Add Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) to the list of governors who have fallen from grace as a result of ethical or legal troubles. First, the self-styled patron saint of ethics in government Elliot Spitzer (D-NY) and now our own governor.
It has reached the point where this type of behavior almost doesn't qualify as news anymore. You remember the old standard for what constitutes news don't you?
According to a quote attributed to New York Sun editor John B. Bogart: "When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news."
Two governors out of fifty. Four percent. That we know about. Makes you wonder about what is going on with our tax dollars at the national level.
Of course this comes as no surprise to those remotely familiar with how politics works in Chicago, New York, Washington, you name it.
Maybe its just me, but I would like to know when we reach a point where we DEMAND better behavior from these miscreants.
REACTION FROM THE CATO INSTITUTE:
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From the Fiscal Policy Report Card:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9709
Rod Blagojevich . . . has been relentless in his advocacy of large tax increases on businesses. In 2007, he pushed for a massive $7.1 billion annual tax increase in the form of a business gross receipts tax and increased payroll taxes, the largest proposed or enacted hike of any governor in this study. Blagojevich has proposed schemes to wallop businesses nearly every year, including plans to raise taxes on refineries, gaming businesses, software companies, and businesses in general through “loophole” closing initiatives. His approach ignores that Illinois is competing against other states and nations for investment in the global economy.
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After looking back at Blagojevich’s record, Michael F. Cannon isn’t surprised:
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2008/12/11/blagojevich-2/
It hardly stretches credulity to believe that a man who fancies himself a monarch might also be guilty of lesser acts of corruption like using his office to enrich himself, which is pretty much what all politicians do.
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Jim Harper isn’t too shocked either, calling the scandal business as usual:
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2008/12/09/blagojevich-business-as-usual/
Reading over the complaint against Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D) ― which is highly entertaining, by the way ― I’m struck not by the brazenness of his attempt to “sell” the Senate seat, but by how typical it is of the horse-trading done in politics.
Fawned over by lobbyists and staff, politicians tend to collapse together the public interest and their personal interests. It is the norm ― not some outrageous deviation ― to exchange political favors for help with attaining higher office, including campaign contributions. It’s only a small step from there to private emoluments.
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