The embarrassment and shame that grows from the corruption that haunts the state of Illinois continues. Those who were hopeful that the ouster of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich would be the end of Illinois' political drama are surely disappointed by the revelations contained in the audio tape between Senator Roland Burris and Rob Blagojevich, brother and political fund-raiser for the former governor.
We are all fatigued by the corrupt politicians that continue to come out of Illinois. We have the ignominious distinction of having more federal agents investigating corruption than any other state. Senator Burris is especially disappointing. His recorded conversations with Rob Blagojevich leave no doubt that he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway - for his own ambitions.
Senator Burris only had to tell the truth to the House Special Investigative Committee, of which I was a member, to be seated in the U.S. Senate. That was the only prerequisite placed on him by Senator Harry Reid. Senator Burris' explanation of the recorded conversations was that he was not being truthful with Rob and was just placating him because he was interested in being appointed to the Senate seat. That is exactly how he treated the Special Investigative Committee. It is clear that he was seated under false pretenses, and the only reason he offered an affidavit following his testimony to the Special Investigative Committee is because the Federal authorities played the tapes for him.
There are only two honorable alternatives: Senator Burris can step down or the U.S. Senate can unseat him. Unfortunately, Senator Burris' gargantuan ego will never allow him to resign. Disappointingly, I lack confidence in the U.S. Senate to follow through, as it has not unseated a member since 1865. But this situation is so different that the Senate may be forced to break that pattern. The one requirement of his appointment was that he had to be honest, and he did not fulfill that requirement. Simply by lying, Senator Burris has forfeited his right to the Senate seat. He is not what anyone can consider a profile in courage. He is a weasely opportunist and the epitome of what is wrong with Illinois politics.
In February, I called for Senator Burris to step down because I believed then it was clear he had not fulfilled the requirement to be seated. At that time, I filed a House Resolution (HR 112) to formally reprimand Senator Burris for the contradictions made in his statements while testifying under oath. The Resolution also urges the U.S. Senate to expel him. These recent revelations further illustrate the necessity for the U.S. Senate to move forward and remove him from office. The Illinois General Assembly needed an indictment to be spurred to action to impeach our former governor. We need to restore the citizens' faith in our government. I urge the U.S. Senate to be more responsive and do the right thing now.
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Blago and Burris are clearly of the second type. I also heard the Chris Mathews interview on MSNBC. Burris' attempts to wriggle out of the situation with lies - which Chris exposed immediately - was disgusting in the extreme.
My children know that they can do almost anything and be forgiven as long as they are honest and reflective about it. Lies and deceit loose my respect immediately. The problem is, once you know somebody has lied, they are a liar and all that remains is the extent of their lying. As I cannot know this, I treat EVERYTHING a person identified as a liar says as being a lie - as one of my children found to their cost when, having been caught lying, I refused to believe anything they said afterwards.
We need to hold our politicians - irrespective of Party or ideology - to the same standards.
RACISM! RACISM! RACISM! RACISM! RACISM! got that NYT, roll over now, the end is near! Hurrah!
The people of Illinois may want reform. But instead of pushing their elected officials to do it, they seem more interested in "pushing the bums out" and trusting the newbies to do the right thing. That hasn't worked.
Any doctor will tell you that curing a disease does not mean treating the symptoms alone. And this is how Illinois has been going about reform. Until they learn that going after the disease does not mean getting rid of the symptoms alone, there will be more Ryans and more Blagos in their future.
To Mr. Franks, Governor Quinn and the rest of the state legislature: Cure the disease - not the symptoms - and the people of Illinois will believe you mean business. Mr. Burris will be dealt with in due course.
They allowed an evil President to usurp his powers of office to illegally invade and occupy a country which did nothing to us. Congress was unable to reign in his slightest whim. If that doesn't paint MISERABLE FAILURE in hundred-foot tall letters, I don't know what would.
Corruption in Illinois, you say? Shocking! Is Illinois any more corrupt than Washington DC is?
People often complain of the votes of their Congressman saying (s)he does not vote as the people who sent them there want them to when in reality their district is made up of people of divergent views. Someone is going to be disappointed 100% of the time. This is not proof of corruption. But where it exists . . . why hasn't it been proven and action taken, as has been done in the past? I think, for one thing, lobbying should be outlawed completely.