2008So, Illinois politics is indeed ridiculously corrupt and nepotistic. To give some perspective here, let's muse on the deeds of the last several Illinois governors (not even going back to the corruption of Democrats in the 60's):
Daniel Walker (D): 1973-1977 - Sentenced to 7 years in prison for involvement in the S&L scandal in the 80's.
James Thompson (R) 1980-1991: Passed a law giving himself hiring control over all 60,000 state positions and administering a Republican party litmus text (including oaths of future loyalty) for all positions. Law ultimately struck down ten years later in 1990.
James Edgar (R) 1991-1999 Largest campaign contributor overcharged the state of IL by 20 million dollars; multiple staff convicted in federal court though Edgar acquitted (and apparently fairly decent governor).
George Ryan (R) 1999-2003: Currently in federal prison, having been convicted of charges of racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering and tax fraud. Among other things, he sold truck driving licenses for bribes, resulting in several horrific accidents.
And now we have Blagojevich. I think![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
feir_fireb is right that the bizarre feudalism of the Daleys is partially to blame for all this bipartisan corruption, but it's also a culture that really promotes and rewards blatant bribery. When you think those are the rules of the game, that's the way you play. It's like my various friends in childhood who asserted that "Cheaters' Monopoly" was a standard and legitimate and more fun variant.
The one silver lining in all of this is that it's fairly clear from Fitzgerald's indictment that the Obama transition team wasn't involved at all - they weren't willing to give Blagojevich anything but "f-ing appreciation" in return for him choosing their preferred candidate, which he was indignant about. The amazing thing is how totally stupid Blagojevich seems to have been about this - he knew he was being wiretapped, he knew he was under scrutiny - and yet he talked, under wiretap, about how he could escape all charges by appointing himself to the Senate and then using that as a springboard to _run for President in 2016_.
I guess it will wind up being a bizarre footnote in the political history books that on this day, an official indictment was entered which referred to the "m-r-f-ing President-elect."
Daniel Walker (D): 1973-1977 - Sentenced to 7 years in prison for involvement in the S&L scandal in the 80's.
James Thompson (R) 1980-1991: Passed a law giving himself hiring control over all 60,000 state positions and administering a Republican party litmus text (including oaths of future loyalty) for all positions. Law ultimately struck down ten years later in 1990.
James Edgar (R) 1991-1999 Largest campaign contributor overcharged the state of IL by 20 million dollars; multiple staff convicted in federal court though Edgar acquitted (and apparently fairly decent governor).
George Ryan (R) 1999-2003: Currently in federal prison, having been convicted of charges of racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering and tax fraud. Among other things, he sold truck driving licenses for bribes, resulting in several horrific accidents.
And now we have Blagojevich. I think
feir_fireb is right that the bizarre feudalism of the Daleys is partially to blame for all this bipartisan corruption, but it's also a culture that really promotes and rewards blatant bribery. When you think those are the rules of the game, that's the way you play. It's like my various friends in childhood who asserted that "Cheaters' Monopoly" was a standard and legitimate and more fun variant.The one silver lining in all of this is that it's fairly clear from Fitzgerald's indictment that the Obama transition team wasn't involved at all - they weren't willing to give Blagojevich anything but "f-ing appreciation" in return for him choosing their preferred candidate, which he was indignant about. The amazing thing is how totally stupid Blagojevich seems to have been about this - he knew he was being wiretapped, he knew he was under scrutiny - and yet he talked, under wiretap, about how he could escape all charges by appointing himself to the Senate and then using that as a springboard to _run for President in 2016_.
I guess it will wind up being a bizarre footnote in the political history books that on this day, an official indictment was entered which referred to the "m-r-f-ing President-elect."
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