January 2009

North Carolina Precedent

ArchPundit January 23, 2009 No Comments

The State Journal Register has one of the finest encapsulations of the Blagojevich administration:

GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH has again found a creative way to skirt the intent of Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act in denying The State Journal-Register — and the public — the right to look at a clemency file.

The newspaper had sought the clemency petition of Latasha Lofton of Springfield, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery in 1995, and was one of 22 people pardoned by Blagojevich in December. Throughout his time in office, the governor had been criticized for not acting on clemency petitions. It seems obvious to us that if court records of convictions are public record, as they are, the documents that reverse them should be public as well.

But the governor feels otherwise, and in denying this request, he cited a case decided by the North Carolina Supreme Court, a lawyer for the Prisoner Review Board said.

THE NORTH CAROLINA court ruled that such files are gubernatorial property and releasing them under public records laws would violate the separation-of-powers doctrine in the Tar Heel state’s constitution.

The lawyer, Ken Tupy, said the governor’s lawyers argued that since North Carolina’s constitution is similar, the North Carolina court ruling applies and that state law would have to be changed to release such records under Illinois’ FOIA law.

This is contrived nonsense, of course. North Carolina court decisions have no bearing on Illinois.

What’s great is that Tupy tells the SJR to wait for Quinn taking over because Tupy plans on asking Governor Quinn to allow Tupy to release the records.

And Remember, Death is Not an Option

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

Roland Burris or Kurt Granberg:

Kurt Granberg’s tenure as the state’s conservation chief might be short, but it will be lucrative. The former state representative started work Thursday as director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, a move that will likely boost his eventual retirement pension by $40,000 a year.

Granberg was appointed by an impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who faces a Senate trial over his ouster starting Monday.

A 55-year-old lawmaker from Carlyle who spent 22 years in the General Assembly, Granberg did not seek re-election last fall and resigned his seat before the House voted to impeach Blagojevich, who is charged with mismanagement and political corruption.

Governor to be Quinn commented on this without committing, but strongly suggesting he would make a change. The only question then is whether Quinn should keep Granberg on so he at least has to show up from time to time to get that extra 40 grand a year.

Like Pearl Harbor

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

Obviously when the Nazis bombed it:

CHICAGO — Illinois’ embattled but defiant governor, so fond of reciting poetry as he defends himself against federal corruption allegations, has turned instead to the history books to describe the emotional strain his arrest put on him and his family.

In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Gov. Rod Blagojevich compared his early morning December arrest by FBI agents to Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

He says it was a “complete surprise” but he’ll prevail, just like America in World War II.

Rinse Repeat

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

Fortunately, we can absolutely count on Rod Blagojevich being convicted in both the impeachment proceedings and in the criminal court because he runs his defense team just like he ran Illinois government.

Just today:

1) Makes a major press announcement declaring his righteousness and everyone who opposes him evilness.

2) People suggest he’ll take one action (file a federal lawsuit to stop impeachment hearings) that will absolutely fail.  (See also health care expansion, flu vaccine)

3)  Someone contradicts 2 who had previously pushed 2 but was convinced the Governor wouldn’t do it.

4) Eventually 2 gets done, but in an even more haphazard so that it not only fails, but fails in a spectacular way.

5) He claims to be the victim along with whatever human shields he drags along for the day.

And for those who thought there weren’t enough human shields given his current status see exhibit A–Roland Burris.

Awesome Hire for Terry McCauliffe

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

Lis Smith

Terry McAuliffe has hired Elisabeth Smith to be his press secretary. Smith, who goes by Liz, will work with Delacey Skinner, McAuliffe’s communications director.

Last year, Smith worked for Dan Seals, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois. In 2006, Smith served as Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-Mo.) press secretary.

Lis is very smart and very talented.

Fine Moments in Baseball Inbreeding

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

It’s like Illinois politics:

“They want Ricketts, and it’s always been Ricketts,” a source said.

While the others might have bid a higher price for the team, the source said the Ricketts offer had more conservative financing, an important factor when credit is extremely tight.

Also, Ricketts lives in the Chicago suburbs and represents what it essentially a family bid. Baseball owners, who must approve any Cubs sale, are known to favor tight-knit groups of owners with local ties.

