Something I learned about Tony Rezko

[Ugnmoose]

Back in the mid 90's a close friend of mine used to work for a slot machine vendor that supplied the casino riverboats in the Chicago area. The friend told me that it was well known to everyone in the gambling industry that Rezko had a shady reputation and not to do any business with him. The casinos had him marked for video surveillance if he came into them and his activities were carefully monitored.

The key question that voters need to ask Obama is if this guy's reputation was so seedy why in the hell did he ever allow himself to become so deeply associated with him. And can we really trust his integrity and judgment.

Did Obama never hear of the phrase guilt by association? You might get away with this stupidity as a State Senator, and perhaps even running for the U.S. Senate in an election which was essentially uncontested. But you won't be able to sweep it under the rug in a Presidential election.

[Demeter]

1. Or in Chicago, It's Accepted

but most places have at least a little hard time swallowing it out in public as the cost of doing business. They keep it in the shadows, doncha know?

[hedgehog]

2. Another party heard from:

"The dumbest thing about the relationship from Obama's standpoint is that one of the most squeaky clean pols in Illinois didn't think before buying a 10 foot strip of land for above assessed value from a guy about to be indicted. In Illinois that's amazing, in the Presidential race, it's the best personal record of any of the candidates."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/24/34857/4730

[ProSense]

3. 8 things you need to know about Obama and Rezko

8 things you need to know about Obama and Rezko

[Marie26]

4. Easy answer

"if this guy's reputation was so seedy why in the hell did he ever allow himself to become so deeply associated with him."

Money, backing, influence. An above-board supporter can only donate a certain amount until they hit the campaign limit. But a corrupt supporter can use kickbacks, front groups, shady deals etc. to increase the amount of money the politician gets, and they can also peddle influence and call in favors/bribes to make others contribute money as well. You tap into an entire corrupt network, and gain the necessary backing to rise to the top.

[hedgehog]

5. Except if you check out the links noted above, Obama was NOT deeply associated

with Rezko.

[Marie26]

7. Pffft

Sure he was. And it's not even like I'm shocked or horrified by it. I come from one of the most corrupt cities in the country, so I've seen how the game is played. In my hometown, the Mafia funded the Sheriff's campaign, and hosted his victory party. The mob was the reason the Sheriff could get elected - w/o the mob's funding, influence-peddling, and hits on the opposition, it couldn't have happened. This is how corruption works - a machine coalesces all power & influence onto itself, and then politicians must gain the machine's blessing in order to gain public office. That machine can be the mob, or the Cook County Democratic Org. Chicago's Democratic machine is incredibly corrupt, & Fitzgerald has been busily indicting everyone from Gov on down. In that type of environment, the surprise to me would be if Obama wasn't involved w/shadiness of some kind. A candidate doesn't have this type of meteoric rise w/o some very powerful patrons.


"In recent years, investigations, indictments, and criminal convictions for hiring fraud and graft, including the federal conviction of the current Mayor Daley's patronage chief, have left little doubt that the machine, if it ever died, was reincarnated since its apparent collapse in the early 1980s. In July, 2005, a federal court-appointed monitor reported widespread abuses of a previous court decree against patronage hiring, and the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners alone still controls 500 political jobs. The U.S. Attorney's office contended in 2006 that the machine had been rebuilt <1>. Although jobs-for-political-work still is a significant component of the machine, the exchange of lucrative contracts for political contributions, such as documented in the investigation of the Hired Truck Program scandal, probably has eclipsed classical patronage as a tool of machine politics in Cook County."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Democratic_Machine

[Seabiscuit]

6. Good point. Obama is easily swayed and perhaps that is the reason why

John Edwards brings up the issue that both Clinton and Edwards have received corporate money and have corporate lobbyists on their campaigns.

[ChiciB1]

10. What Did You Just Post?? Edwards Says Edwards Received Corporate

money and lobbyist money?? I'm confused.

[Seabiscuit]

11. Geez, I meant Obama ... oh well. I think its bedtime ...

:boring:

[ChiciB1]

12. I HAD To Call You On It... I Actually KNEW Do Didn't Mean It... I

know where your heart is!!

:hi: :kick:

[mzmolly]

8. I think Obama is a man of great integrity, but I think this situation may be fatal politically?

I hope his camp has a strong/adequate response.

[ChiciB1]

9. My Daughter's Father-in-Law Filled Me In On A Few Things When

he was down here the first of this month. I didn't pay much attention to it, but I DO know that her F-I-L had some ties (from a long time ago) with unsavory types. Very low level mob types. Even his own son told me this a long time ago. Even hearing this information sounded off the wall to me about his father, but I did get verification.

The man has since moved from Chicago, but he has "friends" like some who say "things" that aren't really "talked" about much. Ya Know, Ya Know?? And Chicago IS Chicago, Ya Know?? But I'm just sort of passing along "gossip" to some extent, because I blew it off in the beginning. Now I'm not so sure.

Anyway, I now believe there is MORE to this story and I think given what the Clinton's have been doing lately... this is going to FLY soon.

Just my .99 anyway. Upgraded for inflation!