I couldn’t sleep, having foolishly had a cup of coffee after dinner, so I was lying in bed flipping between the midnight Hardball re-run and whatever disaster show was on the History channel, when at the end of the hour, Pat Buchanan, Susan Page from USA Today, and Matthews discussed this little gem of a poll:
A majority of Americans say Roland Burris should be blocked from taking a U.S. Senate seat he was appointed to by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. Most say the state should hold a special election to fill the vacancy.
***In the national poll, interest in the dispute was high — six in 10 are following it closely — and support for Burris was scant. By nearly 2-1, 51% to 27%, those surveyed say the Senate should block him from taking his seat. A similar majority, 52%, say Illinois should hold a special election as soon as possible to fill the office.
You all see where this is going, don’t you? It is right there in front of you, but if you can’t figure out how this is going to play out, let me fill you in with what I see happening. First off, Burris will be seated. He is clean, he has no intention of going anywhere, and Blagojevich still has the right to act as Governor. Hell, Buchanan was practically giddy on Hardball pointing out that Bill Clinton was impeached, but no one tried to stop him from appointing ambassadors and fulfilling his duties. Reid gave up the game on MTP when he said he was willing to negotiate, which should clue in everyone that he knows he is working from a position of weakness. Burris, for his part, isn’t interested in negotiations, because he knows he has the law on his side. Sen. Feinstein, the chair of the Senate Rules Committee, just stated that she thinks he should be seated, and pretty soon the walls will come crashing down on Reid and company.
Harry Reid has now, according to this poll, through his obstinance and idiocy, helped create popular support for Burris to not be seated. Since Burris will be seated anyway, these people will be pissed, Reid will look like a clown for being rolled over and put in his place by Blagojevich, and Republicans, with an assist from the Democrats who ran around calling Burris tainted for several weeks, will now claim Democrats are just as corrupt as Republicans.
It really is impressive how Reid and company got themselves into this mess. Their ability to inflict maximum pain on themselves for no gain is really unparalleled. You couldn’t game out a worse scenario for the Democrats, short of Blagojevich appointing himself to the seat or Obama on tape trying to sell the seat with Blago for money to spend on hookers and blow. If you could be sued for political malpractice, I would be leading a class action suit against the Democratic leadership right now.
I swear that you have to be part masochist to be a Democrat.
Josh Hueco
fixed.
jvill
Might I suggest that from now on, when confronted with any requirement for a strategic decision, the Senate/House Democrat in question flips a coin…?
It can’t be worse than the assbackwards decisions these clowns are making on a daily basis. Haven’t these bozos ever heard of game theory?
Imagine what our government would be like if the Republican Party was not filled with morally bankrupt, racist, incompetent knownothings stuck in 1982…
We can’t keep counting on the failures of the other guys to win us elections. Presumably at some point the Dems will appoint leadership that could strategize its way out of a paper bag, right?
Right?
Hello?
How can so many of these schmucks be former trial lawyers? I mean, seriously now. Did they all just lose cases consistently and decide they could bring these winning skills to the entire nation?
DougJ
Reid’s a screw-up. But Bill First wasn’t exactly the second coming of Lyndon B. either. It’s pretty remarkable to have had such incompetent majority leaders back to back.
Radon Chong
Like you, I’m not a masochist; I just have nowhere else to go. That said, I would not say that the Democrats’ ability so inflect maximum damage on themselves is unparalleled, really. I mean, Bill Frist diagnosing Terry Schiavo by watching video was fairly breathtaking self-injury, right? Not that I am defending Harry Reid, here, because he is a total douche, and I will never understand why he behaves as he does. Maybe the Democratic leadership are all Republican moles, and vice-versa. That might explain it.
DougJ
And I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the people polled don’t want Burris seated because of that incident with the gun at the nightclub.
Tattoosydney
Now that’s the kind of post heading I like to see….
Fraud Guy
And these guys get elected (and reelected) how?
Tattoosydney
@DougJ:
Thanks for my first genuine laugh out loud for the day….
oh really
Reid always works from a position of weakness — that’s the problem with being a spineless moron, Harry’s always at a disadvantage.
Reid needs to go. Unfortunately, even the people who whined incessantly about Lieberman have done nothing to try to get Democrats to change their leadership. That may be because it is seen as a hopeless cause, but all causes are hopeless if no one tries to find a solution.
Some Americans spent eight years waiting for George Bush to improve, but he will be as lame in two weeks when he leaves office, as he was the day he took the oath. Reid is every bit as incompetent as Bush — and every bit the buffoon, as well.
As long as Harry Reid is the Majority Leader, the Democrats are going to fail. The only problem I have with replacing Reid is that the Democrats would probably turn around and elect the second most inept Democratic Senator to be the new ML.
KCinDC
I’m still not convinced that John’s preferred strategy of welcoming Blagojevich’s pick with open arms would have produced a better outcome. In that case, Republicans would have had a much better case for saying that Democrats were just as corrupt as Republicans.
