Rod Blagojevich

Essay: What About the Democrats’ 'Culture of Corruption?'
By Seton Motley | December 19, 2008 | 3:21 PM EST

With Obama-Blagojevich, and many other Dems in distress, the media has suddenly lost interest in the subject

Editor's Note: This first appeared in today's Human Events.

NewsBusters.org | Media Research Center
When It's the Democrats, the Media Falls Silent
We are now a week into the wall-to-wall coverage of the tape recorded fall of Senate seat auctioneer and sometime Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich.  But there has always been a distinctly different tenor from the media in stories involving scandalized Democrats compared to their reports on corrupt Republicans.

During the 2006 mid-term elections, the news world was saturated with talk of a GOP "Culture of Corruption," a Democratic slogan repeated incessantly by the traditional media. The press cast three bad Congressmen and a single scamming lobbyist as representative of an entire Party gone bad, and their incessant drumbeat helped drive the GOP out of power.

Meanwhile, one prominent Democrat after another has been tinged with scandal, but the media has yet to stamp their Party as "Culturally Corrupt."

Obama Lap Dog du Jour: CBS's Cynthia Bowers
By Ken Shepherd | December 17, 2008 | 12:39 PM EST

The first of just three questions asked of Barack Obama at his December 17 press conference [audio available here]:

CYNTHIA BOWERS, CBS News Chicago correspondent: I have a question. You ran on a platform of transparency. How difficult is all this having to wait to release your inquiry business when the American people expect transparency?

Yes, you read that correctly. Bowers prompts Obama for an answer wherein he can lament having to wait to answer questions about the nature of his interaction with indicted Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.).

Perhaps the lap dog media are cowering in the corner after Obama yesterday swatted Chicago Tribune's John McCormick on the proverbial nose for his Blagojevich question. Bowers has covered Chicago for CBS News since 1999 and hence seen the president-elect rise from relative obscurity to the highest office in the land.

A better question might have been:

Air America Host, Time's Mark Halperin Okay With Obama's Delay
By Matthew Balan | December 16, 2008 | 4:53 PM EST

Mark Halperin, Time Magazine editor-at-large; & Errol Louis, NY Daily News Columnist | NewsBusters.orgOn CNN anchor Campbell Brown’s “No Bias, No Bull” program on Monday evening, New York Daily News columnist Errol Louis and Time magazine editor-at-large Mark Halperin agreed that there was no problem with the transition team of President-Elect Barack Obama delaying the release of their internal findings into their contacts with the office of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Louis saw “nothing but pluses” over this decision, as it would push the release into Christmas week, a time where there “won’t be a lot of viewership.” Halperin emphasized that as long as “there are no embarrassing contacts or politically-sensitive contacts, they’re fine.”

Louis and Halperin participated in a panel discussion, which began 18 minutes into the 8 pm Eastern hour of the CNN program, along with Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard. Brown first posed the following question to Louis: “As we have been talking about, the U.S. attorney asked Barack Obama, the transition team, to delay releasing their internal findings for at least a week, until they have had a chance to do interviews of their own -- probably some pluses to that for Obama, as well as minuses. What do you think?”

CBS’s Rodriguez: Blagojevich ‘Innocent Until Proven Guilty’
By Kyle Drennen | December 15, 2008 | 1:35 PM EST

Maggie Rodriguez, CBS On Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez discussed the potential impeachment of disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich with Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and asked: "You've been calling for impeachment proceedings since the day after this scandal broke. Why? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?" Schakowsky explained: "No, this isn't about the legal process. This is about the governor being unable to govern right now. This is really a political question. Right now, our state is without the leadership that we need and so, of course, he'll be innocent until proven guilty in the courts."

This is not the first time Rodriguez gave the benefit of the doubt to a Democratic official embroiled in scandal. In March, Rodriguez defended the disgraced Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, who was accused and later convicted of perjury, regarding sexually explicit text messages. At the time, Rodriguez asked the prosecutor in the case: "But texting and actually doing are two different things. Is innuendo evidence?"

CNN Used Hannity to Highlight How Blagojevich Scandal is a 'Distraction'
By Matthew Balan | December 15, 2008 | 1:27 PM EST
During a report on Monday morning’s Newsroom program, CNN correspondent Jim Acosta used a clip of Sean Hannity from Fox News Channel, along with clips from two of their resident Obama defenders, to outline how Blagojevich corruption scandal was a “distraction” for President-Elect Barack Obama. The graphic on-screen throughout the report even stated how the scandal was “Distracting Obama.”

Acosta began his report with an online ad from the Republican National Committee, which highlighted “Obama’s past ties to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and questioning the president-elect’s handling of the scandal” and how “[c]omplete with eerie music -- this...website video has the feel of a campaign attack ad.”

