Ain't this post-racial period great? Here we have one of the more famous members of the Black Congressional Caucus accusing Senate Democrats of threatening to act like Orville Faubus, George Wallace and perhaps the most iconic of segregationists, Bull Connor.
Bobby Rush, the former Black Panther who is now a congressman from Chicago, levelled his accusation on the CBS Early Show this morning in reaction to the letter signed by all 50 Senate Democrats declaring that they would not seat Roland Burris, the African-American that Gov. Rod Blagojevich yesterday named to take Barack Obama's Senate seat.
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Yesterday we heard you say they shouldn't hang and lynch the appointee to punish the appointor. But do you believe this is the way the only African-American senator should be seated, tainted rightly or not by a scandal, and against the objections of most of his own party?
BOBBY RUSH: Well, let me just say this. You know, the recent history of our nation has shown us that sometimes there can be individuals and there can be situations where schoolchildren, where you had officials standing in the doorway of schoolchildren. I'm talking about Orville Faubus back in 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas. I'm talking about George Wallace. Bull Connors [sic]. And I'm sure that the U.S. Senate don't want to see themselves placed in the same position.
RODRIGUEZ: But it's not just the Senate, congressman, it's Barack Obama, who is African-American, also, who disagrees with this.
RUSH: Well, I think that what needs to happen now is that all these folks who are opposed to Governor Blagojevich, they need to take a chill pill. We're still a nation of laws. And I believe that Roland Burris and Governor Blagojevich, they're on solid constitutional grounds in terms of him being selected. I think the U.S. Senate will have to accept him.
Rush stopped short of lumping Pres.-elect Obama with the fire-hose wielders of the Senate. But in his heart of hearts, might Rush not be revelling in causing this headache for someone who had the temerity to [unsuccessfully] primary him for his congressional seat in 2000—an ambitious up-and-comer by the name of . . . . Barack Obama?
Somehow I don't think this is what the MSM had in mind in the run-up to the inauguration of The One.
