Boomerang: The Democrat culture of corruption
My syndicated column today looks at how the Democrat “culture of corruption” boomerang has returned to smack the donkeys right back in the face.
Snort-worthy: Guess what big national event is taking place in Chicago this week? The 30th annual COGEL (Council on Governmental Ethics Laws) Conference.
The wheels on the bus go thump-thump-thump.
***
The Democrat culture of corruption
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2008
Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi can stop clucking now. For the last three years, Democratic leaders cheered GOP ethics woes. Dean accused Republicans of making “their culture of corruption the norm.” Pelosi touted cleanliness as a liberal virtue. But with the eye-popping pay-for-play and bribery case against Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich topping a year of nationwide Democratic scandals, the corruption chickens are coming home to roost.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called the breadth and depth of charges against Blagojevich and his Democratic Chief of Staff John Harris “staggering.” That’s an understatement. Anything that breathed was a potential shakedown target. It’s the Chicago way. Democrat Blago’s so dirty he’d hit up a children’s hospital for money. Oh, wait. He’s accused of doing that, too.
Democrat Blago allegedly conspired to use his power to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat as a bargaining chip for financial payment. He explored trading on that authority for an appointment as Health and Human Services secretary or as an ambassador or for installment in a cushy union position. (He discussed his trading scheme with an unnamed “SEIU (Service Employees International Union) official” and unnamed “various consultants” in Washington.)
According to the criminal complaint released yesterday, he also tried to leverage his influence over the sale of Wrigley Field (owned by Tribune media company) in an attempt to get Chicago Tribune editorial writers who called for his impeachment fired — which illustrates the very perils of media/government entanglements I warned about in my newspaper bailout column last week. His wife, Patricia Blagojevich, was apparently in on the thuggery, too. Taking a break from her first lady duties advocating “on behalf of women and children,” she is heard in taped discussions about the Chicago Tribune/Wrigley Field deal telling a governor’s aide “to hold up that f**king Cubs sh*t. … F**k them.”
Pelosi, champion of women as political cleaner-uppers, was unavailable for comment.
Fitzgerald says President-elect Obama was not implicated in the plethora of charges against Democrats Blago and Harris. The national media went out of their way to absolve him, too. But declaring Team Obama’s hands clean — especially with Blago crony and indicted Obama donor Tony Rezko in the middle of it all — is premature. (And if you’re wondering why I keep putting “Democrat” in front of the accused corruptocrats, it’s because the mainstream newspapers can’t seem to remember to identify their party prominently the way they do when Republicans are nabbed.)
Chicago’s Fox affiliate reports that Obama Chief of Staff and Chicago hometown heavy Rahm Emanuel was the catalyst for the Blago takedown and suggests Rahm-bo tipped off the feds. If so, this raises more questions than it answers about who on the transition team may have talked to Blago and his shakedown artists about what and when. Needless to say, if it were the Republican Bush administration tied to the Blago bust, the White House press corps would be frothing like a pack of Michael Vick’s pit bulls.
Democrats and the media can no longer rest on the old rationalization that Blago is an exception to the “we’re cleaner than thou” rule. 2008 was the year of Democratic Reps. William “Cold Cash” Jefferson, Charlie “Sweetheart Deals” Rangel, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame “Text Me” Kilpatrick. It was the year Democratic Massachusetts State Senator Dianne Wilkerson got caught stuffing bribes from an FBI informant down her shirt. It was the year 12 Democratic leaders and staffers in Pennsylvania’s state Capitol were stung in a massive corruption scandal involving cash, sex and abuse of public office. And it was the year of multimillion-dollar embezzlement scandals at Democratic satellite offices of ACORN and the SEIU.
The Democrats have met the culture of corruption, and it looks like it ain’t just elephants among the jackasses soiling public office.
***
Reader k. e-mails: “How could you leave out Elliot Spitzer from your blog of Democratic scandals in 2008?” Ah, yes! Client Number 9 is in a category all his own.