Ricketts has an advantage because he hired the law firm Foley & Lardner to assist him in the ownership quest. A Foley partner is Robert DuPuy, who is president of Major League Baseball.

Giannoulias Considers Senate Bid

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

Not very surprising and rumbling has been growing since the Burris debacle:

Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is holding conversations with leading Illinois Democrats in preparation for a possible candidacy, according to a Democratic operative familiar with his decision-making process.

“He’s been talking to a lot of Democrats in Illinois who believe that this seat is gone is if Burris is the nominee. If it’s Mark Kirk or a rich Republican, we’ve got to hold this seat. That’s enough to encourage him to take a very serious look,” said the operative.

At 32, Giannoulias has been on the fast track in Illinois politics since leaving his job as a bank vice president to run for state treasurer in 2006. Inspired by Obama’s Senate campaign, he ran against the Democratic candidate backed by the party establishment and, aided by Obama’s endorsement, prevailed.

He considers Obama to be his political mentor and was a frequent participant at Obama’s pickup basketball games during the presidential primary. (He played professional basketball in Greece.)

A Giannoulias candidacy would put Obama in a difficult position. Would he endorse the incumbent, the only African-American in the Senate? Would he support his close friend? Or would he stay out of the race completely?

“He’s not looking for permission or smoke signals from the president,” the operative said. “But if the president felt strongly that he not run, that opinion would get heard.”

He’s probably the strongest candidate against Burris for a variety of reasons including good fundraising skills, good relations in the black community, and close to the President (damn that sounds good–first time I’ve said that on here).   If people paid attention, most of the pressure for Burris since he is African-American was from a small group of largely older African-American political operatives and the national press.

Standing up against Roland Burris hasn’t hurt any Illinois politician.

If Anyone Thinks Burris Should Be Strengthened for 2010…

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

They need their head examined.  Burris should be targeted for defeat by Democrats for 2010:

WASHINGTON–Newly appointed Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) is getting assignments from the Democratic leaders that will give him credentials in areas where he is short on experience– in national security and military affairs. This was done looking towards 2010, when Burris would have to run to keep the seat. Though Burris was seated after a fight–Senate Democratic leaders at first resisted an appointee of the tainted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich–those leaders have a vested interest in making sure Burris is strong enough to keep the seat in Democratic hands. Burris was named to the Armed Services, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Veterans Affairs committees.

I don’t doubt that Sweet has sources saying exactly this–that’s the problem.  The Senate Democrats don’t have to allow him to caucus with them, but clearly that might require something looking like a backbone.  Anyone who would take an appointment from Rod Blagojevich (and that means Granberg too) should be bounced as soon as possible.  We shouldn’t be strengthening Burris, but putting him on loser committees and ignoring all of his bills.  I’d love to hear what Roland Burris thinks about Indian Affairs (not a loser committee, but to an Illinois Senator with no signficant American Indian population or reservation it’s a loser).

A Sham

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

And the Governor is an idiot:

“The impeachment trial is a sham,” he said. Blagojevich said he was being denied due process because he is unable to subpoena witnesses.

For instance, he said he wants to call Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, to testify on his behalf. He noted that Emanuel in a television interview “made it clear nothing inappropriate” was said in his conversations with Blagojevich about naming someone to Obama’s former Senate seat.

Impeachment is not a criminal trial and so due process is irrelevant. It is a legislative function by the legislative branch.  This is on purpose because the power of impeachment isn’t to convict someone of a crime, but to remove them from office which does not require a crime be committed.  While criminal behavior may underly an impeachment trial there are many reasons for impeachment that are not necessarily criminal.

Tin Foil Hat Strangling Kass’ Blood Supply to His Brain

ArchPundit January 22, 2009 No Comments

New member of the all knowing Combine:

Ray LaHood.

Yes, Kass is apparently serious.  Ray LaHood is a now a dastardly corrupt guy looking to cash in on government service.

I cannot really give you a good reason LaHood is going to be Secretary of Transportation–there’s nothing about him that makes him a great choice, but also nothing that really demonstrates he’s a bad choice–his transportation policy views don’t appear to be terribly strong, but he’s not corrupt.

Does he look a lot like Eddie Munster?  Yes he does.  Is he corrupt? No he is not.