Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been arrested on allegations that he tried to literally sell the appointment to the Senate seat currently held by Barack Obama. Anybody who even remotely follows Illinois politics is, shall we say, less than surprised, as Blago has quite the reputation for sleaze.
Word is that federal prosecutors received a tip from none other than Rahm Emanuel, Chicago-area Congressman and Obama's to-be chief of staff. That'd be a nice touch -- in addition to adding to the "don't mess with Rahm-bo" vibe, it's a good thing when Democrats don't tolerate their fellows corruption.
Indeed, with William Jefferson knocked out of office and Blago looking to follow him to federal prison, the Democratic Party is losing two of its biggest blights in the space of a week. As far as I'm concerned, this is good news.
Of course, parties probably do have a strong self-interest in cleaning house.
ReplyDeleteJust sometimes the party leaders have a self-interest the other way.