What’s Good For The Gander

Now, I don’t know a lot about local Detroit politics, and, what I know about Chicago and Illinois politics is based upon voluminous reading and distant memory.  But, that being said, in my very humble opinion, if Rod Blagojevich had to resign or be impeached because he had been arrested, but not indicted until much later, Monica Conyers certainly must go, too.  Fair is fair.  However, according to the Detroit Free Press, just because  United States Congressman John’s wife has plead guilty of accepting a bribe, she doesn’t have to resign her seat as President Pro Tem of the City Council unless she feels like it.  And, based on what little I know about the feisty Mrs. Conyers, she’s probably not likely to feel like it any time soon.

Seems the woman who collaborated with her husband to circumvent Michigan’s very practical rules against voting for people who aren’t on the ballot, by promoting a “Vote Uncommitted For Obama” campaign during last year’s Democratic primaries, didn’t consult her husband at all when she played “Let’s Make A Deal” with somebody from Synagro Technologies two times in front of McDonald’s and a rec center in exchange for her vote.  Though she has admitted to the charges, the powers that be, such as they are, in Detroit are not calling for her head en masse, like their Illinois state-level counterparts did for Cabbage Patch Weeble Blagojevich’s full, supple scalp.  In fact, one of the only people who seem to be screaming for her to resign is the former President Pro Tem, then, interim Mayor, (after Kwame Kilpatrick got busted) and now, current Council President, Ken Cockrel, Jr., and, that’s just because he’s still mad she called him “Shrek” on the Council floor last year.  Monica is probably still ticked about the whole thing too, since she got cussed out by an 8th grader on TV for doing it.  Anyway, Cockrel’s stepmother, Councilwoman Sheila, and Councilman Kwame Kenyatta are also lined up to put a foot up Conyers’ behind and send her flying to the curb and under the bus, as the entire Illinois legislature did to Blago, but, former Pistons’ guard, Mayor Dave Bing, is trying to walk back his earlier condemnation based on the fact that the Divine Ms. M got around being indicted by pleading guilty.  Besides, he’s busy.  No, I’m not making this up:

Burris Channels Malcolm

Uh-oh.  The Obacrats, with their shaky grasp on the law, coupled with their pre-school level truculence are going down on the Roland Burris appointment.  Burris, who seems to be a mild-mannered, harmless enough sort, nonetheless, also seems to have the ramrod backbone of any narcissist personally challenged.   None of this matters one whit, however, the bottom line is, Roland Burris is the duly appointed, by the sitting governor, replacement for Barack Obama’s Senate seat.  Period.  And, there’s nothing in the law that says the Obacrats have to like it.

It’s not like they weren’t warned.  Blagojevich made it clear that he was the governor, exercising his duty in making a appointment.  Rep. Bobby Rush helpfully pointed out, that contrary to the misguided wishes of the clueless political allies of Barack Obama, black doesn’t cancel black, whenever you have black people involved, you have a racial element to consider.  And deal with.  Now, Roland Burris is channeling his inner Malcolm X.  In an appearance on Face the Nation, Burris, a relatively savvy politician, had a lot to say, and let it be known that with the inauguration coming up, the president-elect doesn’t need this sort of “distraction,” that contrary to the Obacrats’ earlier stated position, things were now indeed about him, and he planned to be seated.  One of the more interesting statements was the invocation of the spirit of the man whose memory still causes sphincters to clinch and spines to tingle in certain segments of American society:

“Well, don’t you feel you’re being used by someone who is just trying to save his political skin?” Schieffer asked.

“Whatever means necessary,” Burris said, paraphrasing the 1960s radical Malcolm X. “I have nothing to do with the governor’s motives. What we needed was something to be done for the people of Illinois. That was his constitutional duty. That was his responsibility. The Illinois Constitution does not say the governor ‘may’ or the governor ‘might’ or the governor ’should.’ Bob, it says the governor ’shall’ appoint a person to fill the vacancy. That’s what happened.”

Now, the Obacrats who refused to act to nullify the powers invested in re-elected Governor Rod Blagojevich upon the event of his arrest, presumably because an accusation of criminal activity is not enough to empower them to do so, are desperately trying to erase the line in the sand they insisted upon drawing and trying to hide behind.

It didn’t have to be this way, President-elect Barack Obama could have held on to his Senate seat like Vice President-elect Jo(k)e Biden, and Secretary of State-designate, Hillary Clinton held on to theirs.  PUMA sites, among others, including this one, have questioned this particular move since Day One.  Why the rush to distance himself from his own Senate seat?  Are we supposed to believe the Smartest President In the Room didn’t know that the governor of his state was under investigation?  Everybody else did.  Why give him yet another, irresistable opportunity to implicate himself?  Or, was that the point?  And if so, to what end?  Is Obama so high above the kind of “pay-to-play” corruption seemingly so rampant in his home city and state that he need fear no blowback from any possible investigation, or, might he be motivated by a desire to deflect attention from himself by shining the brightest light imaginable on an inconvenient rival?   Had Obama not relinquished the seat, there’s no guarantee Blagojevich would have been arrested before the inauguration, (and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s traditional replacement) if at all, since he had already been under investigation for 5 years without indictment.

Despite all their combined years of political experience, the Obacrats, under their rookie leader, seem to have forgotten one of the basic tenets of politics and life; when you play with fire, you’re gonna get burnt.  Yet, that is precisely what the Obacrats tried to do with the Blagojevich situation, fan the flames ignited by a random spark from their deliberately dropped match, then attempt to juggle the embers.  Too bad the fact that it is a fire of their own making does not render it any more safe.

