Whatever happened to the rule of law. You know, that basic principal upon which our country was founded--that no person is above the law--and that all laws on the books apply to all people?
I ask this as the saga of Roland Burris plays out on Capitol Hill. Burris is the Senate appointee by embattled Governor Rod Blagojovich to fill out the term of Barack Obama. This week, the Senate refused to allow Burris to take that seat--despite having no legal grounds to do so.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid--who isn't even the leader of the Senate (that is the Vice President--whose "real" job is President of Senate)--ordered the Senate Secretary to reject Burris's appointment papers because the Illinois Secretary of State hadn't signed them. The Secretary of State had no right to not sign the papers--and his signature is ceremonial anyway--so if it's not there, it shouldn't matter.
The law says the Governor of Illinois has the power to appoint Senate fill-ins. Rod Blagojovich is the governor of Illinois and he has made his appointment. That should be the end of the matter--Roland Burris is a Senator. So why do the Secretary of State, the Senate Secretary and the Senate Majority Leader all believe they have powers that supercede that law? Wasn't this the lesson we learned from Watergate? That nobody--not even the President--is above the law.
Just because you don't like a legal action, doesn't give you the right to ignore the result--or to block the result. If the people of Illinois didn't want Rod Blagojovich as their governor, making appointments for the US Senate--then they shouldn't have elected him--twice. Let's start holding our politicians accountable when they flaunt the law--and especially when they break it.
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i like your blog......
ReplyDeleteI'm betting goooooood girl is a baaaaaaad girl...... and I like it!
ReplyDeleteYou know they have rules against this type of stuff....in Omro
ReplyDeleteWhat! There are no rules in Omro.
ReplyDeleteMark the date: January 8, 2009, the day Jonathan's blog turned into soft core porn. For the record, "goooood girl" is probably a 60 year old, beer-gutted, computer programmer.
ReplyDeleteBack to the topic: I agree, Roland Burris should be seated, at least temporarily, until the Blago saga resolves itself. Right now, as governor he has the authority to appoint. If Burris has no real skeletons to prevent it, he should be seated. Illinois' first order of business is begin impeachment proceedings, or criminal proceedings, or both against the current governor and go from there. Government seems to make alot of rules as they go along these days, whatever suits them. That's got to stop!
ReplyDeleteFunny how yesterday you're bitching that John Daggett shouldn't get his chance to run for any office he pleases, yet today you bark about a senator not seated according to the rules....
ReplyDeleteL'et's review what the Constitution says rather than what you present.
ReplyDeleteArticle 1, Section 3.
"The Vice President of the United States shall be president of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided."
Article 1, Section 5. "Each House shall be judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own members."