Shame at the NAACP (From the College Front)

FSView & Florida Flambeau (Florida State U.) ^ | 7/23/04 | Liam Julian

[NorCoGOP]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has had an admirable and impressive history, but the organization's future seems to be growing bleaker as the days pass.

That's because the two men in charge of the association, Chairman Kweisi Mfume and President Julian Bond, are far more concerned with their own political motivations and personal benefit than with the true advancement of the black community.

The NAACP recently held its annual convention in Philadelphia, and it was big news that President Bush declined an invitation to speak. After initially suggesting that the problem was merely one of scheduling, the administration finally relented and acknowledged that the president didn't feel welcomed by the NAACP's leadership.

Why? President Bush, when he addressed the organization in 2000, was the first Republican presidential candidate to do so since his father in 1988. He told the crowd that "there is no denying the reality that the party of Lincoln has not always carried the mantle of Lincoln," and he expressed a true desire to work with the NAACP and confront some of the detrimental domestic problems that adversely effect all Americans, black and white.

The NAACP quickly responded to the president's goodwill by running a despicable television ad insinuating that Bush was indifferent to the murder of James Byrd, a black Texan who was tied to the back of a pickup and dragged to his death.

And the hateful demagoguery doesn't end there. Indeed, it just began. Bond went on record as saying that the Republican idea of equal rights "is the American flag and the Confederate swastika flying side by side," and that Republicans "preach racial neutrality and practice racial division." The organization's leadership has called Bush an illegal president, compared his abortion stance to the Taliban, and accused all Republicans of being little better than closet racists.

At the recent convention, Bond gave a speech in which he said that the 1960s were the start of "the dependence of the Republican Party on the politics of racial division to win elections and gain power" and that "by playing the race card in election after election," Republicans appeal to bigot voters as a campaign strategy.

Bond continued with the racist intimations: "Apparently they really do think we all look alike -- to hear them Martin Luther King and Clarence Thomas are the same man."

So it's not surprising that President Bush deigned the NAACP rally worth skipping. What self-respecting person would voluntarily sign up for that kind of slander or even acknowledge such blatant ignorance? Why would a Republican president speak at an event sponsored by an organization that has repeatedly characterized Republicans as evil and racist?

Of course, Bond maintains that the NAACP is a non-partisan organization. Right -- that's why part of their convention included a free screening of "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Usually partisan politics is an accepted aspect of American life, but the hypocrisy and lies promulgated by the modern NAACP are just too much to stand. Bond and Mfume are fond of accusing others of "playing the race card," but that tactic is exactly what they do day in and day out. It's precisely how they make their living. To hear Bond and Mfume tell it, racial harmony is their primary goal, but their angry, caustic and hateful speeches certainly cast doubt on that proclaimed altruism.

This past Thursday, Education Secretary Rod Paige blasted Bond and Mfume in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed. Paige, who is the first black education secretary and a lifelong NAACP member, wrote to Bond and Mfume, "You do not own, and you are not the arbiters of, African-American authenticity."

He went on to write that not only has the NAACP's current leadership betrayed the multi-cultural, inclusive spirit of the organization, but it has also embraced "naked partisan politics" instead of truly aiding and representing blacks in need.

And don't think the NAACP's ire is only directed toward Republicans. Last year, three candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination declined to attend the NAACP's forum in Miami. Mfume, in another display of consummate professionalism, said the no-shows were "the equivalent of Confederate dollars." Unlike President Bush, however, all three candidates quickly booked it down to Miami to apologize and genuflect at the NAACP's alter.

Continuing that tradition of appeasement was John Kerry. The senator gave a closing speech at the NAACP's convention this past Thursday. Kerry said, "I will be a president who truly is a uniter, not one who seeks to divide our nation by race, riches or any other label. I will be a president who, when he is invited into your home, will always say yes."

John Kerry doesn't care about race. If he did, he wouldn't have used Bush's principled absence as an occasion to deride the president and pander for votes. If John Kerry truly cared about race, and really cared about the plight of blacks in urban slums, he wouldn't constantly kowtow to Bond and Mfume and the outdated, divisive ideas that they represent.

President Bush deserves respect for his non-attendance. Unfortunately, the NAACP of today does not represent the positive, welcoming ideas that it once did.

[foreshadowed at waco]

I will be a president who, when he is invited into your home, will always say yes.

I can almost hear the droning monotone of this prig's voice. Let's pray that he gets creamed in November.

[Christian4Bush]

I hope he gets creamed too.

Don't forget about his "I'd like to sit on your front porch" comment to the NAALCP, which is an absolutely insensitive and stereotypical thing to say to a Black person.

You mean, the news didn't cover that? SHOCKING!!! /sarcasm

[TXBlair]

One has to wonder why the NAACP supports Kerry so readily. If he's elected, he's sure to toss out the highest-ranking black officials in the history of this country. Let's see....Rod Paige, Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell.....

Do the members of the NAACP honestly believe that Kerry will match or exceed the unprecedented hiring of top-level minorites (let's not forget Elaine Chow!) that President Bush has achieved? Give me a small break!