The Rod Blagojevich Witchhunt Ends With His Ouster

Even before he went on his idiot TV blitz proclaiming his innocence to anyone who's listen, Rod Blagojevich didn't have a chance to stay governor, not with this kind of blatant vindictiveness:

The Illinois Senate removed Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich from office Thursday, convicting him on an article of impeachment that alleged a pattern of abuse of power.

The vote, 59 to 0, ended nearly two months of political spectacle in which Mr. Blagojevich, a second-term Democrat who rose from the ranks of Chicago ward politics on the strength of his charisma and the connections of his wife’s family, sought to salvage his career and reputation.

The conviction followed a four-day trial, Mr. Blagojevich’s dramatic address of some 45 minutes to the senators Thursday in which he declared his innocence, and then about two hours of deliberation.

After the first vote, the Senate held a second, deciding again by 59 to 0 to bar Mr. Blagojevich from ever holding public office again in Illinois.

Under state law, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, a 60-year-old Democrat, assumed the power of chief executive immediately upon Mr. Blagojevich’s conviction. To a boisterous ovation, Mr. Quinn took the oath of office about an hour afterward in the House chamber across the hall, where he gave a short speech.

"Abuse of power"?!? For Illinois Democrats "abuse of power" has long been par the course (even Blago's replacement, Pat Quinn, has a history of scandal). Indeed, the Rod Blagojevich Witchhunt was nothing more than wiping away a stain from Barack Obama's home state--even Chris Matthews had the guts to say the other day that what Blago's been accused of doing, per the tapes heard by the Illinois Senate, has been going on every day by other pols. Here's hoping that Blago continues to fight to clear his name and of he does go down, takes some other Illinois pols down with him.