Republicans Should Stay Clear Of Burris Mud

Just because Rep. Bobby Rush has decided to wallow in the sty of racial politics in the wake of the Rolland Burris fracas doesn’t mean that Senate Republicans should join him.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, reacting to a Chicago Sun-Times article in which Sen. Harry Reid is said to have suggested to have lobbied Gov. Blagojevich on certain Senate picks, said this:

“Sen. Reid has led the charge to deny the people of Illinois a voice in choosing their next U.S. Senator in a special election. Now we learn that Sen. Reid also took the extraordinary step to lobby against two sitting U.S. Congressmen and the State Senate Majority Leader in Illinois…why does he believe these three Illinois officeholders are 'unelectable' to the U.S. Senate?"

Reid is said to have favored either Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and attempted to counsel Blagojevich against Reps. Jessie Jackson Jr., Danny Davis and State Senate President Emil Jones. Reid was concerned that all three were “unelectable” – all three happen to be black. See where this is going?

A Senate Republican aide then further stirred the pot with an email where the aide questions the “appropriateness” of Reid’s actions. “What would the reaction be if a Republican had been pressuring a Governor not to pick one of the black candidates? You and I both remember the outrage over Trent Lott's comments at Strom Thurmond's birthday party. I'm not suggesting either of them is racist, just saying it seems like there's always a double standard on how R's and D's are judged on things like this.”

My point is this – Republicans don’t need to get involved with this type of race-baiting politics when the Democrats are more than capable of hamstringing themselves. If the GOP really wants to regain ground lost during last November’s election, then they need to remain focused on the larger issues of the day. There are bigger battles to pick, and this isn’t one of them. They can win this war without even showing up.