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Burris’ racial move led to split

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Burris

In & Out: Embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris may have decided to tough it out, but Sneed is told Fred Lebed, Burris’ former business partner, has now severed his relationship with the Burris campaign.

• • Oil & water: “Fred just quit as Burris’ campaign treasurer –mainly because he is not a big fan (which is putting it mildly) of Burris’ new press flack, Delmarie Cobb,” said a source.

That’s part of the reason, anyway. Lebed is definitely no Cobb fan. Cobb, of course, has been pushing the race issue hard to defend her new client.

This departure is big news. Fred Lebed has been with Burris since before the beginning, and that’s a heckuva long time ago.

* I got an e-mail from this guy yesterday. He thought he might have a scoop….

Both Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo report that Burris has put up a campaign website, with most of the pages empty, but featuring a biography and, of course, an online donation button. The website does say that it is paid for by Burris for Senate. Nevertheless, given how simplistic the site is, I’m still half-thinking it’s a hoax… There is a contact phone number, so I called it. […]

The woman that answered, in the way that people answer a phone at a law firm when they rattle off the name of the firm, “Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan.” I asked if this was Roland Burris’ campaign office. She said no. I asked if any Roland Burris staff was there (making no distinction between campaign staff and law firm staff). She again said no. So, not only is the number on the alleged campaign website wrong, but the number that Burris’ old law firm lists on YellowPages.com forwards to this larger law firm, Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan, at the same address in the same office suite. […]

So, I wonder, is that really a Roland Burris campaign website? If it’s a hoax, it’s understandable why there is a bad phone number - whoever concocted the website just grabbed the old number off of Burris’ old law firm without checking it…

I told him that this was most likely incompetence and not a hoax.

And then comes this CNN report…

A spokesperson for Burris said Monday that the Web site supportburris.com was launched soon after the Democrat was seated in the Senate.

Always look for the most likely explanation. “Incompetence” is Burris’ claim to fame.

* Speaking of which, 2008 GOP Senate candidate Steve Sauerberg won’t try again…

SAUERBERG: My desire to interrupt the world of professional politics has been relatively unsuccessful.

Sauerberg still hasn’t recooped all the money he loaned his campaign. He’s now returned to his full-time job as a physician in the western suburbs. He sounds tired by just the suggestion of another run at the Senate.

* Related…

* Embattled Burris remains coy on 2010 run for Senate, but election Web site is up and running

* Congresswoman would gun for Burris’s seat

* Mark Kirk: Defender Of Inefficient Tax Breaks For The Wealthy

* Illinois Democrats lining up to challenge Sen Burris

* Launching their bids

* Giannoulias aims for Senate seat

* Ill. treasurer exploring run for U.S. Senate

* Illinois treasurer launches Burris challenge: The Illinois Republican Party, seeking to link virtually every Illinois Democrat with the disgraced Blagojevich, accuses Giannoulias of having lent money to convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko in Giannoulias’s capacity as a bank officer, as well as to other figures who have recently been embroiled in legal trouble.

* Burris rhetoric gets toned down in Illinois

* Race re-emerges in Burris dispute

* Senate scandal divides state Democrats over race

* Quinn Changes Focus From Burris to Economy

* Gov. Pat Quinn backs off call for special election

* Quinn says it’s time to shift focus, move on from Burris

* Burris refusal calms Quinn

* Don’t give up

And, remember, angry drive-by comments will be deleted. Take a breath and put some thought into your posts, please.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 10:38 am

Comments

The site is registered to an old Burris buddy - probably not a hoax.

Comment by Ha Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 10:44 am
Of course it’s not a hoax. Just poorly done.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 10:45 am
funny, i got the same email from senateguru. i’m glad you took the time to explain it to him…

Comment by bored now Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 10:46 am
Unless Burris chooses to step down (which seems incredibly unlikely), the pols would be wise to learn form recent mistakes and just ignore him. Anything they say, positive or negative, will be turned on them. Offer to help him and your helping a tainted incompetent who is going nowhere. Dis him and your a disloyal racist. Try to unseat him, and you are bound to fail and look ineffective at best (he has the seat and there’s no one with the authority to take it away).

At this point, ignoring Sen. Burris seems to be the best, and only, option. Time to move on.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 10:51 am
Sounds like Steve Sauerberg is another guy who learned a hard lesson. You can’t get anywhere, especially in a blue state, with an IL GOP that’s completely dysfunctional.

It’s too bad Steve did nothing while he had a platform to try and change that. He just stood side by side with the problem players, who were really never helping him.

He has to be a smart guy to be a doctor. He should have done some due diligence. The fact that members of the State GOP Chairman’s family (possibly including Andy Jr. himself) have contributed to Dick Durbin in the past probably should have been the first clue that maybe the IL GOP’s heart was never really in trying to bring down Durbin in the first place.

They just wanted a placeholder who would at least look good on paper. They just needed someone who could go through the motions and not be an embarrassment like Alan Keyes. Enter Steve Sauerberg.

Another probably decent guy who was used-up by dishonest people. Another guy left with a bitter taste who will probably never lift a finger for any GOP cause again.