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On Rush this a.m. he mentioned that there also is a record of an appointment that had been set up for Obama to meet with Bozo to discuss the senate seat, back in November. Was that appointment ever kept? This needs to be investigated! Maybe it is just a rumor, but if true, it would be very damaging to The One’s “truthfullness”.
Remember folks…this particular troll is NOT worth feeding. Let it die.
Did Obama and Blagojevich Meet Nov. 5?
Blagojevich, Rezko and Obama are the quintessential product of the Chicago democrat political machine. Rezko seems willing to take the fall but I hope to God Blagojevich starts spilling his guts or demanding a pardon because he ABSOLUTELY knows enough to bring Obama down.
I am not a constitutional expert, but “high crimes and misdemeanors” clause in the articles of impeachment looks like it only applies to crimes while in the office of the presidency but a full blown scandal could weaken Obama enough to postpone his more egregious plans, hopefully long enough to elect more Republicans to congress. (It’s a thin hope, but that’s what’s left.)
LGM,
If you have proof of such acts then post the link. Saying something does not make it true.
And you may not want to admit that Pol Pot, et al. are your buddies but it is hard to reach any other conclusion based on your other posts here.
Just because I like to make up stories, how about this?
Obama: “I want Michelle to fill my seat.”
Blago: “Show me the money.”
Mrs. Blago in the background: “Yeah, show him the F’ing money.”
Obama: “I can’t do that, it’s illegal.”
Blago: “I’ll call Jesse. He’ll give me money, and cut your balls off. DLTDHYOTWO”
Mrs. Blago in the background: “Yeah, don’t DF’ingLTDHYOTWO”
Obama: “Rahm?”
Emanuel: “Hello, FBI?”
Bozo ratting out Obama in 3..2..1…
Ohhh, it’s just going to get better and better.
On December 10th, 2008 at 1:59 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:
Here is another report stating the same thing:
If this were happening in some 3rd world dictatorship this might be funny.
On December 10th, 2008 at 2:10 pm, WarEagle82 said:
Been to Chicago recently?
And let’s not forget those overzealous Obama supporters in Ohio that wanted to make sure mean ol’ Joe the Plumber was making his child support payments.
Who’s gonna be first to start up the “BlagoGateBlog”?
Donald Young was unavailable for comment.
Another thing…If Blago was calling Obama foul names and saying Obama wouldn’t give him anything except a big “thank you” for the Senate seat appointment, doesn’t that prove that he had been in contact with Obama or his people? Otherwise, how would he know Obama wouldn’t “play ball”? If Obama or his people knew about Blago’s corruption, why didn’t they report it???????
OBAMA: Well, you know, … answering any question truthfully and with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.
Note how lgm totally ignored my post #41. He has no response to substative questions.
He has also never responded my commenting on his lack of outrage over captured Americans being butchered without expection by Iraqi and Al Quiada.
Intellectual cowardice.
Y’all do know, don’t you, that Chicago is home to the Communist Party USA:
From ABC News
Well said
You mean the home built on the exclusive Chicago property that was purchased at $300,000 below it’s market value? That one?
Too snarky to pass up, sorry……
Official statement from Obama for Wednesday
oh man…why why why did Candidate No. 5 have to be a black guy.
hahahaha
On December 10th, 2008 at 3:45 pm, faraway said:
They are in full damage control mode.
They have to get all of the Communists in one room, and ensure the room is not bugged, before they can even talk with each other.
Electronic communication is too risky for them at this point.
It would be very revealing, though, to know who is in the room…
I firmly believe we should repeal the 17th Amendment.
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Our founders knew that, and that is why Article 1 Section 3 specified (until superseded by the 17th Amendment) that the State Legislature would fill the vacancy, with the Executive (Governor) only allowed to make temporary appointments if the State Legislature is in Recess:
If U.S. Senators were still chosen by the Legislature of their home state, then the electorate would pay more attention to whom they elect to their State Legislature.
