Anderson@Large

Chicago Political Blues

It’s said that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

A little over a year ago, Scott Lee Cohen founded a citizens group, Rodmustresign.com and called for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to resign.

The then unknown pawnbroker Cohen told the Chicago CBS affiliate:

There's too much scandal, and there's too much commotion, and he's unable to fulfill his obligation.

Fast forward to last week’s primary election. When the votes were counted, Cohen had won the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination. Two days later, Democrats were calling for him to step aside.

The reason: There’s too much commotion over allegations of domestic violence, hookups with hooker Amanda Eneman, and unpaid child support obligations.

The “hooker with a heart of coal” is now represented by media hound Gloria Allred, who said in a statement:

Based on her personal observations during the course of their relationship and his behavior, Ms. Eneman does not believe that he is fit to hold any public office, including that of Lt. Governor.

There is no happy ending for the embattled Cohen. The pawnbroker threw himself into the dustbin of history during a news conference at a Chicago bar:

For the good of the people of the state of Illinois and for the Democratic Party, I will resign. It’s my hope, and I pray with all my heart, that I didn't hurt the people that I love so much. All I ever wanted to do … was to run for office and to help the people, not to cause chaos. That was never my intention.

Sen.-designate Roland Burris

After digging themselves into a hole, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Majority Whip Richard Durbin caved into the inevitable: Roland Burris will be seated as the junior senator from Illinois.

In a joint statement, the Democratic leaders said:

He is now the senator-designate from Illinois and, as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect.

Accordingly, barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week. We are working with him and the office of the Vice President to determine the date and time of the swearing-in.

The Obama-Biden Transition Team also released a statement:

As the President-elect has said repeatedly, he knows Roland Burris and has high regard for him. He looks forward to working with Senator Burris and the rest of the United States Senate to rebuild our economy and meet the great challenges of our time.

Like the old-school rapper Pigmeat Markham, Reid and Durbin made a mockery of the rule of law. They foolishly thought they were the judge.

Rep. Maxine Waters, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told CQ Politics:

They could not stand up against the law. Burris would have won in the courts.

For now, the circus has left town. But the clowns are still here.

Hate the Game, Not the Player

It is said that in Washington, the real scandal isn't what's illegal, but what's legal. The same is true in state capitals.

in Washington the real scandal isn't what's illegal, but what's legal.

It is legal for Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner to appoint Edward “Ted” Kaufman to fill the unexpired term of Vice President-elect Joe Biden. Kaufman, a former aide to Biden, is reportedly keeping the seat warm for Beau Biden, who’s expected to run for election in 2010.

It would be legal for New York Gov. David Paterson to appoint the inarticulate and increasingly unpopular Caroline Kennedy to succeed Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Kennedy’s sense of entitlement is such that one of her allies urged Paterson to name her before the seat is even vacant. The reason: The “daily guessing game and barrage of criticism from Democrats supporting other candidates is killing her.”

It is legal for disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to appoint Roland Burris to succeed President-elect Barack Obama with -- or without -- the signature of the Secretary of State.

Blagojevich played the political game and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid got played.

As for Burris being used, please. In short order, the “very happy” self-proclaimed “magic man” will be seated as the “junior senator from the State of Illinois.” And when he is, Burris can channel songwriter-philosopher Bill Withers:

It ain’t too bad the way you’re using me
Cause I sure am using you
To do the things you do
Ah-ha, to do the things you do.

Opposition to Burris Hangs on Thin Reid

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, outgoing chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, has had enough. Feinstein wants the Senate to seat Roland Burris:

The question is really one, in my view, of law.

Does the governor have the power, under law, to make the appointment? And the answer is yes. Is the governor discredited? The answer is yes. Does that affect his appointment power? The answer is no, until certain things happen.

Feinstein’s stance was echoed by the 41-member Congressional Black Caucus. During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn said: 

I think he’s duly qualified. I think the process -- you know, when we talk about him being tainted, the legislature in Illinois will still be passing laws, and the governor will be signing them. I don’t understand how this process can be tainted when the legislative process going forward in Illinois will not be tainted with this governor’s signature. Let us go ahead and get the business of the nation under way.

