55 Comments - chiatty - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 9:59 am: This wasn’t the first time that the governor invoked his puckish side and out-stunted the political status quo. It may be the last, given his legal status, but Durbin and the rest of the “establishment” once again underestimated Blagojevich’s moxie. Everybody seems to think that he should shrink away and just slip on the orange jumpsuit, but that it against his very nature. Whether one likes him or not, whether one believes he is probably “guilty of something”, I think it is wrong for everybody to clamor for him to quit. If he quits, he’d never get acquitted. Heck, I’m starting to sound like Johnny Cochran. I’ll quit while I’m behind… - wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:01 am: An unbelievably bad roll. Blustery, indecisive and weak. Not a checkers player, much less a chess player. If he sees Jesse White coming his way, he’d better run. - Segatari - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:02 am: Durbin can do as much damage as he wants…he just got reelected and his fan club will vote for him no matter what. - SpfldJimbo - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:10 am: Segatari,unfortunately you’re probably right. Since keeping current with issues, and trying to remember values and successes over party affiliation when voting are too difficult, mind dead voters will just punch the familiar name or party,when voting. If things go wrong later, they can wring their hands and wonder how things got this way. - anon - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:10 am: Thanks, Rich, for calling it like the citizens of the state of Illinois see it. 1st rule is SAY NOTHING! - Rob_N - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:12 am: Can all the people (Republicans…) still calling for a special election take a deep breath and admit that Blago would’ve either vetoed such legislation on a technicality and/or signed the bill in a big grand ceremony … about an hour or two after appointing Roland Burris anyway. He did no less on last year’s ethics bill. - Fan of the Game - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:15 am: I’ve always felt Durbin was more a sledgehammer operator than a chess master. His actions and words in the Burris affair show that he thinks he can pound his way to success through sheer force. You don’t get to Durbin’s position without a bit of the tactician, but it’s not his strong suit. - downstate hack - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:21 am: The Durbin/Reid fiasco in handling the Burris Senate appointment just put Illinois another step back. In a year where we just elected an Illinois President the other idiots in power in Illinois Blago/Durbin and in some instances Madigan just blew the best chance this State has had to finally get federal support at least closer to what we send to DC in taxes. A quick impeachment and trial to remove Blago was the answer, (I believe under the Illinois constitution this could have been done by now) and now it looks it may take months and that means months for him to embarsass us further. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:23 am: ===I believe under the Illinois constitution this could have been done by now=== Under the Constitution, yes. Under Emil Jones’ leadership, no. You should know that by now. If not, you’re needlessly ignorant. If you do know it, then you’re just dreaming an impossible dream. ===now it looks it may take months=== RRB will be gone in about a month. Be a little patient. - VanillaMan - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:24 am: Durbin has been spoiled by Illinoians willing to support him regardless of how he positions himself on every side of every issue. He is no longer at his peak of political sharpness. He has shape-shifted and morphed through more versions of himself than pop-rocker Madonna, and after years of getting away with it, doesn’t know when to stop. He is so comfortable being spineless, he has forgotten that others find spinelessness distasteful and unethical. Durbin is an Illinois creature and reflects another unsettling truth of this state’s disfunctional politics. Not only does Illinois have a corrupted political culture that produces a Blagojevich, a Ryan, a Rezko, and an entire genre of Chicago machine politics run amok, our culture is so corrupted that our “good” politicians feel a need to endlessly compromise their credibility and change their political positions endlessly. Durbin deserves Burris because they are two sides of the same limp legal tender that passes for currency in Illinois. Compare them to Paul Simon or Everett Dirksen and you see the differences between today’s Care Bears and yesterday’s Grizzlies and Kodiaks. Simon and Dirksen had teeth and took disciplined stands, while Durbin and Burris present themselves as cuddly play toys with smiles and hearts. It is no surprise that politicians without conscience did not fear the Illinois Care Bears. It took a real bear from New York City to threaten Pay to Play politics with Blagojevich’s arrest. - MikeintheSuburbs - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:25 am: I have always been a big Durbin fan and was one of his earliest supporters when he got the nod from retiring Sen. Paul Simon. He had some really big shoes to fill and did a credible job of it, including becoming majority whip of the Senate. Unfortunately, he spoke before he thought it out or did the research on this matter and has perhaps damaged his future credibility. Like many