Blago 1, Voters 0
Before voters scream and yell about the miscarriage of justice that the Rod Blagojevich verdict represents, we should take a long look in the mirror.
Confusion, and then anger....this will be the progression of emotions that will confront many Americans when they hear that Rod Blagojevich was found guilty of one measly crime. But before we scream and yell about the tragedy of justice that the Blago verdict represents, we should take a long look in the mirror.
Today's decision confronts us, the people that so often rant and rave about our corrupt officials, with a troubling question: what if Rod Blagojevich is right? What if Blago really was nothing more than a uniquely incompetent politico stupid enough to say out loud so many of the things that other politicos know to sugar-coat? To be sure, all of the evidence presented by the prosecution in this case suggests that Rod Blagojevich was a remarkably selfish and, if I might add, useless leader devoid of virtually any concept of civic responsibility... but being criminally incompetent is not the same as being a criminal.
Sure, the jury convicted the former governor of Illinois of one count of giving a false statement to federal agents. But at the time of his arrest, Illinois golden boy U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told us all that Mr. Blagojevich was involved in “staggering” corruption. He told us that the former governor's behavior "has taken us to a truly new low" by going on "a political corruption crime spree.... We acted to stop that crime spree."
If all of this were so obviously true, why on earth did a jury of rational people deliver one conviction.
The answer, I'm afraid, may be that Mr. Blagojevich is at least a little right. What did the voters of Illinois expect when they elected this bumbling idiot into public office? What do we, Americans, expect when we put many of our legislators into office and don't like the results? Too often, we put fools into office and when, hark, they act like fools, we get very upset and we call for their heads. But for the politicians that we most often call corrupt: Delay, Rangel, the late Ted Stevens, the charges never seem to stick. And even when they do, as they did with Marion Barry, we return them to office.
American anti-corruption laws are unclear and they always will be because the men and women charged with writing them are the ones most likely to find themselves charged with violating them. There are those rare occasions when a politician is flat out bought off, but such clear cut instances are rare and thus legal measures will always be hard to successfully use against sketchy politicos. There is but one powerful check on corruption and that is the vote. If we want more honest politicians, more serious thinkers, men and women less like Mr. Blagojevich, it is we that will have to go out and elect them. Until that time, we should share in the blame when our leaders show themselves to be the men and women they so obviously were when we elected them in the first place.
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