Illinois Republican Party

Dems' reverse on Senate seat a bad move
12/17/2008

Mark Brown, Chicago Sun-Times

If Illinois Democrats want to avoid Rod Blagojevich becoming the George Ryan of their party, they might want to start by following through on their own idea to hold a special election to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.

After calling the Legislature into session this week with the express purpose of scheduling an election to foil Gov. Blagojevich from filling the vacancy by appointment, Democratic leaders backed off entirely, apparently in fear Republicans might win such an election.

The same folks who eagerly embraced the election proposal as a way to take some of the stink off Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell the Senate seat now say an election would cost too much.

Republicans milk Dems' dilemma
Suddenly, there's no hurry, never mind that the about-face means Blagojevich, who shows no signs of leaving voluntarily, is still in charge of the appointment.

That's a good recipe for Democrats to lose a whole bunch of elections and find themselves in the same boat in which the state's Republicans landed after the Ryan debacle -- totally shut out of power in Springfield after a quarter century in control.

Showing themselves more nimble than I can remember in many years, state Republicans are milking this for all it's worth.

Since Monday, the Illinois Republican Party has been airing a stinging ad on cable television across the state, criticizing the prospect of Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, making the appointment if he ascends to the governor's office.

"The people of Illinois deserve better than another political power grab. You deserve to be heard. You deserve a special election," the Republicans say.

And they're right, even if it's an expedient position by the GOP, which obviously has no chance of landing the Senate seat under an appointment scenario -- unless they've got somebody who would still be willing to meet Blagojevich's price.

No matter. They're the ones making sense at the moment.

Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) was particularly on point.

"Apparently Illinois legislative Democrats agree with the governor's assessment," Righter said. "Now, they are thinking they've got this thing and it's bleeping golden and they're just not going to give it up for bleeping nothing. It reminds me of the 'Lord of the Rings.' They've tasted the power, and now it's too good for them to give it back to the people."

It was Sen. Dick Durbin who first called for the special election, with House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones -- Democrats all --quickly jumping on board. The first sign of waffling came from Quinn, who initially backed the election, then said he'd rather appoint if he were governor, and later said he'd prefer a temporary appointment and an election.

The temporary appointment idea is in response to the concern that the office shouldn't be left vacant during the first few months of Obama's presidency, when Senate Democrats will need all hands on deck to advance his agenda.

Illinois Democrats seem to be banking on the impeachment proceedings to solve their problems, though it's hardly clear to me that impeachment will result in the removal of Blagojevich any sooner than an election would give us a senator. They also now think there are other ways to keep the governor in check on the Senate appointment in the meantime.

While I personally believe Quinn would do his best to make a good pick, the fact that he was twice Blagojevich's running mate would understandably give many voters pause. It looks bad.

Even before the scandal, people were questioning the logic behind laws requiring a special election to replace Rahm Emanuel in Congress and a gubernatorial appointment to replace Obama -- even though the exact same time frames are involved. It escapes me.

So, let's vote, which would normally be Quinn's impulse anyway.

Elections aren't panaceas. After all, we elected Blagojevich, and Ryan before him.

But at least those are our mistakes, and we keep trying to get it right.

Dems would still have advantage
Sure, someone like Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, a likely Senate candidate, probably would have a better than normal chance under the current circumstances, depending on who he drew as an opponent.

But this is still a state that tilts toward the Democrats, and Obama's influence would give them a continued advantage, assuming he doesn't get pulled any deeper into the mess.

Interestingly, it was also the Republicans, including Kirk, who had the sense to take the lead just a few weeks ago in protesting Durbin's dumbfounding decision to back Ryan's bid for clemency.

They weren't going to let Ryan take them down again.

Illinois Republicans are learning. Democrats ought to pay attention, before there's another reversal of fortune.

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