Are any of you secretly rooting for Blago to be found innocent

[mtnsnake]

like I am?

Don't get me wrong. I am NOT rooting for him because I think he's guilty and because I want him to walk away scott free if he is. If he's guilty he should rot in jail. I'm rooting for him on the hopes that he is innocent of all charges and that MAYBE he was just yapping at the mouth about selling the senate seat.

I also hope he's innocent just because I don't like how Fitzgerald was practically foaming at the mouth when he did his press conference a week or so ago. If he wasn't jumping the gun on all this, then I don't know who was. I also don't appreciate how so many Republicans are savoring over this and making like Blago is the worst thing to ever happen to politics but Bush and Cheney are perfectly fine citizens and upholders of the law.

[leftstreet]

1. I confess

Unless there's a lot we don't know about, it looks like Fitz blew it.

[babylonsister]

2. No. He's a nut job. He named his Paul Mitchell hair brush

'the football'. I think he has a couple of screws loose.

[saracat]

3. Not a fan of Blag but I am impressed he has some fight in him unlike all the Dems who roll over.

He might be a crook but at least he is fighting back. Actually, I hope he names names. if he has to go down I hope he takes a passel with him.

[bluestateguy]

4. Evan Mecham was acquitted of all criminal charges

But she was still impeached and removed by the Arizona legislature.

[saracat]

6. Even Mecham was a male and had Alzheimers .

[ronnykmarshall]

7. I LOVED the Gov that took over when he left office.

Rose Mofford was a peach!

[saracat]

30. Her "mile high hair" was da bomb! Still is. She's a doll.

[druidity33]

5. not me... nt

[Unsane]

8. Wow, we're in total agreement on this,

Fitzgerald's FBI agent (Robert Grant?) was nigh ridiculous in his hyperbolic rhetoric during said press conference (i.e. "Illinois s sooooo corrupt!!")

[mtnsnake]

12. Yup. And yes, that press conference was more like a lynch mob mentality, a real circus

Fitzgerald was cocky to the point of being outright arrogant. If only he showed the same contempt for Cheney when he could have had him by the balls during the Scooter Libby case, but all he did was make Libby the fall guy. Any jackknife prosecutor could've done what Fitz did there.

[asjr]

9. I have wondered about it. Do they have any actual

physical evidence? Did money exchange hands? Was he just spouting off and someone took it to mean he did illegal things? And who asked J Jackson Jr to snitch? If he is guilty he is guilty but I hope he gets a fair trial.

[mtnsnake]

14. I don't think so. I think they just have the words they have on tape

and if that's the case, any good lawyer can interpret those words just to mean that Blago was only mouthing off to people he didn't like.

I don't think Fitzgerald said anything about any money actual money exchanging hands, at least nothing I heard about.

[bottomtheweaver]

10. Yes, in fact I'm hoping the whole thing blows over.

The IL supreme court refused to hear Madigan's challenge to his fitness, so I guess that leaves impeachment, but I really hope it doesn't come to that.

[SeattleGirl]

11. No.

I don't think he's innocent, and I think he should get jail time for what he's done.

[AlCzervik]

13. i'd like to see hear the tapes and or see some evidence, i've been trying to keep

up with it all but there seems to be a lot of information that hasn't been released. I'm withholding any and all judgment until i see more proof.

[Witchy_Dem]

15. until proven guilty. nt

[CK_John]

16. I think Blago case will blow the lid off secret wiretaps. The Gov case will fail because

they will not disclose the wide use of illegal taps of all politico's. All he has to do is show the illegal taps were used to get a judge to allow legal taps. Blago has Fitzgerald by the short hairs. Fitzgerald doesn't want to win the case anyway, Fitzgerald wants to push Holder out and slide into the AG slot.

[cali]

17. no. I've never seen such guilty hair in my life. His hair positively

screams guilty.

[mtnsnake]

19. LOL

Good one!

Hey, did you by any chance hair that guy, Bill Press, tonight on either CNN or MSNBC? He called Blago a no good scumbag and then he was up and down him for his hair. It's people like that who can really make me root for Blago.

Blago's hair, along with a future book and movie-making deals in Hollywood, are going to make him a multi-millionaire. That's how our justice system works, you know. lol

[WinkyDink]

18. Yes. He's been "convicted" without a trial. (Separated at birth:)

[MasonJar]

20. The only comment that I have is that Fitzgerald seems to have been

off base in what he said at his news conference. Aren't prosecutors supposed to beware of prejudicing juries?

