Winter Break WK #3: “Blago: ‘I am required to make this appointment’”
Setting up a clash with Senate Democrats, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Tuesday that he would appoint former state attorney general and comptroller Roland Burris to fill out President-elect Obama’s term in the U.S. Senate.
Saying Illinois should not be “deprived” of the representation of two senators, Blagojevich introduced Burris as “someone with unquestioned integrity.” The governor defended his decision to make the appointment as part of his gubernatorial responsibility to fill Senate vacancies.
“I would like to ask everyone to do one last thing: Don’t allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man,” Blagojevich said at a 3 p.m. press conference.
The move was met with a rebuke from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who said the Democratic caucus would refuse the appointment from a governor who stands accused of selling the position to the highest bidder.
“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,” Reid said in a statement.
In addition, Jesse White, the Illinois secretary of state, said he will not certify Burris as the replacement for Obama’s seat.
For his part, Burris said it’s inconceivable that the state of Illinois should start the new Congress “shorthanded,” with just one senator.
Burris also said he has “no relationship” to charges that Blagojevich tried to sell Obama’s Senate seat for personal gain and said of the governor, “In this legal process, you’re innocent until you’re proven guilty.”
Blagojevich’s lawyer had said earlier that the governor did not plan to defy the Senate leaders and impose an Obama successor on them.
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Reid (D-Nev.) has said that Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn should make the appointment, and the Senate Democratic caucus signed a letter supporting that option.
Reid said in a letter to the governor: “Please understand 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 lawyer, Ed Genson, had told a news conference Dec. 17 that the governor did not plan to try to make the appointment. “Harry Reid said that they’re not going to accept anybody, so why would he do that?” Genson said.
Burris, 71, told reporters earlier this month that he only wanted to serve the remaining two years of the Senate term and would not run for reelection.
Burris was the first African American to be elected to statewide office in Illinois, serving as comptroller from 1983 to 1991 and as attorney general from 1991 to 1995.
He also ran against Blagojevich for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2002 – winning the support of much of Illinois African-American political establishment, including then-state Sen. Barack Obama.
Another complication in the selection is that Burris is a registered lobbyist in Illinois and Washington, D.C. His Chicago-based firm, Burris & Lebed, is registered in Springfield to represent clients ranging from Comcast to the Illinois Funeral Directors Association. In 2007, the firm was also registered to represent the Illinois Association of Mortgage Bankers. The firm is registered in both Springfield and Washington to represent MicroSun Technologies, an Illinois-based maker of battery and power supplies.
Burris’ lobbying partner is Fred Lebed, a veteran Democratic political operative who once served as executive director of the Cook County party and has also held a number of state government posts.
Blagojevich has been under pressure to resign from office, or at least relinquish his gubernatorial authority to fill Senate vacancies. He has remained in office, however, as he fights a federal corruption investigation and a legislative effort to impeach him.
The two-term governor has denied any wrongdoing.
It’s unclear whether Reid has the power to block Burris’ appointment. Senate leaders discussed the impending announcement on a conference call Tuesday afternoon.
John Fortier, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote in a Politico Ideas piece this month that the Senate doesn’t have the power to reject the appointment.
“The Senate would have little recourse but to seat Blagojevich, as he meets the minimum constitutional qualifications for office,” Fortier wrote of the possibility that the governor might appoint himself. “But after seating Blagojevich, the Senate could then expel him by a two-thirds vote. The seat would be vacant again, and the new governor could make an appointment. Or by then, the Legislature might have changed the law to do away with appointments, in which case the seat would sit vacant until a special election was held.
The office of the Senate historian referred questions Tuesday to the Senate counsel, saying it is a legal matter.
Well, I have to say that things aren’t looking up for Blagojevich. In the public mind, he’s all but locked up with the key thrown away. Even if he is not indicted on his charges, he is pretty much done in politics, I would imagine. It doesn’t seem likely he’ll be able to seek reelection, as damaged as his name is in politics. As publicized as his purported selling of the senate seat is, as well as the evidence against him, I don’t see incumbency availing him later. Especially, of course, if the charges keep and he’s put in jail. Now, from my understanding of things, Burris is not one of the Senators that Blagojevich was offering the seat to initially. And if he was also his opponent for the governor’s race, I think it’s perhaps an attempt to choose someone that might be more publicly acceptable, at least at first glance. But news story I watched regarding this mentioned that Burris had donated to Blagojevich’s campaigns, this may be somewhat less altruistic than the article would indicate. While our book tells us that most lobbying isn’t very effective, one does wonder if Blagojevich’s supposedly corrupt nature might make an exception to that rule.
