5 reasons why Roland Burris should be seated

January 6, 3:19 PMCongress ExaminerIgor Derysh

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1) Democrats Risk Losing Illinois

The scandal will drag on on its own, the Democrats do not need a long legal fight against one of their own. The Democrats need to convince the people of Illinois that the Democrats are the ones who can restore integrity in Illinois. This will be a hard enough battle as Blagojevich is a Democrat, turning the people of Illinois against the Democrats by going after a perfectly clean Democrat who is capable of representing him. A drawn out legal fight could lose the Democrats not just the Gubernatorial seat but also the Senate seat in question.

2) Illinois Deserves Two Senators

The real victims in the Blagojevich scandal are the people of Illinois. They are not only stuck with a dirty Governor who refuses to step down, it would only further the wrongdoing done on the people of Illinois but it would deprive them of something that every other state has; two representatives in the Senate.

3) Burris is Black

While it has nothing to do with race, the race card has already been played. A legal fight against a perfectly good man who is an African-American would simply not look good for the Democrats.

4) Senate Probably Doesn't Have the Authority To Not Seat Him

It is still questionable whether the Senate Democrats actually have the authority to refuse to seat Burris. If after the possible legal fight the Senate Democrats still have to seat him, it would make the Democrats appear as what they really are: weak.

5) Burris Did Nothing Wrong

At the end of the day, Burris is not at fault here. While his integrity could be questioned for accepting the nomination while others turned it down, Burris has a clean track record and is perfectly fit to represent Illinois. As he has been saying all along, the Democrats shouldn't take out their anger at Blagojevich on him.