That something so obviously a no-brainer is being seriously debated by lawmakers is so beyond the pale as to be unfathomable.  If  the Obacrats already had power to nullify Blagojevich in any way, why would they be so adamant about him resigning?  Besides, what on earth about a Blagojevich resignation now would invalidate Roland Burris’ appointment?  And, more importantly, does anybody really want to open the door to allowing the Senate to legally deny Americans employment simply because the person who lawfully hired them has been convicted only in the court of public opinion, without benefit of indictment or trial?

Talk about guilt by association.

And The Wheels On The O-Bus Fall Off

As the wheels on the Barack Obama “Obus”  seem to be improbably blowing out simultaneously, all over the ever-increasing hordes of former sycophants he’s so fond of tossing under it, there’s evidence that a new driver just might be reporting for duty who can get it rolling again.  The Associated Press is reporting that Dianne Feinstein is disappointed enough with the way things have been going to take the wheel and do something about it.   In a rare show of leadership by anybody in the budding Obama administration, Feinstein, reacting to the Obacrat’s indefensibly juvenile actions and positions regarding the appointment of Roland Burris by emabattled Governor Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Obama in the Senate, showed she’s got eggs:

The chairman of the Senate Rules Committee has parted with many of her Democratic colleagues and says that the Senate should seat former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said Tuesday that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, however tainted by corruption charges, has the right to appoint someone to President-elect Barack Obama’s former seat. The Rules Committee decides whether Burris is qualified to serve.

Feinstein said that blocking Burris would have ramifications for other governors’ appointments.

Burris was blocked from assuming his legally appointed seat on ticky-tack procedural issues he plans to fight, by Obacrats miffed about Blagojevich’s legal troubles.  That those troubles have the potential to reach out and bite a number of them in the ass, including the President-elect, has absolutely nothing, nothing, ya hear me? to do with anything!   Harry Reid, the most cluelessly disingenuous buffoon in the bunch, is reportedly captured on one of the same tapes that snagged Blagojevich, dictating to the Governor that 3 black contenders for Obama’s vacant seat not be considered.  The illogical non-logic put forth by Sir Miss A-Lot is that such candidates would have difficulty being elected.  Since the most obvious thing they have in common is race, it seems that Reid is concerned that the people of the only state to send 2 black Senators to Congress are…what, racially tapped out?  Rahm Emanuel, who himself had called Blagojevich before being appointed White House Chief of staff to put forth a candidate, Valerie Jarrett, over Blagojevich’s own reported pick, rival Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, supposedly advanced Reid’s call.  From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Days before Gov. Blagojevich was charged with trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones.

Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sources say the Senate majority leader pushed against Jackson and Davis — both democratic congressmen from Illinois — and against Jones — the Illinois Senate president who is the political godfather of President-elect Barack Obama — because he did not believe the three men were electable. He feared losing the seat to a Republican in a future election.

Emanuel, Jarrett and Obama have all lawyered up and been interviewed in connection with the pay-to-play scandal, possibly due to information gleaned from wiretapped Blagojevich conversations, one of which was played for Emanuel by authorities desirous of jogging his spotty memory.  But the impending clouds of doom hang only over the poofy-haired head of Blagojevich.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Feinstein has also been critical of Obama and the Obacrats in regards to the president-elect’s choice for CIA Director, Leon Panetta…

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who this week begins her tenure as the first female head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she was not consulted on the choice and indicated she might oppose it.

“I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA director,” Feinstein said. “My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.”

…a media-reported unofficial pick Obama is now seeming to be laying the groundwork for backing away from.   The New York Times transcript  of today’s “media availability” (doncha love it?) contains this exchange after a reporter asked him about Panetta:

Obama: Well, as you noted, I haven’t made – haven’t made a formal announcement about my intelligence team.

(cell phone rings)

Obama: That may be him calling now… finding out where it’s at.

Obama: I have the utmost respect for Leon Panetta. I think that he is one of the finest public servants that we have. He brings extraordinary management skills, great political savvy, an impeccable record of integrity.

As chief of staff, he is somebody who – to the president – he’s somebody who obviously was fully versed in international affairs, crisis management, and had to evaluate intelligence consistently on a day-to-day basis.

Having said all that, I have not made an announcement. When we make the announcement, I think what people will see is, is that we are putting together a top-notch intelligence team that is not only going to assure that I get the best possible intelligence unvarnished, that the intelligence community is no longer geared towards telling the president what they think the president wants to hear, but instead are going to be delivering the information that the president needs to make critical decisions to keep the American people safe.

And, thoroughly in keeping with the tendencies of a WestWing-inspired leader of the Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight, who brings a gun to a knife fight to prove that though skinny, he’s tough, and who preens and postures for the sheer adolescent pleasure of being a blowhard playing dress-up, Obama is said to be close to appointing CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon General, for no apparent good reason, which of course, the obviously soon-to-be-renamed Obama News Network is thrilled to talk up:

The Obama transition team approached Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, about becoming U.S. surgeon general, according to sources inside the transition and at CNN.

Gupta was in Chicago, Illinois, in November to meet with President-elect Barack Obama on the matter, sources said.

Gupta has declined comment.

The transition team is impressed with the combination of Gupta’s past government experience, as a White House fellow in 1997 and a special adviser to then-first lady Hillary Clinton, along with his medical career as a neurosurgeon and his communication skills, the transition source said.

Gupta is a member of the staff and faculty of the Department of Neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He regularly performs surgery at Emory University Hospital and at Grady Memorial Hospital, where he serves as associate chief of neurosurgery.

