USA TODAY: "The Challenge Of Dealing With Minority Officials Who Run Afoul Of The Law Is A Pre-Eminently Democratic Problem"
02/25/2009
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This is from a USA Today article on Roland Burris's apparent perjury on his way to being appointed to the Senate.

A danger for Democrats
The challenge of dealing with minority officials who run afoul of the law is a pre-eminently Democratic problem and will certainly arise again when the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct makes its report on some questionable activities by Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Rangel is accused of failure to report income, circumventing New York City's rent-control laws by occupying four of the cut-rate units, not the allowable one, and using official House stationery to raise money for a school of public affairs at the City College of New York that is named for him.
In light of the reluctance of Democratic leaders to stand up to the chorus of support for Burris, they could find themselves accused of dealing less aggressively with minority corruption than with malfeasance by whites. This would be difficult enough given the importance of minorities to the Democratic coalition. What compounds the situation is the readiness of African-American politicians to make the accused into racial martyrs. [The Burris problem - Opinion - USATODAY.com, ]

There's more, and for a mainstream media publication, it's very brave. And yes, this is a major problem for Democrats, and it would be a much bigger problem for them if the mainstream media would report it. You will never see a headline that says "Black Congressman Arrested For Bribery." The only time I saw a headline that read "Black Charged With Fraud," it was Conrad Black, and as far as I know, he's not even guilty.

Typically the accused's race only comes out when he or she plays the race card. And that's how Burris got in the Senate, because of the race card. It may keep him there.

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