Burris deserves his shot as Illinois' next senator

Anyone who knows the law knows that the governor of Illinois--so long as he is the governor--has the right, indeed the power, to appoint someone to be a senator when a seat goes vacant. You may not like it, but it is the American Way.

Rod Blagojevich's appointment of Illinois's former Attorney General and State Comptroller Roland Burris can be seen as one of many things, but what it is most of all is legal, and authorized. Whether you like the embattled (and charged) governor or not, in this country, he is still innocent until proven guilty. And yes, Blagojevich is the man that the people of Illinois elected their governor.

It's not for anyone, especially those of us who are not citizens of the "Land of Lincoln" to second guess their judgment. 

Now as for Burris, he is clearly a statesman who has served honorably and ably. Yes he is a bit over 70, but I don't recall anyone saying Sen. Frank Lautenberg was an "an old school politician from an earlier era" when he was dragged out of retirement to keep a New Jersey U.S. Senate seat in Democratic hands after a scandal-ridden Senator Bob Torricelli dropped out of the race in 2002. So why all the ragging on Roland Burris?

The mild-mannered Burris may not be of Obama's "new school" of politics and may not have the same vision, but is that not what makes America great--our diversity of thought, of opinion? The president-elect himself says he does not want a bunch of yes men/women in Washington.

All that said, there is sure to be more fallout. But like him or not the governor called the bluff of the Illinois legislature. Those high and mighty pols ran to Springfield to hold a special session, but did not have the political will to strip the governor's appointment power. Before that, the attorney general (who's father is the Speaker of the Illinois House) foolishly asked the Illinois Supreme Court to kick the governor out of office. Wisely the jurists rejected that idea knowing that courts are not to be involved in the political processes of the legislative branch. How quickly the Illinois Dems have forgotten their disdain over the U.S Supreme Court case Bush vs. Gore in 2000. 

So, now that Gov. Blagojevich has legally made an appointment--and perhaps an end run--around those who want his head, many are crying foul. Loudest of those hollering Tuesday was Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, who has his own eye on the governor's office. And guess what? He would get to make the senate appointment if Blagojevich would just go away or could be some how forced out.

Finally, Burris is clearly qualified. He has more statewide experience than Barack Obama had when he won the seat. Don't blame Blagojevich for taking advantage of a situation that served him well. And it's foolhardy for people to tell Burris "how dare him?" take the appointment. What politician wouldn't?

On its face, if Burris had been appointed by any other person empowered to do so, someone who had no cloud of controversy over their head, what U.S. Senator would refuse to seat him? I suspect none. That should be the standard the democratically controlled Senate should use: examine the person appointed, not the person making the appointment.  If it happens to be a black man who is qualified, then why not. Would it hurt to have one out of 100 members of the Senate be a black person? I think not.

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