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Impeachment Made Easy: The Illinois Model
How quickly can a motivated legislative chamber impeach a scoundrel?
Very quickly, indeed.
The Illinois House of Representatives, acting just hours after the chamber's investigative committee recommended action against scandal-plagued Governor Rod Blagojevich, voted 114-1 Friday morning in favor of impeachment of the man who allegedly hung a "for sale" sign on the Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama.
The Illinois House action sets up a state Senate trial that could lead to the removal of Blagojevich for abusing his office -- and for getting himself in such a mess that he can no longer effectively govern.
The Senate convenes for a trial on the impeachment charge next week, with each of the 59 senators acting as a juror. If 40 vote to convict the governor, he's out.
And if sentiments expressed in the state House are any indication -- where support for impeachment crossed lines of party, ideology and region -- it seems likely that the governor's days in office are numbered.
"Due to his conduct, the governor has failed to uphold the oath of office," explained state Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, who chaired of the House panel that held impeachment hearings while everyone in Washington was watching the circus surrounding Blagojevich's nomination of Roland Burris to fill the Obama seat.
On Thursday, the committee unanimously recommended that the House move against the governor.
On Friday, it did, with Currie saying of the governor: "He is no longer capable of defending our liberties. He should be impeached."
State Representative Jack Frank, a Chicago Democrat, was blunter: "It's our duty to clean up the mess and stop the freak show that's become Illinois government."
Representative Frank and his colleagues will get no argument from this quarter.
However, it is intriguing to some of us who have advocated for another impeachment (or so), that things are now moving so quickly in Illinois that Blagojevich forced from office before George Bush and Dick Cheney leave voluntarily.
What the Illinois circumstance tells us it that, for all the whining and bemoaning by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her cautious colleagues, impeachment need not be the cumbersome or dysfunctional process that members of Congress imagine -- and fear.
While Blagojevich certainly seems deserving of early retirement, it is difficult to imagine how the Illinoisan's offenses can even be compared with those of Cheney -- who recently acknowledged violating his oath of office and affronting the Constitution by actively promoting cruel and unusual punishment of those detained by the U.S. government.
Say what you will about the mess in Illinois.
But at least the Land of Lincoln has a legislature that recognizes its constitutional duty and acts upon it.
Washington could take a lesson from Springfield.
After all, there's still more than enough time to impeach and try a vice president who has admitted to far higher crimes and misdemeanors than those alleged against Governor Blagojevich.
There is no Constitutional impediment -- only the false construct put in place by Pelosi when she declared, for reasons of politics as opposed to principle, that impeachment was off the table.
- Posted in
33 Comments so far
Show AllWhen Pelosi stated that " impeachment was off of the table " she showed her true colors that she is just another whore for the crime family. If any American with integrity, had her position, that would be the #1 priority, but unfortunately, she is guilty of driving the get away car for these torturers and murderers! Her puerile and punic attitude,shows she has no conscience and one wonders what Bush and Cheney would have to do for her to put impeachment back on the table!
Pelosi is afraid for her life.
Now that we are just a few days away from installing a new president it is a good time to impeach the murdering lice now in office. There would be no major disruption
of governance; and, Pelosi could throw herself on the mercy of the People. I would forgive her and Hubby, right after they did their self-immolation ceremony.
Sioux Rose
It seems the "leaders" have no problem going after the lower hanging fruit just to make showcases that lead the citizenry to believe their democracy is still intact. The popular showing for Obama also seemed to indicate that the machinery of our elections were once again returned to solvency after so much corruption of the presidential vote in 2000 and 2004. But the larger picture instructs us that only some measures are allowed to give the population the comforting illusion that authority is doing its job, that systems are operating as intended. Given what the media tells the vast majority, those with gut-wrenching doubts are encouraged to go back to their double shift, collapse into mindless television, or numb out on beer and leave it all up to "the experts."
Good job, John! Working to enlighten and achieve impeachment down to the wire! I'm with you.
It always WAS a lack of will and nothing else.
The saddest thing is that this relatively minor state incident could get so much media space (the Right is still in power, through their money, infrastructure and both parties -- never forget that), yet the many and multi-facetd crimes of BushCeneyCo nary a word -- even with a five-hour Kucinich drama on the House floor with 35+ charges. Makes the head swim.
We built a nationwide impeachment movement and it was ignored. Dems are doing this in Illinois to avoid the political embarrassment around the process of filling Obama's seat. The war dead and other horrors don't embarrass them, apparently. This is battered spouse syndrome for sure: you beat me, though you shouldn't, but don't let the neighbors find out.
We're drowning in hypocrisy. Because of the twisted way they use it, they have made Impeachment into the mere tool of recrimination and vengeance they said it was! Their oaths of office are reduced to stagecraft -- a ritual for the media.
