Hillary’s Voice

The Mission of the Press Is Priceless (by Frank Harris III, Hartford Courant)If the press were bailed out by the government then we’d have a government-owned press that would seek to silence its critics and eliminate stories that questioned government on what its many members and branches were doing.As opposed to a corporate-owned press that seeks to silence government critics and eliminate stories that question government on what is many members and branches are doing. Glad to clear that up.—CaroInside Blagojevich’s tangled web (video, Hardball, MSNBC)It’s necessarily simplified, and names innocent as well as potentially guilty parties, but may help you get a grasp on some of the relationships.—Caro

Blagojevich and the Pendulum of Public Distrust (by Robert Reich)Throughout its history, America has cycled back and forth between two distinct targets of distrust — big business (including Wall Street), and government. In periods when big business is most distrusted, Americans seek protection from it, and reluctantly give government authority to expand its scope. When big government is most distrusted, Americans want less of it, and give big business greater leeway… In recent months the plunging economy combined with headlines about Wall Street’s astounding malfeasance have pushed the pendulum far toward one end of its historic swing. Add in the goodwill a new administration brings, and the public seems ready to accept massive government intervention…But two sets of headlines could cause the pendulum to start swinging back even before the new administration takes office. The first involves the current administration’s massive bailout of Wall Street — the Troubled Assets Relief Program — to which some $350 billion of taxpayer dollars have already been committed. Never before in history has so much money been spent with such little effect… The second is this week’s headlines about Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s bizarre and brazen plans to profit from selling off Obama’s senate seat. Nothing has been proven yet, but the tapes are incriminating enough. The longer Blagojevich clings to office and the more stories link his plans directly or by innuendo to anyone else in public life, the stronger the push on the pendulum — back toward public distrust in government.I say we must be cautious about BOTH government AND business. And we must never, ever fall for any PERSON as the answer to all of our problems.—CaroBonus Quote of the Day (Political Wire)”Politics is a contact sport. Only those on the sidelines have clean uniforms.”– The Rev. Jesse Jackson, quoted by ABC News.Actually, there are a few players with clean uniforms, even in Illinois, but don’t ever ASSUME that a player is clean. Always keep your options open.—CaroWhat’s at stake (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)I think these items will, taken together, speak for themselves. The first comes from an account of Blago’s arrest: “Even Blagojevich’s recently announced $1.8 billion plan for new interchanges and ‘green lanes’ on the Illinois Tollway was subject to corruption, prosecutors alleged. The criminal complaint alleges Blagojevich expected an unnamed highway concrete contractor to raise a half-million dollars for his campaign fund in exchange for state money for the tollway project. ‘If they don’t perform, (expletive) ‘em,’ Blagojevich said, according to the complaint.” From the BBC (one of many sources, obviously): “US President-elect Barack Obama has promised to invest in infrastructure on a scale not seen since the 1950s, when the US highway system was established.”Next, let us establish the Blago-Obama connection (just one small indicator): “He and Obama ‘participated in a small group that met weekly when Rod was running for governor,’ Emanuel said. ‘We basically laid out the general election, Barack and I and these two.’ A spokesman for Blagojevich confirmed Emanuel’s account…”Evelyn Pringle offered this prediction in May: “…Instead of referring to Board Games as the ‘Rezko’ case, before long the media will likely be calling it the ‘Blagojevich’ case. However, because the governor did not become the presidential candidate, when the scandal is recorded in the history books it will be the ‘Barack Obama’ case.”To me, Patrick Fitzgerald represents the sane wing of the Republican Party. (Yes, there is such a wing, Republican haters.) If Joe is right, Fitzgerald may have just prevented a national level scandal by exposing a state level one. The Democrats will be more careful than they might have been when these infrastructure contracts are awarded. As a citizen and a taxpayer, I say, thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald.—CaroClick here for more politics and media news headlines.Carolyn KayMakeThemAccountable.com