The Honorable Roland Burris and Our Culture of Corruption

Rolland Wallace Burris is today at the center of a controversy that, in reality, should have never been a controversy. The junior United States Senator (D) from Illinois was "appointed" by scandal-ridden ex-Governor Rod Bagojevich to replace out-going Senator Barack Obama. Blagojevich, who is himself now under a federal indictment for trying to "sell" the Senate seat, ignored the wishes of Illinois elected officials and his constituents and appointed Burris, former Attorney General of Illinois, before he was removed form office. Several congressmen (Democrat) rushed to Burris' aid and demanded that his appointment be confirmed. One of them, Representative Bobby Rush (D), also from Illinois, even commented that he hoped the Senate wouldn't try to "hang or lynch" Burris, metaphorically speaking. He later went on to say that any attempt to keep Burris from being confirmed would be entirely based on "race"...Recently (May 27, 2009), on an episode of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson, an audio-taped conversation was played that revealed Burris, himself, negotiating a price to purchase the then vacant Senate seat. The Sangamon County State's Attorney's office and the Senate Ethics Committee now both have on-going investigations into whether Burris perjured himself during Illinois House of Representatives committee hearings involving Blagojevich impeachment proceedings.

This begs the question, "Why is Burris still a United States Senator?"...The taped evidence alone should be enough for the Senate to temporarily remove him from office until the matter can be resolved. Why are there no Senators or Representatives (D) or (R) speaking out against Burris? Recent attempts by FOX News to contact the "Honorable" Representative Bobby Rush have been unsuccessful. I'll bet they were!...Representative Rush and numerous other congressmen are sure to want distance themselves as much as possible to prevent any "collateral damage" that could result from these investigations. Our President and Attorney General have also been curiously quiet. Why no outcry for "justice"?...My hope is that all the citizens of Illinois, and the rest of the nation for that matter, will bombard the Washington D.C. switchboard with calls demanding the immediate removal of Senator Burris. Stand up for your country, your state, and yourself and demand justice.

Sadly, corruption in our elected officials has almost become an accepted fact. Our choices, lately, seem to be centered around choosing the "lesser of two evils" to represent us in any given office...The citizens of Illinois and this nation deserve better!!...Will our congressmen and the executive office do the right thing and take care of this obvious problem? My heart wants to say yes, but my head knows better...

It's a shame that our nation has become what it is today...Power hungry crooks, nothing better than slick-haired snake-oil salesmen, have taken over and disgraced their forefathers and this great nation.

Will great men of character, once again, take back this nation?...