Harry Reid has been backed so far down on the matter of seating soon-to-be Senator Roland Burris that he’s going to spend the rest of 111th Congress in a perpetual crouch.
Reid talked tough, and even forbade Burris entrance to the Senate Chamber in a bit of theater. But now he acknowledges that he will eventually admit Burris to the world’s most deliberative body.
The former Boys Club boxer was no match for the feints and flurries of the disgraced Rod Blagojevich and Illinois’ former Black Panther in Congress, Bobby Rush.
By climbing down so quickly and thoroughly from his previous position of huffy moral indignation, Reid took a bad fall.
He may be presiding over a bigger majority, but Reid was already on defense before the Burris debacle. Now, Reid will be further weakened in his efforts to discipline his own members, prevent Barack Obama from steamrolling the Congress, and do battle with ornery Republicans.
Seating Burris was a perfectly rational move, and one Reid could have easily explained – if he had been wise enough to see what everyone else could.
Had the seat remained unfilled during a long legal battle (which Reid would have eventually lost), the chances of a Republican grabbing the seat in the 2010 election would have only grown. Fundraising, deal making, and candidate recruitment – all underway already for other Senate seats – would have remained on hold.
Despite the winds of hope and change blowing across the prairie, downstate Illinois isn’t too enamored of the Democratic brand these days. Perhaps the deal struck Wednesday between Burris, Reid, and the state’s senior senator, Dick Durbin, requires that Burris not seek election to the seat in 2010.
But whoever runs, the six months or so before the campaign begins will provide time to wash some of the Blagojevich stink off the party.
Seating Burris – which may take place by Tuesday – will also help Reid with another seat. With Burris in and the Congressional Black Caucus appeased, Reid can give a hand to alleged comedian Al Franken.
If Franken is sworn in, it will provide a valuable argument against incumbent Norm Coleman’s challenge of the Minnesota Canvassing Board’s verdict that the Democrat managed a 225-vote victory in the Senate race there. A judge might be more inclined to decide the fate on an empty seat than one already occupied.
By giving in to Blagojevich, Reid can go from a 57-seat majority to a 59-seat majority in a snap. And these days, there’s always bound to be at least one wobbly Republican on every issue, meaning a clear lane for the Democratic agenda.
That’s why California Sen. Diane Feinstein, weary of Reid’s bumbling, went public with her call to seat Burris on Tuesday. It isn’t wise to waste votes when there’s trillions to spend and a planet to save.
And this will not, by the way, be the last challenge Reid receives from Feinstein.
In fact, the challenges to Reid will mount, even as he talks about being ““a point on a spear.”
Reid’s tough talk has usually been followed by retreats, just as we saw in the Burris episode. In the past, he’s vowed to block the Patriot Act and then voted for it, called George W. Bush “a loser” and then apologized, and even lost out when he tried to rip Rush Limbaugh for calling pacifist Iraq war veterans “phony soldiers.”
If we apply that history of backing down to the majority leader’s interview with John Bresnahan of Politico this week, we can see what may be in store for Reid.
He predicted an easy win in his 2010 reelection bid in Nevada and said he was looking forward to serving as majority leader until 2015. Reid also said that he would be no “rubber stamp” for Barack Obama.
They’d be give pretty long on odds on all three of those boasts in the casinos of Reid’s home state.
For now, though, Reid will be busy completing his Burris back down.
He could have played it cool on Burris — express some concerns but adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Once the situation had played itself out, Reid would have been where Obama is now — only been bowing to the rule of law as he welcomes his fellow Democrat to town.
Instead, Reid blustered and ended up taking a loss.
Chris Stirewalt is the political editor of the Washington Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected]
