Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush is a racist bastard

[Varaj]

Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush is launching a petition drive about the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Illinois.

Rush wants Governor Blagojevich to appoint an African American to replace President-Elect Barack Obama on Capitol Hill.

Congressman Rush says the Illinois U.S. Senate seat and the race of the person who will assume it has become a national issue for African Americans. Now that Barack Obama has resigned his seat, there are no blacks in the 100-member U.S. Senate. So the appeal was made again Tuesday for Governor Rod Blagojevich to restore an African American voice.

Congressman Rush\, a cancer survivor uninterested in the Senate seat, targeted the news conference at one potential viewer: Governor Rod Blagojevich, who will appoint someone to fill Obama's U.S. Senate seat.

"In the past, Governor Blagojevich has demonstrated in some respects that he's a friend. We just want him to continue to be friendly," Rush said.

Some elected officials, ministers and activists are demanding that the governor select one of several qualified black candidates so the U.S. Senate will again have at least one African American member.

"We need someone there that's going to represent us and have a voice," said State Rep. Mary Flowers, (D) Chicago.

"We think we ought to replace one with one. And so that is our request," said Jerry Butler, Cook Co. Commissioner.

Among those under consideration by the governor are South Side Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., West Side U.S. Representative Danny Davis and retiring Illinois Senate President Emil Jones. The governor said four weeks ago his selection would not be based solely on race.

Congressman Davis says he's talked to the governor about the appointment and said his qualifications extend far beyond skin color.

"I happen to believe that I am the best possible replacement that he can find," Davis said.

The governor, who has not said whether he'll run for re-election, received overwhelming support from black voters in 2006. And the fact that African American can amount to 35 - 40 percent of the vote in a statewide Democratic primary, some ministers say they would be stunned if Blagojevich appointed anyone other than a black person to replace Obama.

"We just believe that the governor would continue to do the right thing when it comes to our community," said Rev. Walter Turner, New Spiritual Life MB Church.

"I think he would help himself a great deal, I can at least say that much," said Rev. Ira Acree, Greater St. John Bible Church.

Governor Blagojevich has promised to make a decision on Obama's replacement before the end of the year. So the new Illinois senator will have at least a few weeks seniority over the newly-elected members.

Blagojevich has lost at that game to the governor of Delaware, who has already filled the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-Elect Joe Biden. And keep in mind, the governor of New York will make an appointment to fill Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacant seat.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=6535262

Fuck you very much Rush.:mad:

[Harry]

This comes up a lot where I live. The dual implications annoy the hell out of me, A. That all whites are racists who are incapable of empathy for black constituents, and B. The idea that any white people in those districts can be effectively represented by a black, but not the reverse. The opposite is often true. I voted for Carol Moseley Braun when I was in Illinois, but when she got to Washington she declared that she was there to serve black people and their interests and actually decried whites as racists. Made me feel like it was the worst vote of my life.

[PWD]

Finally, the name Rush can be associated with an asshole besides Limbaugh.

[shiningbrow]

That is ridiculous. But when white people call black people racists, they are usually branded as racists themselves. It's like a minefield. I dream of the day when our society becomes color blind, but I don't see it happening in my lifetime.

[Name Lips]

I think of colorblindness as an ideal, but the idea horrifies the black community. The argument I heard was that society was set up, decades ago, by racist whites to be a place that was hostile and difficult for blacks to get ahead. If we are colorblind, perhaps we're not racist ourselves, but we're tacitly accepting the inherintly racist society we're a part of and deliberately blinding ourselves to its true nature.

[shiningbrow]

I think race is largely a cultural construct. To say Obama is black is a stretch, since he's just as "white" as he is "black." But there was real joy among African Americans when he was elected. All of this has to do with cultural identity more than race. Many white people have black ancestors and vice versa. What I mean by the dream of a color blind society, is that people who are naturally talented and hardworking will be appointed to jobs on that basis rather than because of some arbitrary decision based on a genetic accident like skin color. I think that this is just as unlikely as the sudden formation of a meritocracy rather than secondary elements like nepotism, physical beauty, etc. entering in as factors in hiring decisions.