Senator Burris

By Michael J.W. Stickings

I still think Senate Democrats should have said no to Burris. He wasn't elected. Surely there should be room to block questionable appointees (by soon-to-be impeached governors looking to stick it to anyone and everyone). Could there not have been a special election?

Still, now that it's almost over -- that is, now that Burris is set to be sworn in -- I suppose I'm with Bowers:

Hard to imagine that there will be any objections from Republicans. If anything, they will salivate over Burris as a potential 2010 opponent, due to his connections with Blagojevich. They are right to do so, making it necessary to defeat Burris in the Senate primary next year, should he decide to run.

Still, in the meantime, it is best that Burris be seated. For one thing, it is a perfectly legal appointment. Second, it is a distraction, and there is much real governing that we need to focus on instead. Third, it is best not to start a precedent of rejecting Senate appointees for political reasons. That is a can of worms that Republicans would be certain to use in the future, once their numbers in the Senate increase.

This is the right outcome. Seat Burris, but let's work to make sure someone else in the Democratic nominee for Illinois Senate in 2010.

The right outcome? Maybe, maybe not. Hopefully Burris won't be in the Senate for long.

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And maybe Hamsher is right: "[T]here was absolutely no winning end game for the Democratic leadership on this from the get. Embarrassing as the whole thing was, if they'd stuck with their original plan to keep Burris out of the Senate and accepted a second appointment from Pat Quinn after Blago left office it could have been worse. It very likely would have triggered not only a constitutional crisis but a media freak show the likes of which we haven't seen since the Clinton impeachment."

Though that might be overstating it. The Democratic leadership could have framed its opposition to Burris in terms of refusing to kowtow to corruption (given the whole sordid mess surrounding Blago and the selling of Obama's vacated Senate seat) and in terms of democratic legitimacy. Instead, they barely put up a fight.