Sunday, January 11, 2009

Make Up Your Mind Already

Senate Democrats have flip-flopped on their view of whether Roland Burris can be seated as Illinois' junior senator about three times in the past week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin said Burris would be admitted once the Illinois Supreme Court resolved the matter so that Burris could present appropriate paperwork of his appointment and after he testified before Illinois' House impeachment committee, which happened last Thursday. Even after the Illinois Supreme Court said on Friday that Burris' appointment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich was legal and Secretary of State Jesse White produced a new certification of his appointment with his signature, Sen. Dick Durbin resisted Burris and suggested the issue would not be resolved until Blagojevich is formally removed from office by the Illinois General Assembly through the impeachment process. "We have to look at the new documents that have been filed by the (Illinois) secretary of state -- they are different than those filed earlier -- and see if they comply with Senate rules," Durbin said on CBS' "Face the Nation." This evening, Sen. Durbin is saying he wants to deal with the matter in "a fair and quick way." Burris' lawyers say they will bring an action in the D.C. federal district court if the Senate doesn't seat him.

UPDATE: Senate Democrats have finally conceded Burris' legal right to be seated as Illinois' junior senator. He will be sworn in later this week.

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