Scrambling for seats at the seat of power
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (Original Article)
Scrambling for seats at the seat of power
June 15, 2008
CAROL MARIN cmarin@suntimes.com
Right from the get-go, let’s stipulate to three political truths:
One, House Speaker Michael Madigan is very smart.
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Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin
Two, the impeachment memo written by his staff that leaked last week was beyond stupid.
And three, the ship of state we call Illinois is listing in the water, causing some of the deck chairs to begin rearranging themselves.
Let’s begin with the memo, that 14-page suggested script for Democratic legislative candidates in hotly contested November races.
It’s titled “Talking Points on Beginning Proceedings Against Gov. Blagojevich.”
Strip it down to its basics and what do have? A clear window into just how much Madigan hates Blagojevich and reviles Senate President Emil Jones. It was Jones, after all, who killed the recall bill that passed Madigan’s House, leaving impeachment as the only other removal option.
But at the heart of this memo is Madigan’s own heart, his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan. And his burning determination to clear the way for her to run for governor in 2010.
And so Page Seven of the document conspiratorially whispers the following instruction: “Note: Don’t repeat her name or get into a discussion about her future political plans. This [impeachment] matter has nothing whatsoever to do with that. . . .”
Nooooo. Nothing whatsoever.
Maybe all the venom coursing through Madigan’s veins has begun to attack his sizable brain.
As any regular reader of this column knows, Rod St George Vertigo Blagojevich gets a lot of heat …continue reading