January 2009
ArchPundit
Done.
1 Vote against, not sure who it was yet
Classic
Where, you might ask, is Gov. Rod Blagojevich as the Illinois House debates his impeachment?
A Tribune photographer took pictures of Blagojevich going jogging in his Ravenswood Manor neighborhood at about 10 a.m.
Hamos Not Bad
But I think this is the same thing she said yesterday.
Proudest Moment
Jack Franks says…
Really?
And feel free to do a best cliche contest in the comments.
So far, Durkin did himself well. Fritchey and Miller were as expected. The rest would have been better to sit down and shut up.
Oh, and who has the flattest As is the second contest. Right now Gordon wins hands down.
It’s Not Defiance
It’s just Delusional
Via Rich:
“Today’s vote was not a surprise. The outcome was a foregone conclusion especially when you consider the committee released its report hours before wrapping up testimony. The Governor believes that the impeachment proceedings were flawed, biased and did not follow the rules of law. His team was not allowed to subpoena witnesses, they were never allowed to cross examine people and never given the chance to put on any kind of defense. In all, the Governor’s rights to due process were deprived.
“When the case moves to the Senate, an actual judge will preside over the hearings, and the Governor believes the outcome will be much different.”
The judge is only there to rule on Senate rules, not a large question of legal merit in a trial. This is over, and has been over, other than the actual votes. The Governor can choose to be responsible and leave on his own, or behave just as he has for the last six years. I expect the latter was the choice made many months ago by Rod Blagojevich in the mistaken notion that he can talk himself out of anything.
Burris Admits He Reached Out To Blago Adviser Named In Criminal Complaint
HuffPo picks up on the part of the hearing that should be getting attention.
Moreover, in a sworn affidavit filed January 5, Burris swore that, before he was asked by Blagojevich staff if he was interested in the position, “there was not any contact between myself or any of my representatives with Governor Blagojevich or any of his representatives regarding my appointment to the United States Senate.”
During Thursday’s hearing, Burris insisted that the conversation with Monk was innocent, saying that he merely wanted to let the governor’s people know that he was interested in the post and believed he was qualified for it.
“He said, ‘I think you are too,'” Burris said of his conversation, emphasizing that he did not talk to Monk or anyone else on the governor’s staff after Blagojevich’s arrest.
Nevertheless, the revelation casts something of a shadow over the behind-the-scenes process by which Burris obtained Blagojevich’s favor. Burris claimed that he was not aware of a quid pro quo to get the Senate appointment. He added that he wouldn’t have accepted the post if it had been offered in such a matter. But his conversation with Monk puts him in direct contact with one of the key players in Blagojevich’s scheme.
What’s Next?
I’d say the fix was largely in here. While Durkin did some decent work, it was pretty clear that the panel wants to kick this to be DC’s problem and DC wants it to be Springfield’s problem and that probably means it’s the people of Illinois’ problem with Roland Burris likely to become the next US Senator from Illinois unless the US Senate decides to get a backbone and refuse to seat him.
I largely find even the cursory information in this hearing enough to support refusing to seat Burris, but if Illinois politicians aren’t willing to put themselves out for a position with 52% opposing Burris’ appointment and 72 % wanting a special election or an appointment by Quinn, it’s hard to argue that the national politicians should put their clout behind it–other than it’s the right thing to do.
That Burris was asking a lobbyist such as Monk for excess business, asking the same lobbyist for consideration for the US Senate seat, and has an outstanding ‘loan’ of $1.2 million from a campaign contributor is certainly enough be concerned about Burris’ participation in the pay to play culture and given the current circumstances that’s enough to deny him a seat in the US Senate.
That probably won’t happen from what I saw today.
No One Even Followed Up on the Lon Monk Lobbyist Bit
Durkin was the only one to touch on it much and then everyone dropped it. That was an amazing admission and even after Burris tried to clarify it by saying he was going to Monk to see if he had any excess work, the obvious issue was that Monk’s entire practice is built around having the Governor’s ear.
It’s not just that someone went to a lobbyist who was tight with the Governor, no one even thought it was strange.