WASHINGTON — Roland Burris announced Tuesday he was rejected for Barack Obama’s Senate seat, in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session.
Standing amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras in a cold and steady rain, Burris, 71, declared that he had been informed that “my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted.”
No duh! Wasn’t he told days ago by Harry Reid that this was going to happen? This is one of the biggest and most shameful displays of political grandstanding I have seen this whole election cycle, which isn’t over yet by the way.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had said Monday that Burris would not be permitted to take his seat because Burris “has not been certified by the state of Illinois,” a reference to incomplete paperwork that only touches on the dispute. Senate Democrats maintain that Burris’ appointment is tainted because of the charges against Blagojevich.
Burris knew what was waiting for him at the Capitol door when he walked in there. He staged all this to gain sympathy in legal arenas back in Illinois. Burris has no choice but to go back to Illinois and challenge the Secretary of State, Jesse White’s authority to block his appointment. I don’t think that White’s decision to buck the Governor by proxy through Burris has any legal legs. Burris should get his appointment easily, but this show today in Washington, jeesh.
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