Illinois House impeaches Gov. Rod Blagojevich (Wizbang)

This comes as no surprise. From AP-

The Illinois House has voted to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich (bluh-GOY'-uh-vich), an unprecedented step in state history.
The action sets the stage for a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out of office for corruption and abuse of power.

House members found evidence that the two-term Democrat had abused his power, including improperly spending tax money, adopting programs without legislative approval and violating state hiring laws. He's denied wrongdoing.

The House began impeachment proceedings after federal authorities arrested Blagojevich Dec. 9. He's accused, among other things, of attempting to sell an appointment to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat for political favors.

Considering how many other Illinois Governors have gotten themselves in trouble, you would think politicians in that state would get the message. Apparently they are either too dumb or too arrogant to learn. Some where down the road I hope Rod Blagojevich gets a cell adjacent to former Governor George Ryan.

Update- James Joyner at OTB makes a good point-

This is the right outcome but the wrong process. While impeachment is not a criminal trial and the Illinois House can, in practice, impeach for whatever it wants, the intent was that it be reserved for criminal conduct. While I have little doubt that Blagojevich committed crimes, he was impeached for unpopular policies. That's a decidedly bad precedent.

Comments (10)

'Improperly spending tax... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by 914 | January 9, 2009 12:01 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

914:

'Improperly spending taxpayer money"

So they are admitting they should all be impeached?

How ridiculous. How can You adopt a program? without it already being in existence? what a bunch of jackals.

Posted on January 9, 2009 12:01

Denied wrongdoing?<p... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by GianD | January 9, 2009 12:09 PM | Score: 2 (4 votes cast)

GianD:

Denied wrongdoing?

Thats one of the prerequisites for joining the (D) party.

Posted on January 9, 2009 12:09

Considering how ma... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Timmer | January 9, 2009 12:51 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

Timmer:

Considering how many other Illinois Governors have gotten themselves in trouble, you would think politicians in that state would get the message. Apparently they are either too dumb or too arrogant to learn.

What people fail to understand is that when you're from Chicago, that level of corruption is "just the way it is." You can hook him up to a polygraph, he'll tell you he did nothing wrong, and that little needle isn't going to move.

The folks in Illinois are going to spend a few million to impeach him, then the Feds will spend a few to prosecute him, then in eight years, he'll be pardoned and land a cush job at some University with an office right next to Bill Ayers.

Posted on January 9, 2009 12:51

There's gotta be a Kennedy ... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by Pretzel Logic | January 9, 2009 1:09 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Pretzel Logic:

There's gotta be a Kennedy on the bench for us, no?

Posted on January 9, 2009 13:09

He's the distraction to the... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by LaMedusa | January 9, 2009 1:13 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

LaMedusa:

He's the distraction to the worst criminals in that bunch. There was a "meeting" and Blagojevich was voted in as the fall guy.

Posted on January 9, 2009 13:13

Watch FREE full-length Movi... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by G | January 9, 2009 4:31 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Watch FREE full-length Movies, TV Shows, Music (over 6 million digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, and FREE College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ InternetSurfShack.com

Posted on January 9, 2009 16:31

Blagojevich's press confere... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by Double | January 9, 2009 5:54 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Double:

Blagojevich's press conference was fantastic. I only wish he gave his hair more time.

He was perfect, he is wonderful, mentioned God and the church, spoke about how he cares about the poor and the minorities. And then pointed his finger at other people.

Posted on January 9, 2009 17:54

I remember just like it was... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by Oyster | January 9, 2009 6:45 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Oyster:

I remember just like it was a couple months ago (oh yeah, it was just a couple months ago) when discussion of another Governor's alleged abuse of power was the hot topic. The usual suspects were pouring over every minute detail, carefully picking the ones they could twist into defacto proof of gross misconduct and nefarious finagling - leaving multiple comments in every thread. In the end they refused to even acknowledge fully half of the investigative findings because of some ill-defined hatred. And then there were the ones who just popped in, repeated some outrageous lie they heard and popped back out.

They've been quite conspicuous in their absence when discussion of another Governor's alleged abuse of power comes up and that Governor happens to be a Democrat. If they can't defend him, which they can't, they just remain quietly in the background, only occasionally having something to say if they can point a finger elsewhere, make a comparison to some Republican or criticize another's criticism. Only a couple have made an unqualified denunciation, albeit brief, and then wandered off to hunt down some Republican wrong-doing they could discuss with more gusto and righteousness.

The noise punctuated by the deafening silence by these usual suspects is a joke.

Posted on January 9, 2009 18:45

These corrupt politicians a... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by Jason | January 9, 2009 7:57 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Jason:

These corrupt politicians are making me sick. Do we really need them? Don't we have enough laws already? Let's just send the politicians home for a year with paid leave. I think we'd make do just fine.
http://www.rightklik.net/

Posted on January 9, 2009 19:57

5.-What "bunch" are you tal... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by daniel rotter | January 11, 2009 5:11 AM | Score: -1 (1 votes cast)

daniel rotter:

5.-What "bunch" are you talking about? Also, do you have evidence of this "meeting," or are you just prone to pulling conspiracy theories out of nowhere the same way a magician pulls rabbits out of hats?

Posted on January 11, 2009 05:11