Cheat Sheet

Harry Truman got his senate job by selection by the Pendergast political machine. It worked out pretty well.

A senator is no long an ambassador from somewhere but an official directly accountable to the people. Is there anybody who think selection by this unpopular governor will somehow affect how the new senator does his job?

This guy should be judged on his own merits----of course, merit is something the average plutocrat in the US Senate is not well acquainted with.

Having this Senate say it won't accept you would be like being told you are too corrupt to join Al Capone's gang. It's like being told that you stink by a bunch of floaters.

I don't see why the Senate shouldn't be able to deny Mr. Burris the seat. If a Senator is found to be corrupt-like Mr. Stevens of Alaska-they have the authority to remove him. Why should this be any different? I think Mr. Burris would probably be a fine Senator, but he has been appointed to the seat under very suspicious circumstances and therefore should not be allowed the position. Now, if Illinois were to hold elections and the people voted him in; I think we could all agree he should have the seat. On this one I'm with the Republicans-oddly enough.

Burris should not have agreed to this appointment, it makes him looks plain stupid. Knowing the stigma that attached to this dude is enough to make you go the other way. Blago is an idiot with a point to prove which makes him dangerous politically.

"If the Democrats pursue this, they'll wind up looking foolish. We don't need this kind of circus right now."

The wisest words spoken here.

Powell v. McCormick says the Senate doesn't have the power to ignore the law vesting senatorial appointees with a right to be senator. There is no doubt the law operated as written by the duly elected representatives of the people. Who hell do the senators think they are deciding when and when not the law will be followed?

Here's the sick irony: They'd have let Stevens serve after conviction until his appeals ran out. The US senate is all posture and no reality: corrupt but hurrying to pander otherwise.

wow. please tell me that i did not just read what i thought i read. i was preparing to write a whole other comment, but i have to admit that i was taken aback and am offended by the last line of pangloss' comment.

anyway, i dont what burris was thinking when he accepted this appointment, but i do know that if i lived in illinois, i would NOT want somebody with such poor judgement to be my senator.
i also think that the whole press conference was in poor taste. especially when rep. bobby rush decided to get up in the middle and give a speech about how illinois must have an african american senator because now that obama is president there are no african americans in the senate.

im sad, because i really thought that with obama's historic win, this race oriented agenda would slowly die. if one is truly accepting of people from all races, than what should matter is not the color of ones skin, or the shape of ones eyes but whether they are qualified for the job. last time i checked, being biased against somebody due to something physical was bigotry.

i also just want to note, that i just finished reading christopher buckley's book "supreme courtship" and i find it slightly eerie and even funnier how much his book represents life. first with palin, and now with blago and burris.