Burris turned away at Senate door

[J. J.]

Just announce, Burris will be seated.

[opebo]

Just announce, Burris will be seated.

Hooray for Blagovich!

[J. J.]

Just announce, Burris will be seated.

Hooray for Blagovich!

Hooray for the Constitution and the rule of law!

I do not like what Blago did, but he did it according to law.  I would not, if offered had taken the post (and it's easy to say since I wasn't offered it), but that has been the only failing in Burris's honorable career.  Reid did the right thing.

[Meeker]

Reid's office is denying the report, says Politico.

[Mr. Morden]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAHCNnEnYzJs&refer=home

It seems all but inevitable now that Burris will be seated, provided that nothing comes out to indicate that Burris offered Blago something in exchange for the appointment.

[Iosif]

He's not running for re-election, is he? If not, who cares? Seat him and be done with it.

[© tweed]

He's not running for re-election, is he? If not, who cares? Seat him and be done with it.

because Dems are OMG TOUGH ON CORRUPTION

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

And the special appointment legislation was never rejected.  It was simply put aside

Same thing.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Gawd, Reid has such an easy back door to this scandal.

All he has to do is strong-arm Lt. Gov Quinn in to saying "I was always going to appoint a caretaker and because Roland Burris is such a distinguished politician who promised to resign his seat after two years, and because he was the first African-American elected state-wide in Illinois, I had always considered him the frontrunner to replace our first African-American president and likely result of my own selection process.  I endorse Roland Burris as an excellent representative of Illinois for the next two years and even if I should ascend to the governorship while Mr. Burris's status is in limbo, I would still appoint him if such an effort were needed.

It's so easy!  There's no reason to block him if the Lt. Governor endorses him, since the Lt. Governor, we assume, has legitimacy in the selection process.  And this would give Quinn a slight deflection of Blago's middle finger to him (by preventing him from selecting someone he wanted).

Reid genuinely doesn't want Burris, though.  He told Blago that Burris should not be considered.

And I don't think anyone in Illinois can say "We like Burris" with a straight face at this point.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Meh. Just toss Burris to the side in 2010, nominate someone decent and problem solved. And show Blago the door (hopefully one leading to a federal prison cell) in the meantime too.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Meh. Just toss Burris to the side in 2010, nominate someone decent and problem solved. And show Blago the door (hopefully one leading to a federal prison cell) in the meantime too.

That's not so much solving the problem as much as it is "suffering through it," but it's about the only route I know of.

[Brittain33]

He's not running for re-election, is he? If not, who cares? Seat him and be done with it.

Gail Collins writes that he was originally not going to run for reelection, but "friends and supporters" convinced him he should. He's got ambition to be more than a caretaker.

[emailking]

Regardless of being seated or not, I hope he does run in 2010 and wins. I like him.

[Iosif]

He won't make it past a primary in 2010, incumbent or not.

[justfollowingtheelections]

Regardless of being seated or not, I hope he does run in 2010 and wins. I like him.

I like him too.  He seems to be a decent guy and he will probably be a good addition to the Senate.

[Mr. Morden]

It's over.  Burris is a lock to be seated now:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/01/09/another-victory-for-roland-burris/

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[Holmes]

Ugh, good. I'm kinda over hearing about Blagojevich and Burris for a while.

[Mr. Morden]

OK, now it's *really* over.  The Illinois SoS has relented and certified Burris's appointment:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17295.html

Burris's probability of being seated is probably up to about 99%.

[Beet]

OK, now it's *really* over.  The Illinois SoS has relented and certified Burris's appointment:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17295.html

Burris's probability of being seated is probably up to about 99%.

Blago should be the next President. He has defeated everyone- after being arrested! If he was Presient he would just walk into the headquarters of Bank of America, kick some $#@!, and next thing you know they would be lending out billions. Blago knows how to get s**t done- we need more of that in this country.

As for the Democratic party, they are the losers. A solid majority strongly opposes seating Burris. Which may have something to do with the blatant use of the race card, with Bobby Rush standing there saying "black guy or else!". After we just elected the first black President! And this in Illinois of all places! Suffice it to say Illinois voters (most of them anyway) are not so racist that they won't vote for a black. Which makes playing the race card all the more distasteful.

If Burris is smart he will look at the 2010 horserace polls (when they are done, if they havent already) and realize that he cannot win, he is a liability to the party, other Democrats will not accept him, and do what is best.

Blago, on the other hand, looks very good. I hope he can get back into public office one day when all this is behind him.

[Sam Spade]

Burris's probability of being seated is probably up to about 99%.

Burris's probability of being seated was always over 99%.  That was the easiest prediction I made all year.