Disgrace on the Left

Reporting today for the first day of the 111th Congress and his first day as a United States Senator, Roland Burris was denied entry into the Senate chambers: "I presented my credentials to the Secretary of the Senate and advised that my credentials were not in order and I would not be accepted and I would not be seated and I would not be permitted on the floor." Burris was nominated by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. Although Democratic leaders have promised to reject any candidate named by Blagojevich due to the controversies surrounding him, why those same people are so opposed to an individual as harmless as Burris is baffling.

There are numerous Democrats to blame for this debacle, including President-elect Obama. However, the largest finger should be pointed at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Aside from the fact that, by taking the reins of this situation, Reid has completely publicized this battle when we should be preparing for President-elect Obama's inauguration. On the other hand, for someone apparently so against any connections with Blagojevich, Reid could have fooled me. A spokesperson for Blagojevich has confirmed that Reid, who is obviously not from the State of Illinois, personally called the governor's campaign office in December of last year to discuss Reid's choices for the vacant Senate seat. Those candidates were Tammy Duckworth, the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, and Lisa Madigan, the Illinois Attorney General. At the same time, during that conversation, Reid also presented the names of individuals to which he objected: Rep. Daniel Davis; Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. and State Sen. Emil Jones. (It is extremely important to note that Davis; Jackson, Jr. and Jones are all African American, as is Burris.) Even with President-elect Obama's monumental election, Reid and his cohorts (See: Pelosi, Frank, Schumer, etc.) are ruining the Democratic Party.