links for 2008-12-31

Blagojevich's choice of Burris "is emblematic of the old-school, pay-to-play culture that has plagued Illinois for generations and this appointment is another embarrassment for the people of Illinois," said Illinois GOP Chairman Andy McKenna.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) laid the blame for the current problems in Illinois at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (Nev.) feet.

"Senator Reid and the Democratic leadership in Washington and Springfield decided to play politics with this Senate seat and unfortunately, the people of Illinois are now paying the price," said Cornyn.
+++++++
Burris will be seated because the Senate Democrats and Harry Reid have no legal authority to bar him.

Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, standing beside a damaged yacht, Tuesday accused the Israeli navy of ramming the vessel to halt the delivery of medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip.
++++++
Israel showed McKinney, now didn't they?

But Supreme Court precedent suggests "no": The Court held in Powell v. McCormack (1969), that "in judging the qualifications of its members Congress is limited to the standing qualifications prescribed in the Constitution," such as age and citizenship. Now perhaps the Senators are right and the Court was wrong, and perhaps today's Court would overrule Powell. But at least at this point, Powell seems to make clear that under Article I, Section 5 the Senate may determine whether the Senator should be seated solely based on the objective qualifications that the Constitution prescribes, and not based on its judgment whether Gov. Blagojevich ought to be entitled to make the appointment.
+++++++
If Reid et al proceed to exclude Roland Burris from the Senate there will a challenge before the US Supreme Court.

Washington lobbyist Vicki L. Iseman has filed a $27 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times for a February article about Iseman and her relationship with Sen. John McCain.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond on Tuesday, alleges the article falsely communicated that Iseman and McCain had an illicit “romantic” relationship in 1999 when he was chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and she was a lobbyist representing clients before Congress.

The suit also names the executive editor of the Times, its Washington bureau chief and four reporters who wrote the story as defendants.

William Keller, the paper’s executive editor, did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment on the suit.
++++++
The New York Times will pay out over this one.

Mayor Bloomberg's top political aide is pulling back on his lobbying campaign to propel Caroline Kennedy into the U.S. Senate because "it wasn't working," according to sources.

"Everything was backfiring," said one source of the intense behind-the-scenes effort by Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey.

"He's not out front any more."
+++++++++
Caroline Kennedy has sunk her own ship. Back to the rich lifestyle…..

The former U.S. special envoy to the Middle East said Tuesday that President-elect Barack Obama should engage with Hamas under certain conditions, and sooner rather than later.
++++++
So far, Obama has played golf and refused to committ on the Israeli War on Hamas. Is Obama lazy or just supporting Israel?