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.
