Rep. Schakowsky: I must not have been a serious Senate contender because Blago ‘didn’t ask me for anything.’
Rep. Schakowsky: I must not have been a serious Senate contender because Blago ‘didn’t ask me for anything.’
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell this afternoon that she had spoken to Gov. Rod Blagojevich to ask if she was under consideration for President-elect Obama’s vacated Senate seat. She said that the governor didn’t ask her for anything, so she “must have been out of the running”:
SCHAKOWSKY: On Nov. 18 I had a phone conversation with the governor. Probably all of it is on tape. I thought at the time that I was a serious contender but I realize now that I probably wasn’t because he didn’t ask me for anything. So I must have been out of the running.
Watch it:
Asked about “Senate Candidate 5,” identified as Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Schakowsky reminded viewers “we’ve only seen one side of the conversation.” “I would be very surprised if Rep. Jackson did anything wrong,” she said.
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This whole thing, even though its almost exactly the same thing that Ted Stevens did, will linger on for months as the right wing use it as a hammer to say “see, they do it too.”
December 10th, 2008 at 1:56 pmAlso, as I recall, Brago (on tape) referred to Senate Candidate #5 as “he.” Of the top 5 contenders for the seat, there were two males (Jackson, and Emil Jones). The rest on the possibles list were all males (Alex Griannoulias, Rep. Danny Davis and Rep. Luis Gutierrez). I haven’t heard any details yet on how Jackson has been identified as “Candidate #5.
December 10th, 2008 at 1:59 pmThe top three contenders who are female are: Lisa Madigan, Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Jan Schakowsky.
December 10th, 2008 at 2:01 pmI guess I wasn’t a contender either. **sniff**
December 10th, 2008 at 2:02 pmRaynman, that is because Democrats DO it too. Power corrupts, and it doesn’t matter which party wields it. That being said, it usually takes a while longer for the corruption to come out. I guess Gov. Blagojevich, wanted to get jump on the competition.
Shameful.
December 10th, 2008 at 2:02 pmAfter reading all of the 70 plus complaint filed by Fitz and listening to the tapes it’s clear G-Rod was sure of some on the list and others he was feeling out in hopes of making a deal. Jackson Jr. was not suitable for the job as he wouldn’t allow himself to be used. Attorney General Lisa Madigan a old friend of G-Rod was wipe for the pickings as she and her Dad are still under investigation for campaign fraud. Now one player former Senator of Illinois is in the mix for profit. If G-Rod doesn’t resign names will be flying out and information on other crimes will come to light.
December 10th, 2008 at 2:07 pmlilmadguy Says:
Raynman, that is because Democrats DO it too. Power corrupts, and it doesn’t matter which party wields it.
December 10th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
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Yes, but you have to admit, Democrats tend to be really BAD at being corrupt. Republicans like Ted Stevens can get away with it for decades, while Democrats just make stupid rookie mistakes.
I mean, storing bribe cash in their office freezer, transferring money for hookers through suspicious offshore companies, making quid-pro-quo political demands from their home phone… What amateurs!
December 10th, 2008 at 2:17 pmNo group of humans, be they priests or police officers, are free of corruption.
But if the Democrats are a rotten fish, the Republicans are a rotten whale.
Tp put it in perspective: CREW’s list of the 20 most corrupt Congresspeople is always dominated by Republicans–and I mean always. There are usually only about three or four Democrats in the top 20. Brago or no Brago, the Democrats are not even in the same league as the Republicans when it comes to corruption.
December 10th, 2008 at 2:38 pmI think the real problem is that many politicians, whether Republicans or Democrats, tend to become corrupt over time and the longer they hold office, the more corrupt they become. Best argument for term limits. We’ve lost sight of the whole citizen-legislator thing, because of the lack of these limits. It would certainly take a revision of the Constitution, but I’ve long thought no Congressperson or Senator should be in office (total) for more than 12 years. That could be two terms in the House of Representatives and one term in the Senate or 6 terms in the House of Representatives or two terms as a Senator. I’d also like to see a single 6-year term for a President. The federal courts should have term limits as well; perhaps 10 years rather than “for life.”
December 10th, 2008 at 3:19 pmAlso heard an interesting twist on the Jesse Jackson, Jr. issue: What if HE was wearing a wire? On the other hand, I would think the FBI would have revealed that information. We still don’t have any details why Jackson would have been identified as “Senate Candidate #5 yet anyway!
December 10th, 2008 at 3:23 pmCount your blessings, Jan.
December 11th, 2008 at 12:50 am