What in the hell are Democrats thinking?!?
They put on one theatrical showing at the Capitol by denying Burris the Illinois seat -- and then the next DAY they say now they're going to seat him. The overreaching argument made by Diane Feinstein is nothing short of laughable. Believing that the Burris situation would underscore every other gubernatorial appointment is incredibly out of the context of the charges and possible impeachment facing Blagojevich and the "highest bidder" scheme he allegedly was focused on. Diane -- to the best of my knowledge, no other governor is under such scrutiny linked to a Senate seat -- so your argument falls flatly in the face of reason.
This is crazy!!
Admittedly - I haven't done my homework on Mr. Burris' background, but from my twitter friend @verucablue's impressionable statement Roland simply isn't fit the bill and doesn't sound like the best person for the vacant Senate seat. So I had to ask "why him?" and the answer came back to me lightning fast: because no one else wanted a tainted seat like this.
It's the equivalent of playing political Russian Roulette -- because the likelihood of Blagojevich being removed from office is incredibly great. Thus anyone who accepted the appointment is also going to be tainted.
The defense of Mr. Burris relies in the "letter of the law" which is accurate. There are no current mechanisms to deny the likes of Blagojevich (or any other governor by the sounds of it) to appoint someone while under criminal investigation for selling a U.S. Senate seat. The "letter of the law" doesn't have any immediate remedy to stop Blagojevich from appointing anyone he saw fit. The only remedy would be weeks or months away as the Illinois state house and senate are proceeding with their impeachment proceedings for the embattled governor.
It's a gaping hole in the Illinois Constitution that I suspect will be remedied at some point in the coming year. Because if there's no mechanism in place to stop a Governor from invoking some very wild ideas while looking at his political death-clock.
I do believe that Blagojevich will be removed from office and any recognizable form of his political career will effectively be over ... but the repercussions of his actions will remain in place. If in fact Mr. Burris was pulled from the mid-to-lower deck of qualified applicants to serve the people of Illinois -- then it's the people of Illinois who have every reason to be upset.
The issue isn't about race, but whether or not the best qualified person is in the position to do the best possible job for the people of Illinois. It's a stain that will remain on him for the rest of his political career. Mr. Burris doesn't seem like the best option for Illinois as much as he was possibly their only option with the tainted mess Blagojevich has made here.
Showing posts with label Illinois. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illinois. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Revised: Roland Burris
Yesterday I blogged about someone I never heard of and never heard speak before.
But last night on the Rachel Maddow Show I got my first take on the former Illinois Attorney General.
Let's just say there was a bit of a let down...
*sighs*
All during the interview, Mr. Burris defended his credentials, his experience, dedication and service for the people of Illinois. What Rachel tried to point out in a very subtle way is that Roland seems to miss the fact that no one is disputing anything about him ... that the focus of the story was not on Roland himself, but on Mr. Blagojevich and the subsequent political and legal mess he's finding himself in.
Instead of being in the "Impossible Situation" as I mentioned yesterday -- Mr. Burris instead took the take head, bury head in sand, la-la-la-la-la approach to the problem. Seemingly blind to the fact that the appointment of ANY person, regardless of credentials is going to be met with absolute anger by the Senate of the United States.
As I was telling Darby last night -- it doesn't matter if it was Mr. Burris, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Jesus himself that Blago appointed -- no matter WHOSE name that gets put into that hat and tossed into the ring ... that person is going to be met with the angst of both parties because of the insistent calls by all parties concerned that Blagojevich must resign and tender the responsibility of appointing a replacement Senator in the hands of the people of Illinois.
If Mr. Burris has any inkling of responsibility to the people of Illinois - it rests squarely in the fact that the person who just appointed you is not serving the best interests of the people of Illinois by the appearance of impropriety by selling the seat to the highest bidder. Mr. Burris, your appointment is nullified by the nature surrounding the charges the governor is facing. Even in the light of virtually no (initial) impropriety done by Mr. Burris in the current situation -- the appointment is incredibly irresponsible.
