I know I'm a bit late to chime in on this one, but Rep. Bobby Rush's display over the past 24 hours has really been disgraceful. Watch his comments on CNN's Larry King Live last night (via TPM):
Rush's racial plea is certainly impassioned. But it's also completely hollow. Ta-Nehisi Coates hits the nail on the head regarding that dissonance:
He's basically arguing that a pol should fear the black backlash should they oppose Burris's appointment. But there's one problem with that logic -- Barack Obama is on the other side of the table. Rush's logic basically asks politicians to choose between the will of a corrupt governor, and the will of the first black president of the United States. I don't know, but it would seem that now would be a good time for Obama to flex some muscle and make it clear that folks support this move at their peril. I really, really, really hope the CBC [Congressional Black Caucus] doesn't back this move. But I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
Meanwhile, Burris himself seems to be cozying up to the racial argument after seeming to keep his distance yesterday. At least one member of the CBC, Illinois' own Rep. Danny Davis, has been making more sense. From Lynn Sweet's column today:
Davis, an African American, disagrees with Rush. It's not all about race.
Said Davis, "I always said that I don't think it is a seat that belongs to anybody. ...The person should be who can best unify the state and bring back a sense of integrity and trust. ... The seat does not belong to any race or any ethnic group or any category of individual. It belongs to the voters."
Let's hope Davis can keep the CBC from following Rush down this path.
UPDATE: Just noticed that Coates wrote a follow-up post directed specifically at Rush's appearance on CNN:
It is amazing to hear Rush make this argument, given that if left to him, there would be no black Senators anyway. Rush backed the very-white Blair Hull against Obama in 2004. Are these people serious?
Comments
Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 17:05
This isn't new for Rush. A couple of years ago he provided cover for AT&T's corporate welfare bill, the COPE act. Fortunately the law stunk too much for the Senate to pass it. But Republican backers gladly used Rush to argue that since he backed it, it must be good for Black America - and nothing could have been further from the truth. What a schmuck.
Sheridan (not verified) on Wed, 12/31/2008 - 21:45
I watched Rush sometime ago when his congressional committee was investigating something and they were holding hearings. Each congressman on the committee got a chance to question the witnesses. When Rush's turn came to do the questioning, he was completely unprepared and inept with his questions. I got the impression at that time that Rush wasn't very smart. Now he is using the race card. Another dumb thing.
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