Connection: This is an example of an iron triangle. An iron triangle is an arrangement of government and lobbying that involves a cycle of benefits. Interest groups donate to politician’s campaigns, working to convince the politician to aid their cause. The politician can control the budget of a particular government agency, effectively forcing them to do beneficial things for the interest group in question. Burris’s firm donated a good deal to Blagojevich’s campaign for governor. As governor, Blagojevich sets the budgets and can ensure where certain contracts are handed out. Once Burris’s firm gets those contracts, it can continue donating to Blagojevich’s campaigns, and the triangle perpetuates.
Some people absolutely amaze me. People with power think they can do what ever they want and get away with it because they are above the law. In my opinion Blagojevich is a pig. A senate seat is not something that can be sold to the highest bidder; it is a government position for goodness sakes. Did he really think he was never going to get caught? What amazes me is apparently the FBI or who ever is running the investigation has substantial evidence and yet Blagojevich still denies all allegations. Yes if he resigned he would look guilty, he could salvage something and start up another career. How is impeachment going to look on his resume?
As for Burris, it is hard to tell anything about the man. Why would a 71 year old veteran to the Illinois political system want to buy a senate seat that he would only sit in for two years (since he claims he wouldn’t run for reelection)? Then again maybe that is why Blagojevich chose him, to make himself look less guilty. Who can blame the Democratic Caucus for blocking the appointment though? Burris isn’t guilty until proven so; however that may not matter in this case.
It is really interesting to me how this senate seat could be filled. So the governor would take the senate seat, but then the Senate would expel him leaving it empty again. Why not just impeach the guy and hold a special election as soon as possible. I guess the system just doesn’t work that way or that fast. Blagojevich will more than likely argue it is his constitutional right to fill the seat which only prolongs the process even more. Guess who the loser is in all of this: the state of Illinois.
Connection: This article can be linked to the Constitution itself. The Constitution states that the governor has the right to fill the Senate seat. The governor can however be impeached which would leave no one to fill the seat. In this case a special election would be held, all explained in the Constitution.
Governor Blagojevich is an idiot. The Senate tells him they won’t seat on of his appointments so what does he do? He appoints someone. Wow, get a grip. He needs to realize that nobody wants to deal with a selfish, dishonest man that is supposed to serve the people instead of his monetary desires. Yet he feels the need to pull one last publicity stunt and appoint someone that surely won’t be in the 111th Congress anyway. There was no question that if Blagojevich appointed himself that no one would accept that, but when he’s told they (his own party!) won’t accept his appointment of anyone, he just has to look even dumber in the public’s eyes. This is even after his lawyer said he wouldn’t appoint anyone. This Blagojevich guy is messed up. Maybe he has severe schizophrenia or something. Regardless, someday Blagojevich will either resign or be fired and then the Lieutenant Governor will make his pick. It may be himself. Nothing is for sure yet except that Mr. Blurris will not be Illinois’ Senator in the 111th Congress. That would influence the Democrat’s respectability and integrity. So kudos to you Mr. Blagojevich, you just made yourself look even dumber.
Connection: Impeachment. Governor Blagojevich will most likely be impeached (if he does not resign) and tried in federal court, where right now it seems he will be found guilty because of overwhelming evidence. The Lt. Gov. will then take over and make the appointment for the Senate vacancy that Barack Obama left open.
“The two-term governor has denied any wrongdoing.” Wow…how can you not think that is wrong. Even if a person had no morals he/she you would think they would know it was wrong because it is against the law. I really don’t blame the democratic caucus for not wanting to allow the appointment of Burris, the lobbyist. Not saying he is a bad guy, who would know? But I can see why people would be suspicious of anyone appointed by Blagojevich. I do have a question of sorts. Mr. Kautzman said that the senate had the power to reject the governor’s appointment but I didn’t know that the Democratic caucus and the senate majority leader had power over this kind of thing. [The Senate thinks it has the power not to recognize the appointment or seat the appointee if there is a justifiable reason not to, however there is some doubt as to whether this is Constitutional - we shall see. Kautzman] Well I guess the senate majority leader was an obvious thing, but exactly how much power do these two positions(caucus and majority leader) have? I also wonder if, since Reid has suggested Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn make the appointment, will Blagojevich be able to make the appointment and Quinn will be ok and the senate will except him etc. One final note, I can’t believe that the governor is fighting this; he is in deep trouble and I don’t see a way out for him.
Connection: The chapter we are learning about is all about congress. This article touches on some powers of congress. For instance, the senate can reject an appointment made by a governor. Congress can also impeach a governor. The article also talked about Senate majority leader Harry Reid a lot and the powers he has as majority leader.
