illinois

Forget Mark Kirk.  Forget Pete Roskam.  Forget Mike Ditka.  Rick Santelli of CNBC is the best candidate we can possibly field for the Illinois Senate seat vacated by President Obama.

Here's Why.

Update: Apparently, KLo beat me to the punch.  I guess great minds think alike!

This is a bit different than my usual post focusing on economics or political tactics. It's that time of the year to take stock of who we are, why we're here, and how do we live our lives.

Now it's easy to be depressed--we've lost an election, we've all lost tons of money the way the economy has been, and there are plenty of misguided socialists and defeatists just chomping at digging an even bigger hole for our society.  But we all have been given the gift of life, and no doubt, whatever fortune has taken away from us, we all still have many gifts most of the world would be envious of.

I've gotten this unusually philosophical after watching two TV programs last night: former CT Governor John Rowland on FNC's Huckabee  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huckabee and the perennial Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life

Seeing Rowland was poignant---I had been deeply involved in his U.S. House campaigns in the 1980's and his first unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1990. And we were sorta kindred spirits--brash young Reagan conservatives out to make a mark on the body politic.

Mike (who is an excellent host by the way) calmly asked Rowland to explain why he caused his political career to implode in ethical disgrace   http://ctlocalpolitics.net/2008/12/13/rowland-on-huckabee/ . John explained how he failed to be "grounded" and how his "vessel" had been empty and easily filled up by arrogance which was reinforced by a circle of yes men.

I will attest to the accuracy of John's account. The longer he stayed in politics the further he got from his geographic and ideological roots.  Instead of being in a circle of folks who had been with him through thick and thin, his inner circle evolved into people drawn from the permanent government of a state capitol. I'm sure John is not the first --nor the last--conservative Republican who stopped dancing with the folks who brought him to the dance.

And who might have had sufficient gumption to tell him the stuff he was doing--even if other politicians had gotten away with it--was going to make him look like a horse's ass even if the authorities didn;t come down on him.

But my kinda folks were mostly gone.   See, we're just not hip enough.  Gotta "play the game".  Rowland started his career at a pizza & beer joint; his major domo at the end used to own a French restaurant. 'Nuff said.  

Rowland now realizes belatedly that public service ought to be its own reward. Now, he is left suggesting to Governor Blago its time to stop the bleeding and step down.  Based on the Rowland experience, Rod would be well advised to follow this advice. It is going to end badly, so why extend the pain?

Rod Blagojevich evidently became Governor not to serve his state, but to serve himself. I can at least point to the reconstruction of UCONN as a positive, nonpartisan Rowland accomplishment. I fear all Blago has left in his wake is collateral damage to the people who put their trust in him. The difference may be that in Chicago politics, there's no period of disillusionment---the politicians on the way up are already arrogant self-dealers before attaining high office.

After seeing the Rowland interview, I saw It's a Wonderful Life on NBC.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Wonderful_Life.  Our political leaders might do well to emulate George Bailey---not John Rowland or Rod Blagojevich.

George Bailey is confronted on Christmas eve with a sudden ruinous financial disaster. We see how throughout his life George Bailey had the opportunity to seek fame, fortune and glamour, yet at every instance chose the path of responsibilty and duty. Now, having made the self-sacrifice to his family and community, he sees himself on the brink of personal ruin.

Thanks to the angel Clarence, George Bailey sees that whatever he has given up personally, his choices--based on a vision of personal integrity--have greatly enriched his friends and neighbors and prevented them from being exploited by the powerful and unethical. At the end he realizes his sacrifices have not been for naught, and he did have a "Wonderful Life".

My Christmas wish is that our political leaders of both parties and all ideological persuasions think about what is really a "Wonderful Life". It's not about how much cash you can cram into your pockets, how much power you can wield over others, or how much glamour and acclaim one can get from the media.

Now I'm not advocating being a chump, a do-gooder or a pushover (that's not Ironman, now is it?) but a "Wonderful Life" is doing the right thing whether it directly rewards you or not. Don't go along . get along. Take a stand and deal with the consequences.  Lose an election before you lose your conscience. Don't sell out your friends. Look at the long term and the big picture, not what is going to get you the fleeting applause of people who like you as long as you are popular. Cause you're not going to be popular forever.

