I don't even know what to say about this. It's like watching Greek tragedy. Here you have a guy who lived a decent, honorable life, brought low by ambition. This is an ugly, ugly stain. Greed kills. On another note, who advised Burris to go on Hardball? What were they thinking?
TNC, this kind of venality doesn't just "pop-up" at age 60 because of a great opportunity. Unfortunately, I think it may be time to re-examine his entire contribution to society in the context of this corruption.
Methinks he has always been low.... we just started to notice.
I think he always had ambition, but as he got older he started worrying about what he had to show for all his work. That can bring someone low pretty quick, if they start thinking that what's on the big marble monument is what really matters.
My friend works on capital hill--she said she saw him sleeping when Petraeus was testifying recently.
BTW Burris also as a prosecutor tried to put an innocent man to death to advance his political career. I'll see if I can find a link to that story. Basically, there was almost a consensus by the prosecution that the man was innocent, but Burris pressed on to seem "hard on crime" as he was trying to get elected.
"Public fury over the governor’s [Blago] alleged misconduct has masked the once lively debate over Burris' decision to continue to prosecute the wrong man – despite the objections of one of his top prosecutors – for a high-profile murder case.
While state attorney general in 1992, Burris aggressively sought the death penalty for Rolando Cruz, who twice was convicted of raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. The crime took place in 1983.
But by 1992, another man had confessed to the crime, and Burris’ own assistant attorney general was pleading with Burris to drop the case, then on appeal before the Illinois Supreme Court.
It is important to note that Burris was not the actual prosecutor in the Rolando Cruz case, nor was he the one who had sought and secured the death penalty for Cruz when Cruz was convicted in DuPage County. That dishonor belongs to DuPage County State's Attorney Jim Ryan, who had been Burris' GOP opponent in the 1990 Illinois Attorney General's race. Burris's role was to represent the state in the appeal of the Cruz case before the Illinois Supreme Court.
Yes, Burris didn't cover himself in glory in his handling of the appeal for this high-profile case, but it is inaccurate to say that he sought, let alone aggresively sought, the death penalty for Cruz. Rather, Burris failed to do due dilligence in examining the shoddy case brought by DuPage County State's Attorney Jim Ryan, and argued that Cruz had been rightfully convicted and rightfully placed on Death Row.
Therefore, it is Jim Ryan and his successor Joe Birkett that were responsible for seeking the death penalty for Cruz. Burris's failing was that he failed to question the case brought by the DuPage County State's Attorney, and went along with the call by the DuPage County State's Attorney to have Cruz executed when the case was appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.
That is, um, horrifying. Burris is now a true villain in my eyes. You always kind of assume that politicians are constantly engaged in transgressive behavior (see video above), but putting an innocent man to death simply on the chance of political advancement is especially heinous (and something I thought was a television-show fictional contrivance in this day and age). Guess there's a blind spot to my cynicism. Sad stuff.
Obama is ambitious but capable while this simple-minded man is another sad example of the costs of inflated self-esteem without the abilities to back it up , hopefully Gwen Ifill is right and we have turned a corner in our choices of political reps. Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Fight_(film)
The idiocy of this guy and Blago is simply astounding. Whether or not this conversation had ever taken place, there was no way in hell Burris should have accepted the appointment of a governor in freefall. But knowing this conversation took place, and that the feds very likely had it one tape, and to still accept the appointment, I mean, that's not just horribly corrupt, it's strinkingly stupid.
And now, just like Blago, Burris is going to cling to that fucking valuable senate seat for as long as he can. Awesome. Hilarious.
He sounds, at least to me, like someone who really believes he can win the state primary and be re-elected to Obama's old senate seat. I wonder what polls or advice he reads/listens to that make him so delusional.
Roland Burris forgot he was a stain to the seat from the beginning; The Dems didn’t want him, he forced himself in to the Senate. I also think Mr. Burris took advantage of the “Pay for Play” situation of Blago and was trying to swindle him too,” Oh I said I would contribute, but I realized I couldn’t”. Lies……. I believe he lied to Blago too…He was working behind the scenes… Mr. Burris was blinded by his thrust for a little power and the limelight that he couldn’t obtain for himself after all the years of not getting elected on his own.