There are so many sold-out souls in the nation's power structure it's hard to contemplate. THAT is why we are in so many messes: there is no character, no soul, no integrity left with enough courage to act in the face of the powerful. Both major parties are a plague on America at this time. They are a tag team designed to drain our personal and social resouces into support for the corporate agenda, leaving no will to resist. Time to really move on, folks.
Alaska SHOULD take a cue from Springfield, our 'governor' is beyond the pale !
FWIW, I'd never heard of Blagojevich until this scandal-- I may have seen the name, that is, but I wasn't familiar with the man.
I agree with Sioux Rose's points; however, I think that THIS impeachment does represent a rush to judgement that is a poor example of the sociopolitically therapeutic value of impeachment.
Blagojevich may prove to be guilty as sin, and as corrupt and criminal as his prosecutors would like us to believe. But it strikes me that this "Impeachment Express" was stoked and blew out of the station at top speed because Blago's splashy arrest was bad for Illinois political business. It's not as if the impeachment proceedings actually proved the underlying crimes and misdemeanors (which, I realize, is the purpose of the antecedent trial).
The impeachment resonates with unfortunate popular prejudices, e.g. that despite the dispassionate legal concept of the presumption of innocence, the mere fact of a sensational arrest and surrounding publicity is enough to declare the arrested persona non grata while the actual legal question of guilt or innocence is pending.
I'll be interested to see whether the impeachment trial proceeds smoothly, since it may well cause problems and conflicts for the federal prosecutors' own trial.
As noted, I'm not a supporter or fan of Blagojevich, and I'm not suggesting that he should be viewed sympathetically. But I think that the Impeachment Express was launched a little too quickly for comfort.
· Yr Obd't Servant
A rush to judgment? How obvious must it be?
What happened in Illinois is justice delivered, and everybody knows it, assuming the Senate follows through.
Blago's statements were like out of a movie. Mel Brooks could not have done it better.
The Illinois legislature is showing some measure of dignity, and I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. Hope the moral midgets in DC will do the same.
My point is really that an ordinary citizen will receive news of, say, the FBI finding $90,000 in cash in Rep. William J. Jefferson's freezer, and conclude then and there that another venal lowlife political hack has been caught with both hands on the frozen cookie dough.
I certainly do it all the time, not only regarding politicians but also local accused criminals in the news... OJ... It's a great satisfaction when, many moons later, the justice system issues a verdict confirming what one knew all along. The red tape is so much confetti in the self-congratulation parade!
But the institutions of government are obliged to act within their own established due process. While the legislature has authority to act, and a duty to safeguard the citizens and institutions themselves from an office-holder's improper, unethical, or criminal malfeasance, in my view a less problematic outcome ought to have been sought-- e.g., requiring Blagojevich to be placed on administrative leave until the outcome of the charges.
I advocate this not out of a feeling of sympathy or kindness for the accused; he may be exactly the venal, crooked creep he's made out to be. I just think that my approach is legally cleaner and more efficient; I can't see how a legislature eager to throw the bum out won't cause problems for his subsequent prosecution, since they arise from the same issues. And, to be fair, there is a de facto element of double-jeopardy, or at least double-teaming, here.
In my opinion, the fundamental concept of "innocent until proven guilty" should govern the methods for responsibly handling the conflict. Putting him on the shelf for the duration preserves the assumption of innocence for the trial, allows the court to settle the question, and allows state business to go on under the auspices of an acting governor.
When he's duly convicted, end of story. Maybe the term "rush to judgement" is the wrong one. I was thinking of the rush of state politicians to build and hop aboard this bandwagon. And I attribute the bold and rapid clipping of Blagojevich's wings, at least in part, to the natural scavenger's tactic of immobilizing prey, the better to feast from its remains.
Which doesn't discredit the sparkling-clear lesson that this is indeed a proof that where there's a will, there's a way-- and contrariwise.
I'm not arguing with those who feel that couldn't happen sooner to a nicer guy.
· Yr Obd't Servant
Right. I agree that Blago could be convicted of nothing.
But the fact remains that he was guilty of being unethical, or whatever one chooses to call it. If the citizens accept that sort of thing with no protest, then they have the government they deserve.
Pelosi's failure to impeach Bush/Cheney drove this lifelong Democrat away from the party for the first time in his life. I am now seeking other parties and other voices who are more committed to the duties of government and not just playing the game of popularity politics. Sometimes in order to lead you must do what is morally right and not just what is politically advantageous. I wish Sheehan had won. We apparently have a two headed one-party system who do not serve the interests of anyone except those already in power.
Perhaps this new depression will give an opportunity for those of us who need work, want work, to find work, when our government finally realizes that this is a consumer-based economy that is fed from the bottom up and does not trickle from the top down.
dene,
I felt bad for Sheehan after she lost her son. After the election, a friend of mine and I were discussing politics and he wondered why San Francisco chose a pro-war corrupto over the real deal. My guess is the voters of San Francisco are no less stupid than us Wyomingites when it comes to voting against ones economic and foreign policy interests.
