Mobbing the Constitution to Get At Blagojevich

Bill Quigley

14 Jan 2009

Mobbing
the Constitution to Get At Blagojevich

by Kevin Alexander Gray

This article originally appeared in Counterpunch.

"The Democratic Senators faced a potential Supreme Court
challenge where even if they won they would lose."

The travails of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich have more to do with his
crassness or the seeming lack of sophistication of his demand, than anything
else. I mean what's the difference between Hillary Clinton's demand that Barack
Obama help retire her $45 million campaign debt and Blagojevich wanting payback
for giving Obama the senator he wanted to replace him?

The list of politicians, their family members and friends, lobbyists and
companies they represent, who benefit from "quid pro quo" or, "you scratch my
back I'll scratch yours," as well as "pay- to-play," "vote buying" and
"influence peddling" is long and grows longer every second. They don't call
money "the mother's milk of politics" for nothing. And we all know more than a few
politicians who claimed "they were in it to do good and ended up doing very
well," financially speaking. Bill Clinton and Dick Chaney come to mind, but
there are scores more.

Yet our concern shouldn't be over whether or not "to the victor belong the spoils"
still holds sway. We should be more concerned over the attack on and erosion of
due process and the presumption of innocence in American society.

It is not complex. Blagojevich has a criminal complaint against him. He has not
been formally charged with a particular crime or crimes. No jury has been
seated. No trial has taken place. No jury has convicted him and no judge has
sentenced him of anything. Until a jury decides differently, Blagojevich
maintains the presumption of innocence.

"We should be more
concerned over the attack on and erosion of due process and the presumption of
innocence."

Being charged, arrested, having a bond hearing, going to trial and being freed
or convicted is due process.

The presumption of innocence and due process are basic human and civil rights.
Those rights should be protected for everybody, even for those whose views or
values we may or may not share and for those we like or don't like.

Blagojevich resigning or not carrying out the duties of his job could ring as
an admission of guilt of sorts and violative of his 5th Amendment rights.
Doubtless there are many who would say that "pleading the 5th" is itself an
admission of guilt. I say that not being compelled to testify against one's
self made sense when the Framers put it in place and it makes sense now.

Due process isn't "a prosecutor accuses you so you're guilty." If that were the
case why have a criminal justice system at all? Or, why have trials?

One would think that those sworn to "uphold and defend the Constitution" - from
the Illinois Legislature to Harry Reid and other members of the US Senate, no
matter the party - would promote rights and not play so much to cloakroom and
pop politics and trial by media pundits. It ought to be troubling to State Executives
across the country that they too could be disempowered and impeached on
accusation. It's just as strange that legislators would not want to protect
their own due process rights instead of leaving themselves open to being
removed or asked to leave office based solely on allegation.

Blagojevich was well within his rights and duties to appoint Burris to fill
Obama's vacant seat.

"It ought to be troubling
to State Executives across the country that they too could be disempowered and
impeached on accusation."

Some accused Burris of being used by the Governor. Others opined "he's not
ready for prime time." A few more, such as Chicago reporter Lynn Sweet, have
all but called Burris stupid. In an television interview she rambled on about
Burris' inability to operate his cell phone‘s message service as a measure of
his lack of intelligence. A friend of mine asked if had I heard about Burris'
museum to himself on the Southside of Chicago with an empty space on the wall
for ‘future accomplishments." My response was, "So did George Jefferson." ( For
those familiar with the 70s sitcom Good Times, dry cleaner operator
Jefferson opened a museum to himself with space left for future deeds. He even
tried to charge his wife "Weezie" the $1 admission (which he paid for her).

Burris is qualified to serve. Although I must say, to me, the only
qualifications are age and residency. I also believe that Burris should not
have to "agree not to run in 2010." Who serves or continues to serve should be
left up to the voters.

And after Burris is seated he should place his appointment documents on his
museum wall if that's what he wants to do. Everyday, I have to drive by a
bronze statute of House Whip Jim Clyburn holding a golf club at the city
driving range funded by federal dollars. The statute sits close to a railroad
track and on more than one occasion I've fantasized tying a rope to the statute
and lassoing it to a southbound train.

"Obama and his crew
didn't get who they wanted."

Blagojevich comes out ahead with the Burris selection. By appointing Burris,
blacks rallied around both him and his pick. It's also a swipe against Obama
and his crew. They didn't get who they wanted - which is why Obama supporters
lead the name-calling against the Governor and Burris. More subtlety and just
as ironic, Blagojevich called out Obama on his serial betrayal in regards to
the black political class while at the same time revealing Harry Reid's
hypocrisy on race.

Race and racism hung in the air around Obama's former seat long before it was
revealed that Reid didn't back any of the blacks publicly interested in the
seat. That public disclosure, although met with the predictable righteous
indignation, is why Reid was hard-pressed to deny Burris entry into the Senate.
As the controversy brewed I got an email from one of the former lawyers who
represented Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. who had offered his services to Burris for
free. That's to say, the Democratic Senators faced a potential Supreme Court
challenge where even if they won they would lose.

As for Obama's betrayal - or opportunism, throughout the 2008 campaign, Jesse
Jackson Jr. regularly flogged his father in the interest of Obama. He was a
team player and many assumed he would be high on Obama's list. That wasn't the
case. The prosecutor's transcripts and Jackson's entreaties to Blagojevich
bears that out.

"Jesse Jackson Jr.
regularly flogged his father in the interest of Obama."

There's been a lot of hand-wringing, name-calling and finger pointing in the
Blagojevich affair. I got into an exchange on one of the social networks with
supporters of Obama who used words such as "evil" and "vile" to describe
Blagojevich. I offered that "evil" is a religious term and to my knowledge the
governor had not been "charged "with a crime, only a "complaint."

Needless to say, I don't know if "pay-to-play" is a "sin against
God." But until Blagojevich is found guilty of a crime, it is his job to insure
the process of government, of which appointing Obama's successor is a
governance act, goes on.

What we have seen from what we can see of the Blagojevich controversy is
politics being played out. There's corruption. Yet through the mess a lot of
truth has been revealed. The process unexpectedly turned out to be pretty
transparent as politics goes. With this glimpse of truth, for future reference
people ought to use the occasion to identify who their friends are and are not.
One things for certain, there's more to come.

Kevin Alexander Gray is
a civil rights organizer in South Carolina. His book, Waiting
for Lightning to Strike, has just been published by CounterPunch/AK
Press. He can be reached at: [email protected].

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