Power Play

"He's not going to make it through this process, so it's almost like piling on at this point."

And with those words, Sen. Ricky Hendon has appeared to put the final nail in the coffin in the ICC nomination of former CUB Executive Director Marty Cohen. Hendon's comments came in response to news that Marty hadn't been registered as a lobbyist for the past few years, although he had been so previously. I won't bother to get into the details of this spat other than to say that both sides have colorable positions.

I have known Marty for a while now, and in addition to being a constituent, he is a good and honorable man. But politics often, if not usually, trumps substance down here, and it looks as if the Cohen nomination will be the latest example of that.

Miers/Alito/Cohen/?

In our Springfield rendition of Nomination Musical Chairs, the next question is what happens if Cohen does indeed go down in defeat or withdraws? I think that the Governor will use the opportunity to make a politically valuable stand on behalf of consumers. But then it gets a little trickier. He needs a pick that can get through confirmation, without backing down from his pro-consumer position.

Early money line - Former State Sen. Patrick Welch.