“…why would he do that?”, that is a great question. Why would Gov. Blagojevich appoint someone to the Illinois seat when he in being charged with crimes connected to that seat? He must really NOT want Burris to get the seat. The Democratic Party will try to block Burris from gaining the seat with either litigation, or a two-thirds vote of the senate to kick him out. The Democratic Party, if the were smart, would have nothing to do with anything related with Gov. Blagojevich, including his pick for Obama’s Senate seat. I think that Blagojevich should have swallowed his pride, and passed on his gubernatorial duties so we could move on.
Also, could anyone be so stupid as to think that this is a good move? I think Blagojevich is just trying to “go out with a bang”. It would be pretty hard not to notice all of the criticism aimed at you, and al of the people advising him of doing exactly what he is doing. And Cole, “He needs to realize that nobody wants to deal with a selfish, dishonest man that is supposed to serve the people instead of his monetary desires” have you ever heard of President Bush and his oil flunkies?
Connection: People’s distrust of politics and the media. Gov. Blagojevich from Illinois auctioned off Barack Obama’s Senate seat. The media has an abundance of coverage of this clown, displaying this act of stupidity to the American public. Can we really blame people for thinking politicians are all corrupt if we have only negative press on politicians? (Slander ads, Ted Stevens, Gov. Blagojevich).
In response to Haley Nelson, I would have to say that Blagojevich is not necessarily a pig like you have stated. I would just say that he is the typical money hungry American who thought he could turn his sudden circumstances into a money making scheme. Now I would say that he is extremely stupid. Like Haley said, did he really think that he was never going to get caught? I guess maybe he thought he was invincible or would be above the law because of his job in the government. But still, he had to have one thought in the back of his head that said, “what if I do get caught? What will happen then?” But then again, maybe there was no such thought, which would just further prove how stupid he is. I would agree with Haley and just tell Blagojevich to resign so that at least he could maybe have the chance of getting another job. But impeachment would not do him any justice on his resume. Like Haley says, Illinois is the loser in all this mayhem. They don’t deserve to get all this negative press, but then again, it was their governor who got them into this mess.
Although I do not think that Burris sounds entirely unqualified for the Illinois Senate seat, I cannot believe that Blagojevich has the nerve to even attempt to appoint someone to the Senate seat after he was already caught trying to sell it. I thought that he had already been forced out of office, honestly, and I do not see why he cannot be forced out. I think that is one of the shortcomings of the United States government, that an elected official can do something ethically wrong and take advantage of the people and abuse their power, and even after they get caught doing something, they aren’t fired. They can choose to take themselves out of office, but otherwise they get to keep their job until they go to trial and are proven guilty by a jury. What about the employees at places like Subway who get caught stealing out of the register? They sure don’t seem to be able to keep their job until proven guilty in a court of law. And their position in society is relatively miniscule and unimportant. Their personal ethics do not affect very many people, but the governor of an entire state can get caught selling off a position in the United State Senate does not get fired? That seems to me like it should be unconstitutional.
Connection: A few weeks ago I saw a news story on CNN talking about the Blagojavich scandal and it said that they thought that the governor was about to resign from office in light of the accusations against him, but apparently they were wrong because he is still here.
My, oh my. When will this disastrous farce end? Never would I think to see a man with this big of an ego. He basically says, on a phone that he knew was being tapped, that “I’ve got a Senate seat, what have you got to give me for it?” and then claims he’s done nothing wrong? Then he has the audacity to appoint someone to that seat? Who does he think he is? Does he really think he can just blow off everything against him and everyone else will go along with it? He said, earlier this week, that if what he has down is wrong, then he is on the wrong planet. Well, then, Mr. Blagojevich, by all mean return to the right one.
As for Mr. Burris, I actually think that if the idiot Governor hadn’t been so bogged down with corruption charges, this appointment would have been hailed as a great pick. Roland Burris is a smart, experienced man who maintains the presence of an African-American in the Senate. In his bid for Governor in 2002, Obama even supported him. It also seems that no one, not even the Republicans, can find serious faults with Burris, other than he was appointed by Blagojevich. I think Burris would make a fine Senator, but the Blagojevich should not have appointed him.
Connection: Politic cynicism. Politicians like Blagojevich creating breeding grounds for mistrust in the government. Actions like Blagojevich’s just justify cynicism in government, and his further actions have really tarnished the Illinois state government in the eyes of the public.
