A Blagojevich tutorial for non-Illinois residents

[davsand]

It has been kinda strange to see so much discussion on here about the IL Governor lately. It has also become really evident that not too many people from outside Illinois really grasp just HOW Blagojevich is viewed here in his home state.

I ran across a little item from back in the early part of December that I want to offer up here. This is a Rassmussen poll of 500 likely Illinois voters from December 10:


2* How do you rate the way that Rod Blagojevich is performing his role as Governor?


4% Excellent

3% Good

7% Fair

83% Poor

3% Not sure


3* Should Rod Blagojevich resign as governor?


84% Yes

9% No

7% Not sure


4* How likely is it that Rod Blagojevich will resign as Governor?


18% Very likely

22% Somewhat likely

34% Not very likely

19% Not at all likely

7% Not sure


5* Is Rod Blagojevich more ethical, less ethical, or about as ethical as most politicians?


4% More ethical

59% Less ethical

31% About as ethical

7% Not sure


6* Should Blagojevich go to jail for his actions?


79% Yes

8% No

13% Not sure



There is more to see at:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/states_general/illinois/toplines/toplines_blagojevich_december_10_2008



Remember, Blago was taken into custody early morning on Dec 9. There had been wall to wall press coverage by the time this poll was taken, but it still gives a little insight into how we all feel on the subject here in Illinois.


Regards!



Laura

[bobd0]

1. What a surprise. These polls were conducted AFTER Fitzgerald held his very public press conference

but, apparently, before Fitzgerald had enough evidence to actually charge anyone with wrongdoing -- or else, why did Fitzgerald need a three month extension?

I'd like to see current poll numbers now that Fitzgerald's case has been exposed for what it is; a politically motivated attack timed to do the most harm to Obama's transition and the Democratic Party.

[davsand]

2. You really don't GET it, do you. Illinois voters don't have a problem with Fitz.

If anything, I'd bet Illinois voters are even MORE tired of Blago after this hoopla over the Burris appointment. Blago was not well liked Dec 7 or 8, and he's in worse shape with voters now.



Laura

[WeDidIt]

4. Hell no I don't have a problem with Fitz.

Fitz took down Ryan.

[bobd0]

5. I don't care whether Illinois voters have a problem with Blagojevich or not

You elected him. He is the duly elected governor of Illinois. He is perfectly within his rights in performing his duty as governor by appointing Burris. That's really the end of the story, isn't it? :)

Fitzgerald is an incompetent partisan hack who couldn't get a conviction against Rove or Cheney. I'd rather see Blagojevich as governor than Fitzgerald as U.S. attorney. If Fitzgerald has a case against Blagojevich he should have done what any competent prosecutor would have done -- arrested and charged him after a crime was committed -- not schedule a news conference that reeks of partisanship to wreak partisan damage WITHOUT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO EVEN BRING CHARGES!

Fitzgerald should be removed from his post as U.S. attorney for such incompetence. Any judge in the country would laugh this idiot out of court for such nonsense.

[davsand]

7. Oh--I agree that Blag had the ability to appoint Burris.

Irrespective of how any of us feel about Rod Blagojevich he IS still the Governor of Illinois charged with appointing someone to fill that Senate seat. He acted according to Illinois law in that respect. The Illinois Legislature, has failed to act to impeach (remember that is a political act rather than criminal) and they failed to pass any legislation limiting the ability of the Governor to appoint--therefore we folks in Illinois faced the dog and pony show of the last few days.

Truth be told, I'm not sure Reid has (had?) the ability to block Burris's arrival in the Senate based on the Marbury v Madison ruling. I'm no lawyer, but I swear that case seems pretty applicable from what I can tell. Jessie White's actions in refusing to sign the paperwork is still a mystery to me, except for maybe it was a matter of White attempting to make a point--I honestly don't know. I had not heard anything about White wanting that Senate seat so I 'm not thinking there was any real malice involved--it is just a mystery to me why he refused to sign that paper. (White happens to also be an African-American, so the race angle doesn't really come to mind here, either.)

Here in Illinois we have watched Fitz convict a GOP Governor that a lot of people thought was untouchable. We saw Fitz chew his way up the chain--starting with the guys at the lower levels and sweating them--and with their testimony he delivered up one corrupt Republican Governor to the gates of Prison. It ain't pretty to watch but it does work. He's methodical and he's willing to wait to get his ducks in a row. For that reason alone, I have thought that most likely Fitz's request for extension was based on gathering more evidence on the charges that the Governor was trying to auction off that Senate seat. (From the start I have thought the weakest aspect of that case was the charges regarding that Senate seat. The other stuff is old hat and probably pretty well documented.)

