Smart Dems

There might hope for some Democrats yet, with news that the Illinois State Legislature has tabled the bill to create a special election for Senate vacancies, opting instead to move to open impeachment proceedings of Governor Rod Blagojevich. As we talked about a couple of days ago, the measure was a classic political overreaction, and if made law, it could actually cost Democrats Obama's old seat, as a quick special election could allow an untainted Republican like Mark Kirk to beat a nominated Democrat, particularly someone from Chicago. It remains to be seen if this legislation is dead for good, but for the time being, Illinois state Dems showed more forward-thinking political intelligence than Dick Durbin, Lisa Madigan, and others who have called for a legal change.