As questions swirl around Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointment to fill Obama's seat, the L.A. Times has joined the chorus of papers calling for Burris' resignation.
It doesn't matter whether there was a quid pro quo behind Burris' appointment. By failing to level with investigators and the public, he has forfeited all credibility. He should resign to make way for an untainted appointment by Gov. Pat Quinn, who would have chosen a new senator in the first place if Blagojevich had had any sense of shame.
Before the Times, it was the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times. The Sun-Times called on Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to give Burris the nudge he needs:
Some political leaders already are calling on Burris to resign, but it's time for the real heavyweights to join in.
Sen. Dick Durbin, above all, needs to join the chorus. In plain and deliberate language, he must call on Burris to call it quits.
Durbin need not wait for the outcome of a Senate ethics investigation. There is no rush to judgment, as Burris claims. All the relevant facts are available.
Durbin was the first Democrat out of the gates calling for a special election to fill Obama's seat, announcing his preference the day Blagojevich was arrested. Durbin's announcement prompted a pseudo-assent from an Obama spokesperson before the political winds changed and Democrats unified against a special election. Amid talk that formidable Republican Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) might consider a run in a special election, national and Chicago Democrats preferred to bet that Blago wouldn't be bold enough to appoint a successor.
Harry Reid sent a letter from all 50 senators stating their intention to oppose any nomination he might make. When Blagojevich appointed Burris, they realized opposing him would not be so easy, enduring days of Burris grandstanding, Illinois court decisions, and internal dissention before they seated him.
Now that Burris and Blagojevich punked the Democrats good, the Illinois GOP is back on the warpath, demanding the special election Durbin requested on Day One.
Senator Durbin, Governor Quinn, Attorney General Madigan, Treasurer Giannoulias, Congresswoman Schakowsky and others who supported a special election should re-commit today to helping pass this legislation.
In the coming days, Republicans in the General Assembly will introduce special election legislation to give the people a vote. It is time to put the power back where it belongs - with the people.
The decision to call a special election was a risk for Illinois and national Democrats back in December, but the subsequent hits they've taken for Burris' race-baiting press conferences, Blago's taint, and Burris' lies make that path look like the wiser one. The Democratic brand has suffered three more months of lashings in Illinois than it had to had state Democrats done the right thing and called for a special election immediately. And, as in the case of the stimulus package, the most powerful politician in the country failed to take control of the situation, causing his party unnecessary damage.
There are a lot of things Obama's campaign trail behavior promised that he hasn't delivered- drama-free staff appointments, impeccable ethics, a new dawn of competence. But his relative inaction in the face of large problems should surprise no one.
