Blagojevich Fallout: Special Election for Obama's Open Seat

Crain's:

The state's top two legislative leaders Tuesday said they will move fast to seize control of the process of selecting a replacement for Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, taking that power away from Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

...

Though a special election technically would leave the decision in the hands of voters, it also would help well-known, well-funded potential contenders because of the difficulty of mounting a state-wide election on short notice. That could work to the advantage of several area members of Congress who have expressed interest in Mr. Obama's seat, including Democrats Jesse Jackson Jr., Luis Gutierrez and Jan Schakowsky.

A quick special election also could draw interest from one top Republican, north suburban U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk.

Sounds good to me! With the scandals and a fight between an unknown statewide Democrat and a decent clean Republican, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the Republicans could pick up Obama's old seat, and wouldn't that be a hoot.
But even better, a special election might bring back another day with Sarah Palin by the Republican candidate, a-la Saxby Chambliss, but this time on Obama's turf. Which may not work as well, but boy it sure would be fun to see.

Marc Ambinder has the scenarios:

There are several possibilities now:

1. Blagojevich defiantly stays in office. The legislature impeaches him; Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn becomes governor and appoints Obama's successor. Democrats worry about Quinn's judgment here, but they might attempt to prevail on him to pick someone acceptable.

2. Blagojevich stays in office, but the impeachment is stalled until four weeks from now, and then, because a new general assembly would have to begin the proceedings anew, Blagojevich appoints a successor; the U.S. Senate refuses to seat that person.

3. A special election is called, Blagojevich signs the bill; or he vetoes it, the legislature overrides the veto and a date is set; some Democrats in the state believe that this scenario will benefit Republican Mark Kirk, because Democrats will have a nasty, long, primary season to fight about Blagojevich and who was closest to him. Kirk will probably have a clear field, lots of money, and a very simple change/anti-corruption message.

4. Blagojevich resigns; Quinn appoints a successor

It is worth noting that Republicans have won in Illinois in the past.

Also, if a senate seat is a "$%@# valuable thing", how much is Blagojevich's resignation letter worth? It's got to be worth something right?

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