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Illinois Senate Seat Update |
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I mused about what could be done about the vacant Illinois Senate seat earlier, but some other developments have occurred just in the past day.
- While the Illinois General Assembly will meet next week ostensibly to pass a law creating a special election to fill the Senate vacancy. The problem is that Blagojevich could just avoid signing the bill until the new GA session that begins January 14th and the process begins all over again including the normal delay in which the Governor could sign or veto the bill. Then the Special Election would probably take place about 2 months after that at the earliest at a cost estimated at over $30 million, and it is not known yet whether it would include a primary election round. National Democratic leaders do not want a Special Election process because under these circumstances a Republican could win the seat even in the very blue state of Illinois. Republican Representative Mark Kirk, who has successfully passed as a moderate in a district that voted for Gore, Kerry and Obama, has already announced interest in the race.
- If Blagojevich does try to appoint a successor to Obama in the Senate, there are a few roadblocks. First, all 50 Democratic Senators have signed a letter telling Blagojevich not to appoint a Senate replacement and that if he did, they would “determine whether such a person would be seated,” although whether they could legally do that is unclear. But another bureaucratic stumbling block for Blago is that the Illinois Secretary of State must certify the appointment by the Governor. The current occupant of that office, Jesse White, could simply refuse to certify any appointment.
- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (who is also one of many of Blago’s enemies) has stated that she may use the Illinois equivalent of the nuclear option — request that the Illinois Supreme Court declare Blago unfit for office and remove him until he can prove that he has regained his “fitness.” Madigan is waiting first to see if the Illinois legislature actually can do anything, but if they can not, Madigan is ready to act. Will this work?
The state Constitution doesn’t explicitly indicate an officeholder can be ousted by the court or by impeachment if that person faces criminal charges. Instead, the Constitution uses terms such as “failure to qualify” or “disability” in laying out causes to impeach someone.
The Supreme Court rule allowing justices to wade into the issue of gubernatorial fitness is even less defined, saying only that the court has authority to determine “the ability of the governor to serve.”
It seems to me that the last option, having the Illinois Supreme Court use its powers, however vague they may be, to remove Blagojevich from office seems like a nice, neat solution. It will also give the Illinois General Assembly time to finish the impeachment process as it is unlikely that once removed, he will be able to prove he has regained his fitness. Also it would mean that the Lt. Governor in that time would be Acting Governor and could name Obama’s replacement in the Senate. Pat Quinn would have to make a an outstanding choice after all these events. Plus by avoiding the Special Election millions of taxpayer funds would be saved.
No, it’s actually quite clear that the Senate has the power to determine its own membership. It’s in the Constitution: “Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.”
They’ve said no to five people in the past.
Actually it isn’t that clear. Yes the Constitution says that, but the Supreme Court ruled in Powell v. McCormick, 395 U.S. 486 (1969) that the chambers of Congress can only refuse to seat a member if the incoming member does not meet the three constitutional requirements: age, citizenship and residency. Theoretically they could seat and then almost immediately expel a member, but that precedent would not be one that the Senate would want to set.
I find the entire Gov. Blagojevich situation hypocrisy at it’s worse, no not for the Governor, but for all these liberals creating ways of removing him.
On the exact opposite this nation has witnessed complete disregard of the law when Barack Obama breaks it to keep him in position.
Money fraud in the campaign is ignored. ACORN voter fraud with direct money links to Obama is ignored. A hidden birth certificate is ignored. Hidden passports are ignored which all speak to the Constitution if he is even qualified for office.
(Bill Richardson is on video telling a crowd that Mr. Obama is an immigrant. That means not a natural born American as the Constitution requires.)
Why is it that Gov. Blagojevich who never received anything is arrested and yet a worse situation when Lawrence Sinclair was illegally arrested by DC and Delaware bogus warrants (the Biden syndicate) and Joe Biden received the Vice Presidential slot in the same quid pro quo from Barack Obama that no one is arresting Joe Biden and Barack Obama or calling for them to resign?
Where are the members of the Congress signing a letter demanding Barack Obama come clean? Where is the FBI directed by the Attorney General to take Mr. Obama’s passport data and birth certificate to prove he is who he says he is?
Gov. Blagojevich is being steamrolled for a whole lot less than what Mr. Obama has carried out and yet no one seems to be willing to stretch the Constitution to find the facts on the many deeds of Barack Obama.
Gov. Blagojevich deserves his day in court to face the charges and to drag into the court Barack Obama to Jesse Jackson jr. whose names and representatives were making deals for the sale of the seat.
Amazing how news stations to David Axelrod reported meetings between Obama and Blagojevich and when this breaks (Obama’s people said they were being briefed (that is quite illegal)) all those stories just are denied as they never happened.
Jesse Jackson jr. simply denies he was going to pay 1 million dollars for the seat and that too will disappear.
Who was illegally briefing Obama and his people out of FBI or the US Attorney’s office?
Who illegally warned Gov. Blagojevich his conversations were being tapped?
On what Gov. Blagojevich was arrested, he should demand that Barack Obama, Joe Biden, David Axelrod and Jesse Jackson jr. be arrested as they did the same thing.
Gov. Blagojevich should demand the FBI or State Police should arrest all of these people breaking the Constitution to get at him.
This is a horrid thing in the media and Democrats have led the parade to railroad Gov. Blagojevich and at the same time, in worse crimes, they celebrate Barack Obama.
Gov. Blagojevich’s own words parapharsed, “Obama was going to give his wife a lobby job in 2 years if the Gov. appointed Valerie Jarrett to Obama’s seat”.
That is the Governor illegally selling a seat and that is Barack Obama illegally buying that seat.
Where is the justice in this putrid double standard of the people who are supposed to be upholding the laws equally for all Americans.
Your comments shows the kind of flat-earth paranoia that surrounds certain extremist elements of the country. I won;t respond to much of what you have written as most will be able to see it for the psychosis that it is, especially the already proven to be false charge about Obama’s birth certificate. But in the context of the topic at hand, if you read the indictment, the wiretaps show that Blago was angry that Obama wouldn’t play his dirty games. While Blago wanted a host of items for the appointment, the Obama team was only willing to give their “appreciation” — which led Blago to a series of expletives and went searching somewhere else for his graft. The fact that you are trying to spread a lie that Obama was illegally buying the seat shows that you are more interested in your ideological vendettas rather than the truth or the future of our country.