Thanks to Blagojevich, this was a no-win situation for Democrats. Secondary blame goes to Burris, for being foolish enough to accept the appointment, and to the Illinois legislature, for dawdling on doing anything to prevent a Blagojevich appointment.
Radon Chong
@oh really: The main reason I was sorry to see Clinton take Secretary of State was that I was hoping she’d end up majority leader, but anyone would have to be better than Reid. Except Lieberman, of course.
wilfred the shoe thrower
"Why should I go to Rome? I never learnt how to lie."
Terence, I think. Burris should stay home, even if seating him is the only right thing to do, and it is.
Horses next.
jvill
Who else you got? Who else would join The Most Exclusive Club of Narcissist Dipshits?
Alright, bedtime… I’m just getting myself wound up…
shera
I find it hilarious that these clusterfucks surrounding Burris and Franken are taking place in such public view. While neither Blagojevich nor Burris has any special obligation to bow down to Reid or demonstrate any tact or discretion, is Reid really that ineffectual and unthreatening that they have no sense of consequences for embarrassing him like this? Then again, Reid seems utterly incapable of following up any assertion of his authority with action (e.g., the special session of the Senate he called regarding ending the Iraqi occupation, removing Lieberman from his Homeland Security Chairmanship, refusing to seat Burris).
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is assigning committee chairs, unanimously being reelected as House Speaker, removing references to gender in House Resolutions, establishing herself in the media as the Congressional point person with Obama, and basically kicking ass all over the place. As for Reid, Senate Democrats might want him to stay because they get to throw their weight around (see Feinstein’s public snit over Panetta), but he’ll go eventually. I don’t know how Obama does it, but people in his way usually end up falling on their faces and embarrassing themselves.
Church Lady
@shera:
Hell yes, Reid is just that ineffectual and unthreatening. The only other person in the Senate that can give him a run for the Casper Milqetoast title is Lieberman. Anytime either of them open their mouth, all I hear is whine, whine, whine.
In his two years as ML, the only thing Reid has learned is how to bend over right after he has drawn his line in the sand. Actually, he usually bends over as he’s drawing his line in the sand.
KCinDC
Shera, what consequences do you imagine a more formidable Senate majority leader would visit upon Blagojevich for embarrassing him? Send people over to beat him up? Arrange a fatal accident for him? He’s not a senator, so what power would the majority leader have over him?
Reid might be able to impose consequences for Burris, but Burris is obviously a fool or he wouldn’t have accepted the appointment in the first place, and if Burris must be seated eventually (as the courts will almost certainly say) then Reid is going to need his vote to overcome Republican obstructionism.
Being chosen as Senate majority leader doesn’t actually imbue you with the power to shoot lightning from your fingertips, control people’s minds, or kill with a thought.
Joshua Norton
What ever you do, stay away from the home shopping channels. Insomnia is the reason I currently have 2 digital cameras, 2 video cameras, 4 feather beds (for a one bedroom apt. – don’t ask), 5 telephones, a very huge flat screen TV and a Tom Tom system (and I don’t even currently own a car).
EZ pay, my ass.
southpaw
You folks ever consider that the Roland Burris situation might not be exactly like the Adam Clayton Powell situation or the Bill Clinton situation?
Powell was elected through a process that wasn’t legally questioned. And Bill Clinton, obviously, wasn’t impeached for subverting the ambassadorial appointment process.
Burris, by contrast, was appointed through a process that was undermined by highly credible allegations of corruption. That’s precisely the sort of situation where the Senate is supposed to act as judge of Burris’ return (his appointment credentials), in accordance with Congress’ Art. 1 Sec. 5 powers.
Imagine if the Minnesota authorities had just certified a Coleman victory after canvassing board members had been caught on tape offering to sell their votes. Would you honestly be putting out this pap? They’re still the legal officeholders so what are we to do? You must know it’s weak sauce.
Conservatively Liberal
Hey! If Hookers and Blow was good enough to play for the Republican convention party…
gopher2b
This won’t make you feel any better but the Illinois Dems messed this up worse than the nationals. They could have stripped Blago of his power to appoint a Senator within days of the criminal complaint and held a special election. They chose not to take that path because, well, a Republican might win. Instead, they bet, wrongly, that Blago wouldn’t appoint anyone. WRONG. I don’t see any legal reason why Burris shouldn’t be the junior Senator from Illinois for the next two years.
And, btw, I have serious doubts he is "clean." Regardless, he is a clown.
gopher2b
It’s funny, people have been asking variations of this question all week: why would Burris accept? I think its pretty obvious – he wants to be a U.S. Senator. And, its not like Blago picked him out of no where. This guy has the support here of the black ministers who, btw, wield considerable power here. He’s lining himself up to be a to be the presumptive black nominee for Senate in the 2010. All things being equal, that is not a bad place to be (for Burris anyway). And two years is a long time; Blago will be a ancient history by then.
