Bush's Speech To The NAACP

[MrsSpringsteen]

So he finally spoke to the NAACP today, for the first time since he became President

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/07/20060720.html

"We'll work together, and as we do so, you must understand I understand that racism still lingers in America. (Applause.) It's a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African Americans distrust my political party.

AUDIENCE: Yes! (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historic ties with the African American community. For too long my party wrote off the African American vote, and many African Americans wrote off the Republican Party. (Applause.)

That history has prevented us from working together when we agree on great goals. That's not good for our country. That's what I've come to share with you. We've put the interests of the country above political party. I want to change the relationship. (Applause.) The America we seek should be bigger than politics. And today I'm going to talk about some areas where I believe we can work together to reduce the obstacles for opportunity for all our citizens."

He also talks a bit about Katrina and HIV/AIDS in Africa

 

[BVS]

Better late than never.

 

[BonosSaint]

Well, it's something.

 

[shart1780]

Coolio.

 

[Screwtape2]

He's right in many ways. If the Republicans really want to change thier image, they have to get off the traditional value legislation. I don't think they are bad people they just don't have their priorities straight. I can only hope that they work on AID's and help the victims of Katrina and the future victims of storms to come.

 

[melon]

Nothing like the GOP being 40 years too late to apologize, while still ignoring all the lessons they should have learned (considering how homophobic the party is).

But hey...at least they're not like the Vatican, which is usually centuries too late and only apologizes once the victims are dead or start successful class-action lawsuits.

Melon

 

[Diemen]

We've put the interests of the country above political party. I want to change the relationship.

Freudian slip?

 

[deep]

"Stop being a Stepin Fetchit for Dick Cheney!"

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I watched it on CSpan last night, and there was a heckler who was removed. I will try to find out more about that.

Maybe the best speech I've ever seen Bush make (I haven't seen that many because frankly it makes me cringe to watch)-but actions speak louder than words.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072000794.html?nav=rss_nation

"The 33-minute speech at the group's annual convention drew rounds of thunderous applause, such as when the president acknowledged that his political party wrote off the black vote and when he vowed to sign a bill to renew the Voting Rights Act.

At other times, the audience groaned, such as when Bush said his family is committed to civil rights. People booed sharply when he praised charter schools. Two men were quickly hustled out of the hall by Secret Service agents for heckling Bush about the Iraq war.

I think this was a good day," Gordon said of the president's visit. "He said exactly what he should say."

Douglas Mayers, an NAACP delegate from New York, said he agreed with everything Bush said. "It was a fantastic speech," he said.

Other views were mixed. The Rev. Ezekiel Holley, a delegate from Dawson, Ga., said the speech, especially the voting rights comments, was welcome. But it was late, he said. "It should have been done four years ago. I'm still disappointed."

 

[nbcrusader]

Sounds like there were people willing to listen and give credit where due.

 

[Irvine511]

actually, this is one of Bush's strengths, and had he not been railroaded by 9-11 and his endless series of flabbergasting fuck-ups in virtually every other area of foreign and domestic policy, this is what he was designed to do for the GOP: expand the tent, so to speak.

deep down, unlike many other white southern Republican males, i don't think Bush is at all a racist, or anti-Semetic, or even (wait for it) all that homophobic. perhaps a little sexist, though. i think he genuinely likes people regardless of their background, and he's by all accounts in possession of tremendous interpersonal skills and one-on-one charisma, and i would guess that the original plan in 1999/2000 was to have Cheney tend to the presidenting, and for Bush to be in continual campaign mode, reaching out to blacks and hispanics and catholics and even jews. i would guess, as well, that he's far more comfortable doing this than in calling for bullshit issues like the FMA which, again, by all accounts, he doesn't give a crap about. the 2004 election saw the GOP make significant inroads with Hispanic and Catholic voters, so African-Americans seem the next logical target, even though his approval rating, by some accounts, is around 10%, and he's got more than enough groveling to do in regards to his (non)response to Hurricane Katrina.

 

[BVS]

and when he vowed to sign a bill to renew the Voting Rights Act.

How is this even a fucking issue in 2006? Am I missing something?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

This is from an article I found on Yahoo

"The House passed the bill last week 390-33 with opposition mostly from Southern lawmakers who objected to renewing a law that requires their states win Justice Department approval before changing any voting rules — punishment, they said, for racist practices decades in the past.

