12/10/2008

One Hell of a Competitor

JFK after the Bay of Pigs allegedly said "victory has a 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan." Now that the definition of both failure and scumbag must include a reference to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the major Illinois politicians who are, tangentially and otherwise, connected to him are running for the hills. From CNN.com:

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.: he met with Blagojevich about the post but that he is shocked at the charges and is upset that the appointment process has been tainted.

Rep. Danny Davis: in his dealings with Blagojevich, "there has never been any hint or any quid pro quo."

Rep. Jan Schakowsky: spoke with Blagojevich about the job but said nothing untoward was said in that conversation.

Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs: an aide to Duckworth said that she had never spoken with or met with Blagojevich about the job.

Illinois arguably has, other than probably New Jersey, New York and Louisiana, the most corrupt state government in the nation. Who can forget FBI Special Agent Robert Grant's statement yesterday that "if [Illinois] isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it is one hell of a competitor." The four referenced above are at or near the top of the Illinois political food chain. Given how filthy Illinois government and politics are is it really plausible that the likely candidates, who have Illinois politics in their professional DNA, are uninvolved innocent bystanders?

Presumption of innocence only exists in a courtroom. Outside of a courtroom we're entitled to believe whatever the hell we want. Anyone even mildly versed in Illinois politics could hardly be called cynical by presuming guilt, or at least involvement

1 comment:

Steven L. Baerson said...

Remember that Jan Schakowsky's husband is a convicted felon and was recently released from federal prison. He and Gov. George Ryan are prison pen pals. Rep. Schakowsky can't control corruption in her own home how is she going to help do that in the State of Illinois?