Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Roland Down The River
Josh Marshall gets it
Agreeing with Dianne Feinstein, he recognizes that Rod Blagojevich -- disgraced in the public eye as he may be -- is still the governor of Illinois. He has the power to fill the vacant US Senate seat. He has done so. No one has charged Roland Burris with any sort of corruption -- and for an Illinois politician, that's saying a whole heckuva lot.
The longer Democrats refuse to seat him, they look, at best, politically venal -- obsessed with keeping the seat, they won't relent until someone other than Blagojevich appoints a senator who won't have the scandal hanging around their neck in 2010.
At worst, well barring one black man from taking his seat in the Senate -- when Reid "can't remember" whether he specifically told Blagojevich not to appoint Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Rep. Denny Davis and Senate Minority Leader Emil Jones (three black men) -- may not be as racist as it looks. But it's pretty damn close.
By the way, Harry Reid might want to realize that racism takes many forms: No one is suggesting that Reid wouldn't want any of those men in the US Senate, simply because they are black.
But there is, to use one of George W. Bush's better political expressions, "the soft bigotry of low expectations." Trying to block an appointment because you think a given individual can't win statewide -- if part of your reasoning is derives from an assumption that voters won't support a black man, is, yes, a subtle form of racism -- even though it is dependent on the implied racism of others for it to be present.
As a Republican, I'm amused by the entire process.
But if Reid were smart, he would just realize that Blagojevich has outsmarted them on this, let Burris take the seat -- and move on (unless he plans on allowing Burris a three-fifths vote. Heh heh). Who knows? If Democrats have a successful couple of years -- and Obama campaigns for Burris (assuming he runs in 2010) -- maybe they can retain the seat. But the longer this situation plays out, the odds actually get better for the GOP -- regardless of whom is sitting in the seat.
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Agreeing with Dianne Feinstein, he recognizes that Rod Blagojevich -- disgraced in the public eye as he may be -- is still the governor of Illinois. He has the power to fill the vacant US Senate seat. He has done so. No one has charged Roland Burris with any sort of corruption -- and for an Illinois politician, that's saying a whole heckuva lot.
The longer Democrats refuse to seat him, they look, at best, politically venal -- obsessed with keeping the seat, they won't relent until someone other than Blagojevich appoints a senator who won't have the scandal hanging around their neck in 2010.
At worst, well barring one black man from taking his seat in the Senate -- when Reid "can't remember" whether he specifically told Blagojevich not to appoint Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Rep. Denny Davis and Senate Minority Leader Emil Jones (three black men) -- may not be as racist as it looks. But it's pretty damn close.
By the way, Harry Reid might want to realize that racism takes many forms: No one is suggesting that Reid wouldn't want any of those men in the US Senate, simply because they are black.
But there is, to use one of George W. Bush's better political expressions, "the soft bigotry of low expectations." Trying to block an appointment because you think a given individual can't win statewide -- if part of your reasoning is derives from an assumption that voters won't support a black man, is, yes, a subtle form of racism -- even though it is dependent on the implied racism of others for it to be present.
As a Republican, I'm amused by the entire process.
But if Reid were smart, he would just realize that Blagojevich has outsmarted them on this, let Burris take the seat -- and move on (unless he plans on allowing Burris a three-fifths vote. Heh heh). Who knows? If Democrats have a successful couple of years -- and Obama campaigns for Burris (assuming he runs in 2010) -- maybe they can retain the seat. But the longer this situation plays out, the odds actually get better for the GOP -- regardless of whom is sitting in the seat.
Labels: Harry Reid, race, Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Lowering The Intelligence Quotient
Well, it was bound to happen! Barack Obama finally made a really lame administration pick: Leon Panetta for CIA director! Leon Panetta? In the words of Amy Poehler and Seth Myers: "Leon Panetta -- Really?"
Don't get me wrong. Panetta is considered, in the world of DC, an "adult." He's a good administrator, and served the Clinton adminstration (great, another one of them back) well as both head of the budget office and chief of staff.
But he has not a whit of experience in the intelligence field. And, you'd think it might be a good idea to have someone with some sort of background in that sensitive area given things like, oh, 9-11 and the fact that there are two "hot" wars going on, plus the ongoing War on Terror.
So, you bring in a budget analyst/administrator?
Of course, the guy that would have made a whole lot of sense -- the guy Obama wanted in the first place -- was essentially veteoed by the liberal blogosphere because of the torture issue.
So, now we are where we are.
Leon Panetta? Really?
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Don't get me wrong. Panetta is considered, in the world of DC, an "adult." He's a good administrator, and served the Clinton adminstration (great, another one of them back) well as both head of the budget office and chief of staff.
But he has not a whit of experience in the intelligence field. And, you'd think it might be a good idea to have someone with some sort of background in that sensitive area given things like, oh, 9-11 and the fact that there are two "hot" wars going on, plus the ongoing War on Terror.
So, you bring in a budget analyst/administrator?
Of course, the guy that would have made a whole lot of sense -- the guy Obama wanted in the first place -- was essentially veteoed by the liberal blogosphere because of the torture issue.
So, now we are where we are.
Leon Panetta? Really?
Labels: Barack Obama, Leon Panetta
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Well, That Didn't Take Long...
First Cabinet-nominee dropout.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is out as Commerce Secretary. "Withdraws" amid a federal investigation of his ties to a California company that won municipal bond contracts in New Mexico. Looks like 2008's Year of Democratic Corruption -- after the GOP cleaned up in the previous couple of years -- will roll over into '09.
As for Obama's "team of rivals"? Maybe not so much.
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New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is out as Commerce Secretary. "Withdraws" amid a federal investigation of his ties to a California company that won municipal bond contracts in New Mexico. Looks like 2008's Year of Democratic Corruption -- after the GOP cleaned up in the previous couple of years -- will roll over into '09.
As for Obama's "team of rivals"? Maybe not so much.
Labels: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, corruption
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Open Thread
|Thursday, January 01, 2009
Rush To (Mis)Judgment
Great catch by "BarbinMD" over at Daily Kos! Bobby Rush -- who threw racial Molotov cocktail into the Obama-seat succession process this week -- previously expressed a a more mainstream viewpoint on whether the indicted Blagojevich should be able to appoint the next Illinois senator:
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... Rush has done everything he can to raise the specter of racism in this tainted process. And when he's not conjuring visions of fire hoses, dogs, and George Wallace, Rush has defended Blagojevich's right, and his duty, to appoint Obama's successor:Good question, that. Given all the charges swirling around the governor, perhaps it's time to wonder if there's some quid pro quo going on between Blago and Rush.Well, I think what needs--what needs to happen now is that all these folks who are opposed to Governor Blagojevich, they need to take a chill pill. We're still a nation of laws and I believe that Roland Burris and Governor Blagojevich, they're on solid constitutional grounds in terms of them being--of him being selected.But that's not what Rush was saying after Blagojevich was arrested:...he has the constitutional responsibility as governor of the state of Illinois to appoint.
I believe that the acts that are alleged to have been committed by the Governor are so heinous that he has forfeited his right to appoint someone to fill the seat of President-Elect Barack Obama. My bottom line is that the Governor should not be the one to make the appointment to this important office.Instead of trying to whip up racial tensions, perhaps Mr. Rush should explain why his bottom line has changed so dramatically in just three short weeks.
Labels: Bobby Rush, Rod Blagojevich
