45 has commuted Blago's sentence.

[murielm99]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/18/politics/donald-trump-rod-blagojevich-commutation-sentence/index.html

He was never going to win Illinois anyway. But now Madigan will be fit to be tied.

I think Rod should stay in jail. We don't need Blago here. I hope he lives somewhere outside of Illinois.

[notinkansas]

1. So maybe 45 is just warming up the pardon pen

in order to get ready for the real show yet to come?

[redstatebluegirl]

3. It is some kind of diversion or he is just getting people used to pardons

so when he pardons Stone and Flynn nobody notices.

[redstatebluegirl]

2. 45 will give him a job in DC don't worry.

[customerserviceguy]

4. I think Trump's making a play for Illinois

When you look at the Illinois general election vote totals, it went about 56% Hillary to 39% Trump, but when you look at the map, you see that if there are any friends Blago still has in the Chicago area, they might be persuaded to not actively oppose Trump's re-election. Add to that the fact that Illinois, like a lot of blue states has vast areas of red, with voters who usually know that their votes are not going to count in the Electoral College.

You can be sure that Trump will hammer like hell on rural communities in blue states to GOTV, and deny us the "well, we won the popular vote" argument in a second Trump term.

[murielm99]

5. Those blue areas are the population centers.

There has been a lot of demographic change in the red areas as well. Last time, some areas went blue for the first time in a century, like DuPage County. My son lives there.

There are some flippable red areas as well, like my county.

My state will stay blue. Let the trumpers come here. We will fight them tooth and nail.

[customerserviceguy]

6. I didn't say that I thought it would work

I just speculated on why Trump would spring Blago.

[murielm99]

7. Another reason might be that this Senate seat,

the one Blago tried to sell, had been Obama's. 45 will do anything to take a swipe at Obama.

[customerserviceguy]

8. Could be a twofer.

I'm not sure how commuting Blago's prison time is a poke in the eye to President Obama.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. I don't think Blago has any constituency remaining in Illinois, does he?

Republicans never liked him and Democrats were never more than cautiously supportive, which evaporated the moment he was nailed.
This move may just be a matter of grifter professional courtesy.

(PS for the record as little as I think of Blago, I do think the length his sentence was excessive.)

[customerserviceguy]

10. Chicago politics

means you always have friends. And he took the hit himself without taking anyone else down. It wasn't just Blago and his wife & family who pushed Trump for this commutation. Also, the other pardons were for people who had long served their sentence, if I'm correct, so this one would be the most potential political trouble for Trump.

Somebody convinced Trump to do it, and my guess is that they convinced Trump they have some political connections in Illinois that would give him an edge in November.

Trump never does anything just for the good.

[murielm99]

12. There are wealthy republicans in this state,

and out of state who try to make inroads where they can. A friend of mine ran a good campaign for state rep. in my district. She despises her repiggie family and seldom speaks to them. Her brother called her on behalf of some of them right after Lauren Underwood won her seat. He wanted her to primary Underwood this time around. She called him names and hung up. But she made it clear to everyone she could find that Underwood is being targeted.

A few years ago, they gave us a really nasty mayor in Rockford, a so-called independent. He was not much of a mayor. Now there is a decent Democrat back in the office. He seems to get along with the black community as well, at least according to my sources there.

When these repiggies run for office, it can be enlightening to look at the Illinois Board of Elections website for their financial disclosure. It is interesting to see where the money comes from, and then to Google the names of the contributors. Fortunately, money does not always win the day. We have had enough of republicans here, in most cases. Rauner ruined it for them, at least for a while. People do have short memories, though.

[blue-wave]

14. Primary Underwood?

Just more dirty republicon tricks.

[murielm99]

13. Where do you get your information about Chicago politics?

[customerserviceguy]

17. I lived in the shadow of it for years

and have followed it since. Even though I was a kid, I still remember Mayor Dailey's machine politics and what my Democratic-voting parents and grandparents thought about it.

[murielm99]

18. Blago has no friends here.

His bridges have been burned. Dailey died in the 1970s.

[blue-wave]

11. Well, Donald was busy today!!

I heard when he signed all the commutation and pardon papers, he mentioned to everyone that he will pardon them all as long as they don't talk to the Fed's. OK, not really.


And Blago? Who in Democratic circles, especially in Illinois, is going to hire him? Will he go republicon? Maybe. But the guy will need to earn to a living. My guess. A move out of Illinois and a few book deals at first. From there who knows.

My worry is that tRump does nothing unless it helps him. What kind of help is he betting on with this move?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

16. The best theory I've heard is that it's to make his upcoming crony pardons appear more palatable.

Blago is nothing to him and there's no direct benefit to Trump. But commuting his sentence for being excessive helps Trump build a doctrine by which he'll later publicly rationalize pardoning guys like Stone and Manafort.

[blue-wave]

19. Possible, very possible

[mopinko]

15. he did this because he thinks comey had something to do w it.

there is no strategery here. he saw patty on fox.
it will buy him nothing here.