If Al Franken can be a United States Senator, what the hell does it matter any more. Who cares.

foist?

YES!!!

1 and 3

blogojevich flouted the law, not flaunt...

and you're right, but this is an endemic problem in the US today

Hey, go ahead and seat Burris. Please, do. Get Franken in there, too--all the better he stole an election.

1994 mean anything to you bitches? No? Cool.

-2010 Republican Party

---------------------
Isn't it great to live in a country of laws? A country where disgraced executives can openly flaunt the law yet still wield its power. This whole Senate drama has really been a great example of the power of law.

And hey, how 'bout those Democrats? They control the executive and both houses of Congress, but they sure aren't letting "winning" go to their heads are they? No, no, no. Looks like the Invertebrate party hasn't lost it's talent for folding like a cheap accordion under the slightest bit of pressure:
-----------

epic fail. Elie <<<<< Lat

If Al Franken can be a United States Senator, what the hell does it matter any more. Who cares.

Burris should be seated. Blogo hasn't been convicted of any wrongdoing. In fact, he hasn't even been indicted. What ever happened to the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" in this country? Even if Blogo did something technically illegal, you have to wonder whether the folks who are castigating him in the media (including Sen. Reid) have engaged in similar behavior.

I seem to recall some guy long ago once said "let he who is without sin cast the first stone"...

9, nobody's depriving Blago of due process of law by refusing to seat Burris. What the fuck is wrong with you?

Uh, 9: the reason Burris shouldn't be seated is the appearance of impropriety. Look it up some time.

Oh yeah, and that "minor technicality" of his appointment not being legal. No, not because Blago is lawless scum--Blago has full authority. Too bad Blago's full authority is insufficient to appoint Burris without Jesse White's (Ill. Sec. State) certification, huh?

This is a sad case of Blaxploitation!

Who here thinks Kashmir Hill and David Lat think about Elie's black cock?

Seriously 9? Because we all have sin, therefore we cannot hold political leaders accountable? I should try that with my next criminal client.

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury, sure my client killed 3 people. But some have killed 4 or more people. And its not like you are without sin...who are you to judge him."

I don't understand the point of this post at all.

I seem to have foggy memories of an obscure case known as Marbury v. Madison, which involved a secretary of state signing a commission to seat a federal judge. Is that relevant here?

Wonder how much that Senate seat cost him. Hope Blago at least got some decent f****** cash for it.

I'm pretty sure Kashmir and Lat have thought about Elie's black cock at some point.

Does anyone watch "Damages"? Is it good?

I'm pretty sure Kashmir and Lat have thought about Elie's black cock at some point.

9 is correct. Constitutional arguments exist both for and against seating Burris but the better arguments support seating him. The Adam Clayton Powell case also cuts in the same direction, though admittedly it is not identical. The Chemerensky Op Ed piece in the L.A. Times spells all of this out. Burris looks like a narcissist, and Blagojevich is no doubt a crook, but ignoring the Constitution is a Bush move and those eight years are over. The Illinois legislature could have prevented this but it sat on its hands and did nothing.

11 - Actually, White has no authority to refuse to sign off. If Burris sued for a writ of mandamus, he would win.

lol at 6. Enjoy your permanent Democratic majority!

*Lat fingers his ass thinking of Elie*

Ski Instructor here, looking to seat several snow bunnies on the slopes of my brooklyn townhouse.

22: until he gets such a writ or White signs off, Burris is shit out of luck. Get it yet?

10, 11, 14: Unfortunately, "appearance of impropriety" is not a reason to reject someone who is otherwise lawfully appointed. If IL voters don't want Blago to appoint someone to a vacant seat, maybe they should have their representatives impeach and convict him. As it stands now, Blago's only been arrested, not even indicted. The IL Sec'y of State has no veto power over a Governon's selection, and any attempt by him to exercise it is only a ploy to prevent Burris from being seated and losing to a Republican in 2010.

You made your bed, now lie in it.

"The IL Sec'y of State has no veto power over a Governon's selection"

Really? Awesome! You'll have no problem supporting that ipsi dixit, right?

Like I said, White's certification is required. He refuses to provide it. If he lacks the authority to refuse, then Burris better get a writ of mandamus. Put up or shut up.

