Burris Gets Pummeled By Media, So He's Done Talking To Them

The more Roland Burris talks, the worse it gets for him. He was already eyed suspiciously for being selected by the tainted Governor Blagojevich when he was on his way to the Senate. His testimony at the impeachment hearing helped secure the spot for him by his denial of a connection with the Governor and any quid pro quo. Then a few days ago, Roland said a few things that were different from his testimony and now everyone is calling for his head. So Roland is done with those people, you know, the ones that report the news to the people of Illinois (and the rest of us too).

From RawStory:

"Embattled Sen. Roland Burris on Wednesday again defended the testimony he gave to the Illinois House during his appointment process," a Chicago NBC affiliate reports. "Burris said that after Wednesday, he would no longer 'engage the media and have facts ripped out in selected soundbytes,' citing the investigation by the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee."

Like a child, he is refraining from the scrutiny as best he can. Now that he has seen that the press can watch him change his story several times over, Burris came out today to tell his side of the story (the side he's presenting today that is) and that was that. No questions, no debate, nothing like that where the people of Illinois can hold him accountable. So the Burris resignation watch begins and where it ends...well, if it is anything like his appointer Blagojevich's travails, it could be a while.

Roland Burris Desperately Trying To Conceal His Connections To Blagojevich

Senator Burris held a press conference in an attempt to combat the new inquiries into exactly what he said and didn't say (and who he didn't say it to) in regard to how Blagojevich picked him as Barack Obama's replacement in the Senate. It turns out that what Roland has been saying lately doesn't quite match up with what he told the Illinois House when they impeached Rod last month. Despite trying to proclaim his innocence, the facts of the story indicated otherwise.

Feingold On Rachel Maddow To Talk Up 28th Amendment

Rachel went from having one of the least respected men in politics on her show to one of the most. After hearing a lot of spin (and possibly some admission of guilt mixed in) with Blagojevich, her interview with Senator Russ Feingold shows that even he has something in common with the impeached Governor.

Paterson Needs To Get Behind Feingold's 28th Amendment

David Paterson is feeling quite a bit of heat from his bungled Senate appointment across the board, save for Schumer and his new Senator Gillibrand. Whether or not Gillibrand was the right choice or not, Paterson must agree that the whole appointment process did not go so well and that his popularity suffered for it and more importantly his chances of getting a primary appointment next year have increased. If he wants a little saving grace, the Governor might want to get behind Senator Russ Feingold's plan to introduce a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

From Senator Feingold:

Over the past several months, our country has witnessed controversies surrounding appointments to vacant Senate seats by governors. The vacancies in Illinois and New York have made for riveting political theater, but lost in the seemingly endless string of press conferences and surprise revelations is the basic fact that the citizens of these states have had no say in who should represent them in the Senate. The same is true of the recent selections in Delaware and Colorado. That is why I will introduce a constitutional amendment this week to end gubernatorial appointments to the U.S. Senate and require special elections to fill these vacancies, as is currently required for House vacancies. As Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee, I plan to hold a hearing on this amendment soon.

I do not make this proposal lightly. In fact, I have opposed dozens of constitutional amendments during my time in the Senate, particularly those that would have interfered with the Bill of Rights. The Constitution should not be treated like a rough draft. Constitutional amendments should be considered only when a statutory remedy to a problem is not available, and when the impact of the issue at hand on the structure of our government, the safety, welfare, or freedoms of our citizens, or the survival of our democratic republic is so significant that an amendment is warranted. This is such a case.

The entire post is worth a read and makes for a worthy case to end the system of Senate appointments once and for all. The seventeenth amendment made direct elections of Senators possible and the 28th shall finish the job. While this is Senator Feingold's initiative, that should not stop all of the prinicipal actors of the last few months (Gov. Paterson, Sen. Gillibrand, Gov. Ritter, Sen. Bennet, whoever replaces Blagojevich and Sen. Burris) from taking bold positions and standing with Russ on this. Not only will it have to pass the Congress, but three-quarters of the State Legislatures as well. Paterson should redeem himself for the circus he helped create by doing away with the gubernatorial selection of Senators.

Not Congresswoman Gillibrand, But Senator Gillibrand

So much for waiting till Saturday, or even Friday for that matter. Sources are confirming that Congresswoman Kristen Gillibrand will be appointed to fill the Junior Senator position for New York. She had been a top choice of the Governor lately and in the running for quite some time. The Empire State will now have a Senator from both upstate and downstate, unless you considered Chappaqua upstate.

From WPIX:

PIX NEWS is being told that Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand is the reported choice of Governor David Paterson to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. Two Congressional sources say members of the New York delegation have been invited to join Governor Paterson for the announcement in Albany at noon tomorrow.

Two members of that delegation, agreeing to speak without attribution, confirmed to reporter Marvin Scott that the Governor has telephoned New York's Democratic members of Congress for their views after Caroline Kennedy withdrew herself from consideration. One of the contenders, longterm Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney canceled a scheduled appearance on "PIX News Closeup" tomorrow because of a "conflict," which she did not disclose. She too will be in Albany. According to the sources, Gillibrand, now in her second congressional term, was favored by Secretary of State Clinton herself. Paterson has been under pressure to select a woman.

