by Kakofonous
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) put forward an extraordinarily weak argument on Meet the Press this morning in favor of rejecting Roland Burris's appointment to the Senate by Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. In essence, what he said was this: because Burris is "tainted" by the governor who appointed him, he should not be seated. Reid went on to say that the Senate would exercise its Constitutional right to bar him from serving. He did not, however, provide any evidence as to why Burris would not make a good Senator, and in fact stated that he did not know of any wrongdoing that Burris had committed during his tenure as Illinois Attorney General or in any other offices he has held. Continued: Click "Read More"
While it may be true that the Senate has the right to decide whether those brought to serve are eligible to do so, Reid's invoking of this right, brought to its logical conclusion, suggests that the law dictating that governors are to select candidates is a mere formality and should be disregarded with impunity if the Senate merely disapproves of the governor, much less the candidate. Personally, I believe that this law should be trashed, since it disrespects the right of the electorate to choose its representatives. Whatever the case may be, the law is (at least currently) the law, and it is the duty of the Senate to respect it.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Burris and Blagojevich
Labels: blagojevich, burris, kakofonous, senate
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Great point. This brings back a particularly ugly memory in American history. In 1866, following the 14th amendment which guaranteed the right to vote to all people, blacks came to the polls in record numbers. Because there was no apparatus of Jim Crow laws to allow whites to block former slaves from voting, the black majority in Mississippi elected the first African-American, Hiran Rhoades Revels, to the US Senate. The Republican and Democratic parties united to refuse to seat him. I'm sure Blagojevich had this in mind when he made his pick.
What we must keep in mind is that the Democrats have a sticky situation on their hands. In most cases, disgraced politicians resign quickly to avoid the spotlight (or, like my own disgraced governor, figure it out through a few days of constantly horrible press). Blago, interestingly, is completely convinced of his innocence and, when combined with a tremendous reserve of gall, has no problem staying in office with a 5% approval rating.
Impeachment proceedings begin this week, but he's thrown another wrench into the works: do the Democrats seat Burris, or do they not?
There does exist a valid reason for not seating him: he was appointed by someone who had forfeited the right to appoint. As often as Burris points out (and, mark my words, will continue to point out) that there are currently no black senators, this in no way changes his case.
The solution: seat Burris temporarily, but do not give him committee spots. After Blago is impeached, the new governor will set a date for a special election. Burris can run. If he wins, then he is a democratically elected senator. If he does not, then there is no valid reason why he should serve in the senate.
I can't believe no one thought about that. I didn't.
Post a Comment