Duke of Earl
@gopher2b:
Granted, but how does that make him differ from much of the Senate? A cornucopia of clowns if I ever saw one.
passerby
There are aspects about this whole appointee drama for Barack’s vacant seat that have me wondering about the inside politics.
1. Everyone knew Blago (the state gov) would be appointing a refill for Obama’s seat if he won the presidency.
2. All summer, they must have been bandying names about. Everyone. Obama camp included. What names? Who did they want?
3. The media and the Dems have been counting the chickens before they hatched for months prior to election day in hopes of a 60 Dem senate. Did Reid, etal, have a preference? did they have a "not that one" list?
4. How long have they been listening to the wire taps and who knew they were being conducted?
5. The D.A. sprung the trap prematurely to prevent Blago naming (selling the seat to) someone, thereby blowing their own cover and foregoing any solid evidence of bribery. (Jesse Jackson ,Jr??) They claimed they sprung early to prevent a "crime spree" yet, by doing so, failed to get red-handed evidence.
6. Immediately, undeserved aspersion was cast on Obama’s camp (Rahm Emanuel). Who did he suggest for the seat (and who was he against seating)?
7. Immediately, the senate dems, insulted by even the idea that someone could buy their way into their club, haughtily vowed that no one chosen by Blago (Jesse Jackson,Jr.??) would be seated, as it was clear that Blago was filthy dirty.
8. A week or so goes by and Blago regains his footing after his attorney examined the evidence of the D.A. and decides to remain in office as he was duly elected. He comes up with someone (we suppose) was not actively involved in trying to quid pro quo for the seat–Burris, an african american. Burris has no charges against him and probably isn’t mentioned on any tape.
9. Reid and co., still puffed up about the Chicagoland shenanigans continue to mumble about not seating a Blago pick but begin to realize that the takedown was not as effective as originally thought. And that Blago’s right to appoint was still intact. Oops.
10. Now, if IL SoS signs off on Burris, the senate would have to find something to trump up to prevent Burris, an eligible, greenhorn, African American Senator "Elect", from joining their little club.
The whole thing smells like a failed political plan.
Oh how I wish I had the answers to these questions. It’s probably juicier than we think.
Chris
in other news, sky blue
gopher2b
passerby:
few comments – (1) its the U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and not a D.A. Big difference. Fitzgerald is the Real Deal. He has more integrity than any other public figure in this city. (2) The U.S. Attorney’s office "sprung the trap" (IMHO) because it appeared Blago was about to appoint Jr. (possibly that day) and the issues with the Tribune. You think its a clusterfuck now, imagine if they had waited until Blago made the appointment and it was as "legal" as Burris’s, (3) Apparently Jr. is a FBI informant, too, (4) Dems here didn’t want Jr. because he is toxic because white people hate, hate, hate his father. If Jr. was appointed, he would be tough to beat in the primary but an easy target for the GOP, (4) I don’t think its fair to impute racial motives on Reid & Co. There’s no evidence they give a crap one way or the other and the only people injecting racial politics into this are some African American Chicago politicians.
JenJen
What, when you decided to join in with our lot, nobody told you about the hairshirts? Or the cilice?
It’s a painful exercise, the way Reid has handled this Burris clown show, and of course our Awesome Liberal Media is eating it with a spoon. Not like you could blame them, really.
shera
Ha. I definitely concede that with fewer than 60 Senators in his caucus, Reid’s job would entail a lot less threatening and a lot more cajoling. Maybe he couldn’t bring down lightning bolts on Blagojevich and Burris, but these guys definitely have healthy egos; couldn’t he have cajoled and manipulated them into not doing all this "for the good of the country, party, etc." Although, it would take some pretty skilled maneuvering to sway a guy who’s been caught on tape planning to sell a Senate seat, not to mention a guy who erected a memorial to himself…
CharlieHorse
Saying that at least Reid isn’t as bad as Frist sounds suspiciously like a lot of Iraq War rationalizations.
I sort of asked it yesterday and I’ll ask it again: Just how big a fuss would it take to get Reid to resign as majority leader, and is such a fuss possible?
bago
Is it time to suggest that white trash get down on its knees?
Roza Hussein
Sigh. I once had low hopes for Harry Reid.
passerby
Gopher
Oops. I stand corrected on that. Why the rush to spring the trap though?
If not JJJr, then who did they want? I’m sure other names were being bounced around but, I haven’t seen much on how that issue was shaping up from a local perspective.
I don’t suggest racial motives on Reid or senate but I do think they give a crap, one way or the other.
maxbaer (not the original)
It helps if you practice first by being a fan of the Red Sox or Cubs.
Comrade Glocksman
While I don’t mind a redhead dominatrix in heels with a whip, that’s going too far even for Max Mosley. :)
As Will Rogers once said: ‘I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat’
I suspect Obama would have an easier time trying to herd 1000 cats than he’s going to have trying to keep the Congressional prima donnas in line.
