Sen. Harry Reid, the big man for the Democrats in the United States Senate, has gone from being the Majority Leader to the Obstructionist Leader. I know Reid and many other people have beef with embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. A lot of reasonable people have a beef with Blagojevich … and with good reason. But, Reid is wrong for opposing Roland Burris for U.S. Senate. Burris seems to be a good man. He is an older man who will probably serve out this term and not run again. Then, the people of Illinois could go to the voting booth and make the decision for themselves. Reid should respect the law even if he does not respect the man (Gov. Blagojevich) who seems to have an advantage he does not approve of. Reid is obstructing and delaying in a win-at-all costs effort that is turning Roland Burris (unfairly so) into collateral damage. It is unfair and it is unjust. Oppose or support Burris on his own merits, but don’t bury him using guilt-by-association politics. Reid has already tried to manipulate the Senate race on his own terms by seemingly dictating who he thinks should and should not be considered for the seat. Interestingly enough, the people that Reid seemed to most violently oppose were all black while the people that he strongly advocated for were all white. Is it a coincidence? Perhaps it is a coincidence. Reid, according to a conversation he had with Blagojevich before the governor’s scandal broke, felt that the three black candidates might not win an election against a Republican while the two other candidates he felt would have a better shot of winning. Reid needs to explain, in greater detail, his reasoning for opposing some very qualified black candidates and tell us with greater depth why he feels they can not win or would struggle to win against a Republican. Harry, we’re waiting.
Here are two interesting excerpts from the article linked to below:
Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, said Reid needs to explain his actions.
Reid “took the extraordinary step to lobby against two sitting U.S. congressmen and the state Senate majority leader in Illinois, and instead told Gov. Blagojevich that he supported an appointment for an individual who recently lost a U.S. House election,” he said in a written statement, referring to Duckworth.
“The U.S. Senate is an institution that is primarily white and has been forever and some people are more comfortable with people of their own kind,” said William Walls of the Committee for a Better Chicago, who believes that there could be some racism involved in Reid’s opposition. “Harry Reid seems to be one of those people.”
Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/03/spokesman-reid-called-blagojevich-senate-seat/
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