Dick Durbin Says Burris Won’t Be Seated
[Guest post by DRJ]
Proclaiming the Senate “cannot possibly waive a 125-year-old rule requiring the signatures of both the governor and the secretary of state on any appointment,” Illinois Senator Dick Durbin says the Illinois Secretary of State’s failure to certify the appointment of Roland Burris means the Senate won’t seat Burris:
“At this point we’ve clearly reached an impasse,” Durbin told reporters at his Chicago office. He suggested the Senate seat might even remain vacant and Illinois’ Senate representation halved until Blagojevich is removed from office and the lieutenant governor takes over and makes a new appointment.
This, plus the ongoing impeachment struggle in Illinois, seems likely to prolong the internal Democratic struggle past the historic inauguration of Obama, who’s sent a message to Reid and Durbin to get the distraction settled. A Blagojevich impeachment trial could start in the state Senate next week.”
Meanwhile, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has reversed course and now supports Burris’ appointment:
“Now, Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, who represented White in the case, is back in the fray, according to the Swamp’s Mark Silva. She says it’s clear now that White “is not the roadblock to Mr. Burris’ appointment to the U.S. Senate. It remains within the power of the U.S. Senate to seat Mr. Burris.”
Then she added, “They should do so immediately.”
We need a scorecard to keep track of where the politicians stand in this story.
– DRJ
What a clown show. Is it too much to ask that they at least get their stories straight?
Comment by Chris — 1/10/2009 @ 9:46 pm
Durbin is especially worried because pissed off Illinois voters may come after him.
I stand by my prediction, Reid and Obama preferred Blago appointing Burris than facing a special election. Burris will be seated. Durbin is a lying sack of…well you know what.
Comment by Joe — 1/10/2009 @ 11:27 pm
we call that the back stroke
Comment by slizzle — 1/11/2009 @ 1:25 am
Look, it’s very simple, they should just come out and tell us where they truly stand. It’s clear they can’t do anything about Burris. He will be seated eventually. They should cut the BS and come out say they were wrong to oppose him in the first place and get on with dealing with Blago. We already know how this ends. Blago gets kicked out and Burris gets “reluctantly” seated. End of story.
Comment by love2008 who will now be known as Emperor7 — 1/11/2009 @ 5:05 am
Israel is devil to kill the Gaza people!
The US is an accomplice!
Are these the so-called Western democracy, human rights?
These is not human nature of massacres!
http://blog.ifeng.com/706796.html
Comment by chinese tibet — 1/11/2009 @ 5:05 am
Israel is devil to kill the Gaza people!
The US is an accomplice!
Are these the so-called Western democracy, human rights?
These is not human nature of massacres!
http://blog.ifeng.com/706796.html
123
Comment by chinese tibet — 1/11/2009 @ 5:06 am
Israel is devil to kill the Gaza people!
The US is an accomplice!
Are these the so-called Western democracy, human rights?
These is not human nature of massacres!
http://blog.ifeng.com/706796.html
456
Comment by chinese tibet — 1/11/2009 @ 5:06 am
Israel is devil to kill the Gaza people!
The US is an accomplice!
Are these the so-called Western democracy, human rights?
These is not human nature of massacres!
http://blog.ifeng.com/706796.html
789
Comment by chinese tibet — 1/11/2009 @ 5:06 am
Comment by chinese tibet — 1/11/2009 @ 5:06 am
Hey hey, who the hell are you? How dare you? Do you know which blog you are posting that nonsense on? Stop or we will have you banned with immediate effect. What nonsense.
Comment by love2008 who will now be known as Emperor7 — 1/11/2009 @ 5:15 am
Emp? Shhhh, those posts will disappear soon enough. They never happened as of noon today, I’m certain.
Comment by John Hitchcock — 1/11/2009 @ 5:17 am
#10
Whoever goes by the name “chinese-tibet”? What is he/she, some kind of freak? The nerve.
Comment by love2008 who will now be known as Emperor7 — 1/11/2009 @ 5:24 am
So Durbin thinks that the “new” governor should make the appointment. How can the new governor make an appointment to a Senate seat that is no longer vacant since Burris was appointed? Maybe they can impeach Burris too? Even a special election now seems to be not an option. You can’t just have an election for a position that is not vacant and the term has not expired.
BTW, Gaza is devil to kill Israel people!
