Chicago Republicans

This past month the President showed us another talent of his, something he's really quite good at - distraction.  Magicians refer to distraction as, "misdirecting the audience's attention to perform your secret moves without notice."  While sitting down with Sgt. Crowley, Professor Gates and VP Biden, BO tried his best to focus our attention off the major issues of the day.  Whether it be ObamaCare, a 2nd Stimulus Bill, canceling missile defense development while North Korea launches missiles, offering for the umpteenth time negotiate with Al-Qaeda or anything else on his far-left agenda, he's done his best to have us look this way while he's doing something else that way.

Fortunately, some news outlets are calling him out on the above issues - primarily Fox News and, in fairness, to some extent, CNN and the Washington Post.  While all of the above noted issues are important, I haven't seen much coverage, anywhere, of another issue that seems to have fallen off the radar - the closing of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.  On January 22, 2009 BO signed an Executive Order to close Guantanamo within one year.

On May 22, 2009, the US Senate effectively halted the President's plan by voting to keep the facility open, indefinitely, and refusing to fund the transfer of any prisoners to the US mainland until the Administration produced a "coherent plan for closing the prison."  Be honest - do you remember hearing about this on any major news outlet?  This was a MAJOR defeat for the President.  Of course, at the time of the vote, the Senate expected the so called Terror Policy Report within a month.

Last week the Administration quietly announced it had not yet completed the plan even though a six-month self-imposed deadline had come and passed.  Administration officials have stated the President granted a six-month extension.  This means the report on how to detain, interrogate and transfer to American or foreign soil suspected terrorists isn't even due, let alone to be implemented, AFTER the deadline BO set Guantanamo's closure.

This should be major news, but it's not "sexy" compared to the outrage over ObamaCare or the ridiculousness of the staged beer event.  A cornerstone of The Apologizer's campaign was the closing of Guantanamo Bay, now, even as President with a Democratic majority in Congress, he can't accomplish it.  We should all be grateful, Obama has stumbled yet again and we may be a lot safer for it.

Sources:

AP sources: Gov't delays terror policy reports

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090721/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_guantanamo

"Senate Nixes Obama's Guantanamo Plan" http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/05/20/obama-guantanamo.html

http://www.magicwhiz.com

Alexi Giannoulias clumsily announced his bid for Illinois Senator yesterday.  His discussions with reporters betray a go-along to get-along liberal Democrat with no intention or track record of leadership.  When asked about health care reform, Giannoulias repeated the tired and inaccurate statistic of "47 million Americans" lacking health insurance.  Of course, we know the number is much smaller.  First of all 9 of the 47 are not "Americans" anyway; they are illegal aliens.  Additionally, some fraction of the remaining uninsured are economically capable adults who choose not to insure themselves, presumably because they are young and healthy and do not see the urgency for themselves. People who can afford their own health insurance but choose not to spend their money on it clearly do not fit into the discussion about the "crisis" in health care.

Giannoulias also commented on his relationship to impeached governor and current defendant, Rod Blagojevich, by simply saying any discussion of this is just politics.  He used some patronizing language to say "I understand the question, but this is just politics..."  So, now, Alexi Giannoulias becomes one more incumbent elected Democrat who wants to get promoted, but, dismisses his relationship and support of Rod Blagojevich as irrelevant.  During the early part of Blagojevich's term, when the first accusations of impropriety and pay-for-play materialized, what leadership did Alex Giannoulias show as a senior level Democrat in Illinois politics?  Did he step forward and suggest that the Democrats should investigate the accusations, and clarify the situation with then Governor Rod Blagojevich?  Did he suggest that Democrats need to aspire to the highest possible level of integrity and cleanliness in public service?  Did he show integrity by risking his own political position by speaking out against the governor and demanding a full accounting of his activities to ensure that Illinois government is working for the people instead of taking from the people? 

No, Alex Giannoulias was as quiet as a church mouse, and said nothing when Rod Blagojevich ran for re-election in 2006.  Alexi Giannoulias didn't make one phone call to any local media, and did not lift a finger to defend the integrity and fiscal soundness of the government of the state of Illinois. 

Apparently, in Illinois, there is no need for Democrats to show leadership or integrity while they hold office. They merely need to dismiss previous relationships with bad politicians as "politics." 

I understand that Illinois Republicans have not been perfect in the past.  However, since the retirement of George Ryan in 2002, the corruption in Illinois has been owned entirely by the Illinois Democratic Party, at the city, county, and state level.  Democrats have held the reins of power and need to be held accountable for their cowardly performance in light of the most humiliated and obnoxious ex-governor in our history.

Alexi Giannoulias needs to explain why he felt that it was OK for him to remain silent as Rod Blagojevich extorted hospitals and corrupted the admissions policy at University of Illinois through his crooked appointments of trustees who used the university for their own gain.

What will it take for voters in Illinois to see the corruption of this party, and try something new?