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Rush Limbaugh today said that disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris had rolled president-elect Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., The Second. They have apparently won the fight, and Burris will be seated in the U.S. Senate. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said on the radio in Chicago that he would be signing the paperwork to seat Burris in Obama’s old Senate seat, shortly. Note to libertarians: Obama is weak. The Senate Democrats are weaker. We can stop them and their corrupt agenda. As they say on Capitol Hill, derisively, of a defeated opponent, Obama...

<p>Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said this morning he has been made "the fall guy" by the U.S. Senate, which he said is using him as an excuse to not seat Roland Burris.</p> <p>"They could have seated him without my signature; my signature is not required," he told WGN-AM 720's John Williams.</p>

A legal scholar and former member of the Federal Election Commission says the decision by the Democratic-controlled Senate to deny Roland Burris entry to the chamber today was an "arbitrary" move and a "gross abuse of the Constitution."

Could it be that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is a racist who is trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder? It certainly looks that way. Federal investigators caught Sen. Reid twisting Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's arm to try to stop him from naming Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. or Rep. Danny Davis, both of whom are black, as Mr. Obama's successor. Sen. Reid made it clear he would prefer Tammy Duckworth, the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs director, or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. His Madigan advocacy is fascinating because besides being the daughter of Illinois...

Senate Democrats plan to accept Roland Burris for President-elect Barack Obama's vacant seat, the Associated Press reports. After being rejected Tuesday when he tried to join the class of incoming senators, Burris is expected to meet with the Senate's top two Democrats -- Majority Leader Harry Reid and assistant leader Dick Durbin -- on Wednesday in the hopes of securing their support. The likelihood that Burris, a Democrat, will become the Senate's only black member after Obama's resignation from the seat, increased Tuesday when a key chairwoman got behind him, cracking what had been united public front by Senate Democrats...

Did Roland Burris's business partner, Fred Lebed, have anything to do with Patti Blagojevich landing a full-time job as development director of the Chicago Christian Industrial League? Lebed, who served on Gov. Rod Blagojevich's transition team, also serves on CCIL's Board of Directors. The question was raised on Sunday night by political pundit Bruce Dumont on his XM Satellite radio show "Beyond the Beltway." I was a guest, along with writer Salim Muwakkil and Judy Baar Topinka, the former state treasurer who ran against Blagojevich for governor. When Patti Blagojevich, for the time being, at least, the first lady...

Even before her voice was heard on covert recordings made by federal investigators, First Lady Patricia Blagojevich was neck-deep in the federal probe of her husband and his administration. Once a residential real estate broker on the North Side, Patricia Blagojevich left that career this year amid scrutiny from the Tribune and federal agents who have for a year been examining whether clients hired her to win favor from her husband's administration. But her decision to change careers didn't seem to slow the investigation, which sped up in recent weeks after federal agents tapped the Blagojevich's phones and caught the...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A top Republican in the Senate is turning up the pressure on Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid to be more transparent about his involvement in selecting a replacement for President-elect Barack Obama’s empty Senate seat. The process for replacing Obama took an unexpected turn when U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald revealed that Fitzgerald’s longstanding investigation of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich included an alleged plan to award an appointment to Obama’s seat to someone willing to reward Blagojevich with political favors in return. Against the wishes of Sen. Reid and the rest of the Senate Democratic Caucus, Blagojevich recently...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. Rod Blagojevich's official calendar shows he met with a top union official in his Chicago office the day before Barack Obama was elected president — just as federal prosecutors say the governor was scheming to trade Obama's Senate seat, possibly for a cushy union job.

The AP is reporting that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Rules Committee, says the Senate should seat former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris. Feinstein said late today that, while Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is tainted by corruption charges, he still has the right to appoint someone to President-elect Barack Obama's former seat. The Rules Committee which she chairs decides whether Burris is qualified to serve. Feinstein said that blocking Burris would have ramifications for other governors' appointments.

With Gov. Blagojevich facing impeachment, Mayor Daley is trying to engineer a political end-run around Springfield when it comes to Chicago's share of the $800 billion economic stimulus plan being crafted by President-elect Barack Obama. "Mayors are going directly to the federal government. They have to. We can't wait. You can't allow Springfield to take your money, hold the interest, then eventually give it to you in the middle of winter. You'll never get the job done in the middle of winter," Daley told reporters. "You just go straight to the federal government and say, 'We have all the construction...

The chairman of the Senate Rules Committee has parted with many of her Democratic colleagues and says that the Senate should seat former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said Tuesday that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, however tainted by corruption charges, has the right to appoint someone to President-elect Barack Obama's former seat. The Rules Committee decides whether Burris is qualified to serve.

