Mr. Burris marches on Washington; Bobby Rush cries racist again
Scroll down for updates…
High comedy on Capitol Hill as Illinois junior senator-designate Roland Burris takes D.C. by storm.
Schadenfreude overload at the plight of Harry Reid squirming:
Roland Burris has arrived on Capitol Hill in a steady rainfall and a swarm of television cameras to claim his Senate seat.
Umbrellas partially shrouded Burris has he strode briskly toward the Capitol steps, followed closely by a large phalanx of reporters and photographers. It still wasn’t clear whether 71-year-old former Illinois attorney general would be allowed to take the oath of office for the seat given him by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah GOY uh vich).
Earlier Tuesday, Burris had been in tense negotiations with Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer. Once inside the Capitol, he was taken to the secretary of the Senate’s office for further discussions.
Stay tuned. I’m laughing. I’m crying. This is better than Cats.
***
10:53am Eastern. It’s a mob scene with a flock of reporters standing in the rain waiting for Burris to report on his meeting with the Senate Sergeant at Arms.
10:57 am Eastern. Now, there’s a slow-mo trek from the Capitol to a press conference location with Burris “wandering around like a 5th grader without a hall permit,” as a Fox viewer put it.
We’re getting updates every 30 seconds of Burris’s progress: He crossed the street!
11:01am Eastern. Burris speaks: “I presented my credentials to the Secy of the State and I was advised…I would not be seated…not seeking a confrontation, will consult with my attorneys now.”
That’s it.
Anti-climax.
Burris’s lawyer repeats what Burris just said. Exploring options: Lawsuit or further deliberations.
Burris will remain in Washington.
***
Interesting: Former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke is one of Burris’s lawyers.
***
The Swamp has a dispatch from the mob scene:
A determined Roland Burris entered the Secretary of the Senate’s office on the third floor of the Capitol this morning to present his credentials. The media were gathered around the corner – several abreast stretching down the hallway, held back by Capitol police.
Terrance Gainer, the sergeant at arms who would be charged with blocking Burris at the Senate chambers door if necessary, escorted him into the office. The secretary’s office is one floor above the entrance to the Senate chambers.
Leaders have been negotiating what Burris will do today – and there was some word that Burris might accept his rejection in the secretary’s office. Guards initially had been told they were to treat Burris as they would a senator, easing his path through the Capitol entrance, but were later told to take him through security as any visitor.
“We’ve been back and fourth four times,” a Democratic aide said of the choreography of the morning.
***
Update 1:04pm Eastern. Bobby Rush tells Fox News that the spurning of Burris was “racist” and that if Burris were not an African-American, Reid would have seated him.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
- Should Republicans Block Burris from the Senate? « JoHNBRoDiGaNDoTCoM
- ButAsForMe! » Mr. Burris marches on Washington
- Dems Hanging Selves as Senate Prepares to Open « America, You Asked For It!
- Burris Tainted But Ayers a Saint « Probably my worst quality…..
- White Democratic Senate tells a Black Roland Burris, "Go Home Darky!" | Political Byline
- The TIW Blog » Blog Archive » Racist Democrats turn Burris away
- Catching Up: Tuesday Round Up « Jane Q. Republican
- Mr. Burris marches on Washington « Top Daily Digest Reading
- Hard Starboard
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Democrats
Mudville Gazette
» The five-year plan
Legal Insurrection
» Is "Finish the Job" the New "Peace With Honor"?Pundit & Pundette
» Hiding the decline: Deniers made them do itPower Line
» More From the East Anglia ArchivesFounding Bloggers
» Did The New York Times Just Tell Glenn Reynolds To “STFU”?Doug Ross @ Journal
» 'Hope is fading fast' --- the T-ShirtDoug Ross @ Journal
» BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Boston Globe Climate Beclownment Spectacular
I still don’t get why it’s a problem for this man to take his seat…he was after all, legally appointed by the Gov.
Yet, Franken (the thief) and Princess Caroline (the chief) are getting the red carpet rolled out for them. Well, uh, um, maybe not Princess Caroline…
It technically shouldn’t be a problem legally, but from a PR standpoint, it’s an unwanted PITA for the Dems.
For any physics students here…what happens when an arrogant, immovable object meets an arrogant, irresistable farce? (sic)
i so hate correcting others, but…i thought this needed some revision, before i go back to sleep.
Lemme see here…a quick change, and PRESTO!
