Democratic Chatter 12-16-2008

George Wenschhof Bio

"Blago watch" continues - no resignation yesterday from Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D). Instead, he hires well known Chicago defense attorney Edward Genson. The Chicago Tribune has more here. If this case ever went to trial it will be interesting to see the rulings on the alleged quid pro quo as it is not uncommon for some political wrangling to occur in these matters.

Illinois legislature forms impeachment committee. The committee, comprised of 12 Democrats and 9 Republicans will determine when and if to begin impeachment proceedings. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday, they had completed their internal review of any contacts with their staff and Governor Blagojevich. He indicated that the report shows what he suspected and that no staff were involved in any improper action. However, he will delay releasing the report at the request of the U.S. Attorney's office until December 22 due to their ongoing investigation. You can read more here.

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Department of Education Secretary expected to be named today, Department of Interior Secretary may also be named - Colorado Senator Ken Salazar is seriously being considered for Secretary of Interior, which among many other things handles the oil and gas leases in many states. The Denver Post has more here.

Arne Duncan, Chicago Schools Chief Arne Duncan will be named this morning at Dodge Renaissance Academy, a elementary school in Chicago. The NY Times Caucus Blog has more here.

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Caroline Kennedy continues to express interest in the soon to be vacant NY Senate seat - Senator Hillary Clinton is waiting until she has been confirmed Secretary of State before she resigns her U.S. Senate seat. But, that is not stopping would be successors from beginning the lobbying process of why NY Governor Patterson should pick them. We reported earlier of Caroline Kennedy's interest in the seat and she has now confirmed by calling the Governor and informing him of her interest. She is the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy and the NY Senate seat was held by her Uncle Robert F. Kennedy. CNN.com has more here.

Ms. Kennedy has also hired a political consultant with powerful ties in New York to help her in her effort. Politico.com has more here. She was an early supporter, along with her Uncle Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), of Barack Obama for President.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announces Senators who will chair committees - John Kerry (D-Mass.) will take the place of Vice-President elect Joe Biden - Foreign Relations, Dianne Feinsten (D-Calf.) - Intelligence, Daniel Inouye (D-Ha.) - Appropriations, John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) - Commerce and Transportation, and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) - Small Business. The Washington Post has more here. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) stepped down as chair of the Appropriations Committee due to ill health. He had been fighting removal for the past year. John Kerry had lobbied hard for the Secretary of State appointment but lost out to Hillary Clinton.

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Fed rate cut expected today - in a further illustration of the old ways of doing things are not working, the Federal Reserve is expected to drop rates to 0.5%, the lowest on record. Prior to today's cut the rates have been cut 4.25% since September 2007. That was about the time the current recession started. CNN.com has more here.

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Minnesota Senate race Update - the state elections board is set to begin ruling on disputed ballots today. The original challenges by the campaigns were over 6500 but have now been reduced to 700 by the Franken campaign and 1000 by the Coleman campaign. After the recount had been completed the vote difference was 192 vote lead by Republican Norm Coleman over Democrat Al Franken. Politico.com has more here.

In addition to how the state elections board rules on the challenged ballots there is still an issue pertaining to approximately 1500 uncounted absentee ballots. The Franken campaign won a court ruling to have the ballots counted but now the Coleman campaign have appealed to the state Supreme Court which will hear the case tomorrow. They are expected to rule by the end of the week.

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