Showdown Looms Over Blagojevich Pick

Roland Burris Heads To Capitol Hill; Democratic Leaders Insist He Won't Be Seated In Senate

(AP)  Illinois U.S. Senate appointee Roland Burris plans to have a high-stakes showdown on Capitol Hill this week with Democratic leaders who continue to say he won't be seated in Congress.

Dozens of black leaders and ministers organized by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush gave Burris a rousing send-off Sunday at New Covenant Church on Chicago's South Side. Burris took the stage to a crescendo of drums, organ music and applause as hundreds of supporters cheered his appointment.

"We are hoping and praying that they will not be able to deny what the Lord has ordained," Burris said. "I am not hesitating. I am now the junior Senator from the state of Illinois. Some people may want to question that and that is their prerogative."

Opponents say Burris' appointment is tainted because it was made by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is accused by federal authorities of offering to sell the vacancy to the highest bidder.

Burris, a former state attorney general, says the appointment is legal and the governor had the authority to do it. He has threatened to sue Senate Democrats if they refuse to swear him in as the chamber's only black member.

The second-ranking Democrat, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, acknowledged that his governor has the state constitutional authority to fill the vacancy.

"The Senate of the United States has the U.S. constitutional responsibility to decide if Mr. Burris was chosen in a proper manner and that is what we're going to do," Durbin said.

Burris said he attempted to arrange a meeting with Durbin on Monday or Tuesday but learned he was too busy. He said the two made an appointment for Wednesday, the day after new senators are set to be sworn in.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told a political talk show host Sunday that the chances of Burris being sworn in as President-elect Barack Obama's replacement are slim. Reid said there would be "a cloud over anyone that comes from the state of Illinois being appointed by Blagojevich."

Reid said he expected to meet with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Monday evening in hopes "we can solve this issue on a bipartisan basis."

Democratic leaders, however, plan to afford Burris few, if any, privileges even if he were to come to the Capitol with the proper credentials.

Senate officials have said a Democrat will object to Burris being duly sworn with the rest of his class Tuesday and will propose that his credentials be reviewed for a period of time by the Senate Rules Committee. That would give Burris the status of a senator-elect and buy some time as Democrats hope Blagojevich will be removed from office before the committee completes its investigation.

At New Covenant Church, Rush called the Senate the "last bastion of plantation politics." The Chicago Democrat said blacks had been "excluded systematically for too long."

But several people sitting in the pews during the Burris send-off said their support for his appointment has nothing to do with the him being black.

"I'm elated, very happy, overjoyed. Burris has served this community for many years," said 66-year-old D. Shepherd, a retired minister from Chicago. "He's the best man under the circumstances; it's not because he's black."

While the Burris furor dominated public discussion, Illinois lawmakers quietly continued work that could lead to Blagojevich being removed from office.

Members of the Illinois House impeachment committee reviewed a 54-page draft summary of the allegations against the Democratic governor. Lawmakers said the summary did not include any recommendations on whether Blagojevich should be impeached. That will come after the panel finishes its fact-finding - perhaps by the middle of this week.

The impeachment committee hopes to learn Monday whether it will be given access to some of the federal government's recordings of Blagojevich. It also wants Burris to testify about his conversations with the governor that led to the Senate appointment.

[emelder]

I''m a lifelong Democrat ... and I say our party leaders are being foolish here. Seat the man and let the people of his state vote him up or down when he comes up for re-election. Hey Barack: tell Harry Reid you''ve had enough of this ... tell him to seat the man. We dems are looking like fools here ... SEAT THE MAN!

[endurorob]

I''''m a lifelong Democrat ... and I say our party leaders are being foolish here. Seat the man and let the people of his state vote him up or down when he comes up for re-election. Hey Barack: tell Harry Reid you''''ve had enough of this ... tell him to seat the man. We dems are looking like fools here ... SEAT THE MAN!

Posted by emelder at 08:07 AM : Jan 05, 2009

Obama already said he dissaproved of the appointment and he should not be seated. He can''t change his mind now.

[pizzanick]

I am impressed with Blagojevich''s chutzpa more and more. This is a bold and in your face move by Blago to throw it back to the Democratic party that threw him under the bus. Emelder is right, the Democratic party with Reid and Obama alling for Burris'' ouster looks petty. I thought your Messiah said the days of partisan politics as usual were dead???

