Your Blagojevich Scandal Questions Answered

Q: Was Rod Blagojevich legally elected governor of Illinois?

A: Yes, he was, in 2002 and again 2006.

Q: Did President-elect Obama (D-Camelot) endorse him?

A: Yes, he did.

Q: Is Blagojevich still legally Governor?

A: Yes, he is.

Q: Does the Governor of Illinois have the authority and duty to appoint someone to fill a vacant US Senate seat?

A: Yes, he does.

Q: Could the Democrat-controlled Illinois legislature have passed a bill providing for a special election to fill President-elect Obama’s now-vacant US Senate Seat?

A: Yes, they could have.

Q: Why didn’t they?

A: You’d have to ask them. The speculation in the newspapers is that they were afraid the people of Illinois, if they had a chance to vote, might elect a Republican, which would have been un-Democratic.

Q: Is Governor Blagojevich’s appointment to the senate seat, Roland Burris, legally qualified to serve?

A: Yes, he is. He’s a registered voter in Illinois, a citizen and over the minimum age of 30.

Q: Congressman Bobby Rush has been saying that the Governor should appoint a black person to Obama’s seat. Is race a legal qualification for serving in the US Senate?

A: No, it is not.

Q: The newspapers have been saying that Burris is an “empty suit,” whose only qualification is that he’s black. Can someone hold high office if that is his or her only qualification?

A: Obviously.

Q: Has Governor Blagojevich been convicted of anything?

A: No, he has not.

Q: Doesn’t the United States Constitution hold that a person is to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law?

A: Yes, it does.

Q: Haven’t the Democrats been picturing themselves as defenders of the constitution against Republican attempts to trash it?

A: Yes, they have.

Q: I don’t understand. If Governor Blagojevich is innocent until proven guilty, and is still legally the Governor, and the Governor has the legal authority to appoint a new senator, and he has appointed Mr. Burris, and Mr. Burris meets the minimum qualifications to serve, by what legal authority can the Democrats bar him from serving?

A: If following the constitution might make the Democrats look bad in the media, politics trumps the constitution. Everyone knows that.

Q: But doesn’t barring a legally-qualified and legally-appointed black person from serving also make them look bad?

A: Only with black voters, and they are going to vote for Democrats no matter what the Democrats do. So the Democrats don’t have to worry about what they think.

Q: But suppose black leaders like former Black Panther and now Congressman Bobby Rush start criticizing the Democrats for not seating Mr. Burris?

A: That changes everything. If enough black leaders criticize the Democrat senate leaders, white liberals may give fewer dollars to the Democrat Party. Then the Democrats will cave and seat Mr. Burris.

Q: Is President-elect Obama involved in all this?

A: No, he is not. He conducted an investigation himself, and cleared his staff of any wrong doing or involvement.

Q: Isn’t that like Vice President Dick Chaney investigating and clearing Scooter Libby?

A: No, it is not, because the media wouldn’t accept that uncritically from a Republican.

Q: Does anyone benefit from this scandal?

A: Yes. Late Night Comedians. Republicans whom Speaker Pelosi famously accused of being part of a “culture of corruption.” Former Congressmen William Jefferson (D-Cold Cash) and Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-Property Taxes), because everyone has now forgotten those scandals.

Q: A final question. Will this scandal hurt President-elect Obama?

A: Not unless the media finds out he’s an Illinois Politician.