Quote of the Weekend on Blago-Burris-Reid-Obama Mess

As is often the case, digby at Hullabaloo has one of the best snarks I've read about the latest folly of the Senate Dems -- in this case their politically suicidal insistence on stopping the legitimate and legal appointment of Roland Burris to fill Obama's Senate seat. My only quibble is that she doesn't mention Obama's almost certain involvement in shaping Reid's crusade:

The fact is that the Senate Dems have been reacting like shrieking, maiden aunts in a roomful of bats, lurching from one outraged reaction to the next without any kind of due consideration as to the legality or the political ramifications. One wonders where this level of energy and scorn was when the Republicans were making fools of them over and over again.

I assume the Senate Dems feel that they have to assert themselves or risk being seen as weak. They are, as Jane [Hamsher] points out, afraid that John Cornyn will hang Burris around their necks. But unfortunately, they are asserting themselves in a way that simultaneously appears to be petty, unlawful, panicked and potentially even racist. At the very least they are escalating a distracting political circus at a time of great national crisis, which hardly seems like a smart way to start the new Democratic era. I'm all for fighting the good fight, but it would probably be more useful to do it over something that actually matters.

But hey, maybe it's actually good for them to have a big public, interparty hissy fit right now. With enough practice on each other, they might develop enough courage and skill to outmaneuver the Republicans someday.

Read my previous posts here and here about the possible connections between the Blago mess and Richardonson's withdrawal from the Commerce Secretary appointment.

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