Forget about the “change” election. In the race for U.S. Senate appointments, it’s back to pay-to-play politics.
In New York and Illinois, the state governors are given the task of appointing new U.S. Senators to replace Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton and President-elect Barack Obama. The process to replace two of the nation’s highest profile politicians has been anything but straightforward.
In Illinois, Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested in December on charges of political corruption. He allegedly ran a scheme to award the Senate appointment to the state’s highest bidder.
Blagojevich’s appointee Roland Burris arrived in Washington on January 6th to a swarm of criticism. He was actually spurned from the Senate chamber. He may yet be confirmed, if the Democrat-controlled Senate decides to be magnanimous.
But hey, what’s new? This is the state where “corruption seems to flow like water.”
Of course, President-elect Barack “Change” Obama hails from the land of Lincoln, and he says he’s transcended the Chicago political system. We shall see.
Over in New York, Governor Paterson gets to replace Hillary Clinton. A few weeks ago, the celebrity candidate was Caroline Kennedy. Visiting Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, whose name has also come up for the appointment, Kennedy offered up the following credentials:
“I’ve worked in New York City public schools, I’ve written books on the Constitution, I’ve raised my family. I think now is the time, with the problems we’ve had, to do more.”
She also expressed the need to put someone in Washington who can play in the old-boys network:
“I saw the need for people who are strong advocates, who have relationships in Washington.”
The New York race for the Senate seat now seems to center on celebrity and money. The well-known and well-funded candidate can win the seat when voters get to decide in 2010.
Recent polling shows Kennedy’s popularity dropping, however. Other top names include the state’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, and U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand. Why these two? Because Cuomo has name recognition, and Gillibrand “is a proven fundraiser,” according to New York political journalist Brian Mann.
According to Martha Foley, a veteran New York journalist and news director at North Country Public Radio in upstate New York, the Senate appointment scandal in Illinois hasn’t tainted the process in New York.
“In New York State, the dysfunction is legendary,” she says.
It’s dysfunction all around, folks. Happy New Political Year 2009. I’m still hoping for change.
