Unless you’ve been completely isolated from everything, you have heard that Roland Burris is getting a lot of heat about how he came to become a U.S. Senator.
Unless you’ve been completely isolated from everything, you have heard that Roland Burris is getting a lot of heat about how he came to become a U.S. Senator.
Burris, former Illinois attorney general and comptroller, is in the crosshairs of the media, the U.S. Senate, the governor, the state Legislature and just about any Tom, Dick or Mary who feels that they should have an opportunity to succeed him in the Senate.
What you may have noticed, however, is a distinct fault line in the criticism of Burris, and, what is clear is that the epicenter of the fault line is race.
Yeah, I know, a Black man, Barack Obama is President of the United States. All of our racial problems should be over now.
Race cannot possibly still be a factor in these United States. Haven’t we transcended race now that we’ve proven that white people will vote for a Black man to be president?
In two words: Hell no!
I started compiling all those public officials and local pundits and news outlets and community organizations that have called for Burris to resign. I looked at the names, looked at the faces, and considered motives.
Yes, Gov. Pat Quinn has called for Burris’ resignation. Quinn, who twice ran on Blagojevich’s ticket, but who now says he wasn’t on speaking terms with the governor. Quinn, would love to name Burris’ replacement (ignoring the taint on his own hands).
Yes, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin calls it a circus. Yet, it was Durbin, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who attempted to be the ringmaster on getting Burris seated, as if Durbin had any standing at all. Durbin said if it were him, he’d resign. It is an unfortunate thing for the senior Illinois senator to say to the junior Illinois senator. Since when does one U.S. Senator have veto power over another?
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has called for Burris’ resignation. He has been mentioned as the favorite to get the seat should there be a special election and reportedly has the backing of Durbin.
I won’t even mention all of the white Republican talking heads who have called for Burris’ resignation. They want everyone to resign, from House Speaker Mike Madigan and state Senate President John Cullerton on down. They derisively refer to Springfield Democrats as Blagojevich Democrats and say everyone is tainted. Funny, they could not see the beam in their own eyes when they were Ryan Republicans.
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