Free Republic

Did Rezko pay for Gov's house rehab? FEDERAL INVESTIGATION | Probe into Blagojeviches centering on whether indicted fund-raiser paid for all or part of $90,000 work on Northwest Side home Federal investigators are zeroing in on whether Tony Rezko paid for all or part of a $90,000 rehab of Gov. Blagojevich's Northwest Side bungalow as the corruption probe of the state's first family accelerates. Contractors dealt with gov’s wife Since Rezko's felony conviction in June, the FBI has been investigating how the former top Blagojevich fund-raiser billed the governor and his wife for the work, who paid for it and...

Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman and Clinton family confidant, plans to run for Virginia governor

Budget: Big changes Gov. Sarah Palin wants to slice $150 million from the state's operating budget. (Though overall, the operating budget increases under her proposal. That's because she's looking to cut in unspecified places, while spending in others, such as the Longevity Bonus and public employee retirement.) Is there $150 million worth of fat? Where is it? Her budget, which Palin talked about today in Anchorage, also includes extra money for cities, but is it a real return to revenue sharing, or a one-time deal? Palin proposes a bare bones capital budget -- a fraction of the money Murkowski...

CHICAGO, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. federal agents say they have enough evidence to indict Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for fraud and conspiracy, WBBM-TV, Chicago, reported Thursday. The CBS-owned station also said an indictment of Blagojevich, the first Democrat elected to Illinois' governorship in 30 years, was "not imminent." Neither the FBI, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald nor Blagojevich's office had any immediate comment on the report. Fitzgerald's office said June 30, 2006, it was looking into "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration.

PBS has a short video on Sarah Palin on their website. Also included is a poll that asks: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be VP? I logged on a couple hours ago and 33% percent had voted YES, 67% NO. It appears you can vote multiple times so I just voted again and it's now YES, 52%, and NO 47%. Here's the link: http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner made official Monday what's been expected for months: He's running for governor in 2010. The state's only Republican statewide officeholder besides Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will file paperwork today to open an exploratory committee to succeed Schwarzenegger in two years. The move is the first formal step taken to enter the race. "I am taking the first formal step toward running for governor in 2010 because I believe in California and I understand that meeting the challenges of the 21st century requires new and innovative ideas," Poizner said in a statement. Poizner, 51, sold a...

How much foreign policy experience did GOVERNOR Bill Clinton have before he became President? And how about Jimmy Carter, George Bush, Ronald Reagan? Why doesn't someone point this out?

Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic Party chairman and head of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, is weighing a run for Virginia governor next year. Mr. McAuliffe, 51, a frequent TV commentator and Democratic spokesman, fanned rumors at the party's nominating convention in Denver when he talked to Virginia delegates, then declined to rule out a run when speaking with reporters. A top McAuliffe aide, Tracy Sefl, said Wednesday that Mr. McAuliffe has been "inundated" by well-wishers in the state urging him to run. "He's really flattered, and his position is the same, that he's not ruling out anything,"...

Butch King's e-mail that went around the world. Below is a copy of Butch King's original email which he sent to his friends and clients. These are Butch King's personal comments as a life time Alaskan Dear Friends. Fishing is good here at Wildman and I rarely have time for politics, but recently many of our friends are asking us “Who is Sarah Palin?” Of course, as Alaskans, Kathy and I are extremely proud of her. We just want to let you know that Sarah “Barracuda” Palin is a straight shooting, hard charging, get it done gal. She knows when...

Watch video here.

Ohio is going to be a hard fought-over state in this presidential election. And consequently, the economy of this bellwether state has become highly scrutinized. . . . By 2010, Ohio will be one of only two states without a general tax on corporation profits or a property tax on business machinery, equipment and inventories. This year is the last for Ohio's business property tax; next year is the last for the corporation profits tax. And Ohio's personal income tax rates are falling by 21% across the board. Between 2005 and 2007, Ohio's per capita state tax burden has already...

