The Chicago Sun-Times weighs in on the appointment of Roland Burris to the Senate by disgraced governor Rod “Sell ‘em High” Blagojevich.
Nor does Burris’ appointment hurt Blagojevich if there happen to be African Americans on Blagojevich’s jury, according to traditional thinking among the defense bar.
Cynical stuff, sure, but our governor has invited cynicism time and again. He’s a hard man to take at his word.
Blagojevich emphasized that his own political and legal problems should not reflect poorly on Burris.
“Please, don’t allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man,” he said.
But anyone chosen by Blagojevich would have been tainted, even the most accomplished politician.
We could make much of Burris’ lackluster performance in office, or document the thousands of dollars he has helped raise for the governor. But for now, we will make only one observation.
Once Blagojevich was charged criminally, every other viable Senate candidate made a point to withdraw from the process, but Burris never did.
Note the not very veiled threat in this editorial. The Sun-Times implies that it has ammunition with which to make Burris very uncomfortable. My guess is that a full-scale assault by the Chicago media will be unleashed soon against Burris. Even if he does take the seat, it will be a brief, unpleasant tenure in office for him. He will lose the seat when the regular election comes around. Probably in the primary. The Chicago media will make sure that happens.
Actually, I think that the opposite will happen. Remember William Jefferson? When it became clear that he would not voluntarily step down the government-run media stopped talking about him. Ditto for Marion Berry. In all of these cases the race card was played early and often, and it worked. I would not underestimate the power of the Chicago Democrat machine, which has stayed pretty much intact despite “investigative reporting”.
Frankly, I view this as nothing more than a food fight between two sets of hard-Left extremists (the Chicago Democrat machine on one side and the government-run press on the other). For all of their unusually public bickering both sides have a great deal in common. Anything that could threaten the Democrat Party‘s fanatical agenda will eventually be disposed of. If the price is allowing Burris to be seated, so be it.
For those who think the phrase “government-run media” is hyperbole, take a look at this. Between the bailout mania that has gripped Washington, the so-called Fairness Doctrine, the efforts of ACORN, the growing calls to regulate the Internet for political content (to protect the children, of course), and the utter weakness of opposition political parties it is hard to see how democracy can weather the coming storm.
Put another bag of popcorn in the microwave, and settle in for the show.