Election Day: November 2, 2010
Republicans may have won the House, but in Evanston, Illinois and the surrounding suburbs it was the Democrats who walked away with the victories.
Take a look at election day with the Biss, Schakowsky and Pollack campaigns.
Blagojevich convicted of lying, but mostly stumps jury
Rod Blagojevich, famed “Celebrity Apprentice” star and infamous ex-Illinois Governor, was convicted of lying to federal agents after two weeks worth of jury deliberation. Of the twenty-four counts, Blagojevich lying to a federal agent was the only thing the jury could agree on. The other twenty-three counts were considered a mistrial.
Blagojevich and his brother remain targets of the federal prosecutors, however, who immediately declared they would retry the remaining twenty-three counts.
Judge Zagel has set August 26 for a hearing regarding the retrial of both Blagojevich and his brother.
The jury was unique in that it consistently requested transcripts of testimony and sent notes back and forth with the judge throughout every day of deliberation. The last request was for a copy of the juror’s oath that they took before deliberations began. This constant communication and request for instruction left a clear indication of just how divided the six men and six women of the jury were over Blagojevich’s actions.
Blagojevich’s guilty verdict involved lying to federal agents when he said he did not track campaign contributions and kept a “firewall” between political campaigns and government work. Lying to federal agents is punishable by up to five years in prison, but Blagojevich may receive as little as six months in jail. Popular sentiment in Illinois is that the state is so broke it cannot afford to retry the Blagojevich brothers, as the cost for such a retrial would be quite expensive, and that the former Governor should serve his time and then be let go.
Both Blagojevich and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald showed little emotion as the verdict was read.
Photo courtesy of boston.com
UPDATE: Judge overturns prop 8
A California Judge has overturned Prop 8 declaring that gays and lesbians have the constitutional right to marry. Prop 8 was a ballot measure during the November ’08 election which overturned the right to same sex marriage in California.
Check out the LA Times for more information.
Midterm Election updates (Midwest edition)
In Michigan –
The Democrat nominee for Governor will be Lansing Mayor Verg Bernero. This seat is currently held by Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D). The Republican nominee will be businessman Rick Snyder.
Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick found herself the sixth incumbent ousted in the primary on August 3. She is the fourth House member to lose her seat in the primary. She lost to state Senator Hansen Clarke.
In Missouri
Roy Blunt won the Republican primary in Missouri, and he will face off against a member of Missouri’s top political family Robin Carnahan for Missouri’s Senate seat in November. Carnahan’s brother Russ Carnahan is a Democratic member of the House of Representatives.
In Kansas
Representative Jerry Moran sealed the Republican nomination for Senator Sam Brownback’s (R) seat. Brownback is running for Governor. After beating his Republican opponent Tiahrt (who was backed by Sarah Palin)49%-45% in the primary, Moran goes into the general election a heavy favorite over t he Democrats who haven’t won a Kansas Senate seat since 1932.
Meanwhile, the Democrats asked for cash for Obama’s birthday and the President likened the GOP to a driver who, after driving into a ditch and refusing to help push the car back on the road, asks for the keys back. The President has also claimed that the Republicans are betting on amnesia to help them win in November. The GOP members are calling the Democrats’ job strategy “meaningless”.
One of the biggest questions this midterm election, though, is the type of turnout the election will produce. Midterm elections typically draw much smaller numbers of voters to the polls than presidential elections, and this year will most likely be no exception.
But the presidential election of ’08 drew record numbers of young people and other typically underrepresented groups into the voting booth. Even if the percentage of Americans voting is lower, political scientists will be watching to see whether the hope has gone out of the younger generation and if they have returned to a state of political abstinence.
House fails to pass bill aiding sick 9/11 responders
In a move sending politicians vainly trying to defend their actions, the House of Representatives failed to pass a bill to give aid to firefighters, policemen other 9/11 Ground Zero responders who have since contracted diseases related to the ash and debris.
