Amazing, they will slam an African-American because his opinions do not agree with his. Also, because he is being forced to consider Mr. Burns offered by a Demoncrate of the lowest caliber (he got caught).

No matter what else is said about Demoncrates they are the most bigoted group of people on the face of this good earth.

Interesting to note some comments in the papers about Obama’s “black senate seat”. Does this mean this senate seat can ONLY go to a black? Does this mean that all future presidents have to be black?

The Dimocrats are going to tear themselves apart over this.
Good ol’ Hot Rod. The gift that keeps on giving.

GarandFan on December 31, 2008 at 1:02 PM

Didn’t Gov Patterson (D-NY) recently throw that old joke out….Once you go black, you never go back…..

And anyway, here in Maryland, we had a great Senate Candidate, Michael Steele, run in 2006, but unfortunately he had an R after his name. I missed Bobby Rush’s news conference about how important it was to support LG Steele.

But if the Senate rejected Burris, no election would be overturned, since none was held for this seat, and the rejection may be upheld in court.

Steve Z on December 31, 2008 at 12:03 PM

I don’t see anything in the US Constitution that differentiates betwwen an appointed Senator vs an elcted Senator. Just be a citizen (for 9 years I think) , be 30 + and live in the state. Burris meets all these requirements and should be seated.

Until Blago’s impeached, he’s the governor, and it’s the governor’s call to make.

Not to quibble, but I believe he is still Governor when impeached, and remains Governor until tried in the IL State Senate, right?

Glorious secondary exit question: Are we headed for a bona fide constitutional showdown in the Supreme Court over this idiocy? I think it is settled law, based on what I read here at HA regarding Adam Clayton Powell.

What a hypocrite! Why should the senate not have the privilege of some form of vetting in this situation in light of Blago’s corruption and and ongoing investigation.

Maybe, just maybe Illinois could get a clean politician for once instead of a retread from the corrupt system.

The Dimocrats are going to tear themselves apart over this.
Good ol’ Hot Rod. The gift that keeps on giving.

In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that the House of Representatives could not refuse to seat Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a New York Democrat who was accused of putting his wife on the payroll and misusing travel funds to vacation in the Caribbean. Despite those charges, he had been reelected by his constituents in Harlem.
“The Constitution does not vest in the Congress a discretionary power to deny membership by majority vote,” wrote Chief Justice Earl Warren. Congress may “judge only the qualifications set forth in the Constitution,” he said.
The qualifications are minimal. A senator must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen and “an inhabitant” of the state.

I’m no legal expert, but there may be a significant difference between the Adam Clayton Powell case and the Burris appointment. Despite his legal problems, Powell WAS re-elected by his constituents in Harlem, who seem to delight in re-electing crooks, and Charlie Rangel has continued the tradition. We also saw William “Cold Cash” Jefferson re-elected after $90K was found in his freezer, and even then-speaker Dennis Hastert was defending him against the investigation by the FBI.

We’re not talking here about an ELECTED Representative who has legal troubles, but a potential Senator APPOINTED by a Governor who has already been arrested and indicted, and accused of trying to exact financial gain from the Senate appointment.

Does the Powell decision, which was based on a duly ELECTED member of the HOUSE, apply to a potential SENATOR APPOINTED by a Governor known to be corrupt? Obviously, we can’t allow either House of Congress to refuse to seat ELECTED members, otherwise the majority party could abusively invent trumped-up charges to throw out minority members.
But if the Senate rejected Burris, no election would be overturned, since none was held for this seat, and the rejection may be upheld in court.

Give me Plaxico, Please.

At this point if I were a GOP Senator I’d hasten to point out that Governor Blagojevich has not been convicted of anything, nor has he been impeached, and so he had every right to appoint Sen. Obama’s successor. I’d be shocked, shocked, to see that the Senator from Nevada is trying to usurp the right of the people of Illinois to pick their Senator through their duly (re-)elected Governor.

I would call televised hearings on the constitutionality of the process, and I would invite Mr. Fitzgerald to detail the charges against the Governor. This would make for a great first 100 days for Prez. O.

factoid on December 30, 2008 at 4:37 PM

+1

Early career
After graduating from law school, Burris became the first African-American National Bank Examiner for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for the U.S. Treasury Department. In that capacity, he traveled throughout the midwest examining banks in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. From 1964 to 1973, he worked at Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company (now Bank of America), serving as tax accountant, tax consultant, commercial banking officer, and vice-president. He headed a commercial group that covered government guaranteed loans and minority business banking.
From 1973 to 1977, he was appointed by Illinois Governor Dan Walker as Director of the Department of Central Management Services.
He was National Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for Operation PUSH from January to October 1977. He was in private law practice from October 1977 to January 1979, and again from June 1995 to present.
[edit] Political career (1979-2002)
From 1979 to 1991, Burris was elected to the office of Comptroller of Illinois. He was the first African American to be elected to a statewide office in the state of Illinois. Burris was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 1984, losing to Paul Simon who went on to defeat incumbent Senator Charles Percy.
From 1991 to 1995, he was Attorney General for the State of Illinois, where he headed over 500 lawyers. There, he was the second African American elected to a state office of Attorney General in the United States.
Current career (2002-Present)
Burris is serving as Manager/CEO of Burris & Lebed Consulting, LLC, which was formed in April 2002. It is a strategic consulting service concentrating in the areas of public relations, governmental representation, political strategies, and corporate strategies. He also serves as of counsel to the law firm of Gonzalez, Saggio and Harlan, L.L.C. His areas of legal concentration are business transactions, estate planning, wills, trusts, probate, and consumer affairs.

Jaibones on December 30, 2008 at 9:05 PM

Yes…and if the GOP doesn’t use this…they don’t deserve to win in 10′.

jerrytbg on December 30, 2008 at 9:01 PM

Exactly. Get every single thing on tape, do your fundraising, and start making commercials.

Tie Obama, Blago, Jesse Jr., Stroger, Rush, Burris, Reid, Emanuel, Caroline Kennedy, Sarah Palin, the bankrupt Tribune, the soon-to-be-bankrupt NYTimes, Vicky Iseman … all up in a long string, and dangle them from a tall building in June 2010.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevic is truly the gift that keeps on giving. What has he given us today? An eminently qualified African-American nominee to replace Barack Obama in the US Senate — and a full-blown constitutional crisis on both the……

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who must certify the appointment, said Tuesday he will not do so.

Entelechy on December 30, 2008 at 4:35 PM

Entirely unclear that the apparently retarded Mr. White has the authority to refuse certification. His power is limited to a review of the process.

Jaibones on December 30, 2008 at 8:59 PM

yup… and start reminding everyone in 14 months…

sabbott on December 30, 2008 at 8:06 PM

marklmail on December 30, 2008 at 8:11 PM

The first rule of political suicide: when your opponent is trying to kill himself, get out of his way.

I think the GOP should not be overplaying their hand just yet.

Drudge has a quote up. The RACE CARD has been played by a Congressmen

Rogue on December 30, 2008 at 4:22 PM

I called this one early on. Blago and the Democrats think that the Illinois black Dems are so stupid, so corrupt and so beholden that they will be easily bought off by Blago, and will end up as his immunity.

True, in the case of the Gray Panther Bobby Rush, but will the rest of the Illinois Black Dems prove so rotten? Tick, tock…