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Go Home TRB: Spare the Rod

FEBRUARY 18, 2009

TRB: Spare the Rod

BY JONATHAN CHAIT

I fully realize that few complaints are more tiresome than "your party's scandal is worse than my party's scandal." But indulge me for a moment. I can't think of a good reason why Rod Blagojevich has become the most hated man in America while Norm Coleman still walks the streets with his head held high.

What, you say--Norm Coleman? Yes, Norm Coleman! Let me explain. The soon-to-be-former senator's scandal is pretty simple. Nasser Kazeminy, a wealthy businessman and close Coleman friend, allegedly paid him $75,000 under the table.

And by "allegedly," I mean "almost certainly." Here's how the almost certainly true alleged scheme worked. The payments to Coleman came in the form of what Tony Soprano would call a "no-show job." One of Kazeminy's companies is called Deep Marine Technology. Kazeminy allegedly ordered Deep Marine's CEO, Paul McKim, to make a series of $25,000 payments that would go to Coleman's wife. According to McKim, Kazeminy was utterly blatant. He said the reason for the payments was that Coleman needed the money and McKim should disguise them as a legitimate business transaction.

Watch TNR editor Franklin Foer discuss this column with TNR senior editor Jonathan Chait:

The intermediary they picked was an insurance company owned by Jim Hays, a major Coleman donor who had given contracting work to Coleman's wife, Laurie. Hays admits getting the $75,000, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, but says he "provide[d] insurance advice" to Deep Marine and denies the money went to Laurie Coleman.

This is very hard to believe. Deep Marine was already paying $1 million per year for insurance from a London company that specializes in underwater offshore lines, which is Deep Marine's business. And Laurie Coleman, who had only recently become a licensed insurance rep after a career as a model and actress, "can't legally write insurance policies because she has no association or 'appointment' with an insurer," the paper reported. It's possible Laurie Coleman never got the money from Hays, or got it but never informed her husband. But keep in mind that Kazeminy is, by Coleman's own account, a longtime, "very dear" friend. It's hard to imagine him working with Laurie behind Norm's back, or not confirming that his gift was received by its intended recipient. 

McKim (a Republican) grudgingly agreed to the first three payments but quit rather than make the fourth, and he is now suing Kazeminy, as is a group of Deep Marine shareholders. The FBI is reportedly investigating as well.

If you're inclined to think that maybe Coleman has simply been victimized by a bizarre series of coincidences, it's worth keeping some recent history in mind. Coleman has also been embroiled in a minor scandal in which he rented a Capitol Hill apartment from a Republican lobbyist for the preposterously low sum of $600 a month. He has also let Kazeminy fly him on his private jet to locales like Paris and the Bahamas and, reportedly, buy him expensive suits. So the latest scandal wouldn't exactly fly in the face of everything we know about Coleman.

Of course, Coleman has not yet been proven to have committed a crime. But the same can be said of a certain floppy-haired former Illinois governor whose guilt has nevertheless been universally assumed. The comparison between Coleman and Blagojevich is instructive because the allegations entail the same basic crime, which is to leverage political power for personal gain.

Some differences in the scale of relative guilt do present themselves. In Coleman's defense, he's currently just a subject of an FBI investigation, while Blagojevich has been voted out of office. And, of course, Coleman hasn't been caught boasting about his scheme. On the other hand, Coleman is accused by a Houston businessman of having actually accepted illicit funds, while Blagojevich is merely being accused of harboring an intention to sell his Senate seat.

Now consider how the two stories have fared in the national press. Blagojevich has turned into the biggest crime story since O.J. Simpson. Can you guess how many articles about the Coleman scandal have appeared in the national media? One short wire story. When I bring up Coleman's scandals with my colleagues, many of whom follow politics for a living, invariably they have little or no idea what I'm talking about.

I confess that, by comparing Coleman with Blagojevich, I've stacked the deck a bit. Any political scandal is going to appear underplayed next to Blagojevich's. What propelled Blagojevich into a pop-culture phenomenon was, first, that he was caught on tape making the sorts of crude calculations that no doubt go on behind closed doors in Washington and state capitols every day. Then Patrick Fitzgerald, a telegenic and already famous prosecutor, denounced Blagojevich in the most florid terms ("cynical," "appalling," "a new low," etc. ). While Illinois rules against jury-tainting forbid prosecutors from making such statements, the effect of Fitzgerald's blatant misconduct was to further lower public esteem of the accused rather than the accuser.