What, Dr. Phil was busy?  Anyway, given that the loony Obacrats face months of litigation surrounding the contested Senate seatings of Al Franken, as well as Burris, and that they find themselves suddenly short a Commerce Secretary appointee, here’s hoping that Big Mama Feinstein can convince the unruly children she works with to shape up and let her or another grownup try driving the bus for once, instead of taking turns joyriding over their friends.

Lock The Doors! Scary Black Man A-Comin’!

Big ol’ scary Roland Burris says he’s the Senator from Illinois so make way.  The Obamacrats say the idea of Burris sullying the sanctity of the Senate is so terrifying,  they’ll do whatever they have to do to keep him out and keep the country safe.  “Hide the women and children, go to the root cellar, get under the desks, run for your lives, for God’s sake, hide!”

Oh please.  For the Democrats in the Senate to say they’ll block the doors to prevent Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s appointed replacement for Barack Obama (the not scary black guy)’s Senate seat, Burris (the scary black guy) from taking office, just because they’re miffed, is just plain silly and pretty durned funny.  So, too, is Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush (a formerly scary black guy)’s insistence on being…well, Bobby Rush, and warning people against “lynching and hanging”  just because they want to bar entrance to the hallowed halls of the Senate by the scary black guy just like George Wallace wanted to keep scary black kids out of school.  But, never you mind, the fun doesn’t stop there, no sireee, Bobbo!  Being scary on command can be a hoot.  I mean, like The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates pointed out, quoting KristenMcQueary, it’s not like Bobby Rush never endorsed a white person over a black one:

He went so far as to compare Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who in 1963 stood in the doorway of a University of Alabama school building to block two black students from entering. Reid and Senate Democrats pledged to refuse any appointee sent by Blagojevich, even Burris, who would be the chamber’s only black member.

Rush’s lecture, however, seems quite two-faced considering he chaired Blair Hull’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign.

Hull is white.

If sending a black senator to Washington is so important now, why didn’t Rush support a black candidate four years ago? Not only was Obama on the Democratic ballot, but Joyce Washington, a black woman and health care executive, was as well.

Never mind that Rush endorsed Obama for president over his good white friends, the Clintons, or that Rush crushed Obama when Obie made an ill-advised bid for Bobby’s Congressional seat, or that Obama’s hit man David Axelrod took Hull down hard on his way to the Senate, it’s a black thing, only summa y’all unnerstan’.  But, hey, let the good times roll on.

And, lest you think Senate Majority Leader Reid doesn’t like black people, not just because of the Wallace-esque door-blocking thing, but also because he tried to block Blagojevich from appointing any other black men, too, pish tosh, put those thoughts aside.  I’m sure he knows there haven’t been a whole lot of black people in the Senate; as Earl Ofari Hutchinson reminds us, it’s always been a “good old boy’s club” and, by golly, everybody just likes it that way!  Nothing personal, move along.  And those black folks agitating on Roland Burris’ behalf?  Misguided malcontents, the whole lot of ‘em.  So what if there are no black Senators, y’all got a black president, how dare you play the race card?

Oh, the delicious irony.  Now it can be revealed just how racially manipulative the Obamacrats have been.  Just because Barack Obama received overwhelming support from black voters, easily deceived sycophants and other fools could be convinced that all black people love and support him alike.  Ha, ha.  What those sycophantic fools choose to ignore is that the illusion of monolithic support is easy to attain if you keep the relevant questions narrow.  In other words, if you ask 1,000 black people how they feel about, oh, health care, you’d probably get answers as varied as if you asked a similar number of white, Asian, short, or stupid people the same thing.  But if you ask them if they’d rather have a black Democratic president or a white Republican one on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, you’d probably be horrified if anybody picked the white guy.

Duh.

Oh, but now, the vilified, but shrewd Blagojevich has flipped the script.  By appointing Burris, and deliberately, in his familiar, yet inimitable “in your face” style, calling bullshit, Blago has forced the Obamacrats to paint themselves into a corner of hell in much the same way they manipulated him into the role of the face of Illinois corruption, hoping to deflect attention from their own systemic culplability.  And, since there’s no easy way out for either side, the yuckfest continues.

The Senate Democrats have no leg to stand on, and will have to abandon their saber rattling bluff.  Blagojevich is most likely guilty as hell, but, under our legal system that doesn’t count, especially since he hasn’t even been indicted for anything, merely arrested pending formal charges.  While that may be enough for the Illinois branch of the Obamacrats to achieve the desired results in their now accelerated, year long, Blagoenemy Madigan Clan led impeachment attempt, it’s hard to see how that would invalidate the Burris appointment.  Would a conviction subsequent to the appointment legally nullify it?

Add the Al Franken coup attempt to the drama and you’ve got Oscar worthy high camp comedy.  Shouting “we won!” while trying to squeak Franken through the Burris-blocked Senate doors could prove to be a tad embarrassing.   I mean, how can you certify Franken, when he hasn’t even really won, and not certify the legally appointed Burris, without looking like a bunch of modern day racist bigots using token black people, like the president-elect and Illinois Secretary of State, to do your quota-maintaining bidding?

Ya can’t.

Advantage Blago/Burris/Rush.

And, once we get the answers to the “why did U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald step in and arrest Blagojevich to prevent a ‘crime-spree,’ when he could have caught at least two high-profile, guilty as hell people redhanded,” and “who are all these new ‘multiple witnesses‘ and what are they and the people on the ‘thousands of intercepted converations‘ saying that’s intersting enough to make Fitzy file a motion seeking an extension,” it might be game, set, match.

