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View Full Version : IL Governor "Testicular Verility!"



queenangie
05-20-2005, 03:05 PM
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-blago17.html

This is one of the quotes from IL Governor....talk about embarassing!
I believe he made a very poor choice of words here.

Gov. Blagojevich made his father-in-law sound like a monster-in-law Monday, blaming virtually all of his administration's problems on Ald. Richard Mell.

And he said "testicular virility'' had given him the fortitude to shake things up in Springfield and stand up to Mell (33rd).

Blagojevich said grand jury secrecy laws barred him from discussing whether he had been subpoenaed in a probe into Mell's accusations that Blagojevich fund-raiser Christopher Kelly traded hefty campaign contributions for cushy state appointments. A source later said that the governor has not been subpoenaed.

"What has been subpoenaed are records and files,'' the source said, "administrative and personnel files.''

The Sun-Times reported Sunday dozens of subpoenas were sent to Blagojevich's inner circle.

Blagojevich fielded questions about his political future and the effectiveness of his administration with his usual blend of quips and quotations from song lyrics (this time Frank Sinatra).

'I ... did the right thing'



His reference to "testicular virility'' drew laughter from gubernatorial staffers at a news conference at South Loop School, 1212 S. Plymouth. No children were present at the session, where he introduced a group of high-profile lobbyists for his school funding plan.

"All of this that you're referring to, the attorney general and the state's attorney's investigation into fund-raising, is a result of one thing that happened in January. This is the result of me making a hard decision to protect the environment because my father-in-law was involved in a landfill that was operating illegally,'' the governor said. "Knowing the way he operates, and what he's likely to do, I put my head down and did the right thing for the environment [by shutting it down]. He then went out and made a false accusation that under threat of a defamation lawsuit, he ultimately admitted was a lie. ...

"There's a method of operation by people like him, and they've been doing it in politics for years, and they like to leverage and probe and threaten and bluster and bully until they get their way.''

Mell could not be reached after the governor's comments, but an aide said he was "hot'' over them.

The governor also said that Mell had conveyed "threats" to him through third parties as he was contemplating the landfill action, but wouldn't discuss a previous comment from his spokeswoman that the probe was a result of Mell's "pathological behavior.''

'Clean as a hound's tooth'



"This is the kind of thing that I think, frankly, separates the men from the boys in leadership," Blagojevich said. "Do you have the testicular virility to make a decision like that, knowing what's coming your way?''

Asked if he believed Mell had a financial interest in the landfill, he replied that, "I have a very strong belief that's based on a lot of information, and ... but, I'm not going to comment on that.''

Reached Monday before the governor's news conference, Mell refused to discuss the grand jury probe, nor would he discuss reports he is among the many who have received a subpoena.

Also Monday, the Associated Press reported that Blagojevich's chief of staff, Lon Monk, was among those subpoenaed.

Blagojevich told reporters he wasn't disheartened by reports of falling approval ratings. "It does kind of remind me of that old Frank Sinatra song, 'That's Life,' '' he said. " 'That's what all the people say. You're riding high in April, you're shot down in May.' ''

In addition to a probe by a Cook County grand jury and the attorney general's office, the governor's problems include a federal investigation into the Health Facilities Planning Board and an audit citing waste and mismanagement at the office of Central Management Services.

"We're as clean as a hound's tooth,'' Blagojevich said. "I can't wait for them to be able to conclude and vindicate all the things that we do.''

JCshopper
05-21-2005, 04:03 AM
I don't know anything about the issue, but what he's trying to say is he's the only one who's got the balls to do it. Maybe he should have just come out and said that, rather than testicular virility... Kinda makes it sound like he's ready to spawn or something.