As reported in today’s Chicago Tribune:
"No appointment by this governor under these circumstances could produce a credible replacement."
—U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) calling for a special election to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, Dec. 9, 2008
"We write to insist that you step down as governor of Illinois and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat."
—Letter from the 50 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Dec. 10, 2008
"[T]his is not about Mr. [Roland] Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat. Anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus."
—U.S. Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Durbin, Dec. 30, 2008
Mr. Gregory: "But there sounds to me like there may be some room here to negotiate and actually seat Burris?"
Sen. Reid: "Hey, listen, David, I'm an old trial lawyer. There's always room to negotiate."
—Reid on "Meet the Press," Jan. 4, 2009
"He's going to go answer any other questions they might have. He's not trying to avoid any responsibility and trying to hide anything. Once that's done, we'll be in a different position and see what we are going to do."
—Reid on the possibility of seating Burris after he testifies Thursday before the Illinois House impeachment panel, Jan. 7, 2009
It is obvious that Durbin and Reid are primarily concerned with controlling and dominating the Senate. They are certainly not interested in what the people from the State of Illinois want or, more importantly, the rule of law. As discussed in my previous post, the governor has not been impeached or even indicted. He has been arrested and, according to the rule of law, is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Consequently the law says he decides on the replacement for Obama.
The most interesting aspect of this circus is that it really exposes the Democrats alleged populist philosophy as nothing better than situational ethics. If it suits them to be populist, then so be it. If not, hell with what the people think, want or need.
No more proof of this is needed than reading a report from the Washington Post on Wednesday that stated "One idea being considered, Democratic officials said yesterday, is allowing Burris to be seated if he agrees not to run for election in 2010, allowing the party to recruit another candidate to defend the seat (Burris has lost multiple statewide races in Illinois)."
What happens if the people from Illinois want Burris to run for the next term? Silly question. What would that have to do with anything?
This is very consistent with the activities to replace Clinton in New York and Biden in Delaware. Caroline Kennedy was apparently being anointed heir apparent for the Clinton seat. In examining her background, this decision must have been based on nothing but pedigree given that even the runner up at Westminster may have more qualifications.
As reported by the Canadian Press:
“Clips of her hurried exit from Syracuse City Hall last last month as she ducked questions from reporters are still being seen on cable news channels, and both the blogosphere and the mainstream media have gleefully documented her habit of punctuating her speech with the phrase "you know."
Kennedy apparently used the phrase an average of four times per sentence during a round of media interviews in late December, with one website counting 30 "you knows" in a two-and-a-half-minute television clip.
"I'm really coming into this as somebody who isn't, you know, part of the system, who obviously, you know, stands for the values of, you know, the Democratic Party," Kennedy said in an interview with the New York Daily News.
"I know how important it is to, you know, to be my own person. And, you know, and that would be obviously true with my relationship with the mayor."”
I hear what some of you are saying. Cheap shot. What does having the ability to string a group of sentences together without a “you know” as a connector have to do with being a great statesman?
Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner’s decision to appoint Biden’s long time aide, Ted Kaufman is nothing short of putting a custodian in place to keep the Senate seat warm until Biden’s son, Beau, gets back from Iraq. The fact that Lt. Gov. John Carney was interested and highly qualified was second to the fact that the risk of appointing him might give Carney an edge in the election in two years.
Durbin and Reid deciding who will run (or not run) for the Senate seat in 2010, Caroline Kennedy being selected over infinitely more qualified people for Clinton’s seat and a long time Biden friend being allocated to replace Biden for only two years so that Beau can get his shot at fame makes a trend of aristocratic thinking and a disregard for what the people they represent really want or need.
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