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The Senator From BlagojevichWhy Illinois' current governor should appoint Illinois' next senator.

By Edward McClellandPosted Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, at 11:18 AM ET

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"Nobody's comfortable with this governor putting a senator in that seat for one day," said Republican State Sen. Matt Murphy. But, he conceded, "Realistically, I don't think we're going to have anybody but the governor appoint a senator in the short term."

Blagojevich could actually make himself look good by appointing a senator. He'd be using his gubernatorial powers to overcome a legislative dispute. And, if he appoints someone honest—or at least someone who looks honest—he can wash away some of the sleaze that's been clinging to him since he was caught on tape trying to fence the seat as though it were a hot Cadillac. Thanks to the governor's big mouth, that seat is no longer "[bleeping] golden"—it's not even bleeping silver, bronze, or nickel plate—and he is going to have to give it up for bleeping nothing.

Obviously, Blagojevich can't appoint anyone he mentioned on the tape. So Candidates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are out. Jesse Jackson Jr. will have to run for the Senate on his own. But there are several politicians who could take the seat on an interim basis—until a special election or until 2010—without being tainted as "Blagojevich's choice."

The most obvious are three ex-senators who have occupied that seat already: Adlai Stevenson III, Alan Dixon, and Carol Moseley Braun. Stevenson and Dixon would surely be interim senators. Stevenson is 78 and never enjoyed the Senate—he wanted to be governor, like his father. Dixon is 81. They don't have political futures to worry about. Braun, who served one troubled term before losing a re-election bid, would satisfy calls to keep an African-American in the seat, but she would probably run for a full term—and lose again. She tried to get back into the Senate in 2004, but after failing to round up support from fellow Democrats, she settled on a symbolic campaign for president.

Appointing an ex-senator would also make it harder for Reid to carry out his threat of rejecting a Blagojevich appointee. "Please understand that should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment we would be forced to exercise our Constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated," Reid wrote to Blagojevich on Dec. 10.

Although the Senate is the judge of its members' qualifications, Reid may be overstepping his authority. In the 1969 case Powell v. McCormack, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress is limited to determining whether a person meets the constitutional requirements for membership—30 years old, nine years a citizen, and a resident of his state—or was legitimately elected. "Saying the appointee lacks the necessary 'qualifications' simply because the appointing governor is believed to be corrupt or untrustworthy or deserving of removal seems to be foreclosed by Powell v. McCormack," said Eugene Volokh, a professor at the UCLA School of Law. "And the 'elections' and 'returns' provision would only allow them to refuse to seat a senator if there are allegations that this seat was obtained through bribery or other illegal conduct. If he picked somebody who'd never been talked about as a possible source of a bribe, it's hard to see how his appointment could be disqualified."

If Blagojevich doesn't want a second-time-around senator, he could pick Sheila Simon, a former member of the Carbondale City Council and daughter of Sen. Paul Simon. Or former Rep. Glenn Poshard, who lost a race for governor against now-imprisoned George Ryan and is now president of Southern Illinois University. Geographically and politically, they're as far as you can get from the Cook County Democratic machine. Blagojevich could also appoint a committee to recommend a senator, removing himself from the decision.

Blagojevich not only has the right to make this appointment, he has the responsibility.

And if any Illinois readers are hollering about that statement, consider this: In Rod Blagojevich, we have the governor we deserve. When four out of eight governors end up in handcuffs, you have to start wondering whether the office itself is as much a problem as the men who occupy it. Illinois is one of five states with no limits on campaign contributions. In our freewheeling political culture, grabbing as much money as you can is a matter of survival. Blagojevich spent $17 million to win his last election—three times as much as his Republican opponent. Not only do our governors have the motive to sell offices, they have the opportunity. The Illinois Constitution provides for a strong governorship, with the power to appoint boards that spend tax money. Not surprisingly, these appointments often go to big political donors or their friends.

"One reason that he was able to raise enough money to crush his opposition was that he had so much to sell," said James L. Merriner, author of a book on Blagojevich's predecessor, the equally shady George Ryan. "There are so many commissions and pension boards and toll-way authorities and all these administrative agencies that are usually out of public view."

We elected Blagojevich—twice—and we're stuck with him for the next few months, at least. We should encourage him to pick Obama's replacement, since we can't seem to figure out how to pick one ourselves. A Blagojevich senator is better than no senator at all. And he did promise us one by Christmas.