[Rockingham]

What the WaPo article intentionally obscures is that at the time, major corporations and unions saw affirmative action as a deterrent to and good faith defense against potential civil rights actions based on past racial discrimination. What affirmative action quickly became after the thin pool of capable and work-ready black potential employees was exhausted was institutionalized reverse racism and a de facto quota system that set lower standards for black employees, mandated their hiring in spite of poor qualifications, and protected them against firing for misconduct or poor performance.

Sadly, the greatest impediments to the progress of black Americans (and all Americans, at that) has never been effectively addressed as a matter of urgent public policy -- not poverty or racism -- but the weakening and collapse of families and the ensuing chaos for children, especially young children. The Left's assault on faith, traditional values, and families has penetrated deeply into American culture and had a devastating effect. Remedying that requires the ouster of the Left from control of America's educational and welfare systems.

Few conservatives have the stomach for that battle because it inevitably means: (1) confronting the teacher unions and restructuring public education into a voucher system; and (2) reforming welfare into a system that encourages useful work and traditional families. Instead, conservatives tend toward preachy blather about "traditional values" and wonder why so many people tune them out.

[SecondAmendment]

> What the WaPo article intentionally obscures is that at the time, major corporations and unions saw affirmative action as a deterrent to and good faith defense against potential civil rights actions based on past racial discrimination.

And methinks the same corporations later saw it as a cudgel to wield against nimbler and leaner competition.