This is a sickening display--especially Bobby Rush's invocation of God. Rush\Blago\Burris's race argument is rather incredible. I've been thinking about this for awhile as a political move. It strikes as a kind of suicide bomb. Blago is going down. Burris has nothing to lose. And Rush has never been on great terms for Obama. It's very easy, as a young black person, to be really angry about this move. Trust me, the old generational anguish is stewing in the heart of a lot of young black Chicago folks this morning. More on that later.
My immediate reaction is that Rush is overplaying his hand. 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 chose 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 doesn't back this move. But I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
It's wrong to say that this is a move to appeal to black voters, because it isn't--it's a dogwhistle for a certain sector of the black vote, an older portion of the commuity that was responsive to Rush's charges against Obama, that is still angry past injustices, and is deeply distrustful of all this "change" hooey. This is--to paraphrase Chris Rock--the an appeal to the "Cracker-Ass-Cracker" vote. I suspect that this move will be divisive even among black folks. Certainly there will be Blago apologists and political cynics. And there will be people, likely still angry over Jeremiah Wright, who will rally. But there will also be that section of black folks who will this for the ugly pandering that it is.
I'd remind folks that Blago--who once had strong support in Illinois' black community--now has a 32 percent approval rating among black voters. That's higher than the overall state numbers--but when you consider just having a D in front your name gets you a baseline of support among black folks, it's still really really low. People expecting a rather reflexive black backlash should remember Sarah Palin. The old CW was that Palin would
rally women, angry at Obama over Hillary's loss. How'd that work out?
I'm not saying I know which way this will swing. Chicago's an old-school town, for which I have a deep, abiding affection. But the "Cracker Ass Cracker" contingent in black America is still strong. But Corey Booker did win. Anthony Williams served two terms. Adrian Fenty won. Who knows what will happen here.
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"And there will be people, likely still angry over Jeremiah Wright, who will rally. But there will also be that section of black folks who will this for the ugly pandering that it is."
Well, yes! And it's this sort of ugly pandering that people from the Left and the Right (Wright?) have been hitting have been using against Obama since before Iowa. Every time, some pundits fret about how this sort of politicking (e.g. Wright, the PUMA vote) is going to hurt Barack, and every time he walks right past it. I'm not saying he walks past these things unscathed, but in the long run, it seems that this sort of thing doesn't touch him. Blago's has nothing to lose and is gonna go down swinging, but he's not gonna scathe the President-elect. Barack Obama is, so far, at least, Teflon 2.0 (Or is it "President Brush-It-Off" in this new Millenium?). You'd think some people, media included, would've figured this all out by now.
Coates,
I appreciate your analysis, but being here, on the ground, let me tell you where we differ.
The ' Cracker ass cracker' contingent...I wouldn't put it exactly that way...
It's more along the, ' We gotta stop the Irish Gang' sentiment.
If folks had left well enough alone, and Jesse Jr. had gotten the appointment, we wouldn't have gotten to this position.
Coates, you know Black folk love a conspiracy theory and wear the tinfoil hat in general.
When you live in a city run by man who has had damn near everyone around him arrested, indicted or convicted...
It's tough to convince Black folk that Blago is this rotten, evil man.
We live under King Richard Daley II, and Massa Michael Madigan. These are the facts, and their hands are all over this.
On top of it, we've lost Emil Jones as President of the Senate - who was a strong advocate for the Black Community.
Rush's words were a clear signal to Black folk: if you want a Black Senator, you better recognize. There wasn't the coalescing support about Jesse Jr.; you had the ridiculousness of Danny Davis, and even Emil Jones trying to throw their names into it - meaning, of course, we had the old ' divide and conquer'.
I've found it interesting that everyone making statements about this from Illinois, has to begin their statements praising and making clear that they believe Roland Burris is of sterling character and a great public servant. Some have even done the bullshit, ' Burris would have been an excellent choice, save for Blago appointing him'. Nobody Black that I know believes for one moment that those who are trying to takedown Blago would have appointed Burris, or anyone else Black.
Black folk are back in the game with the Burris appointment. It's gonna get messy, cause folks aren't going down to the Irish gang without a bruising fight...now that there IS one.
Thank you for commenting on this whole debacle. I watched the whole press conference from my desk in complete shock. I'm not at all shocked that Blago went ahead and made an appointment...I'm beyond angry with Burris for accepting the offer and with Booby Rush for upping the ante. Burris has gone on a media blitz trying to spin this situation into a good thing. I fear that this will become a huge distraction for Obama in '09 but I hope that us black folk wont fall for the cynical ploy that it is.
Cynical attempt by Blago to use Burris as a patsy. Or better yet, a hostage who he can hide behind, hoping the good guys don't shoot.
I'm not too worried about Obama. He showed during the campaign that he can keep his eye on what's important, he came up through the ranks in Chicago so he knows how that game is played, and his statement yesterday showed that he is not going to dance for Bobby Rush.
