Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Congratulations on your unforgettable legacy, Blago.




Congratulations Illinois, 71.3% of the American population believe Illinois is the most corrupt state in the continental United States. 

The corruption scandal started when our governor, Rod Blagojevich decided it would be smart to start accepting bribes and offers for the vacant Senate seat left by Obama. He engaged in these activities even though he was under investigation for previous corruption charges and thus being closely observed by the FBI. He and his chief of staff, John Harris were arrested on December 11, 2008, and then they were released on bail. Harris was arrested because he is also charged with bribery and extortion schemes. Blagojevich has a total of six major charges filed against him. 

Since his arrest, Blagojevich has been constantly denying his involvement in these activities. However, multiple pieces of concrete evidence seem to prove him horribly wrong. For instance, the FBI has wiretap transcripts of his conversations with those who tried to buy off Obama's seat. According to a released segment of a transcript, he once told a potential buyer (of the Senate seat), "I've got this thing and it's golden, and uh, uh, I"m just not giving up for for nothing. I'm not gonna do it And I can always use it. I can parachute me there," and "I just want to make money." 

There is no doubt in any sane mind that Blagojevich is a foul-mouthed, dirty, and corrupt politician that doesn't deserve a position as governor. No matter how earnestly Blagoevich tries to deny his wrong-doings, how can he ignore the pile of evidence that says otherwise? He's not just corrupt, but I would argue that he's not extremely bright. 

Even if we can convince Blagojevich to step down as governor, he argues that he should still have to right to select the new governor. Obviously, most people are reluctant to listen to him because he can't be trusted anymore. Blago has dirty hands, and everyone he touches and endorses become tainted and untrustworthy as well. A better candidate is probably Pat Quinn, a Democrat who is well qualified and hasn't spoken with the governor since the summer of 2007. 

Honestly, I think we all have had enough of Blago's games. Every time he opens his mouth and denies his actions, he looks even more ignorant and dumb, just exacerbating his bad image of Illinois that he has dealt upon us. It's time for him to take accountability for his mistakes, instead of generating bad excuses or lying. It's time for him to go. It's as simple as that.