Bush to Make First NAACP Appearance Today

QueEx

Rising Star
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<font size="5"><center>Bush to Make First NAACP Appearance Today</font size></center>

Jul 20, 7:35 AM (ET)
Associated Press
By DEB RIECHMANN

WASHINGTON (AP) - For five years in a row, President Bush has declined invitations to address the annual NAACP convention. This year, with the Senate poised to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Bush said yes.

The White House says Bush wants to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Thursday to show his commitment to civil rights.

"The president has had five years to prepare for this speech," Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, past chairman of the Congressional Black Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday. "I hope that this time, he makes it worth the wait."

Democrats have called on Bush to use his appearance to renew the Voting Rights Act. "He could sign it right here on this stage," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., told the NAACP on Wednesday, eliciting cheers from the audience.

The House voted overwhelmingly last week to extend provisions of the landmark civil rights act that President Johnson signed after violence erupted in the South over voting rights for blacks. The Senate is expected to pass it on Thursday, although probably not before Bush's midmorning appearance at the NAACP.

Every president for the past several decades has spoken to the Baltimore-based group. Until now, Bush, who received 11 percent of the black vote in 2004, had been the exception. His appearance comes in a critical midterm election year, when Republicans fear losing control of Congress.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said that while there are political differences, the NAACP's new leader, Bruce Gordon, has good relations with Bush. Gordon has met with Bush three times in the year he's headed the civil rights group. That compares to one meeting Bush had with Gordon's predecessor, Kweisi Mfume, a former Democratic congressman.

"It is clear that in this nation, racism and discrimination are legally unacceptable, but there are also residues of the past that we have to address," Snow said in previewing the speech. "We have to find ways to make sure that the road to opportunity is clear for one and all."

Snow denied claims that this was Bush's way of atoning for the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and some black elected officials alleged that indifference to black suffering and racial injustice was to blame for the sluggish reaction to the disaster. In September 2005, Bush's top advisers met with black leaders to discuss their concerns.

"I think the president wants to make his voice heard," Snow said about Bush's speech. "He has an important role to play not only in making the case for civil rights but, maybe more importantly, the case for unity."

Cummings, D-Md., said as the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, Bush needs to explain what he plans to do to help the thousands of families in the Gulf Coast region who remain homeless and jobless.

He said the president also needs to address other issues of concern to blacks, including access to health care and the minimum wage, which has remained at $5.15 for nearly a decade.

"If the tax cuts are working, why then - at 9 percent - is the unemployment rate in the African American community nearly double the national rate?" Cummings asked.

---

On the Net:

The White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov

NAACP: http://www.naacp.org

http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20060720/D8IVMLLO3.html?PG=home&SEC=news
 

Greed

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Registered
did you see a point to it beyond the non-substantive goal of an unbroken string of american presidents addressing the convention.

i dont know what the point of it was.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
One point is, he should have done this a long time ago. Yeah, Yeah. He would be heckled; why appear before a hostile group; blah, blah, blah. He should have made an appearance anyway to show his sincerity, to demostrate that many of the "mis/mal understandings" Black people hold about him are not as we perceive; and to make the attempt, even if unsuccessful, to heal November 2000.

You mention "non-substantive". Then he should have appeared and shown "Substantively" that he is more than mere promises of past presidents. That is, appear and back that appearance with subsequent "substantive" <u>deeds and actions</u>.

By not appearing all this time he has given at least the appearance that what Black people have said about him is .... well, true. We had a similar discussion many versions of BGOL ago: you implied that silence on my part on a subject/post is a tacit admission that I endorse the posts of some posters. I argued to the contrary, but if that was true in my case, why not Bush's?

QueEx
 

Greed

Star
Registered
what is all that heckled and hostile group stuff?

the urban league's conventions doesnt count as a black convention? the naacp is the end all of black conventions? he can only "demostrate that many of the "mis/mal understandings" Black people hold about him are not as we perceive; and to make the attempt, even if unsuccessful, to heal November 2000," at the naacp convention? this is why i shake my head at the state of black politics. bush has been silent because he essentially gave his "black speeches" at places other than where you wanted him to.

and i'm sure black people's general opinion of bush43 in 2006 was not based on his dislike of julian bond in 2001-2005.

like i implied earlier, this was a pointless exercise on both parts. they really didnt want him there, and he didnt want to be there but went for probably the same non-substantive reasons. nothing was accomplished by either side and nothing will be accomplished by either side by this.

i must be hopelessly out of touch if i keep missing the good results that come from what i would rate as disingenuous political events that neither side benefit from.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Before I respond, let me say welcome back, here. I know you feel this board is a worthless cause, and it probably is. But I just keep holding the opinion that somebody might be reading stuff here and, if so, somebody might say something interesting and thought provoking, and somebody just might stumble across good and reasonable debate. Might make somebody think. As you know, you tend to do that many times -- sometimes like a lightning rod, whether I or anyone else here agrees with it or not. Thanks.