I'm finding that my feelings about Burris are leaning more and more towards ones of sadness. From everything I've read this has been an upstanding public servant who let his desire for the brass ring lead to a really bad error in judgement. I don't see how you can let yourself be appointed to a Senate seat by a man under investigation for trying to sell that Senate seat and expect to overcome that taint.
But heck, this is politics, and it looks like Chicago politics reaches a level of bizarre that makes "Twin Peaks" look like Norman Rockwell, so what do I know?
Looks like Rush is upping the ante. Here's his quote from CBS this morning:
Well, let me just say this, you know, the recent history of our nation has shown us that sometimes there could be individuals and there could be situations where school children--where you have officials standing in the doorway of school children. You know, I'm talking about all of us back in 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas. I'm talking about George Wallace, Bull Connors and I'm sure that the US Senate don't want to see themselves placed in the same position. I know my friend Harry Reid...
What a major-league asshole! I'm sorry, but this guy is exploiting very real and very emotional issues for cynical politics.
He's cheapening both the Civil Rights Movement and trivializing all the truly awful things associated with racism and oppression in this country.
I would say that he should be ashamed of himself, but I don't think he possesses a conscious.
I guarantee (read: my gut tells me) you that Rush think he can control Burris by doing this. If Rush is successful, Burris will owe him his political career. I'm also sure Rush thinks Burris will need his full backing if he ever hopes to be re-elected should he choose to run again in 2010.
Rush is turning out to be a complete and total scumbag who should be shown the door immediately.
This may play well in some parts of Chicago, but it's incredibly damaging everywhere else.
Like I said; the Right is having an absolute field day with this and I'm sure Rush knows this. He cares nothing for his own people; just his own ego.
After having a night to sleep on this I am even more MEH about it than I was last night after I had a couple of hours to digest it. Right now you have the Senate race that won't end with two white guys in Minnesota and pretty much nobody thinks the world is going to end if neither one of them are seated when the Senate reconvenes. Hell its gone on for so long you hardly even get any updates now adays. So I am not buying that Burris not being seated any time soon is going to be a "distraction" to anybody. Besides that if Blago didn't make the appointment the seat was going to be open indefinitely anyway because the Illinois Assembly didn't have a real plan on how to get someone in there with out finding a way to get Blago out first and he aint going. But even if Burris gets seated like I said before exactly what is he going to be doing a year from now that any of us would actually notice? Do you really think if he is seated he wouldn't vote along with the party? Tell you what, most of us are really smart people. Try to name all Democratic Senators off the top of your head right now without googling. I can't name more than half of them myself which tells me once again that one senator aint gonna mean all that much.
Now lets look at the bright side.
1. If the Dems drop their fight the part of the story about Blago tainting Obama will drop off the headlines because clearly Obama opposed Burris being seated.
2. Burris while not a great campaigner has been a decent public servant as a comptroller which means he knows something about budgets and economic issues and AG which means he knows quite a bit about law. Somehow I think that kinda background could be useful for the next two years
3. Whether he did it the right way or not we do get a black face in the Senate.
4. In two years if he sucks he can be primaried and everybody is happy. Like I said before this concern over whether or not he could win in two years is total bullshit. The people making those claims know full well that unless the Dems totally fuck up the country in the next two years that whichever Dem comes out of the primary in 2010 will be able to cruise to victory.
It aint perfect but it ain't the end of the world. I do hope that the CBC comes out strongly against Bobby Rush though. Nothing he said helped to make a case for Burris and all he was there for was to stoke the racial angle. When you allow yourself to be used in such an apparent and outrageous fashion its time for people to call you out and hand you your clown shoes. Honestly I don't like saying that either, but it is what it is.
The bottom line seems to be that Blago has appointed a caretaker, which means that people who want to be Senator in 2010 don't see a rival get the advantage.
Secondly, Blago has confirmed and Rush made clear that the seat is the "Black Seat" -- which advantages potential black candidates in 2010: Jackson, Davis, Jones and ??.
The problem is that there will always be a question of whether Blago sold even this small favor.
"On top of it, we've lost Emil Jones as President of the Senate - who was a strong advocate for the Black Community."
rikyrah,
We did not "lose" Emil Jones. He stepped down and timed it in such a way that his son would inherit his seat.
"4. In two years if he sucks he can be primaried and everybody is happy."
I don't get this. He already said he's not running in 2010. It would be better if he just resigned and the Lt. Gov. picked someone, but this grandstanding by the Harry Reid is just as silly as Bobby Rush last night. There's no way to do this without speculation, no matter who appoints the seat. I know Blago's a dipshit and all, but the people need a damn senator, and Burris is above board by all accounts.
A special election will cost $60 mil. That's $60 mil taken out of the budget that could go to public services people actually need.
To append my previous comment, My preference is for the Illinois legislature to impeach Blago by Lincoln's birthday (Feb 12), as they said they would, and then the new gov. appoints someone
This lily-white NYer looked at the spectacle from the outside (outside in several senses) and came to the following conclusions:
1. Blago picked a clean, honest guy whose name was never floated in any of the prior talks in order to show that factually he never sold the seat and had no intention of ever doing so. "No harm, no foul" is going to be his story. He did this in order to lay groundwork to defeat both impeachment and conviction. Yes, I know it's after the fact, but it's not a bad move. That Burris is black is icing on the cake from Blago's point of view.
