SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The stunning downward spiral of Michael Madigan’s political career ended Friday with a 7 1/2-year prison sentence and a $2.5 million fine for the former Illinois House speaker and the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history after he was convicted of trading legislation for the enrichment of his friends and allies.
U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced the 83-year-old in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Nicknamed the “Velvet Hammer” for his quiet but hard-nosed style, Madigan was convicted in February on 10 of 23 counts in a remarkable corruption trial that lasted four months. The case churned through 60 witnesses and mountains of documents, photographs and taped conversations.
Federal prosecutors sought a 12 1/2-year prison term. Madigan’s attorneys wanted five years’ probation, saying he is a good man who tried to do right by taxpayers and needs to be home to care for his ailing wife, Shirley, who submitted a videotaped statement to the court requesting her husband be able to come home.
But Blakey noted that federal sentencing guidelines allowed for a term of 105 years based on findings in evidence — notably that Madigan committed perjury when he took the stand in his own defense. Blakey was particularly piqued over what he called “a nauseating display of perjury and evasion.”
That is a badly flawed argument. Gerrymandering does not turn you into a horrible monster. If the democrats were to use gerrymandering to take over a state so that they could not be voted out, and than use that position to support social programs, poverty reduction, education, infrastructure improvement, and all the other things progressives want, then they would still be the good guys.
There’s the problem. Thats what the MAGAts tell themselves too.
Except the only ones talking about overthrowing the Government in coup attempts are the MAGA, and it took years of very careful planning to dismantle enough to get this perfect storm. Use the powers that the Republicans themselves put into place and turn the tables. Then win. Fix shit after. The cruel reality of our world is that even a hero cannot save everyone. It’s bleak and black and white and sometimes even after you make all the right choices you can still end up in a losing fight.
Gotta tip those scales.
Not according to them. Thats what they claim Jan 6th was about. Now, you and I both know they’re wrong, but they didn’t think so. They could use your exact words to justify what they did. Consider just how confident you are talking now about your position, your political beliefs, and what rights and freedoms you’re willing to subvert of theirs to get your way. This is exactly the MAGAt mindset. You’re this close to be a MAGAt level person with a different color hat.
That is the danger of that approach. To defeat the tyrant you want to become one.
The only difference between a tyrant and a leader of any free people are their ideals. Their strength of character - or at least the illusion of one, their ability to subvert or gain power and influence, their control, as with many conflicts these are sides of the same coin, branches from the same tree. Trump stepped into a vacuum created through the weakness of leadership and the largely Democratic desire to maintain and their constant slow rate of change.
Right now we are fighting many small battles on many fronts. While we continue to win countless legal battles the reality is every single time this administration does something, often something they haven’t yet done, it’s to take another step towards control. History has shown that fascism is defeated every. single. time. through unity. We are NOT united. We are only maintaining the illusion of a people together. Because of this if we are to stop the advance of fascism in this country now we must be willing to step up and utilize the very powers granted throughout the years to people in power.
It’s that or a very likely death by a thousand cuts. Unless someone steps up that will have the actual majority of the citizens of this country behind them, and I am talking bigger than what Bernie had, though with the same passion behind it, I believe all these legal wins and few actual triumphs will lead to naught.
What we will do in the meantime is what another great empire across the pond did until its final days: Argue with one another as swords are run through our chests.
No. Both of those are tyrants. When you actively suppress the one sides ability to have representation and at least a vote to the running of the country, you are a tyrant.
Also no. I will NOT become authoritarian to fight a different brand of authoritarianism.
I agree, what you’re describing is FAR from unity. Its the exact opposite.
Here’s where I think your plan is extremely shortsighted. You haven’t thought through your endgame.
Lets say you do your power grab. Lets also say you enact all of the progressive policies you want. Okay, now what? Peace in our time? Not likely. You’ve just stomped over the views and opinions of half the country. Those folks aren’t going to just idly stand by once you’ve achieved you goal anymore than you would if the MAGAts get what they want.
So, what then? How do you keep the MAGAts, who are now furious you suspended our democracy to get your way, from rising up against you? Are you going to build an suppressive police force to keep them in check? Will you jail them? With you execute them? Are you ever planning on giving them back representation in government that you took with your gerrymandering? What if they start voting in MAGAts again? Will you crush them again to restore your ‘peace’? Congratulations, you’re a tyrant worse than any MAGAt has been yet.
This is why your plan won’t work. You can’t force people into submission. The only way we’ll have lasting unity is if most people are onboard with the path forward. I can’t tell you what its going to take to get there, but I can tell you your plan isn’t it.
Then that’s where we are. A bunch of do-wells talking about how to do well. That lack of action will let fascism take proper hold. I suppose we’ll see what happens. I certainly hope a leader steps up.
This mentality that ‘we’ can support major atrocities, corruption, and outright garbage behavior while pretending to be ‘the good guys’ is what let fascism take hold. When you’re willing to sacrifice all your ideals and principles just to win a contest, it should be a sign that you’re off track but some people want to double down on this thinking it’s somehow going to make things better.
It’s so funny that at any point in recent history, it’s always liberals telling progressives that they’re causing division and that it’s always us who need to come over to “your side.” Meanwhile your ideals keep costing us elections.
What does overthrowing the government have to do with anything when we’re discussing corruption within the government? They’re referring to MAGAts telling themselves that Republicans being in charge means they’re going to take down “the deep state” but then nothing happens because it’s all fantasy bullshit to earn votes. Democrats are guilty of the same thing.