Blagojevich

SHOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. You heard that? It's another Republican talking point swooping over the horizon.

Rod Blagojevich, an oft-cited-as-corrupt governor of the state of Illinois was arrested earlier today after the FBI had gathered wiretapped evidence of his wrongdoings. Blagojevich has long been tangled in the Rezko fundraising, and it was really only a matter of time before he went down hard for something like this.

To understand the Blagojevich issue today, you probably should understand his gubernatorial history. He was originally elected in 2002, where the likes of Tony Rezko and other business men funded his campaign. Rezko was an entrepreneur in Chicago, opening the first Chicagoan Subway and Papa Johns restaurants, among many others. Blagojevich's rise to power saw many of Rezko associates appointed to positions in his administrations, and strongarm tactics were used on local businesses to force them to donate and contribute to campaigns. Rezko was found out in the FBI's "Operation Board Games," where earlier this year he was jailed and charged with, among other things, bribery and extortion.

This kind of "pay to play" scam, where governmental entities give out favors and subsidies to those businesses that donate to their campaigns or administrations, are a legal gray area. Conspiracy to commit and solicitation of bribery, however, are solidly in the "illegal" pile here. A federal warrant was issued for the tapping of Blagojevich's phone - most likely because of his Rezko links - and they just so happened to listen in on his wheeling and dealings with President-Elect Barack Obama's replacement. Essentially, the FBI caught him red handed selling off the appointment "to the highest bidder," which bodes quite poorly for him.

So what does the whole situation have to do with Obama? Tenuous links at best, though of course the Republicans are salivating at the story. Chicago politics are and have always been rife with corruption, and this fact was already enough for the right to accuse the President-Elect of wrongdoing. Obama purchased a small bit of land from Rezko at one point to extend his own property (Rezko owned the lot next to Obama's), and this was enough to cause a scandal. Obama later apologized for the appearance of impropriety; he paid over twice the assessed value for the ten foot wide strip.