Blogging Blue » Rod Blagojevich

Taking a look back at my 2009 predictions

Zach W — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:02:05 +0000

I think it’s safe to say I don’t have much of a future as a psychic, based on how poorly I performed in my predictions for 2009:

Scott Walker will announce he’s running for Governor. (I know, this is an easy one, but I need a gimme or two on this list)

Well, I was right on this one, but as I mentioned when I made the prediction, it was a gimme. Scott Walker’s been running for governor since the 2006 campaign ended.

Sometime in 2009, Rep. Paul Ryan will announce he’s going to challenge Sen. Russ Feingold for Feingold’s U.S. Senate seat, which is up for election in 2010.

Sen. Feingold has not one, but two challengers, but neither is Rep. Paul Ryan.

We won’t see lines for food or other basic necessities once Barack Obama takes office, as predicted by one conservative blogger.

The blogger referenced in my prediction had said that if Barack Obama were elected president, we’d see lines for food and basic necessities not unlike lines in the Communist-era Soviet Union due to rationing and severe economic distress. Clearly that isn’t the case, so I was right about this one.

The economy will be in significantly better shape before the end of the summer.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the economy is in significantly better shape than it was before the summer.

At least one more blogger will win an elected office. (There are at least three that I know of that are running for elections in April 2009)

Janet Evans won a seat on the Franklin School Board, so I was right on the money. (But it sure would have been nice to see all three bloggers who ran for office win their elections)

Soon to be former Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota will be implicated and convicted of public misconduct before Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Neither has been convicted of anything yet, so the jury’s still out on this one.

Brett Favre will finally hang up his cleats rather than play another season for a mediocre Jets team.

Brett Favre is like a bad rash that just won’t go away. Not only did he not hang up his cleats, but he got his release from the Jets so he could join the Minnesota Vikings, ostensibly so he could “stick it to the Packers” for dumping him in favor of Aaron Rodgers.

The Brewers will surprise a lot of people and win 90 games in the 2009 season.

I was ten games short on this one, in large part because I didn’t think the Brewers pitching would be as atrocious as it ended up being. However, I do think the 2010 team will improve on its 80 win performance in 2009.

Fred Thompson’s new radio show will last just about as long as his presidential campaign, and it’ll be about as successful.

Fred Thompson’s still on the air, so clearly he’s been more successful as a radio host than he was as a presidential candidate.

State Rep. Jeff Wood will refuse to resign his seat in the Assembly and will promptly be booted out in a recall effort by his constituents.

Clearly, I was wrong about this one.

A few Roland Burris tidbits

Zach W — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:34:02 +0000

I have to admit I’ve been keeping track of the travails of Illinois Senator Roland Burris, if only because his situation is like a car crash that I just can’t peel my eyes away from. After his swearing in as the junior Senator from Illinois and the subsequent revelation he may not have been 100% truthful during his testimony in the Rod Blagojevich impeachment proceedings, calls started for Sen. Burris to resign. Not only has Sen. Burris ignored those calls to resign, he’s set up a re-election website in advance of a likely run for re-election in 2010. I have no doubt Sen. Burris will run for re-election, but I’ll be curious to see if the Democratic Party finds a challenger or two for Burris in the Democratic primaries, because there’s no doubt in my mind a Democratic Senate primary in Illinois in 2010 would be worth watching.

In another Roland Burris-related story, the Politico has an amusing anecdote about the abundance of Rolands in the Burris family tree:

According to the always factually correct site, Wikipedia, check this out – it really is hilarious: “[Roland] Burris is married to Berlean M. Burris, Ph.D., and is the father of two adult children, Dr. Rolanda S. Burris, and Roland W. Burris II. He also has a grandson, Roland T. Burris.”

Not to mention Burris’s penchant for his use of the 3rd person, there’s a LOT of Rolandi going on in that family.

That’s a whole lotta Rolands on one family tree…

H/T to Deke Rivers at Caffeinated Politics.

Some humor from Hulu

Zach W — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:06:53 +0000

The first video is one of my favorites…Jason Sudeikis as former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich:

And here’s Fred Armisen as New York Governor David Paterson:

Feingold: Give appointment powers to the people

Zach W — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:37:33 +0000

In the wake of the controversial selection of Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton’s U.S. Senate seat and the decision by embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to name Roland Burris to President Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat, Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold announced plans to introduce an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would require Senate vacancies be filled by special elections instead of allowing governors to make those appointments.

Said Sen. Feingold:

“The controversies surrounding some of the recent gubernatorial appointments to vacant Senate seats make it painfully clear that such appointments are an anachronism that must end” Feingold said. “In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution gave the citizens of this country the power to finally elect their senators. They should have the same power in the case of unexpected mid-term vacancies, so that the Senate is as responsive as possible to the will of the people.”

It was another of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators – Robert M. La Follette – who led the movement to the enact the Seventeenth Amendment, which did away with the Constitutional requirement that U.S. Senators were selected by state legislators. The process of legislative selection of U.S. Senators had been largely corrupted, with bribes and political calculations commonplace, but the Seventeenth Amendment was read to allow states to choose on their own how to fill Senate vacancies, with many states relying on some form of gubernatorial appointment to fill vacancies. Considering the entire purpose of the Seventeenth Amendment was to allow for the citizens to directly elect their U.S. Senators, it seems only logical that the people should get to choose a replacement for a duly elected senator through a special election.

Considering the fact that all House vacancies must be filled by special elections, it only makes sense to bring the process for filling Senate vacancies in line, not only for the sake of consistency, but more importantly so that the people will always have a voice in choosing who will serve them in the United States Senate.

