Dems scrambling to avoid Burris spectacle

TheHill.com reported In a phone interview with The Hill, Burris said, “We're going to go up to the [Senate] door, and if we're turned away, then we'll document all of that and consult our lawyers.” But Burris added a bit of diplomacy, toning down the racial rhetoric he and his aides have employed recently. “Never in my whole political career have I brought up race,” Burris told The Hill.

Then why did The Hill report you wrer toning down the racial rhetoric you and your aids have employed recently.

“It is certainly not a factor here.”

It is a factor, or why would Harry Reid have recommended a white and an oriental, and said to avoid three blacks. He does not think a black could be elected in IL if he did not do as Obama did and get all other candidates kicked off the ballot before the election.

“There is some bristling at the member level that both sides are digging in too much and need to cool down,” one senior aide said. “Members are basically saying, ‘We owe it to ourselves to give us some leeway — we may not have the option to deny him a seat forever.’ ”

If Illinois gets off the stick and Impeaches him they may have another choice.

Another aide said distraction was more of a factor than any concern about the strength of Democratic leaders’ case against seating Burris.

He is going to be a distraction either way.

The party needs to focus on the economic stimulus plan, confirmation hearings, new committee and leadership assignments and a host of other concerns in the dwindling days before President-elect Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20. “We need this to go away, and the way to do that in the Senate is to make a deal,” the aide said.

It should be about doing the right thing. Whatever that is. Blago wants Burris because he knows Reid does not want him, and Read does not want him because Blago appointed him, and because he does not think Burris could win in 2010 (he has tried for several high offices and lost each time).

“That’s what Wednesday is all about.” The staffers said the tenor of the Burris-Reid meeting on Wednesday will depend on Burris’s actions on Tuesday. Some Democrats have become exasperated by Burris’s aggressive approach and repeated references to race.

Refil the popcorn bowl, this is getting more interesting.