As the Blagojevich/Burris/Rush psychodrama continues to unfold, it seems that a contest is developing over who can make the most absurd, the most delusional, and the most self-serving remarks in this political soap opera.
In the delusional category we have Blagojevich:
...weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat ... to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature.
...up against Roland Burris' belief that there will be "a major outcry" if the Senate defies Blagojevich by refusing to seat him:
In the self-serving category, we have the entire criminal complaint against Blagojevich versus Burris' flip flop from outrage to "no comment":
On December 13, Roland Burris said Blago should be forced from office, calling the governor's actions "appalling" and "reprehensible."
But now Burris has abandoned his call for Blago to be booted from office, and has completely dropped his condemnations of the governor.
But in the absurd category Rep. Bobby Rush is in a class by himself. It began yesterday, when he likened opposition to Burris being seated to a lynching, but he really outdid himself during an appearance today on The Early Show:
RODRIGUEZ: Yesterday we heard you say that they shouldn't hang and lynch the appointee to punish the appointer. But do you believe that this is the way the only African-American Senator should be seated? Tainted, rightly or not, by a scandal and against the objections of most of his own party?
Rep. RUSH: Well, let me just say this, you know, the recent history of our nation has shown us that sometimes there could be individuals and there could be situations where school children--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. I know my friend Harry Reid...
This has to be both the ultimate in "you can't make this shit up," and the most blatant, shameless playing of the race card. Ever. To equate objections to a scandal-plagued Governor, caught on tape planning to sell a U.S. Senate seat, appointing anyone to fill that seat, with the ugly and tragic events during the fight for civil rights, is not only appalling, it's an insult to every man, woman and child who put their lives on the line during that terrible time in our nation's history. Rush should be ashamed of himself.
Last week, another Illinois legislator was asked to fill President-elect Obama's vacant Senate seat by Blagojevich. Rep. Danny Davis, who had earlier sought the appointment, turned him down:
I indicated I came to the conclusion there was too much discomfort on my part and the part of my family ... it would be difficult to generate the trust level people would have to have in me. I just decided there was too much turmoil, too much disagreement. It was something I wanted to do, but I said I would not take an appointment from the governor.
That's how a person of integrity deals with an offer from an ethically challenged Governor facing federal corruption charges. Roland Burris and Bobby Rush should take note of that.
Update: A late addition, in the why-leave-it-to-history category, is Roland Burris' monument to ... Roland Burris. This explains why Burris is so anxious to get that Senate seat. He has space to fill.