Blago v. Reid

I think Blago has major league chutzpah. That said may be able to extricate himself from these federal charges of cash for appointment, if he makes this appointment.
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Fitzgerald hasn’t had a grand jury return an indictment nor has there been a preliminary hearing. Wouldn’t this appointment weaken his case?

Oh and one more thing…doesn’t this put Harry Reid in a very tight box?

I think it does. Which can only mean one thing: This is very bad for Barack Obama. (I keeeed; I keeed.)

Blagojevich must think Burris is a magic negro, and not subject to Reid’s warning. That’s going around.

KT — People outside my office are wondering why I am laughing out and there’s no one in here except me.

Shouldn’t be a shock that Blago would go against his previous word and thumb his nose at the state legislature, Fitzgerald, and even the U.S. Senate.

Now the question becomes what happens to Burris. Will he ever get seated by Reid and Co. in D.C.? Maybe the past differences with Blago and his connections to Obama will help him get past the PR bluster and actually allow Illinois to have a second Senator.

http://www.political-buzz.com/

Matt: I’m waiting for Reid to put out a statement and I’m trying to reach Durbin. Will keep this post updated as events warrant. Plus, it’s really bad for Obama.

Reid is a fool. Here’s Reid’s M.O.:
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1. Draw line in sand.
2. Watch as line is crossed.
3. Capitulate to line crosser and declare outcome “best under the circumstances.”
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Given the above, I think it is fairly predictable how this will play out.

All Blagojevich has to do is swat Reid on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper and Reid will appoint whoever Blago wants. Hell, he should talk to Palin and a work out a deal to get Bristol into office this way.

I think it’s great that Blago is creating headlines on what would normally be a slow news week. Fitzgerald is having a conniption, Obama has cut himself opening a can of Spam, and the editors at the WSJ and Fox news channel are having an orgasm.
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Govenor Patterson must be thrilled that Caroline Kennedy is out of the headlines for a couple of days.

Cliff that would happen only if Blago was a Republican.

Fishy that Obama is in Indochina or Hawaii or wherever while this Senate controversy is happening right here in America.

It all goes to show that incompetence knows no party.

Harry Reid = Toby N Tucker*
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*Toby N Tucker was a character in Oliver Stones under-appreciated U-Turn. The character called himself ‘TNT’ and would loudly proclaim that when he goes off, someone gets hurt. He’d pick fights w/ anyone he though was making time w/ his girl, but as it turns out he can’t fight worth a lick but gets his sexual thrills from getting his @ss kicked.

Andy, people in your office are probably used to you laughing out loud to no one. What they really are wondering is, “Is he armed this time?”

At this point the smart money is on Patterson to now make his move and appoint Kennedy under the cover that the Blago appointment controversy will no doubt provide. Did Patterson call Blago and arrange this cover?

I guess the term Magic Negro takes on a new meaning now?

@sqr1: You are exactly right. Using his fool-proof M.O. is how Reid managed:
– to get Lieberman kicked out as chair of the HS&GA committee,
– to pass an Auto Bailout Bill, and
– to pass a Wall Street Bailout Bill.
…all in the past 2 months!
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Nothing like having one’s back against the wall to help a scoundrel Do The Right Thing. According to TPM, Burris’s resume looks pretty good. Blago may have wom a few Brownie Points.

Sniff. Sniff. I smell a strongly-worded memo in the air! Harry Reid’s about to go Schoolmarm on Blago’s ass, yeah boyeee!

@newFL#15: win.

KT
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I take it that was snark at the end lol
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As for Reid does he really have the power to prevent Burris from being seated? Because I can see this scenario unfolding. Reid says they won’t seat Burris as a Democrat. Mitch McConnell being the conniving dirt bag that he is says he will welcome Burris to the dark side with open arms. Reid falls all over himself tryinng to woo Burris back to the Dems and seats him post haste never realizing that McConnell was never serious in the first place.
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At least that is what would normally happen when Harry Reid draws a line in the sand.

Cincy:
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Harry Reid = Neville Chamberlain
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newfloridian: No question about it. Patterson and Blago are in cahoots. As for my office laughter, I plead nolo contendre.
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pourmecoffee: I thought Obama was to busy helping the Israelis.