The Grand Panjandrum
While Reid continues to tilt wildly at the windmills of his mind they he, and his fellow Senate Democrats, have no one to blame but themselves. This wound is self-inflicted. Generally, members of the Senate are better at using more subtle language. With Reid’s less than subtle proclamation they would NEVER seat ANY Blago appointee the game was over. But as noted above, Harry’s no Bill Frist.
J.D. Rhoades
I think Reid knows he’s going to lose this fight, but the plan was for the courts to make him seat Burris, that way he could shrug his shoulders and say ‘hey, we tried, but you know, activist judges…" Which still makes him look like a putz.
Napoleon
@Comrade Glocksman:
Ah, an F1 fan.
kay
State Democrats here came in on anti-corruption. 6 months after they swept the state, it became abundantly clear the newly-elected AG was a crook. He was the establishment pick in the primary, they muscled a better qualified and cleaner newcomer right out of the primary to hand it to the crook.
The distancing began immediately. His former backers didn’t miss a beat. By the time it hit the newspapers, he was completely isolated. The governor, Democratic legislators and State Party Chair pressured him relentlessly to resign, and he did.
Special election, the new Democrat won in a walk, and no one mentions the brief tenure of the former establishment golden boy.
This can be handled well. You need people with one plan and a willingness to work together and admit mistakes.
J.
I swear that you have to be part masochist to be a Democrat.
And part (all?) sadist to be a Republican.
Having lived in Chicagoland for 8.5 years, under the reign of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, and being constantly amused by Chicago politics and politicians (Carol Moseley Braun anyone?), this is small beer.
Blago is an arrogant, unlikable jerk, but he was within his rights/duties as governor and, as you and others have noted, Burris is clean — and should be seated, which I believe he will be.
Can we please go back to attacking Caroline Kennedy now? And where are my weekly cat/dog pics, John?
kommrade reproductive vigor
You’re assuming anyone listens to anything Reid has to say.
Here, since USA Today never links to its polls, is a link to the poll.
To me the more interesting figure is that 52% of respondents thought Ill. should hold a special election ASAP.
Do you take checks?
chrome agnomen
why all these jackasses don’t just tape a gun to their shins, so they can more conveniently shot themselves in the foot, is beyond me. is there no limit to their assholery?
All Mi T
when will the senate GROW UP and stop playing Monkey in the middle
Blue Neponset
The problem with Reid is he doesn’t seem capable of seeing what his opponent’s next move is going to be. John noted a couple of weeks ago that Blago’s would appoint someone because that was the IL Gov’s best, maybe only, move. At the time I thought no one would be stupid enough to accept a nomination from Blago. I was wrong. Not only did Blago appoint someone, he found the perfect guy for it. Burris is almost as self-centered as Blago and he is going to make a ton of noise about this. We are going to hear about this soap opera for weeks on end. That is bad.
Look on the bright side though. If Tom Daschle were in charge things would be worse.
gypsy howell
I love that Reid is now willing to negotiate and make a deal to seat Burris.
"Make a deal?" I wonder what that consists of, because clearly we’re now departing from refusing to seat Burris on principle or rule of law. Now we’re going to "make a deal" to let him into the club.
"Make a deal." Isn’t that what Blago was trying to do?
Ha ha. Is there a word that means "milquetoast doofus douchebag?" Because that word would describe Reid completely.
Englischlehrer
As someone who has become more involved in reading news online and being interested in politics, I have been disappointed by nearly every move that has happened by the "democratic" "leadership". I mean seriously, am I such a liberal that I think that habeas corpus, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, torture, the Iraq war and lack of good oversight are the glaring problems of our day. I know the economy and the healthcare system are also important but I think we have completely lost our "moral" bearing. And the "democratic" "leadership" is getting embarassed on a national stage after having trounced the Republicans in the last two elections. It is so frustrating it almost feels like I’m the opposition party. Am I really so liberal?
Napoleon
This is an interesting take on how to handle Burris.
Ash Can
I agree with the analyses showing that there’s plenty of blame here to go around. For his part, though, Harry Reid clearly fucked up. Even given his initial resistance to anyone Blagojevich were to appoint, he could have said yesterday, "I would have preferred that the IL governor hold off on his appointment, but we have far more pressing national business today here on Capitol Hill, so let’s get on with it," and people by and large would have understood. By acting the way he did, he demonstrated yet again that his primary objective in his position is to be a good member of the Senate Boys and Girls Club. Evidently, he measures his success on the job by how many senators, regardless of party affiliation, smile at him and pat him on the back each day.
RememberNovember
This guilt by association crap hast to stop, pdq. If they don’t trust Blaggy to seat a decent candidate- impeach Blaggy, have a vote of no confidence.
Quit punishing the innocent.
aimai
Its important to remember that Reid is a wrestler, and not a chess player. Its shows. They should have gone to Burris and offered to have Obama appoint him to any ambassadorship he wanted if he would publicly withdraw his name from the senate job and blast blagojovich at the same time. And they should have done that privately, right away, instead of pissing his massive ego off. Reid is really an idiot. But you have to remember that both he and his wife are converts to mormonism. If you are born into it there’s really no fault in you for believing six impossible things before breakfast–but to come into it as an adult convert? with the benefit of modern archaeology and the historical record? you’d have to be a little nuts or you’d have to privilige getting along socially over free thinking.
aimai
jprice vincenz
John, with all due respect, wasn’t it Biden who called Obama "clean"? Why’d you call Burris "clean"? At least, keep consistent and call Jane Harmon and DiFi "skanky."
