The Song of Roland Gets Sweeter

[howeird]

According to the Boston Globe, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled my reading of the Illinois Constitution was correct, and Roland Burris did not need his state's Secretary of State to sign anything for him to be legally appointed to the Senate. To make things even more interesting, the IL SoS went ahead and signed a letter affirming the appointment.

The Senate has no right to make up their own rules about who may or may not be a Senator. While the Senate is a Federal body, the elections and appointments to the Senate are strictly the right of the individual states. The only qualifications the Senate is allowed to bar a person for are not meeting the very short list in the US Constitution:

1. At least 25 years old
2. A Citizen of the United States for at least seven years
3. At the time of election, must be a legal resident of the state in which he has been chosen

That's the list. A sitting Senator may be expelled, but it takes a 2/3 majority vote to do so.

Comments

[howeird]

You might want to find a dictionary of political terms. The only official in the United States who can be impeached is the President. It means The House of Representatives has decided the President may have committed a serious crime, and they have voted to have the Senate hold a trial to see if they think the President is guilty.

Governor Blagojevich has been indicted. Indicted only means charges have been filed. He has not had his day in court, he has not been convicted of anything, he is still Governor, and he still can legally do anything Illinois governors are allowed to do. And he is still presumed innocent.

Looking at the charges, they are pretty flimsy. And they were filed by the FBI, after 5 years of investigating him for various other things. It smacks of Bush Republican politics - until Jan. 20, Bush still pulls the strings on what high-profile politicians the FBI files charges against.