Hey y'all, just wondering what everyone thinks about the newly-appointed Junior Senator from Illinois, Roland Burris.

He was appointed by Gov. Blagojevich who we all know by now has been accused of attempting to sell this very seat. However, both Blagojevich and Burris claim that this appointment is the only legal means of a new senator filling Barack Obama's position. The US Senate secretary, however, refused to allow Burris into the chambers yesterday, claiming he didn't have the proper authentication (he lacked a signature from the Illinois Secretary of State.

My personal opinion is that while unfortunate, the only legal thing to do, is to allow him to be seated. Unfortunately, Governor Blagojevich under the Illinois Constitution was the only person permitted to appoint a successor to open Senate seats, and Illinois would essentially be screwed to only have one Senator while hundreds of billions of dollars are crafted into President Obama's stimulus package. If Blagojevich had stepped down, or was impeached promptly, or the legislature had amended the Illinois constitution to allow for a popular election or legislative appointment of a successor, it would be a different story.

Anyone else agree with me? I am no Blagojevich fan although I do trust a court of law rather than the court of public opinion, which seems to have condemned him to guilt already. Also, I do not really look forward to another Chicago-area Democrat in the US Senate, but this isn't about politics for me, it's about what's legal.

I personally think Burris is a wacko. More importantly I think the US Senate shot themselves in the foot. Foremost, the law is not on their side. The Standing Rules of The Senate (Rule II) says that the Secretary of State "may do what seems fit" with the appoint certification. Nowhere does it say that the appointment is void without the signature of Jesse White. Furthermore Illinois state law mandates that Jesse White sign the appointment. If they didn't want Burris to hold a senate seat they should have 1) sworn him in, 2) let him hold the seat until Blagojevich is impeached/convicted, and 3) kick Burris out due to the fact that he was appointed by a Governor who tried to sell the very seat which he now holds.

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2008/12/burris-failed-his-only-major-test-in-office-as-ag.html

<http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2008/12/burris-failed-his-only-major-test-in-office-as-ag.html>

Burris is lazy lacks morals and integrity and would let a man die for no good reason other than his own political aspirations. What a toad Burris is.

What a piece of shit Burris is.

Well..... he's black.

Other than that I have not heard anything about him.

I hate the bastard's guts, and he's only there because of a farçe appointment by a corrupt thief, but, legally, his appointment is valid, and there's little the Democrats can do. He's to sit down with the Democratic leaders to work out an agreement, which should have him seated sometime next week, but without the ability to run for reelection.