Bush misses NAACP meeting for fifth year
President addresses Indiana Black Expo.
Published Friday, July 15, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - President George W. Bush tried to woo blacks in a supportive Indiana crowd yesterday while for the fifth time skipping the NAACP annual convention.
Bush hasn’t spoken to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s convention since he first ran for president in 2000 and the NAACP National Voter Fund ran an ad that portrayed him as unsympathetic to the dragging death of a black man in Texas.
Instead he has reached out to minority audiences less critical of his policies. This year, he accepted an invitation to speak to the Indiana Black Expo, which presented him with a lifetime achievement award for his efforts to help former prisoners become productive members of society and other programs benefiting minorities.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Bush had already accepted the invitation to speak in Indianapolis when the NAACP asked him to speak at its convention in Milwaukee. McClellan said it’s too soon to say whether Bush will attend the convention next year in the District of Columbia - an invitation that NAACP Chairman Julian Bond announced Sunday, a year in advance.
The NAACP selected a new president, retired Verizon executive Bruce Gordon, who has pledged to build relationships with the White House. McClellan said he was certain that Bush would find time to sit down for a talk with Gordon.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
---------------------------------
Republican apology to blacks on voting issue
Thu Jul 14, 2005 5:34 PM ET
By John Rondy
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - The head of the Republican Party issued a sweeping apology to American blacks on Thursday for a decades-old practice of writing off their vote and using racial polarization to win elections.
Republican Chairman Ken Mehlman said civil rights legislation pushed by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s solidified black support for that party for decades after that "and we Republicans did not effectively reach out."
"Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization," he added. "I am here as Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong."
Mehlman was the highest-ranking Republican to address the convention of the NAACP, the oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization, an annual meeting that President Bush has declined invitations to since he took office. He has spoken to selected black audiences.
NAACP leaders have been critical of Bush for not appearing before them. While he did speak to the group when he was running for his first term, he has not returned, something that has not happened with a sitting president in more than 70 years.
Appeals by Mehlman and Democratic Chairman Howard Dean to the NAACP referenced next year's congressional elections and the battle for the White House in 2008, with both party leaders claiming their parties had the power to make black votes count most.
Dean, who shook up his party with a failed bid for the presidential nomination last year, said, "We have a Democratic Party that is going to go back to what it used to be by standing up for right and not being afraid and never deserting the people who brought us to the dance."
"Never again will we take another African-American vote for granted," he said.
He warned that the one-time Republican "Southern strategy" -- using racial issues to appeal to white voters in the once solidly Democratic South -- lives today, but in different forms that plays on issues ranging from gay rights to anti-immigrant sentiment.
"The one thing we will never do is divide Americans to win elections," the former Vermont governor said. If the Democratic Party is ever to be whole again, he said, it needs to use the model of the NAACP to become the conscience of the nation.
Dean and Mehlman spoke back-to-back. Melhman drew some applause but in general got a more tepid response, including a few groans and hoots.
Asked by reporters after he spoke whether Bush's presence would have given the Republican message more weight, Mehlman noted the president was speaking on Thursday to the Black Expo in Indianapolis. "It's not simply who you speak to, it's what you speak about," he said.
But Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington branch, said Bush was "missing a golden opportunity by not being with the NAACP to talk with us about the issues and concerns that are important to us and our community."
------------------------------------------------------------
Rush Limbaugh Blasts RNC Chairman For Olive Branch To Blacks
by Joe Gandelman
Once upon a time there was a Republican National Committee. It wanted to defuse tensions with a group called the NAACP, and offer this as a kind of olive branch to black Americans. But then a big, bad broadcaster opposed this overture — this overture that was clearly a (rare) sign of an effort to combat at least a small bit of a monster called polarization that had taken hold of a country called the United States. And since this broadcaster had so many loyal listeners who would immediately adjust their very thinking to whatever he said, his opposition could be expected to make things more difficult to officially ease these longstanding tensions.
Who is this broadcaster seemingly standing in the schoolhouse door as the GOP leadership attempts to enter and start a dialogue with black Americans? Rush Limbaugh, of course:
Nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh blasted Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Ken Mehlman's plans to apologize for his party's notorious Southern Strategy at the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Responding to Mehlman's planned renunciation of the race-based electoral strategy, Limbaugh accused Republicans of planning "to go bend over and grab the ankles."
