Illinois politics at its best

[BanginJimmy]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/...rruption_probe


This scheme has nothing to do with Obama, but this is the political enviroment he came up in. I am sure he was involved in illegal schemes of his own during his time in the IL senate, but I am also sure it was nothing this big.

My point is simple, until corruption and politics are no longer synonymous with eachother, this country will continue its downward spiral no matter what party is in power. 2 IL Gov's in a row are going to jail for corruption. How many more politicians across the country are currently under indictment, or have violated the ethics that you would think would be a given for someone holding a position of such power and influance.

3 more come to mind right off the top of my head.
Palin for ethics violations
Client 9 for ethics violations and corruption
Mayor of Detriot for corruption

What will it take for this country to understand that no matter what the average Joe does on a daily basis, if we cannot reign in our elected officials we are all going to suffer the reprocusions? All over the country we are forced to elect the lesser evil in all levels of govt. Why cant we finally get a man or woman with honor and integrity in office. Someone that will do what is right first, and what will get them elected second.

[alpine_aw11]

Integrity and politics are definitely not congruent anymore. The people of America have sat and let the government gain so much power over time, that these officials can do whatever they want. Thankfully, some of them get caught. I say "some" because this guy is probably small time, who knows what is going on behind closed doors at this point. Politicians stand to gain so much more than just political power these days, it doesn't surprise me at all that it's getting worse and worse. What really sucks is that it wont get better, and Obama being in office wont change a damn thing. Washington and all other elected officials will still be pulling the same bullshit, there's just going to be a new face at the head of our government now. Pretty unfortunate that our government really cannot be trusted anymore.

[BanginJimmy]

so the question stands, where do we go from here? Do we continue to elect the same type of people that say all the right things? Or do we try to elect someone that tells the truth? I know the media would never get behind someone that wouldnt bow to their every wish, so is there anyone in the US that has the clout to get things done without the aid of a friendly press?

[alpine_aw11]

so the question stands, where do we go from here? Do we continue to elect the same type of people that say all the right things? Or do we try to elect someone that tells the truth? I know the media would never get behind someone that wouldnt bow to their every wish, so is there anyone in the US that has the clout to get things done without the aid of a friendly press?

This is a big part of why I was a Ron Paul supporter. I disagree with several of his ideas(although we share the same basic philosophy) but I support him more for what he represents. That's the kind of guy we need in Washington. The thing is, those kind of people cannot get in with the crowd as far as politics is concerned. Politicians are definitely more concerned with the peoples' votes than the people themselves. The worst part about it is that it is the peoples fault. They're too stupid to realize that Washington isn't in it for us anymore, if they cared about us they wouldn't bo so incredibly wasteful and negligible to the needs of this country. So while I think both of us would like to see the same things, too many are fooled into thinking it already exists.

[BanginJimmy]

I think that most people that know anything about politics would agree with us. The problem is, 90% of this country only pays attention to politics during the presidential election, and even then they only pay attention to the news outlet that best matches their uninformed choice or their idiology.

[tony]

The nature of the beast that is political forces good people out. There are some genuine politicians out there but even with them, they have to learn how to play the game otherwise they will lose.

Educated people elect good politicians, but there is so much more than I could explain that goes into that process.

[fredy123]

Sell the whole state to the French already

[dorin48]

Well in another post New Mexico is now under fire for a "Pay to Play" corruption charge. It will be interesting to see what happens to all these positions over the next few years. Are these legitimate attemps to correct wrong doing or fancy shows to draw our eyes from the true stage?