Posted on 12/30/2008 1:08:37 PM PST by Salena Zito
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich named former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to a replacement to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat today, even as Senate Democrats assured the governor they will block the appointment.
Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell Obama’s seat which is why he is facing impeachment and federal charges.
U.S. Senate Democrats released a statement earlier this afternoon asking Blagojevich not to follow through, saying they would not seat the candidate that he names.
They are part of large chorus of Democrats and elected officials that have been urging Blagojevich to step down since his arrest in the beginning of the month.
Burris became the first black elected to statewide office when he served as Illinois state comptroller, he also served as the Illinois state attorney general from 1991 to 1995.
Burris stood smiling broadly beside Blagojevich at the 3:00 p.m. press conference that announced his appointment.
The AP is reporting that Rep. Congressman Bobby Rush of Illinois is daring senate democrats to block the only black serving in the U.S. senate: "This is a matter of national importance. There are no African Americans in the Senate, and I don't think that anyone, any U.S. senator who's sitting in the Senate right now, wanna go on record to DENY one African American from being seated in the U.S. Senate. I don't think they want to go on record doing that"
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
I will enjoy watching how this plays out!
I think Blago has everybody boxed in with Harry's only recourse to expel Burris after seating him. From what I see, and I am not a lawyer, Illinois Statute 10 ILCS 5/25‑8 gives Blago the sole authority do make the appointment (consistent with the 17th Amendment) and POWELL v. McCORMACK 395 U.S. 486 (1969) says Burris must be seated. Only then could the Senate by a 2/3 vote expel Burris. Note well that the Illinois Supreme Court refused to declare Blago temporarily incapacitated by this scandal even though it was their Constitutional and Statutory ability to do so. Will the Senate override innocent until proven guilty when the State as demurred? When PUSH (npi) comes to shove, probably not.
Happy New Year.
happy new year to you as well
me too, makes rendell look normal
I hope that many reporters will remind people that Burris isn’t the same race as Obama. Obama is half white & half black, but Burris is black.
I know it's a stretch, but....After reading Powell V. McCormack, I wonder if Douglas’ opinion on “justiciable” and “textually demonstrable commitment” could be used for SCOTUS to take an Obama citizenship suit to a full hearing.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2156374/posts
Blagojevich Plays The Race Card On Fellow Democrats
Legal Insurrection Blog ^
Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 2:28:09 PM by Legal Insurrection
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris has put the Democratic party in a box. By appointing an African-American to the empty Senate seat, Blagojevich has forced his political opponents to risk being called racists. In supporting the appointment, Congressman Bobby Rush called opposition to Burris an attempted lynching. Whether this analogy is justified is questionable, but it is the same tactic that has been used against conservatives for decades, most recently by the Obama campaign. Democrats are getting a dose of their own medicine, and I hope it goes down like a bitter pill.
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