Blagojevich Impeached - Better Late Than Never.

I can't think why anyone would be surprised at the impeachment. (They need to move him off the front page pronto, don't they?) What should be surprising is that it took so very long, in view of the facts that have been on the table for years. Now some of his fellow Shocked And Saddened Democrats, in the absence of full disclosure from the feds on his latest shenanigans, have drawn from well known and previously reported illegalities from the past. Here's a headline from the Chicago Tribune:

Watchdog rips state hiring
'This effort reflects not merely ignorance of the law, but complete and utter contempt for the law.' --Excerpt from report by governor's own inspector general.

The date? July 2, 2006. From the same article:

The inspector general's report also was written four months before Blagojevich's estranged father-in-law, Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), alleged that the administration traded appointments on state boards and commissions for campaign cash.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? These are the same hiring practices that the impeachment panel will look at now - two and a half years later. From today's Clout Street:

The report, which the Tribune disclosed as Blagojevich ran for re-election in 2006, concluded that his patronage office was the "real machine driving hiring" in a state agency for jobs that were supposed to be free of political influence.

(Jobs free of political influence? Oh, please.) Remember all those Democrats lining up to eschew Blagojevich before the election? Me neither. Where was impeachment then? (Of course, at the time, Blagojevech blamed the previous administration. We'll be hearing a page out of that playbook from a certain Chicagoan in Washington for some time to come, I'll wager.)

And what about the FamilyCare and "defiance of JCAR" flap? Wasn't that when he complained of being "forced to live in a democracy"? No - I'm mixing my "flagrant disregard for the law" kerfuffles. That was over spending taxpayer money on stem cell research without state legislative approval. Impeachment? Nope.

D-Machine Party loyalty trumps utter contempt for the law, I guess. Except when that loyalty is focused on keeping the freshly elected Mr. Clean, well, clean. Illinoisans already know the drill, but we can't have the stench of this state's corruption coming up in the rest of America's nose just now, so D-Machine party is busily impeaching, making this go away, claiming "he's crazy". But they're willing to seat his appointed senator, lest the people of Illinois be allowed to - God forbid - decide. Is it good that he's been impeached? Absolutely. Am I buying the righteous indignation of his party? Don't make me laugh.

H/T Marathon Pundit, who is following the Blago-saga in great and well-written detail.

(Note: Tribune articles and other materials quoted here, are available at the referenced Clout Street article, in downloadable PDF format.)