Blago impeached, Burris exposed

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Blago, in case you missed it. And what a worthy fellow he is.

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And let me repeat: There's no way the Senate should seat Roland Burris -- even if Obama wants him seated. It looked like it was inevitable, what with Reid et al. ingloriously caving in, but now it has emerged that Burris did, contrary to his own initial testimony, "[reach] out to a close friend and former chief of staff to [Blagojevich] to discuss the Senate seat. That appears to contradict Burris' statement in a sworn affidavit that he had no contact with any of the governor's 'representatives.'"

Burris, of course, is defending himself, claiming that the "close friend," Lon Monk, was no longer one of Blago's representatives, but Burris clearly knew that what he told Monk would get through to Blago. As he told Monk, "[i]f you're close to the governor, you know, let him know I'm certainly interested in the seat."

Corruption runs rampant. So does the lying.

And now the whole Burris affair goes back to Reid. I have no confidence in him whatsoever -- but maybe, with Blago now impeached, and with Burris caught lying, just maybe he'll reconsider. (But I doubt it. I suspect we're stuck with Sen. Burris.)