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In the Age of Obama, Still Playing the Race Card
The Washington Post ^ | Jan. 11, 2009 | William Jelani Cobb

Posted on 01/09/2009 11:46:27 PM PST by malkee

Here's what hasn't changed in America.

In the past week or so, we've seen a threatened Senate stand-off, hyperbolic historical references, an alleged case of stonewalling by the Illinois secretary of state, lawsuits and rumors of lawsuits, a wild-card nominee for the Senate first turned away from that body and then perhaps accepted by it, and that same nominee called upon to testify in the impeachment hearings of the man who nominated him -- all tied together by the complicating factor of race.

Former Illinois attorney general Roland W. Burris may well be qualified to serve as the junior senator from Illinois, but his path to office demonstrates not only that cynicism is alive and well but that the politics of racial divisiveness remain with us too. With one stroke, public attention shifted away from a corrupt governor's attempt to auction a public office and onto the reliably controversial terrain of race.

In pushing the case for Burris, Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.), who is black, made inflamed references to lynching -- arguing that criticizing Burris was akin to lynching a black man -- and to the "plantation politics" of the Senate. Rush illustrated perfectly the kind of cynical manipulation of race that President-elect Barack Obama rejected throughout his campaign, especially in his speech on race last March. But Gov. Rod Blagojevich's gambit worked. The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly to impeach him on Friday, but it does appear as though whatever else happens, on the point of Sen. Burris, he will prevail.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: blackpresident; blagojevich; bleepgate; bobbyrush; burris; il2008; obama; racecard
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Well written.
1 posted on 01/09/2009 11:46:27 PM PST by malkee
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To: malkee

Good to see the WaPo just noticed this. They really run a sharp newsroom there.


2 posted on 01/09/2009 11:49:41 PM PST by Republic of Texas (Socialism Always Fails)
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To: Republic of Texas
Playing the race deck...only one joker...


No, Biden is in jest.

3 posted on 01/10/2009 12:01:10 AM PST by Cyber Ninja (His legacy is a stain OnTheDress)
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To: malkee

Despite the fact Chicago is one of the most racially-diverse cities in the USA, the issue of racism in politics is still there. How one Barack Obama didn’t get flattened by that culture still amazes me.


4 posted on 01/10/2009 12:05:13 AM PST by RayChuang88
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To: malkee

If Jesus returns and he is black, they will still play the very well paying race card.

They have no intellectual points to offer,they have to rely on on emo.

Race pimping , like all pimping, pays them well.


5 posted on 01/10/2009 12:44:28 AM PST by NoLibZone (Islam must be completely eradicated from the face of the Earth.)
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To: malkee
One simple question: If Blago had appointed someone who was not black would they have had a snowballs chance in hell of being seated?
6 posted on 01/10/2009 2:32:11 AM PST by RU88 (The false messiah can not change water into wine any more than he can get unity from diversity.)
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To: RU88

Exactly. The Dems created this monster, and now it has turned on them.


7 posted on 01/10/2009 2:46:25 AM PST by livius
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To: malkee

I am so sick, tired, and disgusted with this “one trick pony” act by minorities. I wish they were able to grow up and stop blaming everyone else for their troubles.


8 posted on 01/10/2009 4:10:42 AM PST by seemoAR
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To: seemoAR

No one grows up until circumstances force them to. So long as there are race-baiting enablers, those who can use the card will play it. That’s the way it is and why the original constitutional idea was to break up the power base so that no minority group could do more than limit the power of the majority. Now minorities can dictate to majorities. All from the residual guilt that the post-racist majority imposes on itself. This is not going away and while it stinks to high heaven and is a major contributor to our present problems, the precedents are both clear and widely-supported. We can argue and rebut as much as we like but that will only bring the past into the present.

If I had a solution, it would be to simply stop paying any attention to the subject and (as I have in fact done) move away from places where race-nazis have serious political power. That does mean avoiding every large/medium American city, but there’s definitely an upside to living in semi-rural places. The downside is I make far less money. Then again, I can’t take the money with me and I’m acutely aware that I, like anybody else, am not getting out of here alive nor am I taking any of it with me.

I’d suggest that the real issue here is that another politico in another city has been caught, as usual, with hands in till and power stored up that should never have been on offer to acquire. Her sex and race is incidental, especially as it proves that people of African extraction put their corruption on one pant leg at a time, just like anybody else. Very leveling, that.

