Senate Democrats Seek to Keep People from Voting for New Illinois Senator

The entire Democratic caucus of the United States Senate signed on to a letter addressed to disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, urging him to resign his office. But the Democrats' motivation in calling for Blagojevich to step down has as much to do with the manner in which their caucus may get its next member from Illinois, as much as it has to do with standing against corruption in government. Democrats want Blagojevich to resign so that his lieutenant govenor, Pat Quinn (D), can appoint a successor to President-elect Obama, thereby guaranteeing a Democrat gets selected.

When the scandal first broke last week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) immediately called for a special election to decide a replacement for Obama. But Democrats in the Senate are nervous that all of the bad publicity surrounding the Illinois Democratic Party will work in a Republican candidate's favor, giving Republicans a much better chance at winning the seat than they would ordinarily have. As a result, Durbin has quietly dialed back his call for a special election, and Senate Democrats drafted their letter. Democrats are also made nervous by the fact that Republicans generally perform better in special elections, and have already won three such contests since Election Day.

Faced with the choice of losing a reliably Democratic Senator or saddling up to the corrupt Illinois Democratic machine, Senate Democrats have chosen the latter. The text of the letter makes it clear that Senate Democrats want no part of leaving the decision of selecting the next Illinois Senator in the hands of the people.

"It is within the power of the Illinois state legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election. But a decision by you to resign or step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois[.]"

But the best way to "earn the confidence of the people of Illinois," if that is truly the Democrats' intention, would be to let the people themselves make that decision through a special election. Senate Democrats, however, seem to consider that just too much of a risk to take.