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Congressman Bobby Rush has called on Governor Blagojevich to name a black politician to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama, announcing a state-wide petition drive on the issue. Rush, who has no interest in the seat, spoke at a press conference yesterday, saying, "In the past, Governor Blagojevich has demonstrated in some respects that he's a friend. We just want him to continue to be friendly." With Obama's seat vacated, the U.S. Senate has no black senators. Two of the leading candidates to take over the seat are black: Congressmen Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Danny Davis. Outgoing State Senate President Emil Jones has also been mentioned as a possible replacement, but is considered more of a long-shot.
We are not about personalities. We really are about the principal that there should be an African-American. There are a number of people who have put their names forward who are imminently qualified to be in the U.S. Senate. But you know if we start picking personalities then we're going to add to the division.Blagojevich has promised to appoint the replacement before the end of the year and is feeling more pressure to do it sooner rather than later since Vice President-Elect Joe Biden has already named his replacement for Delaware and New York Governor David Paterson will name Hillary Clinton's replacement soon.
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OK, I thought the election of Obama meant that we had moved beyond racial politics? I guess it's hard for an old guy like Bobby Rush to accept the new political order. Blago should be able to pick whomever he wants, irrespective of race or sex.
We really are about the principal that there should be an African-American.
Bobby Rush is an idiot, but that's not exactly earth-shattering.
Rush does not look well. I know he recently had a bout of cancer and was successfully treated. But, maybe not. Just sayin.
This makes me sad. What difference is one Senator? In a country with over 36 million African-Americans (~13% of the population) there should be more than 1 African-American Senator (maybe ~13). That said, shouldn't the most important deciding factor for Blago be who will make the best Senator? I'm under no illusion that Mr. Obama's election has ended racial tensions in this country, but here we are less than a month later and we aren't even going to try and act like they've lessened? Sad, sad, sad.
Now I want Blago to pick a Latino. Let him spin that.
Rush should pick himself up and drope himself in an active volcano.
p.s how's his boy doing on that work related rape charge at the women's prison? All three apples clearly haven't fallen far from the tree
Of course. You don't want to judge someone on the content of their character, just the color of their skin.
That whirring sound you hear coming from the general direction of Georgia? That's Martin Luther King spinning in his grave.
F this guy. It's time to take the angry blacks out of politics. They are the ones stoking the racial fire. And it's uneducated loudmouths like this guy that have looked Obama as nothing more than a powerful black politician. The rest of us would like to think that he's something more than that.
That is why black communties suffer the way they do. It's not about who you pick, it's what they are.
And is Blago a friend only because of his seated black connections? Would he not be a friend much longer if he picked a non-black (which now I hope he does on general principle)?
Race should have nothing to do with the candidate, imo.
I voted for obama not because he was black but because of his plans for this country.
With Durbin having a meltdown because of his daughter we need a strong, effectual leader for illinois regardless of race.
Hey Von Erich, why don't you jump into the volcano along with Rush and help take some of the stupid out the white community. Its still active ya know!
Its nothing to do with being angry. None of these Negro politicans are angry which is the problem. Just greedy. Man, I wish I could put something in the Cicago water supply to up the I.Q
@Spook:
Strychnine.
Though that would leave the chattering classes with their bottles and filters.
p.s and I meant to write.. none of these African-American polticans trying to be Nero( as in Claudius)
;-)
Hey Von Erich, why don't you jump into the volcano along with Rush and help take some of the stupid out the white community.
For fucking real,
"Angry Blacks"? Yeah what we need is some of the 'good ones' not 'that one'. We need some nice docile blacks...
Jag.
Spook,
For starters, using "negro" only adds to the problem and takes away from your volcano argument. Yes, these are angry politicians because anything that doesn't go their way they find a way to blame white politicians. It's a "with us or against us" mentality. I can't name one white politician that would dare get away with what this fuck just said.
Greed, anger, what's the difference? If you are in politics for yourself and not the people you serve, the end result is usually a bad one.
The great black pacification will be televised!
I think Von Erich is the kind of guy who yells a racial slur from his car, then floors it, fearing that maybe, just maybe, blacks can fly.
Actually Navin, lets put in an order for some docile darkies that can tap dance and sing!
I can't name one white politician that would dare get away with what this fuck just said.
Jesse Helms
Strom Thurmond
Robert Byrd
Daley the first (oh dear god was he a bigot)
All of whom had long, awful political careers.
Actually Navin, lets put in an order for some docile darkies that can tap dance and sing!
I want some that are good at basketball but don't talk much.
Navin, I can't belive you are that naive. If you bring in the basketball players then there goes the white women!
Good point,
I want a cross between Tiger Woods and Wayne Brady.
"Jesse Helms
Strom Thurmond
Robert Byrd
Daley the first"
Okay, besides those guys.