This country is fucked anyway. I agree with 2, if Franken can be a senator who cares anymore. Also IL democrats had the chance to stop this but they were too worried about a republican stealing the seat. So while they sat around trying to figure out how to make sure a Dem got to fill the seat Blago went ahead and did what he was technically entitled to do. IL dems screwed themselves on this one. I hope they get a Rep in 2010.

Burris will pay a price with the electorate. Or not. He may be a great senator despite being appointed by someone who is now innocent but for my money will be proven guilty. It's totally legal. Democrats have zero legal basis for refusing to seat him. The real problem is Blagojevich's crimes, not his appointing a senator, which is his duty. He has not been convicted (although I am personally convinced he is as crooked as can be). He is still technically innocent. Would you repeal every official act he's done since the first of his calls offering to sell Obama's vacant seat? Of course not. This is no different. He needs to be impeached, or convicted, or both, and needs to step down. That's the proper remedy. Burris should be seated.

It seemed like the embargo was solid until that jackass played the race card. It's smooth politics by Blago to find a black candidate to step and fetch for him and thereby give him the winning cosmetics, but its a sad day to see him jam his appointee through by claiming Reid is a racist---and seing Reid and Obama run for cover. It's completely disgusting.

I do not agree that telling Burris to pound sand would have had any negative political effect more than 100 miles from Chicago. No federal judge would have touched this with a ten foot pole---Burris would not have been seated by a court. At some point, Obama is going to have to make an example of someone, to show some ruthlessness, to get control of the party and this was a great opportunity lost.

The story behind the story is that no one wants Pat Quinn, Lt. Governor of Illinois, to be Governor. He has always been regarded as a renegade by both parties.

28 - Your "argument" was undercut by the man himself this morning, when he said the following: "My signature is mostly ceremonial, rather than a point of law." Read it and weep:

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said this morning he has been made "the fall guy" by the U.S. Senate, which he said is using him as an excuse to not seat Roland Burris."They could have seated him without my signature; my signature is not required," he told WGN-AM 720's John Williams.The Senate barrred Burris Tuesday, saying he lacked proper credentials because his appointment was not signed by White.But White said today, "My signature is mostly ceremonial, rather than a point of law." "They played a little bit of a game with [Burris] yesterday," he added.

Asked by Williams if he had been made "the fall guy," White said, "You're absolutely correct."

33: why hasn't White signed yet?

Well, guess they got to White. Wonder if it was the carrot or the stick.

"hasn't lost it's talent "

Elie, please memorize this (from Oxford University Press):

"It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs."

Or, more simply (from Strong Bad):

"If you want the possessive, it's just I-T-S, but if you want the contraction, it's I-T-apostrophe-S...scallywag."

It seemed like the embargo was solid until that jackass played the race card. It's smooth politics by Blago to find a black candidate to step and fetch for him and thereby give him the winning cosmetics, but its a sad day to see him jam his appointee through by claiming Reid is a racist---and seing Reid and Obama run for cover. It's completely disgusting.

I do not agree that telling Burris to pound sand would have had any negative political effect more than 100 miles from Chicago. No federal judge would have touched this with a ten foot pole---Burris would not have been seated by a court. At some point, Obama is going to have to make an example of someone, to show some ruthlessness, to get control of the party and this was a great opportunity lost.

28: Please. "Ipse dixit." If you're going to use scary big words to be pretentious, please spell them correctly so we don't all think you're a huge douche. Actually, we might think that anyway.

But I suppose your overall point was largely correct.

28 - Show me any authority supporting the Sec'y of State vetoing a Governor's appointment.

33 - That's dumb of him to say, no? How can he be the fall guy when he refused to sign the paper of his own volition?

31, Obama doesn't do ruthless. He prefers to take the appeal to "hope" (aka be a big fat pussy) angle. The man has no backbone. It is going to be fun watching him get slapped around by foreign leaders, the senate, the courts, and everybody else for the next 4 years. Have fun democrats, I'm washing my hands of this whole cluster-fuck.

I spell corruption D-E-M-O-C-R-A-T.

Can we please talk more about how HORRIBLE Harry Reid is? What the fuck is wrong with this guy? He let that ridiculous media circus go on yesterday with Burris being turned away and made to stand outside in the rain, and then he folds not 24 hours later? The Dems do have a problem, but it ain't Franken or Burris, it is this spineless weasel.

