Sue, sue, sue, looking out my back door

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: January 6, 2009

... A/K/A The Ballad of the U.S. Senate.

(My apologies to Creedence Clearwater Revival for the title of this post, but there just wasn’t anything more fitting.)

As expected, Roland Burris, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointee to succeed Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, was denied entry to that chamber as he arrived for the swearing-in ceremony this morning.

This came as no surprise to anyone involved.

What a bunch of drama.

This is looking more like the theater of the absurd than governance in action.

You might almost say it’s a circus.

I have to question Burris’s motives at this point. I know he’s established a stellar reputation throughout his time in public service in Illinois. He’s well respected by folks on both sides of the aisle.

But Burris knew full well he wouldn’t be allowed into the chamber. He went for the show of it anyway.

And once he was denied entry, he did what any other, tired, run-of-the-mill politician does when he’s disappointed.

He threatened a lawsuit.

From CNN:

Timothy W. Wright III, an attorney for Burris, said the rejection of Burris’ credentials was unlawful.

“Our credentials were rejected by the secretary of the Senate. We were not allowed to be placed in the record books. We were not allowed to proceed to the floor for purposes of taking oath, all of which we think was improperly done and it is against the law of this land,“ Wright said.

Burris said he was not seeking a confrontation and would consult with his attorneys to determine his next steps.

On Monday, he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer:

“We know that under Illinois law and constitutional law that the secretary of state can in no way veto legal action of the governor,“ Burris said. “So that signature is only perfunctory and ceremonial to put the seal on it for, you know, recording and filing purposes.“

Yeah. That’s not the case.

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of this country. It supersedes any and all state provisions. It gives the Senate final say over its membership in Article 1, Section 5: “Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.“

That’s Part 1.

Here’s Part 2: Rule II of the Standing Rules of the Senate states that the secretary of state must sign the certificate of election along with the governor.

In other words, the Constitution says the Senate can make its own rules regarding membership, and the Senate says that each member has to have a certificate of election signed by his state’s governor and secretary of state.

It is pretty simple to understand, even for a lifelong politician.

Roland Burris was appointed by the governor of Illinois. Yes, it was a legal appointment. But without the signature of the Illinois secretary of state, it is not a complete one.

His constant, unrelenting protestations to the contrary, without that signature, Burris is NOT the junior senator from Illinois.

In other obscure-rules-of-the-Senate-you’ve-never-heard-before news, more than two months after Election Day, Al Franken was finally certified the winner of Minnesota’s Senate race yesterday, bringing the Democrats’ total in the Senate to 59 (that’s the magic number of 60, if you count Joe Lieberman with them). But Franken wasn’t in the chamber this morning, either.

Republicans threaten to filibuster if Democrats try to seat Franken without the requisite paperwork—paperwork which must include, as we just discussed, the signature of the governor of Minnesota. And he isn’t keen on giving it until the lawsuits promised by defeated GOP incumbent Norm Coleman are settled.

Lawsuits.

A circus.

Come to think of it,CCR’s “Lookin’ out my back door” was a perfect headline for this post. See the eerie similarities between this great classic and the mess that is your government here.