Reply #15: He! the problem is, only the liberals are about to retire, so it won't change much. [View All]

But my point was that the president has no authority over state decisions, and he can do nothing but influence the US Congress from the outside. If the appropriate people appeal to the SCOTUS, then SCOTUS would have authority to make a decision, based on the judicial merits of the case (except in Bush v Gore in 2000, but that's another subject).

Otherwise, the states have the authority to certify who their laws allow them to choose, and the Senate has the Constitutional authority to refuse to seat any senator if they choose, so even the Court can't reverse their decision. The only thing SCOTUS could rule on would be whether the choice of the states was Constitutional, or whether something in the selection process violated Constitutional rights and protections garuanteed the states, the voters, or the candidates.

The situations are different for Burris and Franken. No one (that I've heard) is questioning whether Burris has a legal right to be named Senator by Blagojevich. The Senate is simply saying they won't accept the choice, and won't allow him to be seated as a senator. The Constitution gives them that authority, and even SCOTUS can't block it. So he can be legally appointed, and yet legally refused his seat. That will have to be a political decision, not a judicial or legislative one. Obama could voice his opinion, and probably even sway the Senate to seat him if he tried, but it would be an unofficial role.

Franken is different. Cornyn is threatening to block his seating because he is arguing over the legality of Franken's win, based on state law and Constitutional protections. Supposedly, then, if Franken meets all legal requirements for a win, then Cornyn will back down. Even if Cornyn doesn't, it's unlikely that many would back his filibuster. The Supreme Court can rule on whether the Franken election is legal. If it is, then Cornyn's argument disappears, and I suspect even he would back down.

That's my analysis. I ain't a lawyer, so it's worthless.