Pass the popcorn. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) says Sen. Roland Burris (D-Blagojevich) should resign from the US Senate after continued revelations about Burris and his relationship with disgraced, impeached, and removed former Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Quinn is calling for a special election to fill the seat.
Good luck with that.
Showing posts with label Roland Burris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roland Burris. Show all posts
Friday, February 20, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Roland Burris: The Blagojevich Gift That Keeps Giving
The fun in Illinois politics hasn't ended now that Rod Blagojevich was impeached and removed from the governorship. Nope. Not by a longshot.
The effects of his stint in office will be felt for a long time to come.
Right now, his choice to replace Barack Obama in the Senate looks like he's going to go down in flames of his own after lying about whether he had contacts with Blagojevich's office over who would replace Obama. He's also lied about whether he raised money for Blagojevich; he did. He's got multiple versions of stories, and each one calls into question his credibility.
It's to the point that even the Chicago Tribune is calling for Burris to resign.
Perjury and obstruction of justice charges are just the beginning for Burris, who may have to have the stone masons carve in another line on his gaudy mausoleum - criminal. And while he would like to think of himself as a trailblazer, his current actions are little different than Blagojevich's - lying and obstructing justice and the investigations into whether there was wrongdoing in who would get Obama's seat.
Questions are being raised on how to solve the Burris problem. The concern is that even a successful perjury case against Burris might not be enough to unseat Burris.
More to the point, the problem with Illinois politics, and indeed politics across the country is that the corruption we see is pervasive and systemic. A starter might be to clean up the corruption at the local level and work all the way up through the ranks. The corruption is so pervasive that everyone thinks that this is the way politics gets done. Of course, the reality is that none of this will change because the voters keep sending back the same people who are responsible for the mess they're in. In fact, they're already making excuses and offering up a ready tolerance for such actions.
For now, we're left with knowing that the US Senate has opened an ethics investigation into Burris' actions. If it's anything like a House investigation, Burris has nothing to worry about; they're still not quite sure whether Charles Rangel broke the law and/or multiple ethics violations by cheating on his taxes, violating House ethics rules and disclosure rules, and breaking NYC housing rent control/stabilization guidelines for years on end.
The effects of his stint in office will be felt for a long time to come.
Right now, his choice to replace Barack Obama in the Senate looks like he's going to go down in flames of his own after lying about whether he had contacts with Blagojevich's office over who would replace Obama. He's also lied about whether he raised money for Blagojevich; he did. He's got multiple versions of stories, and each one calls into question his credibility.
It's to the point that even the Chicago Tribune is calling for Burris to resign.
Let’s see if we have it right: Burris had zero contact with any of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s cronies about his interest in the Senate seat being vacated by President Barack Obama— unless you count that conversation with former chief of staff Lon Monk, and, on further reflection, the ones with insiders John Harris, Doug Scofield and John Wyma and, oh yeah, the governor’s brother and fund-raising chief, Robert Blagojevich. But Burris didn’t raise a single dollar for the now ex-governor as a result of those contacts because that could be construed as a quid pro quo and besides, everyone he asked refused to donate.That's not a good way to start your career in the US Senate. Yet, this is completely par for the course in Illinois politics where being governor goes hand in hand with an indictment and conviction in Club Fed. His backers have no credibility either as they sat on evidence of Burris' wrongdoing themselves. That includes Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
The story gets worse with every telling.
Enough. Roland Burris must resign.
His protests that he had nothing to hide just don’t square with his obvious attempts to hide something, as evidenced by the evolving truths in three sworn statements to the House impeachment panel. His Jan. 8 testimony before that panel contradicted the affidavit he’d filed three days earlier. On Feb. 5 he submitted a “clarification” detailing the contacts he’d failed to mention on the stand.
Now he has admitted that the governor’s brother hit him up to raise campaign cash, and in at least one conversation, Burris raised his prospects for being appointed to the Senate.
Rob Blagojevich’s attorney has acknowledged that the feds likely have at least one of those conversations on tape. Burris told reporters Monday night that he “talked to some people about trying to see if we could put a fund-raiser on,” but “they said ‘We aren’t giving money to the governor.’”
The hole just gets deeper and deeper, and Burris keeps digging. He has no credibility.
Perjury and obstruction of justice charges are just the beginning for Burris, who may have to have the stone masons carve in another line on his gaudy mausoleum - criminal. And while he would like to think of himself as a trailblazer, his current actions are little different than Blagojevich's - lying and obstructing justice and the investigations into whether there was wrongdoing in who would get Obama's seat.
Questions are being raised on how to solve the Burris problem. The concern is that even a successful perjury case against Burris might not be enough to unseat Burris.
More to the point, the problem with Illinois politics, and indeed politics across the country is that the corruption we see is pervasive and systemic. A starter might be to clean up the corruption at the local level and work all the way up through the ranks. The corruption is so pervasive that everyone thinks that this is the way politics gets done. Of course, the reality is that none of this will change because the voters keep sending back the same people who are responsible for the mess they're in. In fact, they're already making excuses and offering up a ready tolerance for such actions.
For now, we're left with knowing that the US Senate has opened an ethics investigation into Burris' actions. If it's anything like a House investigation, Burris has nothing to worry about; they're still not quite sure whether Charles Rangel broke the law and/or multiple ethics violations by cheating on his taxes, violating House ethics rules and disclosure rules, and breaking NYC housing rent control/stabilization guidelines for years on end.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Blagojevich Names Former Attorney General To Replace Obama In US Senate
Democrat Rod Blagojevich has upped the ante; he's naming former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama in the US Senate:
UPDATE:
At least some Democrats are apparently using functioning neurons. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid disapproves of Blagojevich making any such decisions.
UPDATE:
Who is Burris? Well, apparently, he likes to speak his mind, calling two of his opponents in an election in 1998 "non-qualified white boys". Reid may attempt to try and not seat Burris, but it's not up to him. The Warren Court decided as much when his court ruled that Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., must be seated (coincidentally, he was replaced by the corrupt and detestable Charles Rangel who continues to operate above the law).
Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune.Obama's top officials, including Rahm Emanuel have become embroiled in the scandal and Obama's media flacks have repeatedly fallen short of fully disclosing the contacts, instead offering up claims that are ludicrous on their face.
The governor has scheduled a 3 p.m. ET news conference Tuesday, but his spokesman Lucio Guerrero declined to tell the Associated Press what the governor plans to discuss.
Blagojevich has been under pressure to step aside or resign since his arrest earlier this month on federal corruption charges. He's accused of trying to sell Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder.
UPDATE:
At least some Democrats are apparently using functioning neurons. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid disapproves of Blagojevich making any such decisions.
UPDATE:
Who is Burris? Well, apparently, he likes to speak his mind, calling two of his opponents in an election in 1998 "non-qualified white boys". Reid may attempt to try and not seat Burris, but it's not up to him. The Warren Court decided as much when his court ruled that Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., must be seated (coincidentally, he was replaced by the corrupt and detestable Charles Rangel who continues to operate above the law).
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