Comments on: Blago’s Third-World-Style Corruption

By: DLS

DLS — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:25:41 +0000

What's interesting regarding the ruling-class government families is the progress to date of Jesse Jackson, Jr. (in the House of Representatives and a candidate for the vacant Senate seat), as well as the revelation that Jackson appears to be “Senate Candidate 5″ in the decision-making that the governor was engaged in regarding the selling of the Senate seat (in place of taking it himself). It is Jackson's camp that may have approached the governor to try to buy the Senate seat on a “pay to play” basis, which implicates Jackson and may or may not implicate Obama. (To date, Fitzgerald has explicitly stated that nothing has involved Obama specifically as of now.) Jackson is tainted by this scandal, and Obama now has additional problems to worry about. The neurotic defense of Obama, reflexive in its nature as well as neurotic, is orders of magnitude worse than the lightning suspicions about Obama raised by the scandal, and only make things worse; Obama is wise not to say a thing and hope this scandal subsides at least insofar as a nation-wide issue and as it may affect him as he continues to prepare to leave Chicago for Washington (probably more glad than ever to be leaving “Chicago,” as opposed to Hyde Park).

By: DLS

DLS — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:14:28 +0000

This was scandalous by Chicago-scandal standards. The venality is not surprising in the least. But where was the _discretion_ that is the equivalent of propriety with which these negotiations ought to have proceeded?

“What it resembles is the sorts of things you see anywhere there's a hereditary oligarchy.”

In his case, somewhat, though we have many more blatant examples — Kennedys, Cuomos, Clintons (not lineage, but relational, though Chelsea may bring them into the mainstream fully someday), Bayhs, Bidens, Levins, Bushes, and so on — an hereditary governmental ruling class most resembling the European bloodlines pre-1914.

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:28:25 +0000

Elrod, are you by any chance from Chicago or lived there? I ask only because you perfectly nailed why this above all scandals shocks Chicagoans (I'm a native-born Chicagoan and live in a suburb of it). Growing up, I always recall the old saying that it's not springtime in Chicago without a good scandal since most scandals tended to “spring up”, so to speak, then. I also think the rest of your post is spot on.

By: elrod

elrod — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:27:45 +0000

And most hereditary oligarchies are in the Third World. That said, there are quasi-hereditary oligarchies across America too (Murkowskis in Alaska, Carnahans and Blunts in Missouri, Kennedys in Massachusetts and perhaps New York, etc.) We just call them “political families.”

By: Dave_Schuler

Dave_Schuler — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:17:08 +0000

If anything, Blagojevich’s monumental venality, arrogance and stupidity resemble the sorts you see in the Third World.

No. What it resembles is the sorts of things you see anywhere there's a hereditary oligarchy. You said it yourself above: the only reason he got anywhere in politics is that he married Dick Mell's daughter. Regular idiocy and corruption is typical Chicago stuff. Total idiocy and corruption requires a relative.