This story in the Pantagraph starts out simply enough…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s few public comments about the politically sensitive topic of high electric bills have suggested that he would sign off on a plan to cut Ameren and ComEd rates back to their 2006 levels.
But lawmakers are trying to abandon that plan in favor of convincing Ameren and ComEd to help customers under different terms. A Blagojevich aide says the governor could go along under certain conditions.
“He’s open to an alternative to a rate freeze as long as it provides immediate relief to consumers,’’ spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said.
But then…
Blagojevich’s office hasn’t been represented in ongoing talks among lawmakers, corporate officials and others.
The fact that the governor hasn’t been involved is both pathetic and a positive.
It’s pathetic because the governor has insisted that he supports rate relief for beleagured consumers, yet hasn’t bothered to insert himself into the process.
It’s positive because if the guv had joined the talks, he might have screwed them up. He would’ve been in that room yapping about baseball, or ties or property tax assessment caps or anything else as long as it had nothing to do with the actual topic at hand. From what I can tell, he doesn’t negotiate, he speechifies from carefully crafted talking points.
A couple of weeks ago when House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie said that she was authorized to represent Speaker Madigan in the leaders meeting on assessment caps, the governor had to huddle with his top aides for several minutes before he could come up with a response.
That’s not the kind of guy you want at the table when you’re negotiating with corporate CEOs. So, yeah, it’s a “positive” that Blagojevich hasn’t been in the room, but what does that say about him?