The was but one proper course for the Illinois governor -- which would be to step aside and let the investigation complete itself. If in fact Mr. Blagojevich is innocent -- then the politically, socially and professionally responsible thing to do would be to let the process resolve itself until you are vindicated. The behavior we're witnessing is nothing short of calamitous to the sanctity of the high office of Governor. It's a dis-service to the people of Illinois to allow such behavior to continue unabated because at this rate - we have no idea if Roland Burris paid, not paid or otherwise made promises to Blagojevich with strings attached. Only a moron would've done such a thing -- but then Blagojevich has proven anything but being a smart person in this process.
He's taken a wrecking ball to his party and to the people of Illinois and for that Mr. Burris -- for you to stand there and condone the process -- as a former Attorney General -- you should know better. It speaks volumes of your foresight for the people of Illinois and that is truly sad. Everything you have built over the last couple of decades is now washed in the same pond water that Blagojevich has been swimming in since the victory of the President Elect.
I'm sorry I gave you the benefit of a doubt Mr. Burris, but after last night's barrage of opportunities missed ... you simply do not see the forest for the trees.
But last night on the Rachel Maddow Show I got my first take on the former Illinois Attorney General.
Let's just say there was a bit of a let down...
*sighs*
All during the interview, Mr. Burris defended his credentials, his experience, dedication and service for the people of Illinois. What Rachel tried to point out in a very subtle way is that Roland seems to miss the fact that no one is disputing anything about him ... that the focus of the story was not on Roland himself, but on Mr. Blagojevich and the subsequent political and legal mess he's finding himself in.
Instead of being in the "Impossible Situation" as I mentioned yesterday -- Mr. Burris instead took the take head, bury head in sand, la-la-la-la-la approach to the problem. Seemingly blind to the fact that the appointment of ANY person, regardless of credentials is going to be met with absolute anger by the Senate of the United States.
As I was telling Darby last night -- it doesn't matter if it was Mr. Burris, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Jesus himself that Blago appointed -- no matter WHOSE name that gets put into that hat and tossed into the ring ... that person is going to be met with the angst of both parties because of the insistent calls by all parties concerned that Blagojevich must resign and tender the responsibility of appointing a replacement Senator in the hands of the people of Illinois.
If Mr. Burris has any inkling of responsibility to the people of Illinois - it rests squarely in the fact that the person who just appointed you is not serving the best interests of the people of Illinois by the appearance of impropriety by selling the seat to the highest bidder. Mr. Burris, your appointment is nullified by the nature surrounding the charges the governor is facing. Even in the light of virtually no (initial) impropriety done by Mr. Burris in the current situation -- the appointment is incredibly irresponsible.
The was but one proper course for the Illinois governor -- which would be to step aside and let the investigation complete itself. If in fact Mr. Blagojevich is innocent -- then the politically, socially and professionally responsible thing to do would be to let the process resolve itself until you are vindicated. The behavior we're witnessing is nothing short of calamitous to the sanctity of the high office of Governor. It's a dis-service to the people of Illinois to allow such behavior to continue unabated because at this rate - we have no idea if Roland Burris paid, not paid or otherwise made promises to Blagojevich with strings attached. Only a moron would've done such a thing -- but then Blagojevich has proven anything but being a smart person in this process.
He's taken a wrecking ball to his party and to the people of Illinois and for that Mr. Burris -- for you to stand there and condone the process -- as a former Attorney General -- you should know better. It speaks volumes of your foresight for the people of Illinois and that is truly sad. Everything you have built over the last couple of decades is now washed in the same pond water that Blagojevich has been swimming in since the victory of the President Elect.
I'm sorry I gave you the benefit of a doubt Mr. Burris, but after last night's barrage of opportunities missed ... you simply do not see the forest for the trees.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Impossible Situation
As Blagojevich continues to shrug and disavow any potential wrong-doing ... he named a successor to President elect Obama's Illinois Senate seat: Roland Burris.
