Report: Jackson Backers Sought Cash For Ill. Gov.

[John317]

Report: Jackson backers sought cash for Ill. gov.

16 mins ago

AP –

CHICAGO – Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report.

Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reports in a story for Friday's editions that businessman Raghuveer Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi told attendees at an Oct. 31 meeting that they needed to raise the money for the governor to ensure Jackson's appointment.

"Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse got the seat," an unidentified source who attended the meeting told the Tribune. Blagojevich also attended the meeting, which was sponsored by Nayak, an Oak Brook businessman.

A message left at a listing for Raghuveer Nayak in Oak Brook was not immediately returned early Friday. No published listing for Bedi could be found.

Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges that allege, among other things, a brazen scheme to put Obama's vacant Senate seat up for sale.

According to the FBI complaint, the Oct. 31 meeting took place the same day federal prosecutors intercepted a conversation in which Blagojevich claims he'd been approached by a representative for an unnamed "Senate Candidate 5" who offered cash in exchange for the Senate seat.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that Jackson was the candidate.

"We were approached 'pay to play,'" Blagojevich said in the call. The candidate would raise $500,000 for Blagojevich, and an emissary would raise an additional $1 million, according to the conversation.

Jackson spokesman Rick Bryant told the Tribune that while Jackson discussed the Senate seat with Nayak, he never asked him to do anything.

Nayak, 54, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Blagojevich and is also close to the Jackson family. Bedi has also been a Blagojevich fundraiser.

The Oct. 31 meeting led to a Blagojevich fundraiser held Saturday that was co-sponsored by Nayak. The governor attended, as did Jackson's brother Jonathan, who went into business with Nayak several years ago, according to the newspaper report.

Two days later, Jackson met with Blagojevich to discuss the Senate seat.

[Woody]

Oh MY oh MY.

Those Demos. What are we going to do about this.

This is huge news. One Million Dollars.

Is this the kind of change that Demos want?

A sad day for America.

A sad day ....

[Neil D]

Oh MY oh MY.

Those Demos. What are we going to do about this.

This is huge news. One Million Dollars.

Is this the kind of change that Demos want?

A sad day for America.

A sad day ....

No, this is not just dems...this is the curruption of most politics....we can find it in the Republicans....shall we??

[John317]

But have you ever seen the corruption so "in your face" before as it is in Ill. ? That is what has so many people astonished and amazed.

I think it is strange, too, that the articles about the corruption almost never mention the fact that the governor and others involved are Democrats.

Why did the State Attorney General stop the corruption before any deals were made? He should have allowed someone to offer money for the Senate Seat so they could have that evidence to convict. I am not sure that it is against the law for the governor to merely talk about selling the seat. The Attorney should have allowed one of the candidates to come forward with money or an actual offer of money for the office. Maybe the State Attorney is trying to protect some people. He said he had been working on the case for a couple of years, so he knew these people were corrupt. In fact, I've read in news reports that the corruption in Chicago is something that Chicagoans almost brag about.

Do you think Obama had any idea these people were corrupt?

It seems to me that coming from Chicago, Obama had to know what was going on; and if he didn't, he should have.

I am not saying Obama was involved. I don't think there's any evidence he was, so far. But at the same time, I believe it's obvious he knew the people involved were "dirty," yet he continued to support them. But I think he was smart enough to put distance between himself and the main actors.

[Woody]

[Kountzer]

As soon as news broke about this scandal I knew JJJ's name was involved. He was one of the first to speak out about being interested in the senate appointment.

It is either political naivete or msg board garble, or both to think or suggest that only demos are involved. They all do it.

It is also frightening to realize just how thin the line is between this pay for play scandal and how the Beltway game is played and how political spoils are doled out on a regular basis. No one can convince me that in the past some sort of politcal favored was not secured in the past when special appointments like this came up in the past. That's how things are done in DC. It has been that way since at least Andrew Jackson. The governors mistake was being too blatant about it.

DB

[Woody]

I don't have such a negative view. I have to believe that this is something that the Demos invented.

[Kountzer]

Examples:

It is the formula du jour for political corruption:

•A resignation of a U.S. senator, providing the opportunity for a governor to appoint a temporary successor, giving that appointee a leg up in a subsequent special election to hold on to the seat.