Duke of Earl
OT, Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General?
Micheal fucking Moore drank his milkshake on Larry King, the man misquoted Moore and had to admit it, too ignorant to know the figure he was quoting was off by an order of magnitude.
Then he really walks into the spinning propeller when he uses Micheal’s own line about the French are drowning in taxes to say his film didn’t mention the fact. He was utterly speechless about it. (snarf)
harlana pepper
what aimai said
also, not completely OT: Colbert & colmes
John Cole
@jprice vincenz: LMAO. Biden said “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy>”
Pretty clearly that is different from “He is clean,” particularly since the whole context is within the assertion by others that he is “dirty” or “tainted.”
Punchy
OT–
693-large jobs poof! in December. Consensus was about 475K. We so fucked it aint funnah.
Anecdotal story–a company the gf works for, wildly successful and disappointed at the prospect of only 25% growth this year (as compared to 45-50% the last few), is now laying off peeps. So even companies assured of a great year are shedding payroll. This is insane.
The Raven
"Harry Reid […] through his obstinance and idiocy,"
Not obstinance and idiocy. It’s too consistent and too effective. It’s corruption: he’s sold out to the conservatives.
harlana pepper
Punchy, unfortunately, it’s bidness. Pretty soon we’re gonna have to adopt communal lifestyles to survive this mess. By no means do I relish the thought, but there just aren’t enough jobs to go around to support the self-sufficiency of every individual, something we all took for granted for so many years, until the rug was pulled out from under us and after we were told the universe would come crashing down if we didn’t bail out Wall Street immediately, no questions asked.
Reverend Dennis
And here I thought that boxers were the ones who suffered brain damage.
No Majority Leader is going to be 100% successful. Lyndon Johnson wasn’t. Reid is wholly lacking in the ability to frame issues in such a way that the Republicans look bad if they don’t play along when it’s important. You didn’t hear from Reid on the Detroit bailout but, you damned sure heard from Corker, McConnell, et al. Reid seems to be neither a tactical nor a strategic thinker. Not much of a thinker at all.
The Senate reveres it’s traditions to be sure. The tradition of inept Majority Leaders (Bill Frist, anyone?) is one they should drop.
JohnR
"Look on the bright side though. If Tom Daschle were in charge things would be worse."
Wow. I’m not sure if that qualifies as optimism or pessimism. For the record, I’m not sure that anybody, even Lieberman in all his glory, could be any worse than Hammerin’ Harry as Top Dog. He’s a punk; and worse, he’s a dumb punk. He’s Bush without the arrogance of blind belief. He’s not even good enough to be a Mayberry Machiavelli. There must be a long line of Senators waiting to get into poker games with him. About all you can say positive for him is that if he’s corrupt it amounts to stealing tips from the jar on the Starbucks counter.
shortstop
I’m not convinced, either, but then, I thought this little show of Democratic resistance would be long over by now and Burris would be seated with much Senate Dem caucus harrumphing and "Sucks, but we’ve got to follow the law!" (which apparently nobody being polled by USA Today/Gallup is even now aware of despite having it explained multiple times; nor are they aware that a special election requires changing the Illinois constitution). So evidently I don’t know WTF I’m talking about on this one, with the single exception of my having maintained the 2008 election does not mean that people have stopped being egregiously fucking underinformed.
jibeaux
I feel like KCinDC and I have stepped into a parallel universe… I agree with John most of the time, but c’mon:
Where is the evidence that this is attributable to Harry Reid? Is there a baseline poll from the day of the announcement to compare it to? Off the top o’ my head, I’d say the popular support for him not to be seated comes from the fact that he was appointed by a corrupt and extremely unpopular douchebag who ANNOUNCED THAT HE WAS SELLING THE APPOINTMENT.
I mean, however backhanded a compliment it may be, you’re implying that Harry Reid has actually accomplished something, to wit, influenced public opinion, with the corollary implication that people are more or less neutral on Blago. This wildly exaggerates Harry Reid’s capabilities and violates Occam’s Razor.
The Other Steve
@J.D. Rhoades:
John obviously learned nothing as a Republican.
Always make sure you have an escape path, and make sure it involves blaming someone else. :-)
Dr. Squid
This is what happens when you put conservatives in leadership positions of the Democratic Party.
John Cole
I don’t think I have ever suggested they should embrace him with open arms. There is plenty of room in between the idiocy of Harry Reid’s route and tongue-kissing Buriss on the Capitol steps.