The Picture Develops Slowly

Rahm’s in Africa, Barack’s in Hawaii, and the proverbial stuff is about to hit the fan.  According to the Associated Press, the “internal investigation report” into Obama staff involvement in the Rod Blagojevich Senate seat sale scam shows that Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett have been questioned by the US Attorney’s office, and that Emanuel had “one or two” direct conversations with Blagojevich, and did so without Obama’s approval at least once:

The report was released Tuesday as a transition official disclosed that Obama and two of his top aides, Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett, have been interviewed in connection with the federal investigation into Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The transition official, speaking on a condition of anonymity before the report’s public release, also confirmed that Emanuel had been captured on wiretaps taken as part of the investigation.

edit

Emanuel had one or two conversations with Blagojevich and four with Harris on the subject of the Senate seat, according to the review. The report said Obama authorized Emanuel to pass on the names of four people he considered to be highly qualified to take over his seat — Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Illinois Veterans’ Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

“In later telephone conversations, Mr. Emanuel — also with the president-elect’s approval — presented other names of qualified candidates to Mr. Harris including Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Ms. Cheryle Jackson,” the report said. “Mr. Harris did not make any effort to extract a personal benefit for the governor in any of these conversations. There was no discussion of a Cabinet position, of 501c(4), of a private sector position or of any other personal benefit to the governor in exchange for the Senate appointment.”

The report said that earlier, Emanuel recommended Jarrett for the Senate seat without Obama’s knowledge, and Jarrett later accepted a job as a senior White House adviser.

So, now we know, US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office has “interviewed” Obama, Emanuel and Jarrett, and Rahmbo had “multiple conversations” with Blago’s office, but “nobody knows nothin’ ’bout sellin’ no Senate seats.”  Right.  Merry Fitzmas?  We also know that Rahmbo did not come forward of his own accord:

In the meantime, the transition official said, Emanuel was interviewed by federal officials who replayed a wiretapped conversation for him. He then was able to give Craig more details about what he said, and those details were included in the final report, the transition official said. Transition officials discussed the final version with Obama on Monday as he vacationed in Hawaii.

While George Stephanoploulis had previously reported that Emanuel spoke to Blagojevich once, and his staff four times, and let it go at that, the  New York Times had told us there was more to it than that:

Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman selected by Mr. Obama as his White House chief of staff, had a handful of contacts with the governor’s office. At least two other names also are expected to be mentioned in the review, including Michael Strautmanis, a longtime aide to Mr. Obama who once worked for Mr. Blagojevich.

Valerie Jarrett, a close friend to the Obama family who is a co-chairwoman of the transition effort, could also be referred to in the report. Her name was raised as a possible candidate for the Senate seat, but she withdrew from consideration last month and took a position in the White House.

Oh, and who is Michael Strautmanis, you ask?  Wikipedia says:

Michael Strautmanis is an American lawyer. President-Elect Barack Obama announced on December 5, 2008, that Strautmanis will serve as Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison.^[1] He is currently Chief Counsel and the Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs on Obama’s presidential transition team.^[2][3]

Previously Strautmanis served the Clinton administration as Chief of Staff to the general counsel at the United States Agency for International Development and served Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and the American Association for Justice.^[3]

A Chicago, Illinois native,^[3] Strautmanis was educated at the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He started his career as a paralegal in Michelle Obama’s law firm.

Though he seems expendable, since his conversations with Blago obviously occurred before he was named to the staff, he has a longer official relationship with Obama as Senior Adviser for Obama for America and his presidential campaign.  His current boss is either Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor and assistant to the president in charge of intergovernmental relations, or Tina Tchen, or both.  The question remains, why did the New York Times mention his name when Greg Craig’s sketchy memo to the president-elect did not?

We now know more than we did about the whole thing, but the information is coming in at dribs and drabs.  Wonder why?  Hmmmm.  I also wonder why Obama had seemed so sure about what was in the report last week when he didn’t have all the details until he got to Hawaii?  And, did Rahm plan his African vacation before or after he heard himself on tape?

Stay tuned.

RahmBlago’s Woman Problems

Blagojevich spin:  I wanted to appoint Lisa Madigan to Barack Obama’s Senate seat to get her out of my hair, but Team O went ballistic and insisted on Valerie Jarrett.  Rahm Emanuel really wanted Jarrett because he didn’t want her competing with him for the president’s attention in Washington.

Obama spin:  We just wanted a qualified person to fill the seat, who that person would be was entirely up to the governor.  As far as we know, no one on our staff said otherwise.

So, who’s telling the truth?  Truth?  What’s that, you say?  What we know from the press is that Barack Obama’s team seems committed to the “what, who me?” defense; according to ABC, the much bally-hooed internal investigation absolves both Team O and Rahm Emanuel of any impropriety, since Rahm only had a total of 5 perfectly innocent contacts with Blago or his boys.

However, the Washington Times says that the “one” direct contact between Blags and Rahm wasn’t quite as clean as Team O might wish:

Mr. Emanuel did contact the governor’s office about the appointment, and left Mr. Blagojevich with the impression that he was pushing Valerie Jarrett, a close Obama friend, so he wouldn’t have to compete with her in the White House for Mr. Obama’s attention, said a source close to Mr. Blagojevich. The source requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to talk about the governor’s discussions regarding the vacancy.

But, as we discussed yesterday, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown hints in the San Francisco Chronicle that Rahm’s suggestion might have been offered as a counter solution to the one Blago had in mind:

I can’t go into details, but my impression is that the whole mess started because the governor had been considering appointing a political rival, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, to the Senate so she wouldn’t be able to run against him when he went up for re-election in 2010.

