faith in government

30 December 2008

For more than a year now, I have been quietly saying that the biggest challenge we face as a nation
is restoring faith in government. Considering this is a government run by “we the People,” this by default means we must restore faith in ourselves.

It is ironic then that the very person (that would be Obama in case you missed it) voted in to restore faith in our government has been at the center of a controversy that strikes at the heart of all that
is wrong with our system. And equally ironic, his hands appear to be squeaky clean.

The fact that Governor Rod Blagojevich’s decided to thumb his nose to the entire country and
announce a replacement, former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, under the bright lights of
public scrutiny and outcry is ballsy, narcissistic and borderline reckless. That is why it is so important that the US Senate, led by Democrats, today refused to seat Blago’s nominee.

By all accounts, Burris appears to also be outside the realm of Blago’s alleged plan to auction off
Sen. Obama’s seat to the highest bidder, however, this may be precisely why Blago elected to
appoint him to the position.  Blago may be trying to tie his name to someone whose reputation is (presumably) pristine while also publicly demonstrating that he, in fact, did not sell the seat to the highest bidder.  

If there is no crime, will there be any charges?

Okay, there could be charges on the grounds of conspiracy to sell the senate seat, but the holy grail would be if Blago, in fact, followed through on his plans. It seems premature to me for the FBI to prevent Blago from doing so. Don’t get me wrong, I see their conundrum. If they waited, it would
be possible for that newly appointed Senator to take office and then where would we be? On the
other hand, why not make the arrest at the press conference thereby making two arrests with
concrete charges that will bring a hell of a lot more than a slap on the wrist.

Let’s face it, the Scooter Libby charges were the best that could be done under the circumstances,
but we all know he committed a lot more than perjury. In this circumstance, the opportunity for a
very real arrest was lost.

And Blago knows it. Otherwise, he would not have thumbed his nose at the sanctity of our
government today. Was Blago arrogant enough to think his appointment would go through, or is
this all an elaborate scheme to prove that he never intended to follow through with his tough talk?

At the heart of this issue is that since Election Day, we have felt safe and secure in our that our votes
have finally made a noticeable difference in our government.

Either way, the Senate’s refusal to seat Blago’s nominee sends a strong message that Democrats are
genuinely committed to restoring faith in our government, even if it means censuring one of our own.

Obama’s public support of the Senate’s refusal demonstrates a remarkable level of leadership and
commitment to the people of this country – a quality that should have come from the White House all
along.

So we close 2008 with the theme in which I believe it to have begun – by rooting out governmental
corruption in all its places and beginning the healing process that will ultimately restore faith in our
government.

Perhaps by doing so, we can as a nation restore faith in ourselves.

Cheers,

~MissDem