[billrich11]

I''m loving it....This is so good for America.

I told you folks how nobody was concerned with what Blago was doing, merely with the fact he was recorded while doing it.

Especially right at a time when Barack NObama was busy collecting his hundreds of millions in "Pay to Play" fees in his cabinet.

Now we see Hillary being exposed in some of her hubby''s newly release financial reports for running a "Pay to Play" scheme with some up state NY land developer.

And, now we see my name sake getting caught running his on version of the "Pay to Play" politics we have all long known the old DumboCraphead Party to be all about.

[billrich11]

I do hope Harry "Palms" Reid does refuse to seat the only legally appointed black man to this exclusive, elitist, all white Senate so Mr. Burris can kick this thing into the chambers of the USSC.

It''ll just make the DumboCrapheads look even more like the "Key Stone Cops" than they do already.

[cattiej]

From Illinois: We say, don''t seat Roland Burris in OUR U.S. Senate on Tuesday. Our Illinois Secretary of State Jessie White, Our U.S. Senator Richard Durbin says he won''t support him having a seat either. Also President Elect-Barack Obama says he shouldn''t be seated. What the heck was Burris thinking when he offered his name to Rod Blagojevich as our U.S. Senator from Illinois? Harris has a BIG EGO problem. He was grinning thru the whole news conference.
Roland Harris gave $14,000.00 to Rod Blagojevich campaign fund, he has already "paid to play", and he has probably already worked out something else he can help Rod with in the future. Blagojevich should be impeached today. The Senate door should be kept locked and Roland Burris not allowed to enter OUR U.S. Senate. He thinks just because he is black that he has to be seated. As our Jesse White, Illinois Secretary of State said, he don''t care if the person is black, white, pink or green, no one who Rod appoints will be certified by his office. Burris, you should be ashamed of yourself, (which would be something new for you, wouldn''t it).

[cattiej]

Roland Burris is suppose to be an attorney. He knows that accepting Rod''s appointment was wrong. Bobby Rush, you can threaten all you want but the Illinois people outside of Chicago ain''t gonna listen to your tirades.
We here in southern Illinois are done with politics as usual. We are tired of all the high-handed corrupt, greedy politicans, who for the sake of money, family influence, color, who they know, etc. think that they can just take over any place that they want to. It is time for the legal citizens to stand up to these politicans and investigage all of there past dealings. If they are guilty, throw the bums out.

[getoffmine1]

any situation where a senate or house seat goes to someone who has not been voted in by the people is a problem. This guy has been in politics for years and from what has been said he was never popular enough to run for the senate, so why should he be sworn in if he would not have been able to win an election?

[xlib]

pizzanick-so you admire that kind of "up yours" attitude of blago. Like it, huh??
So, that being said, if he were a Republican you would think the same thing, right?? Come on, share.

[jfrance5]

First of all, I wish a lot of you would stop trying to play a race card here, grow up. This isn''t about race, its about a guy that is willing to do anything to get a position that he doesn''t qualify for or is popular enough to get, regardless of race or creed except in this manner. This governor is bad news and a reflection of what is going on in Chicago politics today. Perhaps if those that have the authority to do so, step up and use this guy as a public example and land on him hard, other sleaze bags out there might get the message and realize there could be consequences if they don''t toe the line.

[william_lerd]

any situation where a senate or house seat goes to someone who has not been voted in by the people is a problem. This guy has been in politics for years and from what has been said he was never popular enough to run for the senate, so why should he be sworn in if he would not have been able to win an election?


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Posted by getoffmine1
========================
If they hold a special election, they wont have a winner for a few months and then the winner will have to immediately go campaigning for the 2010 election. House seats I could see holding a special election but a statewide election would also be costly. This is probably the best solution, an old politician who likely will not run for reelection to fill the spot for 2 years and then let the people elect someone new in 2010.

[credibility2]

The Lord didn''t ordain Rolland Burris to be appointed to fill Obama''s vacant senate seat. If the Lord wanted Burris to be a US Senator, then he would''ve put the fear in him to run for the seat in the first place. Burris may have qualifications, but just because a black had the seat before doesn''t mean a black has to be appointed to fill the vacancy. Seats in Congress are the result of elections, not affirmative action or entitlement. If there are those that feel more blacks should be in the US Senate, inferring that because there aren''t that it''s a racist conspiracy to disenfranchise, then I suggest party leaders get behind them, get them on the ballot, and get them elected. Don''t dare imply that it''s racism, because it isn''t.

