Seat Burris and move on

[realFedUp]

For God's sake, don't we have bigger
fish to fry in this country than Blago's
choice for Senator? Does the Dem
"leadership" want this distraction and
one less seated Dem in January?
Whatever happens to Blago is up to
the courts, so let's move on.

Americans are realistic about
what kinds of folks end up running
for office and winning. We've voted
in actors, wrestlers, wife leavers,
beaters and cheaters, gay, straight,
and even small town mayors named
Sarah.

And some other things....
Do we really need an Obama Inc. Road
show to sell a stimulus package? Haven't
we seen enough circus acts in the last
eight years? Howabout getting to work
right away in their offices while painters
and curtain hangers work alongside of them.

And we all hate Hamas, but Israel always
looks like the 1,000 pound gorilla in the
room when bombing citizens of small countries,
especially when it's made life very difficult
in the last few years for those areas.

[WeDidIt]

1. As an Illinoisian I say FUCK NO!

Don't seat him.

[shayes51]

25. As an Alabamian, I say

he's at least better than Jeff Sessions! :-)
Good luck to you and your state--we feel your pain.

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. As an Illinoisian I say FUCK YEAH

Best post on this matter yet.

Seat the fucking guy and move on. The fucking outrage boosters need to shut the fuck up already.

[opihimoimoi]

3. No...the principle of the thing is NO.....He was told by the SENATE not to do it...

In my book, the Senate and PE Obama, and others....trumps Blago....

He is Tainted Fish...no amount of lipstick/deodorants gonna change it....He Smells awful bad right now...should just STFU and resign..

[HelenWheels]

5. Lieberman

If Obama and the Senate can kiss Lieberman's butt they should be able to accept Burris.

[ProSense]

4. The Blagojevich-Burris-Rush Follies

The Blagojevich-Burris-Rush Follies

[dpbrown]

6. Hear, Hear!

It's the governor's prerogative to appoint an interim Senator. Move on.

[babylonsister]

7. No. nt

[Thrill]

8. I'd rather they have a special election. That way no matter who wins

at least it won't have the Blago Stink on the person

[Bumblebee]

9. They are talking about placeholders in NY and Delaware, at the very least,

who won't run in 2010. Exact a promise from Burris that he won't run, and then seat him. A stink is not avoidable in this situation, it's just a matter of how long it lasts. Cut your losses, rejoice in the fact that he is a Dem and, I agree, move on!

[Bumblebee]

10. self-delete

[IsItJustMe]

12. I am sure you would. But then again, you are not paying for it. 30 Million dollars.

In a state that has already layed off thousands of employees and is now taling about selling public lands to pay off its debt.

Sometimes people have to be practical.

[tinrobot]

14. So if a Republican wins, it's better than a Democrat?

I do NOT agree with that.

[tinrobot]

30. Blago stink is better than GOP stink.

If Blago appoints, the result is a Democratic seat, period.

If there's an election, the GOP has a fair chance of winning.

We need not take that chance.

[S_E_Fudd]

11. Nope...bad idea...

The Repubs were kicked out 2 years ago largely on corruption issues. Dems can't do the same thing and expect to keep power long...

[Gregorian]

13. In cycling when one wants a light bike, they work on the details.

One bolt at a time. A gram off here, a gram off there. To an outsider it looks silly. But since there is no way to take lots of weight off of any given part, it takes a little in many spots.

I think it's the same with politics. You start at city hall.

I guess you could say I don't want to give an inch. After seeing how someone like Ohio's Blackwell could turn the entire country into hell, I now believe it's the little stuff that counts. It is what makes the bigger stuff.

[Usrename]

15. All they have to do is jingle a shiny object in front of us.

It's kind of frightenting.


I think you've got it right, as far as I can tell.



One of the most prominent issues of this election was the idea that Washington is broken, and the whole K Street crowd is messing things up for everybody. People are fed up and want change. I know that's the slogan, but it's true.

For the most part (except for a few who say that big corporate lobbyists are the grease that makes Washington work) people want major change. People are fed up and want some heads displayed on pikes all around the seats of power.

This guy is a distraction. He has to be. He's no mover and shaker in the corporate/government/organized crime syndicate that people are so fed up with. He's a hack. He's totally harmless. I'm sorta starting to actually like the guy. It's comedy.

They intentionally make the laws very vague, so there is a lot of gray area here. That's why campaign finance reform is such a big bugaboo to most of these guys. They don't want to go to jail, so they really don't want to make bribery illegal.

From what I understand (which isn't a whole lot on this subject because they make it so complicated) somebody offering to do fundraising for him as part of a quid pro quo is not necessarily prohibited.

In any event, even if some of this stuff is prohibited, these regulations are all interpreted by a commission which is made up of political appointees who are not elected and probably also on the dole. The whole mess reeks.

It's funny when you look at count two of the affidavit that was released on his arrest, he is charged with offering a quid pro quo that involved certain people to be fired in exchange for the company receiving financial assistance. If you remember, Sen. Leahy and Dodd did the same thing the previous week when they tried to make the auto bailout conditional on the firing of General Motors CEO. Those two were never arrested. Go figure.