It technically shouldn’t be a problem legally, but from a PR standpoint, Dems are an unwanted PITA.
There, fixed.
Gnite!
Sleep tight, abstract! Yours is better!
Even I think this is fun to watch.
I guess EVERY VOTE COUNTS unless you are from Illinois.
As long as Blago is Illinois’ sitting governor, I don’t see how Reid can constitutionally deny Burris to be seated.
RACISM! RACISM! OMG! Those white senators better get with the program of THE ONE! You know, the POST RACIAL CANDIDATE and now soon to be President.
Oh, thats right THE ONE opposes Burris, too? Hmmmmmmmm Somebody help me!!
Hey, he and Al can take in the Smithsonian, the Air and Space Museum, and Arlington while they are cooloing their heals.
Who knows they may even have time to read the Constituion for the first time in their lives. I am sure the contents will confound them, even anger them, but I guess that comes with the job when you are a Socialist.
Someone on another thread mentioned that perhaps it’s Burris’ ideology that’s getting in the way…he’s apparently from a conservative section of IL.
I doubt Reid et al, are bothered about Blago’s current legal problems…that seems to be a badge of honor for the Dems.
I’m really enjoying watching the Dems shoot themselves in the feet.
They are wrong to keep Burris from taking his seat. He was legally appointed by the governor.
Sure, Blago is a Chicago scumbag who has been arrested on corruption charges, but he hasn’t been convicted or even indicted.
Dems being unprincipled opportunists who operate on power lust I don’t expect them to have any respect for the principle of innocent until proven guilty or for due process. That’s what makes them eating their own so schadenfreudelicious.
In at least 25 precincts in Minnesota, some votes count TWICE.
single stack – Well said. Ditto.
MtsEdge, that is correct. As I posted yesterday, Burris is an old friend of my hubby, and is from Centralia, Ill. They graduated from the same HS & college (So.Ill U) Very conservative area, and they hate the Daly machine.
Right now I am expecting some citizen from Illinois to sue the Senate (and Reid) for violating his right to representation. I expect such a case to quickly go to the Supreme Court. Didn’t we fight a revolution of taxation without representation.
DagneyT, that’s all the more reason I want Burris to be seated!! Not to mention the fact that it’s legal and more justified than Franken or (gulp!) C. Kennedy.
Burris is not a conservative. It’s more about the political infighting within the Democratic party here in Chicago than anything else. In this, conservatives can stand aside and watch the destruction, but don’t have any hopes that Burris will be in the slightest conservative.
For example, he is an advocate for a national handgun ban even though he keeps a handgun in his own home. After organizing a gun turn-in day in Chicago, he conveniently “forgot” about said gun.
That said, I agree with many here that Reid is stretching on his non-existent authority to reject Burris. Blago is still an un-indicted, un-impeached governor and therefore retains the legal right to name the senator.
Tainted politically? Sure. Legal? Absolutely.
Is this grammatically correct? Shouldn’t it read, “a large phallus of reporters and photographers.”
I hope the black community is paying attention to lily-white pasty-face Harry Reid refusing to seat the only person of color to be presented to the Senate.
What’s the big deal? Legally speaking, Blago hasn’t violated any laws so why not seat Burris? How long did William Jefferson sit in Congress while under indictment?
The senate must be racist, I mean if they’re denying a black man entry and all….
While I agree that Reid should not be refusing the seat, it should also not be about identity politics.
“Dingy Harry Reid” can’t win this one. The Supreme Court already set a precedent on this one long ago when Adam Clayton Powell (also Black) was denied his seat in the House.
***
As far as Burris’s appointment–the Chicago Dimocrats were afraid of a special election. They also didn’t want to impeach Blago–so there is no valid legal challenge to Burris’s appointment.
***
As far as Burris’s political skills or experience–he fits right in with most of the clowns in our Congress. If Cynthia Mckinney, Joe Biden, Maxine Waters, John Kerry, Queen Nancy Pelosi, et. al. are there it doesn’t change much. He has to be more conservative than the maximum leftist socialist marxist O’bummer he is replacing.
***
Harry Reid is as dumb as a box of rocks! However, liberals and most Black people will still vote for the Dimocrats.
***
John Bibb
What? The democrats didn’t pull out the firehoses and attack dogs to prevent him entry? Geez, they’ve really lightened up since the 1950’s and 60’s!