MSNBC just scooped KT and said Durbin will not support Burris being seated

Dear Illinois: get it together and impeach. The process and standard for Fitzgerald will drag on forever and you have an impotent Governor. This is your problem and your fault. Act now.

Senate Democratic leadership = Gang that couldn’t shoot straight.*
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Expect Durbin to say his statement “was taken out of context” by end of the week.
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*see book by Jimmy Breslin

Andy: Blago is a stupid, corrupt white man who refuses to apologize, so I think Reid could make an exception in this case.

Dear Pourmecoffee: We agree but we just can’t ourselves.
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Signed, Illinois.
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P.S. Just to help explain, we’re also Cubs fans, too.

sg: not sure that’s true. second-hand source who works with the senate leadership tells me durbin has been saying there may be some wiggle room in that letter they sent to blago. not confirmed.

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Cliff, I agree with you and I understand. The problem is this soap opera with thes open seats in NY, IL, and MN (let’s hope that’s settled) is just fodder for the RW and the news megaphones as it drags on and on and on.

I don’t want to hear a bunch of whining about Blago from do-nothing public officials. Illinois: get going on impeachment. Fitzgerald: bring the indictment. Democrats: find a way to get him to resign. Burris: refuse to accept the appointment. DO SOMETHING.

Burris should publicly reject the appointment, perhaps even with a behind-the-scenes wink-and-nod from Dems to get it on the back side legitimately. Here is what he has said earlier:

Mr. Burris said at a news conference Saturday that he only wants to serve the remaining two years of Obama’s term, and would not plan to run for re-election. He also said he was “appalled” by the evidence that has been presented against Mr. Blagojevich, and that he supported Ms. Madigan in calling for the Illinois Supreme Court to remove the governor from office. — (Link)

It would be devastating to Blago for Burris to stiff-arm him. Do it for the team, Big Roland!

pourmecoffee: I don’t think I’m going to engage any more with you when you use logic instead of satire to make your points….;)

@Andy – Engage this (hand gesture).

Andy – I know that there’s all sorts of serious angles to this matter. I was just trying to indicate that Reid is a loathsome invertebrate whose threats should be answered by mocking laughter.

Andy, I just don’t remember Chamberlain picking fights and blustering.
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Off topic but I like sharing things that are free anyway, makes me feel big. Judy Miller is writing at the Daily Beast now and here’s her debut piece, standard stuff but read the comments…she’s getting blistered.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-12-26/shattered-peace/2/

How is this bad, for Reid or Obama? This is like a hanging fast ball right over the strike zone. All Reid has to do is successfully fight the seating, and he comes up looking like a crusader standing firm against corruption. And he needs an opportunity like this, to firm up his sagging numbers at home.
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It’s not like Nevada is a bastion of clean politicians. Not with that drunk loon Jim Gibbons as governor. Reid could use something like this to take a stand against, and there is no downside. Who is standing up for Blago? Nobody. It’s an easy win, with high profile, against a corrupt member of his own party. If Reid doesn’t jump on this donkey and whip it to the finish, he is a moron deserving of this 30% approval rating.
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Obama only has to stay out of it. He’s got other business to attend to.

As some blogs are starting to note, quite likely the Senate cannot refuse to seat Burris or any other appointee (unless perhaps they can prove the appointment itself was obtained through illegitimate means). The Supreme Court ruled in 1969, in Powell vs. McCormick, that House had to seat Adam Clayton Powell once he had been fairly and legally elected to his seat (they could have expelled him immediately after seating him, but that would have required a two-thirds vote).

So Burris would have to be sworn in, seated, and then expelled–and it’s not clear if the Senate could muster a two-thirds vote to do that or how it would be justified.

So, Burris was for removing Blagojevich from power … except insofar as that power is used to name him as Senator? How does that work?

