We should all stop searching for one fatal blow to derail Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's appointment of Roland Burris to Barack Obama's Senate seat. Instead, we should honor the Senate's history by employing a complicated, undemocratic process to achieve our goal. If successful, it would scare off anyone from accepting the appointment, and it would be completely constitutional.
[Note: I am not an expert on the intimate workings of the Senate, and this was a diary just off the top of my head. It is possible that some of these steps cannot be completed as written. However, the basic premise is still possible.]
Step 1: The U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Sen. Dianne Feinstein's committee is responsible for, among other things, "Administration of the Senate Office Buildings and the Senate wing of the Capitol, including the assignment of office space." This committee should refuse to assign office space to any Blagojevich appointment. The committee also handles legislation regarding "payment of money out of the contingent fund of the Senate". It should refuse to provide any money to Burris or any Blagojevich appointment.
Step 2: The Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. Sen. Debbie Stabenow's committee nominates[pdf] colleagues for committee assignments, which are then approved by the Democratic conference and the entire Senate. The committee controls its own nomination criteria; no senator has a right to a specific assignment, or to any assignment at all. The DSOC should refuse to give any committee assignment to Burris or any Blagojevich appointment.
Step 3: The Democratic Conference. The threat that Democrats failed to carry out against Sen. Joe Lieberman should be enforced against any Blagojevich appointment. The Conference, the informal club of Senate Democrats and their allies, organizes the majority party, sets the agenda, and performs many other unofficial functions vital to the smooth operation of the Senate. The Conference should close its doors to any Blagojevich appointment. While the Republicans are reveling in this disaster, they would never bring a Democrat like Burris into their own caucus, so he would be in the political wilderness.
Step 4: The President Pro-tem. Sen. Robert Byrd is the president pro-tem of the Senate. If he honors the legitimacy of the Senate as much as the Constitution, the he could use his power to mute any Blagojevich appointment. The President pro-tem, or someone he appoints, presides over daily operations of the Senate, including recognizing members. Sen. Byrd could make it clear that neither he nor his appointees would ever recognize a Blagojevich appointment on the floor for any reason at any time.
Step 5: The Majority Leader. In effect, all these steps boil down to the backbone of milquetoast Sen. Harry Reid. If he stood behind each of these efforts - and the probable re-write of some Senate procedures and rules that might be required - then this Rube Goldberg solution would be complete. Any Blagojevich appointment would be able to vote in the Senate. However, he or she would have no budget, no office space, no staff, no Senate telephone number or email, no committee memeberships, no ability to introduce bills on the floor, no ability to debate on the floor.
It is complicated, unusual, and perhaps draconian. However, each of these steps is constitutional and within the power of the Democratic caucus. What person would accept an appointment to such a position?