January 06, 2009
Let Burris In
Okay, so today the Secretary of the (US) Senate, Nancy Erickson, turned away Roland Burris when he came to be sworn in as a Senator, because the IL Secretary of State hadn't signed off on Burris' appointment by Blagojevich.
Burris Denied Seat In US Senate To Succeed Obama (1/6/2009)
Now, mind you that I think Blago is dirtier than a three dollar bill buried in pig slop, and I think that any appointment by him carries a certain taint, even if he had appointed Jesus Christ himself. That being said, however, he is still (until proven guilty or impeached) the Governor of IL, and according to both Illinois state law and the US Constitution (as amended by the 17th Amendment) he is responsible for appointing a US Senate vacancy for Illinois. Now, the IL legislature could have changed the law, but they did not do so for various reasons unknown to me.
The 17th Amendment states, in part:
- When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
Amendments 11-17 of the US Constitution
Even the IL Secretary of State admitted that, after researching the issue, his lack of signature regarding the appoint of Burris carried no weight beyond a "moral stand."
IL Secretary of State Acknowledged Power Limited (12/30/2008)
Therefore, according to the US Constitution and the IL state code of law, the Governor is solely responsible for appointing a US Senator from IL to replace a vacancy.
So . . . unless I'm missing something (perhaps some power that the US senate holds to reject a duly-elected and/or appointed Senator that I am unaware of?) I believe the US Senate needs to stop d!cking around with this issue and swear the guy in.
UPDATE 1/7/2009: So, apparently there is a US Senate "rule" that a gubernatorial appointment of a Senator must be accompanied by the signature of the state's Secretary of State.
Senate Dems My Seat Burris, But No Final Deal (1/7/2009)
Okay... why and how can they make such a rule. As mentioned above, the US Constitution's 17th Amendment clearly states that the executive of the state may be given the power to appoint temporary Senators to fill vacancies. It says nothing about the Secretary of State. The Senate "rule" is, in my mind, null and void, because it is in no way, shape or form enumerated in the Constitution. Put another way, the US Senate should have absolutely no power to interfere with the inner working of an individual state when it comes to how the Governor appoints a vacant senate seat.
I therefore call on the US Senate to seat Mr. Burris without further delay or further political wrangling.