"A Tale Of Two Would-Be Senators".
A Tale of Two Would-Be Senators
Roland Burris and Al Franken reveal a Democratic double-standard.
By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
Comparisons are revealing. Roland Burris began this week a man scorned. It didn't matter he holds the honor of being the first black man elected to Illinois statewide office. It didn't matter that he appears to have had no involvement with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Senate-seat salesmanship. It didn't matter that the Senate had no good legal reason not to seat him.
Mr. Burris was appointed amid scandal -- and nothing addles Washington's mind more completely. Especially a scandal of the humiliating, wiretapped kind that confirms to the public that politicians routinely engage in backroom deals. Mr. Blagojevich announced his Burris appointment just as the press was digging into who Team Obama had told Blago to appoint, and who Harry Reid had told him to oppose. The Democrats' collective response was to claim Blago was dead to them, and by extension so was his Senate pick.
Illinois's senior senator, Dick Durbin, was dispatched to explain the Senate's "constitutional" obligation to diss Mr. Burris. Harry Reid refused to lay eyes on him until after the Tuesday swearing-in ceremony.
When Mr. Burris arrived at the Capitol that day, he was met by the sergeant-in-arms, who escorted him in, and then out. He trudged off in the cold rain, an elderly, bespectacled gentleman, shunned by the nation's most exclusive club.
Al Franken began this week a man loved. It didn't matter he had produced material that ought to offend any liberal in good standing. It didn't matter that, under Minnesota law, he can't receive a certificate of election until Sen. Norm Coleman finishes his appeal, and so has no right to a seat.
Mr. Franken was also created out of scandal -- though, fortunately for him, the type that is today considered politics-as-usual. Mr. Franken has been manipulating the socks off the Minnesota system, turning what had been a 700-plus vote lead for Mr. Coleman into a 225-vote lead for himself. This was primarily accomplished by litigating back to life absentee votes that had been rejected on Election Day.
It was not so much a recount as a one-sided do-over. But since it took place behind the scenes, and since the comedian loosed the standard Democratic cry of "let every vote count," nobody got upset.
Minnesota's senior senator, Amy Klobuchar, started a campaign last week to seat Mr. Franken immediately, despite his lack of credentials. By the weekend, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer had chimed in that Mr. Franken had "won" and should assume his rightful place. Mr. Reid was all for it, right up to the point Mr. Burris started making trouble.
Put another way, Democrats were only too happy to install an unpleasant "comedian" with a dubious victory, while turning away a law-abiding Illinois official with a legal appointment. Scandal aside, Mr. Reid was focused on the political numbers. Confident he'd get some Democratic senator out of Illinois, he didn't mind turning Mr. Burris away. He's far less sure about Minnesota, and in a rush to legitimize Mr. Franken.
He might well have pulled it off, had he not been outfoxed by an even wilier fox than himself. Mr. Burris knows there is one thing his party fears even more than a scandal: the race card. What was supposed to be Mr. Reid's most triumphant day -- the swearing in of a big new majority -- was overrun by a TV loop of Mr. Burris's scripted walk away from the Senate, supplemented by Rep. Bobby Rush's pronouncement that the body was "the last bastion of plantation politics." With even Barack Obama telling him to cave, Mr. Reid did.
As a result, the comparisons between Illinois and Minnesota continue. To save face, Mr. Reid made his offer to seat Mr. Burris contingent upon a formal election certificate from the state of Illinois. Mr. Durbin, the legal scholar, was dispatched again, this time to pronounce that the requirement of an election certificate had been a Senate rule since 1884, and "We have never, ever waived the rule for any election or appointment."
This might not be such a huge deal for Mr. Burris, who has grounds to win a court case forcing Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to sign the certificate -- if Mr. White doesn't buckle to Democratic pressure first. But the edict has sure ruined Mr. Franken's day. Under Minnesota law, he can't get his fingers on a certificate of his own until Mr. Coleman has exhausted all his legal challenges. That might not be "never, ever," but could take months.
Speaking of "never, ever," those were also Mr. Reid's precise words recently on the possibility of Mr. Coleman returning to the Senate. The majority leader has been temporarily thwarted in his Franken ambitions, which means he's grumpy, which makes him dangerous. Be prepared for Democrats to spend the next weeks laying the groundwork to delegitimize Mr. Coleman's challenge, no matter what the results. After all, none of this is about the law. It's all about appearances.
