United States Senate appointee Roland Burris has arrived at the US Capitol Building to take the United States Senate seat, formerly held by President-elect Barack Obama. Problem is, Burris was appointed by tainted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is in the midst of a scandal and impeachment for his accused attempts to sell Obama’s seat. Other problem, Senator Harry Reid, who likely mis-read his Constitutional power, believes he can block the Burris appointment and refuse to have Burris seated.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday that Burris would not be permitted to take his seat because Burris “has not been certified by the state of Illinois,” a reference to incomplete paperwork that only touches on the dispute. Senate Democrats maintain that Burris’ appointment is tainted because of the charges against Blagojevich.
While Blagojevich has signed formal appointment papers, Jesse White, the Illinois secretary of state, has not, and Senate rules require that signature. Burris, in turn, has gone to court hoping to win an order for White to sign the necessary paperwork, and he has also threatened to sue to take his seat in the Senate.
Burris declared, “I’m a United States senator” before leaving Chicago for Washington. However, he is not and cannot be a senator unless he is administered the oath of office.
In spite of his stance, Burris told reporters that he would not make a scene at the Capitol. He was to meet privately on Wednesday with Reid.
Here is the bigger problems. One, after reading Article 5 of the United States Constitution and the Powell v. McCormack case, I am not entirely certain where Harry Reid thinks his power is devised from. Burris is over the age of 35, a resident of Illinois and a citizen of the United States, and is therefore qualified to be a United States Senator. That is precisely what Harry Reid can judge. Judgment complete.
I am not one that is going to sit and defend the appointment of Burris or even defend why Burris would put himself int hat circumstance, but harry Reid has no constitutional authority to act. Second, I would never defend the actions of the Illinois Governor, he is scum. But, he is Governor still, has appointment power, and made such appointment, which is his constitutional duty. Unless ti can be shown that Burris was involved int eh whole Blago scheme, I think the law is clearer than the media has portrayed. You want to talk about a classic states rights issue. Did the Founding Fathers really mean that the United States Senate Majority Leader could block a state appointment? Ummm, I don’t think that was ever envisioned.
But, it goes beyond this. It goes to the state of the nation, the economic turmoil that has engulfed not only the United States, but has reached and wielded its ugly hand globally. Harry Reid needs to concentrate on passing Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package in a quick, efficient manner. Harry Reid needs to realize that Barack Obama is the main Democrat, not him. Instead of creating soap opera drama and risking the reputation of the Democratic Party on silly stuff like this, he should focus on moving on the nation’s business, because it has never been more important for Democrats to act, act swiftly, and act intelligently.
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi should act on the Obama economic plan quickly. They both must realize that on November 4th, a mandate was handed out by the American people. It was a convincing mandate. BUT, the mandate was not handed to Reid, Pelosi, or both, but to President-elect Barack Obama. If both seemingly stand in the way, Democrats should act to remove both as barriers to change and recovery.
SPENCE ADDS: I believe it is critical for the Democrats to distance themselves from Burris and Blagojevich. Not only will they be held accountable if they don’t keep Burris at arms length, the party’s chances of holding the seat in 2010 will be greatly reduced if the Democrats are seen to be part of some shabby deal with corrupt Illinois politicos.
I doubt Reid and the Senate Democrats can keep Burris out. However, they can deny Burris a place in the Democratic caucus and they should do that. Burris has knowingly made himself an accessory to Blagojevich’s corruption and cynicism — in a political sense if not a legal sense. If Burris takes a place in the U.S. Senate, as I suspect he will, the Democrats should shun him, not allow him in the caucus and give him nothing as far as committee spots are concerned. Burris is an adult and he knew what he was doing when he agreed to cooperate with Blago’s contemptible stunt. He doesn’t deserve sympathy, he deserves to be shunned.