Reid’s Kabuki Dance
I’ve long argued that Reid and Co. don’t really want to “win” the fight against Roland Burris, not so much because of the phony racism argument as because he’s really the best Democrats have to hope for, as long as they don’t take the heat for having been seen as supporting any nomination by Rod Blagojevich. Today I heard Rush Limbaugh argue the opposite theory, namely that they really do want to keep Burris out, they just want to make it look like they tried to work with him. If Rush is right (in the sense of “correct”), Secretary of State Jesse White’s refusal to certify Burris may be the fig leaf the U.S. Senate needs to say that maybe Burris wasn’t really “appointed” after all. It’s a weak argument, but not nearly as ludicrous as Reid’s earlier claim that the Senate can do as it damned well pleases.
In short, it seems like we can all be sure we’re watching professional wrestling, we just can’t agree on which side has been preordained to “win.” Or perhaps I err. Does anyone think this whole fight is anything but a farce?
January 7th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
I suspect that it is at some level but I also suspect genuine animosity between the Daley-Madigan faction and the Blagojevich faction, irrespective of the scandals, and Reid positioning himself on the Daley-Madigan side if for no other reason than that he needs money for what is predicted to be a tough reelection campaign for him in 2010 and the Daleys certainly have deep pockets.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I’m sure that as soon as Burris agrees to use the back door, bring a bag lunch, and use the restroom downstairs he will be “accepted”.