* I understand that a brother would be upset, but there’s a reason for this…

The brother of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says there’s a serious disparity in the sentence his brother received and the prison time lobbed against Jesse Jackson Jr. on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s out of balance,” Robert Blagojevich said in a telephone conversation of the 30-month sentence given to the former congressman. “The sentence … compared to my brother’s, makes his disproportionately unbalanced and severe, and I’m hoping that the appellate process will finally render my brother some justice.”

The difference here is that Jackson pled guilty. He owned up to his mistakes. Rod Blagojevich continues to say he’s innocent. He does not accept responsibility.

Also, as a commenter pointed out yesterday, you don’t give a guy who pled guilty the maximum sentence because then defendants will be less likely to plead guilty in the future.

* So, was Jackson’s sentence too light? Maybe. But he used campaign money for personal expenses, which wasn’t even a crime not too long ago. Who was harmed? The contributors? Well, yeah, they did have the right to expect that their money would be used for campaign purposes, but it’s not like they’re truly “victims.” What about a candidate who announces she’s retiring on the same day as her fundraiser and doesn’t give the money back? That happened just a few days ago with an incumbent state Rep. Jim Edgar uses his campaign fund to make charitable contributions. George Ryan used his for legal defense.

I’m not making excuses for Jackson here. He violated clear federal laws on numerous occasions. I have no sympathy for him at all. The bizarre way he and his wife lived the high life off his campaign fund is thoroughly disgusting.

I’m just saying that, in my mind at least, what he did is not like robbing a liquor store. And since he pled guilty, he definitely should get a much lighter sentence than Rod Blagojevich.