Maybe Super Prosecutor Fitzgerald Screwed Up
Lots of hand-wringing going on today about whether or not Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s senate appointment has “standing” or whether the Illinois Secretary of State or Senate Majority Leader will derail the appointment.
The only dispassionate view to be heard was former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson on NPR’s All Things Considered. He points out that the Governor is still governor, he’s not been impeached and Illinois law states that he has the authority and duty to make the appointment. Thompson also points out that the Secretary of State’s duty to certify the governor’s appointment is only administrative under law – Jesse White, the official in question, doesn’t have discretionary authority. He’s just a pass through. Finally, Thompson – who is an attorney – said that the U.S. Supreme Court decided decades ago that senators may only contest the seating of a new senator under questions of age, citizenship or residency. Any attorneys or jailhouse lawyers out there can comment.
Thompson also made another point. This January will see the 111th Congress considering legislation of greater than usual importance. The country is in two wars and a recession. The financial system is still in intensive care and what’s left of our manufacturing sector is a ship dead in the water. Illinois deserves its full complement in Congress.
Unfortunately, the only way to get there is for the governor of Illinois to make the appointment.
This all got me thinking about what’s made Blago a household name outside of Oak Park and Evansville. Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been investigating the governor by some accounts since 2003. Fitzgerald gets some juicy stuff on tape and makes the arrest, holds the press conference. My question is, did Fitzgerald move too soon?
There’s a lot of unnecessary drama unfolding in Springfield and Chicago if the Illinois governor tried to sell a senate seat. Or, does the Illinois governor just have a big, foul mouth? Should Fitzgerald have waited for a deal to be made? If this was a better movie, the good guys would’ve had the money exchange hands on tape and then G-Men would’ve burst through doors and swung in through the windows on ropes.
But, instead, we’ve got f-bombs on tape and one big-mouth, preening politician being himself – a douche bag. If there was more to Fitzgerald’s case, perhaps the governor would’ve resigned by now or there would be more for the Illinois legislature to work with in impeachment proceedings.
If what they say about Roland Burris is true – that he’s an upstanding public servant not tainted by Chicago’s political cesspool – perhaps the wise thing to do is let the man take his seat unencumbered in the Senate. Just forget that Captain Hairbrush appointed him, put it out of your mind. The people of Illinois do deserve both of their votes in the Senate, don’t they?
