Gubernatorial appointment of someone to fill the seat of a Senator, whether for resignation, illness, appointment/election to some other post, or death is fraught with opportunities for corruption or the appearance thereof.

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If Governor Paterson is going to appoint someone to fill Hillary Clinton’s seat, perhaps he should choose Charlie Rangel. That way Roland Burris won’t be alone in the Senate and we can get Charlie off the House Ways and Means Committee.

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Joe Biden was just sworn in as Senator from Delaware.

He will immediately resign his seat.

The Governor of Delaware will appoint Biden’s Chief of Staff to the position.

For the Full Six Year Term.

They did it this way in order to avoid a special election.

The people of the state of Delaware voted for Joe Biden.

They’re getting his Chief of Staff.

TAKE BACK OUR SEAT!

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There were no cell phone cameras, still cameras, TV cameras allowed when Burris went to be seated. He was turned away because Secretary of State Jesse White’s signature was not on the Certificate of Appointment. Presser about to start. Will update.

Statement:

Members of the media, my name is Roland Burris, the junior Senator from the state of Illinois. I presented my credentials to the Secretary of the Senate and advised that, uh, my credentials were not in order and I would not be accepted and I would not be seated and I would not be permitted on the floor and therefore, uh, I am not seeking to have any type of confrontation. I will now consult with my attorneys and we will determine what our next step will be. Thank you all very much  and God bless each and every one of you. Thank you. My, my attorneys will speak to you.

Cross-posted at Musing Minds

Lots more at The Capitol Fax Blog.

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Thanks, Roland, for giving me an earwig… Heart’s song Magic Man…

When asked in a presser today how he can be on Capitol Hill and at impeachment hearings in Springfield on Wednesday, Burris said:

Well I am, I am the magic man.

When asked about his supporters pulling the race card he said:

I have never in my life and all of my years I’ve been elected to office thought anything about race. I’ve been elected four times in the state of Illinois and the great people of Illinois have seen the qualifications and the commitment Roland Burris has and race has never been a concern of mine.

When one looks at his Tomb in Chicago’s Oak Woods Cemetery, we see an entire section as follows:

Trail Blazer

First African-American in Illinois to become:

Illinois Attorney General 1991-95

Illinois State Comptroller 1979-91

Vice-President of Continental Illinois
National Bank 1964-73

National Bank Examiner U.S. Treasury Dept
(First Black in the Nation) 1963-64

President of the National Association of
State Comptrollers 1981-82

President of the National Association of
State Auditors, Comptrollers and
Treasurers 1985-86

S.I.U. Exchange Student to University of
Hamburg, Germany 1959-60

Photo Credit Politico.com Click for original

He’s never thought anything about race in all his life?

That’s the Seal of the State of Illinois above the Trail Blazer on the tomb by the way.

Update: Eric Zorn reprints his March, 2 1998 column regarding Burris’ “white boy” comment made about his Democratic Gubenatorial Primary rivals…

Cross-posted at Musing Minds

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Burris: I look forward to serving our 13 million people with all of the crises that we have in this state and in this nation. And Illinois is need to have a full complement of representation and that’s what I’m seeking to do.

Q: What do you expect to happen upon your arrival in DC?

Burris: Well, I’m hoping and praying that I will be seated.

Q: Have you had any contact with the Obama Administration?

Burris: No I’ve not. None whatsoever. My people tried to reach out to reach out for them and, uh, {unintelligible. – Burris was turning around and looking at people behind him at the airport}

Q: How do you feel about your supporters bringing race into this issue here?

Burris: You know, I cannot control my supporters. I have never in my life and all of my years I’ve been elected to office thought anything about race. I’ve been elected four times in the state of Illinois and the great people of Illinois have seen the qualifications and the commitment Roland Burris has and race has never been a concern of mine. Certainly as a matter of fact, {interrupted to get closer to the microphones: Q: Sir? B: Oh, is there a problem? I have, um. I’m trying to talk to the young lady.} As a matter of fact I have looked upon the state of Illinois as the only state in the nation, think about this, that has elected four blacks statewide. Two United States Senators and two constitutional officers and now they have an appointed individual who is also black as United States Senator.

Q: Mr. Burris. Who do you plan to meet with and to do what you call these negotiations in Washington?

Burris: Well, I will be in touch with our senior senator, Dick Durbin, and hopefully he will have things outlined for me and set up there and we will proceed from there. I understand that he has a schedule for me from Harry Reid the majority leader and we will see what takes place there.

Q: Are you scheduled for Wednesday?

Burris: Wednesday, that’s correct.

Q: You’ve been subpoenaed to appear before the House Impeachment committee.

Burris: We’re handling that as well.

Q: How are you going to do that?

Burris: Well, I am, I am the Magic Man.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Take Back Our Seat is here to ensure that the People’s Senate Seat stays the People’s.

We are looking for contributors from both sides of the aisle and from any state – but at this point especially from Illinois and New York.

Registration is currently open.

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Blagojevich has appointed Roland Burris as the next Senator from Illinois. Roland is standing next to him with a big grin on his face.

This seat needs to go back to the people of the State of Illinois.

We have statewide municipal elections in April. We can elect a replacement for President Elect Obama at that time.

Burris says we shouldn’t leave the 111th Congress short-handed. Hah! The 110th was short-handed with all the Senators running for President.

SoS White: Refuse to certify Burris.

Senator Reid: Refuse to seat Burris.

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