Greed said:
what is all that heckled and hostile group stuff?
I was referring to and recalling posts in another version of BGOL where the point was made, why should GW appear, just to be heckled? Thats immaterial, however, right now.

the urban league's conventions doesnt count as a black convention?
Of course it does, as you well know. But just like Black people are diverse, so are our meetings and conventions. Attending one doesn't mean that you've heard and listened to diverse opinion. He didn't <u>have to</u> attend any; but the more serious interaction with us is bound to bring about a better understanding or a confirmation of negative opinion.

the naacp is the end all of black conventions? he can only "demostrate that many of the "mis/mal understandings" Black people hold about him are not as we perceive; and to make the attempt, even if unsuccessful, to heal November 2000," at the naacp convention?
In my best southern accent: Nawh. But the NAACP is what, the oldest? - black interest group still active -- dodging the NAACP couldn't have helped to make sincere demonstrations.

Picking and choosing which Black forums he wanted to appear before and practically ignoring those he didn't rings a lot like his foreign policy of ignoring foreign elements (governments and groups) he doesn't like and dealing intimately with those he does. This country's foreign policy is suffering because of a lack of engagement with the former. North Korea, Iran, Hezbollah and others pose a more serious risk, I believe, because of lack of serious engagement.

this is why i shake my head at the state of black politics. bush has been silent because he essentially gave his "black speeches" at places other than where you wanted him to.
Not where I "wanted him to." Where someone who is interested in "engagement" should have. Just makes good political common sense. Might be the Texan in him -- many of them are bullheaded.

and i'm sure black people's general opinion of bush43 in 2006 was not based on his dislike of julian bond in 2001-2005.
I know many people believe that the NAACP has no relavance in 2006. I'm not one of those and I don't believe that Julian Bond IS the NAACP, lest we get caught up in mere personalities.

like i implied earlier, this was a pointless exercise on both parts. they really didnt want him there, and he didnt want to be there but went for probably the same non-substantive reasons. nothing was accomplished by either side and nothing will be accomplished by either side by this.

i must be hopelessly out of touch if i keep missing the good results that come from what i would rate as disingenuous political events that neither side benefit from.
I don't know what, if anything, will result from this late appearance or what might have from earlier appearances. I do believe, however, that they will both add to the debate/discussion. I don't believe that social change suddenly occurs -- it typically happens over periods of time, yet shaped by earlier debate, discussion and engagement. In that regard, it was opportunity lost.

QueEx
 
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GET YOU HOT

Superfly Moderator
BGOL Investor
Bush's example of sitting on the fence...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...
"I understand that racism still lingers in America," Bush said. "It's a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African-Americans distrust my political party.

PASSING THE BUCK...
"I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historical ties with the African-American community. For too long, my party wrote off the African-American vote, and many African-Americans wrote off the Republican Party."

...let's see how this situation develops.
 

GET YOU HOT

Superfly Moderator
BGOL Investor
Que is referring to this post by PuertoRock in another thread...

puertorock2005
wannabe star Join Date: Feb 24, 2006
Posts: 37

Re: The Truth About George W. Bush & Co.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by GET YOU HOT
George W. Bush is notorious for running things into the ground, (look into his past), not to mention, lying about Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction; killing Iraqi citizens and American soldiers(the so called War on Terrorism); outing a CIA operative, (breaking federal law), implementing NSA spying on US Citizens(violation of civil liberties, privacy clauses, etc); torturing Abu Ghraib prisoners against the Geneva Conventions(human rights violations, false imprisonment, torture, etc); last but not least, a well-documented case that the administration paricipated in and engineered 9-11(domestic terrorism).




So he didn't go to the NAACP this year or the other years, atleast he had his reason, cats wanted to mess with him, would you go where people are going to boo you. Are you going to talk over them, or rather, scream over their rants and bitterness, probably not. George Bush is only showing America that we are all fucked up in a sense and he's just a pawn in the game like everybody else. Yeah, he's made more mistakes than any other president, but so did Clinton. George atleast tackled the war and will lower the population of U.S. citizens in order to let the immigrants in. how many soldiers have died already. Last I heard, it was over 200,000 of them them, so he's got about 10.8 million to go. I'm just kidding, but I do agree that this is a dumb president. although I could care less for the constitution(was never intended for minorities, since we, with the exception of black folks, didn't get here until the early 20th century or so)
 

Greed

Star
Registered
QueEx said:
Before I respond, let me say welcome back, here. I know you feel this board is a worthless cause, and it probably is.
i dont think the board is a waste of time, i think the people are a waste of time. i may be making the mistake of looking back and only remembering the sunshine and none of the rain, but i remember a group of regular posters that were open to each other's opinions on a whole range of issues. no matter who i was arguing with(slim, solo, or gene), we all didnt have a problem conceding points because it wasnt a contest.

now people come come here to tell you what you should know and discussion on a discussion board is not an option. but oh well.

