At least some of his constituents want embattled Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. to resign.
About a dozen protesters stood outside his Chicago office today shouting, "Ho ho ho, Jesse Jr.'s gotta go."
Protest organizer Harold Davis says he believes allegations that an emissary may have offered to raise money for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for Jackson being appointed to President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.
Davis says Jackson has tainted the democratic process and his political career is over.
Others in the south side neighborhood disagree. Several passersby shouted support for Jackson and one yelled, "Leave Jesse alone."
Jackson denies any wrongdoing.
AP story here.
An emissary, acting on Jackson's behalf, offered Rod Blagojevich $1 million to appoint Jackson as Obama's Senate replacement. The standard politicians denial of having any knowledge of the activities of individuals acting on their behalf is one which has been looked upon with great suspicion since Watergate. Yet the concept of plausible deniability is always a factor in whether a politician can withstand the public scrutiny and survive. Barring any federal indictments against Jackson, he will most likely weather this storm.While there may be some who are calling for Jackson to resign, others will try to calm the clamour by appealing to our sense of justice, i.e., that a man is innocent until proven guilty.
Still others will come to Jackson's defence in a more enthusiastic fashion. Perhaps Chis Crocker will even produce another video on youtube crying, "Leave Jesse alone!"