But, of course, this is just my point: These scandals are as much a function of perception and mass psychology as anything to do with the underlying merits. Coleman benefited from his race against Al Franken, whose very candidacy struck many people as a joke (unfairly, I think). Coleman, a pro-Bush Republican running in a blue state, based his campaign on Franken's characterological unfitness for office and managed to acquire the trappings of the good-government candidate.

None of these factors, however, make the disparate treatment of Blagojevich and Coleman any less bizarre. Blagojevich's fellow Democrats have treated him like a war criminal. Not only did they rush to pronounce him guilty, they fought tooth and nail to deny a Senate seat to his appointee Roland Burris, without requiring even the whiff of wrongdoing on Burris's part.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are staunchly defending Coleman's hopeless legal challenge to overturn Franken's victory. Last week, the Republican Jewish Coalition hired Coleman as a spokesman. The RJC announced, "we are eager for him to travel across the country on our behalf and to be an important voice within the organization." Republicans aren't just defending Coleman, they're going out of their way to keep him in the public eye! Do they even realize this man is being investigated by the FBI?

Jonathan Chait is a senior editor at The New Republic.

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46 comments

Thank you Mr. Chait. Finally, an article about Coleman's monkey business. I too have wondered why this has not been covered anywhere in the national news. You'd think with 24/7 cable news the story that the FBI is investigating Coleman,even as he drags our state through a long and foolish election trial, would be very newsworthy. As for the republicans treatment of Coleman vs. the dems of Blago, just business as usual. The repubs move in lock step, the dems flaggelate themselves.

- StellaRay

February 1, 2009 at 1:45pm

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This is Blago compared to Coleman, Coleman compared to Palin and Daschle compared to Mccain! One politician is called a criminal while the other walks free and I was raised as a crime was a crime! I say is Blago is quielty, so is Coleman! If Daschle can't be in this administration because of failur to pay taxes, Than Mccain needs to be removed from Senate! If Blago is called a criminal and Removed from Office, so should Palin for Abuse of Her Power. It's not pick and choose and who do we like most an we will keep the ones we like! It's about fairness, and accountability---It's about criminal acts or Mistakes. but we darn sure better start treating each other equal, and equal under the law---------or why do we even have a constitution that holds all of us up as equals under the law! Do we know just throw it out of the window, and write our own laws according to what our Goverment/Polititions say it should be?

- alberta treadway

February 1, 2009 at 1:49pm

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Blagojevich is a Serbian ethnic American. Is it so surprising that ethnic Americans are treated so disrespectfully. I remember well how Ronald Reagan thrashed Polonians: Polish Americans. Poles, Hungarians, Slovaks and other eastern Europeans have been shot in Pennsylvania because they dared to go on strike against mine-owners. So too have Italians. When Americans finally wake up and discover that we contribute to Israel every year at least $4 billion in military hardware to smack down the Palestinian, then just maybe the Norm Colemans will get their just deserts!

- John Warren Gotsch

February 1, 2009 at 2:28pm

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I'm so glad you are covering this story. I hope it does some good. The way Democrats treated Blagojevich is a disgrace to the party

- Wanda Salyard

February 1, 2009 at 4:59pm

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I have lived a couple of blocks from Norm for many years.... I have bets with multiple votes that he is more likely to serve time behind bars than RB. Suites, flights, apartments and cash! Keep in mind that Norm chaired the oversite committee responsible for supervising the contractors in Iraq! He has sold us out in so many ways!

- MK Sutherland

February 1, 2009 at 9:03pm

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Interesting article. I suspect you realize that the reason Republicans are pushing hard for Coleman has little to do with what a great guy he may be beneath the corruption. It's a little thing called "60 Democratic Seats" in the Senate. I'm not a Dem, but the GOP is in a bit of a fix at the moment, and the last thing it needs is another Democrat taking a Republican slot.