Burris to be seated as U.S. Senator

Zach W — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:57:23 +0000

It looks like the Roland Burris saga is finally coming to a close, as Senate Democrats have accepted Burris’ credentials, paving the way for Burris to be sworn in as the junior senator from Illinois by the end of this week. Burris being seated as the junior senator from Illinois will put an end to what’s largely been a huge embarrassment for Senate Democrats, and if I were a betting man, I’d say Sen. Harry Reid’s days as Senate Majority Leader are now numbered. In my opinion, Sen. Reid grossly underestimated his adversary – in this case embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich – and in choosing to make public statements that anyone chosen by Gov. Blagojevich would not be seated by the Senate, Sen. Reid for all intents and purposes dared Gov. Blagojevich to call his bluff. Once Gov. Blagojevich called his bluff and appointed Roland Burris to fill the vacant Illinois senate seat, Sen. Reid must have known he would have not choice but to seat Burris, and in doing so he’d lose a fair measure of credibility as a leader in the Senate.

Mark my words; it won’t be long before Sen. Harry Reid is out as Senate Majority Leader, and as someone who’s never been a fan of Sen. Reid, that moment can’t come fast enough.

SNL does Maddow & Burris

Zach W — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:39:58 +0000

It’s long, but funny:

Roland Burris is a busy guy!

Zach W — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:12:17 +0000

“Illinois is too important to its 18 million citizens to have a chief executive who is now incapacitated,” said Roland Burris at a December 13 news conference, prior to his nomination to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. What’s curious to me is that despite his statement on December 13 that Rod Blagojevich, the “chief executive” of Illinois, is incapacitated, Roland Burris apparently had no problem accepting Blagojevich’s nomination to fill President-elect Obama’s Senate seat.

As CNN is reporting, Burris has also filed paperwork asking the Illinois Supreme Court to require Illinois Secretary of State Jessie White “to certify Governor Blagojevich’s appointment of Mr. Burris to the office of United States Senator from the state of Illinois and do all other acts required to confirm such appointment.” It’s been what, two days since Burris was announced as Gov. Blagojevich’s nominee for the U.S. Senate seat and already he’s played the race card and initiated legal action? Boy, he really is anxious – or desperate – to become Illinois’ next U.S. Senator.

My predictions for 2009

Zach W — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:14:51 +0000

Here’s a few predictions I’m going to make for 2009:

Scott Walker will announce he’s running for Governor. (I know, this is an easy one, but I need a gimme or two on this list)
Sometime in 2009, Rep. Paul Ryan will announce he’s going to challenge Sen. Russ Feingold for Feingold’s U.S. Senate seat, which is up for election in 2010.
We won’t see lines for food or other basic necessities once Barack Obama takes office, as predicted by one conservative blogger.
The economy will be in significantly better shape before the end of the summer.
At least one more blogger will win an elected office. (There are at least three that I know of that are running for elections in April 2009)
Soon to be former Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota will be implicated and convicted of public misconduct before Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Brett Favre will finally hang up his cleats rather than play another season for a mediocre Jets team.
The Brewers will surprise a lot of people and win 90 games in the 2009 season.
Fred Thompson’s new radio show will last just about as long as his presidential campaign, and it’ll be about as successful.
State Rep. Jeff Wood will refuse to resign his seat in the Assembly and will promptly be booted out in a recall effort by his constituents.

I’m willing to bet I’ll be wrong on these predictions more than I’m right, but let’s see how 2009 unfolds!

Burris plays the race card

Zach W — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:35:11 +0000

The more time I’ve had to process Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to fill president-elect Barack Obama’s now vacant U.S. Senate seat, I’ve come to the realization this appointment was specifically engineered to call the bluff of Democrats in the U.S. Senate and force their hand in regards to whether or not they’d seat someone named by Gov. Blagojevich. What’s really disappointing is the concerted effort that was started yesterday by Congressman Bobby Rush to inject race into this appointment. During the press conference announcing Burris’ appointment to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat, Congressman Rush stated any refusal to set Roland Burris by Senate Democrats would be the equivalent of a lynching, and on the Today Show earlier today, Roland Burris himself asked if a refusal to seat him by Senate Democrats is racism. Here’s a little snippet of Roland Burris injecting race into the discussion:

Given the public statements by Congressman Bobby Rush yesterday, as well as Roland Burris’ own statements today, it’s become obvious this entire situation was carefully orchestrated in an attempt to shame the U.S. Senate into seating Gov. Blagojevich’s pick, but it’s an absolutely despicable move, and it’s sad to see Roland Burris sell his soul simply so he can be a United States Senator.

Blagojevich to name Obama Senate replacement

Zach W — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:06:18 +0000

Despite warnings from Senate Democrats that they would not seat anyone appointed by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama, the AP is reporting Gov. Blagojevich is going to go ahead and name former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris as president-elect Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate. Senate leaders have already begun preparing a statement responding to the appointment, and the letter will allegedly express express regret for the appointment. The statement was expected to make it clear that Senate leaders were not necessarily opposed to the former attorney general assuming the seat, but given the circumstances surrounding Gov. Blagojevich, anyone named by Blagojevich would not be seated by the Democratic caucus.

According to the AP, Burris became the first black politician to win statewide office in Illinois when he was elected comptroller in 1978 to the first of three terms. Burris also served one term as the state’s attorney general, but he failed in three attempts at the Democratic nomination for governor, losing to Blagojevich in 2002.

While this is certainly a curious move, given the public statements Democrats in the U.S. Senate have made regarding their unwillingness to seat any replacement named by Gov. Blagojevich, I’ll give Blagojevich credit…he’s ballsy. While I’m not sure why Blagojevich would name a replacement under the circumstances, I have a sneaking suspicion he’s doing it just to thumb his nose at the establishment. Either way, he’s got one hell of an ego.