Though President Bush has refused to speak to the NAACP throughout his presidency, Mehlman's July 14 speech to the NAACP renounced Republican efforts to capitalize politically on white Southerners' backlash against civil rights-era legislation. In his prepared remarks, Mehlman said, "Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong."
In discussing the topic, Limbaugh — whom Bush described as a "good friend" in an August 2004 appearance on Limbaugh's show — referred repeatedly to the group as the "NAALCP," which he has explained stands for the "National Association for the Advancement of Liberal Colored People."
It's truly sad what has happened to Rush Limbaugh over the years.
He became a national smash hit when the first President Bush was on the scene. Limbaugh had screechingly funny song satires, a playful joy for the outrageous and the un-PC and unmatched broadcast sarcastic political schtick. No, he didn't blast both sides, but there was no one like him on the radio. And he blasted the first President Bush — until Mr. Bush was smart enough to invite Limbaugh to sleep over in the Lincoln bedroom. This (former) listener and others noted the BIG change in his show after that.
Suddenly, Rush became Mr. GOP Establishment Talking Points — the most powerful GOP operative in the country and very much aware of his vital status. His power seemingly increased with each GOP issue and electoral victory, solidifying his status as one of the most powerful (and in terms of broadcast ability talented) broadcasters in American history.
But for many who are NOT partisans — and even to some partisans, from what these GOPers tell us — he is now unlistenable due to his predictability. He needs a new schtick.
Hopefully this isn't it. Forgetting for a moment who'd politically benefit, anything the GOP could do to defuse even a tiny part of the cancer called polarization infecting this country is laudable. And while it is 100 percent within Limbaugh's right to urge the GOP bigwigs who bow down to and woo him not to conceed anything to the NAACP at all, in terms of NATIONAL political interest Limbaugh's comments don't do any more than again illustrate that he isn't the wave of the radio or political future.
It's all a pity because the original Rush Limbaugh — hated then by liberals as he is hated now — did do often unpredictable satire and didn't take himself too seriously. The old Rush would probably make a joke out of the GOP's peace feeler, using irony. Perhaps this inability to chill out and look at the bigger picture is why Limbaugh's ratings, though still still MEGA, reportedly aren't trending well as well as in the past. And he is clearly no longer considered the talker on the ascent.
President addresses Indiana Black Expo.
Published Friday, July 15, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - President George W. Bush tried to woo blacks in a supportive Indiana crowd yesterday while for the fifth time skipping the NAACP annual convention.
Bush hasn’t spoken to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s convention since he first ran for president in 2000 and the NAACP National Voter Fund ran an ad that portrayed him as unsympathetic to the dragging death of a black man in Texas.
Instead he has reached out to minority audiences less critical of his policies. This year, he accepted an invitation to speak to the Indiana Black Expo, which presented him with a lifetime achievement award for his efforts to help former prisoners become productive members of society and other programs benefiting minorities.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Bush had already accepted the invitation to speak in Indianapolis when the NAACP asked him to speak at its convention in Milwaukee. McClellan said it’s too soon to say whether Bush will attend the convention next year in the District of Columbia - an invitation that NAACP Chairman Julian Bond announced Sunday, a year in advance.
The NAACP selected a new president, retired Verizon executive Bruce Gordon, who has pledged to build relationships with the White House. McClellan said he was certain that Bush would find time to sit down for a talk with Gordon.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
---------------------------------
Republican apology to blacks on voting issue
Thu Jul 14, 2005 5:34 PM ET
By John Rondy
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - The head of the Republican Party issued a sweeping apology to American blacks on Thursday for a decades-old practice of writing off their vote and using racial polarization to win elections.
Republican Chairman Ken Mehlman said civil rights legislation pushed by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s solidified black support for that party for decades after that "and we Republicans did not effectively reach out."
"Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization," he added. "I am here as Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong."
Mehlman was the highest-ranking Republican to address the convention of the NAACP, the oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization, an annual meeting that President Bush has declined invitations to since he took office. He has spoken to selected black audiences.
NAACP leaders have been critical of Bush for not appearing before them. While he did speak to the group when he was running for his first term, he has not returned, something that has not happened with a sitting president in more than 70 years.
Appeals by Mehlman and Democratic Chairman Howard Dean to the NAACP referenced next year's congressional elections and the battle for the White House in 2008, with both party leaders claiming their parties had the power to make black votes count most.
