Posted on 07/13/2004 12:47:59 AM PDT by kattracks
BOSTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) tried to capitalize on growing rancor between the White House and civil rights leaders on Monday by accusing President Bush (news - web sites) of ignoring racial and economic inequalities in the United States.At a fund-raiser in his home state of Massachusetts, Kerry put a spotlight on Bush's decision last week not address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (news - web sites) and presented himself as a long-time civil-rights supporter inspired by John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
"My friends, I will be a president who meets with the leadership of the Civil Rights Congress, who meets with the NAACP," he told a predominantly black audience.
A Kerry spokesman said later the senator meant to refer to the Washington-based coalition called the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights rather than the Civil Rights Congress.
Kerry, 60, is scheduled to speak to the NAACP, the oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization, on Thursday at its annual convention in Philadelphia.
Last week, Bush declined an NAACP speaking invitation because of "hostile political rhetoric" from the group's leaders. "You've heard the rhetoric and the names they've called me," Bush told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
NAACP Chairman Julian Bond has accused the Bush administration of presiding over racial divisions in education, criminal justice and voting rights.
Even so, Republicans say Bush, who drew only 8 percent of the black vote in the 2000 election, has made an appeal to African Americans a priority of his re-election campaign.
White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), the first black woman to hold the position and one of Bush's closest aides, defended his civil rights record.
"I know that this is a president whose record is impeccable on civil rights, impeccable on the interests of African Americans, and I'm quite comfortable with the decision he's taken," Rice said on CNN.
Black voter support could be crucial in the Nov. 2 election, which analysts believe may be as close as the 2000 race, decided in Bush's favor by the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites).
In his first solo public appearance since a four-day campaign swing with his vice presidential running mate John Edwards (news - web sites), Kerry sounded out some of Edwards' signature themes about a divided America.
He pointed to inequities faced by blacks in criminal justice and education while accusing the Bush administration of pursuing tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of working families.
"All across this country, John and I saw a separate and unequal school system in America 50 years after Brown vs. Board of Education. That's unacceptable," Kerry said in reference to the Supreme Court ruling that outlawed school segregation.
"We've got more African Americans in jail than we do in college. That's unacceptable," he added.
Kerry said he "understands that the job of the presidency is not to look for the lowest common denominator of American politics by which you can divide and win for a few; it's to find the highest common denominator of American politics and unite and win for the many."
Yep, you can see how imortant these groups are to Kerry, when he can't even get their names right.
LOL! John F*ckin' would use them for photo ops if he became President. They would eat up his liberal rhetoric even as he did nothing for civil rights. Image is more important to the Left than the facts on the ground.
If elected, Kerry will rename all the state pens, Pen State. That way he'll be able to claim that under his leadership blacks have greater educational opportunities....
LOL!
As if the NAACP would EVER endorse a Republican candidate for President.
Bush is right not to waste his breath there. He has a better chance with the black churches and their leadership who are anti-abortion and anti gay marriage, and concentrate on those civil rights groups who haven't been taken over by race-baiters and carnival hucksters.
Kerry wouldn't give them hate crimes legislation and rape-erations? He would mindlessly appoint dodos and yoyos into the cabinets, and God knows what would result. Being the number one liberal member of the senate, he could flip flop us into a worse mess than Canada.
I don't think he will win unless Bush screws up royally-- that's the question. Bush held back his punches with Gore, and despite Gore's vulnerabilities [which are massive], Bush almost managed to lose it. So far, it looks like he's beginning to catch on that the new tone is meaningless with the DC rats. I hope he learns quickly enough. A lot is riding on that.
FReegards....
"..he can't even get their names right..."
GOOD JOB! Way to go!
more in jail than in college.
well big freakin' whoop. heres a tip afro american community
take back your familys, quit making grandma the raiser of your kids. hey dad, yea your black and sometimes the deck is stacked against you but that does not obsolve your responsability as a parent. if you can create a child you better be ready to raise a child. quit blameing the slave
history on your miserable existance and get your butt out there and work for a better tomorrow.
When are blacks going to figure out that actions speak louder than words? The left has told them things that they wanted to hear but has worked aggressively to keep blacks oppressed, poor and uneducated. Of the two candidates, ONLY ONE has two blacks in prominent, high profile positions. Of the two candidates, ONLY ONE has worked to try and implement substantive programs to try to keep black kids in school, out of jail and help them become productive members of society.
The candidate who has done NOTHING to improve life for blacks and whose PARTY has done NOTHING to improve life for blacks is John F'n Kerry, Opportunist Extraordinaire. Even blacks have noticed that Kerry's words are as hollow as his deeds - he has NO BLACKS in prominent positions on his campaign staff.
So, what is it that the Dems have to offer black Americans besides more hollow rhetoric and more empty promises? The coffee's brewin', do y'all smell it?
I heard Kerry's quote, all proud,emphasizing that he WILL meet with them.
He has time for that, but not to meet for his national security briefing last week.
Will someone please sit the ratmedia down and explain to them that the bigger story is that if Zelig HAS to court so called "Civil Rights" groups he's already behind the curve?
Once again Yahoo skips all the hate rhetoric by the NAACP leadership. Where are the quotes?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.