So, where are we?  Blago says he had specific plans for the vacant Senate seat; sensible plans considering the enduring enmity between him and all things Madigan, until Rahmbo inserted himself into the process, making “polite” demands with only vague promises of “appreciation” in return.  If that is the case, “fuck that” is a reasonable response.  It’s also plausible, because if Rahmbo was indeed operating outside of Team O’s official purview, or more likely, charged with making it seem as if he were, Rahm would have nothing concrete to offer.  Similarly, Blagojevich would have no incentive to cooperate.

Whatever the motives and machinations involved, we may never know the full extent of Team O’s complicity, given that they don’t have to release any documentation associated with their investigation.  According to Politico:

But for now, a spokeswoman for President-elect Barack Obama said the transition team was not covered by a public information law that Politico cited in requesting copies of Obama staffers’ emails and notes about Blagojevich’s efforts to fill the Senate seat Obama vacated after winning the presidency.

Asked if the team would voluntarily release the records, the spokeswoman, Stephanie Cutter, was non-committal. “Let’s wait and see what we put out after our internal review,” she told Politico. “I don’t even know if there’s any correspondence to be had, so one step at a time.”

As we know from the Camp Obama response to questions of donor fraud, they’re not likely to do anything they don’t have to do.  Besides, Obama’s internal investigation, worthless in the best of circumstances since it’s hardly likely to be impartial, is exponentially worthless-er given their lack of access to any official pertinent information, like, say, oh, maybe, at least 16 other wiretapped conversations and stuff.  From the  Associated Press:

An official familiar with Obama’s internal review said the president-elect’s team wrote their report without having access to transcripts of the FBI’s taped conversations. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to discuss the review publicly.

Looks like Rahm’s headed out the door and under the bus.

BlagoRahmbObamaGate

Though George Stephanopoulis claims that his “confidential sources” claim Rahm Emanuel only spoke to embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich once about President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat and Rahm’s own soon-to-be vacant House seat, and four conversations with Blago’s Chief Of Staff John Harris, which contradicts Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed’s claim of a total of 21 contacts, and the CBS News chacterization of Rahm’s involvement as “bad news” for Obama, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown has a different take, this one supposedly direct from the horse’s mouth.   First George’s story:

Sources tell me that the Obama team’s review of contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will show that Rahm Emanuel had only one phone conversation with Blagojevich.

The contact, described as a “pro-forma” courtesy call, came as Emanuel was named Chief of Staff for Obama.  Most of the discussion concerned Emanuel’s Congressional seat (which had previously been held by Blagojevich), with only a “passing reference” to the Senate vacancy, according to these sources.  No deal for the Senate vacancy was discussed.

edit

The sources add that the report will show Emanuel also had four phone calls with Blagojevich Chief of Staff John Harris.  During those conversations, the Senate seat was discussed.  The pros and cons of various candidates were reviewed, and the sources say that Emanuel repeatedly reminded Harris that Blagojevich should focus on the message the pick would send about the governor and his administration.

Now, heeeeerrrrre’s Willie.  Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Brown says Blago, sensing a sympathetic ear, called him to say there’s more to the story than Team O is allowing to meet our eye:

I can’t go into details, but my impression is that the whole mess started because the governor had been considering appointing a political rival, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, to the Senate so she wouldn’t be able to run against him when he went up for re-election in 2010.

Apparently, Obama’s people weren’t happy about the idea of Madigan coming to Washington, and there were some pretty heated conversations between Blagojevich and Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, which I understand will burn your ears off.

Since I trust Willie a lot more than George, I say, get your popcorn ready and pull up your seatbelt fastened Barcalounger.  Looks like we’re in for a bumpy roller coaster ride.  And remember, I told you so.  Time and time, again.

Rahm’s Hot Line To Hot Rod

Rahm Emanuel is not talking, but, Chicago’s “other paper,” (the nearly bankrupt Tribune being the one mentioned in the recent Blagogate scandal) the Sun-Times, says “oh, yes he did,” talk directly to Gov. Rod Blagojevich about filling Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat with Valerie Jarrett, even though Team O says, “oh, no he di’nt.”

President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a deeper involvement in pressing for a U.S. Senate seat appointment than previously reported, the Sun-Times has learned. Emanuel had direct discussions about the seat with Gov. Blagojevich, who is is accused of trying to auction it to the highest bidder.

Emanuel talked with the governor in the days following the Nov. 4 election and pressed early on for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett to the post, sources with knowledge of the conversations told the Sun-Times. There was no indication from sources that Emanuel brokered a deal, however.

Well, of course Rahmbo didn’t “broker a deal” for Jarrett, she pulled her name from contention after her BFF made it clear he desperately needed her in the White House, right before he officially resigned from the Senate earlier than anybody in history, for no apparent reason.  Sheesh.  The only problem for Rahmbobama is that Blag’s got a big mouth:

But sources with knowledge of the investigation said Blagojevich told his aides about the calls with Emanuel and sometimes gave them directions afterward. Sources said that early on, Emanuel pushed for the appointment of Jarrett to the governor and his staff and asked that it be done by a certain date.

At least some of the conversations between Emanuel and Blagojevich were likely caught on tape, sources said.

“The boss would “appreciate” it if you would do him the favor of giving his Senate seat to his pal Val before the 12th, or this “offer you shouldn’t refuse goes away.  Capice?”

–In a Nov. 10 phone call with advisers, Blagojevich discussed getting a
lucrative labor job in exchange for appointing an unnamed candidate
whom he believed was favored by Obama. In a Nov. 11 conversation,
Blagojevich acknowledged that Obama wanted an unnamed “Senate Candidate
1” for the seat but “they’re not willing to give me anything but
appreciation. [Expletive] them.”

“Blags, da boss is very disappointed.  Remember “da list?”  C’mon, you and me go back a long ways.  Just to show you we’re honorable, reasonable, appreciative guys, ya got til the 15th to do the right thing, or I can’t be responsible for what comes next.”

Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.

Obviously, for Blagojevich “appreciation” was not enough:

Told by two other advisers he has to “suck it up” for two years, the FBI says, Blagojevich was heard complaining that he has to give this “motherf– [the president-elect] his senator. F– him. For nothing? F– him.”

The affidavit said that Blagojevich was interested in a high-paying position with Change to Win, an organization affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and that he suggested in a conversation with a SEIU official on Nov. 12 that Obama wanted other people to be considered for the Senate seat besides Senate Candidate 1. Previous phone conversations indicated that Blagojevich knew the SEIU official “was an emissary to discuss Senate Candidate 1’s interest in the Senate seat,” the affidavit said.

Time passes, Jarrett withdraws, is appointed to some made-up White House lackey position, Obie leaves the seat wide open for Blago to do as he will and…the waiting game goes on.  Until:

On December 4, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke to Advisor B and informed Advisor B that he was giving Senate Candidate 5 greater consideration for the Senate seat because, among other reasons, if ROD BLAGOJEVICH ran for re-election Senate Candidate 5 would “raise money” for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, although ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he might “get some (money) up front, maybe” from Senate Candidate 5 to insure Senate Candidate 5 kept his promise about raising money for ROD BLAGOJEVICH. (In a recorded conversation on October 31, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH described an earlier approach by an associate of Senate Candidate Five as follows: “We were approached ‘pay to play.’ That, you know, he’d raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.”)”

Good memory, Blago. Good thing that October 31 luncheon you had with 5’s homeys came back to you when it did and you could have him set up  that fundraiser that lead  to that lunch that lead to the Feebies calling Five to warn him that he had lead to the arrest that brought down the house that Rod built:

Blagojevich and the congressman met to discuss the Senate seat on Monday, one day before federal prosecutors arrested Blagojevich and charged him with trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. As part of the charges, prosecutors alleged that Blagojevich was considering awarding the seat to a politician identified as “Senate Candidate 5″ because emissaries for that candidate were promising to raise as much as $1.5 million for Blagojevich’s campaign fund.

Coulda happened like that.  But even if it did, Rahm didn’t do anything “inappropriate” on behalf of his boss, did he?  And Obie didn’t talk to Blago directly, did he?  So, even if my imagination is firing on all cylinders, the only guilty party in all this is crazy, greedy, corrupt slimeball, Rod Blagojevich, right?   What’s the difference between “entrapment” and “set-up,” again?

The Saga Of Blagobama

There’s Chicago politics, and there’s Illinois politics; sometimes they overlap, sometimes they clash.  Players who support each other locally gleefully sell each other down the river statewise and vice versa.  You’ve heard of inmates running the asylum, imagine toddlers running the university and you have a pretty good idea of the political landscape in the Land of Lincoln.

Everybody hates everybody who can’t help them, until they can.  Then, they support them fully, until they don’t.  State Senator Dick Durbin supposedly joked, when asked about the long-standing feud between House Speaker, Mike Madigan (father of Attorney General Lisa) and Governor Rod Blagojevich, that it would be wiser to hang out in the Middle east than deal with their mess:

Illinois senior Senator Dick Durbin said in 2008 that he receives many constituent complaints about the dispute between Blagojevich and Madigan, with letter writers wanting him to step in to negotiate.^[6] Durbin said the subject is also often talked about in the United States Congress in Washington, DC among the Illinois congressional delegation.^[6] However, Durbin joked that he’d rather go to Baghdad to mediate than Springfield.^[6]

That Madigan and Blagojevich are enemies is no secret, nor is the fact that Madigan has been planning to solicit the Supreme Court to have Blaggo removed since the summer, circulating an “impeachment memo” that House Impeachment Committee Chair, Obama supporter and neighbor, Barbara Flynn Currie called an “opinion piece” the committee was “not considering” in their ongoing process.  Pouncing on the opportunity to put his plan in action afforded him by Hot Rod’s recent arrest, (the timing of which was not affected by any news story) Madigan, via Lisa announced their fall back intentions to have Blago declared unfit within hours of his release on bail.  Unfortunately for them, that case was dismissed, as anybody with a brain knew it would be.  No matter, Madigan’s purpose was served.  Blago was further damaged by negative press, the Madigans at least tried, gosh darnit, and there’s always impeachment.

Mike Madigan and Currie were superdelegate supporters of Barack Obama, who has had his own love/hate relationship with Blags.  Then, there’s Jesse Jackson, Jr. (Candidate Number 5,) Mayor Richard Daley and his brother, Obama campaign senior adviser, William, of J.P. Morgan Chase, Obama political “Godfather,” and Blagobuddy, Emil Jones, who hates Madigan, Tony Rezko and Alex Giannoulias, all of whom circulate in and around Oblago’s orbit, depending upon the degree of advantage doing so affords them.  Daley has not always been an Obama fan, and Jesse Jr. has issues with Madigan (once co-chair of Blago’s re-election committee) regarding Obama’s support for Giannoulias.  From Jackson’s website, August, 2006:

Everyone knows House Speaker Michael Madigan is a man of few words.

Last week, he uttered a special one: Messiah.

“There’s been no word from the messiah,” Madigan answered wryly when I asked whether he would be supporting Democratic Treasurer nominee Alexi Giannoulias in November.

The “messiah” to whom Madigan referred is U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.

Obama yanked Giannoulias from obscurity and endorsed his run for state treasurer — despite the fact that Madigan had a different candidate in mind. In TV commercials that catapulted Giannoulias into Illinois living rooms, Obama called the young treasurer candidate “one of the most outstanding young men I could ever hope to meet.”