QueEx said:
But just like Black people are diverse, so are our meetings and conventions.
for the record i dont think "our" meetings are diverse like the black population. i think every one of these meetings results in the "preaching to the choir" syndrome. just like i spoke out against the million more march, i'll say these conventions arent speaking to the portion of the black american population that needs the most engagment. i think these meetings are a waste of time when it comes to efforts to affect change.

QueEx said:
Picking and choosing which Black forums he wanted to appear before and practically ignoring those he didn't rings a lot like his foreign policy of ignoring foreign elements (governments and groups) he doesn't like and dealing intimately with those he does. This country's foreign policy is suffering because of a lack of engagement with the former. North Korea, Iran, Hezbollah and others pose a more serious risk, I believe, because of lack of serious engagement.
actually this is a derivative of the problem i had with today's speech.

bush was 100% patronizing, which is what's expected. but unfortunately, this is the kind of speech, i think, the naacp was expecting and wanting and satisfied with. a patronizing "black issues" speech is worthess because as you point out 30 million black people are diverse and "black issues" arent what they used to be. issues that affect you most arent the same that affect the people in cabrini green.

why not talk to us like americans? iraq, freedom, democracy, capitalism/entrepreneurship. you're a perfect example of black opinion more likely being formed by his foreign policy than his 5 year treatment of the naacp.

QueEx said:
I know many people believe that the NAACP has no relavance in 2006. I'm not one of those and I don't believe that Julian Bond IS the NAACP, lest we get caught up in mere personalities.
i also think they have no relevance because they havent evolved with the times.

QueEx said:
I don't know what, if anything, will result from this late appearance or what might have from earlier appearances. I do believe, however, that they will both add to the debate/discussion. I don't believe that social change suddenly occurs -- it typically happens over periods of time, yet shaped by earlier debate, discussion and engagement. In that regard, it was opportunity lost.
i will state again that i think nothing will come of this because both worries more about appearance and good intentions rather than results.

i think BOTH went into this expecting or demanding nothing significant from either, which means republicans and black folks should both view this as a waste of time.
 

GET YOU HOT

Superfly Moderator
BGOL Investor
I'm thinking that Republicans are all white and don't care about trials and tribulations of the masses, so why then would we back a Republican candidate if it were to supress the populous even more :confused:

Bush made a monumental move...where will it take him?

...to little to late, alot of folks are suspect of him for such a move this late in the game...your thoughts.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Greed said:
will state again that i think nothing will come of this because both worries more about appearance and good intentions rather than results.

i think BOTH went into this expecting or demanding nothing significant from either, which means republicans and black folks should both view this as a waste of time.
You're probably right. Most people are now looking to the next election.

QueEx
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
<font size="5"><center>Bush Knows Many Blacks Distrust GOP</font size></center>

ap.gif

By DEB RIECHMANN
July 20, 2006 05:32 PM

President Bush, addressing the NAACP after skipping its convention for five years, said Thursday he knows racism exists in America and that many black voters distrust his Republican Party.

Bush lamented the GOP's rocky relations with blacks. He pledged to improve that relationship and work with the NAACP's new leader to achieve common goals.

"I understand that racism still lingers in America," Bush told more than 2,200 people at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's annual gathering. "It's a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African-Americans distrust my political party."

That line generated boisterous applause and cheers from the audience, which generally gave the president a polite, reserved reception.

"I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historical ties with the African-American community," Bush said. "For too long, my party wrote off the African-American vote, and many African-Americans wrote off the Republican Party."

Black support for Republicans in elections has hovered around 10 percent for more than a decade. In 2004, Bush drew 11 percent of the black vote against Democrat John Kerry.

Most of the president's talk generated a smattering of applause. But many in the convention center stood and clapped when he urged the Senate to renew a landmark civil rights law passed in the 1960s to end racist voting practices, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, in Southern states.

The Senate was passing the bill later Thursday and sending it to the president.

For five years in a row, Bush had declined invitations to address the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the nation. This year, he said yes, knowing that he would be facing a tough crowd.

According to AP-Ipsos polling conducted in June and July, 86 percent of blacks disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job, compared with 56 percent of whites who disapprove.

While the audience was cordial, some NAACP members were disappointed that the president did not mention the war in Iraq. During Bush's speech, two NAACP members from Louisiana held their hands in the air to display the two-fingered, "V" peace symbol.