- Republican John Kasich has announced nothing yet, but conservative talk-show host Sean Hannity may have done it for him yesterday when he referred to the former Columbus-area congressman as "the next governor of the state of Ohio." At the Republican National Convention, Mr. Kasich sounded a lot like a candidate when he spoke to the Ohio delegation. He's been making the county GOP dinner rounds in Ohio, and he's created a political action committee called Recharge Ohio, whose most immediate aim is to keep the Ohio House in Republican hands on Nov. 4. He called Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland...

Don’t confuse the title with “environmental movement.” Heaven knows Democrats aren’t about to forego those big SUV’s, yachts, jets, and multi- fireplace mansions. Offsetting carbon credits is up to you “little people” purchasing a five dollar light bulb (which is umpteen times more polluting). Actually, it will take quite a few of you “little people” installing green-pocket bulbs to offset the 100 gallons of gasoline per hour Al Goresky’s new houseboat burns...

John McCain will be nominated this week as the Republican candidate for president. He likely will ride effortlessly through the party's national convention in St. Paul, MN. But in Washington state, McCain will share the ballot this fall with Republicans trying to distance themselves from the national party and doing little to link arms with the McCain campaign. Dino Rossi, a Republican who lists his party preference as "GOP Party," is doing his best to bask in Barack Obama's message of change as he tries to unseat Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. Rossi talks so much about Obama on the campaign...

It is well known that MoveOn.org published an anti-Catholic hate cartoon that showed Pope Benedict with a gavel in front of the U.S. Supreme Court (http://www.stentorian.com/MoveOn). William McGurn’s “Democrats Made No Room on Abortion” (Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2008 page A19) reports, however, that the 1992 Democratic National Convention featured “buttons featuring the governor [Pennsylvania's Robert Casey Sr.] as pope.” A Google search found the button in question at “Why Democrats Are Blue,” (http://whydemocratsblue.com/excerpt/) and it clearly uses the Pope in a “This is the Enemy” context. How can the Democratic Party be anti-Catholic when prominent Democrats have names...

Huckabee: Alright I'm strapped into the chair. The IV's are inserted. I'm ready for execution. Hey are those snakes in the studio? Oh I'm glad I'm not in there with them. I hate those things. Here's a better idea.. why don't you take a 45 caliber glock and blow their head off. http://www.mydamnchannel.com/Harry_Shearer/Found_Objects/FoundObjectsMikeHuckabee_549.aspx

The rumor mill about whether Dianne Feinstein, the popular Democratic senator, will run for governor heats up every now and again. It began to simmer last week, after the San Francisco Chronicle's Matier and Ross published a private poll showing her beating another would-be Democratic candidate, Attorney General Jerry Brown, 50 to 24 percent. Brown, who served two terms as governor before term limits were enacted, has been the early frontrunner among the politcal chattering class. In fact, in that same published poll, Brown was the top choice when Feinstein wasn't included, besting San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los...

Still talking about the economy, as of 7:26 .. said she's coming up after this break and will talk about: drill, drill, drill.

Former Department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan on Friday said that since Gov. Sarah Palin took office, members of her administration and family pressured him to fire a Palmer Alaska State Trooper to whom her sister was involved in a bitter child custody battle. Monegan said phone calls and questions from the Palin administration and the governor's husband, Todd Palin, about trooper Mike Wooten started shortly after Monegan was hired and continued up to one or two months ago. The governor herself also had a brief conversation with him about Wooten in February, Monegan said. The new assertions from...

Member of the Texas Sunset Commission today recommended 'radical' changes in the administration of the Texas Department of Transportation, including placing the troubled and controversial agency into a four year legislative 'receivership' and abolishing the Texas Transportation Commission, which runs TexDOT, and appointment of a Transportation Commissioner who would be answerable to the Legislature, 1200 WOAI news reports. But Sunset Commission member Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio) suggested going one step further. "What I am hearing form the public is that they are wanting to see an elected commissioner," she said to loud applause from the TexDOT opponents who...

I read where Gov. Palin was involved in a traffic accident on Tuesday. I'm glad to hear everyone was OK. I am sure I'm not the only one wondering why, during our current energy crisis, she was commuting from Wasilla to Anchorage alone in the state's gas-guzzling Chevrolet Suburban. As she stated recently that her energy team is "working on a long term plan to promote conservation and lasting solutions" to our current crisis, she might consider setting the example by traveling in something that gets better than 15 mpg. -- Doug Lyon Anchorage

Jesse "The Body" or "The Governor" Ventura is making his announcement tonight on Larry King Live if he will be running for Senate from Minnesota against Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D).

