Bond comes out swinging at Bush

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond bashed President Bush and other conservatives Sunday, warning they have tried to seduce black clergy, created "fraudulent" civil rights organizations and backed federal judicial nominees who come from a "dim and gloomy legal netherworld where few Americans wish to dwell."

Officially kicking off the NAACP's 96th annual convention, its first in Milwaukee, a fiery Bond told delegates they have won great accomplishments but must continue to fight widespread discrimination.

"We have never wished our way to freedom, instead we've always worked our way," he said in a 50-minute keynote address at the Midwest Airlines Center.

Bond opened with an attack, saying, "Milwaukee is the home of beer, of brats and the Bradley Foundation," and blasting Bush for failing to appear at the NAACP's annual convention for the fifth straight year.

Bond explained his reference to the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation later in the speech, saying it is among entities that fund what he called "fraudulent" civil rights organizations.

He charged that the organizations appear to back civil rights but push school vouchers, use legal means to assault affirmative action and try to redraw political boundaries in hopes of preventing people of color from being elected to office.

Such organizations have had black "hucksters" on their payrolls for 20 years, said Bond to thunderous applause.

"Like ventriloquist dummies, they speak in their puppet master's voice, but we can see his lips moving," he said.

Similarly, Bond fired at organizations that have tried to "seduce black clergy" to conservative causes and criticized what he said is an attempt by the Bush administration to replace vital public welfare programs with faith-based organizations.

He gave special importance to the continuing battle over Bush's judicial nominees, especially a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, saying the high court needs another independent-minded justice like her. Too many Bush nominees to federal judgeships have made rulings that hurt the civil rights movement, he said, calling newly named federal appeals court judge Janice Rogers Brown "the female Clarence Thomas."

Bond recalled that some people had hoped the conservative Thomas would change after being put on the Supreme Court. "He did change, he got worse," Bond said.

Bond, a close ally of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., invoked King several times in recalling '60s civil rights triumphs such as the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott. He also credited recent National Association for the Advancement of Colored People efforts for accomplishments such as a law reducing school class sizes in Florida and restoring in Pennsylvania voting rights for felons who have completed their sentences.

"Our values are American values. We value tolerance, we value inclusion, we believe in equality, we celebrate the worth of every human being," he said.

The former Democratic Georgia state senator blasted the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate for failing to hold a roll call vote on a resolution apologizing for failing to enact an anti-lynching law first proposed 105 years ago. He named eight Republican senators who did not co-sponsor the resolution, saying, "If a United States senator in 2005 cannot apologize for that, what outrage is deserving of an apology?"

Targeting the Bush administration, Bond said it was "outsourcing torture" by sending terrorism suspects to foreign lands and backing economic policies that have created "an ownership society, where you're really on your own."

"They profess to being true believers, but they're really true deceivers," he said. Bond said African-Americans, in comparison to whites, still face wide gaps in "life chances" such as jobs, and that discrimination continues to be a key cause. He said the NAACP should resist calls to become a social service agency, saying its fight against discrimination is more important.

"We believe when our people have social justice they'll need much less social service," he said.

Bond did praise U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who told the convention he would introduce legislation extending provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that are due to expire in 2007. Bond said the most important provision requires certain jurisdictions - most of them in the South - to get "pre-clearance" from the U.S. Justice Department before making changes in voting time, place or manner.

"Anybody who claims that voting rights are now secure only has to look to Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004," Bond said, referring to razor-thin margins in back-to-back presidential elections in those states.

"Making democracy safe for America's minorities is as important as making the world safe for democracy," he said.

Bond did not hold his criticism to Republicans. He also had some harsh words for Democrats who agreed to an "empty compromise" that allowed Brown and other nominees to be confirmed from the Senate last month.

Also at Sunday evening's session, Bond recognized James Cameron, 91, founder of America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, who is believed to be the nation's only living survivor of a lynching.

ATTN JULIAN BOND: June 6, 2001 --- KKK Byrd Is 3 Heartbeats from the Presidency
USA TODAY STORY archives | 12-16-02 | dfu

Posted on 12/16/2002 11:20:48 PM PST by doug from upland

FROM USA TODAY -- 6/6/01

By voice vote, the Senate then elected Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., the senior Senate Democrat, as president pro tempore, replacing Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C. That is a constitutional and mostly ceremonial post that is also third in line of succession to the presidency.

Note to Julian Bond: On this day, Mr. Bond, a former member of the KKK became the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate. Ahead of him in our country's leadership were President George W. Bush, Vice-President Richard Cheney, and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Bond was being interviewed by Wolfie Blitzer and made a fool of himself. He defended racist and outrageous statments by Jesse Jackson, saying there was no comparison to Trent Lott. NAACP Chairman Bond, who teaches American History at the University of Virginia, claimed that what Lott said was far more egregious than Jackson because Lott was only 3 heartbeats from the presidency.

Apparently this college history professor should not be in the history department of the University of Virginia. In 8th grade, we learn about the line of succession. Trent Lott, incoming majority leader, is not in the line of succession. KKK Byrd, however, as pointed out to Bond by Arlen Specter, is in the line of succession.

Julian Bond, are you a liar or are you just stupid? Why didn't it bother you that for a year and a half a former KKK member was 3 heartbeats from the presidency?

What a fool.

All RATs are scum. They seem to try to out slime each other.

Their icon, JFK, was not like this. If JFK were here today, he would refuse to be a member of the RAT party.

JFK did not find fault with 100% of everthing the Republicans did, nor did he speak trashy like these scumbags do.

Julian Bond is like all of them. They are not politicians, but more like a street gang on a constant tear to establish territorial rights.

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