Dec 30, 2008 10:20 pm US/Central
Race Enters Fight Over Filling Obama's Senate Seat
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Roland Burris (l) and Rep. Bobby Rush at a Chicago news conference announcing Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointment of Burris to the U.S. Senate Dec. 30, 2008.
CBS
Rep. Bobby Rush is daring Senate leaders to block a black man from taking President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat.
The Chicago Democrat points out that Roland Burris would be the only black man in a chamber populated overwhelmingly by white senators.
"We need to have not just one African-American in the U.S. Senate," Rush said Tuesday. "We need to have many African-Americans in the U.S. Senate."
Within the first two minutes of Rush's impromptu speech, the issue of race and Burris' appointment surfaced. Within another three minutes Rush slammed critics of the move, using the racially charged word "lynch".
"And I would ask you," Rush said to the reporters gathered at the news conference, "to not hang or lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer."
Some leaders in the black community say the phrase wasn't meant to stir controversy.
"The Representative Rush was making the case for black representation, for blackness in a sense, in terms of saying, look at the history of America and how difficult it has been to reach a level of parity or some semblance of parity, in that this ought to be given consideration as members of the Senate make their decision," Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th) said.
But long-time Chicago radio personality Cliff Kelley says the word choice digs much deeper.
"Using that word lynch was very operative," Kelley said. "It gives you, I think, an indication of where this is going if, in fact, they don't back off."
"They" refers to politicians who lashed out against the governor after he was arrested on corruption charges, saying he had no right to make the senate appointment because of the charges against him.
Blagojevich sent his own message at the end of Tuesday's press conference, pulling from Rush's words.
"You can castigate the appointer, but don't lynch the appointer," Blagojevich said as he walked out of the news conference. "I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing."
Some say Blagojevich is drawing a racial line he is daring opponents to cross.
The Rev. Marshall Hatch is part of a group of ministers who have visited with Blagojevich during the corruption controversy. Hatch says race is not a factor.
"I don't think race has a major part to play in this appointment at all," Hatch, a member of The Leaders Network, said. "I think that when you look at Roland Burris' record just on the record as a public servant, he is eminently qualified to be a United States Senator."
Both Hatch and Kelley said they believe the governor's move to appoint Burris was a "master stroke," because legally, no one can touch him on this.
Senate Democratic leaders earlier Tuesday added an explicit note of support for Burris personally but not for his appointment by Blagojevich.
The leaders say the Democratic caucus would refuse to seat Burris if Blagojevich appoints him, and they called their stance a reflection of the scandal-tainted governor.
CBS 2's Pamela Jones and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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