Bloomberg Snubs First Lady at King Day Dinner

Newsmax.com ^ | 01-21-03 | Staff Report

[Theodore R.]

Bloomberg Snubs First Lady at King Day Dinner

"Republican" New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was a no-show at the Congress of Racial Equality's annual Martin Luther King Day dinner, even though first lady Laura Bush and newly crowned GOP Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist both attended and gave stirring tributes to the revered civil rights leader.

Though the mayor couldn't find time to meet and greet the wife of the president of the United States, he did manage to attend a King Day tribute at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters, along with top Senate Democrat Hillary Clinton. Sharpton praised the "Republican" mayor at the event for attending his King Day commemoration for the second year in a row.

Bloomberg's predecessor Mayor Rudy Giuliani usually attended CORE's annual King tribute, and the longtime civil rights group played host to presidential candidate George Bush in June 1999.

Mrs. Bush didn't let Bloomberg's snub put a damper on her own King Day commemoration. In a speech marked with style and grace she paid tribute to the martyred civil rights leader, along with movement icon Rosa Parks, baseball great Hank Aaron, jazz artist Roy Ayers and former vice president of the NYPD's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Richard O'Neill.

Mrs. Bush personally presented CORE awards to the four honorees, except for Mrs. Parks, who sent a close friend to accept the award in her name. Prior to the awards, the first lady delivered the keynote address for the King Day Dinner, which began with praise for Bloomberg's city despite his absence.

"Like Dr. King, this city refuses to let hate and injustice tear it down," Mrs. Bush told the largely African-American audience, which erupted in applause after her first sentence.

"New York continues to stand as a beacon for freedom to the world and it embraces the words of Mahatma Gandhi, one of Dr. King's great inspirations, who said, 'My faith is greatest in the midst of impenetrable darkness,'" she continued.

The first lady seemed to weave a note of post-9/11 defiance into her remarks with lines like "Today the torch of freedom burns brightly in the hearts of every New Yorker and every American - and so does the spirit of Dr. King."

Mrs. Bush also stressed the role that CORE had played working with Dr. King in the early days of the civil rights movement, noting, "In 1955 CORE was with Dr. King and Rosa Parks in the Montgomery bus boycott."

"In 1963 CORE marched with Dr. King to Washington, D.C., where more than 250,000 people gathered to demonstrate their commitment to equality and justice," she added. "CORE was also there when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Today CORE continues to work for the advancement of civil rights in America, through Project Independence, the Legal Defense Fund and the Anti-Drug Task Force."

Preceding the first lady on the dais, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist predicted that wounds of America's racial divisions would eventually heal. And, alluding to the recent controversy over former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's remarks, he said the nation now had "an unprecedented opportunity to dig, to dig deep into America's soul, to lift up our dialogue to a higher level, a more robust and a more constructive level."

Referring to Dr. King's famous letter from a Birmingham jail, Frist told the audience that the new debate "may cause tension. But by letting it rise in a constructive way and letting that air and that light that Dr. King talked about shine on it, I believe that we can find - I think I'm convinced - I know that we can find a new optimism to heal the existing wound of division."

[Theodore R.]

Wow, Bloomberg chose the Sharpton event over the Laura Bush event!

[gramho12]

Bloomber is NOT a Republican, and not a gentleman. He is a clueless, classless Democrat, who shows his true colors on a regular basis.

[mewzilla]

NYC, you deserve what you get. And if Upstate had any brains, we'd secede.

[facedown]

bump

[The Wizard]

bloomberg is clearly a democrat

[aristeides]

I wonder if people were allowed to smoke at the Laura Bush event.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

bloomberg is clearly a democrat

Bloomberg is clearly an @$$h0le

[mware]

I was listening to Batchlor and Alexander (WABC radio) and they had Niger Innus on. LOL he really gave it to Bloomy. Said that Bloomy must still be with Al Sharpton.

Amazing Bloomy called Niger and asked him when the First Lady was going to be there, Niger did not say if he told him or not but said he was not going to allow him to show up just for a photo op with the First Lady and diss Hank Arron and Rosa Parks.

[Michael_S]

If upstate had any brains they'd get out and vote.

[mewzilla]

True, then we'd secede.

[metesky]

Bloomingidiot probably thought some people would be smoking or even worse, thinking about smoking

[hgro]

Bloomberg is a dimocrat in Republican clothing.

[RGSpincich]

Hey, maybe he wasn't invited.

[Mo1]

---

God Bless This Great Country!
	Donate Here By Secure Server Or mail checks to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD- It is in the breaking news sidebar!

[Republic of Texas]

How did Bloomberg get so stupid, so fast?

[fieldmarshaldj]

Bloomberg IS a bitch.

[Dante3]

Bloomber is crude, has no class, and is perhaps jealous. Maybe Bush didn't fawn over him as he expected.

[cactusSharp]

bingo...bitch bloomy

[Theodore R.]

Actually, I suspect that Mayor Bloomberg considers himself the epitome of New York "class" and "manners." That means he does everything to recruit Democrats.

[ErnBatavia]

Bloomberg is clearly an @$$h0le

=