A week ago, Majority Leader Harry Reid declared that anyone appointed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich “will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.” But that was so last year.

Now to save face, Reid wants the “tainted” Burris to jump through hoops. He is also using the fig leaf of a missing signature. CQ Politics reports:

After meeting with Burris in the Capitol, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Durbin signaled an openness to seating Burris, despite earlier remarks that Burris was tainted by corruption charges against Blagojevich that include allegations he tried to sell the Senate appointment.

We have a situation here,” said Reid, noting that newly elected senators have traditionally needed the signatures of the governor and secretary of state. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has refused to sign the appointment papers given Blagojevich’s legal troubles.

Reid said leaders would await a decision by the Illinois Supreme Court on Burris’s lawsuit to force White to sign his certification.

Once that’s done, that will be one step out of the way,” Reid said.

T’aint so, says White who told the Chicago Tribune Senate Democrats are “throwing him under the bus.”

Earlier, White told WGN Radio:

They could have seated him without my signature. My signature is not necessarily required in order for the Senate to place the gentleman in the seat that he was appointed to by Governor Blagojevich.

White added:

They played a little bit of a game with the gentleman yesterday. They have the authority to put the gentleman in place...

It’s ugly.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Burris Is Too Legit to Quit

Roland Burris was turned away by the Secretary of the Senate yesterday, but he’s not going away.

Burris rightly notes that no one disputes Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s authority to schedule a special election to fill White House Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel’s vacated congressional seat.

Already, I’ve received campaign news from one of the candidates for Illinois’ 5th congressional district, Tom Geoghegan. A “Chicago lawyer for thirty years,” Geoghegan is a Harvard Law grad so presumably he passed Con Law.

Truth be told, seating Burris is not about racial solidarity. It’s about the rule of law.

In a Los Angeles Times op-ed, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, argues:

Like it or not, Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich has the legal authority to appoint Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate, and Burris, the state’s former attorney general, should be allowed to take the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Senate Democrats are on weak constitutional ground in trying to deny a seat to a properly selected individual. Their claim to the power to exclude a lawfully chosen senator could create a dangerous precedent.

Chemerinsky’s bottom line:

The problem here is that Burris unquestionably was lawfully selected. According to the 17th Amendment, “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.” Illinois law gives this power to the state governor, and that is Blagojevich until he is impeached and found guilty.

Allowing the Senate to exclude Burris on any except the narrowest of grounds would create a dangerous precedent. It could open the door to the Senate or the House overturning the will of the people and excluding representatives under one or another pretext. If Burris -- whose appointment meets the legal test, no matter what you think of Blagojevich -- is not seated, other properly elected (or appointed) representatives also are at risk.

In plain English, Burris is too legit to quit.

Mr. Burris Goes to Washington

Eight years ago today, Reps. Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee, and other members of the Congressional Black Congress pleaded with the Senate to reject certification of Florida’s Electoral College votes because of the disenfranchisement of black voters in the 2000 election. Their pleas fell on deaf ears.

Then as now, there were no African Americans in the Senate.

The Senate rejected Roland Burris’ credentials on the grounds that his certificate of appointment lacks the ceremonial signature of the Secretary of State. During an appearance on CBS’ “The Early Show,” Burris brushed off the rejection:

They’re causing the drama, my appointment is legal. Are you saying there is something wrong with me? I’m qualified.

There’s nothing wrong with Roland Burris and there’s nothing wrong with the appointment.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is hiding behind the incomplete paperwork to block Burris from entering the chamber. He told a press gaggle:

Of course, Roland Burris has not been certified by the state of Illinois. When that takes place, we of course will review it. At this stage, we’re waiting to we see what will happen in Illinois. We’ll wait until we see there’s certification from the state of Illinois.

It may be time for Lee and Waters to put on their “high heel sneakers” and lead a march through the Capitol tunnel.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Laura Washington wrote:

The Congressional Black Caucus must coalesce around Burris. Their response so far has been tepid.

