Gnip Gnop

What is Gnip Gnop? Ping pong spelled backwards. Officially Table Tennis. And what is so important about that? Let me see if I can narrow it down some. It is about state government. Illinois State Government. It is about FOO. FOO? That would be Friends of Obama (D, Rezko). Also FODu and FODa. That would be Friends of Dick Durbin (D, Corruption [State]) and Friends of Richard Daley (D, Corruption [City]). Like all tales of money in Illinois it has some interesting twists and turns. The LA Times tells the story.

WASHINGTON -- After an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2000, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama faced serious financial pressure: numerous debts, limited cash and a law practice he had neglected for a year. Help arrived in early 2001 from a significant new legal client -- a longtime political supporter.

Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his growing technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for over a year with regular payments from Blackwell's firm that eventually totaled $112,000.

No wonder Michelle was complaining how hard it was to get by. Fortunately it appears Obama got by with a little help from his friends. Now here is where it gets interesting. In Illinois no one pays a politician without expecting a little something in return. Nobody. That would be stupid.

A few months after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.

Killerspin specializes in table tennis, running tournaments nationwide and selling its own line of equipment and apparel and DVD recordings of the competitions. With support from Obama, other state officials and an Obama aide who went to work part time for Killerspin, the company eventually obtained $320,000 in state grants between 2002 and 2004 to subsidize its tournaments.

That is almost a 3 to 1 return on investment. In Illinois investing in politicians is a very profitable business. Much better than the 40% gross profit (about 5 to 10% net) that you get in normal business.

Obama's staff said the senator advocated only for the first year's grant -- which ended up being $20,000, not $50,000. The day after Obama wrote his letter urging the awarding of the state funds, Obama's U.S. Senate campaign received a $1,000 donation from Blackwell.

Obama's presidential campaign rejects any suggestion that there was a connection between the legal work, the campaign contribution and the help with the grant. "Any implication that Sen. Obama would risk an ethical breach in order to secure a small grant for a pingpong tournament is nuts," said David Axelrod, Obama's chief political advisor.

Ah, so $320,000 is small CHANGE. Or even $20,000. It sure would make a big difference in my life. In fact $20,000 is more than my yearly income right now. Much more. Obviously Axelrod travels in different circles than I do. Being one of the little people and all, who cling to guns, god, xenophobia, and bitterness.

Business relationships between lawmakers and people with government interests are not illegal or uncommon in Illinois or other states with a part-time Legislature, where lawmakers supplement their state salaries with income from the private sector.

Well that is true. It is not uncommon in Illinois. It is the way business is done here. See Rezko, Tony. The LA Times goes on:

But Obama portrays himself as a lawmaker dedicated to transparency and sensitive to even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Recently, Obama expressed regret over a property deal with Illinois power broker Tony Rezko after Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. In an interview this spring with the Chicago Sun-Times, Obama said his regret was not just because the real estate and restaurant entrepreneur was under criminal scrutiny, but because he was "a contributor and someone doing business before the state."

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, who provided The Times with details of Obama's compensation from EKI, said Obama did nothing wrong acting on behalf of Killerspin. He said the state senator simply wrote a letter backing a worthy project developed by a constituent.

Killerspin's owner, Blackwell, was a political supporter and friend as well. Both men lived on Chicago's South Side. Blackwell, a savvy and successful entrepreneur, was one of the first donors to Obama's early campaigns, including the state senator's failed bid for a congressional seat in 2000. In the presidential race he is credited on Obama's website with committing to raise $100,000 to $200,000 for Obama's campaign.

When Blackwell sought backing for his table tennis tournament in 2002, other politicians, including U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, offered support for the event. But Obama was the only one who provided a letter that became part of the initial application for state funds, state records show. In addition, he wrote a state Senate proclamation heralding the first tournament and an official letter that welcomed “table tennis friends” to the 2004 contest and thanked spectators for helping to "make Chicago the table tennis capital of this nation."

Now here is where I see Obama making a big mistake. Never leave a paper trail. People might misconstrue it. And you know this is only one deal. Illinois politicians make hundreds of such deals every year. They are the difference between living in a rented apartment and owning a $1 million dollar mansion in Hyde Park. They are the difference between buying lettuce at the supermarket and arugula at Whole Foods.

One thing you can say about Obama relative to Illinois politics. He is an honest politician. He stays bought.

So it all comes down to: who owns him. And you thought slavery was outlawed by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Obviously it does not apply to politicians. Obama is a Slave to the Machine. The Chicago Machine. It is a tough job, but Obama Can Do It.

Which brings us to speculation. Why was Obama pushed forward so hard in this election season? My guess is that it was the Chicago Machine's last hope to limit the damage from the Rezko mess. If Obama wins the Presidency he can slow or stop further investigations into how Illinois/Chicago operates. With Obama tanking it has got to be putting those guys into the house of fear. You can smell it in the air.

Cross Posted at Classical Values