Crumble: Senate certifies Burris, will be seated this week
posted at 5:00 pm on January 12, 2009 by Allahpundit
Think about this. You’ve got a popular Democratic incoming president, a Democratic lieutenant governor and secretary of state, and overwhelming Democratic majorities both in Congress and in the Illinois legislature. Everyone involved was opposed to letting Blagojevich make the pick.
And together they still couldn’t figure out a way to stop him.
“Barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week,” said a joint statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin…
“We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the Senator-designate from Illinois and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a Senator-elect,” said the joint statement.
A refresher on the timeline. After Reid sends Blago a letter co-signed by every last Democrat in the Senate warning him not to appoint anyone, the state legislature huddles and decides it’s going to pass a bill making the seat subject to a special election. No bill emerges. Blago then flips Reid the bird by appointing Burris, drawing new warnings plus a rebuke from The One himself, who declares that Congress “cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat.” Enter Bobby Rush, demagoging the hell out of anyone who so much as looks at Burris cross-eyed. Burris shows up to Congress and is turned away, supposedly because the secretary of state refused to sign his certificate of appointment. Then he meets with Reid, who, it turns out, has gotten a phone call from Obama urging him to make this go away. Suddenly the secretary of state has a change of heart, Reid and Durbin have a change of heart, and Burris is officially the senator-designate, insisting all the while that he’s never played racial politics even as he’s paraphrasing Malcolm X about being seated by any means necessary. Did I miss anything?
Exit question: The boss calls this Harry Reid’s humiliation. Isn’t it just as much Obama’s humiliation, too?
Blowback
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“Harry Reid’s humiliation”…how redundant is that.
right2bright on January 12, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Harry Reid is so weak! When that guy draws a line in the sand it’s not a matter of if it will be crossed, but how quickly.
t.ferg on January 12, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Great news! Can’t wait for him to be a talking head on MTP.
Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud come out!
Limerick on January 12, 2009 at 5:02 PM
No nads.
baldilocks on January 12, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Harry Reid deserves some kind of lifetime Epic Fail award.
BadgerHawk on January 12, 2009 at 5:04 PM
At least I predicted this outcome. I’m sure some others did, too.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on January 12, 2009 at 5:06 PM
It is in fact, the humiliation of the United States.
Don’t you see it?
artist on January 12, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Harry always draws his “line in the sand” at low tide.
ChrisM on January 12, 2009 at 5:06 PM
I for one am thrilled that Ol’ Grady got the job! Wake him up in a couple of years.
Tim Zank on January 12, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Hope Senators Burris & Reid can Room together, just to keep this dysfunctional relationship under the same roof….
DL13 on January 12, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Que the “Jefferson’s” Theme Music!!!
PappaMac on January 12, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Was there ever any doubt?
It was all just a distraction to keep the glaring press occupied during the transition, and away from stuff like “Where is the next SecState? Not a sound from that corner.”
BobMbx on January 12, 2009 at 5:07 PM
The beauty of a federal system of divided government – it didn’t matter what Harry Reid said, Blago had the power and he used it. If only GWB had vetoed some bills in his eight years…
Sheerq on January 12, 2009 at 5:09 PM
It makes you wonder.What exactly happened to change everybodies mind so fast and hard.
Could it be that someone has a little information that could be slightly embarrassing to someone of hopey changiness….?
Somebody cut a deal.This stinks to high heaven.
This will be the absolute most corrupt,arrogant,foolish and self serving,incompetent,dishonest Congress ever.
I’m going to build a bunker.
NeoKong on January 12, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Aww, I’m disappointed. I was hoping for a few more weeks of entertainment.