If some of you people can stop congratulating yourselves on how racially progressive you are, and how you are not racists like nearly every one else, perhaps you can consider the larger questions that were raised, I think, by Von Erich's posts:
Does the election of our first African-American president make it more difficult for black politicians--specifically, those who grew up during Jim Crow--to come across as angry blacks*? Will this be more difficult given the fact that large numbers of white voted for Obama? And does affirmative action have a place in this Senate appointment, in light of Obama's election?
*meaning, those with a style born in the days when blacks were barred from certain areas by force of law or mob violence, or really faced life-threatening challenges to vote, or other such things.
Should I dig up some of Albany's posts over the last month or so that dealt with "rich whites" to show his/her progressiveness?
Jimbo: I learned years ago that most people who call themselves "progressive" don't really mean it, just as most people who call themselves "conservatives" likely aren't. If you have to apply a label to yourself, chances are you are either lying or self-deluded or interesting only in superficial branding. I'm not saying anyone here has done that--really--as this is only a general observation.
@Matilda:
Here comes the buzzkill. Tell us all of your joyless ways!
That question is broken, but I think I see where you're going. It makes it harder to use racism as a gathering post and explination. Such as county commissioners claiming that opposition to the Toddler's budget is "racism". That's laughable and I hope Obama's election shows that while race is an issue to be overcome, it's not the only issue to black voters. Something
True, and don't get me started on pragmatists!
And to answer the question. No, President Obama ≠ End of racism. People still have a lot to be "angry" about.
it would be disingenuous to say that covert racism is any less virulent than the more overt bigotry of yore.
Agree 100%.
I guess my point is, if we can stop congratulating ourselves for being so beyond racism, as some of us like to do, perhaps we could see the real questions about race that still require debate.
@matilda:
Of course. But giving someone a good slapping for gibbering on about the "angry blacks" is hardly resting on ones laurels.
The real transition point here is the shift of generations in black leadership. Obama didn't come up as a Rev. He didn't march with Martin or hang with Huey. He's a self-made man, benefiting from the struggles of the preceding generation, mindful of their sacrifice, but his way of relating to the world is very different. Past Obama, you have the hip hop generation just beginning to come into power as well, and that will be even more fascinating to watch.
Matilad why don't you and Jimbo discourse forth and back over the the deeper racial implications and meanings of Von Stupid's post.
The rest of us ensigns will sit back and pounder your learnid utterints
Albany: The point is, the "slapping" was uncalled for, and missed the point of the question, at least in my view. And such "slapping" tends to overwhelm many questions of race that still require serious thought and debate. If we want to talk honestly about race--something this country has yet to do--we have to be prepared for bluntness and to have our sensitivities threatened, and to keep in check our own self-congratulatory attitudes and tendencies toward name-called or label-tossing.
Albany, you can define racism as you wish.
The point remains that your comments over the last month or so where you've thrown in white as an adjective have had the same result as angry blacks.
The rest of us ensigns will sit back and pounder your learnid utterints
Actually, I'm not sure you are officer material, Spook. I picture you as a disgruntled cook's apprentice always stuck on second watch. But I'm probably wrong.
@Matilda:
Not every conversation is the finest chat 'round the Chruchill dinner table. Von Erich's little "angry blacks" comment should be laughed at like the written version of an unzipped fly that it is.
Rush should be mocked as well. His attitudes alienate non-black voters (millions of whom voted for Obama) and undermines the appointee byt making their choice look like nothing more than tokenism.
It's the case of two individuals who would have served the world a great deal by simply not speaking.
Mind you, if I shut up, we'd cure cancer. But all those patents on chemo drugs are sooooo lucrative.
I guess my point is, if we can stop congratulating ourselves for being so beyond racism,
I don't think anybody's beyond racism, myself included. It's a struggle all the time really. Of course on the other hand, I am beyond talking about "angry blacks". I do call myself liberal or progressive to, mostly to be proud of words that a lot of people have tried to turn into some kind of stigma.
Von Erich's little "angry blacks" comment should be laughed at like the written version of an unzipped fly that it is.
Perhaps you--and everyone--would make more progress on such issues as race, if we examined such comments instead of offering some knee-jerk superiority and laughter. I suspect you think Von Erich is a racist--you have tossed out that term a few times, and other times implied it in similar discussions--but I doubt you know enough to really know. I saw a serious question in Von Erich's post, one worth talking about. You saw an occasion to mock.
It's the case of two individuals who would have served the world a great deal by simply not speaking.
That hardly serves anyone. You, one who offers volumes of words here, should certainly know that.
I am beyond talking about "angry blacks".
Is that because you find the term offensive, you think there is no such thing anymore, or another reason or reasons?
See, we are already into worthwhile territory on race that deserves more than superficial mockery and dismissal.