- Edwin Kennedy

February 1, 2009 at 9:38pm

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I applaud any attempt to address Norm Coleman's corruption, but I must say that, in his defense, Coleman hasn't run an entire state into the ground, refused to meet with his colleagues in the Senate for years on end (as Blagojevich refused to do with Illinois' executive officers, including the Lieutenant Governor), nor wrangled--with incredibly self-righteousness--a children's health care plan and then done nothing to pass a budget that can reimburse all the health-care providers who are now required by law to treat the children. Nor did Coleman fail to go to his office at the Senate more than 15 times a year (as Blagojevich is said by staffers to have done)-- Norm Coleman didn't attempt to represent Minnesota out of his living room, in other words. And the list goes on and on and on. Before you wonder too quickly about why we are so fed up in this state, you might take a deeper look at the horrible damage done to us by this man. I voted for him the first time, but not the second, and I am thrilled to see him publicly exposed and removed from office.

- Margaret Storey

February 1, 2009 at 10:33pm

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The last paragraph answers all the questions; while Jews support wholeheartedly Coleman's puppet role on their behalf, Blago fought huge Jewish owned monopoly of drug companies, and advocated bringing more reasonably priced drugs in from Canada. Tells you that Blago's offense was far more detrimental than Coleman's

- Alex

February 1, 2009 at 10:57pm

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Coleman is working full-time to keep Al Franken wrapped-up in legal challenges to the completely transparent recounting of votes which gave Franken the win in Minnesota. The GOP is content to have the seat remain vacant during these critical times when another Democratic seat will tilt the Senate to the Dems. Last week, a witness bought by GOP, got confused about what they told him to say and began to lie on-the-stand. The old man's lawyer stood-up and was heard by the 3 Judge Panel, before a call for order or any one's gavel knocked the block, to say: "That man is lying right now. I'm his Lawyer. His Council. That's not true. What he said he wasn't supposed to say. That's not true". Oh, boy. You get the pathetic picture. Instead of pushing the issue and sending the old guy to jail for lying in Court, declaring a Mistrial, Objecting or doing anything about the Perjury; they led the poor old guy to his seat. There's no reason to send anybody to Jail for Norm Coleman. There's no dignity when you hear someone try to say what they had practiced get mangled in such a way as to make them sound ridiculous. There's a transcript to prove this is happening. But, the Nation's on hold, waiting for its Democratic Senator; and Coleman's making him wait 'til Hell freezes over.

- Richard Massey

February 1, 2009 at 11:27pm

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Coleman is working full-time to keep Al Franken wrapped-up in legal challenges to the completely transparent recounting of votes which gave Franken the win in Minnesota. The GOP is content to have the seat remain vacant during these critical times when another Democratic seat will tilt the Senate to the Dems. Last week, a witness bought by GOP, got confused about what they told him to say and began to lie on-the-stand. The old man's lawyer stood-up and was heard by the 3 Judge Panel, before a call for order or any one's gavel knocked the block, to say: "That man is lying right now. I'm his Lawyer. His Council. That's not true. What he said he wasn't supposed to say. That's not true". Oh, boy. You get the pathetic picture. Instead of pushing the issue and sending the old guy to jail for lying in Court, declaring a Mistrial, Objecting or doing anything about the Perjury; they led the poor old guy to his seat. There's no reason to send anybody to Jail for Norm Coleman. There's no dignity when you hear someone try to say what they had practiced get mangled in such a way as to make them sound ridiculous. There's a transcript to prove this is happening. But, the Nation's on hold, waiting for its Democratic Senator; and Coleman's making him wait 'til Hell freezes over.

- Richard Massey

February 1, 2009 at 11:28pm

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But if you are an Illinois resident subject to mass, unrelenting , all pervasive conflicts of interest that permeates our politics , then maybe you can appreciate one small victory.

- Dave Pad

February 2, 2009 at 1:37am

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I found it interesting that Home Depot's founder Bernie Marcus mentioned Norm Coleman BY NAME: "If a retailer has not gotten involved with this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and these other guys, [those retailers] should be shot; should be thrown out of their goddamn jobs." Has anyone investigated whether Marcus gave illegal funds to Coleman?

- Cindy from OR

February 2, 2009 at 3:36am

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Yes. The Republicans are going to great lengths to keep Coleman in the public eye. But only because they want him to win the seat by any means necessary, regardless of the hits that Coleman's reputation takes. Because Minnesota's governor is a Republican. Coleman wins the seat. Coleman resigns seat. Pawlenty replaces Coleman with a Republican.