… turns to focus on the fun of watching Obama backtrack everyday.
mjk on January 12, 2009 at 5:10 PM
1. Read speaks loudly.
2. Obama speaks loudly.
3. Blago chooses, brilliantly, and flips finger to all.
4. Reid speaks loudly.
5. Obama waivers.
6. Mr. Burris goes to Washington.
7. Messrs Reid, Durbin and Obama wet diapers.
8. Ms. Feinstein shoes stones in light of reality.
9. Obama sees the light, must as he doesn’t want to.
10. Supreme Court of IL tells it how it is.
11. Sec. of State of Il, sees light, which court sent.
12. Reid capitulates again.
13. Obama was never on the ramparts in the first place, jelly fishy, as usual.
14. Blago recites another great poem.
Blago is a public relations genius.
Messrs. Obama and Reid are the usual wussies, with ping pong balls for cojones.
Entelechy on January 12, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Burris’ retirement stock increased tremendously – all good, becaue if the IL voters have brains they’ll throw him out in 2010. However, he’s a winner all the way.
There’s no more race challenge in the U.S. since Nov. 04; thus, race card is invalid.
Entelechy on January 12, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Blago should be able to get a sack full of dollars on Ebay for that letter signed by all demo Senators….Look at how much Linbaugh got (for charity) for a letter signed by dingy and just a few senators……Million if he plays it as well as he played dimwit Harry….
b4lucy on January 12, 2009 at 5:13 PM
Oh, absolutely! You know the networks are now bidding for him in prime time and he won’t be able to resist the limelight lure. The old fool will be eminently quotable and his handlers won’t be able to drag him off the stage.
a capella on January 12, 2009 at 5:13 PM
Blago is used to playing with the big boyz…Chicago style. Harry is used to whining & sniveling like a spoiled child. Harry didn’t stand a chance, and if Nevada is dumb enough to re-elect Dingy Harry they are out of their minds!
Tim Zank on January 12, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Note to self – calm down – there’s always more time for Schadenfreude.
S/b Mr. Reid and Ms. Feinstein shows stones…
Entelechy on January 12, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Bonus – every time Burris speaks we’re reminded of Obama, Blago, and the corrupt IL machine which brung Obama.
Entelechy on January 12, 2009 at 5:16 PM
While we keep asking to tap on them with a hammer.
Limerick on January 12, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Let’s review here…what would be more “Humiliating” to Obama/Reid/et al
Seating Burris after valiantly barring the door…which no one will remember in 2 years…and the seat will stay safely Democrat
Or the Special Election that a Republican would have probably waltzed to victory in immediately after the Messiah’s descent from on high?
All this was feigned outrage to keep the seat Dem.
Rogue on January 12, 2009 at 5:20 PM
WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!
BWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH TO HRPUFFINSTUFF
Mercy4Me on January 12, 2009 at 5:20 PM
“Harry Reid’s humiliation?”
How is it possible to humiliate a Democrat?
Cody1991 on January 12, 2009 at 5:23 PM
This is a lesson in the new politics. Blago understands it because he was shoved aside a few years ago by the Fool.
Race trumps everything.
Reparations are coming soon.
notagool on January 12, 2009 at 5:32 PM
At last. Now the incoming Obama administration can move onto to the pressing heavy lifting issues facing our nation, like finding a Portugese Water Dog puppy in a shelter. ; ))
Angry Dumbo on January 12, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Hey, at least he’s not another legacy/royalty pick for the
House of LordsSenate.It does set a precedent that seems to indicate that that Illinois Senate seat is now reserved for a black person, but that’s not quite as bad as all the seat inheritance that’s been going on among the prominent political families’ dynasties.
aero on January 12, 2009 at 5:39 PM
LOL… They need 40 (out of 59) Senators in the IL state Senate to impeach. I betcha that Blago has dirt on at least 20 of them.
Harry Reid… meet the Chicago Combine. This is what Harry Reid will be dealing with for four years.
Illinidiva on January 12, 2009 at 5:47 PM
The congress will never make it up to Bush’s approval rating now.
