Due Process and Rights?
TPM reports an aide to an Illinois legislative Democrat says they won’t speed up impeachment:
“No,” the source said, when we asked if the impeachment proceedings might be fast-tracked. “They set out to do something in a measured and careful manner with an eye towards not creating or setting the wrong precedent, and not trampling upon rights and due process. And they’re going to continue to do that.”
This isn’t a court. It’s a legislature and precedent doesn’t carry the same weight. There is no stare decis in relation to impeachment rulings. There are no rights involved and due process is spelled out in the Illinois Constitution–majority in the House, 2/3 in the Senate. That’s it.
Currie is arguing with Genson that the committee doesn’t have to follow different legal principles while the committee continues to act like it has to. Someone needs to get a damn clue about what they think and bounce the asshole out of office.
You can’t say the standard for impeachment is set by individuals and then claim that due process and rights matter. They don’t. It’s a political matter in a political venue. This deference to precedent is silly. There is no requirement for such and no one in the future will be held to it. Drop the pretense and do what the people of Illinois want you to do in this political case.
December 31st, 2008 at
A measured and careful manner. If you had a heart attack and were rushed to the hospital wouldn’t you be assured when the nurse told you you would be treated in a measured and careful manner.
These people are buffoons. You know the legislature ,when it is to their advantage, passes laws in less than one day and often does not even read what they pass. But for this crisis (and it is a crisis) we must proceed in a measured and careful manner.
I just have to keep saying it—these people disgust me. Anyone can run the government when there are no problems. Now is when we need leadership. Instead the Illinois Legislature sits around reading “The Pet Goat.”
December 31st, 2008 at
Larry, you’ve been making this argument (I think manifestly correctly) for a while now – and what I don’t get is who benefits from dragging this out. Maybe a little drag was useful for political cover, to make Blagojevich look so contemptible that it would be seen as unavoidable to impeach him, but why drag it on and on? Is it against Lt Gov Quinn – perhaps trying to play out the clock a bit? Is it useful to have a crippled executive right now (for stalling/burying upcoming legislation, preparing to push legislation through the governor (or Lt Gov) opposes, or some related reason)? Are they trying to further bury Blagojevich loyalists or perhaps some contributors as payback or a warning not to mess with the Speaker? It’s hard to imagine that they’re playing it the way they are with no purpose – so what’s the game?
December 31st, 2008 at
“and what I don’t get is who benefits from dragging this out.”
Maybe there’s a natural reluctance for legislators to go down this path — at least as a process taking just a week or two.
I’m sure this reluctance has disappeared thanks to the Senate nomination.
January 1st, 2009 at
Mike Madigan is a cautious guy and to make matters worse, he’s worried about his daughter as a possible Governor. He wants her being the center of attention when possible and he wants to protect her from potential threats.
He’s very much an institutionalist. The problem with that is that when you face a crisis, the institution needs to move fast. As Stuart mentioned in another comment, they can pass legislationin a day when they want to, but all of a sudden we are facing several crises and they are sitting around holding hearings and more hearings.
While they aren’t the only players here, the Family Madigan are the biggest impediments to getting this done with. When the state has needed them most, they are doing the least they can.
And Stuart, it’s My Pet Goat
January 1st, 2009 at
The thing I don’t understand is how, in trying to make the process “deliberative,” the committee managed to make it look like anything but deliberative?
The testimony has been a confusing mish-mosh with no overarching narrative. This, unfortunatley, gives Genson some credibility when claiming his client has been railroaded.
The problem is not the slow pace (which I agree is unnecessary); it’s that the articles of impeachment should have been drafted before the hearings, and the hearings used to justify them. This could have taken a week, two at most — and made the process a lot more dignified.
January 1st, 2009 at
Larry:
I also thought it was My Pet Goat but according to Wikipedia and Amazon the actual title is The Pet Goat. Regardless of The or My we know that the true title is Fiddling While Rome Burns