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* Buried at the very bottom of an AP story about the upcoming trial of Tony Rezko is this bit of ominous news for Barack Obama…
The upcoming trial is starting to attract a national media spotlight because Rezko also was a contributor and fundraiser for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. Reporters from The Los Angeles Times and NBC News as well as local newsmen were on hand in Judge Amy J. St. Eve’s courtroom Tuesday.
* And the Times of London points the way to a new website…
The website www.hillaryis44.com, widely viewed as an unofficial arm of the Clinton war room, has taken up the [Rezko] scandal with gusto and is offering a Rezko for Dummies guide on its site. “Imagine this,” it crows. “A Chicago politician wants things he can’t afford. Wifey likes expensive things and wants a big mansion to live in.”
That site is brutal, man.
* Brian Ross of ABC News had this report the other day about the Rezko matter…
* MediaMatters, however, claimed Ross broadcast a “misleading account of Obama statements in order to assert inconsistency.”
* And on a somewhat related note, WBBM Radio had a report today on an overlooked bill that passed both chambers last week and is heading to the governor…
llinois is on the verge of joining a plan to elect the U.S. president by popular vote instead of by the all or nothing vote of the electoral college. […]
Under the National Popular Vote plan, the Illinois electoral college would put all its votes behind the candidate with the most votes nation-wide instead of behind the candidate with the most votes within Illinois.
Illinois House Sponsors Robert Molaro and Leshawn Ford say this would have two benefits:
1. When enough states sign on, the President would then be picked on the basis of the popular vote, not on the basis of the electoral votes. This would eliminate the 2000 situation where Al Gore lost the election to George Bush even though Gore had 500-thousand more votes nationwide.
2. And Molaro and Ford say Presidential Candidates now ignore Illinois after the primary because it’s generally considered a democratic state….secure for democrats, lost for republicans, and thus no place for presidential candidates who’ll focus their energy and attention on just a few battle ground states where the electoral vote is in doubt like Wisconsin, Iowa, or Michigan.
Illinois would be the third state to sign onto this plan. New Jersey and Maryland are the others.
The bill can be read here. Zorn has more, including this…
The idea appears to be a nifty way around the difficulty of totally abolishing the electoral college — an idea I’m open to but, honestly, haven’t given much thought in the last 7 years.
Discuss.
* More Obamarama, compiled by Kevin…
* Clinton, Obama seek truce on race row
* Black and white issue for Democrats
* Did Clintons Play the Race Card?
* The Black Establishment And Obama
*
McCaskill endorses Obama, pledges to work for his election * Nevada Democratic Caucus polls
* Michigan Republican Primary polls
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 12:20 pm
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I hope the national popular vote plan gets challenged in the court as unconstitutional. I understand people are still upset about Bush getting into office 7 years ago, but that’s the system, if they don’t like the system then amend the constitution instead writing these symbolic laws that undermine this system. They may just as easily have shortchanged the will of the people instead of helping them.
Comment by Levois Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 12:28 pm
Maybe the media will be so busy chasing the Obama Rezko link that Blago’s involvement in all this will
be overshadowed.
If so, another lucky break for our Blago.
Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 12:29 pm
For the Clintons should be throwing stones at anyone. After selling sleeping rights to the Lincoln Bedroom and some of the other stuff they have been involved with they should be pointing fingers. Remember Bill waving his finger saying ” I did not have sex with that Woman.”
The Clinton like Blago bring the stink to Democratic politics.
Go Obama.
Comment by blagoman Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 12:36 pm
Politics is a crappy business.
Comment by Bill Baar Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 12:39 pm
That popular vote plan is so screwy that it makes you wish that Molaro and Ford would just go back to being highly-paid wooden Indians in the legislature. Better they come up no ideas in the legislature than dangerous ideas like this one.
Comment by fedup dem Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 12:40 pm
The national popular vote plan (if it gets that far) will last exactly as long as it takes for IL to vote dem but give its electoral votes to a rep.
Additionally, the idea that IL is ignored because it is “safe” ignores the possibility that it is ignored because it is expensive.
Comment by 42nd Ward Resident Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 12:41 pm
The Hilary site is brutal. But so is Obama’ Rezko connection.
