Reply #29: I'm not having any difficulty.

[kevsand]

You, on the other hand, are living in either a parallel universe or a self-constructed state of illusion. You very obviously are not living in the state of Illinois.

Blogojevich(sic) has been indicted, not convicted, but nice rush to judgment on your part, thanks very much. Everyone else does it this way because political considerations are not in violation of the law, buying and selling an office outright is against the law. Outside of the simplistic black and white, the gray areas here seem to elude you.

Blagojevich hasn't even been indicted, so your technical hair splitting is entirely inaccurate as well as irrelevant. It's not a rush to judgment when the criminal act is in plain view (or in this case, earshot). Political considerations are not at issue here, because that's not all he was asking for; he actively sought a sale price, which as you admit, is illegal. There are no gray areas here. Simple reality itself seems to elude you.

Lisa Madigan is under no legal duty to do anything of the sort. That is bullshit. If she has some sense that there has been a crime committed, she can have it investigated. Trying to remove a governor from office, who is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, is not "doing her job," it is carrying water for the Republicans.

As the elected Attorney General, she is most certainly under a strict legal duty as an officer of both the court and the state to uphold the Illinois Constitution and all state statutes. That includes removing a governor from office who has become incapable of performing his duties. You can disagree whether Blagojevich fits that definition, but that is ultimately for the Supreme Court to decide, not you or I. If Lisa is convinced that the case can be made, she is morally, ethically, and legally required to pursue it. This particular point of law has absolutely nothing to do with the possible commission of a crime, as you inaccurately suggested. Rather, it has to do with succession of office. The "investigation" has already taken place. All that's left now is the formal presentation of the evidence.

Finally, I am really f*cking tired of people who have never lived in Illinois coming here and telling us poor, ignorant bumpkins who have lived in Illinois all our lives and been politically active that entire time that we don't really know what's happening in our own backyards. We have lived with this monster for six years now, and he should have been taken out long ago. If you had even bothered to investigate for even two minutes the depth and breadth of this man's perfidy, you would never for an instant consider defending him or attacking the people who are finally standing up and holding him accountable. You might even learn how to spell his name correctly.

This man has destroyed or defiled everything he has touched. We are only now beginning to wake up from a statewide nightmare. Removing him is not "politics," it is self-defense.