Archive for December 30th, 2008
December 30th, 2008
Here’s what Democratic U.S. Senators have to say on pending Blago appointment of roland Burris:
SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP STATEMENT ON GOV. BLAGOJEVICH’S APPOINTMENT OF ROLAND BURRIS TO THE VACANT U.S. SENATE SEAT FROM ILLINOIS
Washington, DC—Senate Democratic Leadership - Senators Reid, Durbin, Murray and Schumer – made the following statement today in response to reports that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will nominate Roland Burris to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat. Earlier this month, all 50 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus called on Blagojevich to step down and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the seat. The text of that letter is below the statement:
“It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic Senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety. We say this without prejudice toward Roland Burris’s ability, and we respect his years of public service. But this is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat. Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.
“Next week we will start one of the most important debates of the year – outlining an economic recovery plan to create jobs and invest in America. And in the coming weeks, we will be working to protect homeowners and consumers, make America more energy independent, strengthen our national security, and improve health care and educational opportunities. There is much work to do and a lot at stake. It is thus critical that Illinois and every other state have two seated Senators without delay.
“We again urge Gov. Blagojevich to not make this appointment. It is unfair to Mr. Burris, it is unfair to the people of Illinois and it will ultimately not stand. The governor must put the interests of the people of Illinois and all Americans first by stepping aside now and letting his successor appoint someone who we will seat.”
December 30th, 2008
Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-IL, and other Democratic senators are in a quandary over what to do about Blagojevich’s pending appointment of Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama.
Christina Mulka, Durbin press spokeswoman, told me at 12:50 p.m. CST that Durbin and fellow Democratic leaders of the Senate are in a conference call right now, presumably to talk about the Burris appointment among other matters.
Mulka reminded me that Durbin was one of the first to call for a special election to name Obama’s replacement.
“It is a risk that a Democrat might not be elected. But there would be no cloud of suspicion. The senator places a high value on the the people of Illinois electing their next senator.”
She said that while Senate Democrats did not totally rule out seating a Blagojevich appointee, “they had previously said they may exercise their right not to seat anybody” named by Blago, who is charged with corruption by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and also is facing impeachment by the Illinois General Assembly.
“Technically, process wise, the Senate has authority not to seat someone. It’s happened four times in U.S. history, and two of those rejections were from Illinois,” Mulka said.
“Under the circumstances that Blagojevich finds himself in, it would be very tough to take an appointment he made seriously,” she added.
.
December 30th, 2008
Da Question: If he names him, will he accept, and will they seat him?
I’m tallking about Gov. Rod Blagojevich naming Roland Burris, 71, to the vacant Senate seat held by Barack Obama, soon to be the 44th president.
Burris was state comptroller from 1979 to 1991, and from 1991 to 1995 as attorney general. He also ran, unsuccessfully, for senator, governor and mayor of Chicago. He is CEO of Burris & Lebed Consulting, LLC, in Chicago.
Burris was the state’s first statewide black elected official. He’s indicated to Blago that he’s interested in the Senate seat. Burris would be a respectable choice, and he’s young enough to make a run for the seat when it comes up for election in 2010, should he want to do that.
The immediate question is, will the U.S. Senate seat him? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has said that the Senate wont’ seat anyone appointed by Blagojevich.
But with the Minnesota race in limbo, Democrats will need all the votes they can get in the upcoming Congress if they want to pass Obama’s aggressive agenda. The closer they can get to 60, the number of votes needed to invoke cloture and stop a Republican filibuster, the better off they are. If Obama’s seat is left vacant for months, that will severely impact Obama’s ability to pass bills.
I’m thinking that Reid & Co. could very well reconsider should they be faced with a Burris appointment. He’s somewhat of an historic figure, being the first black statewide elected official. He had a successful run at comptroller, to which he was elected three times, and as attorney general.
I’m assuming here that Burris will actually accept the appointment! Some people think that no one in their right mind would take a job offered by Blago. We’ll see later today.