And in the end he will still be in the Senate until next year.
As for who got him on Hardball I believe that Matthews was one of the few who gave Burris the benefit of a doubt initially so maybe they thought Burris would find him as accomodating again. But it was definitely a dumb move, especially to do over the phone.
I will say this for Burris, I thought he was going to swing on one of the reporters outside his house last night. The guy is more feisty than I gave him credit for.
who advised Burris to go on Hardball? What were they thinking?
That was my first thought as well. But then again, I had a friend in high school who always used to say, 'stupid should hurt," and in this case, as in most, I agree.
"Here you have a guy who lived a decent, honorable life, brought low by ambition."
Well outside you using the word "guy" that whole sentence is WRONG.
Burris has always been a hack.
The Rolando Cruz case is just one indication of that. There were cops and government attorneys resigning over the handling of that case because it was clear that Cruz wasn't guilty. Burris's reaction was basically "hey, I'm the top prosecutor I'm going to prosecute and guilt or innocence is secondary".
Whatever motivates Burris deep within his being to "strive" for "accomplishments" to put on his tombstone is indicative of a deeply flawed personality. I'm not talking average type flaws. I'm talking about "monument"al flaws worthy of being put on that monument of his.
Greek Tragedy is when a basically good person does something bad. This ain't it.
Here's a piece no one cared about. Meh, whatever, probably the most enjoyable article I did during my stint at TIME. Premiered a month before I got laid-off. The nail in the coffin? Ya think?
Here's me going after Al. I didn't so much have a problem with him, as I had a problem with media acting like this dude was the go-to guy for everything black.
This was my first real story at time. I was writing for the Business section, a real change of direction for me. At any rate, it's about Wal-Mart's attempts to colonize the inner-city. As much as I enjoyed this piece, I mostly enjoyed going out to Chicago, which is a beautiful, beautiful city.
This a piece I did about the cops just outside our nation capitol, in Prince George's County, a few years back. I wanted to offer a counter to the dumb, conventional wisdom that if you paint your police force black, you could eradicate police brutality. In fact, Prince George's--one of the richest, blackest counties in the country--also had one of the most brutal police force's in the country.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
TNC, this kind of venality doesn't just "pop-up" at age 60 because of a great opportunity. Unfortunately, I think it may be time to re-examine his entire contribution to society in the context of this corruption.
Methinks he has always been low.... we just started to notice.
I think he always had ambition, but as he got older he started worrying about what he had to show for all his work. That can bring someone low pretty quick, if they start thinking that what's on the big marble monument is what really matters.
It's like watching a drunk uncle act a fool in public. Dude has no one to blame but himself. He and Blago must have the same PR people...dumbasses.
My friend works on capital hill--she said she saw him sleeping when Petraeus was testifying recently.
BTW Burris also as a prosecutor tried to put an innocent man to death to advance his political career. I'll see if I can find a link to that story. Basically, there was almost a consensus by the prosecution that the man was innocent, but Burris pressed on to seem "hard on crime" as he was trying to get elected.
Here's a link to the story on that case:
http://www.propublica.org/article/in-90s-burris-sought-death-penalty-for-innocent-man-1231
In essence:
"Public fury over the governor’s [Blago] alleged misconduct has masked the once lively debate over Burris' decision to continue to prosecute the wrong man – despite the objections of one of his top prosecutors – for a high-profile murder case.
While state attorney general in 1992, Burris aggressively sought the death penalty for Rolando Cruz, who twice was convicted of raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. The crime took place in 1983.
But by 1992, another man had confessed to the crime, and Burris’ own assistant attorney general was pleading with Burris to drop the case, then on appeal before the Illinois Supreme Court.
Burris refused. He was running for governor."
Dan W,
It is important to note that Burris was not the actual prosecutor in the Rolando Cruz case, nor was he the one who had sought and secured the death penalty for Cruz when Cruz was convicted in DuPage County. That dishonor belongs to DuPage County State's Attorney Jim Ryan, who had been Burris' GOP opponent in the 1990 Illinois Attorney General's race. Burris's role was to represent the state in the appeal of the Cruz case before the Illinois Supreme Court.
