Rush Plays Race Card on Burris Pick

Tells Senate to take 'chill pill' and accept black member
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 31, 2008 11:28 AM CST

Bobby Rush thinks Rod Blagojevich’s choice for Barack Obama’s Senate seat ought to get the job despite the governor’s alleged misdeeds, for one simple reason: He’s black. Yesterday at a press conference, Rush applauded the selection of Roland Burris, and urged the press not to “hang or lynch” him; today in a CBS interview he compared the Senate’s vow not to seat Burris to segregation.

“All these folks who are opposed to Gov. Blagojevich, they need to take a chill pill,” Rush told CBS, alluding to situations “where you have officials standing in the doorway of school children. You know, I'm talking about all of us back in 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas. I'm talking about George Wallace, Bull Connors and I'm sure that the US Senate don't want to see themselves placed in the same position.” (More Bobby Rush stories.)

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