Indeed offensive Matilda and mostly in the way it was used. You know this though, and it was clear from my response joking that we need more 'well behaved' blacks. Your finger wagging mommy tone is nauseating too.
ha, for your own benefit, here's the orginal post since you seem to be reading something completely different:
F this guy. It's time to take the angry blacks out of politics. They are the ones stoking the racial fire. And it's uneducated loudmouths like this guy that have looked Obama as nothing more than a powerful black politician. The rest of us would like to think that he's something more than that.
That is why black communties suffer the way they do. It's not about who you pick, it's what they are.
And is Blago a friend only because of his seated black connections? Would he not be a friend much longer if he picked a non-black (which now I hope he does on general principle)?
Damn angry uppity blacks ruining black communities and politics for the rest of us....
Thank you Matilda for at least reading beyond the "angry blacks" term, as well as understand what my point was attempting to drive at, which I see is being taken out of context. At the same time, my use of "angry blacks" was for people like Rush, and only like Rush. I apologize for offending anyone who believed I talked about all black politicians, or all black people period. Not my intent. I'm not from Rock Ridge.
My point was/is, when does it stop? Why does a black appointment need to be made? Because there was a minority spot before? This isn't about black and white. I'm tired of entitlement, and I'm tired of the seesaw of segregation. I would think that the racism and segregation would dilute with each passing generation, and I would hope that political leaders, black political leaders would steer that ship. The Al Sharptons, the Jesse Jacksons, and the Bobby Rushs of the world are bad news.
And using Strom Thurmond and Jessie Helms as rebuttals to my argument? Come on. Look where they served. I knew I should have put North of I80 in that argument.
The bottom line is, what purpose would it serve to fill a seat with a black politician JUST because he's a black politician? That is a major turn off. So if you are going to accuse my comments of being racist, perhaps you should switch your US Weekly reading attention span to a topic that actually applies to all of our lives.
The bottom line is, what purpose would it serve to fill a seat with a black politician JUST because he's a black politician? That is a major turn off. So if you are going to accuse my comments of being racist, perhaps you should switch your US Weekly reading attention span to a topic that actually applies to all of our lives.
I agree with what you just wrote above regarding the seat, but perhaps you should actually have said something *remotely* similar to what you just wrote instead of your first comment in the first place. Your *point* was missed because you didn't say anything like what you just wrote above.
So anyway, what made his statement so angry anyway? Was he jumping up and down when he said it? Break shit? Fire a gun?
You're taking all his statements out of context! Read every other word, backwards, at night, with your Annie Oakley decoder ring and it's clear. "Drink More Angry Blacks"
I love this bit though:
Because racism only happens north of I80. I can tell you, there are some SURPRISED motherfuckers in Boston who would disagree.
Navin and Parker why you two even spend time on Tilda and Erich Vonstupid? Especially after his last comment about being "angry about
entitlements" , when mostly rich straight white men get entitlements and "affirmative action" in the first place Then
then branding Rush as "angry" instead of stupid. Yet not recognizing that the country would be alot better if Blacks where more angry intellectually.
How Ironic that three of us think what Rush said is stupid, but not for racist reasons.
Then you have dumb Matilda, more concerned about being "smart". So she goes about finding the nugget of truth in racists stupidity, so she can play good intellectual cop. Obviously she seeks self worth via Chicagoist
excuse me for the typos, but I have had a couple ;-)
when mostly rich straight white men get entitlements
Your Delta Tau Chi name is going to be, SpookStupid
Hey Jimbo, you drive a ford or GM?
Just curious, since the rich white owners of those companies are headed to congress this week to get their big old slice of gubbermint cheese. So do you support those welfare queens or what?
More money is spent on financial subsidies, tax rebates and incentives for already wealthy, mainly white owned businesses than has EVER been spent on the poor or "minorities" types.
And lets not even talk about the defense industry.
mainly white owned businesses
Again.
I don't own a Ford or GM, nor do I support any attempt of bailing them out. I'm sure that you'll be the first one on here bitching though, when the UAW is destroyed and its jobs are shipped to Mexico because the Union is out of touch with reality.
Thank god the era of black "leaders" such as Bobby Rush is nearing the grave. These people have done nothing but hold their own race down for the benefit of themselves.
Obama's election and transition since have showed "gasp" that people are being chosen for the new government based on ability and readiness to assume responsibility, not skin color. This asshole should do his consituents a favor and resign immediately.
Long as you stick with "jimbo" which pretty much sums up who you are, Dimbo. But hey Tilda will always be there for you, ready to picket some minute nugget out of your stupidity and say "look what I found" See how brilliant I am?
actually Tower de la Sears, I could point to alot of harm they have done as in set thier race back. The problem is no one with credibility is wiling to denounce them because those that could are ridding the gravy train too, as the poor get left behind and set back. Look no further than William( cold cash) Jeffords of New Orleans. He should have been kicked out of the Congressional Black Caucus, stealing Katrina funds for his own pockets!
Oh and interesting that Obama is staying quite on the Ryan pardon question, I'm not critiquing yet. I'm just hoping for some courage soon, because its cold out here