Let me get this straight. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, though he had no legal right to, rejected Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's choice for the U.S. Senate, Roland Burris, who was selected so that he could fill out the remaining two years of Barack Obama's Senate Term. Now, after an outcry from all directions, suddenly Reid has changed his mind.
Is this a power struggle, or what?
Fact is, Blagojevich is still the Governor, even though he shouldn't be, so if he is supposed to be appointing the Senator, then the pick is legal, and Reid has nothing to stand on.
But here's a third kicker.
Perhaps both the liberal Dems and their attempt to stop Blagojevich's choice, and the conservative pundits who are crying that Burris is a legal pick, are both wrong.
The United States Constitution (You know, that document that politicians seem to never follow?), specifically the Seventeenth Amendment, mandates that:
"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years. . .When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct."
What this is saying is that every six years, the people of a State get to choose a new senator. Before the 17th Amendment Senators were elected by the state legislatures, rather than the people, and the whole point of the 17th Amendment was to place the appointment of Senators into the hands of the people. Now, note that it says when there is a vacancy, an election must follow. In other words, the appointment by Blagojevich is unconstitutional. The next Senator of Illinois (and Hillary's seat in New York, as well) must be chosen by a special election by the people (that is if they were to be Constitutional).
Fat chance, though. Since when does the government follow the U.S. Constitution?
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