Rahm Rodded
“Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart. And you’ll never walk alone.”
So goes the lyrics to the Rogers and Hammerstein classic. So goes the now infamouse dethroned governor of the state is Illinois. The Illinois General Assembly may have sent Big Rod Blagojevich packing but be certain that Rod will not walk alone. At least not willingly.
Big Rod’s rambling speech given to the members of the impeachment panel before they voted to oust him can only be compared in its self-serving paranoia to Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of Captain Queeg’s court testimony regarding the stolen strawberries in the movie Caine Mutiny. But in his comments the governor tipped his hand by evoking the names of some pretty high placed officials in both state and federal government. He has since been quoted alleging the sexual exploits of some high ranking members of the Illinois General Assembly. You can bet whatever is left in your 401K that Blago will attempt to use these names and incidents if and when the Fed’s actually take him to court.
The developments currently coming to light and the reaction of high ranking Democrats regarding the recently seated Illinois Senator Roland Burris have made it fairly plain that anyone who had friendly contact with Blagojevich will be shunned and quite possibly burned at the stake. Burris, having spent his entire life as a dedicated Democrat in Illinois, will soon helplessly watch as his previously clean reputation is buried in his ornately engraved marble mausoleum long before his mortal remains are ready to join it.
But while Burris will soon feel the wrath of isolation from the political party he faithfully served, it was not his name that was repeatedly summoned during Blagojevich’s tirade. Rather it was the name of the new president’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that received most of Blago’s kindred comments.
Like the other multimillionaires in the new administrations cabinet, Emanuel may soon be joining the stable of Obama tax delinquents as it was recently revealed that he had lived for 5 years in Washington DC rent free in the very upscale townhome of a Democrat Congresswoman and her Democratic Party employed pollster husband. Emanuel failed to report this “gift” conservatively estimated at a value of over $100,000, as congressional ethics require, but he also failed to mention it on his tax returns. It has been confirmed that his conversations regarding the replacement of his new White House bosses senate seat were recorded as part of the sting to prosecute the Illinois governor and now his name is being bandied about by Big Rod himself.
It is far more likely than not that his involvement with then Governor Blagojevich is far greater than has been reported and that fact may be one of the leading reasons the prosecutors in the Blago case needed an additional 4 months to submit their case for prosecution. But even if political pressure from the White House is able to keep Emanuel from any involvement or embarrassment in the prosecutor’s case, Rahm can be assured that Big Rod will have him front and center in his defense. I can only imagine Blago doing his best Jimmy Cagney impersonation saying “If I go I’m takin’ youze mugs wit me, see”.
The extent to which Emanuel was truly involved with Blagojevich may never be known for sure. But the charges brought and the charges not brought by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald may give some indication as to exactly what behind the scenes negotiations have taken place with the White House. I am fairly sure any attempt by Blago to involve Emanuel during the court proceedings will be vigorously opposed by the prosecution. But due to the rules of evidence disclosure the defense may have all it needs to include him regardless of any deals the prosecutors have or the consequences to the Obama administration.
The devil may be in the details.
But he never walks alone.
