Blagojevich Gets Blagoje-Ditched
Rod Blagojevich, the most recent Illinois governor to be mired in scandal, is finding himself at odds with his own party after Democratic leaders announced Tuesday that Blagojevich's attempt to fill Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat will be blocked, much to the disappointment of Blagojevich and his appointee, Roland Burris.
Rod Blagojevich, the most recent Illinois governor to be mired in scandal, is finding himself at odds with his own party after Democratic leaders announced Tuesday that Blagojevich’s attempt to fill Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat will be blocked, much to the disappointment of Blagojevich and his appointee, Roland Burris.
Blagojevich, released on bail after being arrested, is accused of trying to sell to the highest bidder the Senate seat left by Obama’s job promotion.
AS CHAOS UNFOLDS, FIND SOLID GROUND…The New York Times:
Within an hour of learning on Tuesday that Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was about to name a Senate successor to President-elect Barack Obama, the Senate Democratic leadership drew a clear line in the sand: Anyone appointed by Mr. Blagojevich, the embattled Illinois chief executive, would not be accorded Senate membership.
But that declaration has touched off questions of whether Democrats have the power to keep out Mr. Blagojevich’s pick, Roland Burris, a former state attorney general. It is likely that the issue will end up in court.
Democrats said they were confident of their standing under Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, which says “each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own members.” On rare occasion, the Senate has denied seats to candidates whose election outcome was in doubt or who were caught up in corruption.
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Liberal Justice John Paul Stevens has announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court. The 89-year-old will step down when the court's term ends in June or July, giving President Barack Obama the opportunity to make his second appointment to the high court.
Although a majority of his state's voters are opposed to his appointment (according to a recent poll), Roland Burris will be seated as the junior senator from Illinois. Senate Democrats had promised not to seat Burris but, true to tradition, promptly caved.
A source from within President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said Thursday that Obama is "on track" to tap Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state after Thanksgiving, according to the Associated Press.
Meet the president's pick for our next surgeon general, Dr. James Holsinger, a man who once wrote that homosexuality is unnatural and unhealthy: "When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur." Injuries? Can't we just do without a surgeon general for a couple of years?
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