2. Burris has wanted to move up for a long time, never could, and probably sees this as his last real opportunity. Why shouldn't he take it? It's not like there has been a hint that Blago bargained with him for a quid pro quo, and legally it seems to me Blago was within his power and Burris is duly appointed. And as the incumbent he'll have a leg up on the competition when the next special election comes. If you were Burris, what reason would you have to turn this down? I don't see any.
3. Bobby Rush is a racist idiot. The sooner he and his ilk retire from public life the better off we all will be.
Just one spectator's view. Happy new year, everyone.
I live in Chicago. In fact, my Congressman is Bobby Rush, and while I am not in the "Cracker Ass Cracker" demographic, my family is full of people who are. I've not heard from any who are impressed with Mr. Rush's argument. They don't necessarily feel the "anguish" as you put it, of this ham-handed nonsensical move (I think that we should ban the word "lynch" from politics unless we're you know, referring to a literal instance. It's like everyone being a "Nazi" of some kind. Give me a f*cking break), but everybody knows Obama is on the other side of this equation and that not seating Burris does not, by any stretch of the imagination mean, that a black senator from illinois, appointed by someone who's not as messed up as Blago, will not eventually be seated.
I think the "now or never" race card has simply lost it's bite. Illinois has sent black senators to the capital twice and we're the only state since reconstruction that has. There's no political race panic here and I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that these men will not be able to create one.
Playing the race card doesn't make sense when the game is cricket -- that is, CLEARLY the objections to Burris have absolutely nothing to do with his race. Reid, Durbin and other Democratic Senators said weeks ago that they would not support ANY Blagojevich appointee, and now they are being consistent.
However, it IS troubling to me that there are not more black politicians who appeal to a broad spectrum of voters. Obama's election demonstrates that -- although racism is alive and well in many parts of the country -- the fact that we currently have NO black Senators is not entirely the fault of non-black people.
It is instead a systemic problem, in which we collectively decided it would be a good idea to gerrymander Congressional districts to ensure that SOME blacks would be elected to the Congress -- which is is course widely regarded as a stepping stone to the Senate. However, that has meant that blacks elected to Congress have insular, well, ghettoized (sorry) ideas and attitudes.
Obama and Harold Ford (who is way too right-wing for me) broke that mold as did some earlier politicians -- like the wonderful Ben Bradley and Harvey Gantt, though Bradley & Gantt couldn't quite win statewide office.
I hope more and more young black politicians take a wider world view and that their constituents will back them when they do so. That's the first step to blacks having proper representation in both houses of Congress. To make it to the Senate, candidates have to be willing to stand up for old white ladies like me, too.
The Constant Weader at www.RealityChex.com
I grew up in Chicago and don't live there anymore. What I remember about Richard Mell, Blagojevich's now-estranged father-in-law and once-political patron, was that he was a prominent player in the white faction of the Chicago City Council that resisted Mayor Harold Washington for no better reason than that Harold Washington was black. I don't know if Blagojevich ever had any position on Mell's gross actions during that period, but based on what I've heard from Bobby Rush, it sure would be a question he would have for Blagojevich. Seeing Rush make common cause with Blagojevich is that much more amusing amid the disgustingness.
Another Hyde Parker, Bobby Rush constituent and part-time "Cracka Ass Cracka" type here to cosign Deva's point. Trust that most of the black folk here are not buying this at ALL and even feel a bit insulted. And Bobby Rush? Really? The same guy who questioned Bam's blackness when he was running for the state senate? Have a seat, please.
And do know that Roland paid for that seat with the 20Gs he's given Blago for his campaign chest over the years.
I swore I'd never come back to these pages after reading Coates's illogical b.s. one too many times, but...
It's amazing that just because the Affirmative Action crowd needs there to be a representative of every group in the Senate, they can half-convince themselves this is correct, even if Burris, as appointed by Blago, is wholly unqualified by virtue of the fact that he is appointed by a man ACCUSED OF SELLING THE SEAT BURRIS IS NOW GREEDILY TAKING.
I particularly love his line how his appointment has nothing to do with Blago's corruption and is untainted. I'm sure the media will ignore that and focus on illusory charges of racism, because painting whites=racists and blacks=victims of racism is the knee jerk media play.
If people fall for this, it would be the most visible example yet of how A.A. is the most un-American, unfair, illogical, un-egalitarian, racist moronic development by liberals since they all thought that 9 months of pregnancy was worse than murder.
By the liberals' argument here, I have no reason to follow any senator who does not match my exact racial specifications, or when the senate does exactly match the makeup of my race. But I'm sure Coates and his liberal buddies think that's true, except when the majority is black, in which case I must bow down and follow without question or I'm the racist.
Honestly, morons, get past your skin color worship and the idea that every single body must reflect the American public's demographics at large.