The whole thing reminds me of the Martha Stewart case. Here's your scapegoat bad guy that can be made an example of in order to hide the REAL corruption. Problem solved.

[Hansel]

16. As usual, the federal level Democratic leadership screwed this up

Instead of getting their backs up about Blagojevich, they should have condemned the behavior but acknowledged that he is innocent until proven guilty of a crime. They should have said that as long as he's governor, although they might not approve, he has the legal right to appoint a senator to fill Obama's seat. They should have said that even though they might not like his selection, as long as the person is qualified and there's no reason to believe that they bought the seat that they will seat him or her. And they should have washed their hands of it by reminding everyone that this is a state issue.

But instead, they gave Blago an ultimatum (which only guaranteed that he would challenge it) and helped to create the huge circus they have on their hands. The hyperbole is out of control and they've created a PR nightmare. Now if they back down they look weak (as usual) and they hand a big present to the Republicans. If they don't back down and lose, again, they look weak.

The president and senate's jobs are to uphold the constitution and the laws of the land. Blago is innocent until proven guilty and if he won't step down, well that's the breaks. They would have been smart to wash their hands of this and dealt with the fallout in a professional way and without all of the grandstanding.

Unfortunately even Obama allowed the media to bait him into making political statements about this mess. Not smart. He needs to back away slowly and keep his hands completely clean of this mess. And stop letting the media get away with labeling this as a problem for him. It's not his problem and he should not have done anything to take it on. He's got bigger fish to fry.

[Usrename]

22. I think Obama's probably OK on this. He urged the gov to step down.

I think that's his only involvement so far.

But you are exactly right that he should step back now. The guy did not take his advice. No big deal. Move on.

[PurityOfEssence]

17. Isn't selective legal outrage the province of the Republicans?

Blagojevich is still Governor, and he has the right to appoint a successor. Unless there's something SERIOUSLY wrong with the guy, he should be seated. Resorting to extreme political maneuvers like having the Senate not seat him is akin to the endless impeachment hounding of Bill Clinton or the redistricting in Texas and Colorado or the recall election against Gray Davis.

A bit of respect for the law is a good thing, lest we forget, and digging one's heels in and being intransigent on something like this is just mystifying. I guess they have to prove something.

Whatever. It just looks petty, control-freakish and suspect. I thought the Obama team was serious about seeming aboveboard here, but now it looks like they have some overarching need to WIN in this situation. It's also not their bailiwick; it's one thing to be high-handed in one's own realm, but Obama is not part of the government of the State of Illinois, nor is he even in the Senate.

What's the big deal? If they were smart, they'd just let the guy in and let it go. Now they have to either back down and look weak (which they HATE doing) or stand tall and fight in a way that makes them look tyrannical and ham-fisted. Sheesh. Let it drop, already.

[Hansel]

18. Exactly. Good post. n/t

[jberryhill]

20. Yep

I don't see what the fuss is about.

Given the attention on Blago, I'd expect the Burris appointment to be absolutely clean.

There is no evidence thus far that Blago acted on the type of arrangement about which he apparently made comments to others, and I would expect part of his defense to be that he ended up appointing someone who promised him nothing.

But at the end of the day, he's the governor of Illinois and has the power to appoint anyone he wants.

[PurityOfEssence]

21. It doesn't make a lick of sense

Obama's spent his entire career avoiding fights, and somehow he finally turns to stand "his ground" for THIS? It just reeks of control-freakishness and some kind of turf war. No comment on Gaza, leaving the Senate so we lose a vote, plenty of time for golf, and THIS? Egg in face. Banana peel on floor. Just plain silly.

Has anyone told them that this just feeds the flames of aspersions about wrongdoing? Doesn't anyone think it a bit untoward for a national politician to somehow think that he's not only the leader of the party but the leader of his state's party? He's supposed to be a Constitutional scholar, for Christ's sake.

I've also lost some respect for one of my favorite Congresspeople, Jan Schakowsky, for carrying water on this one, but I guess Chicago just brings out the worst in politicians.

Just stop it; it's a recipe for disaster.

[Eurobabe]

19. WTF, they gave Plaxico a SENATE SEAT??

[babylonsister]

24. Bwhahaha!

:rofl:

At this point, sounds better than prison. :hide:

[DailyGrind51]

23. Tammy Duckworth would make a much better IL Senator!

Disabled Iraq War Veteran, defeated for her run for Congress by the RNC for wanting to "cut and run" from Iraq. Duckworth is a double-amputee. Burris is another Reid!

[Rockholm]

26. He is tainted.

[bigwillq]

27. Most are tainted

in one way or another.

[Rockholm]

29. Sadly, quite true.

[bigwillq]

28. I agree.

Seat and move on. And work towards electing another DEM in 2010.

[ColesCountyDem]

31. I'm an Illinoisan, and I agree.

We have bigger fish to fry.

[mgcgulfcoast]

32. i agree with you