The Never-Ending Story: Illinois Political Failings

The Democratic candidate for Lt-Gov of IL, Scott Cohen, has resigned in tears over battery charges filed by his-then girlfriend in 2005. Interestingly, his own party has forced him out, after he won last Tuesday's primary. His ex-wife has also accused him of battery and assault in the past, to include securing an order of protection, but is standing by her 'ex-man' today, stating that she does not believe these current charges.

Could things spiral downward any further for the IL Democrats? Pat Quinn, acting Governor, and the official Democratic candidate for Gov., after Hynes bowed out on Feb. 4, is a decent candidate, but the resignation of Cohen (who only the primary with 25% of the vote), and Quinn's ties to Blagojevich, leave the ticket vulnerable in November.

Primary Results in Illinois and Florida

Lost in all the discussion over the Illinois primaries was the fact that Florida had a special primary for its 19th Congressional District yesterday. That cleared the way to elect a replacement for Rep. Wexler, who ostensibly retired to head up a think tank (the fact that he serially cheated on his wife, a la Edwards, and had no hope of re-election, of course had nothing to do with it). Despite the claims in this NPR story, the three GOP candidates have recently begun to rise in the polls against the potential Democratic challengers. Edward Lynch, who is well known among local GOP voters, won the Republican primary (Florida holds closed primaries), while Ted Deutch (a State Senator who also has high name recognition) won the Democratic primary. Florida's primary primary (it begged to be said) is August 24. At this point, Gov. Charlie Crist looks likely to lose the primary (to replace former Sen. Mel Martinez, who abruptly resigned last year) to State Representative Marco Rubio. Both men are polling well ahead of the main Democratic challenger, Kendrick Meek.

In Illinois, the most closely watched race was probably the primary for US Senate. Kirk won the Republican primary while Giannoulias won the Democratic primary. Kirk has an excellent reputation among state GOP voters, and in a state where just about every level of government is dominated by the Democratic party that has presided over multiple corruption scandals and failures, more conservative candidates have an excellent chance of picking off some key positions in November. The primary race to replace Blogo has yet to be called for either party.

The most recent RCP averages show polling trends generally swinging against the Democratic party, and in specific races, against the party establishment on both sides of the fence. I can't help but think this is healthy, both for the parties (which have become far too complacent and moribund) and for the country as a whole. It's going to be a fascinating election cycle to watch.

Update #3: Burris Must Go

The newly sworn-in Senator from Illinois, Roland Burris, is now in hot water himself. He is now being called to task (the word perjury is being bandied about) for his testimony before a House panel at which he denied inappropriate contacts with Blago's administration.

"I did not donate one single dollar nor did I raise any money or promise any favors for the governor," he said, adding that anyone who suggested otherwise was "playing partisan politics."

Anytime a politician says things like this (think, "I did not sleep with that woman..."), I become suspicious. Call it my cynical nature, which was honed by living near DC (when a certain mayor was brought low by a drug and prostitution ring), Chicago (when a certain governor was brought low by a complex funding scandal that included license plate for illegal truckers out of Florida), and South Florida (hanging chads anyone?).

Burris is denying that he committed perjury, but the Republicans in Illinois smell blood in the water:

Earlier Sunday Burris issued a statement.

"I wish to supplement my answer with other events that I have been able to recall, to make certain the record is complete. ... I recall that Governor Blagojevich's brother, Rob Blagojevich, called me three times to seek my assistance in fund-raising for Governor Blagojevich," he wrote.

The disclosure reflects a major omission from his testimony in January. Burris, who entered the Senate the same week he testified at the panel, said he filed the affidavit because he didn't have the opportunity to lay out all the facts during his live testimony, a claim Durkin rejected.

Durkin said the information was evidence withheld by Democrats. Cross said he only learned about the affidavit after reading about it in the news on Saturday, even though the Illinois Democratic Majority Leader Rep. Barbara Currie received the affidavit on Feb. 5.

"I think somebody in the Burris camp finally realized that these conversations were probably on tape," Cross said explaining why he thinks the information became public.

The Chicago Sun-Time broke this story today, and Illinois lawmakers are already talking about hearings and removal from office.

Here we go again!

UPDATE #1:
Burris is insisting that his amended statement to the House panel is consistent with his original statement, and that he has done nothing wrong, and that he did not file the affidavit out of fear that his conversations with Blagojevich had been recorded.

UPDATE #2:
Burris is apparently losing all trust and respect, even among his own party members, as he changes (or 'amends') his story repeatedly. The Chicago Tribune is now calling for his resignation, as are members of both parties in the Illinois Congress. One wonders if Illinois will ever get a government that even approaches honesty.

UPDATE #3:
This has become a joke. Illinois is now the laughingstock of the nation. Sen. Burris must put his state and nation ahead of himself and resign. If he's incapable or unwilling to be that responsible, than the Senate should remove him - now!