Now this second-term upstate and not-so-liberal Democratic Congresswoman will be representing all of New York. It does not matter that she is a woman, nor that her current district stretches north of Albany. What matters is...will she represent all of New York. Many on the left are worried about her positions on gun rights and whatnot. Yet from what the initial research shows, meaning a quick look at Progressive Punch, is not that shabby, with an 87.56 score. Sure, 165 members do better than her there, but she is still coming from an upstate NY district, one that was held by John Sweeney, yes, that John Sweeney.

Of course, this doesn't change my view that Paterson should have gone with a caretaker. And due to that bad decision, his appointee is already looking at primary challenges, even before being formally announced as the newest Senator. So if Gillibrand continues to be a blue dog in the Senate, as my Senator, she can rest assure that I will help in anyway possible to put a better Democrat in that seat next year.

David Paterson, This Is Your Chance To Do Something Good

As of early this morning it was made official that Caroline no longer wants to participate in the game of Senatorial appointments (probably because she fears she might lose and shame on her for using her Uncle's health as an excuse). That means that Governor Paterson has one less New Yorker to pick from the trough of those wishing to join the Senate. Further, he only has two days by his word, to make his decision. Instead of going the route of Illinois and Colorado, Paterson still has the time to do the honorable thing by choosing a caretaker.

Lord knows that the state of New York politics is sorely lacking in the honor department. By letting the people decide their next Senator in 2010, we would gain a few points, perhaps even besting out Illinois in that regard.

The idea has been floated during this sordid saga and while Paterson has brushed them aside before, no one would fault him in changing his mind right now. Unless he wants to remain a loser, this is the opportune time to make a change and for the better. He doesn't have to go with a controversial celebrity like Bill Clinton, nor does it have to be a political name like Mario Cuomo. We just need someone that will represent New York for two years and in the meantime, let the others battling it out in the press take their fight to the public, the people who should be doing the "appointing" in the first place.

Caroline Drops Out...Not! Oh Wait, Now Its For Real

Well how about this:



Now Paterson will have a new landscape to work with in the next couple of days, who he'll choose, well, we shall see, he doesn't like making the people's business...the people's business until he says so.

And a quick update...she's still in, oy, what a mess this all is.

And this Thursday morning, I hear she is officially out. What a mess she's created for NY!

Paterson Knows NY's Next Senator, But Isn't Telling

Governor David Paterson thinks playing coy about who he's chosen to be the next Senator from New York is cute for everyone. He's wrong. This whole episode of Senate drama has been ridiculous, from the sniping of the hopeful candidates to the Governor that is about to pick the lucky duck. Now with the decision made, the fracas continues.

From The Daily Politics:

Speaking at a post-swearing-in brunch hosted by the New York Society, the governor said he came to his decision yesterday afternoon and stressed that he's focused on making a "reasonable" choice, not necessarily the "right" choice.

When asked who he has settled on, he joked: "Why Michelle Obama, of course. She can move to New York." (This is his latest quip response; he has cycled through a number of them now).

When reporters pointed out he has used that one before, Paterson responded: "It shows that I'm maintaining my position."

Maintaining his position doesn't make it a right decision. All he is doing is keeping his face in the spotlight and nothing much for the rest of us. A smart idea would have looked like this, but it is anything but. I guess we'll all have to wait till Saturday. Until then, the speculative eyes have focused on this Congresswoman, not Cuomo or Kennedy.

Cuomo Continues Public Approval Dominance Over Kennedy

While Governor David Paterson keeps his thoughts about the Senate seat mostly to himself (which is not too cool) the public has seemed to have made up their mind on who they want to be their next Senator. Many names have been mentioned, but the two that are the strongest are the two that hail from political dynasties. At first Caroline Kennedy swept people off their feet. More than a month later we have gotten to know more about her (other than the Camelot stuff) and an actual elected official, Andrew Cuomo has been the frontrunner so far this year.

And it appears he continues to be as such:

New York State voters have cooled on Caroline Kennedy and more voters now prefer State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo 31 - 24 percent for Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney gets 6 percent, with 5 percent for U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, 2 percent for U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, 18 percent for someone else and 14 percent undecided.

Still, voters say 38 - 33 percent that Gov. David Paterson will appoint Ms. Kennedy to the U.S. Senate.

Cuomo leads Kennedy 31 - 20 percent among upstate voters and 36 - 22 percent in the suburbs, while Kennedy gets 31 percent of New York City voters to Cuomo's 29 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Men back Cuomo 32 - 23 percent while women back him 31 - 25 percent.

New York State voters say 48 - 37 percent that Kennedy is not qualified to be a U.S. Senator and 40 - 37 percent that she would not be a good Senator. Democrats say 47 - 35 percent that she is qualified, while Republicans say 65 - 24 percent that she is not qualified. Independent voters say 51 - 34 percent that she is not qualified.

