Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for January 10, 2009 BRING IN THE CLOWNS

You've got to have clowns...

In Illinois, the tryouts continue unabated and darned if Circus Master Rod Blagojevich ain't got STIFF competition.

In the wake of the House impeachment of the Governor yesterday, there were a couple of Illinois legislators on MSNBC's "Hardball" with Chris Mattews...one representative and one senator. The senator (who will be one of the 59 "jurors" at the impeachment trial had obviously been coached to keep his mouth shut rather than reveal "juror prejudice" and he mostly kept to script. The representative...not so much. Hatred of Blagojevich dripped from her lips...spewed onto the screen. And...that's fine...she's got a right to her opinion. But, most of the "crimes" cited by her - for which she wanted to hang Blagojevich - were mostly political disagreements. She didn't like his policies!

Ahem...impeachment is supposed to be to remove a sitting official of the executive or judicial branches for "high crimes and misdemeanors". Political disagreement does not fit into that category.

However, members of the General Assembly (the wannabe legislative body) only qualify as second-tier clowns.

The truly BIG CLOWN yesterday was the senior Senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin. (And to think I voted for THIS clown! Burn me once...)

Why is Dick Durbin so hell-bent on not seating Roland Burris? Good question, one that only he can answer. However, from some previous news articles AND the one below, it appears that Durbin feels that Burris is "not qualified"...in that he hasn't won an election since the early 1990's...would not be a good candidate for re-election in 2010. Uh, I've read both the U.S. and the Illinois Constitutions...I didn't find that "qualification" listed.

So, my nomination for "clown of the day", despite stern competition on both the state and national level is Tricky Dick Durbin. I shall cross him off of my list of future candidates to support. If Tricky Dicky feels that he is a higher judge than the Illinois Supreme Court (which voted 7-0 in favor of Roland Burris' credentials) then he is too big for a lowly seat in the United States Senate. I will consider voting for him ONLY if he is running for a higher power...

Postscript: Senator Dick Durbin says..."There has never in the history of the Senate been a waiver of the requirement that the secretary of state's signature be part of the appointment process - never". Wonder if the Trickster has been paying any attention to the news lately? On January 20th, the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court is going to swear Barack Hussein Obama in as President of these United States. Dick...he's African American. We've never had one of those before...in the history of the United States! Should we stop the presses...stop the inauguration??? Tell us oh godly one!!!

As Bob Dylan wrote/sang a while back...

It's...Blowin' in The Wind...The Times They Are A-Changin'...

Court rules for Burris, but Durbin still opposed

By Mike Robinson, The Associated Press

CHICAGO- Sen. Dick Durbin threw a sizable roadblock in Roland Burris' path to the U.S. Senate on Friday, saying firmly the former Illinois attorney general cannot be seated without a missing signature certifying his appointment.

"There has never in the history of the Senate been a waiver of the requirement that the secretary of state's signature be part of the appointment process - never," Durbin, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, told a news conference.

It was a fresh twist in Burris's campaign to be replace President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate despite claims that his appointment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich is tainted. Blagojevich is facing federal corruption charges that include allegations he tried to sell or trade the seat for personal or political favors. He was impeached Friday by the Illinois House.

Still, Burris attorney Timothy Wright said he planned to travel to Washington to speak with Senate leaders Monday. Wright said he did not know if Burris also would go.

"The appointment of Roland Burris is an effective appointment," Wright said.

Durbin said efforts to fill the Senate seat vacated by Obama's election should go on hold until after the Senate holds an impeachment trial.

If Blagojevich is removed as governor, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn will take over and can address the problem then "in a clean, legal and respectable way," Durbin said.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has refused to sign documents certifying Burris's appointment to the Senate, citing Blagojevich's problems with the law.

The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday said in an unanimous opinion from all four Democratic and three Republican justices that White didn't need to sign the certification papers for Burris's appointment to become official. The court said Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill who have been waiting for White's signature could go ahead and swear in Burris as a senator without it.

The high court said no further action by state officials was necessary.

Durbin said what might be good enough for the court was not good enough for the Senate and that without White's signature efforts to seat Burris should stop.

"I think it's best to suspend activities in the filling of that vacancy until that impeachment trial in the Illinois Senate is concluded," Durbin said. He said that if as many lawmakers expect Blagojevich is ousted Quinn would have a free hand.

"I think that's the best way to turn the page," Durbin said.

Wright, Burris' attorney, later came forward with a document signed by White certifying that Blagojevich's appointment had been filed by the secretary of state's office.

Wright told a news conference he already had sent the document to the Senate along with an attached Blagojevich letter saying he had appointed Burris.

"The secretary of the state of Illinois has certified the appointment of Roland Burris," Wright told reporters. "We have the signatures."

"There's nothing they (the Senate) can do to reverse this," he said.

Actually, the paper with White's signature on it appeared to be a certification that the secretary of state's office had registered the arrival of the appointment.

David Druker, a White spokesman, said that form, available to anyone for a $2 fee, was different from the official U.S. Senate forms White has refused to sign.

Nathan Maddox, senior legal adviser to White, said White's letter registering Blagojevich's message "is not the official Senate appointment document."

On Capitol Hill, senior Democrats said they wanted to wait and see before offering any opinion on what the newfound document from White's office meant.

"The Senate parliamentarian, the secretary of the Senate and Senate legal counsel are advising Senate leadership as we consider a way forward," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

The squabble over the Senate appointment has been raging for two weeks now with Republicans hoping for a special election at which they might just grab off a seat in the Senate. They hope to benefit from the scandal over Blagojevich and his alleged efforts to sell or trade the seat for a Cabinet position, a high paying job for himself or his wife or money to bankroll his future campaigns.

Democratic leaders had appeared this week to be softening to the idea of seating Burris, though Burris has lost a string of statewide elections and hasn't won anything since the early 1990s - something that has to be on Democrats' minds as they look ahead.

Durbin acknowledged the state's high court had found there was no reason why the lack of White's signature should stop the appointment.

"That is of course the Illinois Court's right and responsibility to reach that conclusion," Durbin said. "However, there is more to the story. It isn't just a question of whether Illinois law is met. It isn't a question of whether the Illinois Constitution has been served but whether the actions taken are sufficient for the person to be appointed to fill the vacancy under the rules of the United States Senate where I serve."