Roland Burris’s law firm suddenly started getting bond work when Blago became governor. I wonder if anyone will mention that. Mr. Burris had a nice consulting package with the State of Illinois when Blago became governor. Burris apparently gave $14,000.00 to Blago campaigns. Wonder when CNN will mention any of this.
Good point, matty. I rather agree. Is this all just to make democrats look like they are against corruption, because they think the rest of america is appalled at Burris? and this is their way of displaying it? Probably what will happen is the lawyers will figure out that he can be in, and the dems will say “Well, we tried not to seat him. Oh well (wink ,wink).”
DE-NIED!
What we have here Dear Friends is a Constitutional crisis. Let us make it better
Dingy Harry is keeping the Black Brother down! White Liberal Democrats are no better that the Slave Masters of Old! Yes Dingy Harry and Botox Nancy are ready to repeal the Civil Rights Act, Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment! No Justice- No Peace!
Popcorn?
We’ll keep our guns, they can keep the Change.
Please tell me somebody is going to take the raw footage, speed it up and play it back to Benny Hill music.
As much as I despise Blago and would not like Burris Respresenting me I have to say that it is a legal appointment. He should be seated and permitted to represent.
I agree.
It’s been Burris’ dream to be a Legislator. The people have not elected him but the Governor has appointed him. This *showdown* is a poor example by the Senate majority.
Franken should be the one drawing the ire; he’s stolen that seat in Minnesota.
I hope the Burris think drags on for weeks with the Senate seat vacant. One less Demonrat (and RINO defector) to make it 60 to kill the filibuster.
Watching public infighting among the Donks is too much fun!
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
I don’t think applying a symbol of manhood to this group of parasites, is apropo. Nice try though.
All this drama before the Obamination takes the oath of office. Love it!
Please tell me somebody is going to take the raw footage, speed it up and play it back to Benny Hill music.
Now THAT I would pay to see!
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
Well, the three people Reid told Blago not to select all happen to be black men.
If the shoe fits…then it’s nice to see it on the other foot.
This story is a couple of week’s old, but not widely reported.
Mr Obama was interviewed last Thursday at his Chicago transition office by two assistant United States attorneys and two FBI agents. He was accompanied by his personal lawyer Robert Bauer and an associate.
I suspect any lawyer would advise a client to have an attorney present when being questioned in a criminal matter, but if Obama is as pure as the driven snow in this, why did he take a lawyer. For that matter, doesn’t Obama claim to be a Constitutional scholar of some sort?
Thanks, John Deaux—now I have ‘Yakety Sax’ in my mind all day.
‘Senate-designate: FAIL’
The apparent reason Burris was not seated was, his credentials were not signed by the Sec. of State of Ill. It’s just paperwork, folks.
I love how the race card is being playing against the party that plays the race card on a daily basis. That’s how they stole the White House.
Rush can blow it out his ear or the orifice of his choice. These idiotic screams of racism are disgusting, boring and simply have no impact. Tell him to keep trying and maybe he’ll find some other ridiculous ploy that works.
It’s amazing that Reid, et al, can deny a legal representative a seat, that is Constitutional. Have we come to the point where it’s become the old Soviet Constitution; ignored and filed away? Does he fully think he controls the Senate as a totalitarian? Racism isn’t the problem. Here is an example of blantant disregard for law by people who think they are above the law. And, I am certainly no democrat. If he gets away with this, we are in serious trouble of losing the U.S. as we once knew it.
Bobby Rush, hurts his own cause with the knee jerk “racist” mantra. Keep it up… being racist will be a badge of honor soon…. talk about the world upside down….lol
As much fun as this is, I am still a bit confused. CO’s replacement Senator got in with a mere $4,600 “donation”.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/politics/18416560/detail.html
DENVER — Barack Obama knows Colorado’s new senator better than most state voters do.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet, the man tapped to replace Sen. Ken Salazar, is a mystery to many voters — but not to President-elect Obama, who received a $4,600 political contribution from him.
Bennet was Gov. Bill Ritter’s surprise choice to replace Salazar, who was nominated by Obama to be interior secretary. Bennet, a Democrat, is relatively unknown outside Denver and has never held elected office before.
If Burris were not black, he would have ZERO chance of being seated, but since he IS black he stands a slim chance of being seated.
It is kind of fun to see the Dems fall victim to the race game.
The story is that he is clean; don’t mess with the narrative as it has been pre-ordained.
