When Harry Met Blago

When Harry Met Blago




By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Monday, January 05, 2009 4:20 PM PT

Politics: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich may have played the race card in a cynical attempt to save his political skin, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and others are no less cynical or offensive in their actions.

The controversy over Blago's appointment of renowned empty suit and former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat could have been avoided had Illinois Democrats obeyed their initial impulse and passed legislation calling for a special election.

Illinois' senior senator, Dick Durbin, among others, was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the idea, but now is among those calling for Blagojevich to resign so Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn can appoint Obama's replacement.

Seems it dawned on party leaders that the Democrat brand might be so tarnished that a (gasp) Republican might win, campaigning oddly enough against a Democratic "culture of corruption."

Maintaining Democratic control of Obama's seat is paramount for Democrats who are so close to a filibuster-proof majority. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said the Senate would absolutely refuse to seat anyone appointed by Blagojevich.

But it wasn't that long ago that Reid was offering Blago interesting suggestions on just whom to pick.

On Saturday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that on Dec. 3, six days before Blagojevich's arrest, Reid talked with the governor about who the Senate appointee might be. According to the Sun-Times, "Reid made it clear who he didn't want in the post: Jesse Jackson Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones."

In other words, Reid opposed the appointment of two sitting U.S. congressmen and the leader of the Illinois Senate with whom Obama served and was arguably Obama's political mentor and godfather. Rep. Davis, unlike Burris, had the dignity and self-respect to reject an offer for the Senate seat before Burris accepted.

Instead, Reid expressed support for state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth, who recently lost a U.S. house race, or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, on the grounds that either of these was more electable for the Democrats in 2010.

Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero confirms that Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called Blagojevich separately on Dec. 3 shortly after Obama's chief of staff, soon-to-be former Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, called to tell Blago to expect calls from the Senate leadership about Obama's vacant seat.

As the Sun-Times reports, the Reid-Menendez calls came a day before a Dec. 4 conversation overheard on government wiretaps where Blagojevich says he was getting "a lot of pressure" not to appoint Jackson.

In a statement released Saturday night, Reid said this was a Blagojevich ploy to distract attention from his own troubles. On "Meet the Press" Sunday, he said Blago was "making all this up to divert attention" in a conversation that was likely taped by the feds. A "Democratic official familiar with the conversation" told the Chicago Tribune the Sun-Times account was accurate.

"Of course Sen. Reid spoke to the governor of Illinois — just as he spoke to the governors of Colorado and New York when senators from these states accepted jobs in the new administration," said Reid spokesman Joe Manley. But did he tell them whom to reject?

"The people of Illinois deserve a simple explanation from Sen. Reid — why does he believe these three Illinois officeholders are 'unelectable' to the U.S. Senate," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in a Saturday statement. We'd like to know too.

Whether Reid and the Democrats will actually have the Capitol Police stand in the Senate doorway to block Burris remains unknown. But imagine if a Republican Senate majority leader had called a governor and advised him not to appoint an African-American for any reason to fill a vacant seat.



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