Winter Break CE WK #1: ” Get away from pay to play: vote”
Special election only way to keep things honest
Political leaders in Illinois may still not get it. But we do.
Gov. Blagojevich’s downfall has given the rest of the country a jaw-dropping look at how the world works in the Land of Lincoln.
And you know what? After they got past the nasty language, I doubt that the majority of them were shocked that the fix was in when it came to who would fill President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat.
The most shocking aspect of this tawdry affair is that Blagojevich was free to do whatever the heck he wanted.
Far as I can tell, no one complained about the lack of a credible and transparent process.
No one complained that the governor was dragging his heels.
No one ran off screaming: shakedown, shakedown!!
Despite Blagojevich’s arrogant and bullying demeanor, no one dared rat out the governor.
In fact, I would argue that Blagojevich’s colleagues weren’t surprised that he was trying to barter the Senate seat for political favors and campaign donations.
But these same colleagues are likely absolutely shocked by Blagojevich’s tackiness.
But Blagojevich apparently didn’t have time to be subtle.
He has been in the cross hairs of federal prosecutors since he took office in 2003.
Before he’d even warmed the governor’s seat, his own father-in-law, Ald. Dick Mell, who viewed his son-in-law as cocky and ungrateful, said publicly that Blagojevich was trading board appointments for campaign donations. It was beginning to look like “The People” had fallen for a rogue in reformer’s clothing.
Now it seems clear from the complaint that Blagojevich was certain he was going to be impeached and desperately needed a place to land.
“I’ve got this thing and it’s f—— golden, and uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for f——’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it,” Blagojevich allegedly said in a call that was intercepted by federal prosecutors.
Although the legislative body that was working with Blagojevich was a war zone, no one balked at him picking the next senator?
No one suspected the investigation that was swirling around Blagojevich was a problem?
No one had the courage to demand that the laws be changed so there could be a special election?
I suspect that Blagojevich’s biggest sin, and the thing that has members of the General Assembly gnashing their teeth, is that he was so inept at the sleazy gamesmanship that is an integral part of Illinois politics.
Blagojevich was caught on tape saying: “I want to make money,” words pols dare not speak … on a wiretap.
Because regardless of how we rail against Blagojevich, at the heart of all politics is pay to play.
Yes. There’s a thin line between expectations and shakedown. But do any of us really believe that the people who raise huge sums of money for a particular political candidate aren’t expecting something for their efforts?
Do we really believe that a person who is vested with the power to give away a Senate seat isn’t going to give it to the person who will somehow do him or her the most good?
That’s why the way out of the Senate seat scandal can’t be more of the same.
With all due respect to Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, he shouldn’t be in a position to pick the next Illinois senator.
He has served six years with the governor and didn’t have a clue as to what was really going on with the Blagojevich administration.
Hopefully, Blagojevich will resign and spare the state further embarrassment.
If he doesn’t, the General Assembly appears to be moving toward impeachment.
And a lawsuit filed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan asking the Illinois Supreme Court to remove Blagojevich from office because he is unable to serve would also pave the way for a Quinn pick.
No thank you.
Once Blagojevich is drummed out of office, the race for the Senate seat would begin anew with a fresh round of lobbying and horse trading.
Illinois voters should demand that the state hold a special election.
We’ve heard enough promises of change from enough reformers that we finally get it.
We know how Illinois works.
Of course Chicago’s Daley machine is hard at work. Illinois is a powerful state and has gotten a lot of publicity from this scandal. The person who ends up receiving this senate seat is going to be watched by all of America. The person who does end up with this seat must be capable of not only handling the hardship of office but also the media attention he or she will receive for the first few months in office. The Daley machine will be vying for their candidate. One they can control, but they are not as strong as some people think. There are many others that will be going for this seat. After all, the last senator that held this seat held it only for four years and then was shoved into the presidency. Why wouldn’t every politician in Illinois want this post? I agree with the author. There needs to be a special election in Illinois but I also think the head honchos should have a say. Not just anyone should be allowed on the ballot. The politicians could pick their top candidates and let the people decide who they want. I don’t know it might work.
Connection: We have talked about safe seats in class and it is part of our vocab. This is definitely safely democrat it just depends on how much power this person will have in the Senate. They will be a part of the majority party which already gives them more power. With all this attention, this new senator will be a powerful Senator.