That just doesn’t seem fair. The Majority Leader isn’t willing to let any one that Blagojevich picks. Well what if the Lt. Gov. picks him too? Will Reid still be a jerk and refuse Burris’ appointment? I think that is just seems fair that Burris should be picked because he is similar to Obama, I guess. They both represent the African-American faction of the country, and Burris is highly liked by the African-American population in Illinois. He seems like a really good guy and had nothing to do with the dealings, and besides he is the Attorney General, how could he have been the highest bidder? He only wants to finish out the last 2 years, so why can’t Reid be a nice guy and let him aboard the crazy train. I agree with Burris in that Illinois shouldn’t be shorthanded in their representation. Rules are rules and the governor is the one to appoint the new senator. Reid shouldn’t shun him just because of the allegations against Blagojevich. That just seems cruel that he would hurt someone’s career just because of his view of another person. I guess life just isn’t fair and those in charge get to decide who is in and who is out.
Connection: Senatorial powers. Though the governor is given the power to appoint the new Senator, the Majority Leader and those of the Senate still have to accept the appointee. Since the Majority Leader is stubborn, Burris has no chance.
To start with I want to point out that in the title of this article they don’t even use Governor Blagojevich’s full name. They just refer to him as Blago. He has gotten so popular you can refer to him by a nickname and people will still know who he is. If not you can just say he’s the guy that tried to sell President-elect Obama’s Senate seat and that will do it too.
I find it amazing that this guy is still trying to appoint someone to the senate. He already was discovered trying to sell the president-elect’s seat why continue? “‘Harry Reid said that they’re not going to accept anybody, so why would he do that?’ Ed Genson, Blagojevich’s lawyer, said. Blago’s own lawyer doesn’t think it’s a good idea to keep trying to get someone appointed.
I also found it interesting that the Senate would try and find a way to block the appointment. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think the Senate can do that. I agree with John Fortier on this. The senate would have to seat Blagojevich if he chose himself, “but after seating Blagojevich, the Senate could then expel him by a two-thirds vote. The seat would be vacant again, and the new governor could make an appointment. Or by then, the Legislature might have changed the law to do away with appointments, in which case the seat would sit vacant until a special election was held.” I think this is the best course of action that is constitutionally legal. It also allows for the possibility of electing an untainted senator from Illinois by a special election.
Connection: This can be connected to Impeachment. If Blagojevich doesn’t resign, and it doesn’t look like he will, he will be impeached by the state legislature. If he is successfully removed from office then the lieutenant governor will take over. Then he will make an appointment to fill Obama’s seat if it hasn’t already been filled by that time.
In response to Bruce:
I agree with you that Blago is saying he is required to make the appointment is a bit ridiculous. You can’t be caught in a scandal dealing with the senate seat and then say well i have to do it. No matter who gets appointed the Senate is going to try to get rid of them. From what I remember they did not find all of the unnamed choices that were “buying” the seat so anyone that he names could in fact be one of those people. I am not saying that Burris is one of the people on that list but no matter who it is everyone is going to think it is a tainted pick.
I also agree that the best course of action at this point would be to hold a special election because no one knows who was involved. For all we know the whole political system of Illinois was part of this scandal. At least with an election the people would decide and it could not be tainted whether they were involved or not because the people elected them and not appointed by a corrupt governor. I don’t think that the state of Illinois should start off with one less than everyone else thats a disadvantage if Illinois ever wants anything.
In response to Austin Ainslie, while the Majority Leader has stated that the Congress will not allow anyone appointed by Blago to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat, whether or not he actually has the power to do so is still in question. I really do not think that it is so much a matter of Reid being a jerk as him not wanting anyone associated with Blago to fill the seat after the scandal. I do not think that it would be a great situation to have one’s reputation in the Senate begin with an appointment by a corrupt governor. “Why can’t Reid be a nice guy and let him aboard the crazy train.” I think there are certainly more people involved in this situation than Reid. It would take a two thirds vote to de-seat Burris once he is sworn in. “That just seems cruel that he would hurt someone’s career just because of his view of another person.” Reid would not necessarily be hurting Burris’ career. I think that before Blago even attempted to appoint someone, he should have resigned so that all the muck could be avoided, but then again, he does not think he did anything wrong.
In Response to Felicia:
I agree with you in that Blagojevich is ridiculous for still denying all allegations or any wrongdoing. At this point, I think it would be a wise decision to resign and confess to the charges, serve the time in prison, and start a life anew afterwards. However, Blagojevich seems to just want to fight to the death. After proven guilty, he will inevitably be impeached, which will ruin his life and future career even more than if he resigns.
