Should the Senate seat Roland Burris?

Democrats (83 votes)
Yes, 41 percent
No, 58 percent
Undecided (volunteered), 1 percent

Republicans (83 votes)
Yes, 49 percent
No, 49 percent
Undecided (volunteered), 1 percent

See how top political bloggers responded to this question here.

Democratic Political Insiders side with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in opposing Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointment of Roland Burris to fill the seat formerly held by President-elect Barack Obama, but Republicans are split on the idea. In a special survey of National Journal's Political Insiders conducted Dec. 30 through Jan. 4 for NationalJounal.com, 58 percent of Democratic Insiders said the Senate should not seat Burris, while 41 percent said it should. Republican Insiders were evenly divided, 49 percent to 49 percent. A total of 166 Political Insiders responded to the question -- 83 in each party. One Insider in each party was undecided.

Democrats who oppose seating Burris generally agreed that while the former Illinois attorney general may be qualified, any appointment by Blagojevich, who has been engulfed in a federal corruption probe that includes accusations of trying to sell the seat, would invariably be tainted.

"The process doesn't taint Burris -- a fine and clearly qualified individual -- but the process unfortunately does taint his appointment," said one Democratic Insider. "It's one Blagojevich should never have made and one Burris should have been wise enough to reject."

Echoed another Democratic Insider: "Even Abraham Lincoln would be tainted if appointed by Blago."

When voicing an opinion on how Obama's former Senate seat should be filled, Democratic Insiders showed a preference for having Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn make an appointment after Blagojevich is removed from office, either by resignation or impeachment.

"This has nothing to do with Burris, but the governor needs to step aside and allow the lieutenant governor to select someone," said one Democratic Insider.

"The whole process is tainted and for once Harry Reid should follow through on one of his public 'tough guy' stands and not seat Roland Burris," added another Democratic Insider.

At the same time, many Democratic Insiders worried that in not seating Burris, the first African-American ever elected statewide in Illinois who would also be the only African-American in the Senate, the party risks alienating its most loyal constituency group.

"Do Democrats really want to make the exclusion of the only African-American senator one of their first acts?" asked one Democratic Insider. "No need to start off '09 with a racially charged debacle," said another Democrat. "Get this out of the news now."

A number of Democrats also said that while Blagojevich has been seriously tarnished by the accusations, he hasn't been convicted of anything yet, and he still has the authority under Illinois state law to appoint a replacement for Obama.

"As politically unappetizing as it may be for Democrats to do so, due process should not be cast aside in this case," said one Democratic Insider. "The law allows the governor to do so and it would be a terrible precedent to reject a worthy pick due to accusations and suspicions about the duly elected governor."

And besides setting a potentially bad precedent, many Democrats felt that it would be better politically to put the controversy over the appointment behind them. "There is no legal way it can be denied," wrote one Democratic Insider. "The Gov is scum but that is the legal system and [fellow Illinois Sen. Dick] Durbin and Obama are permitting this to become a distraction that hurts the build up to the big event on the 20th -- bad politics and poor judgment."

"Senate Democrats need to accept the practical reality they've been outmaneuvered with Blagojevich exercising his legal authority by appointing an honorable man placing them in a potential bind with a significant Democratic constituency," wrote another Democrat. "It's time to seat Burris and get on the nation's business."

Many Republicans agreed with their Democratic counterparts that while Burris isn't corrupt, his appointment is because of the Blagojevich scandals. Some Republicans also noted that it would be a serious mistake for Reid and the rest of Democratic colleagues to back down.

"This was a cynical ploy by a disgraced criminal and should not be allowed to stand," said one Republican Insider. "While Burris appears qualified, there is no way the Democratic leadership can agree to seat him after Harry Reid said Blagojevich cannot name a successor and all 50 Democratic senators serving in the 110th Congress have called upon the governor to step down."

Another GOP Insider predicted that Democratic leaders are unlikely to back down, and "it would be a serious mistake to do so as they would appear to be caving to a madman."

But just as many Republicans said that Blagojevich hasn't been found guilty of any corruption charges yet, so he still retains the authority to make an appointment.

"The Senate must respect the process of appointment dictated by the state," said one Republican Insider. "If Illinois' process allows the appointment the Senate has no reason to say 'we don't like it.'"

"Unless the Senate can find a lawful basis for declining to do so -- and there isn't one, apparently -- they should seat the man," said another GOP Insider. "When they rush to seat a clown, literally, like [Democrat] Al Franken [in the disputed Minnesota Senate race] despite highly dubious ballot rulings -- and they will -- to not seat a qualified African American legally appointed would be very hard to explain."

And while Republicans are still licking their own wounds from the disastrous 2008 election, they're enjoying the controversy over Blagojevich and his Senate appointment.

"The upside regardless is the Democrats wrestling with the most high-profile corruption case in some time," said one GOP Insider. "Hard to see how that is bad for us."

Another Republican quipped that he hoped Burris isn't seated, "Because then this drama would be over and it is just too much fun to watch. I am grabbing some beer and popcorn, because this one looks to be going into overtime."

A breakdown of the Democratic and Republican Insiders by whether they were from the D.C. area or resided outside the Beltway revealed little affect on the views of Republicans. But among the Democratic Insiders, the "don't-seat-Burris" vote is driven by inside-the-Beltway Democrats. Among Democrats who are from outside the Beltway, a narrow majority favors seating Burris.

Should the Senate seat Roland Burris?

Republican Insiders
Inside the Beltway (48 votes) / Outside the Beltway (35 votes)
Yes, 48 percent / 51 percent
No, 51 percent / 49 percent
Undecided, 1 percent

Democratic Insiders
Inside the Beltway (50 votes) / Outside the Beltway (33 votes)
Yes, 33 percent / 53 percent
No, 67 percent / 46 percent
Undecided, 1 percent