Posted on 12/10/2008 10:29:52 AM PST by chicagolady
There's little doubt in my mind that Governor Rod Blagojevich will resign sooner or later - hopefully sooner. If he tries to hang-on, he'll just be impeached, and the result there is a foregone conclusion.
It's highly unlikely Blagojevich would have even a single defender in the Springfield General Assembly. Blagojevich's hand is infinitely weaker than even Richard Nixon's was when the former President made the decision to resign - rather than be impeached - in 1974.
It's clear from even a quick review of the Fed's 76-page criminal complaint that Blagojevich is toast when he gets his day in court. In the meantime, no politico is going to be propping him up on the political stage. Eventually Blagojevich will realize it's time to cut his losses.
We say goodbye and good riddance.
It's wonderful that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has busted yet another corrupt Illinois politician, and every citizen here owes him and his staff a huge debt of gratitude for their ongoing service.
But before Illinois Republicans get on their high horses and start popping the champagne corks, let's take a serious look at the political ramifications of all this.
Patrick Fitzgerald keeps doing his job on the legal front. But the reality is the Illinois GOP has done nothing but drop the ball where its duty is concerned.
The Illinois Republican Party has its next quarterly meeting this Saturday in Bolingbrook. I can tell you exactly how it will go.
State Party Chairman Andy McKenna, Jr. will lead the 19-member State Central Committee in dancing on Governor Blagojevich's political grave. There will be much rejoicing and finger pointing at the horrible Democrats. "Victory is just around the corner for the Illinois GOP" McKenna will say. He'll point to outstanding leaders on the bench like House Minority Leader Tom Cross.
Of course McKenna will forget to mention that one of the 19 on that State Central Committee he chairs is State Representative Skip Saviano. Saviano is a Chicago Democrat who keeps an "R" by his name, because what does it matter? This is Illinois.
Saviano gave $2,000 to Blagojevich's first campaign for Governor in 2002 - and that was the election where we actually had a respectable Republican challenger in Jim Ryan.
Saviano didn't just stop at financial help for Blagojevich. Skip was also named to the incoming Governor's transition team that year.
Here was Saviano in December 2002 gloating in the press about joining Team Blago: "[Blagojevich] is willing to operate in a bipartisan fashion. Let's face it, he knows me well, and he knows he can trust me."
We're sure he does Skip.
But Saviano isn't just a "Republican" State Representative and one of the 19 members of our party's State Central Committee - he's also one of Tom Cross' top deputies in the State House. Saviano is also Chairman of the House Republican Organization (HRO). That's the official political arm of the State House Republicans.
If you've ever received a political fundraising letter from Tom Cross, it likely came from the HRO. You know the kind of fundraising letter I'm talking about - the kind that is several pages long and uses bold text and much underlining to emphasize just how really, really dreadful the Democrats are. Your only hope to stop those pesky Democrats from pillaging your property and taking your first born is to return a generous check in the enclosed return envelope (and thank you for attaching your own stamp).
In the corporate world of course this would be a big problem. If Ford tried to raise money from investors for example but neglected to mention their CEO was in the tank for Toyota, a lot of folks would be quite upset - not the least of which would be the Securities and Exchange Commission. But hey, this is Illinois politics.
Cross and Saviano also led the charge this summer to partner the House Republicans with Blagojevich on a massive gambling expansion scheme. It was only thanks to Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan that Blagojevich was prevented from having billions more to spend. Meanwhile Cross bent over backwards to deliver his caucus for Blagojevich.
It's a fact that every Illinois Democrat with at least a couple of brain cells distanced themselves from Blagojevich long ago. It's Tom Cross who inexplicably decided to go down on that sinking ship. Blagojevich is today seen as Cross' guy, not Madigan's.
McKenna will also explain to any gullible reporters who show up on Saturday that our problems are over because we've put our George Ryan past behind us. Now it's the Democrats' turn. (Note that McKenna started repeating this mantra when he came in as State Chairman in 2005. So he's had two huge, embarrassing election disasters under his belt since then.)
Again, McKenna's memory will fail when he neglects to mention on Saturday that another of the 19 on his State Central Committee is Bob Winchester, a former Deputy Chief of Staff under George Ryan.
McKenna brought yet another former George Ryan top Deputy on television with him just this past Sunday morning to talk about the future of the Illinois GOP. That was Brad Cole. (Cole actually took over Winchester's old post in the Ryan administration when Bob moved on - talk about a small world.)
Incredibly, Cole was also one of the 19 members of the State Central Committee until very recently. And when Cole ran for re-election as Carbondale Mayor last year - that small municipal race was the only contest to get State GOP assistance.
But wait, there's more. McKenna owes his survival to yet another George Ryan veteran on the State Central Committee. Roger Claar was not only a close friend of Ryan's - he was one of only three founding donors to Ryan's legal defense fund in 2002.
Illinois Republicans should just select better people to serve among the 19 on that State Central Committee that runs the State GOP right? Yes they certainly should, and they would definitely like to - unfortunately McKenna, Cross and Saviano have repeatedly lied and cheated to keep the rank-and-file disenfranchised and voiceless in their own party (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
But the good fight continues.
Last but not least, let's not forget that if the political Godfather of both Cross and McKenna had gotten his way - Patrick Fitzgerald wouldn't even be around today to clean out the stables. Recall that sworn testimony in the trial of Tony Rezko earlier this year alleged that Dennis Hastert schemed with others to remove U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald with the intent of killing an investigation. And former U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald (no relation) has spoken on multiple occasions about the pressure he received not to bring Patrick Fitzgerald to Illinois in the first place.
