Morning Coffee in Chicago: Dinosaur Dem Edition

A snort a minute. We have our Dem Governor Quinn's latest tax plan, splashed on the Sun Times front page--the iTax on downloaded tunes and movies, a 6.25% hit:

Now, digital downloads are not taxed by state government, depriving Springfield of up to $10 million in revenues annually. But that figure could grow over time as more people download entertainment from Internet sites such as iTunes and Amazon.

"We think that's an area where we've not kept up with technological change," said David Vaught, director of Quinn's Office of Management and Budget.

Well I guess we're depriving Springfield just for living. What management, what budget? Technological change? Surely you jest. How about the Dem's dinosaur top and bottom heavy government cut spending to the bone? Then maybe we'll listen to you.

Then there's Rahmbo the Raptor, aka Rahmfather per Kass, poised to topple the old Tyrannosaurus Rex Mayor Daley. Yes, that's what we need in Chicago, fresh blood, dripping from Dem fangs. Reaction from the old dragon's lair?

Top mayoral aides said the decision that must be made by Labor Day could go either way. They’re virtually certain Daley himself doesn’t know for sure.

He’ll probably wait until the last possible moment, factor in Maggie’s health, his own health, his polling and the status of federal investigations at that time, then make up his mind.

Just the usual considerations...for Chicago. Federal investigations. There's more speculation:

“If I had to bet, I’d say he’ll run, only because that’s what he’s been doing for 20 years. That’s a lot easier to do than to walk away and carve out a new life,” a Daley confidante said.

“But, would I be shocked if he walked away? No….There’s life after politics. Look at Bill Clinton.”

Well, Bill is not one for federal investigations these days. Bill Daley, though, is mentioned as a possibility to succeed his brother--continuing the Dynasty. Rahm is trying to "mark his turf", and Jesse Jr. of the federal investigations is "salivating on the sidelines".

How about political extinction for these destructive, blundering Dem beasts.

More. That big WaPo buddy of Rahmbo, Cillizza's The Fix picks it up, with this:

The other x-factor in determining Daley's next step is a set of campaign finance laws that will be in place for the 2011 mayoral race, restrictions that would force Daley to raise far more small-dollar contributions than he ever has before and, as a result, begin his re-election race far earlier, according to one Illinois Democratic strategist.

"This likely forces a go/no go decision by the Mayor by June 2010 or so in order to raise the money to run a real race, which might cost as much as $7 million," said the source.

If Rahmbo gets in the race, more cartoons to come, I'm sure. Fresh blood. Sleaze and slime.

...!!! OK--Scott Stantis up with a tremendous one in the Tribune (print edition--not online yet--let's just say it has something to do with showers) Tribune story here. This:

It was Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who has long backed Emanuel's political bids, who may have put the White House chief of staff's mayoral ambitions in perspective. "I thought the world was enough for him," Quinn said.

Fresh blood back home. And this:

In late 2008, Emanuel served as the point person for discussions between then-President-elect Obama's transition team and Blagojevich about whom Obama wanted to see as his Senate successor. Emanuel was heard on several undercover federal recordings talking about possible Senate picks with Blagojevich and the then-governor's chief of staff before the two were arrested.

An internal investigation conducted by Greg Craig, an attorney working for Obama who later became White House counsel, concluded there was no dealmaking evident in Emanuel's conversations with Blagojevich.

June can't come soon enough. Me, a few days ago, when SEIU head Andy Stern suddenly resigned:

The RNC summary of the White House SEIU ties after the scandal broke. The White House (actually they were elected but not yet in the White House) whitewashed themselves back then, doing their own investigation. We'll see if it sticks. Cuz we know how transparent they are.

(And Craig was ousted from the White House. Who will he end up working for next?)

UPDATE: Judge to Blagojevich: No, all tapes won't be played in court

ABC7:

After Tuesday's outburst by former governor Rod Blagojevich, Judge James Zagel asserted his authority in the case.

Judge Zagel told Blagojevich that if the corruption case were a boxing match, he'd be the referee.

"Those rules are enforced by the referee, not by the boxers. I am that referee," Zagel said in court. "I will not permit the legal equivalent of head butts."

I heard Blago on WLS this morning. CBS2Chicago:

Before Wednesday's hearing, Blagojevich continued his campaign during an appearance on WLS-AM 890 radio. He accused the government of being "involved in a big cover-up" and repeated his comments about prosecutors.

Blagojevich also dismissed the possibility that Zagel could order him to stop talking about the case.

"It is impossible to imagine that in America that a court can gag a citizen who is free and has not been found guilty of anything," Blagojevich told WLS-AM. "This is still the United States of America. I don't believe that that's even remotely possible."

So why is Blagojevich taking the spotlight again?

"He's going for broke," said CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller. "He's adopted this strategy of win, win, win and he's not going to settle for anything short of winning."

Blago may not be guilty of criminal activity, so he may not be convicted. But what he did was surely unethical--he deserved impeachment. I just want him to take down as many corrupt Dem pols as possible--criminally or ethically to end their political careers at the very least. This may be our only chance in a few generations to bust up all this corruption---either in the courts or at the polls.