Now that the Illinois Supreme Court has cleared the way, should the United States Senate seat Roland Burris as Illinois' junior senator?

No

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by buchajo

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No, the U.S. Senate should not seat Burris even though the Illinois Supreme Court has said they will not stand in the way of that. First of all, the U.S. Senate has it's own rules. It's almost a club in and of itself if you will. If you want to be part of a club then you have to follow the club's rules. I don't see what is legal or illegal about it - the U.S. Senate requires that for a senator to seated they must have both the signature of the Governor and Sec. of State from the state in which they wish to represent as senator. It may seem like a stupid rule but that is a rule that one must follow in order to be a part of this particular club - the U.S. Senate.

Secondly, aside from the above I feel that Burris should not be seated in the U.S. Senate because I feel that the minute the Governor was arrested on allegations of corruption that some of his rights (namely the right to name the next U.S. senator from Illinois) should have been suspended. This situation has absolutely nothing to do with Burris himself - his race, his credentials, his past accomplishments or anything else of that nature. I don't care whether he's black, white, orange or green in skin color. This has to do with the reality that the individual who appointed him never should've been able to appoint him in the first place. The law should be changed to prevent a situation like this from happening in the first place. If an impeached Governor (facing serious allegations) can't have the common sense and decency to remove himself from sensitive decision making in a time like this then perhaps there should be a law in place to stop him.

I think it's ironic that Burris has tried to turn this whole charade around and make it look like it's somehow about HIM. It's not about him at all and it never was! I could care less if he or someone else is elected as the next U.S. senator from Illinois. Sooner or later he (or whoever else becomes the next Illinois senator) is going to have to face re-election from the general population anyway. The general population will get their say on who ultimately continues as the next U.S. senator from Illinois. I just don't want a Governor that's been arrested over serious allegations to have his say in this matter in the meantime. It should not be hs right to make this appointment, simple as that.

So, what should be done at this point? Well, perhaps a committee or delegation could be set up by either the state of Illinois or the U.S. Senate itself that would have the authority to select the next U.S. senator from Illinois. Their decision on this matter would override the Governor's decision. As far as I'm concerned it's a risky thing for Burris to even accept this nomination by the Governor because everyone is going to remember for a good long time who appointed him and how he was appointed to the U.S. Senate. There is no way that Burris can look in the mirror and honestly say to himself that this whole fiasco isn't going to affect his credibility as a U.S. senator if in fact that is what he becomes. For the sake of doing the right thing and avoiding bringing potential future embarrasment upon himself Burris should remove himself from this situation and allow someone else to make this appointment to the U.S. Senate.

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