Yes, Burris didn't cover himself in glory in his handling of the appeal for this high-profile case, but it is inaccurate to say that he sought, let alone aggresively sought, the death penalty for Cruz. Rather, Burris failed to do due dilligence in examining the shoddy case brought by DuPage County State's Attorney Jim Ryan, and argued that Cruz had been rightfully convicted and rightfully placed on Death Row.
Therefore, it is Jim Ryan and his successor Joe Birkett that were responsible for seeking the death penalty for Cruz. Burris's failing was that he failed to question the case brought by the DuPage County State's Attorney, and went along with the call by the DuPage County State's Attorney to have Cruz executed when the case was appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Interesting stuff, eltoro, thanks for the clarification.
That is, um, horrifying. Burris is now a true villain in my eyes. You always kind of assume that politicians are constantly engaged in transgressive behavior (see video above), but putting an innocent man to death simply on the chance of political advancement is especially heinous (and something I thought was a television-show fictional contrivance in this day and age). Guess there's a blind spot to my cynicism. Sad stuff.
Now I'm a special kind of idiot. Internet Boat, save me with your investigative skills!
*Sigh*
Obama is ambitious but capable while this simple-minded man is another sad example of the costs of inflated self-esteem without the abilities to back it up , hopefully Gwen Ifill is right and we have turned a corner in our choices of political reps. Check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Fight_(film)
This man is just so minor league. And brought low by a federal wiretap, in true Chicago-style.
The idiocy of this guy and Blago is simply astounding. Whether or not this conversation had ever taken place, there was no way in hell Burris should have accepted the appointment of a governor in freefall. But knowing this conversation took place, and that the feds very likely had it one tape, and to still accept the appointment, I mean, that's not just horribly corrupt, it's strinkingly stupid.
And now, just like Blago, Burris is going to cling to that fucking valuable senate seat for as long as he can. Awesome. Hilarious.
He sounds, at least to me, like someone who really believes he can win the state primary and be re-elected to Obama's old senate seat. I wonder what polls or advice he reads/listens to that make him so delusional.
Roland Burris forgot he was a stain to the seat from the beginning; The Dems didn’t want him, he forced himself in to the Senate. I also think Mr. Burris took advantage of the “Pay for Play” situation of Blago and was trying to swindle him too,” Oh I said I would contribute, but I realized I couldn’t”. Lies……. I believe he lied to Blago too…He was working behind the scenes… Mr. Burris was blinded by his thrust for a little power and the limelight that he couldn’t obtain for himself after all the years of not getting elected on his own.
And in the end he will still be in the Senate until next year.
As for who got him on Hardball I believe that Matthews was one of the few who gave Burris the benefit of a doubt initially so maybe they thought Burris would find him as accomodating again. But it was definitely a dumb move, especially to do over the phone.
I will say this for Burris, I thought he was going to swing on one of the reporters outside his house last night. The guy is more feisty than I gave him credit for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZttVMy485us
who advised Burris to go on Hardball? What were they thinking?
That was my first thought as well. But then again, I had a friend in high school who always used to say, 'stupid should hurt," and in this case, as in most, I agree.
TNC said
"Here you have a guy who lived a decent, honorable life, brought low by ambition."
Well outside you using the word "guy" that whole sentence is WRONG.
Burris has always been a hack.
The Rolando Cruz case is just one indication of that. There were cops and government attorneys resigning over the handling of that case because it was clear that Cruz wasn't guilty. Burris's reaction was basically "hey, I'm the top prosecutor I'm going to prosecute and guilt or innocence is secondary".
Whatever motivates Burris deep within his being to "strive" for "accomplishments" to put on his tombstone is indicative of a deeply flawed personality. I'm not talking average type flaws. I'm talking about "monument"al flaws worthy of being put on that monument of his.
Greek Tragedy is when a basically good person does something bad. This ain't it.
I'm just hoping he'll go away. I doubt he would win a primary in Illinois 2010. Far better would be to simply fade out. He's embarrassing.
Uhm, it can't possibly be a Greek tragedy. Greek tragedies revolve around Great Men, not a mediocre Everyman. Burris is an Everyman.
Death of a Salesman, more like.