The impeachment of Blagojevich

The Illinois House of Representatives voted 114–1 last week to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 13 charges of abusing his power, including an attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. Blagojevich will now be tried by the state Senate and, if convicted, removed from office, a process that could take months. “It’s our duty to clean up the mess and to stop the freak show which has become Illinois government,” said Rep. Jack Franks.

Blagojevich vowed to fight the impeachment and said legislators were targeting him because he cares too much about the poor and the sick. “Is that an impeachable offense?” he asked. He also quoted a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson about being “strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

There’s still time for Blagojevich “to do something positive before the trapdoor springs open under him,” said the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in an editorial. He could “temporarily” step down while the case plays out. That way, he’ll keep his six-figure salary—the right incentive for him—and allow the Illinois government to focus on its “massive financial problems” and the true needs of its citizens.

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Don’t count out Blagojevich yet, said syndicated columnist Susan Estrich. The impeachment charges track the allegations leveled by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. But Blagojevich isn’t merely innocent until proven guilty; he might actually be innocent—because his “crimes” were revealed before he could commit them. Ranting about the value of a Senate seat is “stupid, tasteless, and inappropriate.” But there’s no proof these “transactions” were executed.

Fortunately, Illinois has no “high crimes and misdemeanors” requirement for impeachment, said Steve Chapman in the Chicago Tribune. Legislators can eject Blagojevich for any reason they see fit, and he has given them plenty. FBI tapes show he tried to muscle a children’s hospital, sell the Obama seat to the highest bidder, and generally turn his office into a shakedown machine. Removing an elected official should always be a “last resort.” In this case, it’s “well-earned.”