Congressman Bobby Rush — a former member of the Black Panthers — has been leading the fight to install Roland Burris as the next US Senator from Illinois.<\/p>\n
Rep. Rush argues that the Senate needs an African American member, to better reflect the nation’s diversity. I couldn’t agree more.<\/p>\n
It strikes me as essential that a black leader be chosen to fill Barack Obama’s unexpired term. <\/p>\n
But Rep. Rush has relentlessly played the race card in the most hysterical terms, accusing Democratic lawmakers of trying to “lynch” Burris.<\/p>\n
“It reminded me of the dogs being sicced on children in Birmingham, Alabama,” he declared, in an MSNBC interview. “That\u2019s what it reminded me of.”<\/p>\n
That kind of rhetoric is disgraceful. It diminishes the sacrifice of the men and women who suffered in Birmingham and it reflects a near-total divorce from reality.<\/p>\n
Whatever Mr. Burris’s personal credentials, and whatever the color of his skin, he has displayed craven ambition — and a breathtaking lack of dignity — in associating himself with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.<\/p>\n
Gov. Blagojevich has been accused by a Federal prosecutor of trying to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder. <\/p>\n
Until Mr. Burris broke ranks, his fellow Democrats –including President-elect Obama — insisted that any appointment he made would be permanently tainted. They were right. <\/p>\n
It now appears that Mr. Burris will be confirmed. Governor Blogojevich will have prevailed, and the stain of scandal will spread to Washington.<\/p>\n
There will be an African American in the Senate, but one with a huge asterisk beside his name. That’s hardly a victory for the civil rights movement that Rep. Rush claims to champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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