[Note from Selwyn: This is a piece you really should read. Bruce does an excellent job of demonstrating how the Democrats have been shamelessly playing with the law in order to increase and maintain their power.]
The Democrats have done it again. When Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts and John Kerry was running for president, the ultra-partisan Massachusetts Legislature changed the law to remove from Governor Romney the right to appoint a successor to Kerry, if the senator should be elected president. The new law required, instead, that the people of Massachusetts elect the replacement for a departing senator. There was no grand public motive behind this new law: Democrats just did not want a Republican governor appointing a Republican to Kerry’s Senate seat.
How
can democracy be expected to work when such naked partisanship governs the
actions of the majority political party? Recall how Barack Obama’s senate
seat was filled. “Blago,” who tried to auction off his senate seat, among
other crimes, was arrested on December 9, 2009, while still governor of
Illinois. Democrat leaders in the Senate, alarmed at the potential damage
of this scandal in Obama’s home state, urged the Illinois Legislature to
convene quickly and to amend the law which allowed Blagojevich to appoint a
replacement for Obama and to require, instead, that a special election be
held. There was, in public at least, strong bipartisan support for this.
This
change in Illinois law had a good public policy reason: the chief
executive who would otherwise name the new senator was a crook; he was actually
arrested while in office. No one thought that he ought to appoint Obama’s
replacement. That was in early December. Nothing happened.
The Democrat-controlled Illinois Legislature had the authority, under Article
IV, Section 5 of the state’s constitution to go into special session.
But, for some odd reason…it did not. Then, on December 30th,
about four weeks after the scandal broke, Blagojevich appointed a reliable
Democrat hack, Rollin Burris, to replace Obama.
Why
didn’t the Illinois Legislature do what everyone said was the right
thing? Democrats might well have lost a special election. Democrats
needed Burris’ vote in the Senate. There were loud cries of outrage by
national Democrat leaders, who professed offense at this action by a creepy
politician who had already shown that he deemed a Senate appointment as just a
way to get money and power. But, for some odd reason…Senate Democrats,
who had the power to keep Burris from taking his seat in the Senate, allowed
him to be seated.
The
contrast between Massachusetts and Illinois, both of whose legislatures
Democrats control, is revealing. No one, not even the most partisan
Democrat, has suggested that Mitt Romney was not a very honorable Governor of
Massachusetts. Indeed, one of his great political strengths is that in
his business, personal, and political life, Romney has been squeaky clean.
But
he was a Republican. Blago, one of the most corrupt pols in modern
political history, was a Democrat. So the laws were changed to prevent
Romney from appointing a replacement for Kerry, but not changed to prevent
Blago from appointed a leftist cipher to replace Obama in the Senate.
Democrats
have controlled the Massachusetts Legislature for many decades and the last
three speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives have been
criminally indicted. The same legislature which seems unable to choose
anyone but crooks as the presiding officer of the lower chamber, suddenly feels
that the people of Massachusetts cannot be trusted to choose their own senator.
Governor Patrick also has to cheat the people too: because the houses
have not passed this sneaky bill by a two-thirds majority, Governor Patrick is
compelled to declare this is an “emergency” under the state constitution.
Otherwise the law would not be effective until December and the people of
Massachusetts would have the right to reject this new law by a referendum
petition. “What emergency?” ethical politicians might ask.
The
stench is familiar: recall when Robert Torricelli ran for re-election in
2002? This incumbent senator won the Democrat primary and was under New
Jersey law the lawful candidate of the Democrat Party. Criminal
investigations of Torricelli were well known at the time of the June primary,
but when Torricelli looked like he would win, even though nearly everyone
thought him a crook, no Democrat, not a single Democrat in the state,
challenged Torricelli in that June 2002 primary. Then these ethical problems
began to make Torricelli weak in the polls.
What
did New Jersey Democrat bosses do? They pushed Torricelli to “quit” and
they “persuaded” the New Jersey Supreme Court to ignore state law and, shortly
before the November election, existing New Jersey law and to put, in place of
Torricelli, the aging warhorse, Frank Lautenberg as the Democrat nominee on the
ballot. New Jersey law, of course, had a very good way of removing
Torricelli as the Democrat nominee: someone could run against him in the
primary and defeat him. The “crisis” arose when it appeared he would
lose.
This
is how Democrats win Senate majorities. Legislatures run by corrupt
politicians change the law on senatorial succession and bad governors declare
phony “emergencies.” Indicted governors pick United States senators.
Lawfully nominated senate candidates “resign” and the party, not the Democrat
voters of New Jersey, hand-pick his replacement and the state supreme court
endorses this illegal action. The dreary pattern is the same:
Democrats lust for a Senate majority, and they will cheat to get it.
© 2009Bruce Walker — All Rights Reserved
______________________________________________________
Bruce Walker is the author of two books: Sinisterism:
Secular Religion of the Lie and The Swastika against the Cross: The Nazi
War on Christianity.
What more would you expect from the party that gave us the KKK; power via corruption, deception and opression is the democrat party.
Posted by: Walt | October 04, 2009 at 06:21 PM
How about the great economic depressions? - (That's got to go to the Republicans.)
"power via corruption?" - (Watergate is tough to beat in that area.)
"deception and opression (sic)" (George W. Bush...hands down winner there.)
You're going to have to do better than that.
Posted by: Abe | October 07, 2009 at 06:32 PM
Dear Abe,
Nice try.
The fact is that most politicians are corrupt, regardless of party affiliation. That is why I am politically independant.
But I wish to take to task to task your expamples of corruption, which are very weak and ill-defined in your posting.
While it pains me to defend Republicans, who I detest; I wish to take you task for the Democrats that you apparently defend (whom I abhor).
Might I remind you that, when caught in scandal, Republicans usually resign and at least do a credible job of feigning their disgrace (Tom Delay, Mark Foley);
I acknowledge the exception of Sen. Larry Craig but remind you that Republican leaders demanded that he step down but backed off when realizing that his transgression was homosexual in nature (and therefor more forgivable to the MSM) and that he sided with the Queen of Diamonds (aka Dianne Fensteinn) on legislation valued by Democrats.
Deomcrats caught in scandal flaunt their corruption and defy and insult the decency of the public at large (where shall we start?). Jim Stutz? Bill and HilLIARy Clinton (let's see you defend the murder of Vince Foster)?, William Jefferson? Charlie Rengel? John Murtha? Dianne Feinsteinn and her MILCON scandal? What is your excuse for Ted Kennedy and Chappaquidick? .
What about Corzine? McGreavy? 'Any Twosome' Newsome? If all you have to reply to this is Mark Sanford, you are a hopeless and naive fool.
As Lord Acton has poignantly observed, "power corrupts; but abosulute power corrupts absolutely". For you to attempt to make partisan political corruption makes you a fool.
If you were intellectually honest, you would rail against ALL corruption, regardless of party affiliation. And you better hurry before Comrade Sotoero and his snakepit of Communist lunatics incarcerate you for attempting from doing so.
Posted by: Philip France | October 08, 2009 at 11:24 PM