Write to kim@wsj.com
Roland Burris and Al Franken reveal a Democratic double-standard.
By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
Comparisons are revealing. Roland Burris began this week a man scorned. It didn't matter he holds the honor of being the first black man elected to Illinois statewide office. It didn't matter that he appears to have had no involvement with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Senate-seat salesmanship. It didn't matter that the Senate had no good legal reason not to seat him.
Mr. Burris was appointed amid scandal -- and nothing addles Washington's mind more completely. Especially a scandal of the humiliating, wiretapped kind that confirms to the public that politicians routinely engage in backroom deals. Mr. Blagojevich announced his Burris appointment just as the press was digging into who Team Obama had told Blago to appoint, and who Harry Reid had told him to oppose. The Democrats' collective response was to claim Blago was dead to them, and by extension so was his Senate pick.
Illinois's senior senator, Dick Durbin, was dispatched to explain the Senate's "constitutional" obligation to diss Mr. Burris. Harry Reid refused to lay eyes on him until after the Tuesday swearing-in ceremony.
When Mr. Burris arrived at the Capitol that day, he was met by the sergeant-in-arms, who escorted him in, and then out. He trudged off in the cold rain, an elderly, bespectacled gentleman, shunned by the nation's most exclusive club.
Al Franken began this week a man loved. It didn't matter he had produced material that ought to offend any liberal in good standing. It didn't matter that, under Minnesota law, he can't receive a certificate of election until Sen. Norm Coleman finishes his appeal, and so has no right to a seat.
Mr. Franken was also created out of scandal -- though, fortunately for him, the type that is today considered politics-as-usual. Mr. Franken has been manipulating the socks off the Minnesota system, turning what had been a 700-plus vote lead for Mr. Coleman into a 225-vote lead for himself. This was primarily accomplished by litigating back to life absentee votes that had been rejected on Election Day.
It was not so much a recount as a one-sided do-over. But since it took place behind the scenes, and since the comedian loosed the standard Democratic cry of "let every vote count," nobody got upset.
Minnesota's senior senator, Amy Klobuchar, started a campaign last week to seat Mr. Franken immediately, despite his lack of credentials. By the weekend, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer had chimed in that Mr. Franken had "won" and should assume his rightful place. Mr. Reid was all for it, right up to the point Mr. Burris started making trouble.
Put another way, Democrats were only too happy to install an unpleasant "comedian" with a dubious victory, while turning away a law-abiding Illinois official with a legal appointment. Scandal aside, Mr. Reid was focused on the political numbers. Confident he'd get some Democratic senator out of Illinois, he didn't mind turning Mr. Burris away. He's far less sure about Minnesota, and in a rush to legitimize Mr. Franken.
He might well have pulled it off, had he not been outfoxed by an even wilier fox than himself. Mr. Burris knows there is one thing his party fears even more than a scandal: the race card. What was supposed to be Mr. Reid's most triumphant day -- the swearing in of a big new majority -- was overrun by a TV loop of Mr. Burris's scripted walk away from the Senate, supplemented by Rep. Bobby Rush's pronouncement that the body was "the last bastion of plantation politics." With even Barack Obama telling him to cave, Mr. Reid did.
As a result, the comparisons between Illinois and Minnesota continue. To save face, Mr. Reid made his offer to seat Mr. Burris contingent upon a formal election certificate from the state of Illinois. Mr. Durbin, the legal scholar, was dispatched again, this time to pronounce that the requirement of an election certificate had been a Senate rule since 1884, and "We have never, ever waived the rule for any election or appointment."
This might not be such a huge deal for Mr. Burris, who has grounds to win a court case forcing Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to sign the certificate -- if Mr. White doesn't buckle to Democratic pressure first. But the edict has sure ruined Mr. Franken's day. Under Minnesota law, he can't get his fingers on a certificate of his own until Mr. Coleman has exhausted all his legal challenges. That might not be "never, ever," but could take months.
Speaking of "never, ever," those were also Mr. Reid's precise words recently on the possibility of Mr. Coleman returning to the Senate. The majority leader has been temporarily thwarted in his Franken ambitions, which means he's grumpy, which makes him dangerous. Be prepared for Democrats to spend the next weeks laying the groundwork to delegitimize Mr. Coleman's challenge, no matter what the results. After all, none of this is about the law. It's all about appearances.
Write to kim@wsj.com
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