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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (56661)	12/9/2008 5:26:23 PM
From: lorne	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 224718

Durbin calls for special Senate election By J. Taylor Rushing Posted: 12/09/08 thehill.com Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Tuesday called for a special Illinois election to fill President-elect Obama’s Senate seat, instead of leaving it to arrested Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Calling it “a sad day for my state,” Durbin said Blagojevich deserves his day in court and that he was “shocked” at the Democratic governor’s arrest on charges of trying to corral influence for naming Obama’s successor. A former state legislator, Durbin said he spoke to a former colleague in the Illinois legislature early Tuesday to suggest a special election instead of any gubernatorial appointment. “If the allegations are proven true, he has clearly abused the public trust,” Durbin said of Blagojevich. “I think the Illinois legislature should enact a law as quickly as possible calling for a special election to fill the Senate vacancy of Barack Obama. No appointment by this governor under these circumstances can produce a credible replacement.” The Blagojevich case throws a wrench into Democratic efforts to reach closer to 60 seats in the chamber. If the seat stays vacant for months, or if an appointment is made under questionable circumstances, the party could find itself short on critical votes next year just when it most needs traction. Durbin hedged when asked if Blagojevich should resign, calling a resignation “a presumption of guilt ... I really can’t take it to that level, in fairness.” A special election is the only possible choice for filling Obama’s seat, Durbin said, noting that Blagojevich will likely fight the charges and the case could linger for months or more. There is also the possibility of a removal effort of Blagojevich by the Illinois legislature, he said. “The alternative of a vacancy or a tainted appointment — those alternatives are not acceptable,” Durbin said. Durbin said he was told the Legislature was “looking into” the possibility of a special election. One option would be to combine a special election with the special election being held for Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s seat. Emanuel is the incoming White House chief of staff. The majority whip said he has not spoken with President-elect Obama by early afternoon Tuesday about the Blagojevich arrest, and that he last spoke to Blagojevich himself two weeks ago. Durbin said he and Blagojevich were not friends, and had a cordial but cold relationship with a lot of communication gaps. When Durbin was first elected to the Senate, he said Blagojevich never returned his call. Last month, when Durbin called Blagojevich to discuss filling the vacancy, he said the governor took 12 days to return the call. “We certainly don’t enjoy a close relationship,” Durbin said. “I found him to be a difficult man to communicate with.” Durbin said he recalled nothing unusual in his conversation with Blagojevich about filling Obama’s seat, and that the governor never raised the idea of a position in the incoming administration. Instead, Durbin said he and the governor discussed 20 names. “I asked him to do two things. First, don’t appoint a caretaker. Send a senator who will serve and run for election. Second, do it as quickly as possible so we could have a seniority advantage,” Durbin said. Durbin also defended his state from reporters who asked if the Blagojevich arrest adds another example to Illinois’ history of political corruption. “The overwhelming majority of politicians in Illinois and outside are honest, hardworking people in both political parties,” he said. “There will always be exceptions in both political parties who when given the opportunity to use political power, misuse it.” When asked if the Blagojevich arrest could cast a pall over the start of the Obama administration, Durbin denied it would be a distraction. “I don’t think that any association with the president-elect and the governor of Illinois could possibly raise that suggestion,” he said. “We all have varying levels of cooperation with the governor. Mine was extremely limited, and I believe President-elect Obama would say the same.” If Blagojevich does choose a replacement, Durbin said he was not sure how the Senate would react. “I think it would be unfair to assume what would happen,” he said. “I guess there is a conceivable way that he could choose a consensus someone to fill the Senate seat, but I think the odds are against it. And that’s why I think it’s better to let the people of the state speak and choose a person who would represent them at this critical moment in our nation’s history.” Durbin said he directed his suggestion for a special election at the Legislature because he suspects Blagojevich may oppose it. “Most executives don’t like to give up any power,” he said.

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (56661)	12/10/2008 7:45:40 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	8 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224718

Liberals Are Crybabies You've all seen it. Liberal hypocrisy is so prevalent, so extensive, the word "hypocrisy" pales by definition. Not only are liberals busy projecting their very flaws onto oppostion, they also and perhaps dovetail that method with total hypocrisy. Liberals expend enormous amounts of time and energy assassinating the character of an opposition leader and recoil with faux-abhorence if a liberal leader is characterized or compared similarly. Take Adolf Hitler... Hitler was a monster. So much so that when people try to make a point that is supposed to be the lowest insult to a leader they compare that leader to Hitler. He's the bottom of the barrel in the modern world. If you google bush is hitler you get 12 million immediate results. If you slip over to Ixquick, a metasearch engine, you get 33 million results. If you go to popular photo dump Photobucket and search bush hitler you get 241 pages of photoshopped pictures of the President as or in comparison to the German dictator. Make no mistake, liberals love to paint President Bush as Hitler. But... Take a look around some blogs that lean toward political conservatism, like the one you're reading. Is there a post that does an Obama/Hitler comparison? Then you will readily find a liberal in the Comments section weeping and raging at the audacity of the blogger to disrespect the Kenyan-born President-elect. Hypocrisy, "democrat" is thy name. Oh, for the record...