Dick Durbin: Senate seat remains open

When all of this mess started- Durbin stated an election-
Election is the best way, That way the voters can judge if they won't to vote clean or tainted.

Durbin must be the roadblock to compromise. He was the first to call for a special election and has consistently been hostile to Burris. He is the Senator who questioned Burris' electability - not Harry Reid.

http://www.political-buzz.com/

Durbin should insist upon a new vote. It should be the PEOPLE who decide not a politician...DO NOT SEAT Burris because Burris is a LIAR. He said he spoke to NO ONE about the seat but he did speak to Monk to make sure his name was mentioned to Blago - Burris knew Monk had Blago's ear.

Did Durbin read the Illinois judge's opinion...No rule of the Senate can override the State executive's right to appoint a Senator, as stated by the Federal Constitution.
My gads, Durbin, go read it, eh?!

Jessie White is a HERO. He has been steadfast in his position, honest and forthright in his comments, and shown a great deal of integrity in upholding the position of the majority of Il. voters. There are a lot of facts that cast suspicion on Roland is a "pay to play" crook. Il. Dems. act like they are short a couple of toys to make a Happy Meal, maybe Durbin is not one of them.

Here it is trickie Dickie...

the Supreme Court said it found nothing in the rules of the Senate that require the secretary of state's signature.

"Moreover, no explanation has been given as to how any rule of the Senate, whether it be formal or merely a matter of tradition, could supercede the authority to fill vacancies conferred on the states by the federal constitution," the court states.

The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows states the power to appoint senators when there is a vacancy.

Now that Burris has exhausted all of his State remedies, the U.S. Senate either seats him upon producing his appointment and proof that Jesse White entered the appointment in the Illinois official records, or he takes his battle to federal court. Durbin is wrong in thinking that Burris is out. Burris may yet have to run back and forth between the federal and state courts, but he is not down for the count yet.

Jesse White is putting himself above the law.
He has no right to withhold his signature - his duties are ministerial.
Blago did the right thing and White is doing the wrong thing.
Bad boy Jesse.

The $1.2 million dollar loan to Burris should be investigated and Burris or any other candidate should be fully vetted before being appointed. Burris testified that there was no resume submitted or any type of vetting on the part of Blagojevich. Grant it that Burris has a resume' (written in stone) one was never submitted, without an election the Senate candidate should be treated like he is applying for the Senate job just like he was applying for the job at a bank.

I'm not really concerned about this because the nutty Wingnuts have wet the bed so badly the last eight years that they're going to be the minority party for a very long time.

I look forward to watching Mitch McConnel standing on a little stool on the congressional floor and filibustering out of a phone book for the next four-eight years straight. That image of the great failures of the Bush Republican party will be on display in congress every single day from now on.

Jesse White is putting himself above the law.
He has no right to withhold his signature - his duties are ministerial.
Blago did the right thing and White is doing the wrong thing.
Bad boy Jesse.

Tom Millar,
You are so right -- this is about the US Constitution and the democrats, led by Durbin, are trampling on it.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Secretary of State's "certification" is not required.

That means the appointment is valid as is.

Roland Burris is in fact a trail blazer.

He won statewide office in Illinois 5 times.

I think that set a precedent for our former State Senator to win statewide office, as well as for Carol Moseley Braun.

He has been properly appointed and should be seated.

Notwithstanding the views of the senior Senator from Illinois, the 17th Amendment gives the state the right to legally fill a vacancy. The highest court of the state has just ruled that the appointment is valid and legal according to Illinois law. In its ruling, the court actually noted that the Secretary of State did dutifully record the appointment, fulfilling the only legal requirement of his office. The court also suggested that Burris, for the nominal fee that the Secretary of State's office charges for certified copies (akin to getting a copy of a birth certificate or marriage license) should obtain a copy of the registration of his appointment and submit it to the Senate. If the Senate still won't seat him I guess the case in on route to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ultimately, Burris must be seated. Senate Rule II is only a rule of the body. Rules (and even laws if they want to say the rule is an law) must be overturned if they are in conflict with the Constitution. Such an astute body of lawyers as contained in the Senate must know all of this. The politicians can't have it both ways. Blago got the best of them, legally. Maybe not for much longer, but for the time being he's still the governor. I don't understand why they just don't cut their losses and seat him. Presumably, he'll be a relatively party-line guy.

Listen up people ... these people are running our government!. It's outrageous and I have to ask why are we putting up with it?Get with it both republicans and democrats. Make these law makers listen to the people. Our country is going down the tubes and it looks like nobody givers a shit.

You Illinoisians can fight this one out. Illinois and Alaska Sarah-- thanks for the entertainment.

Blago was to issue a writ for a special election and temporarily fill the seat until the election so the people of the State of Illinois have a voice in the senate. It is the PEOPLE who ultimately should fill the seat, not the governor. States have gotten lazy and not been following the law.

Jesse White is not a "hero," he's a fraud. He registered the appointment in State records which, according to the Court and statute, is all that is required for Burris to be appointed.

So while White portrays himself as standing on principle, he in fact has taken affirmative, necessary steps to get Burris seated.

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This stuff about letting The People fill the seat is also wrong. Illinois law -- enacted by the representatives of The People, of course -- says the Gov is to make an interim appointment and the appointee stays on till the next Congressional election. The People have spoken, and that means Burris is our Junior Senator.

The only interesting part here is how completely stupid Reid, Durbin, etc. look. Nothing new there.

The judge ruled that there was no Illinois law requiring Jesse White's signature....but the catcher is if their is no law and the senate has what they call "standing Rules"...which they do and have had since 1884 the current Standing Rule of the Senate for Presentation of Credentials is Rule II #2. the name of the governor and the secretary of state signing and countersigning the same, and the State from which such senator is elected or appointed.....being as though their is no law in Illinois requiring Jesse White's signature but however there are Senate Standing Rules....the will then Superceede the State because their is not Illinois Law to superceede the Stanging Senate Rule...and the state of Illinois knew about the Senate Standing Rule for years but never challenged it......THE SENATE WIN....BURRIS WILL NOT BE SEATED.....THE SENATE WILL NOT CHANGE THEIR RULES FOR 1 PERSON.

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Posted by: Kim | January 10, 2009 1:43 PM
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I don’t think it’s as simple as you have it laid out. The question becomes whether the forms of practice for the Senate can actually trump the substance of a state governor’s power of appointment under the Seventeenth Amendment. After all, the Illinois Supreme Court said that Blagojevich’s appointment was valid as it stands, and that both Blagojevich and White did all they needed to do to make the appointment effective. There is also the separate but related question of whether the Senate has the power to add qualifications, under its Article I, Section 5 powers, to a Senate appointment that qualifies under State law and the Seventeenth Amendment. I would not be so sure that either is true. The Constitution normally trumps a legislative rule any day. Therefore, I think that Burris still has a chance to win a suit to be seated despite resistance from the Democratic Caucus in the Senate.
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What I rather disheartening is that Democrats would resort to such measures to disenfranchise a State and one of its Senators. The reason the Constitution had so few qualifications for office was that it was meant to prevent wholesale blockage of minority representatives from an oppressive majority. That was a problem in the British Parliament. I’m sure the Democrats would change their tune if it was the Republicans using political reasons to refuse to seat Democrats whose politics they abhor.
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And - BTW - nobody wins, not the Senate, not the people, and not the government - when people bend the Constitution or disregard it outright as they now have done. What they have done is downright dishonest, and they know it. Just goes to show you that neither of the two major parties in this country view the Constitution as anything but advisory only.