Appointment by Race.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Roland Burris, recent appointee to the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. The senate Democrats have stated that they will not seat anyone appointed by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevish, who is governing under threat of indictment and impeachment. That statement was issued, of course, before the Democrats knew that the appointee would be an African-American, although surely they knew that was a likelihood.

If the Democrats now back down and go ahead and seat Burris, it will be a strong indication that liberal guilt still rules their party. They will yield to those in their party, such as Illinois representative and former Black Panther Bobby Rush, who has virtually dared them to stick to their guns and "lynch" Burris by treating him as they would a Caucasian appointee.

If on the other hand, the Democrats stay strong and refuse to seat Burris, it just might be an indication that they are finally willing to begin to leave race behind and to make some movement toward that color-blind country they always said they wanted. This is a move that Republicans made decades, if not generations, ago. The GOP has demonstrated that commitment by pushing for individual rights and equality before the law. The Democrats, on the other hand, have pushed continually for racial quotas, affirmative action and hate crimes - all based on the belief that the answer to past discrimination is even more discrimination in the future.

The senate Democrats have a goodly amount of cover. They issued their "no seat" rule long before an African-American was appointed. Burris has made contributions to Blagojevish's campaign, thereby further tainting an already tainted appointment. And, perhaps most importantly, President-elect Obama has voiced support for the Democrats' stance on a Blagojevish appointment. This speaks well for Obama. Let's hope the future will also speak well for senate Democrats.