Blago May Take Dems Down with Him
For Mark Kirk and Illinois Republicans, Rod Blagojevich is the gift that keeps on giving. Yesterday, Mr. Blagojevich announced that he will testify during his trial, which is set to begin on June 3rd: right smack in the middle of the Kirk-Giannoulias race for the seat Mr. Blagojevich is accused of having attempted to sell and into which he defiantly placed the now infamous Roland Burris.
Blago, ever the showman, did not disappoint yesterday. After he pled not guilty to “each and every charge” he really got going when he got outside to face the media, announcing:
Today I am laying down the gauntlet... I challenge the government, if you're on the side of truth and justice like you say you are, and if this was a crime spree like you claim it was, then don't hide behind technicalities. Play all the tapes.
Somewhere, Alexi Giannoulias is banging his head on a desk. Somewhere else, Mark Kirk is crying tears of joy.
And not only that: Blago's got a plan to testify.
Now I'm not just here talking the talk, I'm gonna walk the walk, which is right up to the witness stand. And when I take the stand and I testify and I swear on the Holy Bible to tell the truth, I expect, and far more importantly than that, I think, the people of Illinois expect and they deserve that the government does the same. Play the truth, play the whole truth, play nothing but the truth. Play all the tapes.
Amen, Rod. Play em all. That way, we won't miss the part where you, sounding like the bad guy in a movie, declared “I've got this thing....and it's f***ing golden.” Wonder which sound bite the news will pick to run with on that day?
This is a man that reacted to being accused of selling a Senate seat by parading a bunch of women and children into a room for a press conference and giving a tirade on national television claiming a conspiracy. Ever the showman, it appears that Rod intends to go down swinging.
Kirk can hardly get enough of him. Blago is political dynamite for Republicans, since as the Democratic Governor, he was the most visible leader of the Illinois Democratic Party and there is unlikely to be a Democrat, save for Teflon President II, who can't be tied to him in some way. Giannoulias is no exception, and Kirk has already begun banging away at his connection with Blago. When Blago ensures that he makes the cover of every paper in Illinois with what I'm sure will be a hell of a show, it will double as the kind of campaign advertising that is quite literally priceless.