Now a ‘Trumpocrat,’ Blagojevich to stump for GOP candidate
Rod Blagojevich once joked about not having a speaking role at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, saying the “Democratic National Committee and Mayor Daley invited me to speak at 4:30 in the morning in the men’s room at Faneuil Hall.”
Fast forward 16 years, past that early aughts convention that vaulted Barack Obama to the national stage, and past the ex-governor’s prison sentence for trying to auction off that “golden” U.S. Senate seat, and now, the newly sprung Blagojevich has the keynote speaker slot — at a Republican National Convention watch party.
The self-declared “Trumpocrat” will headline an Aug. 27 fundraiser in St. Charles to support a west suburban Republican state Senate candidate and “to celebrate President Donald J. Trump’s RNC 2020 nomination,” six months after Blagojevich was freed with a commutation from his former reality television boss.
Illinois Republican Party leaders called it “a bad idea,” but GOP candidate Tom McCullagh said he invited Blagojevich to “highlight corruption in Illinois, and how to fight it.”
“I’m not defending him or his actions in any way,” McCullagh said. “He’s been speaking out against Mike Madigan’s corruption since he got out. That’s the only reason I would involve myself with a person of such notoriety: to outline how the Madigan machine works, and how to dismantle it.”
Representatives for the powerful Illinois House speaker, who was implicated last month in a bribery scheme alleged against ComEd, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Madigan has not been charged with any crime and has denied any wrongdoing.
McCullagh said the event was “almost sold out” by Monday afternoon and might be moved to a larger outdoor venue to accommodate more people while abiding by social distancing guidelines. The location hasn’t been disclosed “due to security reasons.”
An invitation for the $150-perplate event — limited to 50 guests — promises an “intimate address” from
Blagojevich that organizers claim will be live-streamed to 1.67 million viewers. Supporters can pledge $300 for admittance to a VIP reception, or $1,000 for a sponsorship.
McCullagh, who had $286.38 in his campaign fund at the end of June, wouldn’t say how much Blagojevich is being paid for the appearance. Since his release, the disbarred ex-governor has been hosting a podcast and churning out personalized videos on demand for $80 a pop.
Meg Loughran Cappel, McCullagh’s Democratic opponent in the 49th Senate District race, said “it’s shameful that Tom McCullagh would accept help from corrupt, disgraced figures like Rod Blagojevich
and Donald Trump.”
“Countless Illinoisans are worried about their jobs, health care and safety, while these three politicians only worry about themselves,” Cappel said.
In a statement, the Illinois Republican Party said “we have nothing to do with this event and we don’t condone it. It’s a bad idea. Republicans in Illinois are for cleaning up Democrat corruption that has plagued us for too long — not celebrating one of its most insidious characters.”
Illinois Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady said “we were not involved in this event. I support President Trump and I support Tom McCullagh.”
Listed second on the bill is Mark
Vargas, the conservative political strategist and adviser who served as the Blagojevich family’s conduit to the White House to help secure his commutation.
“We’ve called for Madigan to resign, and just thought this would be another great opportunity to support Trump,” Vargas said. “Rod’s happy to get out and show some support. He’s a natural campaigner.”
Vargas also provided a statement from Blagojevich, who called McCullagh “an outsider and an agent of change. If elected, he will go to Springfield and shake up that corrupt establishment that is all about serving itself and Mike Madigan on the backs of the hard-working people of Illinois.”
Young activists have often accused Black elected officials of being out of touch with their issues. But as the late Rev. Willie Barrow, herself a tireless activist who stood in the shadow of her male peers, said: “We are not so much divided as we are disconnected.”
To their credit, the Democratic National Committee Black Caucus made a good effort trying to connect the many factions of the Black Agenda during its virtual presentation Monday afternoon.
The caucus kicked off on Sunday with a tribute to the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., with several prominent speakers honoring him for his long record of civil rights activism, and his 1984 and 1988 bids for the Democratic nomination for president.
“People didn’t think it was possible. In 1984, it was like laughable,” Jackson said in a recorded interview.
With Sen. Kamala Harris being the first woman of color to be on a major party ticket, Jackson said he would be working every day and night for Joe Biden’s success.
It is an attitude that Democrats hope will sweep across Black America.
“We have work to do . . . health care for all, right now. Equal education for all, right now. Peace for all, right now,” said Jackson, who is struggling with failing health.
That speakers sat before computer screens to deliver messages meant to fire up the party’s loyal base wasn’t the only change from past conventions.
These were younger Black leaders working to change a system that some of their peers argue should be completely torn down because of “systemic” racism.
Mandela Barnes, the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, a key battleground state, said he grew up in Milwaukee in an area where Black people were “stripped of political voice.”
