True to form, the Republican vultures in the Illinois General Assembly are circling over Obama’s vacant senate seat like the bottom feeders they are. According a report in the Chicago Sun Times, the Illinois GOP is feeling all entitledly in the wake of their governor’s outrageous scandal:
Before Blagojevich's arrest Tuesday, it appeared that Obama's Senate replacement would be a Chicago Democrat. But a push to hold a special election to fill the vacancy leaves the door open for a Republican.
"Certainly, it is our belief that, if we go into a special election, a Republican should have a chance," Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna said Wednesday.
As Jerry Sienfeld liked to say, "good luck with all that!" Currently, the Illinois house of representatives is comprised of 67 Democrats and 51 Republicans, while, in the State Senate, Democrats outnumber the repugs by 15. Illinois voters at large are vehemently pro-Obama and highly inclined to choose a Democratic successor. But, Greg Giroux, a writer for Congressional Quarterly, warns that a Democrat filling this seat is "no sure thing." Nonetheless, his own report belies his inner concern troll:
While such a move would not guarantee that the seat would be filled by another Democrat — as would be the case if Blagojevich appointed Obama’s successor — the ongoing political trend in the state suggests the Democrats would have a strong advantage. Illinois residents who gave Obama 70 percent of their votes in his 2004 Senate election provided him with 62 percent in his presidential victory over Republican John McCain . Democrat Richard J. Durbin , who is the Senate majority whip, easily won election to a third term on Nov. 4. Democrats also won 12 of Illinois’ 19 U.S. House seats in last month’s election, and control every statewide office in Illinois as well as both chambers of the state legislature.
Despite the GOP’s enormous disadvantage, the CG pundit cites this as a "a rare opening to seriously compete in a state where the GOP has lost nine of the past 10 Senate elections."
(Okay Greg; I look forward to seeing you back on earth so we can discuss this further.)
To his credit, though, the CG pundit must have had exclusive access to this story, as he seems to enjoy proximity to the Illinois GOP, who appear to be living in the same alternate universe:
Republican leaders said they'll promise to bring "change and reform" to a state government tainted by "Blagojevich Democrats" -- "all the candidates who ran with Blagojevich and didn't call him out," in McKenna's words.