Gov. Rod Blagojevich

[Miss Modular]

Is it just me, or is this guy becoming a bigger and bigger trainwreck with each passing day? First, he holds a press confrence with a bunch of handicapped people behind him and rambles on about getting impeached because he wouldn't back down on health care. Then he launches into this rant:

There was an old saying in the Old West: There was a cowboy who was charged with stealing a horse in town and some of the other cowboys, especially the guy whose horse was stolen, were very unhappy with that guy. One of the cowboys said "Let's hang him." And the other cowboys said, "Hold on. Before we hang him, let's first give him a fair trial, then we'll hang him."

Then yesterday, he made a bunch of TV appearances, during one of which he compared himself with Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Gandhi. The audacity!

Not only does he need to step down, he needs to be locked away!

[Grislygus]

NEVER

He is the Chosen One, the 70s cop show refugee universally beloved by editorial cartoonists. He must never die or go away, he must continue to be as much of a living stereotype as possible. It is he who validates our existence and provides as much amusement as any human being can possibly indulge in, he is the satirical messiah

[Tadao]

I love this guy. I want a leather jacket with his head on the back.

[Kitsa]

I'm still waiting for the sensational finish that ends up with giant dancing care bear mascots and a Budd Dwyer maneuver.

[WhiteRat]

I'll just come out and admit that i'm a huge Blago-fan. This guy is comedy gold and the closest thing we have to a real life Mayor Quimby.

[Tadao]

I can't wait for this interview with Racheal Maddow. I hope she just sits and lets him talk.

[Evil Robot]

It was his circumention of the buerocratic system to help the poor that got him into this mess. If you look at the facts, he's actually a much better person then 99% of the other politicians, thats why they're pissed at him. He made the bad people look bad, so they did the same to him.

[Kitsa]

There is nobody who gets that far in politics (especially Illinois politics) without being an asshole, however covert.

[Evil Robot]

And at least he hasn't had gay sex with an underage child or paid for sex in a bus station restroom. That seems to happen a lot in Washington.

[Dr. Boogie]

So how exactly are the poor best served by him trying to sell off Obama's senate seat?

[Evil Robot]

So I take you have never even heard of him until this incident and you just repeat the same catch phrases you hear on the sensationalist news in order to sound smart and opinionated?

[Tadao]

Originally Posted by Dr. Boogie

So how exactly are the poor best served by him trying to sell off Obama's senate seat?

..

[Dr. Boogie]

Originally Posted by Evil Robot

So I take you have never even heard of him until this incident and you just repeat the same catch phrases you hear on the sensationalist news in order to sound smart and opinionated?

I lived in Illinois until about mid '06. Plus, he was on the Daily Show this one time!

Anyway, I'm talking about the recording that's being held up as one of the most damning pieces of evidence against him. What's your take on that?

[Evil Robot]

This goes back to the term "pay to play" which also means "If you take something, give something back". The "damming" evidence you are referring to is an affidavit, which are excerpts from a larger FBI transcript of just one conversation. Affidavits by definition are not evidence, they are press releases designed to bolster support for an arrest warrant without having to provide any information to the contrary. The FBI has the luxury of picking and choosing what they want you to hear, and I can guarantee that you have not read the entire transcript since it pertains to an ongoing investigation. It is the job of the FBI to prosecute as many people as possible for any reason imaginable, if they don't then they're not doing their job.

[Dr. Boogie]

Originally Posted by Evil Robot

The FBI has the luxury of picking and choosing what they want you to hear, and I can guarantee that you have not read the entire transcript since it pertains to an ongoing investigation.

So you're saying the things they have released, about him wanting to sell the senate seat, trying to squeeze donations out of a children's hospital, etc., have just been taken out of context?

It is the job of the FBI to prosecute as many people as possible for any reason imaginable, if they don't then they're not doing their job.

Yes, I remember seeing that in their mission statement: "If you're not arrested, we're not doing our job."

[Evil Robot]

That childrens hospital got over 8 million dollars that they would have otherwise NOT gotten. Isn't it only fair that they make a contribution to help him get re-elected? Blagojevich recieved 0.6% of the money he aquired for the hospital as a campaign contribution. That will help ensure that the guy who got them the money in the first place, will still be around to get them more.

[Tadao]

OR ELSE!

[Evil Robot]

Yes, or else. Or else the republican option won't give them jack shit.

[Tadao]

Your right, he was only extorting the children for their own good. Kinda like when dad hits mom because she burned the roast.

[Evil Robot]

In order for him to be "extorting" the children he would have to make a threat of either violence or legal action and that paying the demanded sum would result in a cessation of such actions. This is not the situation with the childrens hospital. The FBI also failed to provide a timeline of when the contribution was made, before or after they recived the $8 million. The hospital also did not claim to be strong armed in any way, the FBI decided that for them.

[Evil Robot]

In order for him to be "extorting" the children he would have to make a threat of either violence or legal action and that paying the demanded sum would result in a cessation of such actions. This is not the situation with the childrens hospital. The FBI also failed to provide a timeline of when the contribution was made, before or after they recived the $8 million. The hospital also did not claim to be strong armed in any way, the FBI decided that for them.

[Evil Robot]

WTF just happened?

[Tadao]

I wish I knew things so that I could say you are wrong!

[Dr. Boogie]

Originally Posted by Evil Robot

That childrens hospital got over 8 million dollars that they would have otherwise NOT gotten. Isn't it only fair that they make a contribution to help him get re-elected?

No, it isn't. Not only is it unfair, it's also illegal. The man is supposed to be a public servant. He's supposed to be focused on operating within the public interest, not figuring out ways to launder money into his campaign coffers.

In order for him to be "extorting" the children he would have to make a threat of either violence or legal action and that paying the demanded sum would result in a cessation of such actions. This is not the situation with the childrens hospital. The FBI also failed to provide a timeline of when the contribution was made, before or after they recived the $8 million. The hospital also did not claim to be strong armed in any way, the FBI decided that for them.

The affadavit said that the hospital's Certificate of Need, which was needed for it to be built, was going to be denied by the planning board until the contractor agreed to make a campaign contribution to Blagojevich.


I'm curious to see how all this will play out. Blagojevich hasn't done himself any favors by skipping out on his court date to compare himself to Ghandi and Nelson Mandela on daytime television. I think the senate will vote to impeach him in part because of it. He's made a public spectacle out of himself and the precedings, and my guess is that the senate may vote him out for no better reason than to give the impression that they aren't soft on corruption, despite the state's record to the contrary.

[Tadao]

I can't wait till it's all over and he is empeached. He is gonna dance for the camera and make some money from it for as long as people care to interview him. I predict at least three more months of his poetry quotes and god like comparisons. A&E might even give him his own reality show! This guy have single handedly brought back the 80's swagger.