If you want real Democrats, check out Dave Freudenthal, my governor, and Brian Schweitzer. They may be pro-gun and even somewhat pro-coal but if you were to stack up their take on various issues and compare us interior Democrats to the coastal elites, you'd be surprised to find out who's really more liberal.
Excellent Mr. Nichols! Bravo!
Nancy should be tried for her complicity in the Bush crimes.
I normally don't believe in the French system of justice but 22 years is enough to declare her guilty. Just hang her !
Yes please!
I believe Mr. Nichols may be overlooking a crucial difference between the Illinois and U.S. houses of representatives.
The former was not complicit in the actions of its prospective impeachment target.
I'm not a big fan of Pelosi, I in fact I believe that had she done what she had been elected over and over to do - to promote as best she could the interests of those who voted for her - there wouldn't be this second war against Iraq and there would have been a congressional outcry early on against torcher being committed in the name of the US public. That being said, I believe that had there been an impeachment effort against Bush, or even just against Cheney, Obama would not now be the President-elect. The angry and crazy old man form the desert with his ice queen from the north might even have been the one in line for 44.
I voted for Nader and had I lived in SF, I would have voted for Sheehan as well. With Republicans you know what to expect but with Democrats, you won't know your fate until they stick it to you.
Easy to do all that on a state level but don't expect the DC Democrats to even lift a finger. I have been completely pissed off with the Repugs since 1985 but for the last 8 years, I was sickened to see the way the Democrats not only took impeachment off the table but also aided Bush and his GOP buddies that I could no longer tolerate it. The Democrats are more like a spouse who knowingly cheats his or her partner until held accountable. We need to PUNISH the cheating Democratic Party for cheating the base and force those pansies to learn ! If the Democrats had a real spine, I wouldn't be seeing my friends out here in Wyoming worshipping Cheney like crazy !
Bush should have been impeached right after the election.
My initial response to Nichols is that yes, it was a 'false construct' for Congressional Democrats to say that impeachment was off the table. But it wasn't just up to Pelosi and other elected leaders. I didn't see many citizens demanding their representatives put impeachment on the table. We have all colluded in allowing what has happened during the Bush administration. It is also a false construct to say 'they' (as in politicians) let this happen.
We let it happen. We let Cheney and Bush break the law in countless ways. We let all kinds of members of this administration perpetrate all kinds of impeachable offenses.
I enjoy seeing Illinois act so quickly in their impeachment. . . it sure seems like it ought to be possible for elected representatives to take action much more quickly than they normally do. Something about the Blago scandal doesn't sit right with me. Sure,Blago is a cheating scumbag but so are many other politicians, especially in Illinois. I can't help thinking poor Blago is bearing the brunt of some unacknowledged classism. . . he has an air of low class about him and I think that is part of the reason he is so villified.
I just read that Harry Reid has suggested that Senator Ted Stevens, a convicted felon, shouldn't have to actually go to prison for his CRIMES because the gift rules changed mid-career on poor Ted. . . how come Reid can suggest Stevens should avoid prisoin but then refuse to allow Burris who, like it or not, was appointed by an actual governor . . .
We are so full of hypocrisy and bigotry . . . yes, Blago is a dirtbag and yes, we ought to impeach Cheney and Bush . . and gosh how come the world is so f'ffing unfair.
In the end, while we sit here enjoying indignation about politicians' failures, keep in mind how many times you (yeah, I mean you, the person reading me this minute) showed up to protect war crimes or racism or social injustice this past year?
We're all complicit.
Teaching Washington anything is as "easy" as teaching pigs to sing unless you can hypnotize them with REALLY BIG money bags ! Besides, they'll just beg us to vote for them yet again.
If these cowards and traitors impeach Bush and Cheney, then both house and Senate members would have a free for all impeaching each other.
Why?
Because they all knew exactly what Bush/Cheney were doing, including the electronic warrant less surveillance and the soon to be nation wide news of the nation wide FBI Cointel Pro torture stazi ground patrols.
They are all guilty of treason for not protecting the Constitution which protects all Americans from runaway government abuse.
BornFreeMen
Gang Stalking Torture victim, 2 years, Bradenton Fl.
That all adds up. When one's afraid of being exposed for being an accomplice, he or she will simply stay silent on the matter.
Sioux Rose
The man you shot should have pressed charges. A more enlightened view was offered by Eric Butterworth, a Unity minister, in one of his many books. He stated that IF there is a 3rd party, sufficient space was CREATED by two partners in the first place that invited that infidelity.
