There are good reasons a Blagojevich-type scandal can’t happen here

Talk about gall. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich allegedly tried to sell to the highest bidder the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

If the charges Blagojevich faces stick, and I hear the governor is already seeking advice from the Hair Club For Cons, his misdeeds will go down as some of the most brazen acts of political corruption ever captured on tape. And that's saying something in Illinois, where previous governor George Ryan is still serving a stretch at taxpayer expense.

The Blagojevich affair raises today's question: How was a hairpiece that bad left out of the indictment?

Can it be considered an unindicted comb conspirator?

What I mean is: Could this happen in Nevada?

Not the political corruption part. We know that can happen. And, here's a little tip, federal investigators are now working on a few familiar names.

We cook up political corruption like the Keebler elves bake cookies around these parts. We need only search for a quorum of former Clark County commissioners -- Malone, Herrera, Kenny, and Kincaid-Chauncey -- to conclude there's no shortage of slime in the Silver State.

But I'm not talking about run-of-the-mill political corruption. I'm talking about Blagojevich-sized gall. Make that Blagallevich.

Could a Nevada politician grow so powerful he is capable of selling a Senate seat?

Alas, I think the answer is no. It pains me to write the words, for there's nothing I like better than corrupt politicians. If they weren't already getting paid, I would consider paying them to be corrupt as a form of column insurance.

To me, crooked officials are the only political creatures worth writing about. Without compromised elected officials and in-the-bag bureaucrats, the newspaper would come out weekly.

There are good reasons Blagallevich can't happen here. First, our political parties aren't powerful enough. In Illinois, machine politics is as ingrained as the mob's code of silence, omerta. In a machine, underlings keep their eyes focused on the guy in front of them like political paratroopers. That's one of the reasons the sleazy political traditions in Chicago not only never change, but also are preserved out of common self-interest.

Blagallevich would seem like an exceptional case, but he's really just a guy near the top of a political Ponzi pyramid. And the guy at the top is the guy who makes the most money and wields the biggest clout. The fact he was brazen enough to speak where he might be recorded only illustrates his consummate arrogance. Maybe the old Chicago machine is breaking down after all these years.

With a few exceptions, our public servants are part-timers and political lightweights. Not many are allowed to grow their antlers. They serve the casino industry and the mining and construction industries and often are the creations of a small group of political mechanics. Those constituents and kingmakers demand value for their elected-official dollar.

Big corruption costs big money. If you think about the commission scandal, you have to admit the players involved dealt with idiots and relatively small amounts of money. They weren't selling out for a yacht in the Caribbean; they were hustling political spending money and topless club "benefits."

That's corruption, but that's not Blagallevich Country.

For a Nevada politician to reach Blagallevich Country, he'd have to be in position to feel really comfortable in his kingdom. He'd have to be so popular, or so insulated and well connected, he'd feel safe dreaming big.

Does indicted Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki fit that description?

Locally, only Mayor Oscar Goodman is that popular, and he's known for years the Federal Bureau of Investigation men who smile at his jokes dream of seeing his head mounted above the fireplace. The Happiest Mayor in America would be a fool if he weren't also the most careful.

There's plenty of room for corruption in Nevada. For me, that's the good news.

The bad news is, we can't hold a candle to Blagallevich.

Can we?

Consider me an operator who is standing by to take your tips on back-door deals you hear about.

Meanwhile, I'm reminded of a comment from Mark Twain: "I think I can say, and say with pride, that we have some legislatures that bring higher prices than any in the world."

He lived nowhere near Chicago.

But, come to think of it, he did spend time around Carson City.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith/.