How does he spin it? He either knew what Rezko was when he was doing business with him or he was incredibly ignorant. Neither are good. The latter is, frankly, inconceivable.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 12:56 pm
The Electoral College ensures that sparsely populated areas have representation. It needs to stay.
Comment by Fan of the Game Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:05 pm
Hell hath no fury like the Clintons facing electoral defeat…I hope Obama can withstand it.
Comment by Ike Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:11 pm
The Clintons and their surrogates/minions will say and do anything to make Hillary the nominee. But I think they’d better be very careful because they could win the battle and lose the war by alienating Obama supporteres with their vioious character assassination tactics and lose a lot of votes that they need to win a general election.
Furthermore, the Clinntons have a lot more skeletons in their closet than Obama does - Obama’s too classy to exploit the Clinton sleaze, but I don’t think he will let the Clinton’s “Swift-Boat” him.
Notwithstanding the Rezko assoication with Obama, he clearly has a big edge on both the Clintons in terms of personal ethics and integrity.
Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:15 pm
The Clintons did play the race card and it backfired on them big-time. African-Americans are going to cause huge problesm for Hillary Clinton in South Carolina and on Super Tuesday by voting for Obama.
Don’t know if anyone noticed the Tribune Story this morning: the Clintons are actively trying to disenfranchise casinos and hotel workers in Nevada after Obama got the Culinary/Casino workers’ Union endorsed Obama. Special provisons were made to enable on-duty casino/hotel workers to particpate in the Nevada caucus, but now a lawsuit has been filed seeking to overturn these preexisting arrangements.
Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:25 pm
- Captain America - Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:15 pm:
Obama’s too classy to exploit the Clinton sleaze, but I don’t think he will let the Clinton’s “Swift-Boat” him.
————————————————-
Obama may not be the mouth that speaks ill of the Clintons, but the Obama camp will pulling bones from the closet for the next 10 months.
Comment by Fan of the Game Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:28 pm
The electoral college is an anachronism. I’m in favor of the popular vote plan as a means of buildling a national coalition/consensus to abolish the electoral college outright.
Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:29 pm
I think they called a truce partially because their fight might be helping Edwards.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:35 pm
If the Obamas can’t take these cheap shots, then Sen. Obama is not the man to battle the GOP for the White House next fall.
I hope he is up to it, but there would be no shame if he wasn’t.
I can’t face public identity, much less public scrutiny, so I sure as hell couldn’t bear it.
– SCAM
Comment by so-called "Austin Mayor" Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:45 pm
Obama’s too classy to exploit
Blair Hull and Jack Ryan will no doubt be interested to hear this.
Comment by Pat collins Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 1:48 pm
One of the things I admire about Obama is his toughness. He watched helplessly when Bush bashed Kerry. If you don’t respond, then you are considered weak and not up to being President. Obama is proving he is up to being President. Much to the Clintons surprise. John Presta.
Comment by Reading on Walden Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 2:07 pm
I would not be surprised if the Clinton campaign saturates the media before super Tuesday with this Rezco stuff. I can just see the commercials. They could be devastating.
And as far as whether a huge swarm of media descending on this upcoming trial would distract attention away the Governor’s involvement in it-I would think it will have the opposite affect. The last thing anyone with adverse ties to this case wants is the whole world dissecting it.
Comment by Garp Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 2:18 pm
@Roll them: actually, 2000 was not the first time that the popular vote and electoral vote winners differed — and will not be the last time, either. The bill doesn’t effectively change anything in most cases, but unlike other proposals (like a ballot measure to divide California’s electoral votes proportionally) it doesn’t involve a state “unilaterally disarming.” The arguments against such a change boil down to “we small states like our unfair, disproportionate hold on power.” Well, sorry, but that doesn’t sound very sporting to me.
Comment by pc Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 2:33 pm
Obama can take the high road cause th emedia does his dirty work. I don’t support Hilary, but don’t see the big deal witht he LBJ/MLK issue. Who would deny the work MLK did?
Comment by Wumpus Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 2:46 pm
Obama is a prodigy of Illinois politics. Why is this suprising anybody?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 3:01 pm
I think Bush stole his first Presidential election.
Did you see the reports the NYT (and I think Wash Post) did? They looked at the FL ballots, and concluded that no matter what method you used to decide to count or not count them, if all FL used the same criteria Bush still wins.
Close, but Bush won.
The arguments against such a change boil down
What about “working well for over 200 years?
Comment by Pat collins Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 3:08 pm
To Roll them bones
If the 2000 election was stolen, then how did those numerous recounts (media and academia) all come to the same conclusion - Bush won?
How many black helicopters tales are needed to support those sour grapes?
Do we perhaps have to resurrect the arguments from the Kennedy- Nixon race where ‘Da Mare” was reputed to have altered the end result of the election.
Comment by plutocrat03 Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 5:41 pm
I think it’s extremely questionable that Obama had the property he bought in Kenwood split up into two properties (the house and the land) and had Rezko’s wife buy the land so he could afford the house. Later on, he bought land back from the Rezkos for a higher price than it appraised.
Barack Obama is a very politically savvy guy. Why would he think that involvement in a deal like this with one of his donors would be a good idea?
Hillary Clinton is not my favorite person, but I think her camp is on to something when they say that Barack is “untested”. This Rezko garbage has the potential to be his downfall and for what? So he could buy a big house?
Comment by Undercover Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 7:53 pm
It’s better to buy a big house than to be sent to the big house> Blago ‘08!
Comment by A Citizen Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 8:00 pm
speaking of sleaze from Obama….Russert shoved
that long list that Obama’s people were
pushing in South Carolina. Obama looked
sick when that came up. To his credit
he disavowed it, but it proves they were
pushing the issue. as for Mr. BET, Hillary
did hit a bit at him, but, what did Obama
do in the community for Rezko? hmmmmmm
Comment by amy Tuesday, Jan 15, 08 @ 10:42 pm
I can’t help but to put Obama and the Clintons in the same camp on the sleaze issue. It appears that to advance their own class status both were using politics and the hacks that hang on to politicians for class advancement and enrichment. Their identity with wealth, power and celebrity is an issue with me. The audacity! I may be sitting out this election.
Comment by Vole Wednesday, Jan 16, 08 @ 7:42 am
====> Tony Rezko, who is facing a Feb. 25 federal criminal trial in Chicago http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3695966.html
http://www.ontheleft.org/forums/ind
ex.php?showtopic=8513
Obama supporters, ask yourself these questions regarding Senator Obama:
Why did he get a cheaper price on his house? (While Rezko’s wife paid the full asking price for the land, Obama paid $300,000 under the asking price for the house. The house sold for $1,650,000 and the price Rezko’s wife paid for the land was $625,000.)
Why did he do business with a man he knew was under investigation by the FBI? (Rezko had been widely reported to be under investigation by the U.S. attorney and the FBI at the time Obama contacted him and has since been indicted on corruption charges by a federal grand jury in a case that prosecutors say involves bribes, kickbacks and “efforts to illegally obtain millions of dollars.” )
Why did he write letters for this same man to get government contracts?
“For more than five weeks during the brutal winter of 1997, tenants shivered without heat in a government-subsidized apartment building on Chicago’s South Side. It was just four years after the landlords — Antoin “Tony'’ Rezko and his partner Daniel Mahru — had rehabbed the 31-unit building in Englewood with a loan from Chicago taxpayers.”
“But Obama’s ties with Rezko go beyond those two real estate sales and the political support, the Sun-Times found. Obama was an attorney with a small Chicago law firm — Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland — that helped Rezmar get more than $43 million in government funding to rehab 15 of their 30 apartment buildings for the poor.”
http://www.suntimes.com/news/m
etro/35382 9,CST-NWS-rez23.article
I do understand wanting to defend your candidate but this is reality and we can’t afford to loss this election, and, my god, the country certainly can’t afford it. There are two other democratic candidates in this race who have a much greater chance of defeating the Republican nominee in the fall. Here’s another question you should ask yourself, what do you think the Republicans will do with this information pertaining to Senator Obama’s record?
Comment by ood Thursday, Jan 24, 08 @ 9:59 pm