Quinnipiac guru Maurice Carroll thinks it is due to her "stumbling start" when she spent time being interviewed by various newspapers. She was particularly nasty with some publications and she was rightly put down because of that. Of course, it ultimately comes down to who Paterson decides, but I sure hope that he is paying attention to these polls.

Caroline's Support Dropping Faster Than A...

Insert your comparison here, it looks like Caroline's attempt at getting herself installed the next Senator Kennedy is not doing so well. Despite her "listening" tour upstate and new found fondness for diners, New Yorkers are not buying her excuses for Senatorial chops. When her name was first raised to take over for Sen. Hillary Clinton people loved her for her name. Now that we're all getting acquainted (or not) with her things aren't looking so good for the future of the dynasty.

From TPM:

The last month's publicity hasn't been kind to Caroline Kennedy, with a new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) showing that she's now being trounced by state Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo as the choice of New York voters.

Cuomo now leads Kennedy 58%-27% as the one that voters would like to see Gov. David Paterson appoint to the Senate, with a 54%-34% spread among Democrats only. In last month's poll, which tested Democrats only, Kennedy had a 44%-23% lead. So a 21-point Caroline lead among Democrats has turned into a 20-point Cuomo advantage.

Wow, that is some quick movement on the polls. Once we start seriously looking at the potential appointees' credentials, it is easy to see that Kennedy, although a great woman, is clearly not ready to represent New York in the Senate. While Cuomo comes from a political dynasty himself, he has at least proven himself as a competent Attorney General that has actually won a state-wide race before.

This Is How Caroline Should Do It

Only one thing in New York is more controversial than Governor Paterson's budget. It is his potential pick to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate. Now I've avoided this soap opera drama for the most part but have firmly believed that a family name can't be everything (despite our fondness as a nation for Clinton's, Kennedy's and yes, Bush's).

People love Caroline and she was instantly popular as a name floated for the Senate. Americans have loved her since she was a little girl in her father's White House. Those warm and fuzzies though, cannot simply be enough to put her in the Senate. Yeah, I know she has a record of public service and that is fantastic, but it isn't enough when a Governor has to install appoint someone for an office such as this. As many have said, she hasn't been tested. That is why I agree with a growing consensus of Democrats that Paterson should pick a caretaker (as was done in Delaware) and let Caroline run to be elected in two years.

From The NY Daily News:

ALBANY - Caroline Kennedy could seal the deal to replace Sen. Hillary Clinton by saying she'll run for the seat in 2010 if she isn't appointed to it, a top Democrat said Tuesday.

"It would scare people away now," the Dem said. "Who would want to take the seat now and have to face her in 2010?"

In this scenario, at least she'd be elected in a democratic process and not simply be annoited for her name. It should not be as easy as going through your rolodex and calling the key figures of the party establishment in order to represent more than nineteen million New Yorkers. Governor Paterson should do the right thing and not listen to the phone calls of Harry Reid, top NY Dems or even Moynihan's widow, our country should be about the process, not political dynasties.

Governor Paterson Makes Me Laugh

Politics, despite being universally known as a dirty business, is actually quite funny. Instead of bothering with soap operas, you can get all the melodrama you want from City Hall, the State House or Washington. Governor Paterson played out one of those humorous scenes last night, when talking about Blagojevich and his own dilemma in choosing the next Senator from New York.

From The Daily Politics:

Paterson gave no clues as to whether he's any closer to picking Clinton's replacement (quite a few would-be senators showed up at the governor's fundraiser last night and helped add another $3 million to his 2010 campaign fund).

He did, however, express a belief that the Illinois governor's alleged attempt to auction off President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder should be seen as a cautionary tale to all the Senate hopefuls here in New York.

Paterson appears to be taking the mess to heart, himself, saying:

"If ever there was a time when a governor has to focus away from personal interests or anything else and think about who would be the best candidate for the state because of the seniority system in Washington, who is likely to get re-election, who shows integrity, who has ideas as to how to move the state, who's a hard worker, those have too be the issues in which the governor is wed to."

"For anyone that wants to be senator...the accusation should reignite a feeling in those people that the only actions they should take should be to try to demonstrate that they are that person. No other attemps at undue influence or anything that would in any way impinge upon the process or comptromoise the integrity of the process."

Now I'm not saying that David Paterson is in any way, shape or form like soon to be ex-Gov. Blagojevich. I do not honestly believe that he'd ever blatantly auction off the open Senate seat here in the way that Rod did in Illinois. Though to think that it is truly about the best person for the job and all that "lofty idealism" will rule the day is absurd.

With the mess going on in the Democratic caucus in Albany (and that the Gov. has sat in on those deal-making meetings), Paterson' unwillingness to make the rich shoulder some burden with the budget gap and the overall malaise that hovers over our State Capitol with no end in sight, I just can not believe that there won't be some sort of backroom deal somewhere in this. It's almost.....it is laughable to think that the "integrity of the process" will not be impinged upon.