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who built a national reputation pushing cutting-edge -- and controversial -- policies on same-sex marriage, healthcare and other issues, today launched an exploratory bid for governor. His move placed the 40-year-old, two-term mayor out in front of a large Democratic field eyeing the race to succeed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is barred by term limits from running again in 2010. Newsom said he expected to decide by year's end whether to proceed with a full-fledged candidacy.

CNN's Lou Dobbs isn't talking about rumours that he's thinking about running for governor of New Jersey. Dobbs lives on a 300-acre farm in Sussex County. Dobbs told The Star-Ledger of Newark he's "not going to comment.'' State Republican chairman Tom Wilson tells the newspaper the Dobbs' buzz is circulating among GOP officials and fundraisers in New York City and Washington. Wilson says the first thing Dobbs should do is register as a Republican. The CNN host switched from the GOP to an independent in 2006. Dobbs gained fame hosting "Moneyline.'' Gov. Jon S. Corzine became a multimillionaire on Wall...

Texas Gov. takes blame if FLDS raid 'stepped across some legal line' The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 06/06/2008 02:15:33 PM MDT Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he accepts personal blame if Texas "stepped across some legal line" in its raid on a polygamous ranch, while at the same time defending the removal of more than 400 children from the FLDS' Yearning for Zion Ranch in April. In a report today in the Dallas Morning News, Perry said, "I still think that the state of Texas has an obligation to young women who are forced into marriage and underage...

The top political lieutenant to Rudy Giuliani is being mentioned by some Republicans as a possible replacement for state GOP Chairman Joe Mondello, who's been the target of criticism over the party's dwindling fortunes in the past year. Anthony Carbonetti, who was senior strategist for Giuliani's failed presidential bid, has been suggested as a possible replacement, a move seen by some as a sign that Giuliani is making a play for the future - including a possible run for governor.The news comes at a time when Mayor Bloomberg - who has conducted polling on a possible gubernatorial run - and...

Ted Strickland’s first gun was a Roy Rogers cap pistol, “like the ones the cowboys use,” he said this week. After that, the governor remembers shooting squirrels and rabbits with a .22-caliber rifle. From that foundation, Strickland has supported gun rights in a way a lot of other Democrats haven’t—before it was trendy. It’s been a tough couple of years for Toby Hoover. More than three decades ago, her first husband was murdered during a hardware store robbery, and since then, she’s fought to spread the message that putting more guns into more hands would make Ohio a violent and...

New York Governor Pardons Slick Rick May 23, 2008, 3:35 PM ET Hillary Crosley, N.Y. Veteran rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters received a full and unconditional pardon from New York governor David Paterson today (May 23) for the attempted murders of two men in 1991, apparently ending a long legal sega. Walters has already served approximately five years in prison and was released in 1997 on parole and discharged in 2000. But he faces deportation under a federal statute mandating the removal of a lawful resident alien upon conviction of an aggravated felony or a weapon offense. In 1995, an...

In Arizona this weekend, Republican presidential nominee John McCain will entertain three politicians—Florida governor Charlie Crist, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal—reportedly to consider each as a running mate. If McCain makes an offer to Jindal, it will probably be difficult to resist. But if McCain wants to help Louisiana recover from Hurricane Katrina, he’ll leave its new governor where he is. Jindal’s state needs him more than the nation does.

The nation's first openly gay governor tried to convince the judge in his divorce case Wednesday that he's too poor to pay alimony, saying he's been financially crippled by his resignation and marital troubles.

North Carolina Republican leaders are standing by a TV ad critical of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama despite dissension in their own ranks and one station's refusal to air it. Republican National Committee member Linda Shaw said Thursday she was shocked that her colleagues decided to produce and air the ad, which shows Obama with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and a clip of Wright's anti-U.S. comments. "I do not support it," Shaw said. "I had nothing to do with it ... and I'm very disappointed." Shaw, a longtime party leader, said she repeatedly urged state party chairwoman Linda Daves...

