Comments on: Blago’s (poisoned) Christmas gift to Democrats

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:32:31 +0000

MSW, yes the Dems can vote for one as they control both state houses and all state-wide offices.

By: MSW

MSW — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:53:12 +0000

Question: can the Illinois Democrats call a special election?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:19:55 +0000

Since the gutless Ill. Dems wouldn’t call for a special election they deserve this mess.

By: gerard

gerard — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:11:01 +0000

It looks like your article ,”The Years Biggest Shockers”, needs an update.

By: MSW

MSW — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:23:38 +0000

This “appointment” may have just gift-wrapped this Senate seat for Mark Kirk or another GOP member in 2010. If I lived in Illinois, I would be absolutely furious with this appointment in many different ways. Burris appeared almost flippant about the ethical implications of his appointment.

I just don’t know what to make of this appointment. I just don’t believe that Burris is the person who should hold this seat for the next 2 years.

By: Reid Says No to Burris as Illinois Senator, But Can Democrats Refuse? « S E N A T U S

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:15:40 +0000

[...] the question is, can Senate Democrats keep Burris from becoming a Senator? Campaign Diaries provides a possible answer. Worst still, the Senate might not even have the power to refuse to seat [...]

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:05:13 +0000

Robert V - in one sense it does not matter if the selling of the senate seat is thrown out in court because the people of Illinois and the US will not vote for Blago in any position ever again. So his career is over regardless of the law and how fair that judgement is.

Also it is very clear Blago is corrupt and the senate seat was just the latest of his schemes. The tapes are pretty clear that he was looking to sell it - open and shut case. Only technicalities will save him now and those will bring the law into disrepute.

He has no political sense or sense of loyalty to the Democratic party with this latest move.

By: Panos

Panos — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:05:07 +0000

If Obama, Jackson, Rush and the other African-Americans Illinois politicians denounce this pick, then I see no reason for the Senate to hesitate to expel him.

And I agree that as long as the election is held in 2010, this whole spectacle will be just a distant memory by then in voters’ minds.

By: Robert_V

Robert_V — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:37:08 +0000

I don’t think the sky is quite falling yet on the Illinois Dems. In two years, I have the impression nobody, but nobody, will care one iota about the circumstances of Mr. Burris appointment. In politics, two years is a very long time. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the unflappable Mr. Fitzpatrick has not shot himself on the foot, by bringing forward an ill timed and possibly impossible to prove case. While the sale of the senate seat was the highlight of his criminal complain, it seems that charge is the one he might not be able to prove in court. Quite a few accomplished legal minds are looking at this and shaking their heads. After the drama of the original press conference and the introduction of the criminal complain, it is quite interesting, that no conversation have surface in which the governor incriminate himself. For a DA that is perfectly comfortable using the “appropriate leak” to buster his cases, this is really remarkable. Something is not quite right. The senate will seat this guy Burris. The GOP will attempt to demonize him. But will the people in Illinois be paying attention to any of this? I just have the feeling that they have more pressing issues at hand now.