The Tolbert Report

Some people just don’t know when to quit. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama as the junior Senator from Illinois. Burris has run for governor of Illinois three times but brags that he “has never lost to a Republican” meaning that he lost in the primaries. Gov. Blagojevich plans to announce this appointment at a news conference at 2:00 in his Chicago offices (too bad this is outside my area so no flip camera coverage). No word yet how much Burris was willingly to pay for the appointment. Perhaps Blagojevich is saving this bit of news for the press conference.

UPDATE – The ever vigilant Politico reports that Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that the Burris appointment is “unacceptable” and he will not be seated. While at the same time, the Illinois Republican Party released a statement blaming the Illinois Democrat for the “constitutional crisis.” The Illinois Republicans in the state legislature attempted to strip Gov. Blagojevich of his appointed power and call a special election; however, the Democrats, fearing they might lose the special election, blocked this attempt.

UPDATE II – It’s official! Gov. Blagojevich makes the official announcement saying, “Please don’t allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man.” He goes on to say that he had to make the appointment because of “his responsibilities under the law” and “because the state legislature failed to act.” Here is the video…