Democrats desperate over Burris

Mark Brown:

It's time for President-elect Barack Obama to get off the sidelines and try to talk some sense to Roland Burris -- or if that's beneath him at this point, find somebody else who can.

The citizens of Obama's home state, the ones who launched his political career and proudly backed his ascendance to the nation's highest office, need his help.

Despite Burris being turned away Tuesday in his attempt to claim the seat vacated by Obama, the momentum is clearly building in Washington for Senate Democrats to give up and let Rod Blagojevich have his way.

And unfortunately, I can't think of anybody short of the future president of the United States who could bring to bear the kind of public and private pressure that's going to be necessary at this point to get Burris to back down.

...

The reason for this desperation goes beyond letting Blagojevich get away with making an appointment. I think Dick Durban and the Chicago machine told the other candidates vying for the post that the Senate would reject anyone selected by Blago so many of his choices turned him down and now Durbin is going to be embarrassed by having to seat Burris because the Senate can't legally block him.

Currently the basis for refusal is a very slender reed based on the Secretary of States refusal to certify the governor's signature on the appointment. This is the equivalent of a notary public refusing to notarize someone signature because he does not like them and not because his signature is not authentic. Burris opponents have about a 99 percent chance of failing to block the appointment in the courts.

I don't really care whether he or some other Democrat hack get the appointment. Burris will fit comfortably with the lightweight Democrat caucus with such luminaries as Patty Murray and Barbara Boxer and he might even be joined by Caroline "you know" Kennedy.

While the Democrats have improved their voting edge in the senate the collective IQ of their caucus is on a downward slope and al Franken will add to the other lightweights. I suspect that he will have special talents for embarrassing them.

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