- MiguelH

February 2, 2009 at 6:36am

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Pardon me, but where do you get the idea that Blagojevich is the most hated man in America?! That's completely preposterous. He's a joke, a clown...but hardly hated. If you want see real anger, go ask the average guy on the streets what he thinks of bankers or corporate ceos...or go ask him what he thinks of politicians who act like they care about American workers, but don't actually do anything to help them. Those politicians are hated! But Blagojevich?! Pull your head out of your media-inspired hallucination and get a life.

- theinternetisnotatruck

February 2, 2009 at 7:05am

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is it simply that blago is a democrat and democrats bend over backwards so their heads and their tails are between their legs while coleman is a republican and they act like victorious caesar or napoleon if they are put into power by court order after losing the popular vote by over a million votes, etc.? yes.

- jeff montanye

February 2, 2009 at 8:44am

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Get your facts straight. An insurance producer does NOT generally need an appointment with an insurance company in order to write or place insurance policies. What IS needed is a producer's license. In fact, a insurance broker is a producer who works for the client not a company. If the lack of appointment is what leads you to believe the transaction was illegal, you are probably wrong. If on the other hand no policy sale took place, then the payment was gratuitous although not necessarily illegal.

- Maurice

February 2, 2009 at 9:09am

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Get your facts straight. An insurance producer does NOT generally need an appointment with an insurance company in order to write or place insurance policies. What IS needed is a producer's license. In fact, a insurance broker is a producer who works for the client not a company. If the lack of appointment is what leads you to believe the transaction was illegal, you are probably wrong. If on the other hand no policy sale took place, then the payment was gratuitous although not necessarily illegal.

- Maurice

February 2, 2009 at 9:10am

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I too, am puzzled why this story has never gotten "legs". Why haven't the major news outlets taken it on? A double standard.

- northernwoman

February 2, 2009 at 9:20am

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It's only a matter of time until the crud rises to the top where Coleman is concerned. It's pathetic that he is still fighting for a seat. What a waste of resources and a slap in the face to many.

- Mark

February 2, 2009 at 9:31am

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I get it. Your guy committed murder and the public doesn't seem to know or care; our guy beat a fellow up and because he's proud to have done so, the public has turned on him. Therefore, my guy isn't so bad....No Jon: your guy still beat the tar out of a man. Howsabout you paint these two (alleged) crooks and (certain) schemers with the same brush: law and order. This "the other guy is worse" defense is a weak effort.......2) For years, we heard about the culture of corruption in Republican Washington and TNR burst at the seams with stories of unparalleled Republican chicanery. Now we're hearing about tax cheats Geitner and Rangel and Al Franken and Tom Daschle; we get Hot Rod and whoever that class act in FL is who was cheating on his wife while trying to supplant Foley-- who was playing virutal footsy with an intern. As a conservative Catholic, I realize that men are not angels, but for goodness sakes, can't the press demand a little better quality man--instead of "Spare the Rod?" Just asking.

- malwords

February 2, 2009 at 9:39am

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How can we prosecute Blago while GOP wheels and deals on the Gregg seat ?

- The Wizard

February 2, 2009 at 10:18am

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You are mistaken when you say that one differencece is that "Blagojevich has been voted out of office," and Coleman hasn't. He has been voted out, but just refuses to admit it. While everyone insisted that Gore "be a man" and accept his defeat, Coleman keeps making the most ridiculous argument (often on both sides of the same), while refusing to accept his defeat. (Perhaps it is just too embarassing for him to think of himslef as losing to both a former wrestler and a former stand-up comic.)

- twodox

February 2, 2009 at 10:29am

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Fact: Blagojevich has accepted cash donations for IL state contracts. He did not get around to accepting anything for the famous Senate seat, but he did do other things for which he should be held accountable. Guess: now that he is out of office I believe that, after some time, he gets to keep all unspent political contributions.

- Carter Howard

February 2, 2009 at 10:48am

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What Coleman did was clearly wrong and he deserves far more bad publicity than he has gotten. That said, I think Blago is somewhat worse. The sort of favor trading he was doing would have been kind of normal (if sad, costly and illegal) if this had all been a matter of building permits and road construction contracts and whatever. Selling senate seats, shaking down hospitals and trying to get journalists fired was much worse.