Johan Klaus on January 12, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Burris is just want IL deserves. And a double bonus is that Pres O will get to see that smiling sap everytime he delivers his State of the Union address, because that is as near as Burris will get to Obama.
izoneguy on January 12, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Chicago – the most corrupt political operation outside of Nigeria; I’ve been saying it for years.
Appropriate to see Obama approve of this abortion so that he can try to get it out of the headlines before his coronation. Good luck, Emperor Knucklehead!
Durbin, Reid, Madigan and the whole Illinois Democrat party capitulate to Blago the Jester, and put a babbling buffoon in the Senate. Bwaaaaaaaaa!
Jaibones on January 12, 2009 at 5:57 PM
Already happened. It was called “The Community Reinvestment Act.”
baldilocks on January 12, 2009 at 6:02 PM
its our countries humiliation
rob verdi on January 12, 2009 at 6:06 PM
Of course they were going to seat Burris. He was properly appointed and they had no choice. What I don’t understand is why they made themselves look so foolish in the process. I have to believe that is has something to do with Reid’s total lack of brains (and “god help us this is the Senate Majority Leader).
Hopefully, we will be done with Reid in 2010. Maybe “Joe the Plumber” will move to Nevada and run against him. Even the Vegas dog catcher could beat him.
duff65 on January 12, 2009 at 6:09 PM
Yeah but, round #2 is coming and it won’t be “cloaked” like CRA. It’ll be straight-up pay-up whitey.
Tim Zank on January 12, 2009 at 6:09 PM
What the Republicans should do: loudly and formally protest this outrageous appointment, take to the airwaves to lament the Democrat “culture of corruption” and suggest that Americans deserve better than the festering Chicago politics B. Hussein Obama has brought with him, push aggressively for probes into Democrat corruption at all levels (including Obama’s campaign finance irregularities and Democrat voter fraud), then cite the ethical cesspool of Obama’s one-party government as a reason to vote Republican in 2010.
What the Republicans will do: sit quietly by as Burris is seated, refuse to imply that Blagojevich is anything but a loose cannon, mutter sadly about how much they miss poor Norm Coleman, announce how much they respect and admire their Democrat colleagues, sign on to various organs of the trillion-dollar deficit monster being assembled in Washington, move swiftly to unanimously confirm any Obama Supreme Court nominee to the right of William Ayers, move slightly less swiftly to confirm William Ayers with a few dissenting votes if Obama decides to nominate him, make a few weird racial or sexual comments the media can beat them over the head with for days, and get caught in some kind of lobbying scandal right before they politely ask the voters to consider voting for a couple of them because they offer a compelling vision for the future, the details of which they will refuse to discuss. They wil repeat this plea for votes in Spanish, to an audience that has absolutely no interest in voting for them, then go on talk shows to wonder why another state or two have flipped blue.
Doctor Zero on January 12, 2009 at 6:10 PM
Yup. They all got Rod-rolled.
Pity that the drama couldn’t continue past the inaugural.
rbj on January 12, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Reid and his fellow cowardly slugs have absolutely no backbones . . . it’s amazing they can stand upright.
rplat on January 12, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Heh again. Don’t be despondent. The publicity this thing has generated has got to be resonating, at least a little bit. Did you want The Machine to win the preliminary bout? this thing has done what the media failed to do,…create focus on Obama’s background.
a capella on January 12, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Yahoo headline
Entelechy on January 12, 2009 at 6:39 PM
It comes naturally to Reid.
Those of you who lament that this “has gone away” just ahead of the inauguration – sit back and relax, while acquiring more popcorn. Blago has just started the circus. That man has recited great poems – wait until he sings.
Entelechy on January 12, 2009 at 6:45 PM
Harry Reid is this country’s humiliation. Burris is more qualified to be a Senator than Obama is to be President. Such is the state this country is in for the next four years.
eaglewingz08 on January 12, 2009 at 7:11 PM
I’m so glad all those thoughtful, far-sighted Obama voters fixed it so no one can play the race card any more. Those votes will eventually be known as Mourning in America.
