After much reflection, I now believe that there is no just cause to deny Roland Burris, the choice of Governor Rod Blagojevich for Barack Obama’s Senate seat, to be denied that right.
My original thought was that Blagojevich should not be allowed to make that Senate appointment, but when one looks at the present situation, we must face the facts: Blagojevich has been accused of corruption by prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, but there has been delay in bringing an indictment, and to deny the fifth largest state in population one of its two senators, is unjust. Blagojevich is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and he has not been indicted or convicted and not even yet impeached by the Illinois legislature. That body failed to take the opportunity to change the state law and allow for an election for the remaining two years of the term, and meanwhile the state deserves proper representation.
Burris is not personally tainted by the Blagojevich controversy, and should not be victimized by simple accusations against the governor. If the people of Illinois through the ballot box do not want Burris as the Democratic nominee in 2010 or to be the winner of a full six year term, that is their privilege, but one cannot contend that Burris is not qualified. There are no specific qualifications to be a US Senator by appointment or election other than age and citizenship, and Burris is certainly not without credentials. He was the first African American candidate to win statewide, a total of four times, as State Controller and State Attorney General. He may not be a household name to the nation at large, but that does not matter.
It is time for Harry Reid and Dick Durbin, the top two Democratic leaders in the Senate, to stop preventing the lawful seating of Roland Burris as the next senator from Illinois, for at least the next two years! We need that extra vote in the Senate for the Democratic administration of Barack Obama beginning in fifteen days!
Roland Burris is a very familiar name to those of us that live in Illinois. After serving as the state’s Attorney General he ran for both Governor and Senator but in each election was defeated in the primary election. He has a mausoleum already prepared for the day he enters his eternal rest. The general concensus here in Illinois is that he will serve out the remainder of term and then lose reelection.