"openly flaunt the law"

It says a lot about how the quality of Harvard Law School has changed over the years that a recent graduate doesn't know the difference between "flaunt" and "flout."

I mean, I'm not saying everyone has to understand it, but come on. You went to Harvard Fucking Law School.

Jesus.

Sincerely,
A weeping recent HLS alum

28: Please. "Ipse dixit." If you're going to use scary big words to be pretentious, please spell them correctly so we don't all think you're a huge douche. Actually, we might think that anyway.

But I suppose your overall point was largely correct.

agree with those saying that there are arguments against seating Burris, but the law sides with seating him.

have any you actually gone to law school? Blago's the sitting governor, notwithstanding the accusations against him. until he's impeached, convicted, or otherwise relieved of his position after due process of law, it's within his power to name whoever he wants to.

it's looks god awful, yes, but that's not the issue. there's no exception for the "appearance of impropriety," though it obviously would've been better for everyone if he just declined to name someone until the pending investigation into his shenanigans was complete.

"if franken can be elected to the senate.." blah blah blah. democrats said the same thing when ARNOLD SCHWARZZENAGRA was elected governor. and stealing elections? spare me. That shit is as old as the GOP itself.

5 got it. Consult a dictionary.

28 - Show me any authority supporting the Sec'y of State vetoing a Governor's appointment.

33 - That's dumb of him to say, no? How can he be the fall guy when he refused to sign the paper of his own volition?

Typical Chicago politics, ask for something and when that doesn't work you browbeat your way in.

46, he doesn't count. Everyone in the legal community knows that California is bat-shit-crazy about pretty much everything. No one takes them seriously. We are all just waiting for the whole fucking state to fall off into the ocean. Please let it be soon. You are just pissed because it is becoming clear that Obama can't do half the shit he promised and everyone is going to see that he isn't as great as they all though. You had to see this coming, people are expecting the guy to save the country in a month. No one could live up to the expectations that Obama created for himself. It is going to be fun to watch though.

White refused to sign the paper as a protest against Blago making the appointment. White and everyone else in Illinois knows his signature is not required to "perfect" the apointment.

White refused to sign the paper as a protest against Blago making the appointment. White and everyone else in Illinois knows his signature is not required to "perfect" the appointment.

48: Unless of course White was told by the powers that be not to sign the paper so that the Senate Dems would have a reason to reject Burris. If so, it would make sense for him to label himself as the fall guy.

12 = racist

12 = racist

Blogojevich probably shouldn't have picked someone for the Senate seat, but he is the governor and has the power to do so. No one is suggesting that there is any impropriety on the part of Burris. Elie, you should chill out. The Democrats can't and shouldn't violate the law in order to keep a man of unblemished reputation from sitting in the Senate. Even if he was appointed by Blogojevich. It has nothing to do with pressure. It has to do with law, something I would expect the editor of this site to know something about.

38/48: you still don't get it, huh? Nobody has to show you or Burris anything.

White has not signed.

His signature is stated as a requirement.

If you want to force him to sign, because he has no authority to refuse, get a writ by providing authority that he has no such authority. Otherwise, go suck an egg. You really don't get burdens, huh? This is like you telling me to go find authority that says a defendant's conduct was non-negligent. Until someone proves that it was negligent, defendant don't need do squat to be in the right.

43, maybe the flout-flaunt switch is made by the same type of people who switch "ask" and "aks/ax". Guess you never thought of that, huh?

Racist.

36:

my personal view is that your efforts will just confuse poor elie. i think he's not smart enough to get it. (or to understand that the dems didn't cave but instead acknowledged that they had no actual legal grounds to refuse to seat burris.)

the other possibility is that he is too lazy to bother. which is worse? would you rather be too dumb or too lazy to write well?

Ding ding ding ding, congrats Harry Reid, you've won the award for Least Effective Politician EVER!!! Yaaaay!

I can't believe that douche is a leader in my party.

59 = racist.

57/11/etc. is clearly the type of bureaucrat who would reject a form because it was signed in blue rather than black ink, a requirement stated clearly in 8-point font on the back of said form.

Discuss.

"No one could live up to the expectations that Obama created for himself. It is going to be fun to watch though."