Amid the controversy over whether he should become Illinois' next U.S. senator, Roland Burris has been described by friend and foe alike as an earnest public servant with a long history in state politics. A closer examination reveals a prototypical Illinois politician, who put a relative on the public payroll, steered legal business to political supporters and sought to trade on his ties when he became a lobbyist. While not in the core circle of power brokers and fundraisers who have dominated the state's pay-to-play culture, Burris has always hovered in the outer ring. His lobbying clients have gotten tastes...

I learned that the governor had chosen Roland Burris to fill the US Senate vacancy during my absence. The secretary of state cried foul and declined to transmit the appointment to the US Senate. Mister Burris has threatened to file a lawsuit compelling the recalcitrant secretary to comply with the gubernatorial order. Will the landmark US Supreme Court decision of Marbury versus Madison be superseded in textbooks and legal treatises by the Illinois Supreme Court decision of Burris versus White? If Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid denies Burris admission to the Senate chamber how long will it be until legal...

Judicial Watch claims today that they have documented proof that Barack Obama lied when he said he had no contacts with Rod Blagojevich. The letter they gained from a Freedom of Information query certainly does show that Obama acknowledged meeting with Blagojevich, but it falls far short of indicating any sort of discussion on replacing Obama in the Senate: Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the office of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich through the Freedom of Information Act related to Blagojevich’s contacts with President-elect Obama and...

Soon after his presidential election victory Barack Obama said the country was tired of arguing over whether we wanted big government or small government. He said the country wanted “smart government.” If Obama is able to articulate the dream of smart government, Rod Blagojevich dropping the F-bomb while trying to sell a Senate seat was able to articulate the nightmare of smart government. Blagojevich was smart enough to get elected and run a corrupt government for years before he was arrested. Obama is the voice of a benevolent big government; Blagojevich is the voice of a corrupt big government. The...

WASHINGTON – The House and Senate have convened for a new Congress that will immediately confront the country's struggling economy. ... The opening of the new Congress came on the same day that Senate officials denied a seat to Roland Burris because of a dispute over his appointment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY-uh-vich).

Judicial Watch: Blagojevich Contacts wth Obama, Biden, Transition Team Today, JudicialWatch.org posted a press release with documentation they obtained through a FOIA request related to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s contacts with Barak Hussein Obama and his transition team: Washington, DC — January 5, 2009 Includes December 3, 2008, Letter to “Rod” Signed by Obama Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the office of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich through the Freedom of Information Act related to Blagojevich’s contacts with President-elect Obama and his transition team. The documents...

WASHINGTON – Roland Burris announced Tuesday he was rejected for Barack Obama's Senate seat, in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session. Standing amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras in a cold and steady rain, Burris, 71, declared that he had been informed that "my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted." The former Illinois attorney general said he was "not seeking to have any type of confrontation" over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich....

Blago's Pick Says He Doesn't Want Confrontation, Will Consult With Lawyers...

WASHINGTON -- Roland Burris headed to Capitol Hill Tuesday to demand a seat in the 111th Congress, insisting that if he isn't allowed to take the oath of office as the next senator from Illinois, the Senate could have a lawsuit on its hands. Participating in the theatrics, Burris was greeted by Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer, a door-keeper and an official from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office before going to the appointment desk on the third floor and to the secretary of the Senate. There, his credentials were denied. Burris was appointed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who...

WASHINGTON – Roland Burris has arrived on Capitol Hill in a steady rainfall and a swarm of television cameras to claim his Senate seat. [snip] It still wasn't clear whether 71-year-old former Illinois attorney general would be allowed to take the oath of office for the seat ... [snip] Earlier Tuesday, Burris had been in tense negotiations with Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer. Once inside the Capitol, he was taken to the secretary of the Senate's office for further discussions.

By now, just about everyone knows that IL Governor Rod Blagojevich has reportedly been caught on tape as saying that “Obama's Senate seat was “*expletive deleted* valuable” and that “it wasn't something to be given away for free”. The scenario is that ‘Blago’ - as he is called by both supporters and opponents - was being taped by the Feds as part of another investigation. And, if true, just about everyone concluded, among other descriptors, ‘how stupid’ ‘Blago’ must be. But now, ‘Blago’ has shown he can also be ‘politically clever’. Rather than wait to see what the Feds will...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Roland Burris said Wednesday he should be able to join the Senate "very shortly," after talking to newly supportive Democratic leaders and working on lingering legal obstacles. Talking to reporters on the second day of a Washington power odyssey that would intimidate many, the 71-year-old Burris declared himself happy and said he was pleased with his meeting with Sens. Harry Reid and Dick Durbin. "My whole interest in this experience is to be prepared" to lead Illinois, Burris said, "and very shortly I will have the opportunity to do that." Burris' legal issues include a pending decision...

Breaking Now...Reporter outside Harry Reids office reports a meeting is underway...to seat Burris.