- William Pastor

February 2, 2009 at 11:14am

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I think a large part of the difference is that there is no agreed upon set of standards against which to judge Republicans. This is because a major part of the conservative movement is dedicated to disparaging liberals in general, no matter what they do, and more specifically the institutions that (theoretically at least) are supposed to keep people honest. Thus, whenever a Repub is accused of anything, a loud chorus arises, from the Wall Street Journal editorial page and other organs and operatives, claiming witch-hunt. (Speaking of Coleman, look at how vigorously the WSJ assailed the legitimacy of the recount, although it was almost certainly conducted fairly and according to the rules agreed upon in advance.) If the reports originate in the press, well that's just more proof of liberal bias. Joe Sixpack not only disbelieves the allegations, but also quite frequently interprets them as a badge of honor - if the accused has pissed off the evil-doers in the press, he must be doing something right. If the allegations originate in the justice system, well that's proof that some America-hating prosecutor is out to get a brave and decent man just trying to get a little public service done. People with very long memories will remember the attacks on Fitzgerald when he had the temerity to indict Scooter Libby. If the attacks come from a conservative, then the rest of the movement arises against him to claim that he's become a liberal. In a time of war, holding your side to account, even when it's justified, can aid and comfort the enemy. Conservatives are at war against liberalism, so they have no problem abandoning accountability in favor of solidarity, lest the liberal side of the conflict be strengthened. Bottom line, no institution that criticizes a Repub can be legitimate because if it were legit, it wouldn't be criticizing the Repub.

- Geoff G

February 2, 2009 at 11:50am

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Oh please! Before everyone thinks Rod Blagojevich was given some bum deal, read the articles of impeachment! Look at archives of the Springfield, IL paper. Attempting to shake down a hospital administrator for a $50,000 campaign contribution in order to free the $8,000,000 in state money to a children's hospital makes hollow the claim from the man who says he did everything for children. And that's just one thing!

- mdiehl from Illinois

February 2, 2009 at 12:16pm

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Tell all the Nazis that are writing into this blog that that they are repetitively boring . It is heartening though to see that the Jews still control the world and that Norm Coleman is representative of all Jews. By the way when did the Jews hate the SERBs. I thought they were also victims of Nazi genocide. Why never mind.

- Klaus

February 2, 2009 at 4:21pm

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Sorry, but this is one of the stupidest nutty loony tune left wing rants I have ever read. It is totally incoherent and irrational. People like this fool can't be reasoned with. Who feeds this guy? Who washes his underwear?

- Erick

February 2, 2009 at 4:50pm

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The Norm Coleman story should be far more widely publicized. But Blago is a real npiece of work and I am glad to see him gone.

- liberal reformer

February 2, 2009 at 5:03pm

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"Norm chaired the oversite committee responsible for supervising the contractors in Iraq! He has sold us out in so many ways!" Yup Norms thousand is our million. The whole war was run by folks with CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.

-

February 2, 2009 at 7:00pm

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All politicians are dishonest. Why is everybody so shocked?! Give me a break. They are all out for themselves

- m

February 2, 2009 at 11:47pm

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Is anyone else outraged by how insanely cheap our politicians are? $75k for the services of 1 out of 100 Senators who control our trillion-dollar annual budget? Man, who says there's no place to invest your money anymore... buy a senator, get a 10000% return.

- Dave

February 3, 2009 at 2:34am

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Yes, and Blago's "crimes" (if they were such) were for campaign contributions, not payments to himself personally - an order of magnitude difference in real terms as well as in terms of criminal culpability.

- fsmith

February 3, 2009 at 7:44am

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TAX EVASION "I would hope that my mistake could be viewed in the context of 30 years of public service." IF ALL THOSE 30 YEARS WERE FULL OF "MISTAKES" LIKE THIS, CHEATING ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THEN PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR: RESIGN FROM SENATE AND GO TO JAIL. HAVE A NICE DAY!

- bart simpson

February 3, 2009 at 9:22am

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Always a great thing to see a rabid anti-Second Amendment hack bite the political dust. Bye, bye, Rod!

