Durbin Asks Burris To Resign
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) just told reporters that he asked Roland Burris (in a very polite manner) to resign. And Burris said no.
"If I were in your shoes, I would consider resigning," Durbin said, reciting what he told Burris.
Durbin said he also asked Burris whether he would be running for a full term in 2010, and Burris said he hasn't made up his mind. Durbin then recalled telling Burris that it would be very difficult to win either the primary or general elections.
"What I've done is, I made my recommendation to Senator Burris," Durbin said. "And he's told me clearly that he will not resign."
Durbin added that he doesn't have much persuasive power with Burris -- he previously advised Burris during the Blagojevich scandal to not seek or accept the appointment, and Burris did that, anyway.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
Sen. Burris is definitely a chip off the old block.
February 24, 2009 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
If the "block" you are referring to is Blago, then I agree. I predict Burris will refuse to attend the proceedings to expel him, claiming that it's all a big conspiracy -- then at the last minute he will show up to give a long, rambling, barely coherent speech just before he is expelled.
February 24, 2009 5:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh brother. This guy is a clown. I hope they expell him from the senate and quick. The longer this fool keeps going on and on, the worse it is for the dems. He can put former senator on his huge mausoleum. What more does he want?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96929438@N00/196788746/
February 24, 2009 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
What the hell is wrong with you?
February 24, 2009 4:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think it's quite apparent what's wrong with him. His parents were siblings.
February 24, 2009 4:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
In his extraordinarily mild defense, I believe this was from an episode of Family Guy.
February 24, 2009 5:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
"annoying nagger?"
What the hell does that mean? Clever misspelling?
"An OK black guy?"
I suppose a clever "nonpology" is coming down the pike.
In the meantime, I'd refer you to Sen. Jim Webb's comments that Mr. Burris is in his spot legally and the matter is an Illinois problem. He said it better, of course. But that is Jim Webb for ya.
February 24, 2009 9:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Burris is a problem for IL democrats in the next election for this seat. I wish Durbin had kept his "private" meeting private so as to not increase the embarrassment of this fiasco.
February 24, 2009 4:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Burris should never have been allowed into the Senate in the first place. Now the Democrats are stuck with him. And they have no one to blame but themselves (and especially their leadership).
Also, to those claiming they had no legal choice but to seat Burris, I say "nonsense." Powell does not strike me as a particularly apt precedent here. I seriously believe that the courts would have upheld the Senate's rejection of the Burris appointment.
February 24, 2009 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know about that. However, quinn has been calling for him to resign and to do a special election. If he won't resign, can't they do a special election anyway? I mean illinois basically controls who goes to the senate. Maybe that's a solution. Just stage a primary and special election. At this point, sans burris, the dem should win based on the conduct of the republicans to date I would think. Also, it would get the moron out of the senate quicker.
February 24, 2009 4:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I want Burris out but this would be a fiasco and give the repugs the best chance to get the seat.
If he doesn't resign, he should be ignored for the next year. Let him vote and beat him in the primary.
As I said, if Attorney General Burris was willing to execute an innocent man to become governor, he has no problem enduring a little humiliation to be senator.
February 24, 2009 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Really? Maybe you are right. I was just thinking that in the current environment, since bloggo is gone and probably soon to be forgotten knowing the short attention span of people, maybe it might not be a bad idea. Especially in light of how bad the republicans are shooting themselves in the foot on the national stage. The more burris is out there, the worse the situation gets for dems I believe.
February 24, 2009 4:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Illinois has control over who goes to the Senate, but once there they have no control. The US Senate has the sole authority to remove a sitting Senator.
Even if we had a special election in Illinois, the winner has no authority to challenge the sitting Senator.
The one consolation is that it's unlikely any Republican will be a credible challenger in 2010. We hear a lot about Mark Kirk, but he won't get many votes in the city of Chicago, and he's not that well-known downstate. His base is the northern (wealthy) suburbs of Chicago, and in this economy, people will be turned off by that. If I had to place a bet today, I would bet that Jesse Jackson Jr. will run and he will probably win.
February 24, 2009 4:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good point on once he's there. We are stuck with him until 2010 I guess. Unless obama makes him ambassador to uzbekistan or something like that.
February 24, 2009 4:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm liking that idea :)
February 24, 2009 7:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought that there probably about a 40% chance that the courts would distinguish Powell and uphold a Senate decision to not seat him. But they can't unseat him now. The only option is impeachment since this jerk won't resign. Illinois might be able to change their law and hold a special election but Im not sure of the legality of this -whether it requires an amendment to the Illinois constitution.
February 24, 2009 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
The front page of the site asked 3-4 days ago how long we gave Burris. I wrote to the comments box,
"I say Burris only leaves at gunpoint.
He's a right stubborn cuss and he got the job he wanted, why would he quit it? He hasn't
even glanced at the race card right there in his pocket yet, for heaven's sake. Hey, if we don't see the harmony amidst his mutually-contradictory statements, that's our problem.
He needs to be directly and credibly threatened with some ugly consequence or he stays right there. And reputation damage isn't it: his reputation is now marred, and say what
they will about the nobility of graceful exit, it will be worsened if he goes. A credible threat of jail time or similar is the only way he leaves. His "friends" we see in the press hinting otherwise are *dreaming.*"
I realize now I should have copied Durbin and co. on the foregoing; mea culpa, but shit, if *I* can see this from here at the Russian border, how come folks on the East Coast need a bleeding roadmap? Burris didn't barter, bullshit, and bamboozle his way into this gig only to relinquish it at the first whiff of some pol's L'il-Bo-Beep misgivings!
February 24, 2009 10:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
What if Obama plucked Burris up and made him ambassador to Uzbeckistan or some other God-forsaken hell hole? That would at least get him the hell out of the Senate, he could add yet another line to the list of titles on his mausoleum, and we'd never hear from him again.
February 24, 2009 4:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is an excellent idea. He really is powerless in the senate in any event based on all that has gone on. Maybe he can solicit funds in uzbekistan for bloggo's defense.
February 24, 2009 4:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not a bad idea. Appealing to Burris' vanity just might work.
February 24, 2009 4:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
True, hopefully in Uzbeckistan he wouldn't do something terrible, like begin a chain of events that ends in the reversing of their nuke nonproliferation treaty. If nuke dealers say that they'd engrave Burris' name in gold lettering on each missile.....uh oh.
February 24, 2009 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Love it!
February 24, 2009 7:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hear there's an opening for Special Envoy to Darfur
February 24, 2009 5:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Burris in Uzbekistan would be only slightly less embarrassing than Carol Mosely Braun in New Zealand...what IS in the water our politicians drink in Illinois???
February 24, 2009 6:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
How precious....Sen Burris (D-Tombstone) walked into the house chamber Lieberman in front and McCain behind.
February 24, 2009 8:52 PM | Reply | Permalink