What the Magic Man said
Roland Burris has a point:
"This is all politics and theater, but I am the junior senator according to every law book in the nation," Burris said. "This appointment is legal. What don't you all understand that what has been done here is legal? That's legal."
Burris' appointment has been under fire since Blagojevich is facing a possible indictment and impeachment for allegedly trying to sell the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, among other issues.
Technically, he's right. Of course, we all know Burris is damaged merchandise, and always will be.
Meanwhile, in the District of Corruption, Commerce Secretary nominee Bill Richardson pre-emptively resigns before he's kicked out:
"It was my idea to withdraw," Richardson said when asked whether Obama's transition team pressured him to drop his nomination out of concern for the federal investigation into how his political donors landed lucrative transportation contracts in his state.
We're not picking on Bill Richardson here or Roland Burris. The fact is, dirty deals are a fact of life in a political system as overgrown and out of touch as the DC hegemony. Richardson just got caught doing what all the players there do.
So what's the point of mentioning it? Simple: something's gotta give. It is impossible to function in such a corrupt system while sticking to the letter of the law. The machinery of politics has outgrown the republican (small "r") values and institutions that wrote the laws we're supposed to be following. Raw power has taken the place of the rule of law, which is now nothing but a speed bump, a bothersome vestige of another time. To simply function, the system must increasingly substitute authoritarianism for the rule of law. Just watch.



