I can put this in a few words: (0.00 / 0)

"Aristocrazy inaction" (sic).

It makes you wonder if David Patterson in my home state of New York and Bill Ritter in your home state of Colorado actually take politics into consideration, and not just policy.

BTW, Mr. Sirota, you're getting a lot better at handling criticism. Nice job. ;)

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by: Iron Curtain @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 15:51:11 PM UTC

Come to think of it... (0.00 / 0)

It should be "Aristocrazy in action" because some bad stuff is being done.

Also, policy isn't even taken into account either; just connections. Hence the "aristocrazy."

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by: Iron Curtain @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 15:57:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Could It Be? (0.00 / 0)

That the corrupt Illinois pick is worthy of praise, simply because our House of Lords hates him?

Or is that merely descending to their level?

One way to make sure this Colorado joker doesn't lose re-election is to primary his ass.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 16:17:36 PM UTC

That is just the thing ... (0.00 / 0)

who exactly .. is Ritter's base of support? ... Does he have one? .. how did Ritter win? .. did he win because the Republican was a complete ass? .. did he run a clean and positive campaign(in some places .. the local Versailles has a fetish about that) .. isn't Ritter a DLC'er?

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 16:22:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You neglected to (0.00 / 0)

reproduce this rather important piece of background from the article you linked to:

On this a number of politicos agree: Bennet's viability increased when Presidential-elect Barack Obama considered him to head the Department of Education. Without that, his name might not have been mentioned.

"It probably gave Ritter and his people some comfort in knowing that he was considered highly qualified by the White House," said Jennifer Duffy of The Cook Political Report in Washington, D.C.

And of course who can doubt that Caroline Kennedy's name came up for precisely the same reason?

God only knows what kind of ugly pressures might be going on behind the scenes to push these Governors to make these appointments. It's a little hard to see these as coincidences.

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by: frankly0 @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 16:35:57 PM UTC

Higly qualified for an apointed position ... sure ... (0.00 / 0)

but not an elected one .. most of our elected officials .. really are idiots(or at least live in really secluded bubbles .. away from "the riff-raff" they are supposed to serve)

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 18:07:46 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just in case merit counts for anything (0.00 / 0)

I mention the following from the NYT today:

"He was raised mostly in Washington and will return there with a diverse résumé and a reputation in Colorado as a soft-spoken, analytical thinker who is not afraid to take on jobs that promised mostly headaches - specifically running the troubled Denver school system.

He took the job in 2005 after three years as chief of staff to Mayor John Hickenlooper of Denver. With no formal experience in education administration, Mr. Bennet was following a long-established pattern, according to people who have worked with him over the years: the willingness to leap into unfamiliar waters."

The article adds:

From the start as schools superintendent, Mr. Bennet did not behave like a traditional educator. He liked to ride the bus with students on the first day of class and made it a point to be the public face of the district in public meetings with parents over some of its most wrenching decisions, like school closings. But he also came armed with a weighty Rolodex full of highly placed friends to personally lobby city officials, state legislators and others for what the Denver schools needed.

"Having a fresh set of eyes for the issues D.P.S. faced, but also being able to call the right people and get the right people involved - both were very important to his success," said the Speaker-elect of the Colorado House of Representatives, Terrance D. Carroll, a Democrat whose district is in Denver.

Under Mr. Bennet, Denver pursued consolidation - closing some underperforming, under-populated schools - and merit-pay incentives for teachers. He overhauled the grading system to provide more information about students' strengths or weaknesses. Student performance on standardized tests improved. Last July, for example, Denver posted the biggest increases in math and reading proficiency among the state's largest districts.

And while Mr. Bennet sometimes clashed with the local teachers' union, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, its president, Kim Ursetta, said his door was also always open.

"We've had our disagreements," Ms. Ursetta said, "but he was always willing to talk and always accessible."  

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by: Jim Neuman @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 17:21:52 PM UTC

Um, this would constitute "merit" (4.00 / 1)

if he were being considered for a position in the Dept of Education.

How about, say, foreign policy, or our Constitutional protections, or health care, or you name it?

I guess Democrats no longer understand the concept of qualifications.

The fact that someone could seriously offer up this highly narrow expertise as constituting "merit" for a Senate seat is pretty telling. And of course that other Democrats can bring themselves to push for a society dilettante like Caroline Kennedy for a Senate seat completes the picture of the "transformation" of the Democratic Party.

Hardly a day passes anymore when I am not made further aware of how the Democratic Party doesn't represent me.  

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by: frankly0 @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 17:37:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Point Is (4.00 / 2)

We could actually handle, and maybe even benefit from one or two such Senators.  Richness of diversity, yadda-yadda-yadda.  The "merit" would not be in the narrow expertise, but in the more diverse mix of perspectives it might contribute to.

But (a) how'sa 'bout wining a damn election or two before waltzing into the Senate?  And (b) how'sa 'bout having a couple of dozen solid Democratic base-representing Senators first?

These hardly seem like radical notions to me.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 17:44:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

So (0.00 / 0)

Maybe he would be a good pick for some education post.

But this doesn't a Senator make.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 17:37:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think the goalposts keep shifting (0.00 / 0)

It would be interesting to compare Bennet's qualifications with those that the sitting senators had beforehand, or even with those of people who have been endorsed here.

My guess - yes, I admit it's a guess - is that there are many others who we'd have no problem with, who lacked even an expertise in education.

And when I said "merits" before, I was mostly referring to personal attributes mentioned in the article, such as: intelligence, the ability to relate to people, being open-minded and willing to take on challenges, understanding the legislative process, and administrative skills.

I personally place a lot of weight on those kinds of qualities.

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by: Jim Neuman @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 18:13:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

If he doesn't have strong support (0.00 / 0)

then primary his ass in 2010. I was hoping for Hickenlooper or the other tried-and-true progressives myself.

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by: existenz @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 18:32:54 PM UTC

Was Rutt Bridges mentioned as a possible US Senate appointment. (0.00 / 0)

He ran the Think Tank- Bighorn-
He ran for US Senate in 2004 but dropped out when Campbell announced his retirement and Salazar entered the race. He considered running for Governor in 2006 decided against it.  

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by: nkpolitics @ Sat Jan 03, 2009 at 23:33:23 PM UTC