John Cornyn, the newly minted leader of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has kicked off his tenure by diving directly into the Blagojevich scandal. After Harry Reid admitted on Meet the Press that he had conversations with the Illinois governor on the replacement for Barack Obama, Cornyn wants Reid to authorize the release of the recording of any communications between Reid and Blagojevich. Fox and Friends debates this today:

Under pressure from African-Americans in the House, Democratic leaders appear to be backing down from their vow to bar Roland Burris from the Senate under any circumstance. When scandal-tarred Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich named Burris to Barack Obama’s Senate seat last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) issued a statement in which he said that Burris “will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.” But as Burris made his way from Chicago to Washington on Monday, Reid took a softer line. “Of course, Roland Burris has not been certified by the state of Illinois,” he said. “When that takes...

Politics: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich may have played the race card in a cynical attempt to save his political skin, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and others are no less cynical or offensive in their actions.The controversy over Blago's appointment of renowned empty suit and former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat could have been avoided had Illinois Democrats obeyed their initial impulse and passed legislation calling for a special election. Illinois' senior senator, Dick Durbin, among others, was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the idea, but now is among those...

Today, JudicialWatch.org posted a press release with documentation they obtained through a FOIA request related to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s contacts with Barak Hussein Obama and his transition team: Washington, DC — January 5, 2009 Includes December 3, 2008, Letter to “Rod” Signed by Obama Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the office of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich through the Freedom of Information Act related to Blagojevich’s contacts with President-elect Obama and his transition team. The documents include a December 3, 2008, letter from Barack Obama...

The "Race Leaders" discussing the Burris rejection.

Come on, you have to be kidding me. Yeah ... I've heard all of this nonsense over the weekend about the Democrats blocking the door to the U.S. Senate to prevent Roland Burris from being seated. Yeah ... Sure. So what if Governor Blago appointed Burris while he was under a rather dense cloud of suspicion. Are you forgetting the most important point here? Burris, in case you haven't noticed, is black. When he is seated he will be the only black in the Senate. Now you tell me that the Democrats are going to prevent the swearing-in of the...

CHICAGO – Illinois' lieutenant governor says his state has become an "international laughing stock" and he wants to form a panel to find ways to clean up corruption. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn told WLS radio Monday that the public's highest priority should be urging scandal-tainted Gov. Rod Blagojevich (bluh-GOY'-uh-vitch) to resign.

Bennett: Send Moseley Braun to Senate, Not Burris @ 5:02 pm by Hill Staff Sen. Robert Bennett (Utah), the top Republican on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, suggested Tuesday that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) should instead appoint former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D) to the upper chamber instead of Roland Burris. "She's non-controversial, she has been here, she's an African-American, she clearly has not been picked by the governor, and she would be appointed by virtue of her past history," said Bennett, whose committee may soon consider Burris's Senate appointment. "Everyone would accept her," Bennett said. "If she...

Edward McClelland: Burris hasn't been accused of violating any standard of ethical conduct. It's guilt by association with Blagojevich. If Blagojevich is smart, he'll disappear and let this become about Roland Burris, a 71-year-old with an honest record as a public servant, the son of a railroad worker who grew up in a small town in central Illinois, and got started in politics by integrating the public pool. It's tough to be against a senator like that.

At the church sendoff, Burris took the stage to a crescendo of drums, organ music and applause as hundreds of supporters cheered his appointment. "We are hoping and praying that they will not be able to deny what the Lord has ordained," Burris said. "I am not hesitating. I am now the junior Senator from the state of Illinois. Some people may want to question that and that is their prerogative." Opponents say Burris' appointment is tainted because it was made by Blagojevich, who is accused by federal authorities of offering to sell the vacancy to the highest bidder. Burris,...

The last time I checked, we had a Constitution that governed the election and appointment of Senators. America’s governors should demand that Harry Reid comply with it. When it comes to Governor Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to the Senate, the Constitution requires Reid to comply with that decision and seat Burris. Frankly, anything short of honoring Illinois’s decision should create a constitutional crisis. The only entities that may be able stop Blagojevich are in Illinois. It goes without saying that Blagojevich is a despicable man. The voters of Illinois, however, despite evidence of his questionable character, reelected him...

Democrats left in Blago's hands the very power to appoint a US senator at the root of his most spectacularly corrupt schemes........ Democrats ranted about Blagojevich's moral turpitude....letting him keep a loaded political gun and simply trusted that their admonitions would prevent him from pointing it at anyone. Sure enough, the delightfully shameless governor strode into a press conference, waved the gun around and then blasted away - and Democrats have no one but themselves to blame.

A report at the link below states that: Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid (pictured) made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones. Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis and Emil Jones are all three black. Reid’s choices are Lisa Madigan who is white and Tammy Duckworth is Vietnamese. Harry Reid says he is concerned about the ability of the appointee to win election in 2010. However, there will always be...

