Tribe is spot on January 2, 2009
Posted by deepblueillinois in Uncategorized.trackback
Because we are a nation of laws, the sequel-to-the-O.J.-car-chase scene that passes for Gov. Blagojevich’s appointment of former state attorney general Roland Burris to the vacant U.S. Senate seat has triggered considerable postulating on the constitutionality of withholding admission to The World’s Most Exclusive Club.
Many pundits and talking heads have pointed to the case involving the late U.S. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell as proof that the U.S. Senate has little choice but to seat Burris.
Better to ask a real constitutional authority like noted Harvard con law Prof. Laurence Tribe, who is spot on with his analysis as to why the U.S. Senate is within its rights not go through with it.
It’s good to know that Burris won’t even be the first would-be senator from Illinois to be excluded by the U.S. Senate. The precedents are numerous in favor of the Senate deciding whether to seat any Blago appointee.
Blagojevich has been so successful at making himself and his office look ridiculous that about a million people are now able to remember and maybe even spell his crazy name — that’s sort of like an accomplishment, right?