On January 6th, 2009 at 10:49 am, MtsEdge said:
I still don’t get why it’s a problem for this man to take his seat…he was after all, legally appointed by the Gov.
Yet, Franken (the thief) and Princess Caroline (the chief) are getting the red carpet rolled out for them. Well, uh, um, maybe not Princess Caroline…
————————————-
Franken hasn’t gotten the red carpet rolled out for him just yet; Coleman and his attorneys & supporters are not done fighting the results.
If Franken does end up being seated, we are officially in the Twilight Zone. But I predict it won’t be long before the not-very-funny comedian gets booted; he’ll embarass himself somehow.
I can not begin to tell you how sick to death I am of hearing if you don’t get what you want, the shade of your skin means you start screaming at every news person within miles, WE are racist.
L
Now, on to the point at hand here; I do not and will never believe that there was racism involved in Burris being turned away. However, Blago is still technically the Governor of Illinois and it is within his rights to appoint someone; in fact, it is one of his duties. I don’t know what legal grounds there are to refuse to seat Burris; we’ll see.
Someone on the GOP side should be calling for a vote on whether Burris gets seated or not. We need to have names and their position on the matter.
This will be great for showing the national Democratic party for the racist and hypocritical party they are.
I believe most Dems are not racist, but the actions here should prove that the leaders are.
Every ones says it was legal but I heard that the Secretary of State also has to certify the appointment to make it legal. Supposedly, the credential documents Burris submitted needed two signatures to be valid. The Governor and the Illinois Secretary of State both needed to sign. They only had one signature because the Secretary of State refused to certify the appointment. That would make Burris NOT LEGAL. Is that not true?
There is also a bigger issue at stake here. The entire political process is being mocked here. True, Blago has not been convicted and should be considered innocent but there are valid questions being raised. He was indicted for massive corruption, not just the selling of Obamas seat. Therefore the possibility that there was an illegal quid pro quo has a higher degree of probability.
Perhaps that is why the Secretary of State did not certify his appointment. That would be a good check in the system and its significance should not be overlooked.
The Sec of State can effectively veto the Governor’s appointment? That’s interesting.
I have come to the conclusion that Bobby Rush should be given his own show on MSNBC. Nothing would kill off misplaced white guilt faster.
Indeed, if they don’t give it to him they are racist. If he doesn’t get 20% off his breakfast at Dennys, they are racist. If his mother wont let him stay out past curfew she is racist…
What else could the racist slave party be expected to do. Soros already stuck them with a “is he blace enough” “clean and articulate” POTUS.
I hope he he stands at the door of the Senate Chambers and shouts “I paid for my seat, and I’m going to sit in it!”
A good fistfight would help clear the air. He may be old, but I think he can take Reid pretty easily…
Hopefully someone can answer this question. What happens if there still isn’t a new senator from Illinois post inaguration day? What if he keeps getting blocked or his appointment gets tied up in court? If Blago never gets ousted (and I think that is plausible, due to all the dirt he has on every politician in Illinois) and his appointment keeps getting denied until his status is certain, do we really just have 99 senators? Wouldn’t that mean Illinois isn’t fairly represented in the Senate and is there some law against that? And with the close balance in the Senate, wouldn’t Reid be smart to let him in so they have that crucial extra vote? Sorry if my thinking is garbled – hopped up on cold medicine, but very curious as to how this plays out and hope someone understands the implications better than I.
I am surprised that no-one has commented on Burris’s human rights record.
In the 90’s, Burris kept an innocent Hispanic man on death row, despite the resignations of his deputy attorney general and the chief investigator. Rolando Cruz was released 3 years later, after 11 years on death row.
99 Senators, and it takes 60 to invoke cloture, giving the GOP a RINO margin of 1.
With 58 Dem solons, need 2 RINOs to kill the filibuster, if Burris were seated, a single RINO could kill the filibuster.
I believe that is more of a procedural issue. It does not, so far as I know, grant any authority to the Secretary of State (Jesse White) to veto or reject the Governor’s appointment. I would hazard a guess that it is more about confirming that the appointment does indeed come from the governor and is not forged.
It could be argued that if the Secretary refuses to sign it, he is not fulfilling the duties of his office as well.
Harry Reid, Pat Quinn, Lisa Madigan, et al are looking to procedural roadblocks, but as far as a means to actually reject the appointment, they do not have mcuh constitutional grounds to stand on. The irony is that they’re in this mess because the Illinois Legislature is so confused about the procedures on impeaching and removing the governor from office they cannot act quickly.