[credibility2]

IL, the state I reside in needs a deep cleansing and ridding of the corruption in its political process. Currently the Dems have a stranglehold on everything and nothing is getting done. Time to rid the Dems from both houses and the governorship.

[leeanna58]

LOL! The SNL comedian hits the big time - the biggest JOKE OF ALL, the U.S. Senate. He''''ll feel right at home with other jokers like Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.

What Democrat state will pick Pee Wee Herman???

LOL!

Posted by txgrouch2008

Just because you don''t like Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, there is no reason to insult PeeWee Herman.

[leeanna58]

The Constitution should be ammended to mandate that when a Senate seat is vacated for any reason, a special election should be held to replace the outgoing senator. While this would bring about its own set of problems as regarding the cost of the election campaign and the time it takes to hold an election, the replacement should be a choice of the voters. This would alleviate the problems of pay to play or whatever they are calling it, and it should cut down on nepotism. It should take care of people, like Caroline Kennedy, who''s only qualifications to replace Hillary are that she is a Democrat, she is in favor of *** rights to marry, she is a Kennedy, and Uncle somebody used to hold that senate seat.

[mpbryk]

what a flaming joke.....

burris, good, bad or indifferent, acted and thought just like another lawyer....so did blago....so did madigan...so did the entire legisature...and no one ever questioned the lack of brains the FBI had in starting this entire mess just before the holidays...

these guys were probably so arrogant, they never considered who they went up against. maybe all agents should be required to read sun tsu, ancient art of war...do not underestimate your opponent and do not fight on his ground.

now illinois falls apart, we will need a scorecard to keep track of the lawsuits....and nothing will ever get done.

we can never get rid of these beloved legislators...they are the ones who wrote the laws

[runningralph]

Nr Burris says he was ordained by the Lord. He is hoping and praying they will undo what the Lord has ordained. That is a tough nut for some to crack. Almost as tough as the race card. But I''m going to crack it. Burris was ordained by Blagoyevich. No one, NO ONE, NOBODY WHOMSOEVER, has ever thought for a second that Rod Blagoyevich was the Lord.

[jimmyc1955]

Burris has run for Governor and Senator and lost - badly each time. He is unelectable in the long term and will probably loose in the primaries if he were to get that far.

Lets face the fundamental problem - Illinois Democrats didn''t want a special election for fear of loosing to a republican. So they choose to deny the people their right to elect their representative and instead have Blago pick one.

Harry Reid will have to voilate the constitution to prevent Burris from being seated. Criteria for defining the elegilbity of a Senator are things like age and citizenship. Illinois'' constitution permits the Governor to appoint a senator between elections.
What Blago did was both legal and within his powers. Because it is a huge embarrassment to the Democrats is no reason to throw out the constitution.

[harbinger09]

Obama already said he dissaproved of the appointment and he should not be seated. He can''''t change his mind now.

Posted by endurorob at 08:41 AM : Jan 05, 2009


Smart people Adapt. Adaptation requires CHANGE--as in changing one''s mind or position. Obama can certainly change his mind--it would not be a sign of weakness but a sign of adaptability. Only Republicans are so stupid and so stubborn that only the idea of "staying the course" is all they know--even if that course is suicidal and the trajectory is right over a cliff. The guy should be seated--legally, Blago has the right and Fitzgerald has not even got enough data to indict or make his arrest stick, let alone charge Blago. And what is on tape will not prove anything except the Gov talks in crass/big terms. without any evidence of intent, it is just loose talk.

[jimmyc1955]

What is amusing is that the Democratic party is convicting before the evidence is made available. Apparently for Democrats due process is only for others - they are above that. Convict now - ask questions later.

What nobody seems to concern themselves with is the willingness of elected officials to ignore the constitution in pursuit of their parities best interests.

When elected officials start to believe the constitution is an impediment to their goals and it''
s their right to ignore it - we not longer have a constitutional government.

California''s Attorney Generals deciding that the people no longer have a right to amend their states constitution - even though the existing constitution clearly outlines that power - is frightening. And using the courts to approve that means courts now supersede the will of the people and the constitution. That ladies and gentleman is the beginning of tyranny.