Some also objected to provisions that require jurisdictions with large populations of non-English-speaking citizens to print ballots in languages other than English.

Several Southern senators echoed the concerns of their House counterparts, but there were few obstacles to passage in that chamber.

"Is this the very best that we can do at this time? Yes, it is," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The nine states required to win Justice Department approval for any voting practice changes are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia

Other senators said the act was still necessary and pointed to congressional hearings that showed certain districts still make it harder for minorities and citizens with limited understanding of English to be informed when they cast ballots."

 

[nbcrusader]

How is this even a fucking issue in 2006? Am I missing something?

Yes, you are missing the fact that the legislation was based on specific historical factors from 40 years ago that are still being applied (as if it were the 1960's).

There is no opportunity to review and adjust for changes over 40 years. So, there may be a "fucking issue".

The analysis has to go beyond the simple title of the legislation.

 

[BVS]

Yes, you are missing the fact that the legislation was based on specific historical factors from 40 years ago that are still being applied (as if it were the 1960's).

There is no opportunity to review and adjust for changes over 40 years. So, there may be a "fucking issue".

The analysis has to go beyond the simple title of the legislation.

OK, but what are the factors you speak of? And what do you mean by no opportunity to review and adjust for changes?

 

[nbcrusader]

OK, but what are the factors you speak of? And what do you mean by no opportunity to review and adjust for changes?

In a nutshell, specific states (9 of 50) are required to get Justice Department approval before making any changes to their voting laws. This was based on the actions of 40+ years ago.

If we are serious about voting rights, we would either require Justice Department approval for all 50 states or set Federal standards that apply across the board.

Simply renewing the law (instead of crafting an updated new law) tells 9 states that nothing has changed and they need to be segregated from the other 41 states on voting laws.

 

[BVS]

If we are serious about voting rights, we would either require Justice Department approval for all 50 states or set Federal standards that apply across the board.

I agree, and that's why I find this to be somewhat perplexing, I guess I need to just read the act.

 

[nbcrusader]

I agree, and that's why I find this to be somewhat perplexing, I guess I need to just read the act.

The perplexing part is the old political game. It is much like Social Security - tinker with it, even with the goal of improving the system for everyone and a politician runs the risk of being targeted by an attack ad suggesting they hate seniors, or don't care if they are forced to eat cat food.

To not simply renew the Voting Rights Act means facing similar "why do you hate black people?" suggestions or you don't care about the disenfranchised.

You can fill in plenty of other examples from both sides of the isle - this is not a partisan depiction.

It is politics of emotion, not rational thought. Effective at maintaining power, but a lousy way to run a government.

 

[diamond]

actually, this is one of Bush's strengths, and had he not been railroaded by 9-11 and his endless series of flabbergasting fuck-ups in virtually every other area of foreign and domestic policy, this is what he was designed to do for the GOP: expand the tent, so to speak.

deep down, unlike many other white southern Republican males, i don't think Bush is at all a racist, or anti-Semetic, or even (wait for it) all that homophobic. perhaps a little sexist, though. i think he genuinely likes people regardless of their background, and he's by all accounts in possession of tremendous interpersonal skills and one-on-one charisma, and i would guess that the original plan in 1999/2000 was to have Cheney tend to the presidenting, and for Bush to be in continual campaign mode, reaching out to blacks and hispanics and catholics and even jews. i would guess, as well, that he's far more comfortable doing this than in calling for bullshit issues like the FMA 2004 election saw the GOP make significant inroads with Hispanic and Catholic voters, so African-Americans seem the next lowhich, again, by all accounts, he doesn't give a crap about. the gical target, even though his approval rating, by some accounts, is around 10%, and he's got more than enough groveling to do in regards to his (non)response to Hurricane Katrina.

this is a lovely post.
i admire your integrity
altho we coulda left the katrina/cheney references out

and yes no doubt GW has that charisma thing going on..

dbs

 

[Irvine511]

^

diamond, you never cease to amaze me.

 

[diamond]

at least we agree on the diamondchrisma thing and manly man swaggar

dbs

 

[maycocksean]

The perplexing part is the old political game. It is much like Social Security - tinker with it, even with the goal of improving the system for everyone and a politician runs the risk of being targeted by an attack ad suggesting they hate seniors, or don't care if they are forced to eat cat food.

