GOP to Play by Harry Reid's Rules with Al Franken

When the newly appointed Senator-designate from Illinois, Roland Burris (D), reports to Washington next Tuesday, majority Democrats will refuse to seat him. Lacking clear Constitutional authority to block Burris from taking his seat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has devised a plan to deny Burris his seat based on an obscure Senate rule. Senate Rule 2 says that any new Senator must present a certificate of election or appointment signed by both his home state governor and secretary of state. Soon after disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) appointed Burris, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White (D), likely at Reid's urging, said that he would not counter-sign Burris' credentials alongside Blagojevich. That will allow Democrats to throw the question of Burris' eligibility into committee, where they hope it will languish until Blagojevich can be removed from office and another Senator appointed.

The trouble for Democrats is that it looks increasingly likely that there will be no resolution to the contested Minnesota Senate race by next Tuesday. If that happens, Democrats may have two uncredentialed Senators on their hands. Democrat Al Franken has all but declared victory in the Minnesota recount. Couple that with fellow Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar's (D) call for the Senate to seat Franken based upon the tally of the recount, before any legal challenges are completed, and Franken may very well show up in the Capitol on Tuesday alongside Burris.

But Republicans have been preparing for just that eventuality, and Sen. Reid has handed them the strategy to block Franken with his position on Burris. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) says that Senate Rule 2 applies to Franken just as equally as it does to Burris.

"I think it is very clear that the people of Minnesota and the courts in Minnesota should make the decision about who won the Minnesota Senate election, and not political leaders in Washington, D.C. That process is ongoing and will not be resolved, in all likelihood, for weeks and maybe longer.

This is a very, very serious matter. I can assure you that there will be no way that people on our side of the aisle will agree to seat any senator without a valid certificate."

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Franken will not be able to obtain a certificate signed by the Minnesota Secretary of State until after the expected court challenge is completed. Therefore, if he arrives in Washington, and Democrats attempt to seat him, Republicans could object and force a vote on his credentials. That vote will be subject to filibuster, and Cornyn is confident that the Republican caucus would hold together.

Harry Reid just may be the best thing Republicans have going for them in the 111th Congress. In the last Congress, he was routinely frustrated and out-maneuvered by Republicans, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY). He is given to make ill-advised public comments; and he is up for reelection in 2010 with a 54% disapproval rating in his home state. Reid needs to appear sufficiently moderate for the voters in Nevada while simultaneously pleasing the ultra-liberal base of the national Democratic Party. That will cause him to make miscalculations, such as hastily employing an obscure rule to refuse a Senate seat to the only African-American potential member when he would like to seat another potential Senator with the same rules problem.


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