The 17th Amendment was a mistake, and really should be repealed.
ITTRP – Send them to Klink’s office.
LOL
Jesse Jackson Junior is trying to save his ass – big time! Watching Neil Cavuto now. Junior is renouncing “pay to play politics”. Doesn’t that just all choke ya up?
The senators were supposed to represent the interests of the states, not the people. That’s why senators were elected by the state legislatures. The House was elected directly by the people as their representatives.
The 17th Amendment simply made the Senate into another House of Representatives. It was a mistake then and it remains a mistake.
So is this what that loser in Ohio meant when he said he wanted Obama to do his “thug thizzle” ?
Good article, Michelle. I find it ironic how the Dems think they’re so “clean” and “above it all” (an attitude I’ve seen in liberals my entire life) yet they’re knee deep in the muck.
The problem is, corruption, kickbacks, and looking the other way can be found in both parties. Growing up in New York state, Cuomo was just as unethical and corrupt, enriching his cronies in Albany and the downstate region (New York City) while the upstate struggled to survive his ineptness. Yet, he’s some shining example to Dems of “real leadership.”
More ironic is how Jesse Jackson Jr. thinks he’s the best person for the open IL senate seat because he’s got the most “seniority” (apparently more than any other Dem or Republican) and because he got support from the community and glowing write-ups in the local papers, that must mean popular appeal will equal capable government servant. My question is, didn’t this guy get his Congressional seat because of who his daddy is? I thought family dynasty politics was no longer en vogue now that Shrillary has been denied her destiny. What the hell has Jackson ever accomplished except riding on the same coattails as Obummer?
Hey, Nancy, don’t look now but that swamp you promised to clean up is now OVERFLOWING!!!
Can we combine those first two words to be more descriptive…?
More ironic = Moronic
I think lgm is a bot – http://www.frontiernet.net/~dlcowart/main.html
This is just another example of POS who call themselves Americans.
I bet George Washington would have the whole lot of them shot at dawn for Treason. I like that idea.
Even bots have more authenticity than lgm. Got a good giggle over that one.
I just listened to Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr (Shuck and Jive Jesse’s little boy) explain he was Shocked, Shocked he said, that there was corruption in Illinois. He thought he has the Senate seat sewn up but he was outbid! (No, he did not say that, but I thought it fit)
If by chance, a slim one, the Guv does go to prison he will be put in positions he did not bargain for.
Yes, I was raised better than that.
I’d highly recommend that investigators look into the connections between members of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
One particular point of interest: Michelle Obama and William A. Osborn, Chairman of the Board of Northern Trust Corporation (the mortgage company for the Rezko-assisted Obama home purchase).
Candidate #5, J.Jackson,Jr., trying to make sure we all know his name is clear.
It is interesting that his attorney said he would not be surprised if someone did try to do something on Jr’s behalf… without his consent of course.
Words. Just words.
Isn’t it interesting how blogs can affect the archives of MSM news…
This link, after being mentioned in this blog entry (and linked to from my earlier comment here), has now suddenly gone down the memory hole.
Here’s what it used to say before Ms. Sowers tried to erase all evidence of its existence:
Just a little food for thought-
Anyone want to make a bet that the AG investigating el Blago gets the ax once the annointed one takes office.
The msm made a big deal when Bush fired 6 AG’s, didn’t say a word when Clinton fired all 93 and one can only wonder what the annointed one is going to do.
GSP
“This is Sparta!”
So, what was the “pay-to-play” back in 2004 when Obama won an election (to become U.S. Senator) and turned over his IL Senate seat to Kwame Raoul?
What Do Barack Obama and Kwame Raoul Have in Common?
You hit the nail on the head Brother! Spent most of my life manning the parapet looking outwards. I think we need to start looking inwards. Against all enemies foreign and domestic!
