Dems: We won't seat Blago pick

From NBC's Carrie Dann Senate Democratic Leadership just issued this statement saying that Blagojevich's appointment of Roland Burris "will ultimately not stand."  In the sternly-worded response to the governor's surprise move today, Majority Leader Harry Reid et al. write that Burris -- regardless of his own record -- would be "plagued by questions of impropriety."  "Under these circumstances," the statement continues, "anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus." Here's the full statement: "It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic Senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety. We say this without prejudice toward Roland Burris's ability, and we ... (link)