Sher Hite's book on Sexuality (I can't recall the name at the moment) cited that in surveys of several thousand men and women, about 75% of both genders admit to having had an affair during the course of their marriages. You regard the female as property, and seem to see sex as some kind of physical act without the slightest covenant of love or consideration for your partner. What on this website would be compatible with your interests? Just seeking financial justice or would it be more revenge in your case?
To WYGUNSTON
Well, it's full moon so I suppose even on this site, a vampire may chance to roam.
Ever think that Mr. Gunston and wife really love each other. The victim of the shooting was also the victim of his wife. She should have had sense not to involve the poor soul who was murdered.
It is never simple, but to the simple minded.
Thank you hoyt. Some people don't understand. I didn't want to get angry and go crazy but I felt like my family life was under siege. I went through my young life learning to treat women with respect and admire them. The cheating incident made me feel that I was a loser and that my being nice was what caused this mess. That's what the Democrats remind me of. We the voters finally decide to be nice enough to give them a chance to undo the damage Bush and GOP did to the country and what do we get? More of the same and it just reminds me of my miserable memory. Sorry I brought this whole thing up.
Hey, I wasn't mean until she cheated and then I felt that all the lessons I learned about treating women with respect were null and void because I felt threatened by that man taking away my family wife and my wife taking my generosity for granted. I never said I believed in controlling women and believe me I didn't and still don't. So let me get this straight if I understand you correctly. If a man cheats on his wife, it's a sin but if a woman cheats on her husband, it's not, right? Also, if a Republican screws up, bash them but if a Democrat does the same, "forgive" 'em and simply blame the Republicans ?
Sioux Rose
WYGUN: The "sin" is between an individual and their own soul. YOUR violence trumped any sin ten fold. I dated a lawyer and he told me if a man comes home and finds his wife in bed with another man, she should say, "Honey, it's not what you think!" You know how lawyers can take a grain of doubt and use it to their advantage.
I came of age in the 60's and 70's and felt very lucky to become a woman at a time when there was easy access to birth control and women for the first time in centuries could choose their own lovers! Arranged marriages, the oath of virginity, etc made women into commodities. Some would only know sex with one man throughout their existence which naturally meant they owned no basis for comparison. OF course across the centuries in many societies males had concubines or 2nd or 3rd wives, etc. I think it's very threatening for some men to know that women have had sexual experience as women (think Delilah with Samson in the Bible) know weaknesses about men they can hide from other men.
I was married to a Latin man, very handsome Omar Shariff type, and he turned out to be unfaithful. It's so conditioned into Latin men. It took me a few years to heal from that (and get a divorce), so I am certainly not saying it's an easy thing to overcome the pain of infidelity. It is, however, pervasive in our society; so I think the shotgun approach is shall we say "over kill."
America Thy Name Is Hypocrisy.
May All Beings Be Blessed.
No Restrictions Or Limitations Shall Apply.
Many voters are wondering about this matter of impeachment talk by the media when it comes to this pathetic governor, but none whatsoever when it comes to the high crimes of George W. Bush and Cheney!
Even if the corporate press ignores this elephant in the room, loyalists must continue to push for impeachment. With all the fiascos we face, once the Bushies leave, the only thing that will give us true direction and clarity is that we did the right thing in cleaning house, and we can be certain that those who would break our laws will think twice about the consequences.
I believe that our future is at stake here, and if we do not impeach and indict, then we will suffer the humiliation and punishment before the rest of the world for being a partner in crime. Now I understand better, the German people after the Nazi's defeat.
For all the posters who are examining their relationships with their current political party, there is some choice in that matter, however academic it might be.
I support the Libertarian Party for a variety of reasons, one being that it has been around for some respectable amount of time now, and the fact that it respects the US Constitution, something the 2 parties cannot say when their voting records are examined.
Democrats are such cowards they will only vote to impeach another Democrat.
Check this site : http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/barr-slams-illinois-house-impeachment-resolution
Barr Slams Illinois House Impeachment Resolution
Calls Blagojevich Impeachment Premature and Irresponsible
Former Congressman Bob Barr issued a statement today criticizing the Illinois House of Representatives for its resolution impeaching Governor Rod Blagojevich, calling such a move “premature” and “irresponsible.”
“To impeach a duly-elected governor against who there has been no formal charges whatsoever brought, much less a finding of guilt, is premature and highly irresponsible," said Barr, a former federal prosecutor and a Clinton impeachment manager during his service as a member of the United States House of Representatives in 1998-1999.
"To jump to the conclusion that a governor is guilty of impeachable offenses based on nothing more than preliminary, government-developed evidence for which there has been no opportunity to rebut or refute, is to render meaningless any notion of due process, equal protection of the law, or presumption of innocence," Barr concluded.
For further information please contact Andy MacPherson at 770-836-1776 or andy@bobbarr.org .
Barr, a former Member of Congress (1995-2003), also served previously as a US Attorney and with the Central Intelligence Agency. He was the Libertarian nominee for President in 2008.