Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama's seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.
Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat, called his sole authority to name Mr. Obama's successor "golden," and he sought to parlay it into a job as an ambassador or secretary of Health and Human Services, or a high-paying position at a nonprofit or an organization connected to labor unions, prosecutors said.He also suggested, they said, that in exchange for the Senate appointment, his wife could be placed on corporate boards where she might earn as much as $150,000 a year, and he tried to gain promises of money for his campaign fund.
If Mr. Blagojevich could not secure a deal to his liking, prosecutors said, he was willing to appoint himself.
Incredible. Blagojevich was already under investigation. And then he tries to sell Obama's Senate seat? I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. This dude tried to auction the Senate seat of the President-Elect of the United States. Wow. They haven't even invented a machine that can calculate the Fail Factor here. I do believe we have gone to Interstellar Fail. Intergalactic, perhaps.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Oh boy, this post is serious troll bait.
Illinois politics is never boring!
That would have been a better Season 5 for The Wire.
"I do believe we have gone to Interstellar Fail. Intergalatic, perhaps."
Intergalatic. Because of the stupidity factor. Didn't it occur to him that the magnifying glass was on? Stupid isn't even sufficient. Definitely a WTFWHT? moment.
Stupid and corrupt is a terrible combination.
Politics hasn't been this great since Herc walked in on Royce with his secretary.
I like the MSNBC headline (I think they've since changed it): "Crime Spree of Corruption."
Cheer up soon-to-be ex Governor: You're dreams aren't completely dashed. You can still make a killing selling smokes out in the Yard. Just be sure to kick somebody's ass on the first day, or you'll lose your territory (or so prison movies have told me).
"That would have been a better Season 5 for The Wire."
I'd like to believe that Clay Davis could get the funds together to win an auction like that.
I wonder how many cucumber sandwiches are worth one senate seat.
Blagojevich has some serious stones. I think Obama needs to show the same by calling for his immediate resignation and demanding an open election for his vacated Senate seat.
Stupid and corrupt is a terrible combination.
Reminds me of what my dad would tell me: Be an asshat or be incompetent, but don't be both. He was joking, but....
Even more awesome - Blago was considering appointing himself to the senate seat for a number of reasons (awesome jobs for his wife, better financial resources to fight any upcoming corruption charges) including to get himself in a better position to run for President in 2016. Because he honsetly believes that he'll never have to face the consequences of years of auctioning off his powers as Governor to the highest bidder.
He's not just a criminal, he's not just a staggeringly brazen and inept criminal, but he's a totally delusional, staggeringly brazen and inept criminal. Intergalactic fail indeed.
Interdimensional. We cannot actually observe the edges of this fail thus we cannot measure it accurately.
Audacious Fail, perhaps.
This guy really was in such a cocoon he thought he was invincible. It's only a matter of time before someone takes a tenuous link between him and Obama and try to implicate him in some kind of way "How can Obama bring change when he came of age in such corruption?"
Hopefully, his dismissal will be quick and clean.
Speaking of prison, the way things are going, MSNBC is going to have to air a special broadcast of "Lockup: US Congress Edition".
I like to imagine Obama's (or whatever Obama rep was on the calls) reaction to Blago's people trying to lay down the bribe. It's like those old holiday inn commercials where the out-of-work, no-good son who still lives with his parents makes all these demands (extra towels, hot breakfast, etc.) and the parents look at each other and bust out laughing and say "what do you think this is, a holiday inn??"
Just when I was starting to miss Sarah Palin we've now got this jackass to make fun of. Can't wait to see what Jon Stewart does with this.
Just Monday, it was reported that Blagojevich met w/Jesse Jackson Jr regarding the vacant Senate seat. I'm curious to know if Junior made an offer. And if so, what's the going rate in today's economy.
Speaking of prison, the way things are going, MSNBC is going to have to air a special broadcast of "Lockup: US Congress Edition".
A minimum security residence where cucumber sandwiches are on the menu.
A minimum security residence where cucumber sandwiches are on the menu.
Oh great, they're going to give him membership in a prestigious country club?
Laugh all you want, people, I would totally watch "Lockup: US Congress Edition."
Just Monday, it was reported that Blagojevich met w/Jesse Jackson Jr regarding the vacant Senate seat. I'm curious to know if Junior made an offer. And if so, what's the going rate in today's economy.
Rumor already has it that "Candidate 5" is JJ, Jr., which would make the going rate somewhere between $500k and a million.
Now that Fail has gone intergalactic, can we give the phrase a rest please? It was fun while it lasted, though.
This is a classic case of "He is who we thought he was". I can't get over this guy's arrogance, thinking he had a chance in 2016
Anyone care to speculate how long it will take for people to try to pin this on PE 'Bama? I'm going with 3 days...first in line...probably Hannity...
also...it's Epicly Audacious Fail
I'm half-tempted to create a fake eBay account for the Gov and put the Senate seat up for auction.
Is it just me, or does the Governor have Lego-man hair?
After the past 8 years, it's time for Democrats to get ready--politicians! is it a wonder, as future trillions seem to be going down the tubes these days, no one trusts a one of them. Show me the money! The man has dirty drawers, not much else to say. Forget space a Yugo on the bathetic bridge to nowhere. Where's a closet gay or whore monger when you really need 'em?
@Marinate Retard
Some one already tried to do that, but it was taken down by eBay.
