Illinois house OKs impeachment inquiry on governor

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Reuters

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Illinois House of Representatives voted on Monday to begin an impeachment inquiry into Gov. Rod Blagojevich, accused of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

The inquiry, approved 113-0, will be placed in the hands of a special committee. If it determines that impeachment is warranted, the House would vote on whether to impeach, to be followed by a trial in the state senate.

If convicted at trial the governor could be forced from office.

Both Obama and Blagojevich are Democrats. How Obama's U.S. Senate replacement will be picked remained in limbo. It would usually be the governor's sole choice but the controversy has led to calls for a special election to fill the seat.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4BA65D20081216

[Wizard777]

1. Nancy Pelosi should have a front row seat to this.

Then someone need to have a serious talk with her about the Yamashita Standard of the Nuremberg Principle.

[unkachuck]

2. the Dems would be fools....

....if they have a special election and put at risk a guaranteed Dem Senate seat....would delay or lott have put at risk a reupg House or Senate seat on principle; what principle?....it was only a few weeks ago Dems were sucking traitor-joes' ass because they needed his valuable vote....Durbin, who I love, not only called for a special election but was shilling for a commuted sentence for old repug gov (want to buy license?) ryan....bad move dickie, what's that all about?

....and I find Quinn, although reasonably liberal, a little flakey....corporate Dem mike madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House, father of Attorney General (let's get Blago through the Supreme Court) Lisa Madigan, has been in Blagos' ass ever since he took office; thwarting Blago every chance he could....Dem on Dem warfare at its best....

....Blago was stupid, greedy and arrogant; just a typical politician an who got caught being stupid, greedy and arrogant....face it folks, that's how politics works in this country; you want a contract to pave a road? You had better make a donation first....bushco launches wars without question, and now we're back to cum-stained dresses....

....I don't like trying to defend Blago, this is all a negative distraction for us and Obama, distraction from our new Universal Healthcare legislation....but there's a Dem Senate seat at risk, Dems are now being equated with slimy repugs (the 20-year corruption specialists) and this is turning into a Dem on Dem blood-letting and it's being fueled by salivating repugs who smell blood....it just looks tacky....

....Blago hasn't been convicted of anything....let's take a deep breath and stop helping the repugs crucify this less than saintly man so they can gain a Senator....we can watch from a distance....let's see what fitzgerald's got in his hand; let's hear what Blago has to say....

[IsItJustMe]

3. I strongly agree with your post. I have never seen the likes of hypocrisy and self righteousness

from these hang-em-high posters over the last week. It's kind of scary that people just can't seem to wait for the facts to come out before they form the lynch mob.

Granted, Blago is no saint, and from what I can tell so far, he has a loud mouth and is full of himself. He is abrasive and not the type of person I would want to drink a beer with or anything, but beyond that, I will wait for facts.

And as far as what he is accused of doing, in my mind anyway, that is what politicians do. It's not pretty, but it is what it is.

It seems to me that there is some selective prosecution going on here. Blago has pissed lots of folks off over the years because of his personal style and some may be looking for a little pay back because of it.

I have a feeling that this will be going on for a while.

[pampango]

4. I have a feeling that a lot of Illinois politicians (D's & R's) don't want to "wait

for the facts to come out". Their dealings (some of which might not have been on the "up and up") with Blago might be some of those "facts".

If you're saying investigate thoroughly and let the chips fall where they may, I can live with that. I am only concerned that there may have been more D's than R's dealing with Blago since he's a dem. From a partisan perspective we may suffer more in the long run, depending on where the investigation leads, than if we get him out of office quickly. On balance, getting the facts out and making the guilty pay the price is probably the best long term strategy.

[IsItJustMe]

5. I think it has more to do with Blago's style of Governing rather than any particular wrong doings.

From my understanding, the guy is a straight up prick to work under. I am sure that some of his employees have nightmares about him. I have had bosses like that in life, and it is not pleasant.

[pampango]

6. His style undoubtedly has something to do with it, but I don't underestimate

the desire of politicians to keep their misdeed quiet. While politics may not be pure anywhere, they are far from pure in Chicago and Illinois. Some may want to "get" Blago because of his style, but I bet more are worried that some of their dealing with him might be "misinterpreted" by investigators and the public.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. What are you calling 'hypocrisy'?

That implies those posters have some kind of double standard. Are you saying they were previously calling for other politicians to not be prosecuted? If so, which ones?

"that is what politicians do. It's not pretty, but it is what it is" could be applied, to, say, Bush's signing statements. Should we ignore that because politicians typically try to grab power illegally?

[IsItJustMe]

8. Take a chill pill. If you took my post personally, I would suggest that you will gain much more

insight by taking a look at yourself than any response I might have.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. A stunningly uninformative post

I still haven't the faintest what you are criticising in DUers. It'd be difficult to take it personally when I can't remember anyone here, let alone me, claiming that politicians other that Blagojevitch should be let off their crimes.

And for self righteousness, I'd suggest you start with yourself.