other modern politicians, Durbin came up in an earlier age and still may not realize the effect of the 24/7 news cycle and the blogs. You can’t say something one day and contradict yourself the next without having someone put all the clips together and show them on the Daily Show. Hopefully, he can come back and he has four years in which to do it. In the meantime, however, he needs to be a powerful spokesman for the Obama administration, and he has hobbled himself a bit with this fiasco. - vole - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:26 am: Rich, you called this exactly right. Durbin handed the republicans a gift in the 2010 and the 2014 senatorial elections. I am projecting that the republicans will gain the next two senate seats (after Burris) from IL as a result of this fiasco. The ironies would indeed be rich. As an aside, Durbin’s good buddy, Chuck Schumer of N.Y., needs a good dusting up over his role in the financial collapse. But, these guys seem to be immune to much criticism in the press or by their own ranks in the Mutual Protection League (aka US Senate). - Segatari - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:26 am: Saying Blago would had vetoed the special election anyway is just an excuse to justify them doing nothing…unfortunately it doesn’t wash cause if he did it would make the GA look that much better. Instead, they’ve been made to be complete fools who are only thinking of the best interest of the DNC and not the state…in other words much worse standing. - Punley Dieter Finn - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:37 am: It’s an uncharacteristic bad roll and might be attributable to fatigue, grief, and bad staffing. - From the Sidelines - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:37 am: VanillaMan, Love your analogies. - He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:39 am: Durban’s actions shows how out of touch he is with the voters in Illinois. - lincoln street - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:39 am: What about Reid’s supposed conversation with Blagojevich in early December, telling him not to appoint Jackson, Davis or Emil Jones? My guess is that Reid himself didn’t have strong opinions on the electability of those three, and that instead, the conversation reflected Durbin’s opinion, channeled through Reid since Blago wasn’t listening to Durbin. And that conversation was pretty damaging in the way this played out, since it took some focus particularly in the black community off the idea that they didn’t want anyone sent by B-Rod, and made it at least a plausible talking point on black talk radio that the Senate didn’t want anyone black. While we only have that alleged conversation from Rod’s perspective, was Durbin suggesting anyone African American instead? There was some talk of his support for Duckworth, who is Asian. - Dooley Dudright - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:41 am: Lest we forget — Durbin has a co-bumbler: “Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it.” — Barack Obama May the president-elect and our senior senator dine TOGETHER on waffles and crow. - Blago Sphere - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:50 am: I posted this same message with a little more color (but not off color) last week and it got deleted without comment. There is one point that I think has been overlooked here and that is; when Durbin tried to hang this issue on Jesse White by suggesting that his signature was the hold up, he knew this matter was already before the Illinois Supreme Court; and that Lis Madigan was defending Jesse White in the litigation. At the same time that he was placing the onus on Jesse White, he was in effect doing the same thing to the Illinois Supreme’s prior to their ruling and to Lisa Madigan. In order for the court to have ruled requiring Jesse White’s signature on the Certificate of Appointment, Lisa Madigan would have had to have lost at the Supreme Court for the second time in less than two weeks on this matter as well. - The Doc - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:52 am: ===Durban’s actions shows how out of touch he is with the voters in Illinois.=== The voters who overwhelmingly reelected him 2 months ago? Seems to me he’s very much in touch with the electorate. Durbin’s actions show that he only cares about the IL voters when it is politically expedient. - Team America - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:54 am: ====== Can all the people (Republicans…) still calling for a special election take a deep breath and admit that Blago would’ve either vetoed such legislation on a technicality and/or signed the bill in a big grand ceremony … about an hour or two after appointing Roland Burris anyway.