In fact recall how McKenna himself played the willing stooge in that drama early on. Remember how Andy allowed his name to be repeatedly floated in the press as supposedly ready to run against Peter Fitzgerald in the 2004 U.S. Senate Primary if Peter didn't get the message and drop-out of politics? (And this of course is where Barack Obama got his first free pass to Washington, D.C. - courtesy of McKenna and his handlers. Alan Keyes was just a minor final act in that disastrous play.)
If the bipartisan Illinois Combine knows how to do one thing - it's how to reward people. McKenna can thank it for securing him the State Chairman title in early 2005. Regular Republicans certainly had nothing to do with it.
The arrest on Tuesday of Governor Blagojevich was a huge gift to the Illinois Republican Party. Unfortunately, it's just going to be the latest squandered opportunity. Guys like McKenna, Cross and Saviano are just too compromised by their own past dirty deeds. They and their enablers will prevent the Illinois GOP from capitalizing.
The Illinois Democrats are already outflanking us. They are already championing a free and open election to pick Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate. And a likely soon-to-be Governor Pat Quinn will not be the hapless punching bag that Blagojevich was (a punching bag that the Illinois GOP still couldn't beat).
While the Democrats are thinking outside the box, McKenna, Cross and Saviano accomplish nothing beyond rigged state conventions and making certain rank-and-file Republicans don't get a vote again in their own State Party.
Just about all the Illinois Democrats distanced themselves from the corrupt Blagojevich long ago. Meanwhile, we Republicans stay shackled to our own terribly dishonest players like McKenna, Cross and Saviano.
And as if the problems they've caused by themselves in our party weren't bad enough - they inexplicably went out and partnered with Blagojevich this year on a huge gambling and spending scheme.
Illinois Republicans had best put the champagne back on the rack for now. Until we all stand-up and get a better team on the field there will remain little to celebrate.
Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party. He is Co-Founder of Republican Young Professionals (RYP).
Please resign Illinois GOP leadership: YOU ARE AS BAD AS BLAGOJEVICH!!
Blago should resign and become Zero’s full time character witness!.....
Illinois Republican Party Ping!!
Blago should throw 0be under the bus in exchange for a continued, supervised Governorship.
Apparently the Illinois GOP is difficult to distinguish from the Democrats. That mirrors the natioal political scene. With monotonous regularity politicians are caught with their dirty fingers in the cookie jar.
I don’t waste time anymore becoming outraged because another one of these thieves is caught. Government today is nothing less than a monumental organized criminal enterprise.
Just consider what our lawmakers have allowed credit card companies to get away with. Interest rates exceed the vig gangsters charged not too many years ago.
Territorial disagreements in Capone’s era were settled by gangsters with tommy guns. Now the present gangster elite address problems politically, whether in Congress or City Hall, the insiders get their cut. We pay for it.
Did he resign after his name came up in the Rezko Trial with that Levine character for that "finders fee" he got from Blago on that Bond Deal?
KJ has no official party capacity right now but remains as behind-the-scenes power broker.
For reasons I can't really explain on this board, my mom and dad attended Skippy's wedding ... my mom recalls it being like the one in the opening scenes of "The Godfather".
I agree with your comments about the IL GOP. I live about five miles north of Chicago, and my congressman is Mark Kirk, a Republican who is pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-gun control, pro-illegal alien, pro-spending increases, and anti-Iraq surge. I emailed him four times, within the past two years, and I asked why he’s a Republican. I didn’t receive a response, so I emailed four of his aides and asked them why he’s a Republican. None of them responded.
KJ was replaced by Patrick Brady, a former U.S. attorney who lives in Kane Co.
Excellent.
The cockroaches from both parties benefit by Blago’s indictment.
There are too many RINO Cockroaches to keep track of!
I haven’t the faintest idea!!
Thanks Phil.
I should have realized you'd know :-)
It was not long ago that Mike Psak ran in the Republican Primary for Dick Durbin’s US Senate seat, and he didn’t have anything good to say about McKenna.
Psak told me that McKenna pulled his support from Alan Keyes and his run for the US Senate seat, which left Ambassador Keyes hung out to dry. And who was the Democratic Nominee for the US Senate seat that year?
None other than BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!
That’s right friends! If MeKenna had been the elephant instead of the donkey and had not pulled his support from Ambassador Keyes, we would have Alan Keyes as President of the United States - a very eligible and constitutional candidate.
And if Mike Duncan had thrown his support behind Alan Keyes as the Republican Candidate for President, it would have been Keyes and Obama debating it again.
Here’s why I think Ambassador Keyes would have won. You want a black as a President, let’s give them a choice between a Conservative Black and a Liberal Black.
The 2/3rds of the Conservatives that stayed home because the RNC supported John McCain would have come out in droves to vote for Ambassador Keyes.
Keyes is a true Conservative, a true Strict Constitutionalist, a true Declarationist, and the last of the true Reagan Republicans.
Mike Duncan and Andy McKenna drove Ambassador Keyes away from the Republican Party - AND I DON’T BLAME HIM!
We now have a new Republican National Chairman. I just pray he is not a Moderate, or else we have traded one Moderate for another one.
Now we need to oust Andy McKenna. He is an opportunist who wants to get his name out in public and “appear” to do the party good in Illinois - and isn’t that what politicians do, appear to do good for the people when they line their own pocketbooks and bankrupt the country????
Chairman McKenna, bring Alan Keyes back to Illinois and step down. It would be best if Keyes is the Illinois GOP State Chairman. At least I would know that the GOP in Ilinois would be run by a True Conservative.
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