Dean, who shook up his party with a failed bid for the presidential nomination last year, said, "We have a Democratic Party that is going to go back to what it used to be by standing up for right and not being afraid and never deserting the people who brought us to the dance."
"Never again will we take another African-American vote for granted," he said.
He warned that the one-time Republican "Southern strategy" -- using racial issues to appeal to white voters in the once solidly Democratic South -- lives today, but in different forms that plays on issues ranging from gay rights to anti-immigrant sentiment.
"The one thing we will never do is divide Americans to win elections," the former Vermont governor said. If the Democratic Party is ever to be whole again, he said, it needs to use the model of the NAACP to become the conscience of the nation.
Dean and Mehlman spoke back-to-back. Melhman drew some applause but in general got a more tepid response, including a few groans and hoots.
Asked by reporters after he spoke whether Bush's presence would have given the Republican message more weight, Mehlman noted the president was speaking on Thursday to the Black Expo in Indianapolis. "It's not simply who you speak to, it's what you speak about," he said.
But Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington branch, said Bush was "missing a golden opportunity by not being with the NAACP to talk with us about the issues and concerns that are important to us and our community."
------------------------------------------------------------
Rush Limbaugh Blasts RNC Chairman For Olive Branch To Blacks
by Joe Gandelman
Once upon a time there was a Republican National Committee. It wanted to defuse tensions with a group called the NAACP, and offer this as a kind of olive branch to black Americans. But then a big, bad broadcaster opposed this overture — this overture that was clearly a (rare) sign of an effort to combat at least a small bit of a monster called polarization that had taken hold of a country called the United States. And since this broadcaster had so many loyal listeners who would immediately adjust their very thinking to whatever he said, his opposition could be expected to make things more difficult to officially ease these longstanding tensions.
Who is this broadcaster seemingly standing in the schoolhouse door as the GOP leadership attempts to enter and start a dialogue with black Americans? Rush Limbaugh, of course:
Nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh blasted Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Ken Mehlman's plans to apologize for his party's notorious Southern Strategy at the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Responding to Mehlman's planned renunciation of the race-based electoral strategy, Limbaugh accused Republicans of planning "to go bend over and grab the ankles."
Though President Bush has refused to speak to the NAACP throughout his presidency, Mehlman's July 14 speech to the NAACP renounced Republican efforts to capitalize politically on white Southerners' backlash against civil rights-era legislation. In his prepared remarks, Mehlman said, "Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong."
In discussing the topic, Limbaugh — whom Bush described as a "good friend" in an August 2004 appearance on Limbaugh's show — referred repeatedly to the group as the "NAALCP," which he has explained stands for the "National Association for the Advancement of Liberal Colored People."
It's truly sad what has happened to Rush Limbaugh over the years.
He became a national smash hit when the first President Bush was on the scene. Limbaugh had screechingly funny song satires, a playful joy for the outrageous and the un-PC and unmatched broadcast sarcastic political schtick. No, he didn't blast both sides, but there was no one like him on the radio. And he blasted the first President Bush — until Mr. Bush was smart enough to invite Limbaugh to sleep over in the Lincoln bedroom. This (former) listener and others noted the BIG change in his show after that.
Suddenly, Rush became Mr. GOP Establishment Talking Points — the most powerful GOP operative in the country and very much aware of his vital status. His power seemingly increased with each GOP issue and electoral victory, solidifying his status as one of the most powerful (and in terms of broadcast ability talented) broadcasters in American history.
But for many who are NOT partisans — and even to some partisans, from what these GOPers tell us — he is now unlistenable due to his predictability. He needs a new schtick.
Hopefully this isn't it. Forgetting for a moment who'd politically benefit, anything the GOP could do to defuse even a tiny part of the cancer called polarization infecting this country is laudable. And while it is 100 percent within Limbaugh's right to urge the GOP bigwigs who bow down to and woo him not to conceed anything to the NAACP at all, in terms of NATIONAL political interest Limbaugh's comments don't do any more than again illustrate that he isn't the wave of the radio or political future.
It's all a pity because the original Rush Limbaugh — hated then by liberals as he is hated now — did do often unpredictable satire and didn't take himself too seriously. The old Rush would probably make a joke out of the GOP's peace feeler, using irony. Perhaps this inability to chill out and look at the bigger picture is why Limbaugh's ratings, though still still MEGA, reportedly aren't trending well as well as in the past. And he is clearly no longer considered the talker on the ascent.
