What if this is an end run?
What am I talking about?
The impeachment of my Governor, Rod Blagojevich.
Do I think he is a good governor? Not particularly. I think that he is one of those guys that arrogantly assumed that because he was in charge, he could piss on anyone. And that makes you a lot of enemies.
But the basis of this impeachment is hooey.
Back in December, U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald had the governor arrested on corruption charges. He played snippets of audio tape (I would love to hear about the legality of those... since under Bush it seems remarkably easy to get that kind of warrant assuming anyone goes through the effort to do so in the first place). The audio sounded awful. Everyone was up in arms. That bastard was trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat! String him up!
Except.
Is that really convincing evidence? Who knows. See, while he made a huge grandstanding motion to ARREST the Governor, Mr. Fitzgerald to date hasn't INDICTED him. In fact, he has asked for an additional 90 days to put together an indictment. Why?
If he waits long enough he can get the Illinois legislature to remove the governor for him. And they are moving with lightning speed to do just that. Without even waiting to see if Fitzgerald can GET an indictment. A Justice Department end run. They can remove a Governor without even having to prosecute them.
And is he the only governor with a -D next to his name to be investigated, removed or resigned from office by the in the last 8 years?
No.
In fact, he is one of 5. And let's not forget Bill Richardson, who has had to resign his nomination to be Commerce Secretary because of an investigation going back to when he was Governor of New Mexico. In the same time period only two Republican governors have been involved in scandals. One was Illinois Governor George Ryan, although he had already been voted out of office before he was prosecuted. The other was the Gov. Taft of Ohio who was accused of misdemeanor ethics violations and allowed to serve out his term (he couldn't run again because Ohio State law prohibits a third consecutive term).
More often than not, these charges come from the U.S. Attorney's offices around the country.
You remember the U.S. Attorneys.
prosecutors that have all been subject to loyalty tests. Where if you were prosecuting Republicans or not prosecuting Democrats you could be asked to resign. Because if you had a "Monica problem" you were considered to be a Democrat and felt that you couldn't be trusted. And God help you, if she thought you were a lesbian. Monica Goodling, Harriet Miers and Alberto Gonzalez wanted you out of your job.
Oh, and someone who's name was on the list, if even briefly?
Patrick Fitzgerald.
And how long has Blagoevich been under investigation? Pretty much from the moment that he uttered, "So help me God". In almost six years, the chances of uttering phrases that when cobbled together make you look guilty of SOMETHING are remarkably high. And in the case of the Governor, it appears that every conceivable form of communication he used was subject to Federal wiretaps. Could you withstand that kind of scrutiny? I doubt that Mother Theresa could have either.
So over all? I think I would wait and see what the Federal Government has on the Governor because he is removed from office. An indictment, evidence, a conviction, damn it! I want to see some due process! If we Americans are glib about providing these things to people that are unpopular, will they be available to us if someone were to accuse us of an impropriety?
It is too late to stop the Illinois House from impeaching Gov. Blagojevich. Unfortunately the political sharks smell the blood on the water. Let's hope that someone starts thinking clearly before the Department of Justice completes their end run to remove the governor. That would be a very dangerous trick for them to be able to use in the future.
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