Had it passed, the bill would have provided for free health care and monetary compensation to the sick 9/11 responders. The cost, an estimated $7.4 billion over the next ten years, would have been paid for taxing foreign multinational corporations incorporated in tax havens. Currently, these companies pay no tax on any profit made in the United States. Had the bill passed, these companies would have been taxed on any US profit, and the money would have funded the responders’ benefits.
The vote fell along party lines, 255-159 with 12 Republicans joining the Democrats in voting for the bill. Although this did represent a majority, it failed to get the needed two-thirds majority required by procedural rules.
The Democrats invoked a procedure requiring the two-thirds majority in order to stop the GOP from adding any amendments to the bill. The GOP is, of course, claiming that this was an election tactic. Long Island Republican Rep. Peter King, a long time supporter of the bill, voiced the anger of many when he accused Democrats of staging a “charade.”
The GOP claimed that the Democrats turned the bill into electioneering as they had three years to move on the bill, and only moved on it when the midterm elections were drawing near.
“This bill should be more important than a campaign talking point. You could have passed it any time during the past three and a half years, but you want political cover,” King said.
They also claimed that the preferred method of funding the bill would have resulted in a corporate tax hike. Democrats claimed that the funding would have resulted in closing a tax loophole.
The partisan bickering that stalled the bill caused some of the members of the House to let loose some righteous indignation.
“The gentleman is wrong! The gentleman is providing cover for his colleagues rather than doing the right thing! It’s Republicans wrapping their arms around Republicans rather than doing the right thing on behalf of the heroes. It’s a shame, a shame!” Queens Democrat Anthony Weiner screamed in response to King.
As the bill failed in the House and the Senate shows no signs of moving forward on their version of the bill, many 
of the responders are forced to look to the courts for any type of compensation. A court supervised settlement would give $713 million among 10,000 workers – a huge loss for the 9/11 workers. Plus, about 25% of the money from the settlement will pay legal fees. Yet, workers are being urged to join the settlement as faith in the federal government wains.
“They pulled the rug out from beneath our feet,” said John Feal, a Ground Zero demolition worker who lobbied for the House bill. “Whatever member of Congress vote against this bill, whether Republican or Democrat, should go to jail for manslaughter.”
Democrats: Getting things done isn’t always popular
The Democrats’ week has been a series of ups and downs. On the up side, a Judge in Arizona blocked the most controversial pieces of the new immigration law from taking effect, saying they were unconstitutional. On the down side, as expected the Arizona Governor is appealing. So it goes.
On a down note, the Senate Republicans dealt the White House a blow by killing a bill that would have required more disclosure about the money behind political advertising. This is a bit interesting as in Illinois, the Republicans are fighting for campaign finance reform while the Democrats are trying with moderate success to kill it. Apparently the state parties and national parties haven’t exactly communicated their positions.
In a move that is not really up or down but just plain sad for the media, Chris Matthews took the Democrats rallying cry that the Republican party is really the tea party (read the Republican Tea Party Contract on America here) and broadcast it to the world yet again. This, while not necessarily reflecting on the Democrats themselves, does enforce the view of Chris Matthews as a branch of the Democratic Party.
Perhaps most sad for the Democrats is the trial of one of their once respected colleagues, Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.). Charges were formally announced on July 29 after a failed attempt at a settlement. The twenty year veteran of the House was formally charged by the ethics committee with “very serious” violations of both House rules and Federal laws. Thirteen separate charges have surfaced.
Rangel’s team, in turn, provided 32 pages or rebuttal to the charges.
the Korean War Vet was asked if he was worried about hurting the Democrats as a party, his only response was “Pain is pain”.
Pain may be what the Democrats get for attempting to look into one of their own and for Obama’s opposition to Arizona’s new law. Rangel, as such an influential figure and one with reported friends at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, could make the party as a whole look bad as his dirty laundry is aired. The corruption could, and probably will be, used by Republicans against the party as a whole in November.
As the appeals process takes off in Arizona, Obama and his party must consider the pros and cons. Obama should, and probably will, stand behind his statements. He has a record of fighting against racial profiling – specifically at by police officers at arrests – from his days in the Illinois State Senate. Obama’s comments about Arizona fit right along side comments made during the course of Obama fighting to get that bill through.
