"The Change We Need" IS Coming At Last!

With complete control over the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal Government, the Democratic Party might be expected to shed their commitment to "a new kind of politics" and go back to old-fashioned log-rolling and back-scratching. But apparently the Democrats have gotten Barack Obama's religion of reform. The Associated Press reports:

Senate Democrats said Tuesday they would refuse to seat the man Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has picked to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, saying that the taint of scandal would follow the new senator to Washington.

“Anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and his deputy, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said in a statement.

Senate leaders . . . were wary of being seen as denying a black man a seat in a chamber where there are no blacks, according to two officials knowledgeable about the talks who requested anonymity in order to speak freely. That sensitivity is why the statement includes a section explicitly saying that any “shadow” of impropriety or the Democrats’ refusal to seat Burris was a reflection on Blagojevich, not Burris.

This is very good news indeed. Not party affiliation, not partisan advantage, not racial or ethnic identity, will prevent the Democrats from holding firm to their principles. We can advance the interests of all of the underprivileged, including the victims of prejudice, without bowing down to cronyism. Bravo, Democrats!

Stabbed In The Brain By Mayor Melton

The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson's daily newspaper, reported today on the latest news conference given by our embattled Mayor, Frank Melton. Mr. Melton is under Federal indictment for leading a group of young men to demolish a house without legal authority. He claims it was a crack house, but eschewed any legal process to secure a court order giving the City the right to destroy the building.

The newspaper reports:

Melton then promised “dramatic steps” to deal with crime in the city, including renewing his youth employment program and enacting a proposed ban on baggy pants. He said the City Council is poised to vote on the ban today. If the council does not pass it, he will through executive order, he said.

What part of the phrase "separation of powers" does this guy not understand? The Mayor does not MAKE the laws; the Mayor does not BREAK the laws. The Mayor enforces the laws that the legislative branch (the City Council) enacts (with his signature or over his veto), and he does it in accordance with constitutional restraints.

This kind of "change-the-subject spin" makes my head hurt. Will somebody please ask the politicians to quit stabbing us in the brain?