Rod Blagojevich‘s federal corruption trial has taken another fashion-minded turn. Last week, the jury heard about the lavish sartorial purchases Blagojevich made while he was governor and today the Illinois Republican Party is launching a clothing line that takes aim at Blagojevich and other Illinois Democrats.
The shirts, tote bags and gym bags (among other items) feature a caricature of Blagojevich holding a hair dryer as a Republican elephant yanks the cord out of a wall socket, with the words, “Unplug the Machine.” Proceeds will benefit the state party.
“We’re having some fun, but also trying to make a point,” Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady said Thursday in a press release. “The Blago corruption trial is a real black eye for Illinois, and we want to lighten the mood while also making it clear that the whole Blagojevich/Quinn/Madigan regime has been in power way too long. It’s time for real change in Illinois.”
A spokeswoman for Gov. Pat Quinn disputed the claim that Quinn was part of Blagojevich’s “regime.”
“As former Governor Rod Blagojevich is on trial on federal corruption charges, Bill Brady’s campaign is desperately attempting to tie Governor Pat Quinn to his disgraced predecessor,” Quinn spokeswoman Mica Matsoff said in an email. “As even Brady knows, such charges simply don’t reflect the facts. Although Quinn was elected lieutenant governor in 2002, at the same time that Blagojevich became governor, Quinn quickly established his autonomy by taking positions on important policy issues that were in direct opposition to Governor Blagojevich.”