* Best lede of the day…
In a move that jeopardizes a tamer health insurance expansion plan, Gov. Rod Blagojevich launched a fresh assault on House Democrats by rewriting a measure to force insurance companies to cover dependents well into their 20s.
That pretty much encapsulates the real pitfalls about this new “strategy” by Gov. Blagojevich. He wants to “improve” bills, but he may end up killing them. More…
But state Rep. Fred Crespo, who helped push the underlying health insurance legislation, said the governor’s move is wrong.
“Now the governor, by doing this, risks us not getting anything at all,” said the Hoffman Estates Democrat. “Many of us are getting sick and tired of this little game. It is hurting people.”
The governor was AWOL during spring session and now he wants to play legislator. A bit late.
* The Tribune had some extensive online coverage yesterday, but the dead trees edition is a bit lighter. The paper led with the other salient point from yesterday’s presser…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich lashed out at two of his fellow Democrats on Wednesday, accusing House Speaker Michael Madigan of blocking his progressive social agenda for the state and contending that Mayor Richard Daley is complicit by failing to intervene. […]
The remarks represented a return of Blagojevich’s strategy of using public appearances to criticize his opponents and underscored the dysfunction among Democrats who control the state.
It’s always somebody else’s fault.
* And this is something that I’ve been talking about for weeks, but has been mostly overlooked by “mainstream” publications…
Rep. Louis Lang of Skokie, a member of Madigan’s leadership team, said that Blagojevich’s criticism leaves “no doubt in my mind that the governor is doing all he can do to try to make it more difficult to try to elect Democrats” to the House this fall.
The governor has already said that a veto-proof majority for Madigan would be harmful to his interests, and the House GOP has allied with him on his precious capital bill, so expect him to do whatever he can to help the Republicans hold onto their seats.
* Feisty? Really?
A feisty Gov. Rod Blagojevich lashed out Wednesday at lawmakers he accuses of stonewalling his statewide construction program and even took a swipe at Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, imploring the powerful politician not to side with the “oppressor.”
This wasn’t “feisty,” behavior. This was destructive behavior.
* From yesterday’s Tribby coverage…
“You know, we did a little homework and we found out some of the things that he said when Governor Thompson was governor and Governor Edgar was governor, the same things he says now he was saying back then. These are just tactics. They are tactics, they are politics, it’s the games they play and that’s why it’s so frustrating and so disappointing that you would screw with the lives of people because you have your own political agenda.”
I’ve been making this point time and time again. Thomspon and Edgar always found a way to deal with these “tactics,” so why can’t Blagojevich? Also, other legislative leaders gave other governors tons of grief in the past, yet somehow things - sometimes big things - still got done.
* And then there’s this point…
Blagojevich said he has identified more than 50 bills he can rewrite to strengthen them.
* Back to Patterson’s article…
On three separate occasions the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled the governor does not have the unilateral ability to wholly rewrite legislation. If Blagojevich’s changes are approved, a lawsuit could follow based on those earlier rulings.
If he deliberately violates the Constitution 50 times in a row, that, in my opinion, could be construed as an impeachable offense. They’ll never base impeachment on this because it would play right into the governor’s hands.
“They want to impeach me for giving hundreds of thousands of people access to health insurance.”
Even so, serial constitutional violations should be taken very seriously.
* Related…
* Schoenburg: Session forces politicians to change fundraising plans
* Constitutional officers considering layoffs, furloughs - Budget cuts put jobs on the line
* Gov’s ‘Rewrite To Do Right’ Plan Angers Lawmakers
* Gov plans to extend age for health coverage