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AmSpecBlog
The Illinois Saga Just Keeps Getting Better
When Roland Burris, the Senator-designate for Illinois, shows up in Washington to be sworn in, he is likely to be met by armed guards at the Senate door. What a great symbol of Democratic Party inclusiveness!
Reports the Los Angeles Times:
Should Roland Burris show up for duty in the Senate on Tuesday, armed police officers stand ready to bar him from the floor.
This cinematic showdown is among an elaborate set of contingencies that Democratic leaders are planning if, as expected, the former Illinois attorney general appointed by Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich shows up with newly elected senators to press his claim that he is the legitimate replacement for President-elect Barack Obama.
Democratic leaders hope to avert such a standoff. And Burris, in an interview Wednesday, said he hoped to claim the Senate seat without added drama.
"We're not going to create a scene in Washington," Burris said. "We hope it's negotiated out prior to my going to Washington."
Still, the Senate leaders' planning, detailed by a Democratic official briefed on their deliberations, even covers scenarios such as Blagojevich appearing in person to escort Burris.
Ironically, as a sitting governor, the scandal-plagued Blagojevich is allowed floor privileges. But Lucio Guerrero, Blagojevich's spokesman, said the governor had not decided whether to go to Washington with Burris.
With Democratic leaders vowing to bar anyone appointed by Blagojevich because of federal charges that he attempted to sell Obama's seat, leaders hope to stall Burris with paperwork. Senate rules require that an incoming senator's selection be certified by the secretary of state for his home state, and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has declined to sign a certification of Burris' appointment.
...
But Senate Democrats also have a follow-up plan: refusing to seat Burris until the Senate Rules Committee completes an investigation into whether the appointment process was tainted by corruption.
The plan is for the Senate investigation to extend longer than the Illinois Legislature's impeachment process underway against Blagojevich, leaving open the possibility that a new governor will make a rival Senate appointment that the Democratic leaders could seat.
Ah, schadenfreude! It's such a great word. You've got to wonder why we've never come up with a comparable word in English.
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vincep1974| 1.1.09 @ 9:38AM
It's so odd to see the Democrats apparently acting out of concern for the rights of the voters.
Something isn't right.
I guess that their polling says the public opinion of Democrats isn't doing so well, and that perhaps the public thinks they're offensively corrupt and that if there's any more corruption that there might be a voter revolt against them.
What else would motivate the Democrats in Washington to behave this way?
Thomas| 1.1.09 @ 11:08AM
Don't complain. At least with the Democrats in power, you get a floor show.
vincep1974| 1.1.09 @ 3:34PM
It's all racial politics and nepotism dynasty building. The drama isn't even interesting.
ruth| 1.1.09 @ 4:13PM
Disgusting. Chicago politics gone national.
Mike Showalter| 1.1.09 @ 5:59PM
Just reading along, until I got to that last paragraph, then I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. Schadenfreude, indeed!
G| 1.1.09 @ 7:02PM
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jim| 1.1.09 @ 8:58PM
the infighting for power has begun
Interloper| 1.1.09 @ 11:19PM
LOL! Reads like a Right Wing fantasy. Ain't gonna happen.
There's a voter revolt all right. Everyone in America except the rigid Right knows what party it is against.
Interloper| 1.1.09 @ 11:28PM
Addendum from prior thread:
Exactly, Katherine. The argument against seating Burris lacks a legal basis. There are no grounds for finding him ineligible. To get there, one has to hold Burris responsible for the allegations against Blago. The first problem with that is holding Burris, who is as clean as I thought, responsible for someone else's behavior. The second problem is that Blago has yet to be found incompetent to fill the seat, or, even indicted.
There is nothing occurring here that would take 90 days to analyze either.
Better to seat Burris or negotiate with him to wait to be seated when he is reappointed by a new governor.
ruth| 1.2.09 @ 4:20AM
Barack Obama's Politics of Change: Democrat Senator appointed by sitting Democrat Governor will be blocked from Senate Chambers by armed security. "Change We Can Believe In."
Gerard Einhaus| 1.2.09 @ 9:00AM
Positively delightful. Working admirably. The scene would only improve if Mr. Burris were accompanied by Congressman Bobby Rush, giant race card in hand. Far more entertaining than counting the number of 'you knows' in a Caroline Kennedy interview. Hope and Change, y'all.
LZK| 1.2.09 @ 10:17AM
Actually -- the governor has chosen a good man. Roland Burris is an outstanding politician and has served Illinois well. I'm from Chicago and I know of his record.
ruth| 1.2.09 @ 3:14PM
Well, great, LZK, then why won't your Democrat leaders seat him, why are their knickers in knots?
Dan Schwartz| 1.3.09 @ 12:59AM
There is a completely different take on this in an article I wrote entitled "Blago, Burris, strict construction vs Dingy Harry and his 50 Klansmen" at
http://rebuildtheparty.ning.com/profiles/blogs/blago-burris-strict
which lays out the detailed case why the GOP would be wise to jump on this quickly and demand that Burris be seated immediately. If they act quickly (and, according to the AP update I just posted, Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) is on the case), our team has a chance to hit a grand-slam home run, for the rule of law, to give us a shot at winning the seat in 2010 when it comes up (Burris said he wouldn't run)... And to give the 50 GOP challengers a powerful weapon against the 50 `Rat senators who signed the letter demanding Burris not be seated.
Other points:
There is NOT going to be a special election to fill the seat, so a seat-warmer is about the best outcome we can hope for;
We help Blago in his scorched-earth attempt to destroy the Illinois `Rat party;
We (righteously, I believe) try to reclaim the mantle after 40 years of "Southern Strategy" that indeed the GOP should be the home for African-Americans.
There's a great public domain photo of George Wallace standing at the door of the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963 at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wallace_at_University_of_Alabama_edit2.jpg
that will be the inspiration of many a political cartoon of Dingy Harry and Grand Cyclops Robert Byrd, standing in hooded white robes on the Capitol steps blocking Roland Burris from entering.
Pass the popcorn, please!
Dan Schwartz
Sayreville, NJ