The CNN correspondent then noted how “not all Republicans approve the message,” including Senator John McCain, who suggested that Republicans “should try to be working constructively together” with the incoming administration instead of focusing on possible connections to Blagojevich. Acosta continued on this point by introducing the Hannity clip: “Even conservative Sean Hannity has noted what federal prosecutors have made clear, that there are no allegations of wrongdoing facing the next president.”
Chicago Tribune Stopped Working With Prosecutors, Forced Arrest of Ill. Gov. Too Early
By Warner Todd Huston | December 15, 2008 | 1:57 AM EST

Looks like we can possibly thank our meddling media for another possibly bungled investigation, this time over the selling of Barack Obama's Senate seat by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojavich. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune was working with Fitzgerald's office on the investigation but decided to stop doing so in favor of printing the sensational story they were sitting on. This forced the arrest early so that the paper wouldn't blow the whole investigation.

The story everyone thought they knew was that Fitzgerald moved when he did to stop a crime about to be committed. But, the WSJ reports that this isn't the case. Apparently the WSJ found that members of Fitzgerald's team wanted to let things roll for a little while longer so that they could catch the actual selling of the Senate seat with Governor Blagojevich, his facilitators and who ever was going to try to buy the seat all on the tape at once. But, the Chicago Tribune informed the prosecutors that they wouldn't wait any longer to put off publishing their story on the investigation. Once the Trib reported on the investigation, it was over for Fitzgerald and his folks for the investigative phase of the case.

Gregory and 'MTP' Guests Defend Blago: It's 'How the World Works'
By Noel Sheppard | December 14, 2008 | 1:32 PM EST

The media defense of disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and corruption in politics continued Sunday morning as new "Meet the Press" host David Gregory, along with his guests, actually defended Blago's actions as "pay to play" business as usual that's just "part of the system" and "how the world works."

Such seems an astounding about face from the press's disgust and incessant focus on the so-called "Republican culture of corruption" that surrounded the reporting of former Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay's travails in 2006, as well as the attention given to Jack Abramoff the same year in order to assist the Democrat takeover of both chambers of Congress that November.

Amazingly, two years later, the corruption in Illinois involving not only a Democrat governor, but also having some links to folks connected to the newly-elected Democrat president-elect, are just "part of the system" and "how the world works" (video embedded below the fold, relevant section at 4:20, file photo):

Jim Lehrer Defends Blagojevich: 'What's the Big Deal Here?'
By Noel Sheppard | December 13, 2008 | 1:11 PM EST

In today's "You've Got To Be Kidding Me" moment, PBS's Jim Lehrer actually defended the corrupt actions of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Friday asking his guests, "What's the big deal here?"

I kid you not.

During his discussion with regulars Mark Shields and David Brooks on Friday's "News Hour" the subject of Blago arose, and Lehrer took what has to be considered an absurd position on this issue (video available here with relevant section at 6:00, partial transcript follows, h/t Mike Francesa via NB reader John F.):

Stoddard: Death Threats Keeping Rahm Away From Pressers
By Mark Finkelstein | December 12, 2008 | 5:09 PM EST
Which would be the safer place to be for a political figure who's received death threats?:
a. A school concert in a public venue.
b. A press conference in the company of the President-elect of the United States of America.
If you answered 'b,' you're thinking like me and presumably most people. If you answered 'a,' you're A.B. Stoddard.  The associate editor of "The Hill" offered up the strange excuse that death threats are preventing Rahm Emanuel from attending press conferences in the course of an MSNBC appearance this afternoon during which she also claimed that "President-elect Obama is taking steps to be as forthcoming and as open and as transparent as he promised he would be."   

View video here.
Weekend Captionfest
By NB Staff | December 12, 2008 | 4:07 PM EST

http://media.eyeblast.org/newsbusters/static/2008/12/2007-04-16ReutersBlagoObamaDaley.jpg

Rod Blagojevich, Barack Obama and Richard Daley during a rally in Chicago, April 16, 2007. Photo Reuters.

Bored By Blago, Barnicle Wants To 'Move On'
By Mark Finkelstein | December 12, 2008 | 12:21 PM EST

This whole Blago-Obama business. Really, it's just too ineffably tedious for someone of Mike Barnicle's stature. Can't we just move on? So seemed the Morning Joe panelist's attitude today.

Mika Brzezinski received Barnicle's blasé response to her question about possible interactions between Blago and Rahm Emanuel. [H/t tip reader Ray R.]

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Mike Barnicle, does it matter if there were interactions between Rahm Emanuel and Blagojevich if they were above-board, and they blew him off?
Lefty Talker Ed Schultz Wary of Obama Team Claims on Blagojevich
By Jack Coleman | December 12, 2008 | 11:34 AM EST

Maybe there's hope for some of those immersed in left-wing media.

Liberal radio host Ed Schultz has been decidedly skeptical about claims emanating from the Obama inner circle about whether contact was made between Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Obama or his surrogates on filling Obama's Senate vacancy.