Harry Reid classy as ever:
The momentum for a special election to replace President-elect Barack Obama ran into a major hurdle late this afternoon in the form of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) who penned a letter today to scandal-tarred Gov. Rod Blagojevich making clear he would prefer the incumbent step aside and let Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn make the appointment.
“It is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election,” wrote Reid in a letter obtained by The Fix. “But a decision by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans.”
Reid adds that his preference for an appointment by Blagojevich’s successor rather than a special election is driven by his belief that it is “imperative” that a new senator from Illinois be seated as soon as possible. An appointment by Quinn, a Democrat, also avoids the possibility that Democrats could lose the seat in a shortened special election campaign.
The timeline being floated in Illinois political circles would be for party primaries to take place on Feb. 24 with a general election on April 7 — a schedule that would leave the Senate seat vacant for at least three months.
Just friggin classy. Why let the Illinois people pick its successor when one of the established members of the Chicago corruption machine can do it instead.
But what do you expect. This is the representative of the people who complained about how those same people smelled:
“My staff tells me not to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway,” said Reid in his remarks. “In the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it’s true.”
Classy Harry.
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