As a lifetime resident of the great state of Illinois and a former resident of Chicago (actually Cicero), the recent news of Gov. Blagojevich's indictment comes as absolutely no surprise.
In idle speculation, I wonder at what would have happened if this indictment had come to light prior to Nov. 4. I applaud whoever decided to sit on it until after the election.
Back to my first point though, Blagojevich has demonstrated some serious political savy in naming Roland Burris as Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate. Sixteen years in Illinois politics without a single corruption investigtion is quite the achievement. The rest of his credentials are equally sterling. He's a solid choice to represent Illinois in the Senate.
It seems pretty clear, based on the indictment at least, that Blagojevich is yet another corrupt Illinois official, tainted with the almost unavoidable smell of Illinois politics. However, he has made a solid choice in Burris. Just because Blagjevich is corrupt does not mean he cannot make a clean appointment.
Watching Harry Reid and Co. make fools of themselves in opposition to Blagojevich's pick for Senate is closing the barn doors after the horse has left. It is little more than a useless gesture in defiance at political corruption, which will only result in more hassel and fighting and probably no real progress.
Burris is qualified, free from the Blagojevich mess, and willing to do the job - so let him.
Also, please, can the powers that be stop wasting their time and effort over this, and perhaps start focusing on the things that matter, like, I dunno . . . Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Gaza/Isreal, and the economy? Don't we have better things to do?
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Lyorn Discussion–Major Spoilers
4 weeks ago
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As Attorney General, Roland Burris tried hard to have two men executed he knew to be innocent. Allowing himself to be used by a corrupt Governor is just another chance for Burris to sell his soul for higher office.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, the Cruz case is a disgrace, and a miscarriage of justice. Welcome to the imperfect system we call law. However, knowing how over-worked and under-paid State's Attorney's are, I wouldn't hold it against him. If that's all they found, I think Burris is still a good guy.
ReplyDeleteFind me a blameless person, and I'll point out someone who hasn't done enough digging. The Cruz case is just another good example of why we shouldn't have a death penalty on the books, and why we have a system with multiple checks and levels of redundancy.