Blago is corrupt. No thoughtful politician should accept an appointment offered by an empowered corrupt governor. To do so would place one in debt to a practitioner of corruption, with the likelihood of slippery slope consequences to follow. An honest politician with wisdom would wait until the Blago circus folds its tent, then compete for the Senate seat.

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Although I don't think the Senate has sufficient grounds to deny Burris the seat (specifically, evidence of corruption in the actual choice to select him), the Senate is entitled to make an independent judgment, drawing its own conclusions on Blagojevich. That derives from the clause making each House the final judge regarding elections, returns and qualifications.

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because it was an election year. From Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/31/
roland-burris-sought-deat_n_154578.html

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what is wrong with this guy that he would accept such an appointment. It doesn't make him seem like the sort we need in the Senate. It suggests that he thinks this is his only hope and perhaps that the race card would work for him. Who wants that? Although it is of no real import, his voice rivals Palin's for sheer annoyablity and nails-on-blackboard tonal quality.

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The Burris nomination could potentially get Blagojavich off of the hook. Burris did't buy the Senate seat so then what crime has Blagojavich committed?

The link that bcgirl posted didn't work for me, try going to huffpo and search for this title: "Roland Burris On The Offensive: Race May Be An Issue"

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Re "It's not as if [Blagojevich] appointed a no-good in-law or something"---but you just said the appointment should be good because B is the governor and appointment was within his power. So by your argument, if he had appointed his drunken cousin, that would have been fine. Please understand: our objection in Illinois is not about Burris---it is about Blagojevich who, in addition to trying to sell the Senate seat, is now shamelessly manipulating race fear and prejudice. This appointment is nothing but a huge "Fuck You" to the voters, the Senate, and decent political civilization.

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...this story is getting way too much attention, much to the delight of the Republican party. Governor Blogovich has not been proven guilty of anything. Senator Burris has not been charged with anything and in fact is probably the better choice of any names floated so far. Lets get on to ending the war, getting healthcare for everyone, getting people back to work, and restoring the prestige lost in the eyes of the world by the Bush adminstration

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The BS the Senate is expounding does not pass basic premise of our Laws. they haven't got a leg to stand on. It's irrelvelant if Blag is accused of trying to sell the seat, he's not been found Guilty of it. He is still acting as Gov. Just as Stevens was still in the Senate EVEN AFTER his conviction.Funny the Seante had the Audacity to give a standing ovation to a CONVICTED Criminal.
The Dem leadership seems to have forgotten how Much WE hate Them. They apparently beleive that since Obama Won, their 'approval 'ratings have gone Up....Far from it...And I'm a Life long Dem.
Reids a Pussy ass and Pelosi should have remained an ever obedience 50's wife..At Home Not In the House!
I predict that '10 & '12 will see Incumbants Defeated in mass quanities- from both parties and 3rd Party candidates will be voted in regardless of their 'experience. We are so sick of Criminals and placators as Career Politicians, we'll take anyone else who applies for the job.
This is an Issue for Illinois, many of US in other states have our own criminals and appeasers to deal with!

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Far too much time is spent on tedious legal parsing and we wonder why the country in in chaos. These two men are using the Senate as a stage setting for their self serving argument that does nothing but insult the American people and demean the Constitution. They are actors and lousy ones at that. "Blago" is crazy and dishonest and has lost his privileges as a Senator. The State of Illinois cannot continue to waste the people's time and money. Throw them both out and get on with important things. ELECT a new senator, impeach the old one and move on. They've reduced the political process to comedy. Except that comedy is tough work. They get paid too much money for the rest of their lives to continue this charade. We don't want to be entertained for our tax dollars. Stop making fools of the people and get out. ANNA

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I can see the argument that Matthew Rothschild makes.

However, I disagree. Gov. Blagojevich has been arrested for trying to sell the very same Senate seat that is in question. It is, at the very least, unethical.

There is precedent for Congress to self-regulate their own members; Randy Cunningham is but one example. Indeed, it would be hypocritical for Democratic members to prosecute Republican members for unethical activity, while looking the other way concerning members of their own party.

As another example, Dick Cheney hasn't even been charged with any war crimes, such as allowing his former employer, Halliburton, to engage in no-bid war-profiteering. It would be in Shrub's legal right to pardon him beforehand, much as Gerald Ford did with the Watergate criminals. Would Mr. Rothschild then defend Shrub's action, as he is with Gov. Blagojevich?

There are degrees of innocence. Surely Gov. Blagojevich has crossed some line, in appointing Mr. Burris, that shouldn't have been.

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In Powell v. McCormack in 1969 The Supreme Court ruled that the House cold not exclude Adam Clayton Powell Jr. except for failing to meet the Constitutional standards of age, residency, and citizenship. They are free to EXPEL him, once seated, by a two-thirds vote, and this is probably not reviewable by the courts. That particular question has never come up, but Justice Douglas, in his concurring opinion in Powell, suggested it would not be reviewable. Even if Blago is later impeached and convicted I don't see how legal actions taken before that can be voided by the Illinois legislature. Bottom line this is all a bunch of blather without a legal leg to stand on.

