Posted on 07/12/2004 10:03:37 AM PDT by no dems
NAACP berates GOP on race
By Steve Miller THE WASHINGTON TIMES
PHILADELPHIA — NAACP Chairman Julian Bond yesterday delivered a blistering speech against the Republican Party, accusing it of "playing the race card in election after election." "Apparently they think we really do all look alike," Mr. Bond said during an opening address at the 95th annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "To hear them, Martin Luther King and Clarence Thomas are the same man."
The address, which in the last several years has been scathingly anti-Republican, has also become widely anticipated and celebrated by the majority of association members since Mr. Bond became chairman in 1998. Mr. Bond's statements fuel criticism from conservatives that the NAACP, despite its proclamations of nonpartisanship, has become a surrogate for the Democratic Party. Yesterday, Mr. Bond, a former Democratic state legislator in Georgia, took jabs at radio host Rush Limbaugh and Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as at President Bush for the war in Iraq and the tax-cut plan he pushed through Congress. He also repeated his claim made at the outset of last year's convention that the Republican Party has "appealed to the dark underside of American culture, to that of minority Americans who reject democracy and equality." "If you're a drug addict on the street, they say it's a crime, but if you're a right-wing radio talk-show host, they say it's an illness," Mr. Bond said. "Overdosed on testosterone, they've descended into the very vulgarity they say they want to keep off the airwaves." The tax cuts, Mr. Bond said, were put in place "to further enrich the already wealthy and to starve the government, making it unable to meet human needs." The war in Iraq, "was not about weapons of destruction, but it was about the crass obstruction of the truth." He added, "If it was up to us, every man and woman stationed in Iraq would be safely at home right now." In the remarks, Mr. Bond urged people to vote in an election that "is a contest between two widely disparate views of who we are and what we believe." "One view wants to march us backward through history; wants to surrender control of government to special interests; wants to weaken democracy; wants to give religion veto power over science; wants to curtail civil liberties; and wants to destroy the environment," he said. "The other view promises expanded democracy and giving the people, not plutocrats, control over their government." When Mr. Bush spoke in Topeka, Kan., two months ago to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that ended segregation of public schools, Mr. Bond said he was afraid to listen. "[I was] afraid that he was going to announce that he was going to repeal the 14th Amendment," which ensures U.S. citizens equal protection under the law. Yesterday, Mr. Bond continued to criticize the president for refusing to address the conference for the fourth year in a row. "No doubt he thinks he'll take care of colored people by speaking to our sister organization, the National Urban League," he said. Mr. Bush addressed the National Urban League's convention in 2001 and 2003. He is penciled in to appear at this year's Urban League conference in Detroit as well, but has not confirmed. The president said last week that he would not address the convention because his relationship with NAACP leaders is "basically nonexistent" and because he had been ridiculed by some of the group's members. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume on Saturday said he hoped the president would reconsider. Mr. Mfume said he still has time set aside Thursday, when Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry is scheduled to appear. The last time Mr. Bush spoke to the group was in 2000, when he was the governor of Texas and a presidential hopeful. Sources have verified that Mr. Bush was "personally hurt" by an ad run by a group loosely connected to the NAACP during the 2000 presidential contest that portrayed him as unsympathetic to James Byrd, the Texas black man who was dragged to his death by three white men. Some Republicans had also hoped that the president would attend. "It is very important that the president be there," Rep. Christopher Shays said. "He needs to take the office to the event. Some think that the NAACP was unfair to him in 2000... but nonetheless, he needs to be there." The Connecticut Republican is scheduled today to take part in a panel at the conference on the NAACP's legislative agenda.
Where did you get that?
I thought that was pretty common knowledge, it is well documented. Pls don't make me go find supporting documents.
To hear the Dems, Martin Luther King and Al Sharpton are the same man.
LOL… The whole thing is hilarious, but this one is a real howler.
The liberals are desperate and it’s great fun to listen to their delusions as they lose power.
The NAACP is being led by a group of Communist, race baiting sympathizers that do nothing for African Americans and load their own pockets at their memberships expense.
There is no doubt they can influence and no doubt that they do.
They drive a wedge between all Americans and invite terrorism. Julian Bond himself goes back a long way and I believe his name is one of many who appear in sealed files of the FBI.
I would like for their leaders to open up their information on their wealth to their constituents and show what they have accumulated and compare it to what they have done for the black community.
Talk about the Pot calling the.....oops, erraaaahhh, I mean, gee whiz...what's a guy to do anymore?
300k members? That's it? My god, the GOP should point out what they are and hasten the end of the organization.
Any group that pretends to speak for an entire race and can barely muster 1% of that group deserves to be kicked to the curbside.
I may be wrong but I'm willing to bet that its only the moral authority that the Main Stream Media grants them by running to them for easy quotes that keeps them from sliding onto that ash heap of history. At least Julian Bond is an honest man in the checkbook sense. I truly thought it was all over for them after the Chavis sex-and-embezzlement scandal in the early nineties. I will give them credit for posting the responses on their website to their poll concerning President Bush's non-attendance. At least HALF the responses rightfully excoriated them for having the chutzpah to expect Bush to show up to be abused in person:
Jul-09-2004 18:45 Why should President Bush speak to an organization who has no respect for him and who has been hijacked by the radical left in this country. The leadership of the NAACP is shameful and should apologize to President Bush (for example, the hateful add sponsered by the NAACP during the 2000 election) before he would be expected to speak at a NAACP convention. There are far more admirable African American organizations where President Bush should and is spending his time with.
Jul-09-2004 23:58 I would not go either if I was treated like Mr. Bond treated the President. The racial comments he made were deplorable and if a Anglo would ever make those it would be considered a crime. Why not invite Senator Robert Bryd and his racist self.
Jul-10-2004 10:33 When you're certain to lose 90% of a voting bloc no matter what you do, there is little to be gained by speaking to a group that dosen't represent the majority of that group in the first place. Why should Bush give the press material to be used against him by subjecting himself to the ridicule of the NAACP?
Jul-10-2004 13:38 People who expect a handout are only being given the opportunity to quit. Democrats have now chosen the course of promising handouts and the ignorant feel that is their right. Stand up, by strong and succeed. Asians do it without help from the government. Bill Cosby said it correctly
Jul-10-2004 16:41 Considering the fact that I am the only African American woman who is running for U.S. House of Representatives in the state of Pennsylvania and am the endorsed Candidate for the 1st Congressional District AND a member of the NAACP who was not invited to speak or even attend the convention (and I live in Philadelphia), no I don't think PRESIDENT Bush is being disrespectful. As long as we support the person who gives us the biggest check during the election cycle and makes the biggest promises, we are going to continue to have silence from candidates who can see through our screen. We complain about the condition of our nation, but keep voting with blinders on (if we decide to vote at all) whenever an election cycle rolls around. We are losing out on good people because some of us can't afford to buy our way onto the convention stage, and then there are others who just won't bend to our whims because they know the NAACP is not going to support them anyway. It's not always a Black thing, you understand.
Jul-10-2004 17:53 No he is not being disrespectful. The NAACP is not the voice of ALL Black Americans anymore. They have continually shown themselves to be nothing more than a paid arm of the Democratic Party. (At least when you watch the actions of the leadership). It's pretty sad to hear Mfume and Julian keep saying the NAACP is non partisan yet when anyone has another view (blacks included) that are not those of the left leaning NAACP and the Democratic Party, they go on the attack. Everything about the NAACP is divisive, non-productive and only makes its leadership rich and continues to keep millions in a victim mind-set. This is NOT what the civil rights movement was about. Perhaps Julian and Mfume should go back to their roots , becasue it is obvious, they have lost something along the way.
Jul-10-2004 22:01 When NAACP leadership engages in what is essentially hate speech against the President, then invites him to dinner and thinks it is "incredible" when he passes on the invitation, one has to wonder what kind of leaders the NAACP has. One should look at the President's heart when he says things like: "There are children in America, whose mom or dad is in prison, wondering whether or not there's any hope. In other words, we got problems in this society. And those of us who have been given the high honor of holding office must utilize every resource, every power we have to help solve those problems for the good of the country." I think if you are reading this, you can see a real difference in leadership, and I'll go with the guy who is positive, optimistic, compassionate and color-blind.
Jul-10-2004 22:58 President Bush is NOT disrespecting "the Black community" by refusing to speak at the NAACP convention!!! Since WHEN does the NAACP automatically equal "the Black community?" The NAACP does NOT speak for this Black man, that's for sure, nor do they speak for many others. The NAACP and its leaders (Julian Bond, Kweisi Mfume) have deliberately and repeatedly spread vicious lies, slander, and insults about President Bush, time after time. The NAACP was rude, unprofessional, and bitterly partisan when Bush talked to the NAACP convention as a candidate. Why would the President go somewhere where he knows by experience that the people hate him, will NOT listen to him with an open mind, and will do every sneaky trick possible to embarass and humiliate him? It would be like Kweisi going to a KKK event, although Kweisi would stand a better chance of catching a break from his buddy Democratic Senator Byrd (D - WV), a "former" KKK Grand Kleagle. The NAACP has, sadly, become a hypocritical, partisan hate cult, and is now so far out of the mainstream that they no longer are seen as fair and objective. It's a shame. Dr. Martin Luther King and the other civil rights heroes must just be spinning in their graves when they see how corrupt and bitter the NAACP has become. The NAACP needs to listen to the wise and honest words of Dr. Bill Cosby talking about the real problems of Black America, and focus on fixing those. I am deeply ashamed as a Black man that the NAACP, which incorrectly claims to represent me and my family, is so unfair and filled with hatred that they can no longer be depended on or trusted with participation in the political dialogue of our country. For Bitter Shame!
I can only hope the NAACP leadership takes these responses to their poll (http://www.naacp.org/polls/comment_results.php?action=results&poll_id=109) to heart.
The article mentions the President's past addresses of the National Urban League conference (one of the good ones). I hope he does this again, but there are many more outspoken, conservative black organizations and individuals that could benefit from his attentions. I believe we can all think of a few. If my opinion is worth anything, I am convinced Bush should launch a full-court press for the black vote by unabashedly appealing to the same values we hold dear and boldly taking on the race hustlers through the bully pulpit, the speech, the press conference and the photo op; contrasting his approach to that of the statist shills at every opportunity. In today's Washington Times Rich Lowry reiterates that Bush should make the the "ownership society" his domestic theme; plugging unfettered IRA's, MSA's and Education Savings Accounts instead of just whining about democrat obstructionism. I concur and add that these themes should pitched aggressively to our black brothers and sisters as well with a deliberate kick at the backsides of the "just like Selma" dinosaurs. It may not give him a majority of the black vote, but I'll bet it would gain him a lot more that ten percent this time around.
I may be wrong but I'm willing to bet that its only the moral authority that the Main Stream Media grants them by running to them for easy quotes that keeps them from sliding onto that ash heap of history. At least Julian Bond is an honest man in the checkbook sense. I truly thought it was all over for them after the Chavis sex-and-embezzlement scandal in the early nineties. I will give them credit for posting the responses on their website to their poll concerning President Bush's non-attendance. At least HALF the responses rightfully excoriated them for having the chutzpah to expect Bush to show up to be abused in person:
Jul-09-2004 18:45 Why should President Bush speak to an organization who has no respect for him and who has been hijacked by the radical left in this country. The leadership of the NAACP is shameful and should apologize to President Bush (for example, the hateful add sponsered by the NAACP during the 2000 election) before he would be expected to speak at a NAACP convention. There are far more admirable African American organizations where President Bush should and is spending his time with.
Jul-09-2004 23:58 I would not go either if I was treated like Mr. Bond treated the President. The racial comments he made were deplorable and if a Anglo would ever make those it would be considered a crime. Why not invite Senator Robert Bryd and his racist self.
Jul-10-2004 10:33 When you're certain to lose 90% of a voting bloc no matter what you do, there is little to be gained by speaking to a group that dosen't represent the majority of that group in the first place. Why should Bush give the press material to be used against him by subjecting himself to the ridicule of the NAACP?
l-10-2004 13:38 People who expect a handout are only being given the opportunity to quit. Democrats have now chosen the course of promising handouts and the ignorant feel that is their right. Stand up, by strong and succeed. Asians do it without help from the government. Bill Cosby said it correctly
Jul-10-2004 16:41 Considering the fact that I am the only African American woman who is running for U.S. House of Representatives in the state of Pennsylvania and am the endorsed Candidate for the 1st Congressional District AND a member of the NAACP who was not invited to speak or even attend the convention (and I live in Philadelphia), no I don't think PRESIDENT Bush is being disrespectful. As long as we support the person who gives us the biggest check during the election cycle and makes the biggest promises, we are going to continue to have silence from candidates who can see through our screen. We complain about the condition of our nation, but keep voting with blinders on (if we decide to vote at all) whenever an election cycle rolls around. We are losing out on good people because some of us can't afford to buy our way onto the convention stage, and then there are others who just won't bend to our whims because they know the NAACP is not going to support them anyway. It's not always a Black thing, you understand.
Jul-10-2004 17:53 No he is not being disrespectful. The NAACP is not the voice of ALL Black Americans anymore. They have continually shown themselves to be nothing more than a paid arm of the Democratic Party. (At least when you watch the actions of the leadership). It's pretty sad to hear Mfume and Julian keep saying the NAACP is non partisan yet when anyone has another view (blacks included) that are not those of the left leaning NAACP and the Democratic Party, they go on the attack. Everything about the NAACP is divisive, non-productive and only makes its leadership rich and continues to keep millions in a victim mind-set. This is NOT what the civil rights movement was about. Perhaps Julian and Mfume should go back to their roots , becasue it is obvious, they have lost something along the way.
Jul-10-2004 22:01 When NAACP leadership engages in what is essentially hate speech against the President, then invites him to dinner and thinks it is "incredible" when he passes on the invitation, one has to wonder what kind of leaders the NAACP has. One should look at the President's heart when he says things like: "There are children in America, whose mom or dad is in prison, wondering whether or not there's any hope. In other words, we got problems in this society. And those of us who have been given the high honor of holding office must utilize every resource, every power we have to help solve those problems for the good of the country." I think if you are reading this, you can see a real difference in leadership, and I'll go with the guy who is positive, optimistic, compassionate and color-blind.
Jul-10-2004 22:58 President Bush is NOT disrespecting "the Black community" by refusing to speak at the NAACP convention!!! Since WHEN does the NAACP automatically equal "the Black community?" The NAACP does NOT speak for this Black man, that's for sure, nor do they speak for many others. The NAACP and its leaders (Julian Bond, Kweisi Mfume) have deliberately and repeatedly spread vicious lies, slander, and insults about President Bush, time after time. The NAACP was rude, unprofessional, and bitterly partisan when Bush talked to the NAACP convention as a candidate. Why would the President go somewhere where he knows by experience that the people hate him, will NOT listen to him with an open mind, and will do every sneaky trick possible to embarass and humiliate him? It would be like Kweisi going to a KKK event, although Kweisi would stand a better chance of catching a break from his buddy Democratic Senator Byrd (D - WV), a "former" KKK Grand Kleagle. The NAACP has, sadly, become a hypocritical, partisan hate cult, and is now so far out of the mainstream that they no longer are seen as fair and objective. It's a shame. Dr. Martin Luther King and the other civil rights heroes must just be spinning in their graves when they see how corrupt and bitter the NAACP has become. The NAACP needs to listen to the wise and honest words of Dr. Bill Cosby talking about the real problems of Black America, and focus on fixing those. I am deeply ashamed as a Black man that the NAACP, which incorrectly claims to represent me and my family, is so unfair and filled with hatred that they can no longer be depended on or trusted with participation in the political dialogue of our country. For Bitter Shame!
I can only hope the NAACP leadership takes these responses to their poll (http://www.naacp.org/polls/comment_results.php?action=results&poll_id=109) to heart.
The article mentions the President's past addresses of the National Urban League conference (one of the good ones). I hope he does this again, but there are many more outspoken, conservative black organizations and individuals that could benefit from his attentions. I believe we can all think of a few. If my opinion is worth anything, I am convinced Bush should launch a full-court press for the black vote by unabashedly appealing to the same values we hold dear and boldly taking on the race hustlers through the bully pulpit, the speech, the press conference and the photo op; contrasting his approach to that of the statist shills at every opportunity. In today's Washington Times Rich Lowry reiterates that Bush should make the the "ownership society" his domestic theme; plugging unfettered IRA's, MSA's and Education Savings Accounts instead of just whining about democrat obstructionism. I concur and add that these themes should pitched aggressively to our black brothers and sisters as well with a deliberate kick at the backsides of the "just like Selma" dinosaurs. It may not give him a majority of the black vote, but I'll bet it would gain him a lot more that ten percent this time around.
Thank you for the ping to your excellent post. I especially enjoyed reading the excerpts from responses to the NAACP poll. Maybe there's hope, yet.
The NAACP was.
I hope Rush get's these and reads them on-air.
I think I'll fax them on over.
Great find! I hope Rush get's these and reads them on-air.
I think I'll fax them on over.
Great idea! You do that. I think el rushbo would find them worthy of recitation. I know I was sure as hell surprised at their vehemence.
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