Reporting from Chicago -- Federal prosecutors have been granted an extra three months to seek an indictment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. U.S. Chief District Court Judge James Holderman entered an order allowing the indictment deadline to be extended from Jan. 7 to April 7, according to the court docket in the Blagojevich case. Prosecutors had sought the extension last week, citing the complexity of their investigation of pay-to-play politics in the Blagojevich administration. The government charged Blagojevich in a criminal complaint, citing the need for speed to keep him from allegedly making a deal to sell his appointment to...

CHICAGO — Even as Senate leaders continued to challenge his appointment to the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, Roland W. Burris headed to Washington on Monday, setting the stage for a public showdown on Capitol Hill. In a news conference at Midway airport in Chicago before his scheduled 2:20 p.m. flight to Baltimore, a defiant Mr. Burris told reporters that he was not concerned about the fact that the Illinois secretary of state, Jesse White, has rejected the paperwork that would officially send Mr. Burris to the Senate. “Why don’t you all understand that what has been done here...

First, Obama's fellow Daley machine hack, Rod Blagojevich, tried to sell Obama's Senate seat. Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, discussed the future of the Senate seat with Blagojevich. Obama has since "cleared himself" of any wrongdoing. Then, Obama's advisor, Caroline Kennedy, tried to steal a Senate seat in New York, citing royal prerogative. Now, Obama's Commerce Secretary nominee, Bill Richardson, has withdrawn his nomination, amid speculation that he will be indicted for corruption. All this, and Obama hasn't even been sworn in!

Reid claims that there is legal authority going back for generations to exclude Blago's Boy Burris. Yet the only specifics he gives are these: Under the Constitution, Reid said, "We determine who sits in the Senate. And the House (of Representatives) determines who sits in the House. Yet ... Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.

Senate Democratic leaders warned Roland Burris, the person Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich named to fill the senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, that “he will rue the day if he tries to set foot on the senate floor.” “He’s out of his fricking mind if he thinks a ticket punched by a corrupt governor will get him in here,” said an incensed Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev). “I’ve instructed the doorkeepers to use whatever force is required to block him from coming in. If need be, the Capitol Police will kick his ass if that’s what it takes to...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Sunday that "legal authority" exists under the Constitution to bar embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, but added there is also room to negotiate. Under the Constitution, Reid said, "We determine who sits in the Senate. And the House (of Representatives) determines who sits in the House. So there's clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do. This goes back for generations." Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Reid said he plans to meet on Wednesday with Blagojevich's choice for the...

As noxious as I may find the politics of a man like Roland Burris, I think Harry Reid's are worse. In the wake of the election of our first African-American president, Harry Reid is boldly pushing the US Senate into the 1850's like only a liberal Democrat can. NFL teams use throwback jerseys to keep things old school. Harry Reid, sans throwback jersey, is floating the compromise idea that Roland Burris, soon to replace Obama as the only sitting African-American senator, be allowed office space and "maybe some kind of salary," but no Senate Desk in the chamber or ability...

Reid cites "legal authority" to bar Illinois pick 19 mins ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Sunday that "legal authority" exists under the U.S. Constitution to bar embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, but said there is also room to negotiate. Under the Constitution, Reid said, "We determine who sits in the Senate. And the House (of Representatives) determines who sits in the House. So there's clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do. This goes back for generations."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the chamber has the authority to block the appointment of Roland Burris but left open the possibility that he could still be seated. "There is clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do," Mr. Reid said in an interview aired on NBC News's "Meet the Press" Sunday. But he later added: "There's always room to negotiate." Because of the federal corruption charges hanging over Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Mr. Reid said any appointment Mr. Blagojevich makes is "tainted." Mr. Blagojevich announced the appointment of Mr. Burris, 71 years old,...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in early December to discuss the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, his spokesman said.

The governor was arrested by the FBI and faces impeachment proceedings, his appointee to a U.S. Senate seat is in limbo and the state treasury is in shambles—a combination that has turned Illinois into a national punch line. But who's laughing around here? The state owes billions of dollars to day-care providers, hospitals and physicians treating the poor. Lawmakers have shelved ambitious agendas, such as fixing health care and reforming the state's method of financing public schools. The tortuous saga of Gov. Rod Blagojevich has put Illinois government on hold. "Absolutely, we're in a mess," state Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring...

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointment of Roland Burris to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama - the same seat Blagojevich stands accused of attempting to sell - is the political play of the season. Maybe it won't save the governor's skin. But it does completely change the game. ...By naming the state's former attorney general and comptroller - a respected politician who ran against Blagojevich for governor in 2002 - Blagojevich has taken away some of the ammunition from critics who want him impeached. And as for the issue of whether his pick for Senate should stick...