I’ve been in a state of shock all day at work, trying to keep up with the news of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest via Twitter and Google Reader. I’ve been stashing stories away on my alternate blog – the one that is easier to send entire linked posts to from Reader – and just on my way home tonight was growing more and more infuriated about Blago’s massive contempt for the people of this state. We elected the guy; we need to insist that our General Assembly impeach the guy and come up with the legislation passed for a special election to choose Obama’s successor in the Senate.
Trouble is, some of the candidates for that seat are tainted, or may be tainted, by this disgusting scheme of Blago’s to somehow profit monetarily or politically by his power to appoint anyone of his choosing to the U.S. Senate.
Meanwhile, yesterday this quote had popped up in my feed, and I had Twittered it with a quick quip. It turns out to be surprisingly prescient of me – something I rarely do is correctly predict news events or project the future based on my knowledge of the present. I guess I have to be right once in a lot of blue moons.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich responded dismissively to reports that one of his close friends and advisors had a role in secretly recording him.
Last Friday, the Chicago Tribune reported a lobbyist named John Wyma had a role in secretly taping Blagojevich.
Wyma was Blagojevich’s chief of staff while he was a Congressman.
At an unrelated event yesterday, the governor was asked once again about the federal corruption investigation hanging over him.
BLAGO: I think there’s nothing but sunshine hanging over me.
Via City Roomâ„¢ – Politics – \”Nothing But Sunshine Hanging Over Me\” Says Blagojevich
Blagojevich arrested? Checking now. about 11 hours ago from Twittelator
@JimGoodrich, substituted herbal tea and echinacea for the cider vinegar. And a hot shower. Similar result… :sniffle: about 20 hours ago from Twittelator in reply to JimGoodrich
@jromeh Thanks for following! Dinner the other night was magnifico, no? Ole! 6:36 PM Dec 8th from Twittelator in reply to jromeh
@ColonelTribune that sunshine hanging over Guv Blago is a big shiny yellow hammer? 6:17 PM Dec 8th from Twittelator in reply to ColonelTribune
While driving home tonight in a really nasty icy snowstorm, at about 5 miles per hour, I listened to NPR/WBEZ‘s coverage. The national coverage was thorough in the normal way, and the local coverage was not only thorough, but offered a lot of detail and color. Here’s some analysis that I heard earlier today. The WBEZ political reporter, Ben Calhoun found himself doing a lot of interviews for out-of-town news orgs and even had to borrow a tie for an on-camera appearance on PBS/News Hour. He’s disturbingly young and cute for radio. Meanwhile, Criminal Justice reporter Rob Wildeboer’s voice cracks appealingly as he recounts the most outrageous details about Blago’s alleged offenses. Many of which were caught on tape, so presumption of innocence is really kind of theoretical at this point.
I will be venting on this for a while yet, I suspect. Here are some of the links I encountered earlier today via either Reader or Twitter:
The Hill and other sources identify Valerie Jarrett as someone Obama would have liked to see get the appointment, but Obama’s advisers declined to accept Blago’s demands (see wish list link) and Jarrett later withdrew. Blago’s response, caught on tape, was to call Obama as a “motherf—-r” and dismissed Obama’s unwillingness to horsetrade with a “F–k him.”
Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune’s coverage has been stellar, both in the traditional “newspaper” sense and in the “new media” sense. Their Twitter personality manifests as @ColonelTribune, and I commend him to you as worthy of following. The good Colonel responded personally to a comment I made earlier today about maybe subscribing to the Sunday Trib in a show of support… and I will disclose that he sent along a discount code for an online subscription form. See the collection of stories they’re building at the Trib here.
Check out the Trib’s extra edition screamer: ARRESTED. It’s almost worth going out into bad weather with a head cold just to grab it.
Take a look at the picture. Yes, that’s really his hair. At work we were joking about Blago going to Bad Hair Prison and having Trump for a roommate. We think Blago would claim top bunk.
Looks like The Hill will be busy tonight, too. Here’s their list of the likely identities of the candidates Blago was trying to haggle with:
1. Valerie Jarret (Obama aide had withdrawn from consideration)
2. Lisa Madigan (Illinois Attorney General)
3. Unknown “fallback” option. Rep. Jan Schakowsky thinks it’s her. I think it’s Duckworth…
4. Unknown Deputy Governor (most likely Louanner Peters)
5. Unknown Candidate 5 (Male, someone capable of raising $500,000 easily? Various possibles)
6. Unknown wealthy male Illinoisan, considered a long-shot.
At quitting time, some of the local news tweets definitely gave the impression that some beverages and “drinkies” might be consumed. I asked @ColonelTribune earlier what the mood in the newsroom was; the response was “No time for a mood. It’s news time!”
UPDATE: Here’s the aggregator page the Trib put together to gather news stories from all over on today’s big story.
