Blagojevich Could Still Appoint Obama's Successor
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, tasked with appointing someone to Barack Obama's Senate seat, allegedly had this to say about that task in a taped conversation: "I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden."
As the Associated Press reports, Blagojevich can still legally appoint someone to fill Obama's seat, since he remains the sitting governor of the state. And while it might be hard for the embattled governor to find someone to take the now-tainted appointment, he could always, were he feeling particularly cheeky, appoint himself.
State lawmakers are looking to pass a bill calling a special election to fill the seat, but, as the Chicago Tribune reports, such legislation might not be legal. And besides, Blagojevich could simply veto it. Nonetheless, lawmakers are looking to pass legislation stripping the governor of his appointment power early next week.
One avenue that would solve this problem would be to impeach the governor should he refuse to step down soon - a move that has growing support in the state.
While Blagojevich may have lost nearly all his political capital, he didn't have much even before the scandal broke: Tribune polling back in October put the governor's job approval rating at just 13 percent, "the lowest ratings from voters we've ever seen after three decades of conducting polls."
And the respondents were nothing if not prescient. Just eight percent said Blagojevich had "kept his promise to do away with state political corruption after succeeding George Ryan as Governor in 2002."