Let Burris In
By Peter Andrew ConservativeAmerican.org
I have an unusual take on the fact embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has appointed Roland Burris to fill the US Senate Seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama. I say let Burris fill the seat.
I met Roland Burris back when I was a reporter in that state and he was Illinois Comptroller. He then became Illinois Attorney General. He was the first black (he actually is black, unlike Obama) to hold a state office in Illinois. Yes, of course, he is a liberal democrat. No, I don’t want anymore liberal democrats in the US Senate. But look at the facts a bit with me.
- Blago is in big trouble for trying to sell the senate seat. That’s Blago’s problem, not Burris’s.
- Illinois is overwhelmingly a liberal democrat state and the chances are that whomever filled the seat vacated by Obama would be a liberal democrat.
- Yes, we could have (and still might have) a special election to fill the seat. Politicians are promising to fight Blago’s appointment every step of the way. They are fighting because they want to get rid of Blago, not because of who Roland Burris is. If we have a special election, the republicans can put up a moderate and try to win the seat. Chances of winning? Slim to none. Even if republicans did win the seat, they would not do so with anyone close to a conservative American. It would be a McCain centrist and I have had enough of them. A special election may clean up the process a bit, but it won’t do anything at all to help our side. Are the republicans in Illinois supposed to say to voters they should pick a republican because the democrats are so corrupt? The last republican governor of Illinois remains in prison for his corruption. A special election would do nothing for us.
- The governor does get to appoint the person and he has not been convicted of anything yet.
- Politically, the democrats probably were going to appoint a black liberal democrat to this seat anyway.
- Who were the choices that were not part of the scandal surrounding the sale of the senate seat? Anyone? Hello?
- From what I know of Roland Burris, he is a decent and good man. I was impressed when I met him. I do not agree with his political positions and will not be a supporter of his liberal positions in the US Senate. However, with so many politicians in Illinois being corrupt, I think Burris might be a good choice. He may be as crooked as the rest of them, but there are no accusations against him.
So why waste time, money and political pressure trying to prevent this guy from taking the seat? It’s either him or another Roland Burris. It doesn’t really matter. Let the guy have the senate seat. Prosecute Blago and put him in jail next to George Ryan. Let’s move on.
