Burris: The Race Issue That Would've Been

The race card is one that Democrats play well

by: bob parks | published: 01 11, 2009

As long as I'm a conservative, I will continue to be amazed at the political and media double standard that is when it comes to anything involving race. The whole Rod Blagojevich-Roland Burris-Harry Reid mess is just one of those examples.

Let's look at this whole episodic from the opposite point of view, first starting with the Illinois governor.

IF Rod Blagojevich were a Republican, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats would be pointing their long accusatory fingers, citing proof that the GOP's "culture of corruption" is alive and well. Democrats and the media would be calling Senate and House Republicans to answer for the heinous behavior of a governor attempting to sell a seat.

However Blago, knowing the standard operating procedure of the Democrat Party, pulled a brilliant move by selecting Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. He knew this would become a race issue, dividing constituents and the potential jury pool, thus he put Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin in positions alien to them: racism accusees.

Reid's first move was a piss-poor attempt to neutralize the race fallout from a reported phone call…

Late Saturday, Reid issued a statement accusing Blagojevich of "leaking and distorting conversations," an apparent reference to a report Saturday that Reid and Blagojevich talked by phone six days before the governor was arrested Dec. 9.

A Democratic official familiar with the conversation told the Tribune that Reid expressed "some concern" about whether three potential candidates–U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Illinois Senate President Emil Jones–could win a statewide election to keep the seat in 2010. All three are black.

The official said Reid expressed greater confidence in the prospects of Illinois Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth, who is Asian-American, and state Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, who is white.

Can any of us imagine the firestorm that would've been the media and activist community, if a Republican majority leader was reported as to not wanting an appointed black to serve and instead had preferred whites in mind because they were (in his opinion) more electable?

That Republican would've been hauled into all of the Sunday talk shows, and been made the face of racism by almost every civil rights group in America. There would be threats of protests, and eventually that Republican would put tail between legs and succumb to the pressure that would not let up, even after liberals got what they wanted.

This would be portrayed as yet another example of the racist history of the Republican Party, a portrayal by those who either know that falsity in that continued assertion, or are blissfully ignorant of America's Democrat past.

Despite the brief and soft fallout from this conversation, Reid is still doing everything possible to keep Roland Burris out of the U.S. Senate seat he was lawfully appointed to.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White Friday night signed a document certifying that Roland Burris is Governor Rod Blagojevich's choice to be Illinois' junior senator. Now, the question is; Will that document be enough to satisfy the rules of the U.S. Senate?

Earlier Friday afternoon, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled White doesn't need to sign Roland Burris' appointment to the Senate to make it valid. So, while it's not the document Roland Burris brought with him to the Senate on Tuesday – it may satisfy all the legal requirements.

Both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin released a statement Friday evening… saying that the Senate Parliamentarian, Secretary of the Senate and Senate legal Counsel are advising what the next step will be.

I don't know about you, but this appears to be a stall tactic. Again, if a Republican leader were engaging in these kinds of stall tactics, what do you think CNN, Keith Olbermann, Amy Goodman, Jesse, Al, and Julian would be accusing him of? They would come to the obvious conclusion that this was all about race because there was no legal reason to oppose him.

In the past, the Senate has ruled on appointments where the power of an outgoing governor to make an appointment was unclear. But as of now, there seems little question that Blagojevich is still the governor; the state legislature has not changed the appointment power; and as of now, Blagojevich has not been convicted, or even indicted.

This is the clear problem of having a cheerleading media, but some are reading other things into this, and it does involve that annoying issue of race.

The Democratic Party is no longer a "Big Tent". It is now a very small tent, its terms of membership are simple, and there are only two planks to this party:

1. You must vow an oath of loyalty to Barack Obama.

2. You must recognize that Barack Obama is the only legitimate minority in America.

Some of us have always contended that the marriage of Democrats and minorities has been one of convenience, these are now their inconvenient times, some see the writing on the wall, and reading it aloud.

Well you have to ask yourself what were they thinking or were they thinking at all, when the whole Democratic Caucus and the Senate, including then-Senator Obama say "let's not seat this guy." Didn't one of them say this is going to look bad?
— Julian Bond, CNN, 1/7/09

Will Roland Burris be seated to the U.S. Senate?

Yes.

Will Democrats survive the self-inflicted lynching?

Yes.

What will Republicans learn from this?

They've again be shown that the race card is one that Democrats play well and cover up better. Their media will always look the other way when liberals step-and-slide in the race poop, and will do everything possible to make sure it's not tracked into their house.

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