The momentum for a special election to replace President-elect Barack Obama ran into a major hurdle late this afternoon in the form of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) who penned a letter today to scandal-tarred Gov. Rod Blagojevich making clear he would prefer the incumbent step aside and let Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn make the appointment.
“It is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election,” wrote Reid in a letter obtained by The Fix. “But a decision by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans.”
Reid adds that his preference for an appointment by Blagojevich’s successor rather than a special election is driven by his belief that it is “imperative” that a new senator from Illinois be seated as soon as possible. An appointment by Quinn, a Democrat, also avoids the possibility that Democrats could lose the seat in a shortened special election campaign.
The timeline being floated in Illinois political circles would be for party primaries to take place on Feb. 24 with a general election on April 7 — a schedule that would leave the Senate seat vacant for at least three months.
Ed Morrissey adds:
Reid knows that an election in Illinois will put the seat at risk of Republican takeover after the Blagojevich scandal plays all the way out. Illinois needs to clean house, and that’s the first opportunity they will get. You can bet that Reid wants to avoid that as much as any Democrat, but this tone-deaf plea to a corruptocrat for a back-room deal smells bad enough to stink up the entire 111th Congress and give everyone else the same idea for the 2010 midterms.
Reid/Pelosi/Obama have been preaching that “We The People” are in charge of the government; i.e., transparent politics. However, Reid wants the Illinois legislature to choose the Senate seat? If there is one group of people which the citizens of Illinois should NOT trust, it is their government. Let the People decide who should take the seat. Afterall, US Senators do represent their constituents on the Federal level.
Once again “Pinky” Reid shows he can barely talk the talk, but he sure as hell cannot walk the walk. As a NV resident, I am sad to say he represents me in Washington. I can just hope 2010 rings in a new year for NV Senators on Capitol Hill.
-reagan21
Trust, But Verify 