======== Rob_N: Did you get that right from Michael Madigan’s talking point memo? That’s the line he’s been trying to sell to try to duck the inevitable backlash from the voters for not even attempting to stand up for the people of the state. As Rich indicated when all this was unfolding, some anticipated that Blago would indeed sign the bill just so that Quinn could not appoint someone when he got in. The point is that the Dems in the legislature didn’t even try… if they’d tried and Blago had acted as you said, they could at least have said they gave it a shot. Now that can’t say anything except that they were impotent in the fact of Blago. Not a great situation for the next campaign cycle. - Louis G. Atsaves - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:55 am: The Democrats who control the Illinois General Assembly could have taken the high road and enacted legislation calling for a special election. Then allow Blagojevich to veto it or sign it depending upon his mood swings. If anything, a Blagojevich veto would have given the Senate some additional arguments to avoid seating a Blagojevich appointee. But the Democratic leadership of the Illinois General Assembly elected to avoid the high road. And they have no one to blame but themselves. Those who called for a special election then backed away from it (such as Durbin and Quinn) too had a chance to take the high road by sticking to their initial positions no matter what. They backed away and elected to travel down a different low road. Only Democrat Jesse White stuck to his guns by refusing to sign a single piece of paper. He kept his word. And for his principled stand, Jesse White got thrown under the bus by his fellow Democrats. Blagojevich style. Oof! - Six Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:58 am: Blago would’ve either vetoed such legislation on a technicality Not a R here, but the fact that the seat was very likely to be up for an appointment for a year prior to the arrest gave the GA plenty of time to toss this one out there. Would EJ have blocked it? Would Blago have signed it? When asked, he said he would, man of his word that he is. The only thing we know for sure is that we’ll never know. - lake county democrat - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:03 am: “He pushed the special election before considering the impact on his own party.” For some of us that’s a virtue. - Team America - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:06 am: LCD- except that flip-flopping once the thought occurs that you just really screwed up certainly is not. - Macoupin County Kid - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:19 am: The Dems in Washington tried to play power politics against the Governor, and lost. Sadly, the reason is because they don’t have the guts to back up what they say. - Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:22 am: This shows the value of taking a moment, or even a couple of days, to consider, consult, and come to consensus before responding to a situation like this. Making things up on the fly did not serve anyone well. If Durbin, Quinn, the two Madigans, and White (and maybe Cullerton, Giannulias, and Hynes) had taken a day to get together and develop a plan, they would have been much better off. As it was, they were talking across each other and never caught up to the running man who had only to consult with himself. Notice that no one is criticizing the Gov. for contradicting himself, it’s expected. An expensive political lesson; I expect they learned a lot from this fiasco. - Macoupin County Kid - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:27 am: “An expensive political lesson; I expect they learned a lot from this fiasco.” I’d be surprised if they have. Right now, they’re goal is to get him out of office. The side show RRB’s creating is expected…. - Phil Collins - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:41 am: Six Degrees of Separation, I agree that we knew, for about a year, that the seat might have needed to be filled, by an appointment. Since Blagojevich knew that, he should have chosen someone, in Sept. or Oct. On Nov. 6, he would have announced his appointment, and he or she would have been sworn into the U.S. Senate, on about Nov. 25. If that happened, we wouldn’t have any debate about whether our new senator should be seated. - Ghost - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:47 am: I wonder if this will forever tank Durbin as a future front runner for majority leader. - Six Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:52 am: Phil- And he should have appointed someone without asking for ransom, too. It probably wouldn’t have been protocol to announce Obama’s replacement until November 16, the day Obama officially resigned his Senate seat. But if the GA had concerns about Blago’s near-certain ability to appoint Blago’s successor, they had ample time to start the process allowing for a gubernatorial veto, before November even came into play. After all, articles of impeachment were being drafted and such. Maybe his appointment power was an afterthought, with other issues that were considered bigger at the time. - Legaleagle - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 12:31 pm: Obama should have resigned the Senate seat effective January 20th, 2009; not last November. He knew that Blago was a wild card. Then the Legislature should have passed the election bill and dared Blago to veto it. Dems look very bad here all around at all levels. I feel that the pendulum is finally swinging back to the GOP in Illinois. But will they blow it?? - eastern illinoisan - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 12:37 pm: While this certainly wasn’t the best thought out way to deal with this situation, I agree with the poster who suggested that perhaps Durbin was off his game. He is a fabulous Senator and works incredibly hard for Illinois. He is a person of great integrity and yes maybe someone like that finds it hard to fully anticipate the madness that emanates from this Governor. I think his instincts were right about the public mood and the desire for a special election. But others decided against such an election and what unfolded was a mess. That being said, Durbin remains a wonderful public servant and I wish we had more like him in the US Senate and in the Illinois General Assembly and elsewhere in public