“Nothing like the spring election can ever happen again. Voters waited in long lines for hours. We have a task ahead. We can’t take this election for granted,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., boasted about being the youngest Black woman ever elected to Congress, and about being a proud resident of northern Illinois.
“My generation and the next will not stand idly by while our fundamental American values are under attack. We will lead the way to a more perfect union. I grew up in Naperville . . . This summer I saw my predominantly white community embrace the cause of equality and justice. High school students led marches across our community. They stated unequivocally that Black lives matter.”
In 2016, gun violence was at the top of the agenda for the Democrats, with delegates vowing to do more to stop the carnage.
This time around, the priority, at least for the Black Caucus, is ending police shootings that have claimed the lives of too many young Black men and women.
“This election will be the most consequential election of our lifetime,” said U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.
“The truth is we don’t organize just for an election. We organize to build communities, to build community power. We are writing the next chapter of our civil rights movement,” she said.
Travis Nelson, western director of the DNC, said he intends to hold Black leadership accountable.
Nelson said he was tear-gassed at a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Oregon.
“I have lived in Portland for well over a decade. The environment, health care, housing and systemic racism is finally being called out. The status quo is no longer acceptable, and these four years have been a disaster,” Nelson said.
He pointed out that even if Harris makes history as vice president, things aren’t necessarily going to change.
“We need to back them up. We’ve got to continue showing up at City Hall and statehouses, and the national Capitol. You have to vote like your lives depend on it,” he added.
Tamika Mallory, one of the primary organizers of the 2017 Women’s March, acknowledged the “greatness” of a Black woman being nominated as vice president.
“The historic moment is not just someone being chosen, it is about how do we turn that appointment into power,” she said.
“We need to do the work of pushing that administration to be all they need to be. Let’s be bold. Being politically correct will probably not get it done, and we will have to turn the system upside down,” she added.
It was 12-year-old Keedron Bryant’s powerful video, “I Just Wanna Live,” played midway through the caucus event, that brought the messages home.
This election cycle, “Black Lives Matter” is taking center stage.
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush is proposing new legislation that will provide relief for parents of U.S. citizens and immigrant children who were brought to the U.S. at a young age.
“Tragically, 12 million of our neighbors, our friends, our loved ones are forced to live in the shadows under the constant threat of deportation,” Rush said.
Rush, surrounded by state and local politicians and immigration advocates in the garden of the Lincoln United Methodist Church in the Pilsen area
Monday, announced the American Right 2 Family Act legislation that he plans to soon introduce in Congress. He and other advocates are pushing for the bill now so it can be discussed this week at the Democratic National Convention. The group wants Joe Biden, who is set to accept the party’s nomination for president Thursday, to include the bill as part of his platform.
The proposed legislation calls for protections from deportation and work permits for parents of U.S. citizens and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients — it extends protections to anyone who was brought to the U.S. before they turned 16 years old and provides a pathway for anyone who was deported to return to the U.S., “thus having the effect of helping to end the inhumane separation of families that have taken place in this so-called land of the free,” Rush said.
For eight years, Mahalea Velasco has been separated from her father, who was deported. She is a U.S. citizen and recalled how she was a child when former President Barack Obama was in office. Now a teen, Velasco said she is still waiting for changes that will allow her to reunite with her father.
“But I cannot wait any longer,” Velasco said. “I need my dad now.”
The group hung a large banner depicting Biden next to Obama, calling on him to “fulfill the Obama promise,” referring to the campaign promise to reform immigration policy. Obama had created the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, but the program was never implemented. The group also pointed out the potential power of Latino voters in the upcoming presidential election — a large wooden box depicting Obama and Biden was on display Monday, holding copies of voter registration forms the group has completed so far.
Saul Arellano, the son of Elvira Arellano, who fought off deportation, said he is among eligible Latino voters, and he has spent weeks working with other youth leaders to register people to vote.
“We are united as U.S. citizens and Dreamers to end the nightmare of mass deportations,” Arellano said.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) said he plans to introduce a resolution in City Council in support of the bill. He described the legislation as providing “hope” to the immigrant community.
“It is during these times when we stand together because Black lives matter, and it’s so meaningful for us to have a congressman who gives us hope and lets us see how the Black Panther spirit is very much alive in our city,” Sigcho-Lopez said as Rush raised his fists in the air. Before entering Congress, Rush was an organizer in the Black Panther Party and helped create the Illinois chapter.
Miguel Perez Jr., a veteran who was deported to Mexico but later allowed to return to Chicago, said he was separated from his parents and his U.S.-born children during his deportation.
“Family is a God-given right, and can’t nobody separate us from that,” Perez said.