Weighing in on the Blago/Burris/Reid Senate Seat Controversy

[FrenchieCat]

or what is now known as the "Blago appointing Burris as Jr. Senator of Illinois" Scandal/Circus

Who's at fault here?

1. Fitz should have never held that first press conference in where he literally convicted Blago and Illinois over the public airwaves, and then pretty much made himself disappear, only to chime in here and there. He also shouldn't have asked for an additional 3 months since he was so ready in early December to castigate Blago publicly. If he was ready then, he should have been better prepared to shortly thereafter provide the goods that compelled him to have his press conference in the first place. Either one has the goods, or one doesn't. The entire reason that Fitz went public, as he stated originally, was to stop Blago from appointing a Senator. It appears that his intent to do what he felt was the right thing backfired, mainly due to his lack of separating his subjective opinion as to what was important versus strictly adhering to the law, which is what he was hired to do. He should have known better, and therefore is more culpable for what is currently going on than anyone else.

2. The media should not have taken the bait handed to them by Fitz in the way that they did. They should not have tried and convicted Blago so publicly, nor should they have questioned the President Elect so passionately on the investigation in their attempts to "find" a story. Fitz did seem to go out of his way of clearing the Obama camp, and the media, if they were going to take the bait, should have included this part of the Fitz' conference as well. In fact, the media should have been much more questioning of Fritz and his guilty indictment considering that it lacked an indictment, and his motives should have been questioned as heartily as those of Blago, in particular when Fitz requested an additional 3 months to make his case.

Further, they should not have made this story the center of their universe, because at the end of the day, they are just as guilty for their involvement in this scandal as Fitz and Blago. In their making such an effort to spotlight this ongoing Illinois circus, they are also illuminating their own role in the making of such. The fact that have not owned up to any responsibility in their bold accusations of Blago, Jesse Jackson Jr., Emanuel Rham, and Barack Obama is sickening.

But of course, they could care less about providing the people with information and care more about making sure that they have a hoopla to show on the 6 O'Clock news, even if a lot of it is virtue of their own making. Apparently, their concerns is in insuring that the people have sensationalized news, and this takes priority over any concerns of just reporting the news in the appropriate context and importance.

3. Blago should have continued about with his business pending any additional action from other governmental agencies. He certainly should not have appointed anyone, but did since he obviously could care less about the issues of dignity or respect as they relate to the state and the people of Illinois. He did what he legally could do without respect as to whether it was the right thing to do ethically for his State and for the United States of America. It is obvious to him that this story is above all a story of him against everyone else, and his attempts at saving himself have been clumsy and ill served. In fact, he has decided that flipping off those who have a problem with him and his actions as a worthy cause. Apparently, his concerns for the welfare of his state take a back seat to his concerns about himself.

4. Burris should have not accepted the appointment, but did since he obviously could care less about the issues of dignity or respect as they relate to the state or the people of Illinois and to that senate seat. He did what he legally could do without respect as to whether it was the right thing to do for his State or the United States of America. It is obvious that this battle is between him and the Senate, and in his attempts of making a name for himself, has decided that flipping off those who have a problem with his actions as a worthy cause. Apparently, his concerns for the welfare of his state take a back seat to his concerns about the final chapter in his life.

5. Reid should have simply slowed the process down of seating Burris without shouting out his intentions, if he had any. His initial comment that no Senator appointed by Blago would get seated should not have been made. The problem that he has is that he talked too fast and too soon. If he would have just not made any comments beyond, "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it", and made it less about Blago and whomever he might appoint vs. The entire Senate, he could have carried a bigger stick. It appears that his intent to do what he felt was the right thing backfired, mainly due to his lack of separating his subjective opinion as to what was important versus strictly adhering to proper process, which as a senator, he should have known better.

6. Obama doesn't appear to have shit to do Blago, to his great credit...since it was his state, and his senate seat, and he was being the one called a MoFo by Blago on tape. I am of the opinion, however, that Obama would have been better off expressing no opinion on the Blago matter beyond, "I care deeply about the state of Illinois, but I cannot express an informed opinion on the matter beyond encouraging this investigation to take its course without editorializing considering that I don't have all of the facts". Nor should he have backed Reid's decision not to seat anyone Blago appointed. This is, of course, easier to say on hindsight, considering the media's unabashed attempts in involving Barack Obama in the scandal. I'm just saying that Barack Obama, soon to be President, has bigger fish to fry, as this country is literally falling apart as I type.

