KING HARRY SAYS "HE’S NOT WELCOME" (UPDATE 1X) Burris Stopped by “Paperwork”

~~By American Lassie

It isn’t very often that I find anything amusing in the news anymore, but I find the situation in Chicago very entertaining and I am loving every minute of it.

Governor Blagojevich of Illinois has the bull by the horns and he is not letting go.

By appointing Roland Burris to the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama he has that opportunistic bunch of Illinois (and Washington) Democrats all reaching for their Immodium AD.  They all have their bowels in an uproar.

Especially Bobby Rush, Lt. Governor Quinn, and both Jacksons – Sr. and Jr.

Bobby Rush has started playing the race card, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn is salivating for the Governor’s job, and both Jacksons are in a frenzy over just what exactly is in those tapes that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is holding.

A filing from Fitzgerald’s office requesting an extension of the time to prepare the case against the governor states “The government has been conducting a diligent and thorough investigation in this case, but the investigation includes multiple defendants and potential defendants.”

Patrick Fitzgerald says more time is needed because of the complexity of the corruption case against the Illinois governor who was arrested on a criminal complaint. Fitzgerald’s office said “multiple witnesses have come forward in recent weeks to discuss their knowledge of criminal activity.”

Everybody is getting nervous.  Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White,  says he will not sign the requisite papers to approve the appointment of Roland Burris, or of any other person Gov. Blagojevich might appoint.  Harry Reid says that any appointment by Gov. Blagojevich would be tainted by fraud and would not be seated by the Senate.  His words pertaining to Roland Burris appearing in the Senate – “HE IS NOT WELCOME.”
King Harry is forgetting that in America you are presumed innocent until found guilty.  Until there is a trial and he is found guilty Rod Blagojevich is still the legal governor and entitled to make appointments and sign legal papers.

A Constitutional fight could loom over Roland Burris’ appointment.  The fight may go to the Supreme Court as Burris intends to fight for his right to the seat he has been appointed to by Gov. Blagojevich.

Under the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, governors alone have the power to appoint a replacement to complete the term of senators who are expelled, resign, or die.

AMENDMENT XVII (1913)

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

The governor’s power to fill vacancies is granted by Illinois election law.  If the legislature writes a new law and takes that power away from him, Blagojevich could VETO the legislation to remove his appointment power.  CATCH 22 !!!

“The governor has the Constitutional and statutorial authority to make the appointment,” Burris said.  “We are certainly going to make contact with the leadership of the Senate to let them know that the Governor of Illinois has made a legal appointment, and that I am currently the Junior Senator  from the state of Illinois”.

Harry Reid is twisting the Constitution to make it sound as though the Senate has the right to deny anyone they wish.  Not so:

Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution gives Congress the  power to be “judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.”

Article 1, Section 3 says “no person shall be senator who shall not have been attained to the age of 30 years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States.”

Roland Burris meets all those qualifications and has been a life-long citizen of the State of Illinois.  He is 71 years old.

Harry Reid says it is not about Mr. Burris, but about Rod Blagojevich’s integrity.  Senate leadership spokesman Jim Manley said,  “This is like judging the integrity of an election, free from fraud and corruption.”  GIVE ME A BREAK !!!!!!  Free from fraud and corruption?  After this past election cycle, he has the nerve to say that?

Trying to thwart Mr. Burris from being seated in the senate because of their opinion of Gov. Blagojevich is like (in Mr. Burris’ words) comparing apples and oranges.

In 1967 the House of Representatives refused to seat Adam Clayton Powell, D-NY, during a corruption investigation.  The Supreme Court weighed in on the side of Mr.Powell stating  “The house is without power to exclude any member-elect who meets the Constitution’s requirements for membership.”

The Illinois State Supreme Court refused to grant Lisa Madigan’s (Illinois  Attorney General) attempt to stifle the governor’s authority.  As long as he hasn’t been tried and convicted it is his duty to perform the duties of an elected governor (which he is).  And the  duty now before the Governor of Illinois is to appoint a member to the seat vacated by Barack Obama (which he has).

In Chicago’s Oakwoods Cemetery Burris has erected a granite mausoleum listing his many accomplishments, including being the state’s first African-American Attorney General  and the state’s first African-American Comptroller.

The Illinois House has bumped up its schedule and will meet several days this week.  A spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (father of the Secretary of State Lisa Madigan) says the chamber may vote on a recommendation from the special committee studying whether Blagojevich should be impeached.

The Democrats (once the party I supported) are in a pickle; there’s Minnesota (decided but facing lawsuits), New York and Illinois, bringing their dream of a 60-seat majority into sight.  They thought they had their hand-picked members all line up and now they are hoisted by their own petard.  The rejected the idea of a special election to replace Obama in Illinois and now it seems the governor has more guts than they thought and their plans have gone astray.  He has outfoxed the foxes, and I am enjoying every minute of it.