office. - Captain America - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 12:40 pm: Burris iw at worst mediocre and an intellectual lightweight. He seems like a very nice guy with a huge ego and definitely a loyal, rah-rah Democrat. As long as he does not run for relection,I don’t foresee huge political repercussions for the Democratic Party or in 2010. However, if Burris and Stroger both run for reelection in November 2010. I won’t vote for Stroger under any circumstances, and I am unlikely to vote for Burris. I think Blago’s conviction and removal from office and indictment/conviction could constitute a major resurrection opportunity for Republicans if they are sensible enough to nominate social moderates for Governor and especially U.S. Senator. - Durbin Dem. - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 12:57 pm: I had a ton of respect for Dick Durbin. Had being the key word. My respect started to slip with his handling of Joe Lieberman, you see, I attended Durbin’s fundraiser on Sept 5th and spoke with him about Lieberman. I asked him what are we gonnna do about this guy? He looked me in the eye and said After the Election, we will deal with him. Now, maybe I took that the wrong way… But the way they dealt with Joementum was the beginning of the end for me with Sen. Durbin. And well you list everything else that has irked me above so I won’t get into that. - Deep South - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:10 pm: The bottom line, IMHO, is that no one should have accepted the nomination from Blago. Burris’ acceptance is the most disturbing aspect of the whole affair. Really, who thought that anyone in their right mind would have accepted the gov’s appointment? Durbin, otherwise known for his evenhanded approach to things, shot his mouth off. But I think he’ll be fine come election time. Roland Burris, on the other hand, if should decide to run will be beat like a rental car. He won’t make it out of the primary. Alot of water will flow under the bridge over the next two years or so. I wouldn’t put that seat in the GOP column just yet. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:11 pm: ===He won’t make it out of the primary.=== You can’t beat somebody with nobody, and I’m not sure yet that anybody will run against him. - there he goes again - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:14 pm: The real problems here have been a) the Governor of the state of Illinois for his crazy behavior, and b) the legislative leaders in Springfield for not moving decisively on a special election. Fingers pointed at Senator Durbin are misdirected fingers, indeed. Faced with a mess of Blago’s making, he has been whip-sawed by the crazy situation. No one in the party at this point is gleaming with pride about the Blago mess. Singling out Durbin is unwise and unfair. - Phineas J. Whoopee - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:16 pm: The main problem the Burris fiasco poses for Durbin is that it makes him look so clearly weak and manipulated to all the other Senators and Washinton types who influence Congress. Basically, he just put up a billboard saying come take advantage of me. I don’t think Durbin and Reid aren’t going to win any LBJ awards any time soon. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:18 pm: ===Fingers pointed at Senator Durbin are misdirected fingers=== Please. He came up with the idea of a special election, convinced the legislative leaders to support the idea, then backed off. - Deep South - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:23 pm: Rich, I’ll run against him in the primary…or you can…or Bill. I don’t think it’ll matter who runs. Burris won’t make it to the general. But then again, as I said earlier, a lot of water will flow under the bridge between now and March 2010. As for Durbin, I still think he’s safe. Illinois voters don’t pay too much attention to the inside politics that get debated on this blog. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:24 pm: ===between now and March 2010.=== Nope. Early February. Less than 13 months away. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:25 pm: ===Rich, I’ll run against him in the primary…or you can…or Bill. I don’t think it’ll matter who runs.=== That comment doesn’t show much understanding of Democratic Party primary politics. - SAM - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 1:35 pm: The problem with Durbin isn’t that he flip flops it’s that he’s never had an original thought he can stick with. He, of all people, is an echo chamber for the democrats’ talking points. When he’s off topic, he just bends to whatever way the wind is blowing. His flip flops are a symptom of his lack of integrity and lack of willingness to put the people of the state first. It’s all about his political party. A special election is what the state needed. Everyone knew that the minute Blagojevich was arrested, hence the initial statements from Durbin and Schatkowski (sp?)among others. The legislature should have stripped Blagojevich of his power to appoint Obama’s replacement, however, the democrats, including Durbin and Schatkowski, panicked when they realized they could lose the seat. At that point, they dropped the effort to do the right thing in favor of maintaining their political power, and Blagojevich took advantage of their crass and self-serving decision. And then they had the nerve to complain about Blagojevich appointing Burris as if they weren’t complicit in his action. So now Illinois has two senators who aren’t the brightest bulbs making decisions for both