"Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Wednesday he is ready to tell his side of the scandal to the people of Illinois and that he would do so no later than Thursday.
“I can’t wait to begin to tell my side of the story and to address you guys and, most importantly, the people of Illinois. That’s who I’m dying to talk to,” he said as he left his home Wednesday morning for a jog."
I agree with you completely. I get very irritated at the idea of the courts just making things happen. My husband and I were talking about this very thing…no one hates Blagojevich more than him, but he was saying, look, the guy hasn’t been convicted of anything! The courts can’t just decide he’s guilty and remove him. And your point is equally well taken…we have a process for this, and there’s no reason not to use it.
I originally read that sentence as “…ready to sell his side of the scandal…”
I wonder why I might have been inclined to do that? :rolleyes:
Well, we get a new Christmas Carol out of it (my mom just sent this to me…no idea where she got it for a proper cite).
Sung to the tune of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen:
Get packin’, Rod Blagojevich. The state’s in disarray
The Tribune wants you unemployed At least by Christmas Day.
The TV pundits want your head Could there be pay to play?
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.
Good riddance Rod Blagojevich.
Your Elvis look’s inane,
The Senate’s mad, so’s Lisa’s dad. You drive us all insane.
Our transit’s broke, the state’s a joke, The Tollway’s one big pain.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.
Good luck old Rod Blagojevich.
The feds have quite a place.
Fitzgerald’s poked his nose around and if he has a case,
George Ryan’s moving stuff around Creating extra space.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.
Whack-a-Mole, that was beautiful. Thanks for the laugh!
Agreed and good news here.
I remember back before this all exploded hearing Lisa Madigan’s name as a possible appointee to the seat, because it would basically “kick her upstairs” and get her out of Blago’s hair, as she was apparently a rival for the governor’s chair next election.
Does Illinois see this attempt to have Blago declared unfit as a power play on Madigan’s part, to “make her name” before she starts the run for governor? If there is that perception, is it harming or helping her on that count?
Well this is opinion and not fact, but I think some people will see her request as being politically motivated. But I don’t think it will work against her for three reasons: 1) most people want Blago out, so her request doesn’t stick-out that much, 2) the request was denied, so no harm done, 3) the governor’s race is two years away.
If he has some success, Quinn could be in a really good position to run for election. Lisa might be better off trying to get the senate seat. Maybe Quinn will give it to her for that reason (ironic, huh?).
I don’t think Madigan herself had any illusions about the likelihood of the motion succeeding. It’s just theater: she has to look like she was trying something, anything, pursuing any options available to her however unlikely. Political showmanship, essentially. Note that it isn’t necessarily supposed to give her a boost (aka the “go get 'em, Lisa!” effect), but to prevent a negative hit (aka giving the appearance of sitting on her hands instead of trying something, anything, etc). In other words, it’s a dog-and-pony pageant, done to preserve her future political viability in the eyes of the simple-minded majority, and doesn’t represent any sort of legitimate practice of governance.
I was wondering also if it was a ploy to try to get Blago to take the “step-aside” option. Meanwhile yeah good point about Quinn being in Governor as changing her calculus some.
Anyone else think that Jan Schakowsky, who at one point was being mentioned as a possible choice for Obama’s seat, has been awfully quiet lately?
I’m not too sure how you mean that as I don’t recall seeing her being one to draw alot of media attention to herself in the past. She’s alway done a good job in Congress and representing here constituents but I haven’t noticed her ever putting herself in the spotlight. Do you think she’s up to something?
No, I don’t mean that she’s stopped drawing attention to herself as a candidate for Obama’s Senate seat - I don’t think she was ever doing that. But it seems like although she would be a perfectly logical choice, everyone else has stopped mentioning her as a possibility. I wonder whether she has been doing some work behind the scenes to take herself out of the running, and if so, why?
Blago’s lawyer now says the governor won’t appoint anyone to fill Obama’s Senate seat. Hmmm. We’ll see.
But if the legislature passes a bill to fill the seat by special election (as Obama has urged), will Blago veto it?
I don’t think that bill will happen. The Dems don’t want to give up the seat (and there is a good chance they would lose it). Last I heard, Quinn said that he intended to appoint someone.
When Blago was first arrested, it seemed that everyone was suggesting a general election as the only truly fair way to fill the seat. And while it would be the most fair way, I think reality has sunk in and no one wants to give up the power.
Just a hilarious possibility…
ABC7 in Chicago reports that Robert Cooley, an attorney and former undercover informant for the FBI, alleges that in the Eighties Blagojevich was a bookie on the North Side of Chicago who regularly paid tribute to the Mob.
Read the rest at
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/item/blagos-bookie-past/blagosphere/
It’s very short.
For a Serb, Blago sure is the embodiment of chutzpah:
A lawyer for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich told state lawmakers Thursday that the federal wiretaps at the heart of the pay-to-play allegations against his client were illegally obtained, and therefore should be kept out of any impeachment proceedings…“[Blagoevich] is telling [his lawyer] that he’s not guilty, he’s telling [his lawyer] that he wants to fight.”
Never a dull moment around here. My boss just took me to lunch, and we were sitting across the aisle from Rahm Emmanuel in the restaurant; sadly, my eavesdropping skills are just not up to par. 
I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath.
And no matter what his lawyers say, I still think he may very well appoint himself to the Senate. This guy does not back down no matter what.