And for politicians, in a crass sense, don't do the same crap you'd barbecue your opponent for doing. 

John Rowland came to this realization too late. Rod Blagojevich isn't there yet . And the rest of the political class in America better figure it out before we find white collar prisons are the nation's biggest growth industry.      

News of the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is focusing on his own crimes, which appear to be brazen and deplorable.  I don't think anybody is defending him against what appears to be smoking gun evidence.  

But this isn't an isolated example.  As Dave Schuler says at Outside the Beltway, "within my lifetime three Illinois governors have been convicted of corruption and served time in prison after serving their terms as governor. It’s not just a few bad apples here, not just “political crooks”. The system itself is corrupt."  What Blagojevich did and what will happen to him is already pretty clear, and there's probably not a lot of questions left on that front. 

However, there are two important questions that need to be answered as we proceed:

(1) Who else will be caught in this scandal?  While there are relatively few allegations that his pay-to-play was reciprocated, there are two reasonable possibilities to consider:

• Brazen solicitation of bribes does not arise ex nihilo.   Initial or reciprocal inquiries and signals must have been sent to give Blagojevich the impression that he could be so bold, so presumptuous, with his bribery.
• As the Mother Jones blog notes: "Sounds like some other folks are in trouble as well. Starting with "Senate Candidate 5."  Marc Ambinder says Senate Candidate 5 appears to be Jesse Jackson, Jr.
• Firedoglake says "the whole Valerie Jarrett incident, where Obama endorsed her for his Senate seat one day and then appointed her as a senior White House aide  almost immediately, was awfully suspicious."   The Politico's Ben Smith says this "suggests Obama's circle aware of the investigation."  However, Marc Ambinder has read the documents and says "there's no evidence whatsoever that anyone associated with the Obama presidential transition did anything improper."

• Any other potential players in this scandal are almost certain to have been much more discreet than Gov. Blagojevich.  Those signals would have occurred through backchannels and surrogates.  Do the recordings and other evidence indicate that any of the people - candidates, Unions, or influencers - were sending signals to the Governor that they were willing to play ball?

(2) Where was the media?  I assure you, the corruption of Illinois politicians is not a shocking new development.   So, why did it take a US Attorney to investigate and report upon the corruption that everybody has known about for a long time?  Why has the media not exposed this?

The media's inability to expose and bring down such pervasive, long-term corruption suggests they are either unwilling to susbtantively challenge the government, or incapable of doing so effectively.   Either is a damning indictment of the fourth estate.

UPDATE: To clarify, I'm not asking why the media didn't wiretap this guy or cover this story.   I'm asking why the media hasn't done more to expose the generations of corruption in Illinois (or Louisiana).  They have been spectators, watching the story instead of uncovering it.

Illinois will be ugly in 2008 for Republicans for so many reasons - Obama is a Chicago guy, this year is just plain awful for the GOP, Illinois is a blue state in recent elections, and the Illinois GOP is a big mess (think Alan Keyes for Senate).

All that said, the Illinois GOP should not and can not sit on its hands. In any half-way decent year for Republicans, the conviction of Tony Rezko, and the dark cloud of at least implicit corruption over the governor's office, would be a great opportunity for Illinois candidates. 

This "culture of corruption" should be pushed aggressively, and all local/statewide Democratic candidates with any ties should have the Blagojevich weight tied to their legs. Illinois Republicans can show some leadership by attempting to answer the questions being asked on this website, namely, where do we go next, and who is fit to lead us?

Nothing will prevent the 90-10 or 80-20 races close to Chicago. But in this election and beyond, Illinois Republicans have a reason to vote, a reason to get fresh GOP faces in the race.

The greatest factor in the upcoming debacle, both statewide and national, is Republicans who don't want to vote. Even in Cook County, where I know I will be cancelled out early by a dead or otherwise ineligible voter, I see a need to vote, and a need to encourage other Republicans to vote.