Secretary of the Senate rejects Burris' appointment

[Wretched Excess]

Firing the first shot in Washington in the fight over the appointment of Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate, Gov. Blagojevich's acting chief of staff hand-delivered Burris' nomination certificate to the Capitol this morning -- only to see it rejected by the secretary of the Senate.

Chief of staff Clayton Harris delivered the certificate around 8 a.m., eastern standard time, said Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero.

The secretary of the senate and two assistants acknowledged receipt of the document "but did not formally accept it" because it did not bear Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's signature, Guerrero said.

White refused to sign the certificate last week, joining the chorus of politicians who say Blagojevich is not fit to fill the vacant seat because of his Dec. 9 arrest on corruption charges. The governor and Burris are hoping the Illinois Supreme Court will force White to sign the document.

Burris is expected to leave for Washington this afternoon. Senate Democrats have vowed to try to stop him from filling the seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama.

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[Wretched Excess]

this is headed for a showdown.  and if the first sentence of the second paragraph is true, why do we bother having elections?

Reid cites "legal authority" to bar Illinois pick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Sunday that "legal authority" exists under the Constitution to bar embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, but added there is also room to negotiate.

Under the Constitution, Reid said, "We determine who sits in the Senate. And the House (of Representatives) determines who sits in the House. So there's clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do. This goes back for generations."

Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Reid said he plans to meet on Wednesday with Blagojevich's choice for the Senate, Roland Burris, 71, the former Illinois attorney general, a fellow Democrat.

Asked if there was room for a possible settlement, Reid said, "I'm an old trial lawyer. There is always room to negotiate."

New members will be sworn in on Tuesday with the opening of the new Congress.

Reid called Burris a "tainted appointment" because of the governor's alleged misconduct, although he said he did not know of anything wrong with Burris himself.

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[USA4ME]

If the Congressional Black Caucus had any gonads, they'd go bonkers and call their fellow Democrats racists for refusing to seat this guy.  But they've been beaten down so much by their liberal massas, they'll only object insofar as the massa lets them.

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[Peter3_1]

It has already been Constitutionally determined, in the SCUSA that they may make their own "rules" and may refuse to seat a CRIMINAL Senator. But there is nothing that gives them permission to refuse to seat a Senator LEGITIMATELLLY elected or chosen as per the amendment by a Gov. of a State. Then there's the big Constitutional problem that it is CLEARLY Unconstitutional to interfear with a Congress Person attempting to fulfill their duties.

Can you imagine if, say, Gingrich has worked his way into the Senate as majority leader, then attemped to stop a black from being seated under any circumstances shy a serial murderer? The MSM would by hysterically beside themselves. But, with Harry Reed "d" , there's not a peep of outrage.

[Wretched Excess]

this is shaping up nicely.  something is almost definitely going to go "splat".

Defiant Burris Heads to Washington to Claim Senate Seat

CHICAGO — Even as Senate leaders continued to challenge his appointment to the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, Roland W. Burris headed to Washington on Monday, setting the stage for a public showdown on Capitol Hill.

In a news conference at Midway airport in Chicago before his scheduled 2:20 p.m. flight to Baltimore, a defiant Mr. Burris told reporters that he was not concerned about the fact that the Illinois secretary of state, Jesse White, has rejected the paperwork that would officially send Mr. Burris to the Senate.

“Why don’t you all understand that what has been done here is legal?” he said. “I am the junior senator from Illinois, and I wish my colleagues in the press would recognize that.”

He later added, “This is all politics and theater, but I am the junior senator according to every law book in the nation.”

Senate leaders have repeatedly said that they intend to block Mr. Burris from joining the chamber, given his appointment last week by this state’s embattled governor, Rod R. Blagojevich. Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, has said that the Senate has the legal right to bar Mr. Burris from the new session, which begins Tuesday. And CNN reported Monday that an aide to Nancy Erickson, the secretary of the United States Senate, said that Ms. Erickson had rejected Mr. Burris’s certificate of appointment because, though it was signed by Mr. Blagojevich, it was not cosigned by Mr. White, as the Senate’s rules require.

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[bijou]

this is shaping up nicely.  something is almost definitely going to go "splat".

He's going to need an extension to the tombstone for this saga. Whatever else happens Roland Burris will go down in history and almost overshadow the anointing of the One. 

[djones520]

Well...  early on when it looked like Obama was gonna pull this off, I was holding onto the hope that the new "regime" was going to **** things up so badly that no one would mention the word Democrat ever again.

So far, it's shaping up for that rather nicely.  I just hope that the damage done isn't irreperable.

[Eupher]

Yeah, but Harry "Shithead" Reid is now waffling.

[Wretched Excess]

Yeah, but Harry "Shithead" Reid is now waffling.

if the dem leadership refused to seat him, we decry the lily white leadership for refusing to seat a lawfully appointed senator that is black.  if they let him in, we decry the corruption and graft that has riddled obama's home state.

either way, we own the news cycle for a week or so.

[Eupher]

if the dem leadership refused to seat him, we decry the lily white leadership for refusing to seat a lawfully appointed senator that is black.  if they let him in, we decry the corruption and graft that has riddled obama's home state.

either way, we own the news cycle for a week or so.

Agreed. And I'm reasonably certain that Burris didn't pony up any money for the Senate seat. It's not like there isn't anybody who's watching.   

[Wretched Excess]

Agreed. And I'm reasonably certain that Burris didn't pony up any money for the Senate seat. It's not like there isn't anybody who's watching.   

yeah, but even at that, it can't be any worse than what chris dodd and bawney fwank did to the mortgage industry in return for sweetheart deals, or the fact that the chairman of the ways and means committee is a tax cheat.

[Eupher]

yeah, but even at that, it can't be any worse than what chris dodd and bawney fwank did to the mortgage industry in return for sweetheart deals, or the fact that the chairman of the ways and means committee is a tax cheat.

Leave those two guys alone, okay? They and their counterparts have a tough time in even balancing their freakin' checkbooks!  That's why they have to have a nanny!   

Bawney & Fwiends

[Chris]

“Why don’t you all understand that what has been done here is legal?” he said. “I am the junior senator from Illinois, and I wish my colleagues in the press would recognize that.”

He later added, “This is all politics and theater, but I am the junior senator according to every law book in the nation.”

He put on quite the show today.  It was all very entertaining.

[Chris_]

Even the fuhrer-loving MSM is starting to call the new administration the "Scandal Administration."

I love it when arrogance bites the hand that creates it.