The affable Roland Burris was out and about on the Hill again today, as the political winds of a Washington January started to shift decidedly in his favor. He held his second press conference in as many days, regaling the press with tales of Jimmy Carter's endorsement and keeping a straight face while calling Harry Reid a "charming" man.
The sheer gumption of Blago and Burris, combined with Bobby Rush's dirty work dropping the race card while Roland was left to schmooze his way through town- the whole thing has left Senate Democrats flummoxed, and the rest of the nation thoroughly entertained by the antics of the 111th Congress.
Right now, Burris' seating sounds contingent on two things: 1) An Illinois Supreme Court decision about whether Illinois Sec. of State Jesse White's signature on a certificate of election is absolutely necessary for his seating, and 2) Burris' testimony in front of the impeachment committee in Illinois about his involvement with Blagojevich.
White had refused to sign Burris' certification back when everyone was tossing him around like Sen. Hot Potato. Now, that he's Sen. Hot-to-Trot on the Hill, laughing with reporters, meeting with Reid and Durbin, and getting distant compliments from Obama, White is changing his tune, too. He now suggests that the Senate is using him as a "fall guy," and could have seated Burris without his signature.
Durbin urged the Illinois Supreme Court to act quickly on this matter. Seating Burris without a signed certificate would open the door to doing the same for another would-be Democratic Senator- Al Franken, who will have to wait until Norm Coleman's lawsuits have run their course to get his from the state of Minnesota. Reid is, of course, anxious to seat Franken regardless of Coleman's legal contests, but seating Burris without a certificate would make that awkward display of Tuesday look even more silly and counterproductive than it already does.
Assuming Burris' testimony for the impeachment committee in Illinois is forthcoming, and reveals that he was involved in none of the pay-to-play antics of Blago, it seems Harry Reid is more than happy to move on this:
"He's going to go answer any other questions they might have. He's not trying to avoid any responsibility and trying to hide anything," said Reid (D-Nev.) "Once that's done, we'll be in a different position and see what we are going to do."
The "taint" both Reid and Obama alleged would imperil any appointment made by Blago suddenly sounds like it will be wiped out by Burris' cooperation in the impeachment proceedings. My, how things have changed. This is Reid's take on a Blago appointment from a letter he and the Democratic caucus drafted the week of Blago's arrest:
We write to insist that you step down as Governor of Illinois and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat," the letter reads. "In light of your arrest yesterday on alleged federal corruption charges related to that Senate seat, any appointment by you would raise serious questions."
Oops. Obama's past statements are equally forceful:
"Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it. I believe the best resolution would be for the Governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place. While Governor Blagojevich is entitled to his day in court, the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government and major decisions free of taint and controversy," said President-elect Obama.
Today, in true Obama fashion, he said Burris was a "Senate matter," despite the fact that he's the only man in the Democratic Party with the power to have gotten Illinois and national Democrats on the same page, and orchestrated something less ridiculous than this outcome. Meanwhile, Dianne Feinstein voiced her opinion that Burris should be seated, despite having signed Reid's letter last month. And, Dick Durbin, who called for a special election right out of the box after Blago's arrest, has been making nice between Reid and Burris.
The bottom line is Democrats were never on solid legal ground when it came to blocking Burris from the Senate, and they knew it. What they did not know was that Blagojevich would have the gumption to appoint someone, and that the man he appointed would have the gumption to come to Washington to demand his seat in front of a bevy of video cameras.
Oops. Now, Harry Reid has writers on Huffington Post calling for him to get out of leadership, and he's been reduced to insisting to the Politico that he hasn't been out-maneuvered by Burris.
Asked if he regretted so stridently defending his initial decision to block Burris from being seated, the Leader shot back: "If you didn't know anything it doesn't look very good," referring to the circumstances of the appointment.
Blago, after all, had been taped describing Obama's vacated seat "an effin' gold mine!" Reid explained.
That set reporters and staffers to snickering under the ornate chandelier of the Capitol's LBJ room.
Floating around on the Hill are several deals that might have been made behind the scenes to seat Burris:
Cut a Deal: The most oft-mentioned solution to the current problem is for Reid and Burris to cut a deal that allows the latter to be seated and the former to keep his word. Among the deals floated by Fix sources: Burris agrees to serve out the remaining two years on Obama's term but not seek reelection in 2010 and Burris serves as a "shadow senator" (in the words of one Democratic operative) -- meaning he can participate in meetings and serve on committees but has no vote in the Senate; and Reid grants Burris lifetime floor privileges and lets him be sworn in and serve for a week, in exchange for his resignation.
The first seems the most likely. Burris seems so clearly to hold the cards, why would he accept a shadow senator position or agree to resign? The 111th Congress, having first blocked the only black Senator from the floor is likely to avoid letting him in with limited voting rights, thereby averting another Bobby Rush "Jim Crow" or "plantation" reference.
Reid and Co. want desperately to take care of this thing before the Congress has to tackle a stimulus package. Mr. Burris came to Washington on solid legal ground, acted sane, ingratiated himself to the right people, and the only man who could have stopped him backed away from the situation and said, "Good luck, Senate."
It's an interesting peek at how the 111th Congress will coordinate with their new President. If I were a Democrat, I'd be worried about my agenda in these hands.
