| Dynastic Democracy Meets Gubernatorial Greed |
[Dec. 12th, 2008|11:36 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | beau biden, blagojevich, cuomo clan, dynastic democracy, gubernatorial greed, jesse jackson junior, joe biden, kennedy clan, minner, obama, patterson | ] |
I posted the following rant on one of my favorite discussion board sites – the Nashville City Paper (NCP). An always passionate and sometimes articulate bunch of posters hang around the NCP’s “Letters to the Editor” board. I enjoy the online debates hosted by the NCP and I am thankful to be a part of the discourse.
Here is the URL:
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=64748
Here is the text of my post:
Good morning, Nashville!
Great cartoon and great letters today. Bravo, Dargent 7.
The Blagojevich Affair is a classic case of dynastic democracy meeting gubernatorial greed. Jesse Jackson Junior, of the Jackson dynasty, is “Candidate Number 5”? No surprise there, he has repeatedly expressed his ambitious desire for Obama’s seat.
Others ask, “Was Rahm Emmanuel the go-between bagman?” The right-wing talk-show hosts are demanding to know the answers to the standard questions: “What did President-elect Obama know and when did he know it?”
This thing is not going away anytime soon, there will be a cloud over Washington, DC on January 20th, and you don’t need to be a weatherman to know that.
The dynastic democrats and the special interests are also cajoling Governor Patterson, in New York. Will it be the Cuomo clan or the Kennedy clan? It’s all quite disgusting.
In Delaware, Governor Ruth Ann Minner was surely lobbied to appoint the “right” person to take Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s seat in the US Senate. As it turns out, Edward “Ted” Kaufman, a long-time Biden aide, has apparently been declared to be the Chosen One.
Originally, Joe Biden’s son, Beau Biden, now serving in Iraq, was reportedly at the top of the short list of candidates for his dad’s job. Look for Junior Biden to claim his dad’s seat when he returns from Iraq; Kaufman appears to be something of a caretaker/seat-warmer for the Biden family seat.
Illinois Governor Blagojevich’s alleged flagrant corruption may be unique in its boldness and scope, but any Governor is going to be pressured to deliver on favors owed and may be offered quid pro quos whenever a US Senate seat is up for grabs, in any state. ‘twas ever thus.
In my view, US Senate vacancies should be filled in a transparent and democratic fashion, this “appointment” business is inherently flawed and invites corruption.
I think that the US Senator replacement mechanism needs a Constitutional overhaul. The current situation is dangerous and undemocratic by nature.
We read about “Flag Desecration” Amendments to the US Constitution and “Marriage Preservation” Amendments and so on, but nobody seems to be lobbying for a Constitutional fix for situations like these.
Same thing goes for any support for a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the dangerous and undemocratic Electoral College system.
And the Vice Presidential candidate selection process is not just undemocratic, it is risky business; this lamentable situation requires a Constitutional remedy. Sadly, both major US political parties are content with the status quo.
We, the People are content with Democracy lite, yet we are smug enough to think that we have perfected the democratic process to the point where we can impose it upon nations that we invade and occupy. That’s arrogance born of ignorance. |
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