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!! As a republican, I can't wait to watch this show. There is nothing so wonderful as watching a money-stealing mob of ignorant, unproductive, socalist swine lose their faith and hope. I will savor every tear, every expression of dispair and hopelessness, every cry of "but we didn't know! and we don't deserve this!" like a fine d'Yquem or Petrus.

You should have, and you do. Starve. Freeze. Perish.

Don't get to excited.... interesting piece in Crane's today

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?page_id=2308&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a1daca073-2eab-468e-9f19-ec177090a35cPost%3a83c39825-52f4-4eed-8ea4-843665eeb708&sid=sitelife.chicagobusiness.com

"As perhaps-senator Roland Burris prepares to testify before the Illinois House impeachment committee on Thursday, an indirect connection between himself and Gov. Rod Blagojevich's wife, Patti, is drawing new attention.

At issue in a matter raised on Bruce DuMont's "Beyond the Beltway" radio show is a $100,000-a-year job Ms. Blagojevich got in September as development director of the Chicago Christian Industrial League, a civic group which helps train and get jobs for poor folks.

Ms. Blagojevich got the post after dropping her work as a real estate agent; she had received commissions for work done for the now-indicted Tony Rezko and other politically connected clients.

Anyhow, among those on the league's board is one Fred Lebed, Mr. Burris' longtime business partner, adviser and political confidant.
"

Good work misspelling "Governor" as "Governer" in the first f-ing sentence of the piece. That's worse than the flout/flaunt mistake. I would further accuse you of misspelling Blagojevich as "Blogojevich" in the headline but I think you may be going for some sort of harebrained, unfunny pun, so I'll drop it.

57: Are you serious? Yes, anyone can do anything. What I, and the rest of the posters with any brain activity are saying, is that White has no authority to refuse to sign the paper.

57 is the credited response.

The argument that White's signature is "largely ceremonial" is a non-starter. As Reid pointed out earlier today, the US Senate has never sat a member, elected or appointed, without a certification from that member's state. White has not signed. Burris does not have a certification. He has been appointed, yes. He has NOT been certified. Therefore, he is not entiteled to be seated . . . YET.

If White does not have the authority to refuse to sign the certification then Burris (or Blago -- not sure who has standing) has the simple option of going to the IL Supreme Court (which Burris is doing and Reid recommended as a solution) to force White to sign or to provide an alternate certification.

If White does have the authority to refuse to sign, Blago can request his resignation (or fire him) and appoint someone who will sign.

EOM.

As the economist says:

"Flaunt means display; flout means disdain. If you flout this distinction, you will flaunt your ignorance. "

http://www.economist.com/research/styleguide/index.cfm?page=673903

57/67 are correct. Let's get to the source of this whole mess (how a bunch of lawyers have danced around it this long is beyond me): http://rules.senate.gov/senaterules/rule02.php

You'll note the multiple references to the Sec. State's signature. You think it's mentioned because they just feel better about secretaries signing stuff? More than one signature is required for a reason--it's one of those checks and balances you hear about from first grade on. Is it a particularly strong check against a governor's appointment power? No. But it's still a check.

Cf. As Solicitor General Bork was instrumental in the "Saturday Night Massacre", the October 20 1973 firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox following Cox's request for tapes of Oval Office conversations. U.S. President Richard Nixon initially ordered his Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, to fire Cox. Richardson resigned rather than carry out the order. Deputy Attorney General, William Ruckelshaus, who considered the order "fundamentally wrong"[3], followed this example. After these resignations, Bork became acting Attorney General. Though Bork believed Nixon's order to be valid and appropriate, he considered resigning to avoid being "perceived as a man who did the President's bidding to save my job". Richardson and Ruckelshaus told Bork he should not resign to avoid the damage a chain of resignations to the Department of Justice.[3] When Nixon reiterated his order, Bork complied and fired Cox.

67/69: You guys are taking a far too intricate approach to this. No one is suggesting that the Senate seat Burris without White's signature. What I and others have said is in response to Reid's comments that he wouldn't seat Burris because he's connected to Blago. Chillax.