•A governor with really, really good hair.

•A state in which those wanting favors from the governor are permitted to give gargantuan contributions to politicians.

Thus a single contributor can get a twofer by giving, say, a half million bucks to the governor on behalf of the new senator. It's a good deal for both politicians and great for the donor who now has hooks in them both.

Blago the richly-coiffed

It's especially sweet regarding the senator, since federal law limits contributions to $2,300 for the primary and another $2,300 for the general election.

Illinois has set the standard, with richly-coiffed Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich caught on tape discussing every scheme imaginable for profiting from appointing a successor to Barack Obama.

But what other states meet the same criteria?

Alaska looked like it might when Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted on corruption charges. In Sarah Palin, Alaska has a governor with really, really good hair.

It appeared the state would have a Senate opening, but the opportunity was lost when the thoroughly red state elected a Democrat to succeed Stevens, eliminating any pressure on the senator to resign.

Besides, the state has a limit of $500 a year in contributions to the governor from individuals, and $1,000 a year from committees.

Maybe that's why the businessman in Stevens's case didn't deal in campaign contributions, but in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of renovations to the senator's house.

One more thing: The Alaska governor doesn't get to appoint a senator. That power was taken away after Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter to the Senate seat he had vacated in 2002.

So let's look at New York. With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton becoming secretary of State, there will be a Senate opening soon.

But individuals and PACs can't give the governor more than $18,100 for a primary campaign and $37,800 for the general election.

Besides, Gov. David Paterson has unexceptional hair which nobody notices because his scraggly beard catches the eye.

So what other state might give us a Senate resignation, unlimited campaign contributions and a governor with really, really good hair?

Oh, right! Texas.

We have a Senate seat coming up next year when Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says she likely will resign to run for governor. We have a governor with decidedly good hair.

And we, like 10 other states, put absolutely no limits on the amount of money any individual or PAC can give to the governor's campaign fund.

For example, in the last governor's race Houston home builder Bob Perry gave Gov. Rick Perry (no relation) $275,000.

In addition, the governor received a $500,000 contribution from the Republican Governors Association two days after home builder Perry gave the same amount to that association.

A spokesman for the home builder called the timing "a coincidence."

Coincidence or not, any contribution over $250,000 is enough to turn a Texas politician's head. Democratic challenger Chris Bell had an even more generous angel. Lawyer John O'Quinn gave him $1 million and loaned him another $1.7 million.

It didn't turn out so well for O'Quinn and Bell, which is why the deal sought by Blagojevich can be so attractive. It's a sure bet. The contributor gets to make both a governor and a U.S. senator happy without the voters intervening.

It's a great deal unless the governor with really, really good hair turns out to be dumber than a 3-cent stamp.

The beauty of unlimited campaign contributions is that it's almost impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they violate bribery laws by directly buying a particular piece of legislation or a favorable governmental action.

Unless a participant in the transaction allows himself to be taped saying things like:

"It's (a Senate appointment) a (bleeping) valuable thing. You just don't give it away for nothing."

Or: "I've got this thing. And it's (bleeping) golden. I'm just not giving it up for (bleeping) nothing."

Or, regarding the wishes of the senator who resigned: "They're not willing to give me anything but appreciation. (Bleep) them!"

Here's where Texas doesn't fit the criteria for the scandal du jour. I'm proud to say that in Texas almost all our elected officials are smarter than a 3-cent stamp.

[Kountzer]

I don't have such a negative view. I have to believe that this is something that the Demos invented.

The last governor of Illionois(I forgot his name), who is serving a 6 1/2 year sentence in prison, was republican.

The senator from Alaska(name forgotten)who is a convicted felon, and recently ran for re-election was republican.

The senator from Idaho, I believe, caught in the recent bathroom stalls bru ha ha, was republican.

The President and operatives in the biggest scandal this country has ever known, Watergate, were republican.

I could go on and go. My goal is not to villify the GOP, but to show that corruption is prevalent on both sides of the aisle.

DB

[Neil D]

[Dr. Shane]

The fact the governor wanted money, rather than political favors, I think is what distinguishes this scandal from the Washington SOP.