Comment by Charles Harkins — 1/11/2009 @ 6:38 am
None of this will actually harm the Dems, which is unfortunate. The US populace suffers from a severe mental disease/syndrome/illness/what-have-you. There is zero long-term memory and only 50% short-term memory, so anything that happened 1-5 years ago when I’m voting today never happened, or I can’t remember it happened.
All of this is terribly relevant and should be cataclysmic to liberals, but won’t have any effect whatsoever on the 2010 elections. Of that you can be certain.
Comment by John Hitchcock — 1/11/2009 @ 6:43 am
And how can the new governor make the appointment when there isn’t one? Shouldn’t a lawyer like Dickie know better than to presume the outcome of a trial? As it stands, there may not be a new governor. Unless Dickie knows something we don’t know…
Given that the IL Supremes have declared Burris’ appointment as legal and complete, they’re going to have a damned tough time appointing another. And Jesse White is going to have a tough time certifying another appointment as legal and proper as it would be to a seat that isn’t vacant according to Illinois law.
SCOTUS, here we come.
Comment by Pablo — 1/11/2009 @ 7:40 am
Is Dick Durbin so massively uninformed that he thinks the petulant whim of the US Senate trumps the unanimous and clearly reasoned decision of the Illinois Supreme Court?
Comment by Insufficiently Sensitive — 1/11/2009 @ 9:40 am
Well, when Joe Biden is inaugurated, we now know who will replace him as the stupidest Senator.
Comment by SPQR — 1/11/2009 @ 10:22 am
Don’t you mean the more stupider senator?
Comment by John Hitchcock — 1/11/2009 @ 10:26 am
AG Madigan has always stated her preference is for a special election. Nothing has changed.
Comment by Art — 1/11/2009 @ 10:33 am
Well, if Burris nevergets seated, then the seat is still vacant, and Quin can fill the vacancy…
But I suspect Pat will re-appoint Burris…
Comment by Scott Jacobs — 1/11/2009 @ 11:01 am
Is Dick Durbin so massively uninformed that he thinks the petulant whim of the US Senate trumps the unanimous and clearly reasoned decision of the Illinois Supreme Court?
[checks for sarcasm smilie]
If he does, he’s right–at least in the short run. If the Senate does decide to stand firm on this, the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision isn’t worth squat. The US Supreme Court will have to take the case and order the Senate to seat Burris if they want to. They may cite the reasoning of the Illinois Supreme Court in their decision, but it will be the USSC who brings down the hammer if it happens.
Comment by M. Scott Eiland — 1/11/2009 @ 12:08 pm
Scott #19,
We’ll have a Senator and an anti-Senator?
Comment by nk — 1/11/2009 @ 12:33 pm
Has Durbin started crying yet?
Comment by Federal Dog — 1/11/2009 @ 12:44 pm
More information is coming out on Obama’s Blogojevich contacts
In spite of what the Obama team has told us, the contacts than had with Blagojevich ran deep. The most troubling thing is Obama wanted to maintain a close relationship with Blagojevich even after he was under suspicion. New information has been uncovered through the Freedom of Information act.
Comment by The Intellectual Redneck — 1/11/2009 @ 1:13 pm
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. The state has the right to name its representatives in the Senate and to decide how that will be done. When it gets to The Supremes, the question will likely be limited to whether the Senate can refuse to seat a duly appointed Senator. And I suspect the answer will be “no”. The IL decision will loom large in that it declares Burris to be the rightful junior senator from IL.
Comment by Pablo — 1/11/2009 @ 1:45 pm
Don’t let them come into contact, or the entire universe will be destroyed.
Comment by Steverino — 1/11/2009 @ 1:46 pm
I agree with Pablo. The opinion of Illinois’s highest court will be the rule of decision in federal court.
Comment by nk — 1/11/2009 @ 2:43 pm
I agree with Pablo. The opinion of Illinois’s highest court will be the rule of decision in federal court.
Which would still mean that the federal courts have to hear the case to so rule–a summary affirmance and order to the Senate from the USSC to seat Burris is *very* unlikely. It will take time, and things can happen–like Blago being removed from office by the Illinois Senate and the new governor withdrawing the appointment of Burris–during the wait.
Comment by M. Scott Eiland — 1/11/2009 @ 4:13 pm
Durbin’s position didn’t last long. He changed it yesterday and acknowledged that Burris would be seated.
Comment by daleyrocks — 1/12/2009 @ 1:43 pm