Bipartisanship We Can Believe, Part II

Illinois, unlike Washington, DC, has discovered true bipartianship. We can thank Gov. Rod Blagojevich ("Blago") for this.

The governor's impeachment trial begins today at noon in Springfield, IL. The IL State Senate will sit in judgement of Blago for his alleged crime spree which includes his attempt to sell former Senator Obama's seat to the highest bidder. There are other "abuses of power" alleged by the IL House in its impeachment report, most of them spanning both terms of the governor.

It was the attempted sale of the Senate seat that finally spurred the IL General Assembly to action. Well, that and the arrest of Blago in the early morning hours of December 9th. Had the arrest not occurred, I seriously doubt Blago would be facing the state senate today.

In point of fact, however, he's decided NOT to face the state senators. In a bizarro claim of constitutional malfeasance and injustice, Blago is instead making the media rounds today, trying to present his case directly to the people. I doubt most Americans much care what happens in IL, but Blago makes interesting TV and radio. He has a vaunted media team on his side, despite the fact that his primary lawyer basically fired him as a client last week.

What's up with the craziness? First, the conclusion of the IL State Senate trial is a foregone conclusion. Blago will be found guilty, probably by the end of this week, since he is choosing not to mount any defense. The senators will easily meet the informal deadline of removing Blago from office before Lincoln's 200th birthday on Feb. 12th.

Mounting a defense in the state senate is virtually pointless for Blago. At best he might sway 1, possibly 2 votes away from conviction, but that'd be a real long shot. He has no family or friends in that chamber, unlike a sister-in-law in the IL House (she was the only representative to vote against his impeachment).

Better to spend his time making a case about injustice and unfairness via the media. Appeal directly to the potential jury pool that will be called when his federal criminal trial begins later this year or in 2010. It's an absurd attempt, assuming people will remember this months or years from now. But what else has the man got to do in the waning days and hours of his administration?

A better answer is that Blago is instead delivering a calculated message to IL politicians and a few in the Obama administration, too. If he goes down, he will not go down alone. His abuses of power were not solo acts and like any good politician, he knows where more than a few skeletons are buried.

Blago is certain to lose his job as governor -- no amount of threats will stop that. He will certainly be barred from seeking public office in IL again. A worse fate though awaits him in his federal trial: prison.

He will not go down easily or quietly. His demands to be able to call witnesses in his impeachment trial this week like Rahm Emmanual, Valerie Jarrett and Jesse Jackson, Jr. are not so subtle signals to the powers that be that he is more than willing to say anything and implicate anyone else to save his own skin. He knows much and is willing to spill it to get whatever deal he can get.

The Blago drama will not end with his removal from office. That's only Act I in this drama.