The Blago/Burris Press Conference: A Sight To Behold
Rod Blagojevich and Roland Burris just held their press conference to announce the attempted appointment of Burris to the Senate -- and it was a train wreck if there ever was one.
Blagojevich forcefully said that the people of Illinois should not be without full representation in the Senate, and urged people to not hold any cloud over Burris: "Please don't allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man."
Burris had an awkward moment when he was asked about his past donations to Blagojevich's campaign. Burris expressed surprise at the dollar amount listed. "We didn't have that much money to give to the governor," he said in a jocular tone -- not exactly the sort of remark that would inspire confidence.
Burris also backed away sharply from his prior statements that he was only seeking to be a caretaker. When asked whether he would run in 2010, Burris responded: "We have to determine that when we get to that point."
Finally, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) made an appearance at the podium and stated in forceful terms that the Senate must not reject the appointment of a black Senator, going so far as to tell everyone to not "hang or lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer."
Wow.
What a complete mess that was.
December 30, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Eric i watched the press conference live and i have to agree with you that there is only one word to describe it, WOW.
December 30, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Please don't allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man."
...uhhh... sorry, Blago, near as I can tell it was you who allowed the allegations against you to taint a good and honest man, by dragging him into this!
December 30, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Blago didn't want to taint Burris, he should have appointed him without telling him or even counsulting him, and should not have invited Burris to the press conference. Under the circumstances, just to be in the same room as Blago is to be tainted.
December 30, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, but then Burris wouldn't have gotten on TV. I didn't get to watch the press conference. How many times did Burris begin a sentence by referring to himself in the third person? It's a really annoying habit of his from years back.
December 30, 2008 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Plus it reminds people of buffoonish caricatures or other black politicians.
December 30, 2008 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Blago needs his own tv show. this guy is pure entertainment.
December 30, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Live on Fox News: "Blago and Palin in the Morning." I'd watch it. It'd be better than Saturday Night Live and knock "Morning Joe" right off the air.
December 31, 2008 7:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
You got that right. I do not know who is worse. Joe or Mika.
December 31, 2008 8:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
MARK MY WORDS...In the end, Burris will be seated as the next Senator from Illinois!
December 30, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah.... Congressman Bob Rush brought in the race issue. I didnt like that part of the press conference. But from what the legal experts are saying on tv there is nothing the AG of Illinois or the Illinois house can do. Buris will take BO seat.
December 30, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I had the same thought, DrToast. "Messy" and "going to get messier".
December 30, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
If this was a press conference why didn't a reporter ask how much Blago was paid for the appointment, and was that the highest bidder. No, I didn't watch it, because my wife and I were our walking in the fog when it occurred. But, I would certainly expect some reporter to have the balls to ask that.
Incidentally, another Democrat in the mold of Blago, California's Willie Brown was quoted today as saying Blago shouldn't be prosecuted just for talking about accepting payment for the nomination. Apparently Brown isn't aware of the laws against conspiracy to commit a crime.
December 30, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, that's FORMER mayor Willie Brown who at present holds no political office for a reason.
December 31, 2008 8:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, did you all just catch the latest Surreal Life episode on CNN?
It was a hoot!
December 30, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
That news press conference was a shock to behold. Hopefully the Secretary of State will BLOCK THIS. Also, the state legislature needs to act quickly to get this guy IMPEACHED.
Blago is a cancer. Also, bringing up race in all this is ridiculous.
December 30, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought it was a GREAT press conference. The Senate dems have been put on notice that there will be a fight all the way to the Supreme Court if they try and block the 4th African american Senator in US history. Harry Reid is creating a BAD precedent, now the Republicans are vowing to block the seating of Al Franken.
December 30, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. It was GREAT. I am from Chicago. I like Roland Burris a great deal. He is a good man and has had NO SCANDAL after years of being on the Illinois political scene. Harry Reid is a CLASS A LOSER. The only fights he is willing to take on are against DEMS. Give me a break. We CANNOT AFFORD a special election in Illinois. Our state is BROKE. Medicaid reimbursements are ONE YEAR in arrears. Day care centers are unable to meet payroll because state reimbursements of funds are 9 months late. My local pantry is now serving 2750 people when we only served 450 in January 2008. GIVE US A BREAK! Those who are not from Illinois can afford to stand on some FAKE sense of propriety. We NEED REPRESENTATION in Washington. The Senate should seat Mr. Burris IMMEDIATELY.