Others expressed dismay that Bush did not offer more substantive remarks about issues such as education and the economy. The unemployment rate for blacks was 9 percent in June - nearly twice the national jobless rate of 4.6 percent

"There was an amazing gap between the aspirations of his speech and the policy behind it. It was so vague," said Barbara Arnwine of the Washington-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

"He doesn't have enough contact with this community," said Arnwine. The group was set up in 1963, at the request of President Kennedy, to get private lawyers to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.

Bush talked about his No Child Left Behind education program, but did not mention that it has been underfunded, said Madie Robinson of Florence, S.C., a member of the NAACP national board of directors. "He raised many issues," she said, "but didn't offer solutions."

The administration's relations with the NAACP have been sketchy at best.

The organization's president, Kweisi Mfume, once described Bush's black supporters as "ventriloquists' dummies" and said the president's decision not to speak at the NAACP conventions was an insult.

The chairman, Julian Bond, urged members to oust Bush and condemned the administration's policies on education, the economy and the war in Iraq.

In 2004, then White House press secretary Scott McClellan said NAACP leaders, through their "hostile rhetoric," have shown no interest in working with Bush.

Relations have improved under the leadership of current NAACP president, Bruce Gordon.

Gordon, who introduced Bush at the convention, has met with him three times in the year that he has headed the civil rights group. That compares with one meeting Bush had with Mfume, Gordon's predecessor.

"Bruce is a polite guy," Bush said. "I thought what he was going to say, `It's about time you showed up.' And I'm glad I did."

The White House denied that Bush's appearance was a way of atoning for the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and some black elected officials alleged that indifference to black suffering and racial injustice was to blame for the sluggish reaction to the disaster.

Bush said he and Gordon have had frank talks about the challenges blacks face following the hurricane.

"We found areas where we share common purpose, and we have resolved to work together in practical ways," Bush said. "I don't expect Bruce to become a Republican - and neither do you. But I do want to work with him, and that's what I'm here to talk to you about."

Toward the end of his remarks, two protesters interrupted the president, shouting inquiries about Vice President Dick Cheney and the situation in the Middle East.

"Stop being a Stepin Fetchit for Dick Cheney!" one shouted in a reference to a black actor known for stereotypical portrayals of black minstrel characters.

Bond approached the microphone, but Bush told him not to bother trying to quell the disturbance. "Don't worry," Bush told Bond. "I'm almost done."

"I know you can handle it," Bond replied.



Associated Press National Writer Erin Texeira contributed to this report.

http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/07/20/ap2894249.html
 

Greed

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Registered
IRS review clears NAACP

coincidence? i think not.
i expect the necessary conspiracy theories on my desk by 3pm sharp.
let's move people.


IRS review clears NAACP
By BRETT ZONGKER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 20 minutes ago

The NAACP did not violate the conditions of its tax-exempt status when its chairman gave a speech that criticized President Bush, according to a newly released letter from the Internal Revenue Service to the civil rights group.

The IRS began looking into the Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People about a month before the 2004 presidential election after a speech by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond that was largely critical of Bush's policies.

Political campaigning is prohibited under the NAACP's tax-exempt status.

In a letter, dated Aug. 9, the IRS said a review of video footage of the speech, as well as other information, indicated "that political intervention did not occur."

Bruce S. Gordon, the president and CEO of the NAACP, said the group was vindicated by the decision.

"It's disappointing that the IRS took nearly two years to conclude what we knew from the beginning — the NAACP did not violate tax laws and continues to be politically nonpartisan," Gordon said in a statement Thursday.

In his speech, Bond said of the Bush administration: "They preach racial neutrality and practice racial division. They've tried to patch the leaky economy and every other domestic problem with duct tape and plastic sheets. They write a new constitution of Iraq and they ignore the Constitution here at home."

The civil rights group said it has a long history of criticizing presidents and their policies and that Bond criticized both political parties during the speech.

"I've been a critic of the Bush administration since it began, as I was with the Clinton administration before that," Bond said.

Relations between the Bush administration and the NAACP have warmed since Gordon took over as CEO in 2005. The president spoke to the NAACP convention this year for the first time in his White House tenure.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060831/ap_on_re_us/naacp_irs
 

neo_cacos

Potential Star
Registered
WHAT'S THE POINT...the guy has no substance. To be honest, I don't see what it changes. It would be one thing if he dislike black people or if he had an opinion on social issues that concerns us...
But francly , I think he just don't give a DAMN !


neo
 

gene cisco

Not A BGOL Eunuch
BGOL Investor
Looking at these old threads is a kick.

Bush skipped the NAACP convention for 5 years and still had the balls to campaign tough in black churches in Ohio in 2004. Trump has also skipped all the conventions headed into his reelection year.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Bush skipped the NAACP convention for 5 years and still had the balls to campaign tough in black churches in Ohio in 2004. Trump has also skipped all the conventions headed into his reelection year.

You know, the “Count” was right; but you need to be VERY WRONG with this comparison!!!
 
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