Paging Bull Connor. Please bring your fire hoses and attack dogs to repel Burris from the $inate Chambers!
Posted on 01/02/2009 9:31:46 PM PST by BAW
Roland Burris does not want to be in the face of the senators whose ranks he hopes to join, I am told. Yet Burris, appointed by the scandalized Gov. Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama, is expected here Monday. Burris' mere presence to try to claim the seat will, of course, be a spectacle.
He won't get into the chamber because the Senate Democratic leadership doesn't want anyone sent by Blagojevich, accused of trying to sell Obama's seat for a plum job or campaign cash.
Here's what I've learned New Years Day:
I think Burris is underestimating how hard the Senate Democratic leaders are resisting his appointment. No one doubts that Burris is eligible to serve. No one is going to challenge Blagojevich's power to make the appointment. But they won't make it easy.
The new Congress will be sworn in Tuesday. Burris will arrive with no floor privileges because Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White will not certify his appointment. The Senate will likely refer the matter to the Rules Committee, where it will be handled as s-l-o-w-l-y as possible. For example, the rules panel will require a very, very, very complete investigation to make sure the appointment is stain-free.
While the Senate Democrats are slow-walking, they want the Illinois House to fast-walk the Blagojevich impeachment proceedings, and then have a swift state Senate trial, conviction, and installation of Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn as governor. Quinn then can make the pick, preferably a Democrat with an excellent chance of winning either a special election or the 2010 contest.
Given Burris' string of statewide defeats for senator and governor, he does not fit that profile.
Burris has unrealistic hopes of getting assistance from Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate leader.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
From the Seattle Times this AM:
Senate officials involved in the tangle of legal and logistical planning said Friday that a Democrat will object to Burris being sworn with the rest of his class and will propose that his credentials be reviewed by the Rules Committee. That would give Burris the status of a senator-elect
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Senate Democrats are slow-walking Burris' appointment because they hope Blagojevich will be removed from office before the Rules Committee completes its investigation.
“I am not even in Chicago or neccessarily a student of the machine....but it is beginning to seem blatantly obviously that the fix must be in for Baby Mandigan.”
She’s another nitwit who got her position based solely on her daddy’s name. She was elected Attorney General with absolutely no legal experience at all. She has never tried a case in her life.
Burris should have expected that after buying a discount Senate seat at the fire sale.
“Since when do the ‘rats insist that their own be “untainted” to enter the ranks??!?”
Untainted is not the word, that does not matte to them. “Unelectable” is their fear. He could be an ax murderer and be acceptable to democrats if he could win elections.
Burris was appointed according to IL state law. There is nothing about the process or about him that disqualifies him for the seat. Isn't the Sec. of State breaking the law by not certifying Burris?
And if Burris is entirely legal, how can Quinn, when he gets in office, appoint someone else if the seat was already lawfully filled?
Unless Reid and Durbin acquiesce and allow Burris to be seated, this is going to end up in court and/or with race riots.
With the revelation that Reid pressured Blago against appointing JJ, Jr. or Davis, I expect as early as today that prominent black leaders are going to start going public with their dissatisfaction. Phone calls are no doubt already flying between black leaders and Reid/Durbin.
Blago's going to win this round.
Paging Bull Connor. Please bring your fire hoses and attack dogs to repel Burris from the $inate Chambers!
Even with that explanation (with which I agree), I really don’t understand the donks in this instance. Illinois has had Republican governors and various critters in the past. They can be easily marginalized while in office and smeared during the next election, paving the way for a donk re-take of the seat in the next election. The donks have a majority in the Senate and they have a group of liberal Republicans they can count on, as well, so there is no threat to their majority or their power.
So, instead of taking the high road of a special election, making it seem as though they are fair and democratic, they are willing to engage in high theater against one of their own who is also one of their cherished special interest voting blocs. They stand a great chance of a very public exposure resulting in exactly what they want to avoid: a special election. Given that most donk voting blocs will always vote for them, no matter what, why are they suddenly afraid of the possible election of one Republican Senator who will simply be taking over a seat until the next time it is up for rotation in a General Election? They have made it clear that they _want_ republicans around so they can attach all blame for any failures to the GOP.
The donks own the State of Illinois. They control the vote counting, the entire process and the majority of votes. No matter who is appointed, they can run someone with deep hooks at the expiration of this term, use their patented fraud and smear machine and take the seat back without breaking a sweat or the facade they could have raised of being fair and equitable. They would look as though they had the maturity to govern while fabricating yet another Republican patsy to take blame.
If they are so afraid of a single Republican win at this stage of their coup, when it would make little difference in the larger scheme, and are also seemingly hell-bent on making themselves look like petulant tyrants, if not bigots, what does that portend for 2010? Do they know something we don’t? And even if they know they might lose the majority in 18 months (which I doubt), they now have such a stranglehold on the country and on government that I cannot see how it could be possible or how they could fail to keep it with the same tactics they have always used.
Is it just their inner control-freak showing itself because of Blago being caught out and his then total defiance of them? Is this some politically suicidal temper tantrum over making sure they are obeyed by everyone, at every turn, no matter whether it is important or simply petty? If that is indeed the motivation, then we are very, very lucky, because there is no way this doesn’t get huge press coverage and become some sort of cause celebre in Illinois and among black voters.
Only 40+%. 3rd-party is what made it close. If they did a runoff with just Coleman and Franken he wouldn’t come close. Coleman was just liberal enough that conservatives thought they could throw their vote away on another candidate.
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