But McKenna’s crew doesn’t care. Plenty more sacrificial lambs where he came from. There’s always another sucker ready to fall for the bait and switch.

Comment by Illinois Republican Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:03 am
=== ignoring Sen. Burris seems to be the best, and only, option. Time to move on. ===

Do you think that Republicans are going to ignore him? HA.

Faced with a Catch 22 like this, I always ask myself: “Which is the more DIFFICULT choice?”

Invariably, the right thing to do is the hardest thing to do. And doing the “right” thing is always politically defensible, while doing the expedient thing rarely is.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:07 am
Winners and Losers -

Winners:

Blago: Six figure book and a friend in Washington who can do a lot more than get you a hired truck. Heck he just voted on a Trillion Dollar item.

Burris: One of One Hundred with no viable challenger for the primary. Everybody scared of AA Wards.

Losers:

Everyone else.

Comment by True Observer Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:08 am
Did Lexi really tell WGN that the state dbudget woes could be solved with cuts?
Yikes he might be headed for the Cullerton Cuts Committee

Comment by Rollin w/Roland Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:17 am
Pot is right move on for now. However, I’m sure the folks who want that seat will revive the issues for the voters. Personally, pulling the race card sickens me. While I never though Burris was a good leader, I never throught he was underhanded. Now he appears to be a desperate man who is willing to do and say anthing to make a place for himself in history.

Comment by Hello Pot Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:27 am
The only thing now that could possibly force a resignation would be something explosive on the Blago tapes, ie Burris saying “I’m seeking to purchase the Senate seat with the promise of campaign contributions.”

Lebed must have come to the realization that his consulting business is now radioactive.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:32 am
Sauerberg’s goal in 2008 was to run a great campaign. If he won - even better. But he accomplished neither. His campaign lacked creativity. He couldn’t even effectively present his talking points. He was out of his league in every way.

Remember Alex Seith in 1978? That is how you run against a US Senate giant. Alex Seith knew what he wanted to say, and he knew where Senator Percy was weak in the public eye. Even though he lost, he won in that the Democrats were able to bring Percy’s campaign to it’s knees with Percy making a huge mea culpa for his ineffective work in the US Senate.

Durbin is another US Senate giant. He has a lot of weaknesses and Sauerberg need to use creative outreach to connect with voters so that he could deliver a one-two punch to Durbin. He needed to show a different-yet-valid negative image of Durbin, while offering better common sense solutions. He did neither.

Look at Pankau. Even better, look at Durkin. Durkin survived in 2002 by running a good campaign as a young man. He didn’t really lose in 2002. His campaign demonstrated his abilities to effectively present the GOP positions in a statewide race. He still has a future, even though he easily lost to Durbin, and no one really believed he had a chance to win.

Receiving a party nomination should mean something. Running for an office should be considered a huge compliment. If you merely focus on winning - you will lose if you lose. But if you focus on being a winner - Election Day won’t matter.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:46 am
The “right” thing to do with respect to Sen. Burris is nothing, because no one has the authority to pop him out of that of the Senate seat. Given that, what should Durbin do? What should Quinn do? Work with him as necessary, but that’s it.

The Republicans will certainly try to make hay on the situation, but unless Burris makes it to the general election, it’s hard to see how it will carry much weight. I can’t imagine that Alexi or the other top Dem contenders will be posing for pictures and cutting deals with Burris.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 11:56 am
I know we’re not supposed to launch ad hominem attacks, but Delmarie is a giant hypocrite. It’s all about race now, but what about during the presidential campaign when she supported Hillary over Barack. This whole race issue is complete and utter BS! Roland is not being persecuted because he’s black. He’s being scrutinized because he’s a liar.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 12:10 pm
Ah, and Fred without Roland????? Now that is news.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 12:13 pm
Is no one else struck by how similiar the Burris and Blago paths have become? losing good people over the bad decision to let PR firms take over decision making.

Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 12:49 pm
It’s a sad state of affairs when a US Senate appointee is less than forthcoming about the behind the sceen deal that got him the appointment and his hired PR person TOTALLY plays the race card to ward off questions and criticisim. Wile elected officials back down in fear of dissing black voters, pathetic! This just sends the message to other incompetents that playing the race card is effective and accepted. I’m so utterly disgusted.

Comment by Hair today, gone.... Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 2:26 pm
As far back as I can remember, I have always presumed that to publicly base my political position on an overtly racist basis (”I am voting for this guy because he is white, and I am against the other guy because he is black”) was not only socially unacceptable but almost anti-American. Now Mr. Burrus, who once seemed to take pride in tearing down racial barriers, has rallied black racism to maintain him in his Senate seat and in so doing has brought overtly racist political statements back into the mainstream of acceptable American politics. I never thought I would see the day, quite frankly, but then I ain’t from Chicago. This, in my opinion, sets us back 60 years or more and to some extent undoes much of the good of the Obama election. Thank you, Roland Burrus. No wonder your old supporters are deserting you in disgust.

Comment by Skirmisher Tuesday, Mar 3, 09 @ 3:27 pm