Time On Their Hands

What’s wrong with me? Why am I not morally outraged at the idea that Roland Burris could be seated as a U.S. Senator from Illinois?

The way I understand it, the governor of Illinois tried to “sell” the seat vacated by President-elect Obama to the highest bidder, or so the accusation goes. Finally, the governor, Rod Blagojevich, appoints the state’s former attorney general, Roland Burris, to fill the seat. Burris has never been accused of involvement in the Blagojevich scandal, but because Blagojevich is the villain of the piece, his very appointment must be tainted.

The really fair way to solve this, of course, would be to hold a special election, but that takes time, and good heavens, a Republican might win. Barring that, the governor has the authority to make the appointment, and he made it; the person he chose is clearly qualified for the seat and isn’t accused of any wrongdoing himself. Why isn’t this the end of the story?

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wasn’t having any of this, and the opposing sides in the battle are waving copies of constitutions in each other’s faces. There’s room for negotiation, they say, but it could still end up in court. It seems to me that unless someone digs up some real dirt on Burris himself, then he should be allowed to take his seat. If he’s a bad guy, he can be kicked out of the Senate; if he performs poorly, the voters will have a future opportunity to replace him – maybe even with a Republican, for heaven’s sake.

Don’t all these magnificently principled people in Washington have a few more important things to worry about right now? Before they draw lines in the sand, shouldn’t they first be thinking about how to pull us out of the quicksand we’re all sinking into?

There, now I’ve said it.