Congress: Sen. Burris?
Posted: Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:18 AM by Domenico Montanaro
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Congress
The Washington Post says Burris “is on the verge of winning a showdown in Washington that has pitted him against the leaders of the U.S. Senate and the president-elect. Democratic leaders yesterday laid out a path for Burris to join the Senate, a sharp reversal after they and President-elect Barack Obama last week cast his selection to fill Obama's former seat as tainted because he was appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.”
Video: Roland Burris was back on Capitol Hill today and got a much warmer reception. Why does it seem that Senate members are doing an about-face? Rachel Maddow goes spelunking with the man who refused Governor Blagojevich’s appointment, Rep. Danny Davis, D-IL.“After meeting yesterday with Burris, who is a Democrat and a former attorney general of Illinois, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said the Senate would consider seating Burris if his appointment is certified by the Illinois secretary of state and the testimony he delivers today in Springfield before a panel of Illinois legislators investigating Blagojevich (D) reveals no impropriety in the process through which Burris received the appointment.”
"A Democratic official said that Obama and Reid talked by phone on Tuesday about the need to resolve the dispute about Burris amicably," the Boston Globe writes. The Huffington Post yesterday reported: "The apparent decision to seat Roland Burris came after aides to President-elect Barack Obama contacted senior Senate Democrats and suggested that they reverse course and accept Gov. Rod Blagojevich's controversial appointment, according to a senior Dem congressional aide."
The New York Times’ take: "In inducing the Senate leadership to back down, Mr. Burris, who would be the only African-American senator, benefited from the support of black lawmakers. He also had a credible legal claim and would provide Democrats a reliable vote, factors that led to growing party consensus that there was little reason to hold up the nomination. Mr. Obama also said last week that Mr. Burris should not be seated. But Senate officials said Wednesday that Mr. Obama had changed course this week, urging Mr. Reid in a private meeting on Monday to find an ‘amicable resolution.’”
Politico takes a look at Burris-backer Bobby Rush, who had a tumor removed from glands near his vocal chords last March. "But 10 months after his cancer scare, Rush has made it quite clear that he still has some words to say. Among them: ‘lynch,’ ‘Bull Connor,’ ‘George Wallace’ and ‘plantation politics.’”
And need advice on how to stay clean? Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or "CREW, the left-leaning ethics watchdog group that annually publishes the ‘most Corrupt Members of Congress’ list, has invited Congressional staff to a closed-door ethics workshop in the Capitol on Friday ‘to help you and your boss avoid the greatest pitfalls,’ according to an invite sent to all Congressional offices this week."