To not simply renew the Voting Rights Act means facing similar "why do you hate black people?" suggestions or you don't care about the disenfranchised.

You can fill in plenty of other examples from both sides of the isle - this is not a partisan depiction.

It is politics of emotion, not rational thought. Effective at maintaining power, but a lousy way to run a government.

You make some thoughtful points here, nbc.

However, I'm not certain that enough time has past. Remember, the Confederate flag at the statehouse issue a few years back? If southern politicians can't yet see something as simple as that as being a problem, I'm not confident we can yet trust those nine states to handle their voting laws without some oversight.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

By Derrick Z. Jackson Boston Globe July 22, 2006


President Bush broke his boycott of the NAACP by copying the speech he gave to the nation's oldest civil rights group as a candidate in 2000.

On Thursday, Bush said: ``I understand that many African-Americans distrust my political party. . . . I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historic ties with the African-American community. . . . We need to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. . . . I understand that racism still lingers in America."

In 2000, Bush said: ``For my party, there is no escaping the reality that the party of Lincoln has not always carried the mantle of Lincoln. . . . While some in my party have avoided the NAACP and while some in the NAACP have avoided my party, I'm proud to be here. . . . I will confront another form of bias: the soft bigotry of low expectations. . . . Discrimination is still a reality, even when it takes different forms. Instead of Jim Crow, there's racial redlining and profiling. Instead of separate but equal, there is separate and forgotten. Strong civil rights enforcement will be a cornerstone of my administration."

Bush hoped he could plagiarize himself to an audience he treated for 5 1/2 years as separate and forgotten. Until Thursday, he was the only sitting president since Warren G. Harding more than 80 years ago not to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Bush's top moment of success in that regard was when he said he would sign the extension of the Voting Rights Act. This was hardly courageous, as the Senate passed the extension 98 to 0 and the House passed it 390 to 33. More on Bush's mind was blunting visceral anger at his Iraq debacle and domestic policies that have many Republican members of Congress at risk in the mid-term elections.

Anger seethed beneath the politeness. While Bush received strong applause on the voting act and for understanding the distrust of black voters toward his party, silence grew as Bush retreated to well-worn, but ill-funded initiatives such as education. He received a smattering of boos for pushing charter schools.

Many people in the audience were acutely aware that Bush barely touched on the NAACP's core mission of equal rights. Bush failed to square his lament about African-Americans and Republicans when his own Justice Department deleted half of a massive report on racism among its attorneys, and his own Department of Health and Human Services attempted to delete all references to disparities and inequalities in healthcare. Bush did not mention why he backed white students at the University of Michigan who tried to kill affirmative action. He did not mention his Supreme Court and federal judicial appointees who oppose affirmative action and school busing.

His praise of the Voting Rights Act was, of course, the most ironic moment of his speech, considering how he gained the Oval Office with the massive disqualification of black ballots in Florida.

``I thought it was a good speech; he lost his luster and fire at the end," said James Crowell, president of the Biloxi NAACP in Mississippi. ``We're still waiting for money to help us out from [Hurricane] Katrina. Even in removing rubbish from Katrina, minority contractors were at the end of hiring. The cost of a gallon of gasoline is almost the same as the minimum wage. Small school systems are dying from lack of funding as white families pull out. I haven't seen anything from Bush where the rubber meets the road."

Kenny Gwynn, president of the middle Tennessee chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and Paco Havard, president of the Maury County, Tennessee chapter of the NAACP, agreed.

``We don't need separate charter schools; we need all our schools to be built up," said Gwynn, a General Motors auto worker. ``On jobs, we're bleeding them overseas and everyone is worried about their pensions and healthcare."

Havard added, ``I hear hope in what Bush says, but don't show me despair."

Julian Bond, the NAACP's chairman and the organization's harshest critic of the Bush presidency, said he was happy Bush made his speech, but noted how the president failed to utter a single example of how the administration enforced civil rights. He said Bush still ranks among the lowest of modern presidents in that regard.

``It's like a plumber addressing a carpenters' convention," Bond said. ``The harsh reality of his presidency is one of low performance and low expectations."