Blagojevich: The Governor Illinois Voters Deserve
The last several weeks have seen scandal unfold in Illinois. Governor Blagojevich was indicted by federal prosecutors for allegedly selling Barack Obama’s senate seat to the highest bidder. The governor was in such a position because, under Illinois law, the governor has the power to fill vacancies in United States Senate seats when the holder of the seat vacates the position or dies before finishing the term. In this case Obama must vacate his Senate seat in order to assume the presidency. Therefore, Governor Blagojevich has to power to select the next United States Senator.
But apparently the Governor was caught on tape attempting to extract favors and money from surrogates of potential appointees in return for naming those potential appointees to the Senate. Such an accusation and the subsequent indictment of the Governor has obviously become national news. There is no doubt that, unless the indictment falls apart, Blagojevich will be stripped of his governorship. In addition, a heated argument took place as to whether the Governor could even appoint the next Senator at all because he was indicted. The argument was settled and it seems certain that Blagojevich's eventual appointee, Roland Burris, will be the next Senator from Illinois.
Yet lost in the scandal is the choice Illinois voters made in re-electing the Blagojevich in 2006. In 2006 the people of Illinois had a choice between Blagojevich and a moderate Republican, Judy Baar Topinka, the Illinois state treasurer at the time. While Topinka was not an exciting candidate, she was untainted by scandal. Now Illinois is a liberal state and the fact that Blagojevich was re-elected would not be much of a surprise under normal circumstances. However, at the time, the Governor was under investigation for bribery and corruption. Yet the people of Illinois re-elected him anyway, by a wide margin (10 points).
Such a decision by the voters of Illinois brings one to conclude either the people of Illinois didn’t care about the investigations, or didn’t take the time to learn that their Governor was under investigation for bribery and corruption. Either conclusion does not put the voters in a favorable light. Clearly many in Illinois blindly voted for the Democrat Blagojevich simply because he was a Democrat. Yet the signs of corruption were a clear warning to the voters. They chose to ignore that warning and now their state is much worse for it. The political upheaval that has occurred will leave the state paralyzed for some time. Some might be sympathetic to the people of Illinois due to the dire political situation in their state, but I say the people got what they voted for. Maybe next time the voters of Illinois will pay attention to the signs of corruption before they step into the voting booth.
Any comments or questions can be received at whyyouareaconservative@gmail.com
~ The Conservative Guy
But apparently the Governor was caught on tape attempting to extract favors and money from surrogates of potential appointees in return for naming those potential appointees to the Senate. Such an accusation and the subsequent indictment of the Governor has obviously become national news. There is no doubt that, unless the indictment falls apart, Blagojevich will be stripped of his governorship. In addition, a heated argument took place as to whether the Governor could even appoint the next Senator at all because he was indicted. The argument was settled and it seems certain that Blagojevich's eventual appointee, Roland Burris, will be the next Senator from Illinois.
Yet lost in the scandal is the choice Illinois voters made in re-electing the Blagojevich in 2006. In 2006 the people of Illinois had a choice between Blagojevich and a moderate Republican, Judy Baar Topinka, the Illinois state treasurer at the time. While Topinka was not an exciting candidate, she was untainted by scandal. Now Illinois is a liberal state and the fact that Blagojevich was re-elected would not be much of a surprise under normal circumstances. However, at the time, the Governor was under investigation for bribery and corruption. Yet the people of Illinois re-elected him anyway, by a wide margin (10 points).
Such a decision by the voters of Illinois brings one to conclude either the people of Illinois didn’t care about the investigations, or didn’t take the time to learn that their Governor was under investigation for bribery and corruption. Either conclusion does not put the voters in a favorable light. Clearly many in Illinois blindly voted for the Democrat Blagojevich simply because he was a Democrat. Yet the signs of corruption were a clear warning to the voters. They chose to ignore that warning and now their state is much worse for it. The political upheaval that has occurred will leave the state paralyzed for some time. Some might be sympathetic to the people of Illinois due to the dire political situation in their state, but I say the people got what they voted for. Maybe next time the voters of Illinois will pay attention to the signs of corruption before they step into the voting booth.
Any comments or questions can be received at whyyouareaconservative@gmail.com
~ The Conservative Guy
posted by The Conservative Guy at
1:51 PM
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