However, I disagree with you when you say, “I really don’t blame the democratic caucus for not wanting to allow the appointment of Burris, the lobbyist. Not saying he is a bad guy, who would know? But I can see why people would be suspicious of anyone appointed by Blagojevich.” I really don’t think we should use Blagojevich and his problems to assume that Burris is a poor choice for the other Senate seat. Blagojevich was a fairly successful politician (before this scandal, obviously), which means he does have some authority in terms of picking out a quality politician. Burris sounds like he has significant political experience, and during the 2002 gubernatorial race he was even supported by Barack Obama. So, whatever the Senate leaders decide to do with Blagojevich’s pick, I sure wouldn’t mind Burris as a temporary, two-year replacement.
In response to Bruce Graham:
For starters, I think the article is called that because there are only so many Blagojevich’s in the news today. So not many people are going to mix him up with another one. Also, the author is probably playing on how no one really knows how to say his name. All that comes out is Blago, then some mumbles. So he just kept it short with Blago.
Anyway, I think the Senate has every right to block appointees if they feel that it wasn’t earned or ethical. They’re the bosses of the Senate after all. And even the big boss man, Harry Reid, who has some sort of power methinks, is refusing the appointment. And really, who’s going to stop them if they really don’t want someone in their group? In the end though, I agree with you that their should be a special election to fill the seat, not that the people really will do that much good if their past few governors have been a little shady. But hey, maybe that’s what the people want. So we should give it to them.
Either way, this won’t be an easy process. Blagojevich isn’t going down easy. Whomever he chooses will more than likely be shot down by the Senate and other methods are going to be found. I hope the people of Illinois are pleased with themselves. This is all their fault. If they hadn’t voted for any of those crooked people in the first place, we could have avoided this situation. But if you think about it on a larger scale, the people of America are doing this to themselves. If we could just not care about Illinois and let them take care of it however they wanted, we would be better off. Or better yet, just let the governor do what he wants. So he makes a little money on the side. Big deal. Isn’t that what our society is all about in the first place? I still don’t really see how this is a bad thing.
In response to Brennan (his response to me)
I did not mean to say that Burris would not make a good senator. I don’t know anything about him, but from reading other people’s comments he seems like a very qualified politician. It is just that I can see why people would be skeptical. I don’t blame read for not liking the appointment, not because of Burris, just Blagojevich (whether he was successful or not) is tied up in a bad scandal, thus Burris would be tied up in the same scanda. It’s like Rebecca said “I do not think that it would be a great situation to have one’s reputation in the Senate begin with an appointment by a corrupt governor.” Even though Burris only wanted to finish out he last two years, he would probably have an undeserving bad reputation, and the reputation of politics in Illinois would get even worse.
OK, it is definitely time for this guy to resign. They have recordings and videos of him saying that he is going to sell the senate seat. This is illegal and therefore wrong, get out of my government please and thank you. Although this brings up one of my favorite moral arguments, what is evil and what is wrong? Obviously there are many things that most people will agree upon when talking about things that are wrong, murder for one, and stealing. Those are some fairly prominent issues. But what is murder? Is it simply killing someone? In that case many of our soldiers are mass murderers. Is it killing simply for gain? Then our ancestors are murderers when they killed the Indians. Is it killing someone in self defense? Then once again many of our soldiers are murderers and many men attempting to defend their family from someone who meant them harm. What about stealing? If you steal to survive then does that mean you are less guilty than one who steals to support their habit? If you steal from the rich and give to the poor does that redeem you? Obviously you are stealing which is wrong, but you are being charitable at the same time, which should redeem you at least a little right? Robin Hood was an exploration of this idea. From the view of the rich he was evil, he stole from them. And from the view of the poor he was a saint that came and saved them in their time of need. The truth is that there are many truths, and all that colors this world is the perspective from which you see it. In Blagojevich’s eyes he may have done nothing wrong, which makes his statement the truth. From his perspective.
Connection: Bill Clinton, the guy had an entirely different scandal and denied it just like our favorite Governor here and he came out of it stronger. Maybe if Mr. Blagojevich would admit to some wrongdoing he would do better.
In response to Bruce:
The idea that he is obligated to fill the seat is simply ridiculous. He has the power to do so yes, but he is not obligated. And I have no doubt that if he simply appointed himself that he would be removed from office by the rest of the Senate. I agree that special election would be the best way to resolve this dispute as those who have been tainted by association rather than by act can still have a chance to be elected. As for his appointment I do not know much about him, but he seems to be a good candidate and he should not be deprived of the chance simply because of Blago. As for the abbreviation I think its simply because that is the only part of his name that is pronounceable.