Here’s what it looks like from my perspective. Fitzgerald wanted to save the country from the disaster of having a Senator appointed that either had to be removed (or worse, couldn’t be removed) despite having a cloud of corruption hanging over his or her head. IOW, he pulled the trigger before he had the goods on Blago. In all likelihood, he anticipated that Blago would resign in disgrace and justice of a sort would be meted out, even if a conviction was unltimately not obtained.
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Little did Fitzgerald anticipate that Blago would take a page out of the Rove-Cheney playbook: Always deny. Never admit wrong-doing.
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Now everybody wants Blago to be gone. Unfortunately, the only person who really knows what he has done is Fitzgerald, and he is bound by the secrecy surrounding a Grand Jury investigation not to disclose what he knows.
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So, NOW he is forced to go to the Court in order to get permission to disclose enough to the legislature to hopefully get impeachment rolling.
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In the meantime, more and more people are noticing that Blago — though thoroughly sleazy and self-serving — doesn’t appear to have done much more than what we all suspect occurs when these appointments are discussed.
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I think most people would frown on a bag of cash for an appointment. But horsetrading a Senate seat for cabinet position? Or expecting campaign contributions down the road? My Goodness! Is there gambling in Rick’s Cafe?

I’m talking about Burris. He’s a man who has been given an opportunity to DO something. He’s 71. He’s already said on the record he would only want the Senate seat for two years as a caretaker. He’s also clearly stated on the record that Blagojevich should be stripped of his power right now. So, when Blagojevich mackes his power play … he rolls over? C’mon. Back it up. Does everyone in Illinois sell out principle at the slightest whiff of power? Do the right thing, Roland. If you thought Blagojevich should be stripped of power, then don’t become complicit when the showdown on that power falls to your favor. If Burris publicly rejects Blagojevich, that’s the nail in his coffin. Illinois will be so fed up it will be clear he cannot govern and he’ll either resign or impeachment will quickly follow.

KT
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How can Reid stop Burris from being seated even if he wanted to.
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Ill say again that I expect some Republican to call for Burris to get seated, especially if he has never been involved in any scandals, and offer to let him sit on a committee seat if he switches sides. Harry Reid will capitulate as usual because he won’t be able to afford a messy fight over not allowing the guy to be seated since he has been duly appointed albeit by a slimeball.
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Remember you heard it here first folks.

pourme
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Have you seen how many times Burris has run for office and lost? The guy is 71, I doubt he is going to give up his chance of a lifetime.

@sgw – I think he has a chance to be the biggest hero in America today. That’s what I’d tell him if I could talk with him. He’s got a chance to be the one person to stand up and do the right thing. It’s right there in front of him. Ring the bell, Roland.

pourme
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Being a hero doesn’t pay what it used to brah.

sgw @ #39: the precedent i’m hearing cited is the house refusing to seat adam clayton powell, but the supreme court later said that was unconstitutional, because he had been duly elected.

KT
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So Reid is really full of it, not surprising.

Who could it be? Believe it or not, it’s RB.

Paul Dirks Says:
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 2:50 pm
A little more Illinois trivia to keep folks up to speed as to who’s who…..

http://www.jessewhitetumblingteam.com/about_jessewhite.php

In 1959, White founded the internationally known Jesse White Tumbling Team to serve as a positive alternative for the children residing in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green and Henry Horner public housing communities. Since the team’s inception, over 8,500 young men and women have performed with the team. White has worked for over 45 years as a volunteer with the team to help kids stay away from gangs, drugs, alcohol and smoking, and to help set at-risk youth on the path to success.

please see my latest post.

But KT, Adam Clayton Powell won an election by the voters, not an appointment by a governor under a cloud.

MSNBC just had Lynne Sweet say that the Ill. Sec of State will refuse to sign the papers that make the nomination legit.

Roland Burris – Hall of Lame. Likable old man with a great record, but when the moment came, he whiffed big time. He was calling for the Supreme Court to immediately take away the Governor’s powers just a few weeks ago. What a sorry show of self-interest.

pourme
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Hate to say I told you so.

@sgw – I heard Obama cry.

Nibbly: Yes, I had written that in my update.

coffee: Katt’s got my tongue on your greastest American Hero video.

With all due respect for what is right and ethical, one has to stand and applaud Blago’s move here. It was crafty, slick and achieved his point of creating turmoil in the Democratic party and sticking it to Harry Reid. His “magic Negro” move was truely Machiavellian in style.

At this point the easiest thing for the Democrats to do is allow Reid to slink back into his cave for the remainder of what should be from him a very quiet holiday and accept the appointment. Kill the story and move on. It’s a two year temporary appointment! It’s not like he selected Jeb Bush or something. Now that would have really been a firestorm. So we need to count our blessings that the accused criminal has made his move and selected an individual who appears to be an ethical and decent(hard to use those words in conjunction with Blago) choice and all is well.