Obama's decision to resign from the Senate was an enormous blunder. He should now renege on his resignation and storm the Senate to fight for the auto industry with a loud vote. Btw, does anyone know if Biden gave up his vote, too? What jerks.
This whole "selling a Senate seat" thing has just fueled my position that no actively sitting elected official should be allowed to campaign for a different elected position. Furthermore no actively sitting elected official should be allowed to be appointed to some other position. The people have elected those representatives to do a specific job, not to job hunt.
For example it is a major conflict of interest for an actively sitting US Senator or Representative to be running for President. You simply can't tell me that the act of campaigning for President didn't have an impact on how the candidates voted on various pieces of legislation. In some cases they weren't present for the votes yet they still were collecting a salary, in other cases I find it hard to believe that they voted in the best interest of their constituents vs. what was more politically expedient to their campaigns. And now I can add that the governor who gets to pick the replacement may use it to get personal favors in return. It simply shouldn't be allowed.
Well, admitting your candidate made a mistake. Perhaps there is still hope for you people.
A senator has no boss other than the ballot box. He can collect his salary & spend all day every day at the Capitol gym if he wants. Sucks, but that's the real world. Show up at a committee meeting every once in a while, fly back & rub with the homies a few weekends a year. Good work if you can buy, I mean, get it.
Back in the 19th century, Senators were appointed by the states, not elected. I suspect there was some selling going on then, just not as blatant and stupid as Illinois.
But I dont think you can renege on a resignation. Well, at least not without the approval of the body (probably perfunctory at this time). Still, Obama cant. His hands are too dirty now. And biden is still as stupid as he ever was.
Alas, the Senate is a bullshit organization that we could do without, thank you very much.
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Former senator of Illinois and president-elect Barack Obama has captured the majority of votes on the November 4th election. Now that Obama has resigned as Senator of Illinois, Politics have become a lot more dirtier and uglier. Wrong deeds will definitely catch up to you sooner or later. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, along with his chief of staff John Harris, was arrested in Chicago Tuesday morning on charges that included conspiring to commit wire fraud and soliciting bribes in exchange for the state’s Senate seat, vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. This is the second time an Illinois governor has been arrested on federal charges. George Ryan, Illinois’ 39th governor, was also charged for wielding his authority to help himself and his friends. According to the Illinois state law, it is the responsibility of the governor to fill the senate seat and much like Ryan, Governor Blagojevich saw an opportunity to use his power to leverage amenities for himself. According to the news, Blagojevich, 52, was hoping to get a substantially higher salary, a position on the board for his wife, a cabinet post and more in exchange for his choice of a senate replacement. Looks like the governor got a little bit too greedy. The FBI has filed a 76-page indictment against both Blagojevich and Harris. The affidavit reports that the federal authorities caught Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat on court-ordered wiretaps last month. The people of Illinois will have to wait patiently for the conclusion of this story. Times are rough and it’s about to get rougher, especially for both Blagojevich and his cohort John Harris. Click to read more on Blagojevich courtesy of Personal Money Store's Payday Loan News.