It’s “let’s shoot ourselves in the foot” time for Democrats again. The secretary of the U.S. Senate refused to accept the certification of Roland Burris’ appointment to the Senate because the papers lacked the blessing of Illinois’ secretary of state.
To say I find this exasperating understates my ire. Burris, 71, is an amiable mediocrity, vain but honest, and he meets the qualifications for U.S. Senator set forth in the Constitution of the United States. He is not under indictment, nor is there any evidence or even allegation that he did anything improper to secure his appointment.
The man who appointed him to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is still the governor of Illinois, and was legally exercising power that he still holds. Granted, Blagojevich is free on bail after being arrested by the FBI, and appears, as they say in the South, to be in a heap of trouble — but he hasn’t been indicted yet, let alone tried or convicted, and thus is no less a governor than Bill Clinton was a President after being impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. Like each and every American, he’s entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Is Burris tainted by being appointed by Blagojevich? Not in any legal sense. He may be politically and personally — although it’s clear from that granite bus stop of a monument he’s built for himself that he reckons the glory of being a U.S. Senator overpowers any odor attached to the appointment — but that’s not a good reason for the U.S. Senate to reject his appointment. He wouldn’t be the first man of dubious character to serve in Congress, nor would he be the last.
And I sent messages to Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester saying exactly that. Burris holds a legal appointment. He’s vain, ambitious, and certainly not the brightest star in the firmament, but he meets the constitutional qualifications for the job. He’ll be a reliable Democratic vote. There’s absolutely no sound reason not to seat him, and it’s time for the Senate’s Democrats to pivot 180 degrees and escape from the political cul-de-sac they so stupidly marched into.