Via Rich

* Delmarie Cobb, Burris’ media adviser who more than hinted to Carol Marin this week that she intends to play the race card, sent a pretty frank letter to Ald. Freddrenna Lyle which was then posted on a local blog

In true David Axelrod style, all week, white progressive Democratic elected officials have called for Roland’s resignation–David Orr, Dan Hynes, Dick Durbin, Pat Quinn, and Alexi Giannoullias.

You may not be able to ask this question, but where have all of these self-righteous people been during all of the corruption, scandal, pay-to-play and mismanagement revelations that have been uncovered by the Chicago Sun Times and Tribune on Mayor Daley. Not once have these elected officials or the Chicago media called for Daley’s resignation. As John Kass said in his column on Friday, black elected officials are perceived as weak and white elected officials are seen as powerful. Consequently, we can do to Roland–with no evidence of wrongdoing–what we can’t do to Daley and others with mounds of evidence.

Also, all of them will need black votes to be elected or re-elected, so this isn’t a good time to make enemies of the black community.

It seems pretty clear where this is headed.

A not so veiled threat…

Many black elected officials didn’t like Barack, but they stayed quiet and got on board and they need to do the same for Roland.

The ultimate goal…

We need to help rehabilitate Roland’s image and try to get him elected. Then, over the course of his six-year term, we need to find a successor, who is African American.


Cobb was the person who claimed (rightfully) that Emil Jones called her an Uncle Tom for supporting Hillary Clinton

Cobb has been a high-profile Clinton supporter, and she said she is still paying the price in the African-American community.

“If people are still making digs at the Hillary Clinton people because we supported her, that is not going to bring us on board. It makes us feel as though we’re outsiders, and we’re Democrats,” Cobb said. “The litmus test for being black is [seen as] supporting Barack.”

Cobb said she saw Clinton supporters walking into an Illinois delegation meeting at the Marlowe Restaurant on Sunday and being handed Obama buttons, only to put the buttons in their pockets. That prompted the greeters to say, “You can tell the Hillary Clinton people, they never take the buttons.”

From her comments above:

Many black elected officials didn’t like Barack, but they stayed quiet and got on board and they need to do the same for Roland.

Except she didn’t stay silent and was quite vocal about her opposition to Barack Obama declaring supporters kool aid drinkers.

More from above:

We need to help rehabilitate Roland’s image and try to get him elected. Then, over the course of his six-year term, we need to find a successor, who is African American.

The stupid part of this is the notion that the only African American official who could win in 2010 is Burris.  Illinois has one of the best statewide records on electing African Americans.  He’s not the best nor the brightest right now.  I have some sense that those who could make a good run at the US Senate aren’t on Cobb’s shortlist however because they don’t pay fealty to the politics of those like Bobby Rush who while quite African American, is a corporate whore on many policies including telecommunications.