Posted on 07/02/2010 2:05:03 PM PDT by Frankusa
Yesterday, I raised the question as to why Barack Obama had chosen Illinois SEUI chief, Tom Balanoff, to be his emissary to Rod Blagojevich - to communicate his recommendation that Valerie Jarret be appointed to the US Senate. I noted that Blagojevich, in a taped conversation, can be heard offering his own explanation on the matter, namely, Obama wanted to distance himself from the pick etc. and wanted it to appear as if the appointment of Valerie Jarret was solely Blagojevich's decision.
I expanded a bit on Blagojevich's explanation: Balanoff was... not part of Obama's inner circle, hence, he was the perfect emissary for Obama. Essentially, it was an effective way for the President-elect to avoid leaving any fingerprints attached to the appointment....
[SNIP]
Nevertheless, the New York Times reports the following tidbit, which sheds some additional light on the matter. The last few paragraphs are the real zinger:
Mr. Balanoff’s testimony [at the Blagojevich corruption trial] suggested he had mixed apple-polishing of Blago with tough love.The apple-polishing included telling Blago that his off-the-wall notion about exiting office to run a union-sponsored, tax-exempt nonprofit to lobby on health care was a good one....
The unionist acted with a sense of entitlement and highlighted another reality, namely how money talks. The S.E.I.U. was a huge contributor to Mr. Blagojevich. If Mr. Balanoff wanted a meeting, presto, he got it.
And if Mr. Balanoff didn’t like what he heard, he raised the prospect in at least one conversation with the former governor of withholding his union’s ample purse in the next election — in this case, if Blago didn’t quickly pick Valerie Jarrett as Mr. Obama’s successor.
Mr. Balanoff..., initially desired Representative Jan Schakowsky for the seat. Yanking his union’s contributions would be perfectly legal, of course, but it also constituted a slice of the realpolitik that has Blago sitting at the defense table...
Hmmm. So, Tom Balanoff, who just happens to be an emissary of Barack Obama, threatens to withhold campaign contributions from Blagojevich if he didn’t quickly pick Valerie Jarrett as Obama’s successor; even though Balanoff's preferred choice was Jan Schakowsky and he wasn't even keen on Valerie Jarrett, Obama's preferred choice.
Oh my! Chicago-style politics at its worst, with Obama right smack in the middle of the corruption and the extortion attempt...
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