No Negroes Need to Apply says Harry Reid
Democratic Senate Majority Leader , Harry Reid said in the following statement on December 30,2008.
“It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic Senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety. We say this without prejudice toward Roland Burris’ ability, and we respect his years of public service. But this is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat. Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.
Okay ,let me say this I am not a Rod Blagojevich fan .I am a fan of principles.
The facts are these ,the Governor has not been impeached .Remember when Bill Clinton was impeached . Clinton was not removed from office therefore he still had the power of the office.Bottom line , Blago has the legal authority to appoint ,now the moral authority is another thing .But we are talking about politics ,right ? Lets get pass the morality play.
My question is this . Will the mainstream press see the Democrats "No Negroes Need To Apply " sign at the United States Senate . Harry Reid the leader of the Senate reportedly contacted Governor Blago and had a list of candidates that he did not prefer . Among them were President Elect Obama's political godfather , State Senator Emil Jones , Congressman Danny Davis , and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.
All three of them black .
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.
Meanwhile Reid pushed two other candidates ,Illinois Veterans Affairs chief ,Major General Tammy Duckworth and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. All of the above potential candidates would do a honorable job .To be considered because of a person's race or not to be considered because of race is deplorable if you are a Democrat just as much if you are a Republican.
Major General Duckworth:
Often times Republicans are portrayed as insensitive racists , but what about the Democrats? They get a walk ,its people in the blogosphere like L.N Rock @ the africanamericanpoliticalpundit.com who are challenging the Democrats. Mainstream newspapers and media outlets are often times pro Democratic , and ignore Democratic insensitivity while highlighting Republican shortcomings.Whats up with that ? This kind of reminds me of the old southern saying ."Its like that pot calling the kettle black".
“It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic Senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety. We say this without prejudice toward Roland Burris’ ability, and we respect his years of public service. But this is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat. Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.
Okay ,let me say this I am not a Rod Blagojevich fan .I am a fan of principles.
The facts are these ,the Governor has not been impeached .Remember when Bill Clinton was impeached . Clinton was not removed from office therefore he still had the power of the office.Bottom line , Blago has the legal authority to appoint ,now the moral authority is another thing .But we are talking about politics ,right ? Lets get pass the morality play.
My question is this . Will the mainstream press see the Democrats "No Negroes Need To Apply " sign at the United States Senate . Harry Reid the leader of the Senate reportedly contacted Governor Blago and had a list of candidates that he did not prefer . Among them were President Elect Obama's political godfather , State Senator Emil Jones , Congressman Danny Davis , and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.
All three of them black .
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.
Meanwhile Reid pushed two other candidates ,Illinois Veterans Affairs chief ,Major General Tammy Duckworth and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. All of the above potential candidates would do a honorable job .To be considered because of a person's race or not to be considered because of race is deplorable if you are a Democrat just as much if you are a Republican.
Major General Duckworth:
Often times Republicans are portrayed as insensitive racists , but what about the Democrats? They get a walk ,its people in the blogosphere like L.N Rock @ the africanamericanpoliticalpundit.com who are challenging the Democrats. Mainstream newspapers and media outlets are often times pro Democratic , and ignore Democratic insensitivity while highlighting Republican shortcomings.Whats up with that ? This kind of reminds me of the old southern saying ."Its like that pot calling the kettle black".
posted by EdGray4America.com at
1:08 AM
6 Comments:
Ed,
I understand what you're talking about here, but I also think that we as African-Americans need to be careful about how we are used.
It's not a question of Burris'qualifications. No one argues this. But Blago's appointment is obviously a move to poke his finger in the eye of his party. He's daring Dems to not support his selection because he is black. He is also gambling that the new president and the senate will have to recognize his legitimacy by accepting his choice, again, because his appointee is black.
He is courting support from the African-American community, because (he gambles), they wouldn't dare object to the choice of another African-American to fill the seat of an African-American - especially when it is appearant that we can only find ONE senator at a time to serve in all 50 states!
I don't purport to know what the answer is, because the other end of the stick is the Governor hasn't been convicted of anything. If the senate refuses to seat Burris, then this is headed to the Supreme Court. I don't know Illinois law, but if the governor really had the interest of Illinois and the public good at heart, he should have called for a special election.
No matter how much we believe that Burris has earned this appointment, we've got to find a way to send a message to cynical politicians that we resent having our pride in our people and our progress to be used as a tool to put us at odds against the larger good.
Totally agreed on your comments. The honorable thing to have happened for all parties , is for no one to accept the appointment. However that did not happen , Burris allowed his ambition to be served . Until Blagojevich is removed he has the right to appoint. Harry Reid weighed in on the vacancy by promoting his candidates to the exclusion of other candidates , that is his right as well. It is ironic that all the excluded candidates were of color .To be fair Duckworth is of color as she is Asian . I hope in the age of Obama that we can get pass the color issue . As I had stated "To be considered because of a person's race or not to be considered because of race is deplorable if you are a Democrat just as much if you are a Republican." Harry Reid is just as guilty of playing racial politics as Bobby Rush was when he was at Blagojevich's side.
With all respect Ed, I think it's a stretch to equate the Senate Democrats refusal to seat a gentleman appointed by a tainted Gov Blagovich, as a no too subtle "no Negroes need to apply" message. Barack Obama has a very high approval rating among African Americans, and he is even against the Burris appointment - as well as Illinois' African Amercan Secretary of State who refuses to sign off on the appointment. Yes, Blgovich hasn't been impeached or charged, but I cannot imagine the U.S attorney in Chicago having a press conference with falsified transcripts of the governor attempting to sell Obama's senate seat.
I think the message "no Negroes need to apply" may be more appropriately applied to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Word leaked out yesterday that Sen. Reid was fearful of an African American appointment, due to a fear that an African American would not be able to hold the seat in '10. Reid says he didn't say it, Blago's people said he did. What a way to start a presidency!
On this one, I'm going to take Lightweight from Search Light's (the majority leader) at his word. In the interviews I have seen his point was the concern about those candidates being able to retain the seat in 2010. He may be correct.
My thinking is more focused on what is about to happen in Texas and the senate seat of Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Black Republican Michael Williams has announced for it, and his candidacy could turn the tide in Texas, Houston, and redraw the electoral lines once again in very quick order.
Correction: The 2010 date may not be accurate. It is however accurate that reports were being made Reid was concerned about retaining the seat.
This comment is about the no Negroes need to apply blog.
We must remember what Lincoln's Republican party allow to the Negro after reconstruction, for the presidency they allowed the Democratic south to ignore the 13th,14th and 15th amendment that allowed slavery and Jim Crow to rule over the Negro. The Negro will never find proper representation in either political party.the Republican and Democratic parties are like bottles of milk, like the bottles the milk man would deliver in the old days. they both made out of glass, the glass was shaped the same and they have the same product.one product may 1%,2% or whole but is milk and we as Blacks and Brown need a political party that truly represents our needs in our educations, communities, the Justice system and Public and Foreign policy. thats my two cents.
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