Jesse Jackson, Jr.

I’ve been following this story for months, and was curious to see if Congressman Jackson, son of the well known Jesse Jackson would be reelected in spite of being in hospital for an extended stay with a (claimed) mental disorder. He was, by a landslide.

What was remarkable was that he didn’t even bother to solicit votes, give speeches, talk on the radio or anything except broadcast a single RoboCall message. Next to nothing. And yet he won. Why is that?

I also noted that the FBI has been investigating him for a year for buying personal trinkets, like a $40,000 watch using campaign contributions. He just resigned only two weeks after winning his ninth term, probably as a part of a plea deal. Is it unreasonable to believe that he knew about the investigation and was just trying to dodge the FBI bullet? We’ll know if his “bipolar disorder” is “cured” after the plea deal is signed.

I’m sure that if he could run again after his prison term, his constituents would reelect him… by a landslide.

Is truth stranger than fiction? How do you explain our gerrymandered election system that encourages the Ivory Tower syndrome? Perhaps we should call Washington, Mt. Olympus instead… where the Gods reside, passing out favors to the little people?

Late word, February 8th, 2013.  Today, Jesse Jackson, Jr. pleaded guilty and has signed a plea bargain. He admitted to giving a $40,000 watch to his female “friend,” paying travel expenses for his friend and spending money on furniture. He also admitted to paying his wife $5,000 a month as a “political consultant.” No one is mentioning what kind of female friend gets a $40,000 watch, or what his wife, former Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson was doing for the $5,000. I wonder.

There isn’t any word as to his bi-polar “medical condition” and if it was cured after he reached the written deal, or that will wait until after he is sentenced.

Is this taking the country to the cleaners, hiding vanishing into the Mayo Clinic for an extended period, being reelected by a landslide in spite of not campaigning and then resigning two weeks after he won? A sad story.

He’ll probably get a little jail time and some probation, possibly suspended. For the public, steal a loaf of bread to feed your starving children, two years. We’ll see.