Senator Burris, for sure
Tuesday January 6, 2009
Categories: Democrats
Obviously, Blago's appointment of the ridiculous Roland Burris to fill Obama's Senate seat is a scandal. But I agree with Steve Chapman here: One of the axioms of American democracy is that we are a government of laws, not of...
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About Crunchy Con
Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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Given what appears to be a lack of legal authority to block Burris, could the Democrats simply refuse him admittance to their caucus?
Aren't there "legitimate, democratic procedures" to obstruct bad decisions? The genius of American democracy, it seems to me, is as much checks and balances as anything. Secretary of State Jesse White refuses to certify what is seemingly an utterly politicized appointment. His judicious use of power legitimately obstructs the process. The Senate has final authority over the qualifications of its members; not a very democratic thing to say, but apparently acceptable till now within the parameters of American democracy, and perhaps even for just such a time as this.
Dave Zimmerman is correct. The state of Illinois needs to fight this out amongst themselves, and the Senate needs to accept whoever they send barring criminal activity on the part of the person eventually certified.
Right now, the Ill. Sec of State has throw a monkeywench into the process by refusing certify it, which he probably is not legally able to, but it will allow the Illinois legislature to decide if Blagojevich is legally able to in the first place, or even undo his appointment, which the law would seem to allow until the certification is issued.
No one's happy that Blagojevich went ahead and appointed someone, but it's an Illinois issue.
The funniest part is that, had Blago not tried to appoint this guy, there is a significant probability that he may have ended up in the senate seat anyway.
This who thing is disgusting and the constituents of Illinois are the ones who suffer.
The truth is that if he had been elected to the office, Roland Burris would probably be the most qualified person sworn in today. He had a long career in public service and never a taint of corruption about him as well as being a genuinely decent and good man.
If Harry Reid had any brains he would have found a way to embrace Burris while at the same time damning Blago, but no one has ever accused Harry Reid of excessive intelligence.
Dave Zimmerman appears not to have read the applicable Supreme Court decision, which came down back when Adam Clayton Powell kept getting kicked out of Congress and then re-elected by his district. The only "qualifications" Congress now has the authority to rule on as to its prospective members are the constitutional ones--age, residence, and citizenship.
Steve Chapman: "We are a government of laws, not of men."
Yes, of course. Blago sounds like a buffoon and looks like a crook ... but he is the Governor of Illinois and has the power to appoint. The Illinois legislature did not act in December when it had a chance. Blago's pick of Burris has to be accepted by the U.S. Senate.
Besides, Senator Roland Burris can't be any worse than Senator Caroline Kennedy.
Rod, why, exactly, is Roland Burris ridiculous? Obviously Blago shouldn't have appointed him, because Blago shouldn't have appointed anyone; but Mr. Burris has a long career in public service and no scandals in his background. What, precisely, are you referring to?
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