INTRODUCTION
The State of Illinois has been in the news recently and it is not because of the recent election and innauguration of Barack Obama as President. Illinois has a Governor whose name is Rod Blagojevich and he is fighting attempts at impeachment and resignation. Blagojevich or Blago is not fighting it at home but with a World Tour [using the phrase of the Libertarian Party of Illinois] which took him to “Good Morning America”, “The View”, “Larry King Live”, and Fox News Channel.
THE STORY AND ITS CAUSE
The problem with Blagojevich was that he attempted to sell Barack Obama’s vacant senate seat to the highest bidder. This lead to his arrest by the Federal Government and has made Illinois a laughing stock of the world. It also undercuts Blagojevich’s promise that he would be a catalyst for change. He has bought time by sending to the Senate Seat a respectable person called Mr. Burris. Mr. Burris was appointed by Blagojevich and was almost turned away by Reid [a Nevada Lawmaker in Washington DC].
What gave Blagojevich a reprieve were telehone conversations between Reid and Blagojevich which stated that Reid preferred Lisa Madigan [a White Anglo-Saxon] over Jesse Jackson Jr. [an African American] because Ms. Madigan was “electable”. Regardless, the problem has not been resolved even with Blago declaring that he offered the Senate Seat to Oprah Winfrey.
Rod Blagojevich has also been accused of committing mail fraud, attempts to bribe the Chicago Tribune with funds from the State of Illinois, and attempting to obtain campaign contributions from the Children’s Memorial Hospital.
What is Rod Blagojevich to do in the face of what has transpired? He should resign his office and admit that the political process in Illinois governed by Republicans and Democrats is a mess. The Governing Elite in Illinois should also resign as well.
RESIGN
Rod Blagojevich should resign since he has abused the powers that were conferred to him in two elections. He has abused the trust that the people of Illinois placed on him. He has done a lot for the people but his mistakes would have forced someone else out a long time ago.
Mr. Blagojevich should resign since he attempted to sell a Senate Seat, bribe a member of the media, commit mail fraud, and attempt to obtain contributions in an illegal matter from a Children’s Hospital.
Another reason he should resign is that he does not represent all of the people of Illinois including minor parties.
Rod Blagojevich [as well
as the Powers in Illinois] have excluded the Green Party of Illinois from the gubernatorial debate of 2006. This is a flagrant violation of human rights against those who believe that different viewpoints should be heard. It appears that such a different opinion includes the need for transparent government.
For those not familiar with this scandal, Blagojevich and the Republican Candidate for Governor of Illinois in 2006 whose name was Judy Baar Topinka committed themselves orally to a debate in Southern Illinois. The debate was sponsored by the Paul Simon Public Library Institute and WSIU. Both Blagojevich and Topinka pulled out at the last minute because they could not debate a Green Party Candidate.
Dave Brady [who is the State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Illinois] has commented about the “outrageous” and “arrogant” behaviour of Blagojevich and other elected officials in Illinois. He also commented on the “abuse of public trust” by politicians while “enriching” themselves.
I agree with Mr. Brady that the culture of “anything goes” by the Republicans and Democrats have gone too far and that Blagojevich should pay the same price as his predecessors. Mr. Blagojevich should resign with dignity and accept whatever sentence that is handed out. The Govenrment of Illinois should do the same thing as well and there should be special elections in which ALL Political Parties are included.
Reference:
http://hillbuzz.wordpress.com /2009/01/03/is-harry-reid-a-ra cist/
http://www.ballot-access.org/ 2006/110106.html
http://www.whitneyforgov.org/ joomla/index.php?option=com_co ntent&task=view&id=1&a mp;Itemid=9