Gov. Sarah Palin was back at work today, holding a meeting on the natural gas pipeline three days after giving birth to her fifth child. Palin and her husband, Todd, showed the baby, Trig Paxson Van Palin, to a few reporters and talked about the sooner-than-expected delivery. Trig arrived about a month early and has Down syndrome, the governor confirmed. Testing during early pregnancy revealed the condition. Palin said she was sad at first but they now feel blessed that God chose them. The couple has lots of family support, she said.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels elicited several hushed gasps and raised eyebrows late last week as he lectured a AP conservative crowd that it was “time to let Ronald Reagan go.” The governor delivered his remarks to a room full of fellow red-staters at the Fund for American Studies’ annual conference and donor retreat at the Newseum. “Nostalgia is fine and Reagan’s economic plan was good,” Daniels said. “But we need to look towards the future rather than staying in the past.” Daniels added that the GOP needed to work on uniting behind Sen. John McCain instead of constantly comparing the...

Gov. Sarah Palin gave birth to her fifth child at 6:30 this morning at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, her spokeswoman said today. The boy's name is Trig Paxson Van Palin. He's 6 pounds, 2 ounces. "The governor's labor began while she was in Texas, and I do know that she got on a plane and landed in Anchorage late last night," said Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow. Leighow said the governor and her son are healthy and resting comfortably today. The baby wasn't due until May 18. "It was quite a surprise," Leighow

A MAN has caused a security scare after jumping from a Manly ferry and breaking into the grounds of the Governor-Generals' official Sydney home. An AAP journalist, who was an eyewitness, said the man jumped off the ferry in Sydney harbour at about 2.50pm (AEST) and swam up to 600 metres towards Admiralty House, dodging four police boats before making it to shore. "He jumped off the ferry and started swimming,'' he said. "The maritime police tried to corner him and lasso him.'' The witness said the man climbed a wall and was in the grounds of Governor-General Michael Jeffrey's...

An appeals court says an inmate can't sue former Gov. Gray Davis even though he wrongly denied the prisoner parole for three years. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals says governors are shielded from private lawsuits because they are essentially acting as judges and that erroneous decisions can be corrected on appeal. But the court did agreed that Davis had no authority to reverse the decision by the California Board of Prison Terms to parole Donald Miller, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. Governors can only review parole decisions on murder convictions.

CORPUS CHRISTI — Hutchison plans to run for governor in 2010 The Austin and Republican rumor mills have been in overdrive for months about Gov. Rick Perry's future political plans. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is planning to run for governor in 2010, her spokesman Matt Mackowiak said while he was in town Wednesday. If she resigns her Senate seat to devote her efforts to the governor's race, Perry would name her successor. Mentioned as the top front-runners are Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (who also has indicated that he plans to run for governor), former Secretary of State Roger Williams,...

GIULIANI WEIGHING 'SPECIAL' RUN FOR GOVBy MAGGIE HABERMAN March 28, 2008 -- In the latest twist in New York politics, Rudy Giuliani is eyeing a run for governor in a special election this fall should Gov. Paterson be forced to resign, sources say. A top adviser to the former mayor, who pulled the plug on his presidential bid in January, yesterday dangled the possibility of Giuliani's running in a special election. It would happen in a year in which presidential nominee John McCain would be at the top of the GOP ticket. The Post reported this week that state lawmakers...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila was charged Thursday with 19 counts in a campaign finance probe, including conspiracy to violate U.S. federal campaign laws and giving false testimony to the FBI. The indictment also charged 12 others associated with Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party as a result of a two-year grand jury investigation, acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said. Acevedo, a superdelegate for the Democratic Party who has pledged to support Sen. Barack Obama, served in Washington as the island's nonvoting delegate to Congress and was elected governor in 2004 after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform....

Report: New N.Y. Gov. Paterson, Wife Admit AffairsCouple Comes Clean In Stunning Daily News Interview Mar 18, 2008 6:00 am US/Eastern NEW YORK (CBS) - Hours after being sworn in, a report has just surfaced that Gov. David Paterson had an extra-marital affair. And the accusations don't end there. Not only does the report detail the alleged affair by Paterson, it also claims his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, also had an extra-marital affair. According to the Daily News, the governor's affair started back in 1999 when the couple was going through a rough time in their marriage. In the interview,...