Let's keep in mind that Democrats and Republicans have been very animate towards Blago to resign and to relinquish any possibility he has to naming Barack's successor for the U.S. Senate -- which he refuses to even acknowledge. So while I can continue to blog about Blago -- I'm really feeling sorry for Roland Burris in this process.
We don't know much about Roland.
He was the Attorney General for Illinois and like so many people -- he gave Blago money when he was making his gubernatorial run. Roland and others clearly wouldn't have given Blago the time of day - much less invest in his future run for the Senate had they known how much of a crook he was going to be.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
But Roland is in the most impossible situation right now. He has come out against Blagojevich - publicly condemning the "seat for sale" approach to politics. And he now finds himself named for the seat any rational person would want in Mr. Burris' position. The seat has been tainted by Blago's antics and now Roland has to quietly walk away from the possibility of becoming the next Illinois Senator -- or he can choose to fight to keep what has been given to him on a heavily stained platter.
I have no doubt that Mr. Burris is a man of integrity - and that's why he has my most sincere condolences for being put in the position he's in. As Harry Reid pointed out -- this has nothing to do with Roland -- because it's entirely possible that Mr. Burris would have been the best possible choice to succeed the President Elect.
Blago has done everything he can to screw the Democrats in his state -- and the most likely scenario is that there would be a special runoff election being held -- and if that happens, the Democrats may find themselves in big trouble if they can't retain the seat because of one person's mired self-absorbed dreams of this mad man ... the effects could be felt nationally as well.
Instead of doing the right thing -- Blago continues to thumb his nose at the system while even self-admitting it was him in the recordings. This isn't what the democratic party stands for -- and Blago should be ousted as quickly as humanly possible. While I would expect this kind of nonchalant attitude from the Republicans ... I'm not afraid to call out the members on this side and telling them they need to step down.
And to Mr. Burris -- I'm deeply sorry for the situation you find yourself in. I do hope that it corrects itself and you can be the voice of reason for the people of Illinois.
Let's keep in mind that Democrats and Republicans have been very animate towards Blago to resign and to relinquish any possibility he has to naming Barack's successor for the U.S. Senate -- which he refuses to even acknowledge. So while I can continue to blog about Blago -- I'm really feeling sorry for Roland Burris in this process.
We don't know much about Roland.
He was the Attorney General for Illinois and like so many people -- he gave Blago money when he was making his gubernatorial run. Roland and others clearly wouldn't have given Blago the time of day - much less invest in his future run for the Senate had they known how much of a crook he was going to be.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
But Roland is in the most impossible situation right now. He has come out against Blagojevich - publicly condemning the "seat for sale" approach to politics. And he now finds himself named for the seat any rational person would want in Mr. Burris' position. The seat has been tainted by Blago's antics and now Roland has to quietly walk away from the possibility of becoming the next Illinois Senator -- or he can choose to fight to keep what has been given to him on a heavily stained platter.
I have no doubt that Mr. Burris is a man of integrity - and that's why he has my most sincere condolences for being put in the position he's in. As Harry Reid pointed out -- this has nothing to do with Roland -- because it's entirely possible that Mr. Burris would have been the best possible choice to succeed the President Elect.
Blago has done everything he can to screw the Democrats in his state -- and the most likely scenario is that there would be a special runoff election being held -- and if that happens, the Democrats may find themselves in big trouble if they can't retain the seat because of one person's mired self-absorbed dreams of this mad man ... the effects could be felt nationally as well.
Instead of doing the right thing -- Blago continues to thumb his nose at the system while even self-admitting it was him in the recordings. This isn't what the democratic party stands for -- and Blago should be ousted as quickly as humanly possible. While I would expect this kind of nonchalant attitude from the Republicans ... I'm not afraid to call out the members on this side and telling them they need to step down.
And to Mr. Burris -- I'm deeply sorry for the situation you find yourself in. I do hope that it corrects itself and you can be the voice of reason for the people of Illinois.
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