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Roland Burris tells Lynn Sweet: 'We are the senator'
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| Contributor | TX DEM |
| Last Edited | TX DEM Jan 03, 2009 09:26am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Chicago Sun-Times |
| News Date | Saturday, January 3, 2009 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Roland Burris, being Roland Burris, put it to me this way Friday when we talked: "We are the senator."
And we, that is he, the former Illinois attorney general, told me that he will try to avoid making a scene when he comes to the Capitol on Tuesday to claim the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Burris is arriving in town Monday night.
"There is no confrontation here, there is no antagonism here," Burris said in a phone interview from Chicago. "And so we are proceeding very diplomatically, and we are proceeding with all concern about not creating any type of circus that will entertain the media."
The new Senate will be sworn in Tuesday. Senate Democrats don't want to give Burris the oath of office because he was appointed by Gov. Blagojevich, who is facing federal public corruption charges for trying to sell the Obama seat in a variety of schemes.
Burris told me that he talked to Sen. Dick Durbin -- the assistant majority leader -- on Friday, and they will seek a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and others in the next week -- day uncertain -- "and then see what their positions are, and we will take it from there."
Pending final resolution, it's possible Burris will get some office space, a limited staff and maybe even be put on some kind of payroll. Though the senators may allow him on the floor, to hang around in the back, Burris could not vote or sit behind one of the desks in the Senate chamber.
Burris also revealed that Durbin advised him -- before it was offered -- not to take a Blagojevich appointment.
Durbin, said Burris, "said don't take the seat, he had said that, certainly, and I took that into consideration." Burris said a reason he accepted the offer from Blagojevich was "to take this issue off the plate of the people of Illinois, and they can go on with other problems."
He also ruled out a caretaker role; Burris said he would likely run in 2010 to keep the seat if his appointment sticks. |
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