Senate Dems refuse to seat Blagojevich’s pick

Senate Democratic leaders are refusing to seat Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s choice for President-elect Obama’s former seat.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) issued a joint statement blasting Blagojevich for naming Roland Burris to the seat and said they will block his appointment.

{mosads}“It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety,” Reid and Durbin said.

“Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.”

The two leaders emphasized they were not judging Burris, but simply noting the ethical cloud over Blagojevich. They also pointed out the Senate faces a heavy legislative calendar in January. They repeated their call for the Democratic governor to resign and their threat to refuse any appointment he makes.

“We again urge Gov. Blagojevich to not make this appointment,” the statement reads. “It is unfair to Mr. Burris, it is unfair to the people of Illinois and it will ultimately not stand. The governor must put the interests of the people of Illinois and all Americans first by stepping aside now and letting his successor appoint someone who we will seat.”

But questions remain as to what authority the Senate has when it comes to accepting or rejecting a gubernatorial appointment.

Associate Senate Historian Don Ritchie said the four examples since 1913 include Democrat Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi, who died while a Senate committee was investigating corruption charges against him in 1947; Republican Frank Smith of Illinois, whom the Senate voted against seating due to corruption charges in 1928, and Democrats Henry Clayton and Franklin Glass of Alabama, both of whom withdrew their bids in 1913 after a dispute arose over the governor’s authority to appoint them.

Ritchie also said senators are often seated but then investigated by the chamber’s Rules Committee to determine whether any charges against the senator have merit.

That was the case in Sen. Mary Landrieu’s case, Ritchie noted for example. The Louisiana Democrat won a narrow election in 1996 and was seated while the Rules Committee probed charges of voter fraud before ultimately exonerating Landrieu after 10 months

But Ritchie conceded the Blagojevich situation was different.

“We really haven’t had a case like this,” he said. “There’s just nothing quite comparable.”

Burris, 71 and African-American, is a former state comptroller and attorney general of Illinois. He also was Blagojevich’s Democratic primary opponent in the 2002 governor’s race and was endorsed by Obama in that primary battle. Burris and Blagojevich have long since patched over any differences — Burris praised the governor to the <em>Chicago Sun-Times</em> in 2006.

“I can’t see how anyone can say he is not governing,” Burris said at the time. “I think he is doing a helluva job.”

Blagojevich’s move comes despite allegations that he attempted to sell Obama’s seat for his personal benefit, according to a complaint filed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, which cited wiretapped conversations.

Burris was not on the list of preferred candidates that Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s incoming White House chief of staff, sent over to Blagojevich’s staff.

An Obama spokesman said the transition team had no comment on Blagojevich’s move “right now.”

After Blagojevich’s initial arrest, Reid and Durbin both reacted early, pressing him not to make any appointment. At a Dec. 9 press conference, Durbin called for a special election, saying, “No appointment by this governor under these circumstances can produce a credible replacement.”

A day later, in a letter to Blagojevich written by Reid and Durbin and signed by all other Democratic senators, the Democratic leaders told the embattled governor “any appointment by you would raise serious questions … For the good of the Senate and our nation, we implore you to refrain from making an appointment to the Senate.”

Reid and Durbin also threatened Blagojevich that “should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment, we would be forced to exercise our constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated.”

Blagojevich’s move Tuesday surprised even his own lawyer, who said only a week and a half ago that the governor would not make an appointment.