But, of course, the side problem is that this, like the William Jefferson, Democrat-NOLA case, will be noted and quickly suppressed from the mainstream media reports. Any press room attempting to more assiduously follow it will be branded racist. The protection by guilty white liberals and fellow-traveler blacks will be extended and the establishment will do what it always does: protect its own and demolish anyone who interferes with the stable exercise of power aggrandizement and wealth accumulation.

Remember that hypocrisy never bothers the hypocrite.


9 posted on 01/10/2009 4:23:29 AM PST by BelegStrongbow (Hypocrisy never bothers the hypocrite)
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To: malkee

Burris may well be qualified to serve as the junior senator from Illinois,

He is probably more qualified than the senior senator from Illinois, but because of his race the democrats don’t want to put up with him in the senate.

Now tell me which party is racist!


10 posted on 01/10/2009 4:57:49 AM PST by chainsaw
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To: BelegStrongbow

I moved from a small town 25 years ago because of trouble I saw brewing there. It was one of the smartest moves I ever made. I now live in a rural area and I dare anyone to come onto my property and start trouble. It would take the Do- Nut eaters about 15 minutes to get here. I will take what ever measures that are necessary to protect my family or my property.


11 posted on 01/10/2009 5:05:00 AM PST by seemoAR
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To: NoLibZone

Living in a small town I hear black people complaining about things and 99% of the time it is a race thing. It never ceases to amaze me how they can see a racial issue in anything-—including which end of Main St. is re-paved first. the black end or the white end—ignoring that people of both races drive both ends of Main St.!!!!


12 posted on 01/10/2009 5:05:55 AM PST by lonestar
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To: seemoAR
I will take what ever measures that are necessary to protect my family or my property.

I completely agree, as cannot be a surprise. Of course, that is an option for the first few to whom it occurs. Everybody after that will simply cause the old problems in the new locale. For myself, ensconced 50 miles from the nearest biggish city (Raleigh or Fayette-nam), the hope is that the curse will take longer to get here than I have left on the planet.

That would mean, at present rates of decay, 30 years. One can only hope.

13 posted on 01/10/2009 5:24:25 AM PST by BelegStrongbow (Hypocrisy never bothers the hypocrite)
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To: BelegStrongbow
My timetable is much shorter. A new state park was opened very close to me. The land was acquired(stolen)from my neighbors. Traffic is bad in the summer time. Drunks rule the roads. A realtor bought a lot of land in my area and will probably put in a new housing area. The only good thing I can see from this is the fact my property may sell for a lot more and I will be able to move.
14 posted on 01/10/2009 5:36:06 AM PST by seemoAR
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To: lonestar

And of course if what they want is done that is NOT racism, right? But if what the white people are imagined to want is done that IS racism.
Now do they want their end of the street paved first or do they want the white end paved first? I could probably envision reasons for either one.


15 posted on 01/10/2009 5:59:09 AM PST by RipSawyer (Great Grandpa was a Confederate soldier from the cradle of secession.)
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To: BelegStrongbow

That would mean, at present rates of decay, 30 years. One can only hope.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Good luck, I am afraid to count on thirty minutes in the current environment. Speaking of Fayette Nam, I haven’t been there in years, I wonder if it has gotten much worse.
I used to go there regularly on business and one day as I was just about to turn into the entrance to I-95 to go South a car load of blacks passed me and one leaned out the rear window and pointed a handgun at me. He never fired it but I still wonder what that was about.


16 posted on 01/10/2009 6:05:39 AM PST by RipSawyer (Great Grandpa was a Confederate soldier from the cradle of secession.)
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To: RipSawyer
Whatever is done, they want the opposite.

They can see racism in a sunset!

17 posted on 01/10/2009 6:50:56 AM PST by lonestar
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To: malkee

It’s nice seeing this happen to the Democrats. This is what they get after decades of sowing racial discord: it bites them in their collectivist arses.


18 posted on 01/10/2009 8:46:27 AM PST by ToGodBeTheGlory (All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them.)
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To: malkee

Might as well be called the “anti-white” card. These clowns throw it about sadisticly, it is their only joy.


19 posted on 01/10/2009 8:59:21 AM PST by junta (Not even respectable mainstream conservatives can save liberalism.)
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To: malkee

Liberal MSM has allowed this BS for decades.


20 posted on 01/10/2009 9:55:33 AM PST by Chgogal (Don't look at me. You elected them, Comrade!)
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