Over the weekend, the Chicago Defender published a preemptive endorsement of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. as the next U.S. Senator from Illinois if Barack Obama wins the presidency:
Senator Obama is the only African-American Senator. If the Senate has any hope of reflecting today’s face of America, this seat (once held by Carol Moseley-Braun) should be filled by an African-American.
Congressman Jackson, like Obama, is a member of Congress’ new generation of Black leaders—leaders who transcend race, who embrace and encourage dynamic and diverse views, and who have moved beyond the fight for civil rights to the pursuit of human rights for all.
Coincidentally, at 43, Congressman Jackson would be the youngest member of the U.S. Senate—even though he has 13 years of legislative experience and relationships.
So while he’d give up considerable seniority in the House, Jackson is young enough to serve long enough in the Senate to acquire the seniority and influence necessary to truly benefit Illinois.
In short, his experience and qualifications uniquely prepare him to hit the ground running and immediately take on the critical challenges facing our nation, our new president and our world.
Meanwhile, Archpundit provides a comprehensive round-up of the possibilites for a Senate replacement. He runs through the usual suspects, but also offers a few new theories. For instance:
Next up, is my pet theory–Blair Hull. Hull was a big donor to Blagojevich and while Blagojevich might not have endorsed, his clear preference was for Hull. I have no reason or no source to support the idea, but Blagojevich loves loyalty and so I think it’s a possibility.
The loyalty theory also gives a slight chance to State Rep. Jay Hoffman who has been loyal to a fault with the Governor. That said, my guess is Hoffman wants Secretary of State if any statewide office and knows his more socially conservative views woudl be touch in a primary in two years. My other guess is Hoffman cares about Illinois issues more than anything and being a US Senator would get him away from that.
Archpundit also offers a plausible rationale -- the first I've seen -- for why Gov. Blagojevich might pick Rep. Jan Schakowsky:
One person who I long dismissed simply because I didn’t see the upside to Blagojevich is Jan Schakowsky. However, she has been fundraising for him and represents a liberal base in the primary that Blagojevich would covet. The liberal base tends to distrust machine politicians and so such group of progressives would be a natural alliance against LMadigan and Hynes. She’d be insane to endorse him, but if you can’t take his appointment and screw him, you aren’t fit to be a US Senator.
Many discount her as not a good general election candidate, but I’m not certain. She’s certainly not Dick Durbin and her margins would be smaller, but she has good labor union ties and Illinois is a safe blue state. All that said, I don’t think Blagojevich cares much about that so I’m not sure it’s a relevant consideration to him. Where she would be vulnerable is if Madigan decides he wants to take her out and creates an alliance with Republicans. Tales of hating Schakowsky are legion amongst Madigan staffers. Schakowsky wears that as a badge of honor. Pissing off MMadigan might well be a bonus for Blagojevich.
Post new comment