[davsand]

21. I WISH I thought he didn't do anything wrong.

Living here in Illinois, however, I will tell you that I doubt they will nail him on the Senate appointment but will get him on other stuff that is a lot less "sexy." Make no mistake, he really is crooked enough to screw his pants on in the morning, but I just doubt they'll get him for the "big ticket" item like that Senate appointment.

He has used staff for campaign work on the taxpayer dime, he's made appointments based on political favors, he's even done that whole "pay to play" thing with various special interest groups. That kind of nuts and bolts stuff, however, is not gonna make the public look twice here in Illinois because it really IS old hat. He had history of whoring his vote when he was in Congress and I think THAT is gonna be looked at as well.

Fitz has been down this road before in this state with Blag's predecessor, and he knows what he's looking for to make that conviction. The biggest difference with Ryan was that the IL GOP closed ranks behind him and tried to protect him. They lost several statewide offices as a direct result of the PR fallout and they are weak to this day because of it. (Literally, Obama's original Senate win is seen by several GOP folks in Illinois as being a direct result of the fallout from George Ryan's conviction and the resulting weakening of their party.)

Blago, on the other hand, has been a real problem to a lot of the other Dems in this state and even before this all hit the fan he was NOT popular in many circles. Blag has been seen as a complete tool in dealing with the IL Dems in the Legislature and that is gonna make for some very interesting hearings if they do finally move to impeach. There is not much love for hm anyway, but trust me, the IL Dems are NOT gonna go down with him. They are NOT gonna rally round him and go the way of the IL GOP.

I wish I could say I think he's innocent, but I really don't. I admit freely that I can't sit on a jury for him and I am glad as hell not to have to. I have seen too much and talked to too many people to think this is not without some merit.

FWIW, I hope I'm wrong.


Laura

edit for typo

[mtnsnake]

26. Thanks for the detailed account

Much appreciated :)

[ShadowLiberal]

32. I agree with what you say about what Blago is likely to be convicted of

Much as Fitz would love to get him convicted of selling the senate seat, he stepped in too early to stop it, so all they have against him is some of his words talking with others. From what I've read I think the only discussions they have about the senate seat are Blago talking with his advisers, not Blago talking with a candidate directly and saying "if you give me $100,000 dollars then I'll name you a senator" or something like that.

There's plenty of other corruption charges however that from what I've read about Blago seem to have much stronger evidence that would be much harder for anyone to talk their way out of, especially since those are crimes that were actually committed, not crimes that Blago talked about committing.

I must say though, it's very interesting what you say about the IL GOP strongly standing with Ryan and hurting themselves badly. You'd think that it would be a no brainer to distance yourself from an indicted politician, even if you think they're innocent.

[Occam Bandage]

22. No. I am not. He is a scumbag. I've hated him for years.

Fuck. Him.

[mtnsnake]

27. I take it you won't be inviting him to your summer barbecue

no matter how the verdict turns out.

[terrya]

23. No.

I want to see him in a nice minimum security prison. A couple of years...it's not like I'm hateful or anything. Or greedy.

[jberryhill]

24. I usually root for the defendant

In that if there is a conviction, it should be done fair and square.

The burden of proof is on the accuser. It's one of the good things about our system, when it works.

I give Blago slim odds though.

[sandnsea]

25. I always wait for the evidence

and see if it fits the charges.

[WeDidIt]

28. FUCK NO!!!!!

I want the crooked son of a bitch in prison for as long as possible...

and I voted for the crooked son of a bitch in 2006, too!

[Sultana]

29. NO!

[izzybeans]

31. That senate seat is the least of his problems. It's the media storyline, and that's about it.

Every senate seat that came open because of this election is facing the same pressure. It's just not all on wire tap. Blago sold his office completely. The senate seat issue is like catching a bank robber jay walking with loot in hand.

[Mid_FL_voter]

33. Fitzgerald had a right to foam at the mouth

The IL gov is a total idiot and unethical, at the least. Get over it.

[Frank Booth]

34. Yep. And I also hope he still manages to turn that fucking valuable senate seat

into a cabinet position and 500 grand.

Or that he parachutes into the senate.

[onefreespiritedchick]

35. Hell no

I want him to go away.