67/EOM - Wrong again! The Illinois Secretary of State is an elected position. Blago cannot fire him. Prediction: The Illinois Supreme Court will order White to sign the certification. White has already said he will sign it if the court orders him to do so.

nice try at attempting to seem apolitical, mystal...except the effort was a bit too obvious and forced. subtlety, among other qualities, appear lost on you.

you'll never win

57/67/69 - Wrong again! Unless the three of you were classmates at Regent, you should know that the Senate rules do not trump the US Constitution. The Seventeenth Amendment provides as follows when a vacancy in the Senate occurs: "The legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct." Pursuant to this directive, the Illinois legislature empowered the governor in the following statute:

(10 ILCS 5/25‑8) (from Ch. 46, par. 25‑8)
Sec. 25‑8. When a vacancy shall occur in the office of United States Senator from this state, the Governor shall make temporary appointment to fill such vacancy until the next election of representatives in Congress, at which time such vacancy shall be filled by election, and the senator so elected shall take office as soon thereafter as he shall receive his certificate of election.
(Source: Laws 1943, vol. 2, p. 1.)

Notice that the statute says nothing about the appointment being invalid until the Secretary of State signs off on it. The secretary of state cannot frustrate the will of the Governor as empowered by the US Constitution and the laws of Illinois. It is the silly Senate rule is the non-starter.

57/67/69 - also note that the Illinois legislature specifically provided that an elected senator needs a certificate of election. There is no parallel requirement that an appointed senator needs a certificate of appointment. Hence, White is correct that his signature on an appointment is "ceremonial."

73, you fail to cite the other statute section that deals with how the governor's acts--which include appointments of US Senators--become official. You know, that one that says certification by the Sec. State is required?

Pull that shit in court and you'll be sanctioned so fast your head will spin.

75 - Stop making shit up - you've lost this argument.

Read it and weep! The Illinois Attorney General, in a filing with the Illinois Supreme Court, agrees with the analysis set forth in post 73:

RESPONSE FILED WITH ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT TO MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A COMPLAINT FOR A WRIT OF MANDAMUS

Chicago — Today, Secretary of State Jesse White and Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a response in the Illinois Supreme Court. The filing is in response to the Motion for Leave to File a Complaint for Writ of Mandamus filed by Roland W. Burris, Lawrence A. Perlman and John Ruff last Wednesday, December 31, 2008, asking the Court to order Secretary White to sign and seal the U.S. Senate appointment submitted by Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The response makes it clear that the Secretary of State has done everything he is legally required to do regarding the Burris appointment.

On December 31, 2008 – the same day Governor Blagojevich submitted the U.S. Senate’s recommended appointment form to the U.S. Senate – Secretary White registered Burris’ appointment pursuant to the Secretary’s only legal duty regarding appointments.

According to 15 ILCS 305/5:

Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State:

2. To make a register of all appointments by the Governor, specifying the person appointed, the office conferred, the date of the appointment, the date when bond or oath is taken and the date filed. If Senate confirmation is required, the date of the confirmation shall be included in the register.

Instead, what is at issue here is a form that is not required by law, but is merely “recommended” by a Rule of the U.S. Senate. Moreover, a U.S. Senate Rule cannot impose a legal obligation on the Illinois Secretary of State.

77: Exactly. The fact that no Senator has ever been sworn in without a Sec'y of State confirmation is irrelevant.

Yes. 75 is full of shit. Madigan's brief makes clear that as it pertains to gubernatorial appointments, all the secretary of state is required to do under Illinois law is put the appointment in the register. Certification is not required by law. Someone should check 75's law license.

It's amazing that the Democrat party is imploding after a clean sweep on Election Day. They haven't even waited for the Golden Child to take office for his administration to start falling apart, and now Harry Reid has put a "No Blacks Allowed" sign on the Capitol steps.

The principled thing for Senate Dems to do would be to FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT this and also to block Franken.

Instead they are being totally unprincipled and corrupt. And I really don't like it.

thank your lucky dicks that Hamas isn't rocketing San Diego from Tiujana - the limp phallused Dems would have waged a ten day verbal war and then backed down with the said limp cock dangling between their knees while ceding Calfiornia to the freedom fighters

This isn't relevant to the original topic, but I'm tired of the Republicans hoping for Obama to fail. You don't like him, or you think he's unqualified, or whatever; fine. But if he fails, we're all screwed. I wanted to kill myself when Bush won in 2000, but I wished him all the best because I recognized that he could completely fuck up the country if he did a bad job. Do you really want things to get even worse in this country just so you can say "I told you so?" If so, you really need to reexamine your priorities.

FLOUT, not FLAUNT.

Where did this guy learn to write?