December 30, 2008 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Have somebody other than Blago name the successor. You simply cannot have Blago on tape admitting that he was selling the seat be allowed to name the replacement.
December 30, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Republicans don't have the votes to block Franken.
But the full Senate does have the power to block ANY Blago appointment by a margin of 98-0 whether the candidate is black, white, or canary yellow.
December 30, 2008 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I dunno, maybe the Republicans will decide to throw their support behind Burris :P
December 30, 2008 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
The GOP can block Al Franken if he wins the seat because they do NOT have the votes.
December 30, 2008 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
well so much for the hope that this controversy would go away. Burris was a joke and Rush was pathetic (his prayers were answered because Blago appointed an African-American?). Unfortunately, this is going to end up hurting Obama.
December 30, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
This will NOT hurt Obama what so ever. The American people are pretty smart and Obama has absolutely NOTHING to do with this.
This reflects BADLY on Blagojevich himself.
December 30, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why does this reflect badly on Obama? Because he's black and Burris is black?
Obama is far, far away from this.
December 30, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bobby Rush defeated Obama's first attempt at his Congressional seat in 2000. And apparently still has an axe to grind with the young upstart.
December 30, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well this will be easier than one thought - anybody defending Blago's character is as crooked as he is. You'd think the crooked folks would want to keep their heads down and try to avoid any detection. Blago probably called in a marker.
December 30, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama, Emanuel and the rest of the Chicago White House selections better not have any bodies buried in Chicago because these folks will play for keeps.
December 30, 2008 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think after 24 months of unstoppable digging by Clinton, Penn, Rove, McCain, et al. any and all bodies have been found.
They are named Rezko, Ayers, and Wright.
December 30, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
If they had any bodies buried, Fitzgerald would have digged them up by now. Remember Fitzgerald was on Obama's tail so to speak during the Rezko trial and if there was anything, Rezko would have turned it over to get a lighter sentence but there was nothing.
I am not worried about Obama.
Blago is all about himself and his ego. The faster the Illinois legislature impeach this fool the better it will be. They need to work double time to get rid of him.
December 30, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I may not like Blago but I think this was pretty shrewd on his part, politically.
Burris seems like a good guy from what I've read and seems well-qualified for Senator. I feel a little bad he's gonna be in the middle of what is sure to be a mess.
No confidence in Harry Reid.
December 30, 2008 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
You feel bad for Burris? He got himself into this. The correct response was, "Thank you, Governor, but in light of the allegations against you, I must respectfully decline this appointment."
That's what any honorable Democrat would have done.
December 31, 2008 7:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Really? "train wreck"??
You should work for People Magazine since you're only interested in the superficial aspects of politics.
December 30, 2008 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
A lot of stuff going on here. First, we are seeing a rise out of the first generation of black pols in Illinois who where all eclipsed by Barack Obama. Obama's one electoral misstep was a 2000 primary run against Rep. Bobby Rush who trounced him.
Burris is clean, but he has an ego a mile wide (maybe only topped by Blago himself). This gives him one last chance at the limelight.
Second, Blago is the son-in-law of Chicago Alderman Dick Mell who engineered a similar maneuver in 1987 when Mayor Harold Washington died unexpectedly. Washington's heir apparent was Alderman Tim Evans. Mell and the aldermanic block the had viciously fought Washington were angling to put Richard M. Daley into the spot.
Mell, in a stoke of evil genius, played on the vanity of the senior black Alderman in the council, Eugine Sawyer, and installed Saywer as the new mayor with the support of all the white Washington foes. Saywer, a weak leader, split the black vote with Evans in the subsequent mayoral primary and we have had Dailey ever since.
December 30, 2008 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whoops. I should always double check my facts before hitting the submit button.
Evans did not run the the 1989 primary but Daley beat Sawyer easily.
December 30, 2008 4:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is all very interesting and very true. What Blago and Rush don't get is that while they play their games and make the rules for the game in Chicago, they are still minor, even unknown, in Washington and without much influence in the other 49 and half states (inluding Downstate IL).
