Blago's Burris gambit
Just one quick note, too, on the Blago front. The big news today, obviously, is that, against the wishes of every Democrat in Washington, the Governor of Illinois went ahead and appointed someone to succeed Barack Obama in the Senate. Now, everyone's all aghast. Harry Reid and Barack Obama are decrying the move, and Reid is threatening not to seat Burris, notwithstanding his years of public service and distance from the pay-to-play scandal.
I've been as hard on Blago as anybody, and was, I think, pretty much all alone in my belief that if Obama knew in any way about the sale of his seat, and did nothing to stop it, he betrayed his own movement. But that's because Blago is pretty clearly corrupt. Burris, by contrast, is not. And the more I think about this, the more convinced I become that Reid and Obama are doing the wrong thing here.
Blago may be a creep, and his attempt to race bait the Senate into confirming his appointee is gross, but if he had resigned when the scandal broke and his successor had picked Burris, I don't think anybody would've objected. Maybe I'm being too amoral here, but I don't think the good served by denying a corrupt governor his right to appoint a successor (or by keeping that successor free of suspicion for two years) is really great enough to offset the damage done by denying Illinoisans representation for weeks or months. Or by denying Democrats everywhere their 58th vote in the Senate, particularly at this moment of crisis.
Politically, then, the question is: Would it really look SO bad for Dems to say something like "While we regret that Gov. Blagojevich flouted the will of Senate Democrats, we are chastened by the fact that he's selected a decorated public servant who has no ties to the scandal hanging over the Illinois statehouse. We assume Roland Burris will serve his constituents well, and, if he fails, voters will have the final say in two years."? I don't really think it would. But Harry Reid seems to disagree.
Then there are questions of due process and constitutional powers, and on those, I'm a big more agnostic. It's worth pointing out though, that Blago's still an innocent man and as long as he's governor, filling that seat is his prerogative. It would be a much different story if he'd gone ahead and selected somebody widely believed to have entertained the notion of buying the seat. But that's not what happened. None of which is to say I don't understand everyone's concerns, but they do seem a bit overblown to me.
And, of course, Senate Democrats may not have as easy a time blocking Burris's appointment as they hope to. I'm out of my element examining the constitutional arguments, but unless Reid et al feel they really have their position squared away, they should really dispense with all the bluster, lest they find themselves forced to accept Burris over their own objections.
Comments
Yes, Blago is still an innocent man, but specifically, Burris's judgement/credibility came into question when he accepted the appointment from a man who "flouted the will of the Senate" and is under investigation for trying to sell the open Senate seat. The point is that anyone who accepts this appointment from Blago will be tainted. Burris really should know better and should have declined the offer. Oh to be ambitious!
Caleab wrote:
> The point is that anyone who accepts this appointment from Blago will be tainted.
> Burris really should know better and should have declined the offer.
Yes, indeed. He should've known better, and he shouldn't have accepted it. But he did. The post is tainted, and now so is Burris. But it is, to all appearances, a legal appointment, and to refuse to seat Burris -- especially if there's some sort of confrontation on the Senate floor (Sergeant-at-Arms, etc.) -- is going to be a PR disaster of epic proportions for the Dems, one that the Republicans will embrace with all their will. Ever expect to see Mitch McConnell and Bobby Rush line up on the same side of an issue? You will.
Yes, indeed. He should've known better, and he shouldn't have accepted it. But he did. The post is tainted, and now so is Burris. But it is, to all appearances, a legal appointment, and to refuse to seat Burris -- especially if there's some sort of confrontation on the Senate floor (Sergeant-at-Arms, etc.) -- is going to be a PR disaster of epic proportions for the Dems, one that the Republicans will embrace with all their will. Ever expect to see Mitch McConnell and Bobby Rush line up on the same side of an issue? You will.
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