Harry Reid, Furiously Trying to Look Smart and Relevant
This is Harry Reid trying desperately not to look weak and clueless:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Sunday that “legal authority” exists under the Constitution to bar embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s pick to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat, but added there is also room to negotiate.
Under the Constitution, Reid said, “We determine who sits in the Senate. And the House (of Representatives) determines who sits in the House. So there’s clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do. This goes back for generations.”
He’d be right if not for that pesky Supreme Court decision that said, specifically, that the Senate can’t do “whatever we want to do”. I wouldn’t expect him to know about that, though. I mean, it’s not like the Supreme Court is just a short walk away or anything.
How did we put this guy in charge of the Senate? If brains were dynamite, the poor guy wouldn’t be able to blow his nose.
And here is Harry Reid fibbing through his teeth.
The Senate’s top Democrat would not rule out Sunday the possibility of seating Roland Burris, saying he will meet with Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich’s choice to succeed President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday while insisting the Senate had the constitutional right to reject him over the scandal surrounding Mr. Blagojevich.
…
“There is always room to negotiate,” the Nevada senator said. While “it’s going to be very difficult for that to occur, I have learned, being a senator for the time I have, that anything can happen.”
“Always room”, is there? Apparently now, that he’s realized that he’s starting to look uncomfortably like George Wallace and his hypocrisy on race is spilling out all over the MSM, there’s wiggle room. Not all that long ago, there wasn’t.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Harry Reid to Illinois Lt. Governor: Do My Bidding or Face My Wrath!
- If You’re Feeling Good, Don’t Talk to Harry Reid
- Messsage to All Who Want to Chair the RNC: Promise Us the Head of Harry Reid
Category: Our New Democratic Overlords
That's an interesting interpretation of the Constitution. I'm pretty sure that somewhere in there it says the citizens determine who sits in both houses….
Interesting charade. Burris is not qualified because he lacks the signature from the Illinois Secretary of State, so Reid is justified in denying him a seat. Burris obviously knows that. The Illinois SOS has said he will sign if the court requires him to do so, so Burris needs to go to the court and clear up the matter first, then Reid has nothing to fall back on. My guess is that this is what happens next.
So in the end, Reid gets to look tough because he refused to seat Burris, and eventually, Burris will get seated with little fanfare. That's my guess.
Of course, there may be other wild cards out there that will change the whole picture…!! Who knows.