Race card dealt by former Black Panther in Blagojevich fiasco
Taking to the podium at the end of a bizarre, shambolic pressconference in which Governor Rod Blagojevich sought to appoint RolandBurris to the US Senate, Congressman Bobby Rush dared white Democraticsenators to block a black man from joining their ranks.
He urged people “to not hang or lynch the appointee as you try tocastigate the appointer” and, after saying repeatedly that Burris wouldbe the only African-American in the Senate, said that he believed nosenator would want “to go on record to deny one African-American frombeing seated in the US Senate”.
Rush is a former Black Panther who trounced Barack Obama in the 2000 Democratic primary when the then state senator challenged him for his House of Representatives seat.
The grinning Burris was told by Blagojevich – who policed the pressconference – that “you’re the senator”. He appeared clueless about themoney he’d donated to the governor, which will only add to the taint of the appointment.
As he left the room, Blagojevich echoed Rush, saying: “Feel free to castigate the appointer but don’t lynch the appointee.”
Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, has already said that Burris”cannot be an effective representatives of the people of Illinois” and”will not be seated by the Democratic caucus”. But the blatantinjection of race into the equation will make life very uncomfortableindeed for Obama and his party.