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Burris and Blago: What Happens Now?
Firedoglake — ... up in Washington, and his appointment is referred to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which conducts an investigation of his selection by the governor to determine whether Burris should be seated. The matter ends up in Illinois and federal courts as Burris tries to force the Senate to seat him. There are differing opinions as to whether the Senate can refuse to seat him.  Jack Balkin thinks they can, but Scott Lemieux is not so sure.  Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSblog also weighs in. Harry Reid has sworn to use his mastery of ...

Gearing up for a Fight over Blago’s Appointee
PoliBlog: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts — ... that that will be the outcome in the Illinois legislature: the safest route may be for the Senate to wait to see whether Blagojevich is impeached and then replaced by Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn — who could then make his own appointment to Obama’s seat. The Senate then would simply choose between two people with competing claims for the post, something it has done in the distant past. Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSBlog looks into the question: Must Senate seat Burris?

New Year's Hoglets
Newshoggers.com — ... at the latest in the ongoing Blagojevich debacle through the lens of the newly appointed Roland Burris and sees a Democratic party in need of some leadership. And she's not talking about the worse than useless Harry Reid. She's right that after the non-existent rebuke to the traitorous Lieberman, any arguments against seating Burris ring very hollow. ...

More Reading on Burris, and Another Attempt at Legal Analysis
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right — ... have been received with some (warranted) skepticism, let me first point you toward a series of arguments made on either side of the Roland Burris issue by people more qualified to tackle this stuff than I am, and then try and advance a somewhat more sophisticated and legally sound argument. Firstly, some smart folks arguing that the Senate probably does have the right to exclude Burris: Akhil Reed Amar and Josh Chafetz, Slate Lyle Dennison, SCOTUSBlog Jack Balkin, Balkinization And here are some other smart folks arguing ...

links for 2009-01-02
FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog — ... (tags: billclinton caroline_kennedy david_paterson) Analysis: Must Senate seat Burris? Twice in recent days, the Democrats in the U.S. Senate have said, with unqualified confidence, that they have the power to refuse to ...

What, Oh What Is To Be Done About Burris?
Firedoglake — ... The Senate leadership is on questionable legal ground here--a fix that is in part its own making, because Harry Reid resisted the idea of a special election to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat. As it stands, Blagojevich is still the Governor of Illinois, and Burris meets the constitutional requirements for being a Senator: He is over 30 years old, has been a citizen for at least nine years and is a resident of the state that he would represent. The most relevant legal precedent would suggest that Congress does not have the power to add any other requirements. ...

Jane Hamsher: Reid, Punk'd By Blago Over Burris, Rejects The Rule Of Law
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... of the power to make the Senate appointment, Reid didn't want to risk losing the seat in a special election and wrote a letter in opposition, urging Blagojevich to step down instead. We all know how that worked out. Then fifty members of the Democratic Caucus signed a letter saying they would oppose any Blagojevich appointment from being seated -- without due consideration as to whether the Senate had the right to do so. Although there is considerable disagreement on that front, it is not at all certain that they can. Now Illinois ...

Reid, Punk’d By Blago Over Burris, Rejects The Rule Of Law
Firedoglake — ... of the power to make the Senate appointment, Reid didn't want to risk losing the seat in a special election and wrote a letter in opposition, urging Blagojevich to step down instead. We all know how that worked out. Then fifty members of the Democratic Caucus signed a letter saying they would oppose any Blagojevich appointment from being seated -- without due consideration as to whether the Senate had the right to do so. Although there is considerable disagreement on that front, it is not at all certain that they can. Now Illinois Secretary of ...