- c.e.kestner

February 3, 2009 at 9:28am

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'Round these parts Coleman's real offense vs. Blagojevich is his party affiliation. Coleman is a weasel, but the article hardly carries the point that he is "worse" than Blago. It's like old Batman comics - the cover would show something like Batman plummeting to certain death, having just been thrown out of a helicopter by Two-Face; of course, when you read the story, it turns out it's nothing more than a 4-panel scuffle in a helicopter and the door never even opens.

- selish70

February 3, 2009 at 10:52am

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Coleman should be getting more bad press, but I disagree with the equivelancy. Coleman accepted money from a "friend" - corrupt, yes, but was there any quid pro quo? A senator getting busted accepting illegal gifts is like a high school student getting busted smoking pot. You know the only difference between him and most of the others is that he was either careless or unlucky. Blago, on the other hand, tried to sell outright a seat in the United States Senate! Blago's case is a Hollywood movie; Coleman's is an after school special.

- newdex

February 3, 2009 at 12:50pm

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......not only is the nation on hold, but you have to be a highly persevering detective type w/in the state of Minnesota to get news of Senator Elect Al Franken's status while Coleman brings in G W Bush's legal eagles and GOP $$$ to block his confirmation. And this after Coleman postured for the camera's the morning after self righteously suggesting Franken should concede to spare the state/country a contentious, expensive legal battle. To paraphrase he stated something along the lines of...."all I can tell you is if it was me [who was a few hundred votes behind in the count] I would step aside." So why is this clip not being played by national media night after night now just two short months later taking the contest to ridiculous lengths after Franken has been certified as the people's choice by the state canvassing board???

- tjlabey

February 3, 2009 at 3:44pm

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Is it just me or does Frank Foer look a lot like Marty Peretz?

- Zammer

February 3, 2009 at 6:26pm

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Chait also failed to mention the fact that all media attention on Pres. Obama naturally means more spot light on a fellow Demo from the same state, one who Obama endorsed previously. Of course, Repubs pouring oil on the fire doesn't hurt either.

- C. L.

February 3, 2009 at 6:52pm

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It is always disheartening to see anti-semitic cockraohes scurrying around on such occasions.

- Chicagojack

February 3, 2009 at 7:08pm

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The audio tape is "bleeping" golden to the media - who do sell advertising - that's the difference.

-

February 3, 2009 at 8:01pm

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Thank you Mr Chait. It is really shocking how the MSM keeps covering up the sins of conservative Republicans. We need people like you to bring the truth out

- dubrovnov

February 3, 2009 at 9:13pm

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Gosh! People stepping over the bloody rhino to look at small fry. What about Chaney's involvement in the relocation of Haliburton and the UAE tax perks that must have gone with it?

- Rona

February 3, 2009 at 10:53pm

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I hold no brief for Norm Coleman, who incidentally was a moderately liberal Democrat, and former mayor of St. Paul, before sticking his finger in the political wind and acting accordingly. But as a resident of Illinois, I'll say that Blago managed to bottle-neck important reforms, and even routine legislation, for six years prior to his arrest, all while grandstanding and selling himself as the gov. who "worked for the common man." Then, when he was arrested, he didn't have the basic decency to step aside so that the beleaguered state (current Ill. state budget fiscal 2009 estimated deficit: $9B) could get on with business at hand. Even if he truly thought he was innocent, he could have thought for 2 seconds about the welfare of ordinary Illinoisans whose lives were held in limbo while he narcissistically played out his psychodrama in public, largely in front of (mostly New York-based) television cameras. Say what you will about Coleman, he is (or was) one of 100 U.S. Senators, not the disgraced and refuses-to-leave chief executive of the fifth most populous state facing budgetary and other crises.

- ghostof'lectricity

February 5, 2009 at 6:05pm

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Interesting article in some ways. The real point here is that the rich Iranian guy seems to like to give money to his friends, but did not seem to influence peddle. I checked the rich guy out. He gives a bunch of money to worthy charities and has for years. I think Norm is toast and it was his mistake not to declare the gifts. I bet the rich guy ends up being the winner in this story. Seems like all he did was spend money, something he does alot. I like rich guys like that!

- Peter Ralsten

February 8, 2009 at 2:22pm

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