State & Local Politics

Let’s ignore the righteous pundits who chortle sweet nothings about the scandal in Illinois and speak a larger truth that they ignore. The Illinois scandal is the tip of the iceberg of a culture of corruption that is usually done with more subtlety than Blagojevich. Of course, the Clintons dished out pardons. Of course, McCain's campaign was run by lobbyists and foreign agents and he has raised much money from companies with business before his Senate Commerce Committee. Of course, Barack Obama raised a small fortune from bundled money from the same Wall Street players whose lobbyists he refused to take money from.

Here is something most of you don’t know. In the Wall Street Journal poll that showed Obama’s popularity on issue after issue in the 60-70 percent range, when asked whether Obama would change the influence of lobbyists and special interests in Washington, the result was a tie, 47-47. Think about this. Funny how none of the pundits discussed this one, eh? Corruption is everywhere. Wall Street scandals proliferate like rabbits in heat. The banking crisis involves massive lying and fraud. A horrendous bankruptcy law passed with huge Republican support and far too many Democrats. There is even a recent study showing the level of cheating among teenagers is rising in school. Read more...

It is becoming a pitiful end to an auspicious beginning. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governator, riding in on a white horse like Vishnu, come to awaken a new age.

He loved California as George W. Bush loved Texas; as Jefferson loved Virginia. Or so it seemed. To some eyes he was the Titan conjured in the zodiac pouring water; the Aquarian arrived in the Promised Land. Instead, California found unprecedented drought and endless fire.

In many ways, Arnold was the best representative of America in our California manifestation, born free in the sun and unbeholden, welcoming the millennium’s new beginnings. And in a magnificently beautiful and temperate state just recently, in historical perspective, come into its own, he might have set a standard that would have lived on in mythology for centuries. He could have been California’s Original Man. Read more...

The Chicago Tribune declared bankruptcy on the day of perhaps the biggest national news story to hit Chicago since Al Capone. Talk about bad timing.

People are now learning about the Chicago way.

Don’t get me wrong. Chicago is the greatest city in the country. It has a beautiful lakefront, wonderful architecture, great people, outstanding pizza, world-class museums, fantastic restaurants, great sports teams, a thriving theater district and one of the world’s top orchestras. Read more...

With Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D) sleazy "pay to play" scheme fully exposed — he attempted to extort monetary favors from potential candidates to be appointed to President-elect Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat — there is only one viable solution to filling that seat. There must be a special election in Illinois.

With potential appointees' names being dragged through the mud — some possibly for good reason if they were, in fact, offering bribes — Illinois residents and the entire country deserve to have a fair election. Leading Democrats in Springfield should not hesitate to work with Republicans and have both parties’ elected officials fall in line to ensure they have the votes to override any veto the disgraced governor may launch to legislation they need to pass for a special election. As well, no self-respecting citizen should allow Blagojevich to appoint him or her to the Senate. Who would want to be the skunk at that garden party? Read more...

You gotta love this guy. He went to work today. Yep, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) sent his lawyer out to tell everyone he was in good spirits, but also "surprised, sad and innocent," and headed to the office. He may be at his desk, but the pressure is mounting in Chicago and Washington, as Barack Obama, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and the top city papers have called on him to resign, legislators are calling for impeachment and a top Blagojevich aide has resigned.

This might cause an ordinary mortal, even a tenacious politician, to step aside. But not this one. Blagojevich is digging in as the state legislature, the state attorney general and likely the Obama transition team scramble to figure out how to replace Obama in a legitimate process. Everywhere, the talk is about how to cope with the possibility that the stubborn, and some say delusional, Blagojevich just goes ahead and appoints someone now — for free ! He clearly isn't suffering from the proverbial stay-inside-with-curtains-drawn shame, and is perhaps eating some birthday cake as you read this. Read more...

Duke Cunningham. William Jefferson. Jack Abramoff. Bob Ney. Tom DeLay.

Just when we’d thought we’d seen the bottom of the barrel, along comes another politician more crooked than all the rest: Rod Blagojevich, governor of Illinois.

He’s given the opportunity to name the next United States senator from Illinois to replace President-elect Obama — he’s given the chance to make history — and what does he do? He turns it into a chance to line his own pockets, instead: brazenly and openly plotting with his chief of staff and others how to trade the Obama Senate seat for a cushy job for himself or his wife. Read more...

It seems that the specter of corruption has once again visited the great state of Illinois.

With the federal arrest and indictment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) yesterday, we now have five sitting or former Illinois governors who have faced jail time in as many decades.

I realize these are acts committed by individuals, each with his own personality traits and character flaws. Heck, stories out today are even questioning the psychological balance (or imbalance, as the case may be) of Gov. Blagojevich, because members of his own party didn’t know where he was coming from on certain policy initiatives. Read more...

So have you all been reading these juicy quotes from the Rod Blagojevich complaint today? Sounds like a real slob. Before he was arrested at home at 6:15 this morning, one day shy of his 52nd birthday, the Illinois governor told reporters that nothing would cloud his selection of a replacement for Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat. Don't miss this delightful description — when asked whether the federal investigation into his administration would hamper the process, Blagojevich said there was no cloud over him, only "sunshine." Read more...

Could be that we are all destined to be born again as Americans in Texas. Could be that something will happen in Texas to make us different kinds of individuals in the world and a different kind of country. Something from which there will be no turning back. Could be that destiny awaits us in Texas.

When George W. Bush, the First Texan, leaves the White House, there will first be, as he says, a hanging, but then there will be a reappraisal of his actions in the White House primarily about one issue: the invasion of Iraq. Already, W.’s brother Jeb is being considered for the Senate in 2010 and onward and upward to the presidency in 2012 or beyond, with hopes of extending the legacy of the Bush family to a third Bush in the White House. Read more...

As I prepared to attend a meeting this morning in frigid Chicago, I happened to tune into the “Today Show” and listen to an exchange between NBC anchors Tom Brokaw and Matt Lauer. Of note was the discussion as to who would succeed Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton as the next junior senator of New York state. All fine and good until the discussion turned to the "candidacy" of Caroline Kennedy.

By way of full disclosure, I'm generally a fan of the Kennedy family, and their commitment to public service over the decades is quite admirable. At the same time, I was struck that the two anchors gave the impression that Ms. Kennedy will become the next senator from New York if that's what she wants to do. As Brokaw noted, "It would be pretty hard for Gov. Paterson to say no" to Kennedy if she wants the seat. Really? Read more...