What would have been so hard about saying something along the lines of “While I would have preferred that Blagojevich not appoint anyone, I recognize that he is well within his rights to do so, and Roland Buriss has been a hard-working public servant for the citizens of Illinois for four decades, so we hope that he will be able to represent the citizens of Illinois in the interim until an election is held in 2010.”
Reasonable people would have seen that nothing could be done, Buriss would not have had several weeks of being smeared, and Reid and the Senate Democrats would be, get this- right. The issue would be over with until 2010, and the Democratic apparatus could work to make sure a well-funded and viable opponent was available for a primary challenge, Bobby Rush’s race-baiting would be ignored and irrelevant, and life wold go on.
Would the Republicans try to raise a stink? Sure. BUT THEY ARE GOING TO ANYWAY.
srv
You know, there is a logical proof showing that Dick Cheney’s behavior can best be explained and predicted by answering "What’s best for Iran."
For Harry, it’s "What’s best the Republican Party." Not that the Republicans are smart enough to fully utilize this tool, but Harry will try his best.
TheHatOnMyCat
Burris is a sideshow, all theatrics. 2009 is going to be a year of survival in this country, for everybody. Nobody is going to care about Burris one way or the other, very soon. The people on cable tv have nothing to talk about. That doesn’t make the Burris situation relevant to anything.
Does anyone who isn’t in the Burris family really care whether he gets this seat or not?
John Cole
I would suggest that spending three weeks screaming that Blagojevich should pick no one, then when he did, screaming the pick is tainted for several weeks might have had an impact on public opinion.
I actually have footage of Reid at work:
We call that an “own goal.”
ksmiami
Agree with point above that 2009-2010 will be survival years. I really don’t care about the Burris thing and most Americans are trying to get by right now – at all levels. That said, I do think Obama will be way more effective with the bully pulpit and Harry will be given lessons on not looking like Charlie Brown with the missed football
jibeaux
But it’s self-evident that Blago shouldn’t have picked any one. It’s self-evident that his picks are going to be tainted since he announced on tape that they were going to be tainted. I can’t quite believe that there was another deluded soul living in Blago’s deluded world and willing to accept the appointment. I’ve already quoted Ezra today, so apologies for that, but that’s another bizarre thing about this very bizarre situation:
I mean, right? It’s not a total surprise that a guy who, in the face of enormous public hatred, would proclaim his innocence and refuse to step down, would then have the cheek to go and actually appoint someone when the Illinois legislature dropped the ball and didn’t strip him of that. It’s brazen as all hell, but not especially surprising. I am still surprised he found someone to accept, though. Why would anyone want to be appointed by Blago?
jibeaux
I guess I just disagree that public opinion would have been dramatically different either way he went about it. I dunno, I’m a completely partisan Democrat and a big fan of the rule of law, and I would have a very hard time with it. It just looks like completely rolling over for a corrupt douchebag. With public sentiment about Blago being what it is, I just think the last thing people want is for him to get his way.
I acknowledge Reid’s got himself boxed into a corner with this one, because Burris is probably getting in, but I agree with KC that he didn’t have any particularly good options. I don’t think a statement like you proposed would be very palatable at all, really, if you assume that people don’t care for corruption.
thomas
1. "Bullet, meet foot" Harry Reid.
2. When all in Minnesota is done there will be one comedian and 99 clowns in the senate.
3. Roland B carries Blago baggage into either a ’10 primary loss or will not run. (My call is primary loss because he is obviously oblivious of the baggage. When he looses he’ll say he didn’t take a gun into any nightclub)
John Cole
Shouldn’t and can’t are two different things. From what I understand, Blagojevich shouldn’t be allowed to work at McDonalds. That having been said, Reid’s response should have been predicated upon what Blagojevich COULD and probably WOULD do, and considering someone as dim as me was predicting what he would do several weeks ago, the fact that Reid and the Democrats couldn’t piece it all together really says something about their ability to think past the current minute.
And again with the smears of Buriss. Klein is pissy at Blagojevich, and taking it out on Buriss. Buriss is acting completely rationally- he knows he is not crooked or corrupt, he wants to be Senator and has run for statewide office eleventythree times, and he knows he has been lawfully appointed. If you all want to smear a man with four decades of public service, have at it. Count me out.
gil mann
I’ll get back to you on this as soon as I figure out where bears defecate and what that Pope guy’s denomination is.
jibeaux
I’m not smearing him at all, and Ezra isn’t either, I don’t know the man from Adam, although I do think it’s spelled "Burris", and I have no opinion on what sort of Senator he would be, because that isn’t the point. Blago is crooked, the process is crooked, people aren’t going to trust that process, and people aren’t going to vote for anyone Blago appointed in 2010, in my opinion, even if they’d vote for the same person who got to the job by another route. It’s got nothing to do with him substantively at all.
When Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter to fill his Senate seat, people were so pissed they changed the law. It didn’t have anything to do with whether or not Lisa Murkowski was a good public servant or not, it was that it was his daughter. And that’s in ALASKA. Of course Americans aren’t going to think highly of someone who would accept an appointment from Blago. Good grief.
theturtlemoves
@jibeaux: What jibeaux said. Burris may be the nicest, most sweetest, bestest guy in the whole, wide world, but accepting a senate appointment under the circumstances he did, then showing up with lawyers and a gaggle of reporters in tow to be sworn in doesn’t really make me think he has the best interests of the people of Illinois as a top priority. Sure, most Senators are attention whores, but that is pretty blatant.
shortstop
Yeah, you’re really giving Harry Reid too much credit here, John, for allegedly altering public opinion that was already hugely widespread. I really think Reid’s big sin is in carrying this on too long and giving undeserved cover to charges of racism (and fully deserved cover to charges of political hamhandedness), not in doing what he did to begin with. As others have noted, he had only crappy options to choose from. He took the one least likely to make voters freak out about the Blago-loving Dems who didn’t even put up a fight against this guy, blah blah blah. That wasn’t wrong, but Reid hasn’t figured out when to quit. Pfffft, this whole thing is giving me a migraine, and Rod Blagojevich is still my goddamned governor. STILL.
shortstop
The AP and NPR are reporting that the Senate Dems will accept Burris. About five days late, but it’s done.
jibeaux
You have my condolences. You have had them retroactively ever since I heard the campaign jingle rhyming "switch" with "Blagojevich".
John Cole
And he took the crappiest options, doubled-down, and made them worse.
Quit excusing him. The reason this happened is two-fold- first, a bunch of them popped off at the mouth too early and tried to distance themselves from Blagojevich, and went too far by trying to block Burris when Blago clearly was within his rights to appoint him
Second, the real reason a lot of them do not want Burris is because they think he would lose in 2010, which makes them political hacks and also shows that their first concern, Blago, isn’t really that big of a deal- keeping the seat in (d) hands is the real important deal. That is why they are trying to “negotiate” to get him to not run again if he is seated. Burris should tell them to piss up a rope.
The Democrats and Reid have shit the bed from the get-go on this, and the fact that people keep defending them is pretty amusing.
jibeaux
He will lose. Because he was appointed by Blago. Anyone appointed by Blago will lose in 2010. Had he refused to accept the appointment and everyone else Blago contacted did, too, and an appointment happened by some more palatable means, then you would have a Senator who has some legitimacy in the eyes of the people and, consequently, a chance in hell of winning the election, therefore a result that is all around better both pragmatically and symbolically.
I’m not trying to so much defend Reid as I am to debate your premise that Reid somehow manufactured or influenced in any meaningful way public opinion about this appointment. I expect that next year when Burris inevitably loses, you will blame Reid again for poisoning the well of public opinion against him, when it was never with him to begin with, not this way.
shortstop
Didnotdidnotdidnot. Now give me a couple of ibuprofen, I’m begging you. Maybe even more than the recommended limit; it hurts so baaaaaad. Also, I’m saving this post so next time people tell me they’re sick of hearing my never-ending bitching about Reid, I can show them this "defense."
Dork Vader
This is all well and good, but post needs more discussion of seed corn and pissing therein.
MH
The Democratic Party is the worst political party, except for all the others.
John Cole
@jibeaux: I don’t disagree that he will lose in 2010. Hell, how many statewide elections has he lost already, all without the Blago taint?
What I am saying is that Reid took a bad situation and made it worse, and the roll of the Senate in determining who they seat is not to dwell upon the future electoral chances.
And if you don’t think that the Democrats, squealing in unison behind Reid that the Burris pick is unacceptable influenced public opinion, I just don’t know what to say.
jibeaux
Since when have Senate Democrats influenced the menu at the lege cafeteria, much less public opinion? I think it’s quite the other way ’round. I think they did that because of public opinion. People already think politicians are craven, corrupt, lying, deceitful bastards, the Democrats have ridden the "Republicans are even more craven, corrupt, lying and deceitful than we are so vote for us" bandwagon as much as they possibly could, why the hell would you want to do anything that makes it look like you’re hitching your wagon in any way to Blagojevich? His approval ratings are hitting those levels where there are more people as a percentage of the population willing to eat a live bat for $100.
shortstop
Now that is a serious moving of the goalposts. Your original statement on this:
People keep pointing out that this popular support existed in spades well before Harry Reid came on the scene, by virtue of Burris having been appointed by the guy who just weeks earlier tried to sell his seat and people rather naturally taking umbrage at that. The other view on this, of course, is that Reid’s action reflected popular opinion rather than the other way around, but, all right, let’s say that some people were influenced by Reid. So do we argue all day about what precise percentage of people arguing against Burris’s seating came over to this viewpoint only after watching Harry Reid in action? What the hell would be the point? Harry Reid or not, Burris’s reputation was doomed the second he accepted this appointment. You can make decent arguments against Reid’s conduct in this situation, but this isn’t one of them.
John Cole
If your entire argument is a semantic debate over the difference between “helped create” and “added to” or “influenced public opinion,” then we are wasting our time.