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I think the Senate should seat this man for 2 yrs. Then let the election take him out if thats what Ill voters want.
I do believe this man is being used, (not only as a Sr Citizen, but a Black) but if he doesn't care why should we?

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If you don't live in this state--stay out of our business. Anyone Blago names--carries the taint of Blago. Back off and let Illinois decide on a candidate.

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If we are going to wait until someone who has never traded political favors in his or her career, we won't find an appointee in Illinois or any other state. It's amazing to me how we get so petite about things closer to home. The facts are that Blago got elected, he's still Governor, and he legally appointed a qualified person. It's the media that has made Blago a whipping boy, and oh boy, is he a good one! "Anything he touches is tainted meat" they say! Rubbish! I wouldn't risk my money on the integrity of the majority of people who are already seated in Congress.

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First I am from Illinois. Sure Blago is a bad guy. For me the race issue is a non-starter, it doesn't make any difference to me whether we have a black or white Senator.

What is important is that we have a Senator who is honest and smart, and in Burris we have those ingredients. In fact, with the major issue confronting the country at this point, ie. the financial crisis, his banking background puts him ahead of most of the current Senators. So get over it and accept him into the Senate.

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It is my thought that Ilinois' Secretary of State, Jessie White, should be impeached for his refusal to certify our governor's choice.

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I don't understand that anyone would accept an appointment by Blagojovich. What is Burris' motive? Pure ambition? That he might be able to hang on to the seat that he couldn't win in an election, achieve "incumbency" and thereby maintain a seat in the Senate? Can anyone outlast the stink of the circumstances?

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What a well-thought out and succinctly written opinion. Sure, the Illinois governor may be guilty of a crime, of course, Reid and colleagues do not like to be reminded of the horse trading their profession is well-known for, but the governor is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and right now, all he's doing is his job. Within the bounds of the law. And the senator he is appointing has every right to claim his seat. In the heat of discourse, people tend to forget that equal rights under the law are guaranteed to all. That only courts, not prosecutors, not holier-than-thou politicians and certainly not journalists may judge.

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The article makes a very good point -- Blago certainly appears to be crazy, definitely is revolting, but guilty? So far, the grounds for prosecution are very slender indeed. Should we let a US Attorney from a severely-tainted Justice Dept strip a governor of his powers on the basis of an arrest only? Under pre-Bush US law, the man is innocent until proven guilty, whether in an Illinois impeachment or a Federal court.

Have you read the criminal complaint? It's a much better source of info than all the sound bites that have appeared in the media, including here. It's huge, bloated, wordy, and totally flimsy -- despite all the wiretaps, what they have is simply Blago ranting on grotesquely to his advisors and staff about what he wants to do, not Blago doing it. And now Fitzgerald has said he needs more time to strengthen his case -- no surprise, because he made his arrest on the strength of a big pile of nothing.

I know that, thanks to that idiot Jane Harmon, thoughts are now a crime when it comes to potential terrorism, but I think for more traditional crimes, you still have to actually do something wrong, not just talk about doing it.

For some reason, Patrick Fitzgerald has become newly popular among progressives, despite the fact that he took good solid evidence against Rove and Cheney and pissed it down a rathole while convicting Libby of thumb-sucking, rather than treason. But he's still a Bush US Attorney -- something which should at least inspire us to view his actions in the political sphere with caution.

Blago's self-evident craziness does not mean he did anything more than fantasize out loud about the plum history handed him. If you read the complaint, he did a whole lot of talking about what he was going to get out of the Obama transition -- until he actually talked with the transition and got told to soak his head. Who knows if there was any more validity to any of the other allegations -- which have already given Fitzgerald, and thus Mukasey, a chance to tarnish (and thus hamstring) several potentially innocent Democratic politicians besides Blago.

This looks to me like just another Bush-era drive-by political assassination, like Bush's US Attorneys did to Spitzer of NY (case never even brought to trial) and Siegelman of Alabama (case thrown out on appeal). Letting one of Bush's paid political assassins strip this guy of his lawful powers without even the benefit of a trial is a very bad idea.

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The Illinois state congress had Rod Blagojevich ousted faster than the fastest of fast payday loans. The Illinois governor has been in hot water since his arrest on corruption charges. There have been as many demands for his resignation as for fast payday loans, and that was why the Illinois House and Illinois Senate decided to impeach him. The corruption is a disease that will never be cure in politics. In case of Blagojevich, he is trying to prove himself as innocent till the end of the trial. But now he is convicted. No one bought it, and they put him out of office – and since he's unemployed, he can't get fast payday loans for his legal bills.

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