Clarifying note: Blagojevich has not yet been indicted. Just yesterday, a judge has given prosecutors three additional months to obtain an indictment.
1/ As sitting governor, blago legaly selected this man. He should be seated.
2/ Blago will probably not be indicted for anything and may not be impeached, I suspect to protect the ONE from something.
Indeed, the Rolando Cruz case is interesting in the sense that it was due to this severely bungled case that the Governor Ryan (the corrupt governor before Blago) put a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois.
Racist? How is millions of Americans of color on the sugar tit racist?
Here, take some more of my tax money, you bunch of non working racist calling low life socialists!
More popcorn please.
Bobby Rush v Dingy Harry? Can Miss Botox avoid getting dragged into this without offending the Congressional Black Caucus? Will Dianne Feinstein say something really stupid? Will Roy Rogers arrive in time to stop the stage coach robbery?
Popcorn? How many of you are old enough to remember the Gillette Fight of the Week?
Meanwhile the sheeple of our country go on with their busy lives, as our Government is slowly filled with morally challenged jesters & rejects from The Gong Show & American Idol..
I believe Blago and Burris are both total scumbags and that Burris in the Senate is a very bad thing.
I also believe in the rule of law, our constitutional system is not flawed, the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence are the supreme law of the land and our Charter of Government and that government should always scrupulously obey the law, even when I disagree with the outcome.
“We are a nation of laws and not of men”
Ronaldus Maximus
I wish we had more politicians who understood what that means.
On January 6th, 2009 at 3:54 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:
More popcorn please.
Bobby Rush v Dingy Harry? Can Miss Botox avoid getting dragged into this without offending the Congressional Black Caucus? Will Dianne Feinstein say something really stupid? Will Roy Rogers arrive in time to stop the stage coach robbery?
————————————
Tune in next week: same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel!
At first I thought that people who went out & cleaned Walmart out of extra ammo were over-reacting a bit.. I’m not so sure now..
Heck, I think Pelosi would be even-money against Reid.
Here in Illinois, our racist Secretary of State (Jesse White) is dead set against certifying Roland Burris’ appointment. Funny thing is that Jesse White is also black. Could it be that Mr. White felt (as many others do) that any candidate selected by our crooked governor Blago would be unacceptable?
I’m so tired of certain people screaming racism any time they don’t get their way.
At this rate, it won’t be too long before even MessNBC starts wishing Bush/Cheney were back in charge.
Well, okay, maybe at least CNN.
Heyzoos-Christmas are these jackass leaders ever an abjectly humiliating joke.
And the Idiot American Electorate put them there. Beyond “F’-ing-disgustipatin’!”"
That makes sense.
On indictment, I thought I saw Mr Fitzgerald on TV saying he brought this indictment now because of the timing of things that were happening. Does that mean, he played his hand too early or was he just announcing an investigation or the seeking of an indictment? Something about that does not make sense.
For fight fans, Harry Reid is a former boxer. I would think he still has skills in that area and that Burris and Pelosi don’t wan’t to challenge him to a fist fight. I am not sure which of those dimwits would win in a game of wits. Probably none of the above.
This is so much fun to watch! I got a delicious chuckle from this spectacle over lunch. Dems eating their own. Heh, ooohhh, how those Dems looking now, black community?
In all seriousness, what gives King Harry Reid the right to reject Burris in the first place. He was “legally” appointed (as hard as that is to blurt out of my chuckling mouth) so he has to be seated. Keep up that “diversity” in the Senate after all.
Washington politicians thinking they they now can dictate who gets a seat when is so telling of how those like Reid have overreached their office into a nebulous territory that no longer looks like a representative government or constitutional republic. Not. At. All.
I don’t know whether to fume or laugh over all this. What’s a good conservative to do these days? It’s enough to induce a migraine.
Maybe Burris can sue Reid for a civil rights violation.
Farewell farewell to all her greatness!
I am afraid my friend, that we have already lost it as we knew it. The question now seems to be, can we rebuild her before she is lost completely?
Just my opinion though.
Wartip, as long as we have an apathic population engrossed in entitlements (voter bribes) and constantly assaulted by left wing news, we will lose the liberty that so many gave their lives to protect. History repeats itself, and I see another “Rome” falling unless people wake up.
I am loving every single moment of this ongoig sideshow.