Election Central Morning Roundup
Illinois GOP Ad: "You Deserve A Special Election"
The Illinois Republican Party has this new TV ad calling for a special election to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat, rather than allow Democratic Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn to make an appointment if Rod Blagojevich is removed -- a fight they apparently think they can win:
"The people of Illinois deserve better than another political power-grab," the announcer says. "You deserve to be heard. You deserve a special election."
Obama Meeting Today With National Security Team
Barack Obama will hold the first full meeting of his national-security team today in Chicago, featuring a mix of his own picks and hangers-on from George W. Bush. Participants will include Obama himself, Joe Biden, Robert Gates, Rahm Emanuel, Greg Craig, Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano, Susan Rice, Jim Jones, Mike McConnell and Mike Mullen.
Obama Rolling Out Energy/Environmental Team Today
Barack Obama is holding a press conference in Chicago at 5 p.m. ET today, where he is expected to roll out his energy and environmental team. The nominees will include Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy, Lisa Jackson as EPA Administrator, Nancy Sutley as head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Carol Browner to head up a new policy council coordinating climate and energy issues.
Another Big Day In Minnesota
Keep a close eye on the Minnesota recount today, where we'll get a better idea of what effect Friday's favorable ruling for Franken on absentee ballots by the state canvassing board will have. The big questions are whether the Coleman campaign's attempt to go to court and block the counting of previously un-tallied absentee votes will work, and whether any votes could actually be counted up by the end of the day.
Illinois Legislature Convenes Today To Deal With Blago Mess
The Illinois legislature is convening today for their special session to figure out what to do about Rod Blagojevich. The key questions are whether to move on impeaching him now, and also picking from their list of options about Barack Obama's Senate seat: To quickly remove Blago and allow the new governor to make an appointment, to hold a special election, or to do both -- a temporary appointment combined with a special election.
Blago Spokesman: He's Not Quitting Today
Rod Blagojevich's spokesman told Reuters yesterday that Blago is not resigning today: "I can confirm the no resignation." There had been some talk of Blagojevich stepping down this week, either temporarily or a full resignation, but for now it looks like the ball is back in the state Dems' court, as they figure out how they'd prefer to remove him from office.
Obama To Truly Win Electoral College Today
Barack Obama's victory will be sealed today, as the presidential electors who were actually chosen on November 4 from the 50 states plus D.C. meet across the country to cast their ballots. After this, the only remaining step will be when Congress meets in January to officially certify the Electoral College result.
Officials: D.C. Transit Can't Handle Full Load Of Inauguration
D.C. officials say that the city's roads and mass-transit system simply can't handle the expected millions of people who will be coming into town for Barack Obama's inauguration. And even after those millions of people slowly make their way in, the real nightmare will just begin: All of them wanting to leave the city at the same time.
Mass transit is lousy in this country, not just in D.C.
December 15, 2008 9:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
With all due respect, dc has an awesome subway system. The best that I have ever been on and I use it all the time. It's just not designed for a rush of millions of people from downtown all at the same time, which I doubt any subway system is set up to deal with a rush like that.
December 15, 2008 9:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
I totally agree! All the years I spent there I rode the metro wherever I could. The trains start pretty early, run pretty late, and are pretty much on time. Can't ask for much more...
December 15, 2008 9:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
May I put in a plug for my own dad here? He's 91 now. He spent most of his career designing guidance systems for missiles. But his last job was to design the signal system for the DC subway!
He was always a stickler for detail.
December 15, 2008 9:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
No respect needed, thanks. It's a fine subway, but not nearly as extensive as would be needed to encourage people to abandon their cars (I lived in the DC area for many years).
December 15, 2008 4:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now, this is an excellent point:
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich., said other countries were providing aid to their automakers and the loans were essential to make the U.S. less dependent on foreign oil.
If the companies don't get help, "we'll be replacing our reliance on foreign oil with a reliance on foreign batteries because it's going to be the battery that's driving the electric vehicle in the future," Granholm said.
Duh, we get rid of one foreign control problem for another. Excellent point.
December 15, 2008 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Johnson Controls, a big supplier to automakers, is a huge supplier (and researcher) for batteries. And it's based here in the US of A.
December 15, 2008 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is it a national security issue to become more self sufficient in terms of our energy sources?
December 15, 2008 9:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
The GOP is wasting their money on TV ads for a "special election". It will either happen or it will not happen. It will happen if Blago doesn't resign but signs into law that there will be a special election for the Senate seat or it will not happen if Blago resigns or steps down and then Quinn appoints someone who has impeccable credentials for the Senate seat to save the state $40-50 million which is the cost of a special election who most likely will pledge not to run in 2010 so there will be an election then.
Whether or not a special election takes place will depend on circumstances rather than lobbying. People from Illinois may want a special election but they may not want to spend another $40-50 million to have one when the state is in debt so they probably will be fine with an impeccable appointment for 2 years.
December 15, 2008 9:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
where's the shoe thread?
December 15, 2008 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
There are several at the Cafe. You can take your pick. You can discuss why it happened there, why it never happened here, where was the secret service, what was its meaning and/or morality and anything else you fancy.
December 15, 2008 10:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
ah, but it's so musty at the cafe; some of those threads are many hours old. we need some up-to-the-minute iraqi shoe blogging, and i'm just the guy not to do it.
December 15, 2008 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
So I guess the Illinois GOP has some major surefire political star lined up to run, like Alan Keyes or Jack Ryan.
December 15, 2008 10:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank God the Illinois GOP is here to look out for me. Fuck them. I don't need to be lectured about ethics from the assholes who bought us Gov. Ryan who is currently serving 6 years in Federal prison. All of the sudden the Illinois GOP thinks the stink is off them. Yeah I am sure only motive of the Illinois GOP is the welfare of the people in Illinois. I have more respect for ambulance chasers.
December 15, 2008 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
So thoughtful of the Illinois GOP to look out for their constituents by proposing a special election, but they failed to mention how they'd fund the election so that money doesn't come out of taxpayers' pockets.
December 15, 2008 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Being born and raised in Cook county and having spent the last 20 years living in East Central Illinois, I think I can predict what sort of candidate the Illinois GOP will run IF there is a special election.
No Jack Ryan. His withdrawal from the campaign against Obama was by his account either a.) voters confused him with former governor, now convicted racketeer George Ryan (or maybe Harrison Ford in Patriot Games). or b.) The abuse charges coming out his divorce from actress Jeri Ryan. Those kinds of charges (and even divorce) don't go over well with voters here, especially the conservative kind.
Alan Keyes? Does he even have Illinois residency anymore?
I think if the current governor doesn't resign, is impeached and removed, The last thing the GOP wants is for Democratic Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn to appoint a Dem to fill Obama's seat. They want a special election to put up some downstate Republican who will do what all downstate Republicans do. They campaign in the Chicago area as the candidate "for all of Illinois" while downstate railing against the evil Chicago politicians who are trying to "steal your money". Neglecting of course to mention that the money they're referring to is distributed based on population density and 2/3 of the people in Illinois live in Cook County.
That's the profile I believe the GOP will use to pick a candidate if it comes to a special election.
December 15, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
We have a great system in New York City. I lived in Manhattan for 14 years and never needed a car. I loved it. The subway is much cheaper than owning a car, and most of the time, I could get where I needed to go fast.
December 15, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink