Posted on 07/11/2004 5:52:10 PM PDT by sandlady
YORK, Pa. - President Bush said Friday that he declined an invitation to speak to the NAACP's convention in Philadelphia because of harsh statements about him by leaders of the venerable civil rights group.
''I would describe my relationship with the current leadership as basically nonexistent,'' Bush told reporters. ``You've heard the rhetoric and the names they've called me.''
Bush added that he ''admired some'' NAACP leaders and said he would seek members' support ``in other ways.''
The decision not to speak was a far cry from candidate Bush's appeal to the NAACP four years ago when he conceded at its convention in Baltimore that Republicans hadn't always gotten along with the group.
`NOT ALWAYS ALLIES'
''The NAACP and the GOP -- have not always been allies, I know that,'' Bush said then. ``But recognizing our past and confronting the common future with a common vision -- by doing that, I believe we can find common ground.''
They haven't. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume is to respond to Bush's comments today at a news conference.
It's the fourth straight year that Bush has declined an invitation to attend the NAACP convention, which opens today in Philadelphia. He's the first sitting president since Herbert Hoover not to address the group.
White House officials initially said scheduling conflicts prevented Bush from making the journey to Philadelphia or addressing the conference via satellite, as he did Thursday to the League of United Latin American Citizens convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Administration officials traveling with the president on Friday on a campaign swing through south-central Pennsylvania signaled that White House annoyance with the NAACP was the major factor.
REASON REVEALED
''The current leadership of the NAACP has certainly made some rather hostile political comments about the president over the past few years,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, speaking to lawmakers and business leaders in Indiana last month, said Bush and other Republicans appeal to a racist ``dark underside of American culture.''
''They preach racial equality but practice racial division,'' Bond said.
``Their idea of equal rights is the American flag and Confederate swastika flying side-by-side.''
On Thursday, Mfume accused the Bush administration of treating the black community cynically by courting the black vote while stiffing black organizations like the NAACP.
''We're not fools,'' he said.
McClellan said the Bush administration has been courting African-American voters through its political agenda. When Bush talks about his ''No Child Left Behind'' education program, he often speaks about eliminating the ''soft bigotry of low expectations'' that minority children experience in public schools. Bush received only 9 percent of the black vote in 2000.
Worden reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
It is not unrestrained to call the NAACP leadership "extremists," or to say they speak "the language of hate." The quotes from Julian Bond and others make it quite clear.
We cannot buy into the liberal establishment's definition of what is and is not polite. If we do, we might as well bend over and take it in the rear, forgetting about the election and indeed every other election.
I can only imagine the hostility you have recieved from this group, especially because of your activism/advocacy.
To say that the NAACP believes that socialism or communism is the way to equality for Black Americans is extreme. As a Black person, I feel that it is accurate to say that we just want to be treated fairly. It would be nice if employers didn't throw my job application in the trash after I show up at the interview, or if I had the same chance as an immigrant to obtain a small business loan. The concept of fair play seems to be foreign to Majority America. It's unreasonable to expect a group of people to succeed if the rules are different for them because of their color. No one is asking for preferential treatment; just put aside the bigotry that you've learned from your parents and grandparents and look past a person's skin tone.
double-ping:)
No person is completely free of prejudice, but your statement is incorrect: the rules are not different. The race card methods of the National NAACP are indefensible. Things like that particular TV ad against George W. Bush are indefensible.
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