The bottom line is Harry Reid took a shitty situation and made it worse, and that is inarguable. I am really going to laugh when they agree to seat Burris (because, as we have discussed, what else can they do?).
Well, I guess they could drag this out a bit longer to inflict more pain on themselves.
Sad_Dem
A president with a lower approval rating than shingles still has a few people to look down on—Pelosi, Lady Di, Reid, Lieberman: You and your friends rate even lower for not standing up to the bully and for being a bunch of arrogant, incompetent, clueless yoinks. Voters, vote them out.
shortstop
Jesus, hyperbole again. My "entire argument" on this topic has covered more than a little ground and spanned quite a few posts, many of which you’ve responded to, so you know better that that. I called you out on moving this goalpost, which you unquestionably did after your portrayal of Harry Reid as super-influential begetter of previously nonexistent ill feelings toward Senate appointments made by corrupt governors was shot down. I also did you the courtesy of noting that I recognized that this was only part of your argument.
Uh huh.
jibeaux
They already agreed to seat him, and the shittiness of it is inarguable, no doubt. I just don’t think Reid changed the shittiness much. It was in the news a little longer, but I think it mostly made Blago and Burris take even more of a hit to their reputations. It seems to me like people would expect the Dems to squawk at having to take Blago’s pick, and wouldn’t fault them for squawking. If they had managed, long shot though it was, to convince Burris to withdraw from consideration, that would have been a real victory. I disagree that a statement along the lines of "well, I would prefer otherwise, but whaddayagonna do?" would have been better. Burris is going to be in office a year and a half, and it’s going to be an unpleasant and ineffective time regardless.
jibeaux
Duh, why d’ya think I’m here?
shortstop
As I posted above, they already have agreed to seat him.
neff
@John Cole:
John, I hate to have to break it to you, but Burris was just appointed a week ago (Dec. 30), so they haven’t really had "several weeks" to complain about him as you keep saying.
John Cole
@neff: Ahh. Seems longer.
@shortstop: I’m at work with no CNN. All I saw were reports they agreed to seat him, and then denials of said reports.
Is it now official?
Thom
John
You are really reaching with the Clinton impeachment thing. Blago is on tape trying to "sell a Senate seat," to quote Patrick Fitzgerald. Opposing him then appointing a Senate seat is logical. There is nothing logical in the Clinton analogy.
And how on Earth can you simply state "Burris is clean"? What evidence do you have for that? I question whether he is clean, and I have evidence to justify that: the Blago transcripts showing that he wanted something for the seat; and the fact that Burris supported the Atty General of Ill.’s attempt to get Blago tossed from the governorship – then accepted the appointment from him, saying he was "innocent until proven guilty."How the hell do get there from supporting him being thrown out?
I don’t see how this is anything more but opposition to Reid, period. You should just admit that, IMO. (And so should everyone at DKos.) Reid’s a dick, but he was right on this, had the support of Obama on this, and we should thank him for trying to stop a fucked up appointment.
Ash Can
Not necessarily true. Burris is a known quantity in state politics and, apart from the fact that it was Blagojevich making the appointment, he was seen as a safe pick. If Burris does a decent enough job as senator to satisfy the IL voters and state Democratic party, it will all depend on who he faces in the primary. (The general isn’t likely to be an issue since, given the state of the IL GOP, the opponent is likely to be some Jiffy-Lube manager from downstate or, if the Dems are even luckier, Jim Oberweis.) It will be a campaign issue, to be sure, but if he earns himself some good will on the job, it will seem more like yesterday’s news.
onceler
Well, since our own "leadership" is pretty much actively working for the Republicans, I’d say that yes, a certain amount of self-loathing is involved. Of course, most on the left call for Reid’s ouster on a daily basis, and have done so for years. I know nobody who thinks he’s been effective. But elected Dems love the guy and won’t touch him – which makes me think at times that they all know that their role is to lose all the time and be stupid court jesters, but sometimes circumstances just make them the winners, as in ’06 and ’08.
Chuck Butcher
It seems that Reid very publicly opposed the appointment by an accused corrupt Governor and tossed it to a court to over rule. Dems don’t do corrupt. Public imagery.
It’s fucking politics. Burris is ego driven enough to take the appointment, once you’re dealing with that in a person without criminality beyond of the stupidity type your options decrease.
Now John’s last arguement is a reasoned one, the problem (and he should know it) is that it won’t play except with people as reasonable as he is being. That isn’t politics in this reality. If this seems like an exercise in stupity now, it will only last a little while. John’s approach means 2 years of it from the RNC and Senate and House Republicans. They do have some problems to bury in news cycles about somebody else.
BombIranForChrist
I hear ya.
I feel like our country has two halves of a great party.
The Republicans are politically adept, but their policies are so idiotic and corrupt that they can’t maintain a majority.
The Democrats have better policies, but they are probably the most politically incompetent in the modern era. Reid is horrible, and it is a sign of how incompetent the Democrats are that he is still in power.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if our country goes back and forth for the next one hundred years, swinging between two incompetent party, until China calls in its debt and buys us outright.