I am pretty sure that you are gonna have to look pretty hard to find too many IL Dems who will tell you that this thing with Blag was some kind of GOP engineered hunt. He really is a mess and we've known it for a while now.



Laura

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. He put the former Republican governor of IL in jail, genius.

Take "partisan hack" and shove it where the sun don't shine.

[WeDidIt]

3. About the only way the Governor's office could eb more screwed up

would have been if Judy Baar Topinka had defeated Blagojevich.

SNAP

[NashVegas]

6. Questions Rasmussen Didn't Ask

Why did you vote for someone you believe is corrupt?

Do you believe elected leaders should govern by popular sentiment, or should they adhere to current laws?

[davsand]

9. Welcome to the marvels of Illinois politics!!!

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Illinois is a classic case in point. What makes it all so pathetic is the realization that it is not limited to one party or one location. We can't just say "Oh--Blame Chicago!" or "Blame East St Louis." We are lucky if we don't have to say it about our local government in a lot of cases.

There were several of us here who did not vote for Blago this last time. He lost the county where I live in both the Primary and the General, and I am pretty sure that had the IL Republican party been in any better shape (had they run a better candidate last time) Rod would NOT have won re-election. Literally, the woman the Republicans ran was less appealing to the voters than Rod Blagojevich. Pretty sad--eh?


Laura

[NashVegas]

16. Which Begs Yet Another Question

What did we just elect to the #1 office?

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. I think that's answered by question #5 -

sure, he's corrupt, but no worse than any other politician (according to 31%).

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. Question #5 disturbs me a bit -

with 1/3 of the respondents saying basically that Blagojevich is no worse than any other politician.

[davsand]

12. Yep. Is it any wonder why people view ALL Illinois politicians as crooks?

Illinois has a LONG history of guys getting nailed for corruption and graft. It is part of the culture here to see a Governor indicted on average every ten years or so. The problem is not limited to Governors, either.


Without giving too much information away here, I'll share a story with you from my own experience in government here in Illinois--OK?

We were in a hearing before an Illinois state hearing officer on an issue. I was one of three people representing local interests. The opposing side was represented by an attorney from Chicago. This particular attorney was a pretty agreeable sort and we were all chatting prior to the start of the hearing. This attorney makes the observation that he is AMAZED that he was not asked for a "contribution" prior to the hearing.

We were all going "WTF???"

He went on to explain that before he could go into similar type hearing in Cook County, it was "expected" that he'd make a contribution to a "re-election fund" for the local officials.

What makes this all SO amazing to me is that the Illinois hearing officer is sitting there nodding his head and agreeing!!!!! Not only is this shit going on, but it is some kind of open thing!!!!

THIS is the kind of culture we have here in Illinois. Is it any wonder I have such anger for Blago? I have been offered bribes and asked for favors any number of times and I have had varying degrees of success in restraining my natural urge to smack snot out of these people. I joke with my Mom that with her son being a lawyer and me being a pol she could have had a trifecta if she'd only had another kid selling used cars... I refuse to whore myself but I am only ONE of many in this state.



Laura

[Pale Blue Dot]

10. I understand your post.

But none of that makes him guilty. He sounds like a jerk who should not, and WILL NOT, be reelected, but it also seems like Fitz does not have the evidence needed to convict him of a crime.

[gratuitous]

14. And until he's removed from office

Popular or not, guilty or not, Blagojevich and only Blagojevich is sitting in the big chair, and he still has duties, obligations, and responsibilities to discharge and privileges to enjoy. I understand the voters of Illinois are going through some heavy duty embarrassment and buyers' remorse, but it's time to put on the big person undies and deal with the situation as it is.

[davsand]

15. Can you PLEASE get hold of our legislature?

There was picture in the paper last week of two local GOP representatives in an impeachment meetings. I swear to you, they both looked absolutely comatose. One of them is an ok guy, but the other is one that I actively worked against in this last election because it is the district I live in and I really liked his opponent. Her entire campaign was based on the fact he has done very little in the entire time he's been in office.

He STILL is not doing much, it would seem.


I did call my IL Senator and he has promised me that he will support impeachment. He damn well better or else I'll go kick his ass. (I can say that--I grew up with his family. It would be like kicking by brother's ass.)

Anyhow, if you are feeling inclined feel free to email Mike Madigan and urge HIM to "put on the big person undies." You REALLY made me laugh with that one.


Laura