Meet the man who voted not to impeach Blago: Rep. Milton Patterson

Casting the lone dissenting vote is a great way to meet chicks.

The Illinois House of Representatives has voted to impeach that wonderful gift from the comedy gods, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, setting the stage for his trial in the state Senate. The naughty governor was cited for abuse of office, scheming to get personal gain out of making a Senate appointment, and wearing a ceramic hairpiece apparently styled in the 1970s.

The vote to impeach was a decisive one: 114-1. Yes, that's right...one lone dissenter chose to bravely stand up for his governor. One man who had the courage to stand up to his fellow representatives, make the unpopular choice, and defend the man who called Barack Obama the MF-word. A veritable Jimmy Stewart-as-Mr. Smith among the deluded sheep of the Illinois House.

The dissenter? Rep. Milton Patterson, who said simply that there "wasn't enough" evidence to remove Blagojevich from office. Patterson also suggested that he didn't feel it was his job to vote to impeach the governor...which, I suppose is true, except for the fact that he's a state representative and the House was holding a vote to impeach the governor, so if maybe the guy seems hopelessly corrupt it might be within your job description to flick that ol' "aye" lever.

What is it, Rep. Patterson? Are you waiting for the governor to call you up and offer you a plum gig for your loyalty? Are you still parsing the complex meaning of the the wiretapped conversation in which Blagojevich says he refuses to give a potential candidate "a f**king Senate seat, and I dont get anything?" Or are you just trying to be different? If you just want to stand out, couldn't you try something a little less ridiculous, like wearing a fish tie or something?

Whatever Mr. Patterson's motivation, it's just one more fabulous detail in this story that keeps on giving.

"Rep. Milton Patterson casts lone House vote against Blagojevich impeachment" - Chicago Sun-Times