Illinois State treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has been accused of making loans to mobsters, supports a “pooling pensions” plan once proposed by Blagojevich, (who has his own problems on that score with his father-in-law, Alderman Richard Mell as well as Rezko,) and has a long history with “the Messiah.”  Of course, Obama and Blagojevich both also have Rezko connections.  In light of the current Blago problems, that also touch upon his wife, Patti, her father, Mell, is threatening to tell what he knows.

And that’s just the prologue.  After following all these links I’ve provided, I’m even more convinced that Obama’s brand of Chi-town politics is “Hardball with Clean Hands,” or, “you’re busted, prove I had something to do with it,” and that he likely, deliberately, set Blago up for this Senate seat fall.  And we haven’t even mentioned Daley-Blagojevich supporting, DLC member, and designated carrot-dangler,  Rahm Emanuel.   As much as I’d like to go through each and every one of these little subplots and explore them in more detail, the multiple plot twists and turns have fried my brain.  Oh, well, tomorrow is another day, and who knows who’ll be hating who by then?

Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel?

It’s A Family Affair

Forget all the bitter squawking about “Bush/Clinton dynasties” Hillary Clinton’s run for president generated.  Poof!  No longer valid.  Now, dynasties are the “new black,” as in “endorse the black guy, get your family in.”   First up, Caroline Kennedy.  Now, she wants HRC’s Senate seat because, well, she’s a Kennedy, she endorsed Barack Obama for president and, doggone it, she really, really wants it.

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of an American political dynasty, has decided to pursue the United States Senate seat being vacated by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a person told of her decision said on Monday.

While some Clintonites are miffed, the whole “she’s just an inexperienced  Kennedy” stuff is a bit unfair in today’s world, no?  Can you say “Schwartzenegger?”  Who has his very own personal Kennedy, by the way.  Fred Thompson, Jesse Ventura, Al Franken, Sonny Bono, Clint Eastwood, Fred Gandy, Barack Obama, the celebrity politician list is growing.  Who needs “experience” if they’re famous?  Jeez.

Then, there’s the Mike and Lisa Madigan push for the governorship of Illinois.  The one-two push is being disguised as concern for the “good of the people of Illinois,” but, c’mon, the fact that Attorney General Lisa wants to be governor, and Daddy Dearest would do anything but give up his House Speaker position to help her get it, is the second-worst-kept secret in Illinois, coming in close behind Rod Blagojevich being under investigation.

Blago Says Bite Me

The New York Times is reporting that Governor Rod Blagojevich, recently arrested for his, “got a hot Senate seat for sale, cheap” scam as alleged by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, gave Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan a big raspberry in response to her suggestion that he was ready to resign:

Not long after the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, told a national television audience that Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was thinking of possibly resigning here on Monday, the governor’s spokesman broke some news of his own.

Not only was Mr. Blagojevich not resigning, the spokesman, Lucio Guerrero, said, but he was planning to go to work on Monday and study a few bills that might at some point require either his signature or veto — including one that will be hammered out in a special legislative session in Springfield that would strip him of his coveted appointment power over President-elect Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.

“He has no plans of resigning today or tomorrow,” Mr. Guerrero said on Sunday. “He still signs bills as governor, and he wants to see details.

Madigan, the daughter of Blago “frenemy,” Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, who has aspirations of her own for Blago’s job, and, who has officially called on Blago to resign, and who has initiated Supreme Court proiceedings against him, used her promotional face time on “Face The Nation” to engage in mainstream media gossip about Blag’s future plans.

Ms. Madigan is a longtime rival of Mr. Blagojevich who has expressed interest in the past of one day being governor herself, and she has requested that the State Supreme Court declare the governor unfit for office. Ms. Madigan acknowledged on CBS’s morning news show, “Face the Nation,” that her assertion was based on “rumors in the media.” But not before they set off a firestorm of speculation.

Her spokeswoman, Robyn Ziegler, said of her remarks after the television appearance: “She has no inside information about anything.”

More grist for the tangled web mill.

Crazy Talk About Blago

Why are the Keepers of the Book of Barack, aka the mainstream media, pushing the “Blago’s batshit” story line as quasi-fact?  Who does it benefit?   If the embattled governor was making such claims, or acting in a manner as if he wanted people to think he’s nuts, it might be more understandable, even though, if that was the case, chances are the Barackomaniacs would reject such assertions as Blago’s pitiful attempts to exonerate himself.  They would use his statements as evidence of his criminality just as they use his alleged criminality as evidence of his madness.  Why?

The only person or persons likely to benefit from smearing Blagojevich’s mental state are those likely to be smeared by Blago’s potential allegations against them.  Therefore, only those fearing implication would make finger twisting motions around their ears when Blago’s name is mentioned.  Like Candidate Number 5, Jesse Jackson Jr. And, nobody from Team O is challenging the assertion, either.  In fact, Obama’s “mentor,” Abner (we don’t want nobody nobody sent) Mikva, is one of the main pushers.  In Jake Tapper’s column, Mikva comments on Blago’s stated desire to run for the presidency in 2016:

“It’s just such a bizarre state of mind, that Gov. Blagojevich had to be in to even think this was possible,” former Democratic Congressman and Judge Abner Mikva told ABC News.

Mikva used the word “delusional” to describe the governor.

The Chicago Sun-Times puts forth the theory that Blagojevich’s choice of hairdo is indicative of his mental deficiency:

Gov. Blagojevich’s glossy locks — perfectly sculpted in rain or snow — may be an indication of a sickness beneath his scalp, said one local psychologist.