Yet the American people see corruption in Rangel and are in favor of the Arizona law. A CNN/Opinion research poll showed that 55% of the 1,018 adults polled were in favor of Arizona’s law while only 40% opposed it. Other polls are showing similar results, sometimes with even more drastic numbers approving Arizona’s law.
This means that as the Democrats move into November no one can call them a do-nothing party. But it also means that they can go on trial for their accomplishments.
The jury’s still out on Blago
The jury to decide Rod Blagojevich’s fate went into deliberation July 28 at noon after closing arguments from both sides. More than twenty-four hours later, the Blago watch continues as deliberations keep the jury behind closed doors.
The jury asked for copies of the closing arguments, although it is not clear is they wanted arguments from one or both sides, as the judge would not read the note. He merely said that as the arguments were not evidence the jury did not need the transcripts they had hoped for.
Many were expecting the jury’s process to be less than twenty-four hours, with a quick result. But the decision to ask for closing arguments lends a little bit of insight into whatever thought process may be going in within the heads of the young jury.
Rod Blagojevich did not take the stand in the days leading up to deliberation, a decision he said was his own but advised by his lawyer. Rob, his brother, did take the stand. Everything from fumbles to coughing fits – with a few concise answers thrown in – ensued.
What the jury must decide is whether or not Rob and Rod Blagojevich took considerable steps toward racketeering and bribery. The prosecution said that they didn’t have to actually commit the crimes to be guilty but to take action towards the criminal activity. The defense, on the other hand, said that Blagojevich never actually received any money for the Senate seat he allegedly tried to sell and never actually put any of his plans into action.
“Nobody’s going to say he’s the sharpest knife in the drawer,” Adam Jr. told the jury during his close. “But he’s not a crook …”
At the end of the day, this means that the jury’s decision must come down to the definition of an attempted crime – or in lawyer speak, mens rea versus actus rea, the guilty mind versus the guilty act. Is a guilty mind enough to convict someone of a crime or must the guilty act also be present? The wait the jury is placing on closing arguments certainly hints at a careful consideration of this exact question.
courtesy thehollywoodgossip.com
Oil leak plugged?
For the first time since April 20th, the Gulf of Mexico has seen twenty four hours without oil gushing out of BP’s Maconda oil well. The cap was placed at 3:25 pm on July 15, and via robotic submersible. The new cap has choked the flow of oil completely and, more importantly, has made it through the first twenty four hours without any problems.
But the fight if far from over. First, the engineers need to make sure that the integrity of the cap remains. This means that the well needs to continue to have a high pressure reading behind it. A high pressure reading indicates that the well bore is still intact behind the cap.
Courtesy of BP.com
The national incident commander, Retired Adm. Thad Allen, said that a pressure reading of 8,000 or 9,000 pounds per square inch inside the new cap would show a good fit, while a pressure reading of 6,000 psi indicates continued leakage. The problem comes with an ambiguous reading that doesn’t clearly give an indication either way.
The integrity test is currently underway and could last up to 48 hours.
“It felt very good not to see any oil go into the Gulf of Mexico,” BP senior vice president Kent Wells told reporters Thursday. “Clearly, I’m trying to maintain a strict focus but we are very encouraged.”
The President didn’t have much to say except that the lack of oil gushing out of the well was a “positive sign.”
But even if the oil leak is stopped, the problem is far from over.
The clean up effort in the Gulf will go on for long after the oil has stopped spilling, and many in Louisiana and elsewhere are worried. Many remember Hurricane Katrina. Help was prevalent until the story fell from the news. Then, suddenly, the help went away while the problem persisted. Critics are worried that a similar situation could occur in the Gulf once the oil stops spilling.
The long range effects of the oil spill have yet to be recognized, or in some cases even predicted. It will take at least a year to see the effect on shrimp beds of the coast of Louisiana. The effect on other wildlife is even more unpredictable.
Meanwhile, BP says that “The sealing cap system never before has been deployed at these depths or under these conditions, and its efficiency and ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured.”
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