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Governor Blagojevich is preparing to make his last stand by offering up his own closing statement. Follow below and discuss in the comments. We're still taking even odds he takes a cheap shot at Madigan just for kicks.
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11:54 - Blago wraps it up and then high-tails it out of there. By our count, that was around 48 minutes? A caucus has been granted to both parties and Ellis will present his rebuttal at 1 p.m.
11:53 - "I'm sorry for pushing and prodding too much sometimes." That's what she said. Sorry, couldn't resist.
11:52 - "I did not resign then, I am not resigning now." The senators you're addressing are about to save you that trouble.
11:50 - "If it could happen to me, it could happen to you." Uh, I think all those Senators have learned a valuable lesson from you, Blago. Meet in person and talk in code.
11:48 - "Impeachments are rare...you don't just throw the will of the people..." Given Blago's approval ratings, we're pretty sure the will of the people is impeachment. And as for precedence, well, that was already set for Governors of Illinois.
11:45 - Blago is getting misty-eyed over this narrative about the mother. We guess he'd be even more torn up if he could get his details straight. Guess that's what happens when you make shit up as you go...
11:40 - Our Karl Klockars takes on Blago's self-righteousness and insane rationalization - "Governor Blagojevich is the political equivalent of a wife-beater. 'See all the things I do for you? And you make me hurt you! I don't want to hurt you! I slave and I work and this is how you treat me?"
11:38 - Stop namedropping. He's mentioned McCain and Rahmbo more times than we can count.
11:35 - Maybe we're wrong, but a crime doesn't have to be proven for impeachment, no?
11:29 - Did he just throw the governors of Kansas and Vermont under the bus re: prescription drugs? McCain and Kennedy name-dropped again! And Rahmbo, too.
11:23 - Like a broken record, he's continuing to hammer home his health care record. Right, because we remember how thrilled those prop citizens were to be used as your shield a few weeks ago.
11:18 - Name dropping: Ted Kennedy! John McCain! Elizabeth Taylor! Holy hell, this is reaching a new level of crazy.
11:15 - Not surprising he defends the tapes as a politics-as-usual thing. Really? REALLY? And if you want to cross-examine FBI agents, Blago, you only have your lawyers who refused to show up (or dumped you) to blame.
11:12 - We don't get Blago's schoolyard analogy. Also, the "walk in my shoes" line isn't garnering our sympathies. On the plus side, he only has 78 minutes left to ramble.
11:09 - Blago maintains his innocence and claims the media blitz to show "the whole truth" and continues to whine about not bringing witnesses into the impeachment trial. Sour grapes don't go down well and we doubt Sen. Reid, Sen. Durbin, and Rahmbo would have come to your aid.
11:05 - We stand corrected! Cullerton: "We're informed the Governor will be here momentarily. We'll see..." Here we go...
11:03 - Aaaaand we're already behind schedule! No surprise as "fashionably late" seems to be Blago's M.O.
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God, he's going to fill the full 90 minutes with this crap isn't he?
maybe he will move to canada. he's talking about it enough.
can someone refresh me here ... he keeps saying he wasn't given a chance to call witnesses. wasn't he given the chance and he declined?
and does he think if he keeps saying he didn't do anything wrong over and over again that it makes it true?
and is he now basically saying the ends justify the means??
he thew the gov of wi under the bus too
what in HELL does his family's background have to do this!?
he has to fill 90 minutes somehow
Good God is he going to say anything about the REAL things he's being impeached for, for the tapes that clearly show he was trying to sell the senate seat and/or get something out of it?
Seriously, does he even know why he is being impeached? He's done nothing but pat himself on his back!!!
Did he say he was the child of hard-working immigrants pursuing the American dream? Because he said that about 65,000 times when he ran in '02.
I want to see a close up of the senators' faces. What are they thinking right now listening to this crazy man?? What is he talking about??
So was he elected twice...by the people? I can't seem to recall...
They should have set up an "American Idol" style judges panel for this.
2pm vote? Go clock GO!
I should clear this up - deliberations are scheduled to start at 2. hopefully that won't last long.
"I'm sorry for pushin' and proddin' too much sometimes."
I'm sure that turned the Senate around...
No, a crime does not have to be proven for impeachment, which is a political process, to answer a question in the comments above. Some would try to trick you and say otherwise, but they are either confused or lying.
Let me get this straight: He just spoke for 50 minutes, and NOT ONCE did he say anything about the recorded conversations and those allegations of selling the senate seat? Not once did he say anything that he's been rambling on about in the media about things "taken out of context" and "when the full story comes out?"
I don't even know how to express how dumbfounded I am by that.
I think he did in a round-about way. he never brought up the senate seat - would you? - but he kept harping on the media declaring him guilty and having all the tapes played. same old shit as before.
He keeps going back to the fact that he was elected by the people, but what would current polling show if he were facing a recall vote? I'm sure probably 90% of voters -- even those who voted for him -- would want to remove him from office. What has come to light since the last election is certain to sway even his staunchest supporters. And many voted for him simply because he was the Democtratic candidate, as much as they disliked him.
i would like to say for the record that i did NOT vote for him the second time just because he was the democratic candidate. i think i abstained entirely. i can't remember what i did the first time. probably voted for the jagbag.
I wrote in Eisendrath, who I'd also voted for in the primary...
Wanna bet he's already airborne so that he can hightail it back to Chicago before he loses access to the state plane and has to pay his own way back home?
Benjy, I think you're exactly right.
I am so looking forward to not having helicopters hovering over my neighborhood anymore.
The Daily Show made this point eloquently, but when Geraldo is defending you, you're fucking DONE.