Embattled Governor Rod Blagojevich and members of the Democratic Party are on a collision course as the “pay for play” scandal continues to drag on. Blagojevich has vowed to fight the accusations against him, even as the state legislative body contemplates and works towards impeaching the Governor. Also, the race continues between the Governor and the legislature to name a replacement for Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat and set a date for a special election to fill Rahm Emanuel’s vacated seat.

In an act of defiance, Blagojevich took to the podium with Roland Burris to announce him as the successor to Obama in the Senate. Burris, a black man, is a former Attorney General for Illinois from 1991 to 1995. He also ran and won the race for the office of Comptroller in the state, becoming the first black man to win a major statewide election. Additionally, he has ran unsuccessfully for Governor three times, Mayor of Chicago once, and U.S. Senate once.

The announcement of Burris led to numerous complaints and positioning. The Democrats in the Senate are planning not to seat Burris, even though they technically do not have the authority to do so. This was attempted once back in 1967 when the House tried to bar Representative Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. from taking his seat. This led to the Supreme Court case Powell vs McCormack, where the Court ruled 7-1 in favor of Powell, indicating that he met the requirements to be a Senator according to the Constitution, and that Congress had the power to expel (not exclude) a member with a two-thirds vote. If the Senate wanted to expel Burris once he was seated, they would need to hold a vote. The Democratic Party could, on the other hand, deny Burris from caucusing with the party, much in the way that they were thinking of doing to Senator Joseph Lieberman if the party obtained 60 total seats.

Another issue is that the Senate currently does not have a black member. Again, going back to the qualifications to be a Senator (be at least 30 years old, be a US Citizen for at least 9 years, and a resident of the nominating state), there is no quota for the Congress to have representatives from the difference racial backgrounds that make up our population. However, this didn’t seem to bother Congressman Bobby Rush. He challenged the Senate “to go on record to deny one African-American from being seated in the U.S. Senate.”

The bizarre political theater, if you want to call this, is getting stranger each day. Rush is an idiot for trying to bring the race card into this issue. Blagojevich continues to make problems for himself by jumping the gun and beat the state legislature to the punch by nominating Burris, even though he is under investigation for trying to sell the vacant seat. The Senate Democrats are showing their lack of Constitutional law by considering blocking Burris from taking the seat. None of this helps Obama from making a smooth transition into office in just three weeks.

Related articles:
Telegraph – “The race card is played: Don’t ‘hang or lynch’ the black man chosen by Rod Blagojevich”
Breitbart – “Blagojevich defies Senate, names Obama replacement”
Chicago Sun-Times – “Blagojevich names Roland Burris to Obama’s Senate seat”
Chicago Breaking News – “Blagojevich snubs Senate, taps Burris for seat”
Financial Times – “Blagojevich names Burris for Obama seat”
CBS2 Chicago – “Blagojevich Names Obama Replacement Amid Protest”
Star Tribune – “Emanuel announces plan to resign congressional seat; Blagojevich must set special election”

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