Barry might be "censured," does it even matter?

So yes, if you haven't heard, the Bennett report came out and concludes that Councilmember Marion Barry acted improperly and breached the public trust. Again. This time it was a fairly complex scheme involving siphoning public funds to fake non-profits run by a fomer girlfriend. The results of the independent probe will likely be passed to the U.S. Attorney's office--who so far have been mum on possible charges.

Marion Barry's defense attorney begins arguments

Let's face it, it's probably not going to happen. Sure, it might, but it'll take a while and in the meantime we've still got Marion Barry on the Council. What I find hilarious about all of this is how there's absolutely nothing that can be done. Sure, the Council is giving lip-service to the idea that Barry should get a rebuttal--they've even given him a deadline of next week. It's mostly impossible for him to rebut any of this, no matter how much he tries to channel Perry Mason and Matlock. The Bennett report isn't just "allegations," we're dealing with findings and conclusions of a thorough investigation.

So what say the DC Council?

Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) said that absent a criminal probe, it will most likely be up the council to determine any potential punishment.

"These are very serious allegations. The conclusions -- they are not allegations, they are conclusions -- by our special counsel amount to the fact that Marion took kickbacks" from a former girlfriend, Catania said. "The council does not have the authority to remove Mr. Barry from office. That responsibility rests with the voters of Ward 8. But we do have the authority to determine which committee he sits on and whether or not he chairs a committee."

Yep, that's about right. It is up to the voters of Ward 8. Who thinks we'll see a recall effort? Who thinks we'll see a primary challenge. People might accuse me of being hopelessly optimistic at times, but I'm going to say that there's absolutely zero chance of that. Barry is a complete joke at this point, he still serves on the Finance and Revenue Committee, even though he has been convicted of failing to file federal taxes. I suppose the Council has to talk some sort of talk about this, but in reality they should be considering adopting the 2010 No Marion Barry on the D.C. Council legislation.  Working with the Board of Elections and Ethics, DC election law should be revised to include the following qualifications for the offices of Ward and At-Large Member of the Council--you can't be Marion Barry.

Also, remember since Marion Barry is the example of why we can't have the vote in DC, see also all those other states that don't deserve a vote because they elect idiots.