(Los Angeles) The Democrats were still talking about Roland Burris’ case yesterday, the man who was chosen by the governor of Illinois to be in charge of Barack Obama’s former seat at the Senate. People usually speak about him as a “deathly dull” person, and his taking the oath to be a senator does not really awaken the media. However, this Vaudeville comedy, which is being played out in Washington this week, is very interesting on a journalistic level.
Yesterday, the Associated Press declared that the Democrats had accepted to offer Mr. Burris the seat, but the Democratic leader of the senate, Harry Reid, rejected this piece of information.
“The entire Senate will have to act on this matter,” declared Mr. Reid, suggesting that the upper chamber would have to vote on this issue after Mr. Burris took oath on Thursday in front of the Parliament of Illinois, where a dismissal procedure was issued against Governor Blagojevich.
“Mr Burris is a candid and prepossessing person. He has a fine presence,” added Mr. Reid, which shows that he doesn’t totally reject the idea of having Mr. Burris as a senator.
Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama, supported Mr. Burris. “This case is for the Senate,” he said. “I obviously know Roland Burris since we are from the same state. He’s a good representative of the people and in the case he is accepted, I would work with him and the other senators to make sure the people are well-represented.”
On Thursday, the first day of the parliamentary session, Mr. Burris arrived at the Capitol surrounded by a horde of journalists and came out of the building half an hour later along with the other senators of the 111th Congress, without having been sworn.
Roland Burris was chosen by Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois who was accused of cashing in on Barack Obama’s vacant seat. Mr. Blagojevich soon could be found incapable of governing the state of Illinois. However, in the meantime, he still holds his position and the decision to choose the forthcoming senator falls on him.
According to Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law faculty at the University of California based in Irvine, Mr Burris’s nomination is legal. “Whether you like it or not, Governor Blagojevich has the authority to nominate the next senator. The latter should be allowed to occupy his seat without any opposition from anyone.”
A Controversial Past
Roland Burris, aged 71, is not used to celebrity-status and is not a neophyte in politics either. As a former minister of justice in Illinois, he is depicted as uncharismatic man, who widely stayed away from the major discussions relating to the state.
“Mr. Burris never really asserted himself,” Kent Redfield, professor of political sciences at the University of Illinois, confided to USA Today. “Burris is not a bad guy. To be honest, most of the population in Illinois doesn’t even know him.”
Year after year, several scandals have damaged his reputation. Mr. Burris has been accused of assigning lucrative contracts to political donors throughout his entire mandate. He has also allocated more than $127,000 to Governor Blagojevich since the latter was elected as the head of the state, allowing some suspicion of favoritism to persist.
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