Semper Fi
Though this event is really beginning to stink up, I certainly hope that Obama isn’t involved…and can prove it. Lord knows, all we need is a newly elected President forced down, because of corruption. It would make one heckava mess Constitution-wise. No, Biden can’t be President, if the President hasn’t taken the oath of office. It would be thrown up to the Electors or into the House for decision. Bush would have to remain President until a decision is reached. Shades of 1800. Though I throughly disagree with Obama, I fear for the upheaval that it would cause for our country.
BHO was politacally raised in the Chicago cesspool for years. Surely he has $#!& on his boots.
No, the 20th Amendment says:
#139,
I agree 100%. Where are our Marine Corp Generals on this issue. They have the power to set things right.
It appears overdue!
Leatherneck, after Al Gray most of the GO’s are pretty political. Unfortunately, the folks that actually have a stake in this country are now outnumbered by the sheeple who elect folks that don’t have the best interests of the country as their number one priority. Dark days ahead. Stock up on beans and bullets. Semper Fi
Re #108
Looks like it is too late to click on the article; the press is scrubbing evidence of the Obama/Blagojevich meeting off their websites.
Hope and change.
The MSM scrubbing shouldn’t be a surprise…it’s Business as Usual for Obama.
You’ll find that a phrase that shows up frequently in Obama’s defense is:
Well, in order to use that defense, all evidence must be destroyed.
That is why Obama’s entire past is sealed.
The only two documents that have been produced (the COLB and the draft registration) are both forgeries!
You don’t even need to destroy evidence in order to use that defense – as long as the evidence is buried or locked away somewhere. Another good thing to have in your corner is a compliant media that doesn’t even want to look for the evidence or is complicit in burying it.
Along that note: Its pretty convenient that at this exact time in history, the newspaper industry is going under, media outlets are scaling back on employees and even NPR let 64 people go today.
So even if real journalists wanted to do in-depth research and analysis to expose deeply buried scandals, they are going to be too busy covering Paris Hilton’s chihuahua instead of exposing Watergate through Deep Throat.
Paris Hilton has a chihuahua? OMG!!
Flyoverman #116:
LGM doesn’t respond to you cause she doesn’t have room for truth in her whacked out ideas.
She perfectly adapts to the O.J. policy, “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes truth”
That reminds me of an old saying: “When you’re up to your a$$ in alligators you forget the objective was to drain the swamp.”
SanFran Nan is so busy trying to keep the kids in line that she hasn’t the time to wipe their butts too.
The “most ethical congress in history” has to be the comedy line of the decade.
I find this scandal sad for Illinois and the whole Country. This Governor is a POS and deserves to go to prison. But I am hoping that Obama is NOT in any way connected to this. Reading the posts on this blog I wonder if that is true for everybody.
What this Country doesn’t need is its Presdent-elect caught in a major corruption scandal, before he is even sworn in. There are too many on both sides of the aisle salivating for the next big scandal. I have scandal fatigue already; just f***ing sick of all the negativity in our politics of the day. As conservatives, we should not play down to the base level of Dems and root against our own Country. Hoping that there is a connection between Obama and this Governor mess, before a connection is established, is rooting against our Country. Like it or not, Obama is going to be sworn in as OUR next President of the United States. Do we really want to see him disgraced? How will that help this Country deal with the tough issues that we face, militarily or economically?
He’s not President-elect.
The Electoral College hasn’t elected a President yet.
I’d rather see the truth revealed BEFORE the Electoral College votes then AFTER.
Wouldn’t you?
A quick search brings up 36,600,000 hits of “Predisent-elect Obama”. Excuse me for my using the phrase.
The point is lets see what unfolds. If you are sitting at your keyboard pining for ObamaGate (as one poster put it), then you’re as bad as the mindless morons on the Dem side of the aisle.
Repeat the lie often enough, and people accept it as truth.
