Tuesday, December 30, 2008

A New Senator for Illinois?

As far as I can tell, Roland Burris is an honorable man and Rod Blagojevich is still the governor of Illinois. I don't see what basis Harry Reid has for refusing to seat Burris.
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3 comments:

  1. ChrisBDecember 31, 2008 at 9:14 AM

    Since the Illinios Dems didn't step up and deal with this, the Senate Dems feel like they have to "do something" -- words which usually precede a big mistake.

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  2. VinnyDecember 31, 2008 at 9:40 AM

    The problem was that the Illinois Dems needed more time to force NimRod out of office so that someone else could appoint a Democratic center. They were hoping that Reid's threat not to seat a Blago appointee would buy them some time. Unfortunately, Blago called their bluff.

    I think that the Dems should look at this as a gift. Burris seems to be a decent guy who steered clear of the stinkier side of Illinois politics, which may be why he fell short in his runs for senator, governor, and mayor of Chicago. Reid can seat him as a legally appointed senator and Obama can simply defer to the Senate's decision.

    If the Dems fight it, the pressure will grow to have a special election for the seat, which is a great issue for the Republicans.

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  3. Marshal ArtJanuary 14, 2009 at 1:01 AM

    Hey Vinny!

    I agree with your post. What motivations were behind Blago's selection could be debated, but that he is still entitled to select seems to me to be without question.

    Further, even if a special election were to have taken place, I don't see that the state GOP would have perservered. Machine corruption is cliche and as such wouldn't change a thing. Recall that our last corrupt governor was allegedly Republican. The GOP is in far too much disarray to gain ground anytime soon.

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