Ugly stuff, indeed. I'm particularly interested to know what Rep. Rush thought he had to gain from going to the microphone today.

"hang or lynch?"

Is this one of those times when we can use 'race-baiting' unironically?

so... After 2 years of caving to Republicans on everything, he suddenly discovered he has a spine and a soul, just in time to prevent a black man from becoming Senator?

HA HA HA, I bet that one goes over REAL well...

Pundits are saying that Burris is a good man, with an honorable record.

Not after accepting this appointment!

Blago really is a despicable piece of shit, not that Reid is any better.

Incidentally, Obama released a statement calling it disappointing or something like that.

Any party with so little self-respect as to put Joe Lieberman in charge of an important committee after what he's done has little cause to object to Blago's appointment, particularly when it's only for two years.

Lovely theater and much more palatable than that Gaza nastiness.

And for once I'm with Soullite; where's Reid been for the last 2 yrs?

This is one of the most brilliant moves on the part of a politician I have seen in recent times. Blago has learned from Clinton that in the midst of scandal, you must act as though all is normal, and intone that you are going about the business of the American people and just doing your job. The refusal to act like you are guilty of anything at all could be considered the mark of a sociopath -- but it's going to work, just like it did for Clinton! Wait and see. The race angle, too, was not unknown to Clinton, who used African Americans cynically, surrounding himself with them after the scandal (Jesse Jackson, the dreadful Vernon Jordan, among others) using them as human shields. Blago is doing this as well,.

Anybody Rod Blagojevich came up with would be preferable to somebody Reid approved of.

Given his disgraceful record, Reid is not in the moral position to judge with:

"Reid pronounced the appointment "unacceptable," and said Burris wouldn't be seated in the Senate."

I mean who hell does Reid think he is? He needs to stick with things understands...like wiping Republican butt holes after they've finished in the stall.

Reid, America's biggest loser.

Do we really think Reid is going to pull the plug on a reliable democratic vote when the new congress starts? What is the downside? Lots of Illinoisans are annoyed with the democrats? The Senate democrats are vaguely associated with a scumbag state politico? There's nothing new about it, nor has it really hurt politicians in the past.

And Jesse White's statements that he'll refuse to certify are nonsense. The process isn't "governor says he'd really like someone and then the secretary of state decides whether he likes the guy enough and then certifies him." Heck, NPR even interviewed Thompson (our last at least vaguely honest governor) and seemed surprised when he stated the obvious- the secretary of state has no discretion whatsoever. State politicians on local news programs are being put on the spot and even the most craven are grudgingly admitting that the appointment is permissible.

Of course, there's ugliness on both sides. The committee for impeachment has threatened to haul Burris in front of it, which is not pretty ridiculous and brazen attempts at intimidation. Almost as ludicrous as the AG's attempts to have the governor pronounced unfit for office.

Anyway, the only group that has any real power to stop this is the US Senate. Pro, Reid gets a lock dem vote on really important legislation next year. Con, he gets some brownie points and maybe a very small transitive uptick in congress's perennially awful approval ratings, at least until everyone fixes on the outrage of the next week.

Considering there have been no allegations of misconduct whatsoever regarding Burris, it seems to me the logical thing is to ignore the pathetic scheming of a governor almost certainly about to be ousted, and just move on with Burris.

Blagojevich represents everything that is crooked politics... and he doesn't show even a hint of remorse

Please, please, please, progs, stop your lynching of Roland Burris. And keep Rbt Byrd away from that fine man.

No, Blago doesn't represent all thats crooked in politics. He only represents the sort of personal corruption involved in feathering one's own next.

Reid is far more corrupt. He may not take bribes, but he lies the American people about where he stands and hides behind Joe Lieberman and Senate filibusters to pretend that he 'had no choice'. That's what's causes the serious damage to our country, the fact that we only really have one party.

All governments have had to deal with men like blago, it's the Reids, the Bayhs and the Emmanuels of the country that have put is in the mess we are in.

Just curious, Soullite. Since the election, how as Obama differentiated himself from any of the last three you mention? His stances on FISA, Iraq and Warren all seem to be one-party-friendly to me.

He doesn't have a government position, primarily. The time to judge him will come soon enough, and there are plenty of bad signs, but as of yet there's nothing to really judge him on.

He may be a corrupt, lying plutocrat like his nominations indicate. He may believe he's strong enough to temper them to do his bidding. He may be attempting to remove rivals from the senate. He may be a naive fool who doesn't know who these people really are. He may have been taken in by their BS as so many of us were at one time. He may honestly be a conservative Democrat and as such can not be trusted.

The point is, he doesn't have a long enough record to tell yet. He hasn't had the opportunity for us to find out his real measure as a President. I am deeply skeptical that he will rise above the BS of the last month, but anything is possible. As a practical matter, pressuring him now is a good thing. But castigating him as a traitor before he's even signed a law is a bit reactionary, even for me.

Well put. I appreciate your honesty.

Please, please, please, progs, stop your lynching of Roland Burris. And keep Rbt Byrd away from that fine man.

When Robert Byrd dies, what will right wing trolls do to deflect attention away from the fact that the GOP is the undisputed party of choice for racists across the country?