Very funny segment on the Eliot Spitzer "issue."

liot Spitzer vowed to shake up government and politics in New York. He did so in ways absolutely no one anticipated. By dallying with a call-girl ring known as the Emperors Club VIP—the name augured power and cost Spitzer his—he brought to office a remarkable new governor who may succeed in achieving Spitzer’s goals through methods nothing like those of the man who once called himself a “steamroller.” While David A. Paterson, who will take over Monday as New York’s first African American governor, can be a fierce Democratic partisan, he is positively courtly toward his Republican adversaries and often...

David Paterson was never supposed to be governor of New York. The relief and trepidation in New York share a common source: ...at a time when the state is wrestling with a difficult, multibillion-dollar budget, there are drawbacks to having a new governor who describes his own worst failing as a difficulty in saying “no.” “When I feel I have erred, it’s in that direction — of trying too hard to keep people together and to keep everybody happy, which is not always what should be your first mission in government.” Paterson has had an ambivalent relationship with his disability....

NEW York's Governor spent up to $US80,000 ($85,000) on prostitutes who he asked to not wear a condom, it has been reported, as sordid details emerged in the sex scandal that threatens to hound him from office. Eliot Spitzer became embroiled in the scandal on Tuesday when it was reported that he was linked to a US probe into a prostitution ring. Mr Spitzer was caught on a listening device spending more than $4000 at the Emperor's Club call girl service. Anonymous officials involved with the case have now been reported by the Associated Press as saying that Mr Spitzer...

Is Google in the loop? nys - Google Search. Those links are generated by programs, not human beings. If Paterson is showing up as Governor of New York, it means Google’s web crawlers found something at the New York State web site that generated that link, probably the page title. We’re seeing the tip of the iceberg, as powerful people in New York fight over how to handle this situation. (Hat tip: Merav.)

Wrap up of what people have to say about the Eliot Spitzer debacle. As you'd imagine, a lot of people have an awful lot to say. Ahhh, schadenfreude.

New York's Lieutenant Governor is David Paterson, a former State Senator who evokes mixed feelings in New York political circles, and particularly in his native Harlem. Spitzer chose him based on his personal liking for, and confidence in, him -- a move that I wrote at the time demonstrated a "strong stomach for risk." I profiled Paterson in the New York Observer in 2006: State Senator David Paterson’s bid to be Eliot Spitzer’s candidate for Lieutenant Governor and campaign-trail partner was launched last month in a flurry of confusion and political intrigue. It stunned his Harlem-based world, and left him...

>Nebraska State Senator DiAnna Schimek's 20-year legislative career is nearly over. She feels victimized, no doubt, by the voter-enacted term limits that make this her final year in power. Still, Senator Schimek hopes to go out with her boots on, firing one final shotgun blast to maim or kill the initiative process she has long abhorred. You see, it was only through the voter initiative that Nebraskans passed term limits . . . three times. Yup. It took three petition drives and three votes of the people. Of course, term limits passed overwhelmingly each time. But a charmed third initiative...

Defending champ flies about 70 feet when snowmachine hits barrel . . .Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile racers Todd Palin of Wasilla and Scott Davis of Soldotna were back on the trail Friday night after a crash that rattled the duo and sent a minor tremor across the state. The crash itself was somewhat the norm for Alaska snowmobile accidents. Palin hit a solid object -- in this case a barrel hidden beneath the snow. The obstruction stopped his snowmachine, and he went flying over it.

Ill. governor fights order to release federal subpoenasBy The Associated Press 02.11.08 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration says it has new, secret evidence to warrant keeping the public from seeing federal subpoenas it has received. Lawyers for the Democrat filed court papers Feb. 8 asking a judge to reverse his ruling of a month ago to release subpoenas from the U.S. attorney. “Newly discovered evidence” makes it important to keep the documents secret, they said. But they also requested to file the documents in secrecy and no information about them was included in the filing. The Better Government...