BlagoRahmaObamaDrama

The Sun Times' Sneed hears rumors Rahmbo's on tape 21 times. That's a lot of scope for "no inappropriate contact", a lot of opportunity for, shall we say, inappropriate language.

ABC7 Chicago is reporting Jesse Jackson Jr. may have been cooperating with the Feds for two years--related to the Peotone airport and a demand by Tony Rezko on behalf of the governor. Of course that was then, this is now. There was that recent fundraiser for him where Blago and Jesse's brother Jonathan appeared.

Illinois Democrats renege on special election, plan to railroad impeachment essentially over the Christmas break:

"This is not a kangaroo court," said Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), Madigan's top lieutenant, who will chair the investigations panel. "It's absolutely critical that we do this deliberately, that we don't rush to judgment, that we don't say, because the public is clamoring for his head, we should take the head first and do the trial later."

Really? The Dems want to keep the Senate seat at all costs, denying Illinois voters a choice and a chance to clean up the state.

Steve Huntley, Sun Times, "Who will Blagojevich take down with him?"

John Kass, Tribune, the continuing saga of Governor Dead Meat. Blago has hired a tough lawyer, one the "mob had on speed dial".

P.S. But oh, Obama's out of this--after all, he has exonerated himself.He had nothing to do with the sale of his Senate seat, no, no, no!

UPDATE: Sun Times editorial on the impeachment process:

State lawmakers have plenty of material to work with, because they're using a broad criteria -- abuse of power -- in considering the alleged misdeeds of the governor.

State officials need to be as transparent as possible, not only about their case against Blagojevich, but also about their own conflicts of interest.

Madigan, for instance, will be running the impeachment process. He has a daughter you may have heard of, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who would like to be governor.

Such conflicts are myriad in Illinois, almost inevitable, and the way to deal with them is to address them head-on, not shunt them aside.

Good luck with that. Tribune editorial. Ron Gidwitz, "He's not crazy--he's crooked". Dennis Byrne:

In a famous but widely misquoted observation, Lord Acton, the British man of letters, said: "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Exhibit A is the discredited Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn appears to be trying to make himself Exhibit B. [snip]

If Illinois voters need anything less now than an appointed senator—even a temporary one—I can't think of it. No appointed senator—even if named by Simon Pure, or if he's Simon Pure himself—will escape the taint attached to Blagojevich's alleged efforts to hawk the seat to the highest bidder. Only a special election will help palliate the stink that now is attached to the seat.

P.S. Due to Illinois' loose laws, Blago may be able to use his campaign funds for his legal defense, reportedly $3.6 million:

"Illinois laws by and large are a joke when it comes to campaign finance. Virtually nothing is prohibited," said Jay Stewart of the Better Government Association.

The state election code allows "the expenditure of funds of a political committee controlled by an office holder or a candidate...to defray the customary and reasonable expenses of an office holder in connection with the performance of government and public service functions."

The theory is the criminal charges against Blagojevich grow out of his role in government.

Unless his FOB campaign organization is charged by the Feds as a corrupt racketeering organization--then they can take the money away.