I hold no sympathy for Blagojevich if he is guilty of the things they say he is guilty of, but I say let the courts play out their hand and let’s see the evidence.  In the meantime he is still the governor with all the powers of a governor and, as I said, if they pass a law in the Illinois Legislature, as governor he has the right to veto it.

I know nothing about Roland Burris other than what I have read and heard recently.  He seems to have a clean record of accomplishments by all accounts, except by the Chicago Tribune and I wouldn’t  put much stake in anything they have to say.

I think it is very suspicious that they pulled the rug out from under Fitzgerald before he was ready to take action.

What goes around comes around, and it’s about time some people got hit by the boomerang.

***

NOTES:

Burris Drama Plays out as Senate Set to Begin Work (January 4)

Reid said he expected to meet with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Monday evening in hopes “we can solve this issue on a bipartisan basis.” Reid added, “I’m on old trial lawyer. There’s always room to negotiate.”

(Negotiating with the Republican Senate leader?  WHY???? Other than to screw a Democrat who isn’t in the Obama crowd??)

Cornyn rips Reid on Blago calls (January 3)

Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee get into the act…

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UPDATE 1

Secretary of Senate rejects Burris, aide says

(CNN) — Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson has rejected Roland Burris’ appointment to the Senate, an aide to the secretary told CNN.

Erickson rejected Burris’ appointment because his certificate of appointment was missing the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, the aide said Monday.

Rule 2 of the Standing Rules of the Senate states that the secretary of state must sign the certificate of election along with the governor. (MORE)

It’s Time to Decide, Folks

~~A Guest Post by American Lassie

It’s time to decide, folks.

The debates are over and we’re coming down to the wire. For those who have been on the fence, it’s decision time. With just under two weeks to go we are facing the most important election of our lifetime. (Mine, anyway.) We will be deciding, by our votes, which way this country will go in the future. Will we remain true to the wishes of our Founding Fathers or will we take a decided turn to the far left that could take us to socialism, Marxism, or worse?

Many of us are still mourning the loss of our favorite candidate who had the nomination stolen from her. We’ve got to put that aside now and go on. For some it will be a tough decision to make but we must do it.

We have two candidates:

Candidate #1 is a man we know nothing about, who refuses to produce a legal birth certificate, hospital records, etc. to prove where he was born. He would rather tie us up in a law suit hoping to be elected before the documentation can be demanded by the court. A man who numbers among his mentors a known terrorist (Bill Ayers), a known communist (Frank Davis) and who is part of a group (although he denies it) that is now being investigated for voter fraud (ACORN). A case that has now been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, because the Ohio Secretary of State (Jennifer Brunner) is so determined to let the fraudulent registrations by ACORN stand. This candidate has a messianic hold on his followers that frightens me. In his follower’s eyes he can do no wrong. This in itself is scary, but when he vows to change our country and then the world it’s time to beware. What does his “change” mean? He campaigned in Kenya with his cousin Odinga under the banner of “change” and you know what happened there. Christians, men, women, and children alike were locked in a church where they had gone for sanctuary and then the church was burned to the ground with the people inside.

His background is so sketchy as to be almost invisible. He produces no college records, no past writings, no record of achievement in either the Illinois State Senate or the short time he has been in the U.S. Senate. Just voting “Present” does not tell us what he really stands for. He spent his formative years in another country (Indonesia). We do not know what demands of loyalty might be placed upon him from his relatives in Africa or his relatives in Indonesia. Our Founding Fathers tried to protect us in the Constitution from a situation such as this. Even back then, they realized that you can only have allegiance to one country if you desire to be our president. That country is the United States of America. As long as he refuses to produce a birth certificate I do not consider him a Natural Born Citizen, which is what the Constitution demands.

Candidate #2 is a man we know inside out. He is a war hero who has spent his entire adult life(since age 17) in the service of the United States. Besides his military service, which is an open book, he has an established record in the U.S. Senate that shows he is amenable to both sides of the aisle. His loyalty to America is unquestionable. His love of the Constitution is obvious and we know he will not try to change it. He has no ties to foreign countries that might sway his decisions.

For me, the choice was easy to make and I spend half my time relaying my opinion (whether it is wanted or not) to my family and friends – and to strangers when the opportunity arises.

This is a troubled time for the whole world, not just America. With the global economy in crisis, the war, and the need to keep an ongoing vigilance against terrorism, both domestic and foreign, our vote counts this year more than many people realize.

So folks, get out there and practice the three T’s – typing, telephoning, and talking.
And pray a lot.
God Bless.