the state and nation. What a disaster! - Skirmisher - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 2:17 pm: I have been absolutely convinced through this entire Burris fiasco that Rich is correct on this one: Once Burris is seated, he will certainly be the Demo candidate in 2010 and with Illinois Republicans still bent on self-destruction, is very likely to remain the Illinois junior Senator for years to come. What perplexes me is why Durbin and his buddy Reid ever had a panic attack over keeping this Senate seat in the first place. I don’t think the Illinois Republicans could beat even Joe Stalin if he were installed as the incumbant Democrat Senator from Illinois. - Six Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 2:41 pm: Skirmisher- If Joe Stalin were the incumbent, he would get 99.99% of the vote, and the other 0.01% would be in the Gulag. - Abe's Ghost - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 2:42 pm: It is possible for a situation to be so FUBAR as to be beyond analysis. That is this situation. 2010 will likely have more to do w/ President Obama’s success and the nation’s economy than anything discussed here…or not. - Ken - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 2:55 pm: Republicans have to be salivating over having Burris and Quinn on the same ballot in 2010. - Captain Flume - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 2:59 pm: The special election issue is a red herring. Lack of personal and professional integrity are at the heart of the issue. If the Governor had integrity he would not have made the appointment, know any appointment would have been tarnished. But given that if the Governor had integrity, he would not be in the position he is in vis a vis criminal charges and impeachment, then integrity should dictate anyone approached by the administration about being appointed should refuse the appointment. Since neither the appointer nor the appointee appear to be people of integrity, and since a bill for a special election was bricked off by GA leadership, we got whom we got, and got what we deserved. It’s NOT about good public policy, it’s about party unity. In any event, I would like to have seen Patrick Quinn make the appointment, then seen a constitutional amendment resolution pass both chambers that required a special election rather than gubernatorial appointment for U.S. Senate. Good luck with all that, though! - Anonymous Coward - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 3:12 pm: Burris takes victory lap at City Hal Waiting to be sworn in later this week as the new junior senator from Illinois, Roland Burris spent an hour today at City Hall soaking in praise from aldermen and Mayor Richard Daley. The City Council approved a resolution lauding Burris for having “the intelligence, character and reason that are the attributes of a great leader.” “I am speechless, honestly. I am just moved by the actions of this great City Council body and the comments from all the aldermen and the mayor. It’s just wonderful,” Burris said… http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/01/burris-takes-vi.html - KeepSmiling - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 3:26 pm: It really stinks not being #1. Durbin came off looking like a reluctant foot soldier to the Demo Party, rather than a committed follower to his own conscience. Together with his untimely and surprising plea to help a disgraced Ryan out of jail, he has indeed lost a great deal of respect. But, he’s got another four years, and all he really needs is a few good months before re-election. Reid looked like an egotistical powerbroker — smugly wanting to negotiate the terms of Burris’ acceptance to benefit his own objectives. I have never paid attention to him before, but now I know I would never vote for him. Meanwhile, Burris perfectly played the cheshire cat in Illinois in Wonderland. Intriguingly irritating. And Obama? Well, he came off as a conflict avoider of sound principles with no bite, and overall a less-than-effective leader. So far, Obama reminds me of Jimmy Carter. I’m hoping to see much more of Obama’s skillset when he finally takes the oath of his office. - Phineas J. Whoopee - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 3:37 pm: Ken, Repubs may be salivating about having Burris and Stroger on the ticket but most of the Repubs Iv’e talked to like Quinn quite a bit and would split their ticket for him. - Blago Sphere - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 5:26 pm: PJ Whoopee, Are they planning to cross over in the primary and vote for Burris, Stroger and Quinn, or are they just assuming that Quinn will be the Democrat nominee for Governor after the primary? - Marianne - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 10:30 pm: I don’t think Durbin reads the papers (or this blog) because if he did, he would’ve realized how stubborn Blagojevich is. I have been a longtime Durbin supporter and will continue to vote for him. He supported the Red Rock Canyon in Utah when Utah’s own senators didn’t support it. - T.J. - Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 @ 11:54 pm: While this certainly wasn’t the best thought out way to deal with this situation, I agree with the poster who suggested that perhaps Blagojevich was off his game. He is a fabulous Governor and works incredibly hard for Illinois. He is a person of great integrity and yes maybe someone like that finds it hard to fully anticipate the madness that emanates from the Illinois General Assembly. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.