Illinois House impeaches Rod Blagojevich; this narcissist needs to resign now

January 9, 1:43 PMPolitical Issues ExaminerJudah Freed

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Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich talks to the media
at his home in Chicago, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009.
The Illinois House voted Friday to impeach
Blagojevich. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

In a a sweeping 114-1 vote, the Illinois House voted today to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich for abuse of power and corruption. Will "Blago" now resign or face a trial in the Illinois Senate, a trial that's almost certain to convict him?

According to an Associated Press report, Blagojevich faces a range of charges, including allegations that he tried to sell the vacant Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama, that he expanded a costly state health care program without proper authority, that he ignored state hiring laws to give jobs to political allies, that he spent millions of dollars on foreign-manufactured flu vaccine that he knew wasn't needed and would not be allowed into the U.S.

With only 60 House votes need impeachment, of the 115 representatives voting, only Rep. Milton Patterson, (D-Chicago) Democrat voted against impeaching Blagojevich, saying, "I have no firsthand knowledge of any of the evidence."  A second Chicago Democrat,  Rep. Elga Jefferies, simply voted "present," which counts as an affirmative vote.

One key question now confronts Blagojevich. Will he accept political reality and resign as governor?

For his part, Blagojevich vows to fight the federal corruption charges. Despite wiretaps recording his attempts to sell Obama S.S. Senate seat and extort money or favors from various business leaders, Blago keeps insisting he's done nothing wrong.

Blagojevich has a legal right to defend himself, of course, but my judgement is that he is so narcissistic (or high on agitating drugs) that he's heedless to the dark damage he's doing to the State of Illinois and the Democratic Party by clinging to his now-impotent job as governor while his energy is consumed by defending himself against federal criminal charges.

Frankly, Blagojevich should content himself with having "pulled a fast one" by appointing Roland Burris to Obama's U.S. Senate seat. Burris can be faulted for accepting the appointment under a cloud, but he will still will be seated on Constitutional grounds once he gets proper certification from Illinois.

However, Burris' influence in the Senate likely will be repressed by fellow Democrats because of how he gained his seat. Regardless of his experience and qualifications, Burris will be relegated to minor committees and discouraged from sponsoring any significant bills.  His one shot at redemption will come if he wins re-election in two years, for only a voter mandate will remove the stigma on him.

Meanwhile, Blagojevich keeps distracting the news media from reporting on the plans of incoming President Obama and the pressing national issues at hand. Like a child throwing a temper tantrum, Blago apparently figures negative attention is better than no attention.

Gov. Blagojevich, please be a good little boy and take a time out. Please resign now.

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NOTE: Tomorrow, January 10, is the anniversary for the 1776 publication of Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Please visit this column tomorrow for special features about Paine and his essay that changed the world.
 

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