“It’s all part of managing his image, managing his image of being without a blemish, without a flaw,” said Scott Ambers, who has practiced clinical psychology in the city for more than two decades.

A February, 2008 Chicago Magazine article specualted that Barack Obama was driving Blago nuts:

Some people think that the governor’s behavior has turned more erratic in the past few years. One reason, they suspect, could be Barack Obama’s extraordinary rise. “Obama’s ascendancy had a significant impact on this guy,” says a Democratic lawmaker from Chicago. “Here’s a lifelong plan that’s been unfolding better than anyone could ever script—an unremarkable state’s attorney becomes an unremarkable state representative, becomes an unremarkable congressman, becomes an unlikely governor. My God, everything’s falling into place! All of a sudden the proverbial skinny guy with the funny name starts making some headway, decides to run for U.S. senator, wins the primary, then gets tapped to do the keynote speech [at the Democratic National Convention]. Knocks the fucking thing out of the park. So now when political people coast to coast talk about Illinois, they talk about Barack Obama. They don’t give a fuck about Rod Blagojevich.” (Blagojevich, like nearly every other Democratic elected official in the state, endorsed Obama in the presidential primary.)

Of course, Blagojevich was under investigation for his ties to long-time Obama friend, Tony Rezko then, too.  And Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s state Supreme Court appeal to remove Blago from office hints at his diminished mental capacity:

“We think it is very clear he is incapable of serving,” Madigan said of the governor during a news conference in downtown Chicago.

But then, she and Blago have issues; she wants to be governor and her dad, state House Speaker, Michael Madigan, hates Hot Rod.   Candidate Number 5 did get them to hug at the Democratic national Convention, though:

An emotional Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. touched off a surreal hugfest among bickering top Illinois Democrats meeting at a convention delegation breakfast, all in the name of party unity and Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential bid. Here’s the tale of the tape:

*Jackson summons state Sen. Debbie Halvorson, who’s running for Congress. The two have feuded over control of a third airport in the south suburbs. They embrace.

*“Who else out here been mad at me I ain’t figured out yet?” Jackson asks. Without skipping a beat, Mayor Daley jumps out of his seat and hugs his critic who contemplated a run against him for mayor. In tears, Jackson says, “I’ve been trying to get to know Mayor Daley for 14 years.”

*But Jackson is “not going to be satisfied” until he sees Gov. Rod Blagojevich give House Speaker Michael Madigan a hug. The bad blood between the two is legendary and has ground state government to a halt.

*Sporting a smile from ear to ear, Madigan walks across the makeshift stage and hugs Blagojevich, who then turns and hugs Jackson.

Chicago Tribune reporter John Kaas suggests everybdy’s setting Blago up for a “Frank Pentangeli“-type Godfather-style, “keep your mouth shut for the good of the family” scenario.  But that would mean that Blags has something very incriminating to say about somebody who doesn’t want whatever it is to be believed.  Whatever.  The bottom line is, Rod Blagojevich’s mental health is more of a convenient excuse for his enemies than it is for him.

UPDATE: Kaas chimes in similarly.

Well Rahm, If There’s Tape…

Well, it looks like the president-elect’s chief of staff might turn out to not be the Rahm Emanuel he knew.  It seems Emanuel was the guy in contact with recently arrested Illinois governor “Hot” Rod Blagojevich, and that some of those conversations may have been caught on tape.

If you want to see the info in that You Tube clip, watch it fast, it’s being scrubbed like a clean freak on speed’s bathroom.  Meanwhile, back in Chicago, John Kaas of the Tribune says if Rahm was talking to somebody about selling his boss’ quickly vacated Senate seat (Rahm has not yet officially relinquished his seat in the House, btw) it was probably some guy named Jimmy:

As in state Sen. James DeLeo (D-How You Doin?)

DeLeo is an extremely powerful politician. You know this because he’s hardly ever quoted in newspaper stories.

Emanuel and DeLeo have a relationship. Emanuel is the congressman from the 5th Congressional District, where DeLeo is the Democratic state central committeeman. What hasn’t been reported on much is that Emanuel has not yet resigned from the House. And if you want to play politics in Jimmy’s sandbox, you need his OK.

DeLeo is also considered by some to be the real governor of Illinois. Blagojevich is the nutty guy who makes the speeches and gets the federal slap. They’re so close that if Jimmy suddenly stopped walking, Rod would chip his teeth on the back of Jimmy’s head.

Now, Rahm says that the reason he has to sneak around and avoid the press is because somebody (a reporter?) is trying to kill him.  How do we know?  Those sneaky, dangerous sleuths are pulling out the old “can I use your can?” routine:

The President-elect’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said today he won’t go to the Chicago Presidential transition offices in order to avoid reporters seeking to ask him whether he had contact with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich about the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama’s election.

Emanuel appeared “beet-red,” according to an ABC News cameraman who was invited inside by Emmanuel to use his bathroom this morning.

“I’m getting regular death threats. You’ve put my home address on national television. I’m pissed at the networks. You’ve intruded too much, ” Emanuel said, according to the cameraman.

From what I’ve heard, you don’t want to piss Rahmbo off.  I’ve also heard that he adapts well when tossed under the bus.  Perhaps these traits will serve him well when the extent of his dealings with Blago comes to Obama the Crusader’s attention.  ‘Cuz, if Patrick Fitzgerald’s got tape, Rahmbo will soon be exiting the Obus through a trap door.

In other, related news, Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan is going after Blago’s head, Blago’s chief of staff, John Harris voluntarily gave his up, and CNN’s Don Lemon says in an upcoming interview with him, Candidate Number 5, Jesse Jackson, Jr. is pushing the “Blago’s batshit” excuse.