Menwhile, over at the office of (NOT) Presdent-elect,
Change.gov hiding questions on Blagojevich scandal
hell yes!! these democrats deserve it, big time!!
there is little doubt…all these ILL politicians dance on Daley’s strings…he runs the chicago outfit (the mafia)
by stopping him from turning this country into the USSA. his agenda is terrible for whats left of this country…I hope his agenda is defeated soundly….or it passes…and his supporters are the ones that suffer the most under the disaster that will surely follow….
If I’m “pining” for anything, it’s for us to
Recommit Ourselves to Our Constitutional Republic
sound like you’re the mindless moron…a ‘moderate’ who’s done so much damage to this country…like bush.
Stop gasbagging and send an email to your two senators to say no to bailout.
Doesn’t ” I didn’t have contact with that man” remind anyone of “I didn’t have sex with that woman” Chicago, Chicago, and all that Jazz.
http://rattlergator.typepad.com/rattlergator/2008/12/chicago-politics-never-fails-to-amaze.html
I, for one, am not necessarily pining for an Obama scandal. I do, however, want the truth to come out, no matter what that means for whomever. I don’t relish the prospect of a scandal, but being watchful of one is not rooting against your country.
The fact that KHQA is scrubbing its own stories to provide cover for Obama’s statement should at least raise your eyebrows, seeing as their original story backs up David Axelrod and further contradicts Obama. “Misspoke,” my a$$.
The main question is if the evidence will survive long enough to become public.
Recall the Clinton-Years-Epidemic that seemed to cut short the lives of so many interested folks?
Thanks for proving my point.
On December 10th, 2008 at 10:23 pm, elgringoviejo said:
Yes.
Those days may be here again. That’s exactly why I previously posted this:
“AUNTIE EM! AUNTIE EM!!!!”
Give me a flippin break! This President-Elect is as sleazy as the inside of an oil drum floating in a river of KY Jelly.
Rooting against our country?!?!??!?!??!?!
These bilge pumps in Congress with a D after their names have been doing their level best for 8 straight years and 8 before that to sell this country down the river.
I find it inexcusable for adult citizens of this country to accept whole cloth that this election WAS NOT BOUGHT FOR 1 BILLION DOLLARS.
And that this narcissistic drug addicted melon head that got elected can have it go his way without submitting an official birth certificate that proves his citizenship beyond a shadow of a doubt…..while these nincompoop liberal loons call anybody taking exception “TIN FOIL HAT WEARING TRUTHERS”….that bakes my cake.
YES! I am ranting.
Get ready for more sewer slime politics because without a legitimate mainstream press holding elected officials accountable (who are not Pubbies) these jerks are going to act as though they are above the law.
Who needs law when the public mass herd has George “Bugsy” Stephanopolous spinning reality for them?
Obingo will go down in history as the biggest scumbag in electoral politics. Dubya mighta been a clueless bozo in some respects—- but we never got attacked again.
What will the Liar Obingo do when that happens? And it will happen as sure as Michelle Obingo looks like a fraud and an impostor who worries about being found out that she is exactly that.
Liar Obingo will huff and puff and lie about what he knew, what he did, what he said, and what he thinks.
The American Electorate that voted for this puke makes me sick.
Hold onto your butts. He isnt even in office.
Bear1909 out.
Palin is getting ready.
She has now formed the Office of the Next President
They have met the enemy..and its them!
The blatant corruption displayed by Gov. Blagojevich is nothing new but Democrats ethical condemning of one of their own is.
Perhaps its the embarrassment factor that makes it an ethics issue or maybe the FBI has a certain morals enhancement benefit, or, Obama wants a second term that has no holds barred.
Commenters here understand who and what lgm is, and they are now shunning him.
It’s no more than he deserves. Over the past four years I’ve never seen him offer a real argument, just unsubstantiated assertions, off-point maunderings, attempted diversions, and shite-stirring.
We used to say “Don’t feed the troll”
Now We say “Let’s starve the troll to death. Deprive him of oxygen.”
It’s finally working.