See here.
A couple of things. First of all of course the RNC has already tried to use this to smear Obama. But you know its bad with the bastion of wingnuttery the Washington Times gives them sh!t about their press release.
Second of all the word is Rahm Emmanuel turned him in to the prosecutor because he wouldn't give Valerie Jarrett the seat for free. I guess he didn't realize what they meant when they called him "Rahmbo"
Here is a part of the back and forth on a wiretap that might be Rahm arguing with the Governer
ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he is "struggling" financially and does "not want to be Governor for the next two years." ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to "suck it up" for two years and do nothing and give this "motherfucker [the President-elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him."
Apocalyptic Fail
@gaucho:
Damn it, looks like 1,000,000 other people with a similar idea beat me to the punch!
"Now that Fail has gone intergalactic, can we give the phrase a rest please?"
No we can't.
The Audacity of Fail.
Chicago radio is reporting that Rahm Emmanuel tipped off the Feds to take the Gov down.
Dick Durbin is calling for a special election to fill Obama's seat.
Makes perfect sense that Rahm would tip off Fitz. Blago tries the pay-to-play scheme, which Rahm and Co. know to be bad news. There is a strong likelihood it is illegal and thus Rahm has justification (if not a duty) to inform Fitz of the potential criminal activity. Even if Rahm does not have a duty to disclose these conversations to Fitz he knows this matter is under investigation and will come out sooner or later. So in order to put the President-Elect in the best posture he speaks with Fitz and lets him in on what is happening. Fitz, who already has a wiretap in place, recognizes the wiretap information corroborates Rahm's account. Thus, Obama comes across as above reproach, gets revenge for Blago spiking Valerie Jarrett's Senate appointment chances and gets to press reset on the Gubernatorial seat in Illinois.
I'm with Emily that this is more The Audacity of Delusional Thinking. That he thought anything more optimistic than some minor Chicago job after resigning under indictment but without jail time was in any way possible is amazing.
We have wacky crooks in Boston. Turner is still spinning that the $1000 he was photographed taking from an FBI informant could just have been a gift (illegal) or campaign donation (illegal) rather than a bribe (illegal)--who knows what he, the third person Turner, might have been doing? And the rest of the Boston pols have caved rather than censure him. (Though they wore slight frowns.) But I don't think it occurred to him, or Wilkerson, that they might parlay this into Secretary of Health and Human Services, followed by Kennedy's senate seat. They just tried to stay on the City Council. Chicago does things on a bigger scale.
Gov. Blagojevich lives at the intersection of Hubris and Chutzpah.
I really hope when they arrested him that he went out crying and squealing in his Fruit of the Looms trying to crawl out the bathroom window like William H Macy at the end of Fargo. I try to paint a mental picture with my comments. I hope you all appreciate that.
Deborah, I'm a little disappointed that our Boston politicians aren't thinking bigger. Go big or go home, I say.
Is it just me, or does the Governor have Lego-man hair?
At least 60% of white politicians have this hair. The other 40% suffer from male-pattern baldness arising from eating too many cucumber sandwiches.
And just because I can't believe no one's posted this reaction to such a political clusterf**ck:
SHHHEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIT!!!
This is FAIL of ludicrous speed proportions.
Well, in a way he did parlay himself into a position as the ambassador of FAIL.
Intergalactic? Not strong enough. This almost rises to the George W Bush level of fail.
Almost.
More than interstellar, or even intergalactic, failure. This failure will be felt throughout the Multiverse.
Correction, by way of spouse. Epic fail to this point is a fail of the worst kind. Moving beyond epic fail is legendary fail. (Unique fail requires Diablo 3, which won't be out in my lifetime.)
They haven't even invented a machine that can calculate the Fail Factor here. I do believe we have gone to Interstellar Fail. Intergalactic, perhaps.
Time to unleash my inner Spaceball. Let's call it LUDICROUS FAIL! And Darth Blago goes zipping off at the speed of Plaid...
Can't see anything wrong here. Normal political horse-trading. I do a favor for you, you do a favor for me. He didn't ask for money! Please, stop behaving like a bunch of starry-eyed high school kids. Bill Clinton and his pardons were a much bigger story.
Support for Blago!
And to think that Fitzgerald was on that famous list of prosecutors forwarded to the White House by the DoJ ranking him as 'not having distinguished himself'.
From the Washington Post:
The ranking placed Fitzgerald below "strong U.S. Attorneys . . . who exhibited loyalty" to the administration but above "weak U.S. Attorneys who . . . chafed against Administration initiatives, etc.," according to Justice documents.
What next for the prosecutor?
For any who are inclined to be depressed by this thing (and I don't see a lot of handwringing here), the really depressing part would be if he were not apprehended. Being promptly apprehended (at least after the selling the senate seat business) is actually rather encouraging. No doubt its discouraging for the people of Illinois to have yet another governor headed for prison, but I'm sure if they keep trying they can find another. And its possible that a few potential candidates will have effectively taken themselves out of the running by forthcoming announcements. How about Peter Fitzgerald? I bet he could do a decent and uncorrupt job.
Frankly, Interstellar Fail (I love this term--and chuckled softly into my computer over it for near half a minute) is a gift. There will be no question that a dramatic response is required.
His predecessor, a Republican, is currently in the big house or a halfway house or something. Anyway I think that'll make two governors in a row to go to prison for Illinois.