While they have no official sway in the Senate, the CBC imprimatur carries clout. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush was working the phones this weekend to line up their support. He hopes to make the case Wednesday at the caucus’ first meeting of 2009. He will argue that the Burris appointment was constitutional and legal and that Burris brings “impeccable” credentials.

Senate Democrats will likely refer the dispute to the Senate Rules Committee. The incoming chairman, Sen. Chuck Schumer, lives in the neighborhood.

Hey, “pay to play” (and here) appears to be in vogue. So here’s an idea: Perhaps I’ll put on my sneakers and mosey on over to Schumer’s apartment building. I can slip the doorman a few bucks to slide a copy of the Constitution under Schumer’s door.

Senate Dems’ Hot Illinois Mess

The new Congress opens tomorrow. For Senate Democrats, it will be far from the “new course for our country” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promised in November.

Instead, Senate Democrats will be challenged by a hot Illinois mess when Roland Burris shows up to be sworn in.

During an appearance on PBS’ NewsHour, Burris said:

The governor’s appointment is legal, and I am the junior senator for the state of Illinois.

Burris continued:

What they didn’t take into consideration, Ray, is the fact that the governor is the governor. He has a constitutional and legal authority to appoint a replacement for the United States Senate when there is a vacancy.

Harvard Law Prof. Larry Lessig, founder of Change Congress, told Politico:

Let it go. Blagojevich may be a crook. The Illinois legislature should probably impeach him. But he remains governor, and the governor has the power to appoint a senator. No one believes Burris tried to buy his seat. No one should doubt that he is otherwise qualified. Would a citizen of Illinois have the right to refuse to obey a law signed by Blagojevich? Why does the US Senate?

Why indeed. Reid is standing on shaky ground.

In 1967, the House voted to exclude Adam Clayton Powell Jr. from taking his seat. Powell sued and won.

In Powell v. McCormack, the U.S. Supreme Court held that “in judging the qualifications of its members, Congress is limited to the standing qualifications prescribed in the Constitution.”

I asked Adam Clayton Powell III to share his thoughts on the Senate drama. Adam was present for the oral argument in the landmark case. In an email, Adam wrote:

They don’t know their constitutional law, do they?

It will be interesting to see whether the Senate adopts the same legal reasoning that the lawyer for the House of Representatives used in the Supreme Court argument: that exclusion of an elected member of Congress because of race, while clearly unconstitutional, would not be a sufficient “perversion” to warrant judicial relief…This echo of Reconstruction caused a quite audible reaction in the court, and incredulity from the bench.

Adam sent a link to an audio clip of the oral argument and added:

Interesting that these cases all so often are about race.

Indeed, race is the context, subtext and pretext to Burris’ appointment.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Reid didn’t want Blagojevich to appoint an African American to fill the vacant seat:

Days before Gov. Blagojevich was charged with trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones.

Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sources say the Senate majority leader pushed against Jackson and Davis — both democratic congressmen from Illinois — and against Jones — the Illinois Senate president who is the political godfather of President-elect Barack Obama — because he did not believe the three men were electable. He feared losing the seat to a Republican in a future election.

With race front and center, the ground is shifting under Reid. In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Senate Majority Leader said:

SEN. REID: The state of Illinois deserves a vote in the United States Senate, and the people of the state of Illinois, the fifth most populous state in the union, deserve that vote. It’s too bad Blagojevich has diverted attention from the real issue. And we’ll--we’re--as I’ve indicated, we’re going to come--I’m going to meet with Senator McConnell, my Republican counterpart. I hope to do that Monday evening. I think it’s around 6:00 or something like that. We’ll talk about this. I hope we can solve this issue on a bipartisan basis.

MR. GREGORY: But there sounds to me like there may be some room here to negotiate and actually seat Burris?

SEN. REID: Hey, listen, David, I’m an old trial lawyer. There’s always room to negotiate (emphasis added).

MR. GREGORY: All right, so you’re not saying no completely that he won’t serve?

SEN. REID: That’s right.