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Burris continues push for Senate seat
Blocked from claiming a Senate seat, a man who once said his success in politics was the result of "divine intervention" stood outside the Capitol Tuesday and declared: "Members of the media, my name is Roland Burris, the junior senator from the state of Illinois."
- By Perry Bacon Jr., Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
- Published: 23:38 January 7, 2009
Washington: Blocked from claiming a Senate seat, a man who once said his success in politics was the result of "divine intervention" stood outside the Capitol Tuesday and declared: "Members of the media, my name is Roland Burris, the junior senator from the state of Illinois."
The 71-year-old former state attorney general had pressed his case over the objections of Senate Democrats and the man he would replace, President-elect Barack Obama, but instead found himself conducting a news conference on the lawn outside the Capitol just minutes before new senators were sworn in.
The man who has already had his own mausoleum constructed in Illinois showed no signs of backing down.
"He thinks he's got a shot, and he's an ambitious guy with a large ego," said Don Rose, a political consultant in Chicago who has known Burris since the 1960s. "I'm not sure that separates him from anybody in the Senate...He's paid a lot of dues, and he may feel he's paid his dues."
Mulling over options
Burris's single-minded push may yet succeed. Senate Democrats, once sharp-ly opposed to allowing Burris to be seated because he was appointed by embattled Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, are now considering allowing him serve as a way to end a confrontation that could drag on for weeks and distract from what they hope will be an end to a decade of gridlock on Capitol Hill.
One idea being considered, Democratic officials said, is allowing Burris to be seated if he agrees not to run for election in 2010, allowing the party to recruit another candidate to defend the seat.
Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid and Majority Whip Dick Durbin were scheduled to meet with Burris later yesterday on Capitol Hill, and the two leaders are undoubtedly eager to defuse a situation in which their resistance to the appointment could alienate black voters.
The Congressional Black Caucus, meanwhile, will hold internal discussions about whether it should put its weight behind Burris' bid to be seated.
Two of the most prominent African Americans in the House - Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr., who had aspired to the Senate seat, and Majority Whip James Clyburn - both said Tuesday that they think the law stands behind Burris.
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