Democratic Deals: Done Dirt Cheap

February 3, 2009

Poor Rod Blagojevich. He got caught, of course, trying to negotiate a deal for how he’d go about appointing a replacement for Barack Obama’s senate seat. And the crowd went wild – liberals and conservatives alike. And, while using all the strength they could to keep straight faces, they intoned in a near-perfect chorus: How dare he? How could he? This isn’t the way things are done.

Bullshit. Old Blago was just a bit reckless.

But, cried the bullshitters, you can’t trade favors when it comes to making appointments like that. The liberal darling of the moment, Rachel Maddow, even went so far as to imply that Blago incriminated himself on her MSNBC show because he – rather laughingly – declared that what he was really trying to get in return for the appointment was a legislative promise or two.

Maddow’s knuckle-dragging competition at FOX News displayed a similar sense of “outrage,” only more so since Blago, the other key players and the seat in question were all wrapped in the “evil” D-word: Democrat.

The rules are clear, they all sang, you cannot seek anything in exchange for a political appointment.

Sure, this is a fine theory – not to mention one that ought to be followed and enforced. But, sorry silly talking heads, this is far from the political reality. And, of course, you know it.

Fast forward to today’s news that President Obama will be appointing New Hampshire’s Republican Senator, Judd Gregg, to be his Secretary of Commerce, an appointment that will lead to yet another open senate seat to be filled by a sitting governor.

When news of the potential Gregg appointment first broke last week it was portrayed as little more than a clever “trick” by the Obama team to either look bipartisan by even considering it or by knocking Gregg out of the Senate so that New Hampshire’s Democratic governor, John Lynch, could appoint a replacement – thus securing the coveted 60-seat filibuster-busting majority the Democrats desire.

As a result, the pundits scoffed at the Gregg pick. There’s no way Gregg would give up his seat and stick it to his Republican colleagues, they all chirped.

But that was last week. Because this week – today, in fact – a deal has apparently been reached: Gregg and Governor Lynch have agreed that a Republican will be appointed to take Gregg’s place once his appointment is confirmed. And not only that, they’ve also apparently agreed that whomever they appoint will also agree not to run for the open seat in two years.

So let’s tune into the MSNBC and FOX News pundits to feel their current outrage for the obvious “conditions” that were secured for a political appointment: Nothing. But. Silence.

Bullshitters, indeed.

And the most comical aspect to all of this is that these same news organizations are reporting this morning that the Obama administration has “not been involved” in any of the negotiations surrounding a possible replacement for Gregg. Cue the laugh track.

From a political perspective, I can understand why the Republican cheerleaders are keeping quiet on this one. But what about the liberals? They’re being asked to both “shut up” about the appointment of yet another Republican to the Obama cabinet and “ignore” the deal to appoint another Republican to replace him.

Geez, who put the “kick me” sign on their backs? But, being the good liberals that they are, they’ll just play along, pretending, of course, that maybe – just maybe – Obama will flash his mega-watt grin at them sometime soon.

The good news is that there’s at least one Democrat who won’t be keeping quiet on this New Hampshire deal: Rod Blagojevich. I’ll bet his lawyers are preparing the subpoenas right now for each and every player in the “Gregg deal” in order to prove what we all, unfortunately, should know: Our career politicians are little more than money and power whores.

And once they’re done with their dirty dealing, they rest of us still won’t have the jobs we need, the health care we deserve or the peace we desire.

Until we wake up.

Posted by M. Colby | Filed Under blog, essays & columns

Comments

One Response to “Democratic Deals: Done Dirt Cheap”

Peter Buknatski on February 3rd, 2009 5:47 pm

(This original and yet un-published & un-posted piece is for Michael in hopes that he will watch out for the ‘Nice Police’)

Be Nice

under a nice moon
in a nice land
on a starry night
children plan
an insurrection
against mom and dad
who ruin with nice
all the fun to be bad

Obama would never
let you do that they say
niceness is now
the American way
but the kiddies don’t like
this new obfuscation
they want to create
their own obamanations

so off they go running
with spray paint and glue
to the WalMart store
the one nearest you
they stick up some images
that are not very nice
of all the workers who died
to give us half price

but the Nice Police come
and clean up the mess
take the children home
and make them confess
to not being nice
when nice is the rule
the new law of the land
they teach it in school

so bedtime for you
you beastly bad brats
and thank God your parents
are good Democrats
they will make you be nice
they will make you behave
or you’ll wind up like that man
who lives in the cave

in a nice new land
on a nicey nice night
kiddies all over
are tucked in tight
tomorrow they’ll learn
to be nice like they should
and that all of America
is just so full of good

Peter Buknatski
Montpelier, Vt.