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Purity lesson of the day: Nobody, but nobody can possibly be 100 percent pristine

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* I’ve been taking a tiny bit of amusing heat from another blog about my post this week on former Sen. Steve Rauschenberger. It was no big deal, and I got a nice chuckle out of it, as did a few other bloggers.

Their love for their hero of political cleanliness is commendable, but it got me to thinking about this whole idea of holier than thou purity that we hear so often from the self-described “reform” wing of the Republican Party. So I did about 30 seconds of checking and found something curious.

* Four years ago, Tribune columnist John Kass wrote the following about Sen. Rauschenberger, who was at that time attempting to move up the ladder to US Senate. Kass was referring to Rauschenberger’s quest to kick Bob Kjellander out of a top GOP slot for, among other things, working with the Democrats on bigtime money-making deals…

He’s the the only one of them willing to stand up and oppose the combine.

* Indeed, Rauschenberger continues to this day in his role as tireless spokesman in the fight against “The Combine” and the harmful influence of Chicago politics. He was on a radio program this week and made this stark comment…

“In Illinois, we all should remind people that ‘change’ means kicking the Chicago Democratic Machine out of Springfield.”

Listen to the whole thing…

He had quite a few good things to say on that program. That’s not a surprise. Sen. Rauschenberger has done a lot of good things over the years. He was a decent, competent legislator.

* Rauschenberger is now a registered lobbyist in Illinois. You can view a screen cap of his official lobbyist disclosure form by clicking here.

* Notice that one of Rauschenberger’s clients is Advanced Practical Solutions. APS is run by Milan Petrovic, Gov. Blagojevich’s most prodigious fundraiser…

FBI Agent Charles Willenborg testified that internal documents from the campaign showed Rezko’s bundles [for Blagojevich] totaled $1,437,350 from 2000 to December 2004 — making him the No.2 bundler after lobbyist Milan Petrovic.

Petrovic’s bundles totaled $1,963,485, by the FBI’s count.

* You can read more about Petrovic here.

* As far as I know, Petrovic has never been accused of anything untoward at the Statehouse. But you won’t hear Petrovic talking about kicking the Machine out of Illinois because, well, Milan Petrovich is part of that Machine. And now he and Steve Rauschenberger have hooked up to lobby the Statehouse.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a very positive move for Petrovic. He’s known as a Democrat and a “Rod guy,” so it’s always a plus to have an “in” with the Republicans if you want to have a fuller, rounder Statehouse operation. And because of his years of experience, Rauschenberger has an intimate knowledge of how the General Assembly runs and how to best construct legislation. All good.

Rauschenberger asked not to talk on the record when we spoke yesterday, but it was clear from our (mostly pleasant) conversation that he sees nothing at all wrong about this. He obviously respects Petrovic and believes him to be on the up and up. I don’t disagree. In Statehouse terms, or even in my own terms, this is just good business for both men, little more.

* But considering the inflamed environment within the way over the top “reform” wing of the GOP, and its repeated purge attempts against accused “Combine” members who appear to be hiding under every bed, you wonder how Rauschenberger’s impassioned anti-Combine admirers are gonna feel about this admittedly smart career move.

Hopefully, they’ll be understanding and kind.

As for me, I wish him the best of luck.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 2:13 pm

Comments

“…hiding under every bed…”

So that’s where the secret location is!

Rich, have a good Miller Time during your “weekend off.”

- Oodles of Poodles

Comment by Rob_N Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 2:56 pm
We used Petrovic as a lobbyist. He was effective at getting us meetings and very effective at hitting us up for money. But that being said I can honestly say he never even hinted at quid pro quo. On the other hand we didn’t feel he was effective enough in getting our policy initiatives through to the governor. Probably because neither of us thought our donations were in direct relation to what we were hopeing to get. I actually feel better now about using Milan as a lobbyist, now that all these other revelations are coming out. It shows that unless we crossed the line there was no way we were going to get what we hoped for. And he never asked and we wouldn’t have provided.

Comment by Anon Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 2:56 pm
Thanks, Poodle, I will.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 3:03 pm
Count me as a non-over the top purger. Thanks for the link to my BlogTalk Show Rich. I would welcome you as a guest anytime.

–MJ

Comment by Mark Johnson Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 3:06 pm
Rauschenberger: “In Illinois, we all should remind people that ‘change’ means kicking the Chicago Democratic Machine, [at least the part of it that does not pay my sallary] out of Springfield.”

Comment by Ghost Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 3:06 pm
I enjoy your show, Mark. Just kinda busy these days. But keep in touch.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 3:09 pm
As a suggestion, Mark would make a great addition to Illinoize as well.

Comment by archpundit Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 3:26 pm
I sent him an invite.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 5:11 pm
Seems to me that you spent a LOT of words to say that there is nothing to talk about.

I worked for Steve, so at this point I see no reason to doubt his integrity at all.

Comment by Warner Todd Huston Friday, Apr 25, 08 @ 10:57 pm
Nice catch Rich.

Comment by PC Saturday, Apr 26, 08 @ 11:02 am