December 30, 2008 5:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the point is that for Mell and other old-line pols in Illinois, it is all about Illinois. They don't care about the national politics beyond how it can affect the local politics.
The Burris appointment is about who will become senator in 2010. Mell and the rest have someone in mind. Burris and the progressive dem will split the vote and their candidate will prevail (with Illinois Republicans still laying flat on their backs)
December 30, 2008 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
It seems to me that Burris' appointment is legitimate under Illinois law. Blagojevich -- who has not been convicted of any crime and thus enjoys the presumption of innocence -- was elected properly as the state's governor and, under state law, the governor has full authority to appoint anyone he chooses to fill a vacancy in the U. S. Senate. Mr. Burris obviously is qualified to serve in the U. S. Senate, since he is a citizen of the United States, is older than 30 and has been a resident of the United States for more than nine years.
The Illinois Secretary of State is required by state law to certify the governor's appointment, absent any credible legal reason not to do so. If the Secretary of State refuses to certify Burris' appointment, the governor can ask a court to order him to do so ( Writ of Mandamus.)
The U. S. Senate, it seems to me, has no power to refuse to seat Mr. Burris, since his appointment by Governor Blagojevich complies fully with Illinois Law and is in accord with the 17th Amendment of the U. S. Constitution which deals with filling vacancies in the Senate.
Incidentally, there is no constitutional requirement that the Vice President or some other official of the Senate administer the oath of office to Mr. Burris. Any person authorized to administer such oaths -- even a Notary Public or Justice of the Peace -- can swear him in.
December 30, 2008 4:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Article 1, Section 5: "Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business;...."
That is what gives the US Senate the authority to refuse to seat whomever Blagojevich appoints.
December 30, 2008 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Anyone taking bets on whether they will? I have $10 that says Reid is all talk and Burris will be seated.
December 30, 2008 10:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are you kidding? I need better odds. I'm putting my money on a bet that the sun will rise in the west all of next year.
December 31, 2008 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Being from Illinois, I have watched Blagojevich frustrate Democrats (and Republicans) here for years. Rather than characterizing our governor as a comedic side character in a Shakespeare play, as Josh did in a recent post, I think Blago is more reminiscent of Bug Bunny to the other Illinois Democrats' Yosemite Sam. I am continually amazed at his shrewdness and cajones. As widely hated as he has been, I don't know how he got himself reelected in 2006. Now he's taking his act to the national stage, where I'm sure he will frustrate senate Democrats as well. I always knew he would make the big-time.
December 30, 2008 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Simply A*M*A*Z*I*N*G!
December 30, 2008 5:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jim Thompson former Repub governor, former lawyer for disgraced former governor Ryan and former US attorney in Fitzgerald's post was just on NPR saying the nomination is legal and must go forward.
December 30, 2008 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
As an African-American i was personally disgusted by Rep. Rush attempts to bring race into this Blago circus show. Mr. Rush's attempts not only cheapens himself and Mr. Burris, but also cheapens the entire black community by painting us as expendable.
December 30, 2008 5:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Was Bush drunk or stoned?
December 30, 2008 6:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bush = Rush as in Bobby.
December 30, 2008 6:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Burris is without "taint"? Seems that as IL State Attorney General, he was a master of Pay to Play and various other "taintful" activities.
http://americanfraud.blogspot.com/2008/12/roland-burris-no-taint.html
December 30, 2008 7:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
That blog entry is awfully weak to be considered real taint. Smear tactics by a desperate opponent are not real taint. Burris was right on Cruz, per the blog. If there were substance behind the other allegations, you'd need to present it clearly. That blog just assumes the allegations as facts, again mere smear tactics.
I'm not defending Burris. I'm opposing your smear tactics.
January 1, 2009 11:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
BTW, I'm not sure the blog is right about Cruz:
"On Tuesday, March 3, 1998 Burris criticized Burns' insistence on prosecuting Rolando Cruz "
Is it possible that the author swapped the two Bs? Wasn't it the other way around?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/16981.html
If this other article is correct, the blog's odd phrasing is backwards.
January 2, 2009 12:19 AM | Reply | Permalink