0. I do not want this to become a Race issue, because it was never about race to begin with.

It makes me feel quite uncomfortable to see a circus centered around a Black man; Mr. Burris....when clearly the main culprits in bringing us to the point where we are, were not Black people at all.

There is no such thing as a "black" senate seat, and as a Black citizen of this country, I take full humbrage that this whole incident is being twisted as a Black man vs. a White Senate. I fully understand that the Senate is underrepresented in terms of its ethnic diversity, but I cannot fault the state of Illinois for this (as they brought us two of the three Black Senators that have sat in the Senate since Reconstruction).

I believe that Obama winning this election can and will bring progress to our chances of a more diverse Senate in the future, because it is quite clear that we need a senate that is more representative of the diversity that makes up this nation. I also believe that Obama is paving the way for the next generation of politicians of every race and creed. So I dare say that what is happening now is of absolutely NO service to anyone, notwithstanding African Americans, in particular, those with political aspirations.

We have come too far to allow ourselves to be taken back wards in the realm of race relations just because a Governor from Illinois said some messed up unethical shit while being wiretapped by the Feds. It appears that the people most responsible for this mess are not Black at all. It appears that those responsible for this mess have a responsibility to serve the public, and yet, they have done just the opposite.

[olkaz]

1. Who is Fritz?

[FrenchieCat]

2. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald

[olkaz]

4. We call him "Fritz" now?

I need to keep up. Never heard that.

[FrenchieCat]

5. So maybe it was Fitz, and so I changed it......

so sue me! :shrug:

[kanrok]

3. The cat?

n/t

[FrenchieCat]

6. I'm one cat.....

Fitz (now that I have been corrected) is shaky, at best.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

7. Thanks for this. The only point of departure that I have is that I believe that

Burris ought to be seated. Blago is still the governor and is therefore acting within his constitutional authority to seat his appointee.

[bigwillq]

8. I agree with you.

So Burris isn't seated. And then Blago doesn't resign or isn't forced from his post, yet, and he nominates someone else. Will this same mess continue over and over? :shrug:

Seat and move on, imo.

[davsand]

9. Actually, Frenchie, you need to add the IL Legislature to your list.

The Illinois Legislature could have prevented this had they passed a bill requiring a special election. They failed to do that.

Similarly, they have failed to act on impeaching Blago (remember impeachment is a political thing it is not a court of law, nor is it subject to the same legal standards.)

Our legislature is (in my opinion) almost as culpable as Blag for creating this mess.



Laura

[FrenchieCat]

11. Ah...thanks.

[PurityOfEssence]

10. If there was ever a battle not worth fighting, this was it

Let sleeping dogs lie. Don't kick a skunk. Wounded animals charge.

The lesson is to know when to give people a wide berth: it's when they're imperiled, especially if they're the kind of people who play fast-and-loose (the most charitable way to depict Blagojevich's MO) in the first place.

Someone in Blagojevich's position should be EXPECTED to do something like this: it continues the schtick that he's an honorable public servant seeking to guarantee his constituents their rightful representation. Yeah, it's a bullshit, grandstanding play, but so the fuck what? He's the legal executive of the state; he's the guy who's supposed to make this choice.

White is playing games and should be severely reprimanded for not doing his job at a time of crisis.

Fitzgerald is definitely out of line here, and with this and the flaccid pursuit of the Plame affair, he's lost much of the damned mystique in my eyes.

Reid was a strong-arming pipsqueak; he was not only out of line, he was a pathetic version of Barney Fife trying to be Mr. Clean.

Burris is a scatter-brained has-been glombing onto his last chance for glory.

As usual, Obama has kept himself out of it enough to avoid most of the shrapnel, but in the very least, he's presiding over a team with a hell of a big chip on its collective shoulder and a serious inability to keep its ego in check and know what battles are worth fighting. Allowing this to continue gives the impression that he and his team feel he has some kind of right to distribute the spoils of victory by naming his successor. He SPECIFICALLY does not; it's not "his" seat to give as a gift or to control with a caretaking mouthpiece. He's not (nor was he immediately before resigning his most recent post) a member of the government of the State of Illinois. He was and soon will again be a member of the federal government.

It's not too late to take the hit and let it blow over. Sure, it's important to stand one's ground on principle some times, but in this case, THEY'RE IN THE WRONG. They're obstructing the legal operation of a state government. They're playing games with the Senate rules to get their pissy little way. People will forget this and let it pass if it's dropped now, but if it continues, it'll be cited as a tendency to blockheaded intransigence and a monomaniacal need to control everything possible with no regard to inconvenient laws.

It's silly, and they should just let it drop; it'll only get worse.