Mark30339 on January 12, 2009 at 7:30 PM
So.. will any of Burris’s bills ever make it to the Senate Floor? or die slow deaths in committee?
DaveC on January 12, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Do I know my state or what? Blagojevich pretty much said, “I don’t care what you say. I’m still picking a guy to take the Senate seat, and there’s nothing you can or will do about it.” He was right. Pitiful.
Send_Me on January 12, 2009 at 7:48 PM
Only good news because Dingy lost another one. Now if he would just lose an election in Nevada.
Hog Wild on January 12, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Reid backs down again.
kanda on January 12, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Fret not, mjk… You still get to watch the entertaining Blago impeachment trial. Then you get to watch the indictments turn into charges by Fitzgerald. Then you get to watch Blago’s criminal trial.
All the while, the Chicago machine, will be more and more exposed. The same Chicago machine cesspool that Obama crawled out of will not smell any better as time goes on.
kcarpenter on January 12, 2009 at 8:36 PM
What I finding disgusting about the right-wing are the hypocritical double standards. Burris had to be allowed his Senate, because it’s the law. You can’t pretend that the law is so sacrosanct that Bill Clinton had to be impeached because of perjury over sex and then turn around say we aren’t going to seat a legally appointed Senator, because we don’t like the governor who appointed the Senator. Either always follow the law or stop condemning others for petty missteps.
thuja on January 12, 2009 at 8:53 PM
Michelle rhymed it best
Entelechy on January 12, 2009 at 9:48 PM
I disagree, Rogue. IMHO, it wasn’t ever so cut and dried as that.
Reid et.al. suffer from shortsighted thinking, buttressed by smarter Dem handlers who know how to work a willing Press. Therefore I believe that Reid did initially make all of his bluster by thinking that a “unanimous” show of support against Burris would somehow cower him into running back to Chicago.
Blago called that bluff in a moment – yes, thuja, everything Blago did with regards to appointing Burris was legal. You won’t hear anyone on this site arguing that point – and once the bluff was called, Obama quickly realized that Harry was bluffing his hand. Not only did Reid have no legal means to prevent the appointment, but his potentially dragging out the stink of the issue, and the Dems collective inability to do squat about it, was about to bring the press cycle around to notice in broad distribution what we saw here from the beginning:
* Reid blusters, threatening to do things that are blatantly unconstitutional
* Reid has no ability to act on his threats
* Burris et.al. call the bluff and play the race card in the process
* Focus on the situation threatens to detract from the One’s
coronationswearing inSo the One whispers to Reid to make the problem go away, because he’s got bigger fish to fry. It all works out to look like it was planned bluster, but the whole thing smacks of Reid getting in over his head, and the prospect of the situation embarrassing the One is what made them want it to go away. Period.
Wanderlust on January 12, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Bills?! This clown isn’t smart enough to get from the door to his seat without help. He isn’t going to write any bills; he’s just in this for a two year ego trip and another line on his mausoleum.
Jaibones on January 12, 2009 at 10:36 PM
jaibones you forgot Burris gets a substancial govt pension for life after even a two year senate stint with guarenteed cost of living allowances, nice work if you can get it. I am sure this was also a factor in Stuart Smallys run for the senate since Al has never been much good at anything other than being an unfunny coke snorting tax cheat.
merryprankster23 on January 12, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Exit answer:
Nope. Obama made a statement, but it was relatively low-key and the press didn’t hype the contradiction as the show progressed. They kept the spotlight on Blago vs. Reid (Surpise!).
Obama did not choose this as a hill to die on. He’s still looking for a fight that is truly worth engaging, and didn’t seem to find an issue that was worth laying his reputation on the line in Illinois govt. or the Senate.
It’ll be a little harder to vote present after 1/20, though. Buckly up, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
cs89 on January 13, 2009 at 9:00 AM
Buckly = Buckle. Oops.
cs89 on January 13, 2009 at 9:01 AM