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Current Affairs
Bush shift right is no win for African Americans, says Black press survey
Editorial Introduction His opponent, Senator John Kerry, was unable to find a consistent message and incapable of galvanising the Democratic faithful, most notably the party's African-American constituency. Indeed, there were ugly attempts to suppress the Black vote which may have affected the outcomes in closely fought key states, Florida and Ohio. (Seasoned observers say the exclusionary tactics are a throw-back to the hated post slavery codes which stripped Blacks of their rights to the ballot.) Here, we give our readers the chance to read an extraordinary assessment of "God's President" from the prestigious African American news agency, the NNPA. The consensus is that "George Bush has made it clear that he doesn't want the Black vote". Hence, says Donna Brazile, manager of Democrat Al Gore's failed 2000 presidential campaign, "expect four more years of benign neglect". The NNPA Election report 4 November
2004
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Donna
Brazile
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Noting that he is "humbled by the trust and confidence of my fellow citizens," President George W. Bush acknowledged his win in a gracious victory speech Wednesday. "With that trust comes a duty to serve all Americans and I will do my best," he continued.
"I have a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation," he said. "We are one country with one constitution, and one future that binds us.
When we come together, there is no limit to what America can do."
Bush's speech was made shortly after U.S. Sen. John Kerry conceded the election on Wednesday afternoon.
"In an American election, there are no losers," Kerry said. "When we all wake up we're all Americans. That is the greatest privilege and good fortune." "We are required now to work together for the good of our country. We must work together for the common cause," he continued.
Noting that the country is badly in need of unity, Kerry said he would do his part to "bridge the partisan divide" and called on all Americans to join him. "We must stand together to win the war in Iraq and support our soldiers," he said.
However, having won re-election with little Black political support, President Bush is expected to appoint three or four right-wing judges to the Supreme Court, a move virtually guaranteed to eventually end the use of affirmative action programs in public institutions, and preside over a second term that will be characterized by cuts in domestic programs to offset the $1.9 trillion tax cuts over the next decade and a $422 billion deficit from his first term, political experts and activists predict.
Politicians speak
"He won't have any reason to do anything for Black people," explains
Ron Walters, a political scientist at the University of Maryland. "There
was a massive Black vote against him. However, second terms are interesting
because they (incumbents) don't face any competition. He doesn't really
have to play games in order to get re-elected, so it's conceivable that
he might, although I don't expect that we would, go as far as trying
to make any common cause with any centrist parts of the Black community."
Former Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton doesn't think there is a remote likelihood of Bush moving beyond his tight circle of conservative advisers.
"Let's all head to the airport and get out of the country," Sharpton says, facetiously. "I think we are in for some serious times. He will appoint judges to the Supreme Court that I think will try to erode some of the gains we made under the Civil Rights Movement and he clearly will have economic policies that will reward the rich. If there ever was a time that we had to gear up activism and put pressure on Congress like we've never done before, now is the time."
Conservative
legacy continues
Despite a Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies poll purportedly
showing Bush enjoying 18 percent support Among African-Americans and
Republican Party Chairman Ed Gillespie's goal of getting 25 percent
of the Black vote, exit polls showed that Bush received approximately
10 percent of the Black vote, up only 1 percent four years ago.
If Bush's first term is any indication, with Republicans controlling every branch of government - executive, legislative and judicial - Bush will leave more of a conservative legacy than Ronald Reagan's eight years in the White House during the 1980s.
Bush demonstrated during his first term that he doesn't mind talking like a "compassionate conservative" while firmly opposing even mild affirmative action programs, such as the one practiced by the University of Michigan Law School. Before it was upheld by a conservative Supreme Court, Bush sent his solicitor general into court to oppose Michigan's undergraduate and law school programs.
The Court, on a 5-4 vote, upheld the law school's admissions process and rejected the undergraduate program. In a statement issued after the rulings, Bush praised the Supreme Court for upholding the concept of diversity, even though his administration had argued against the program approved by the court.
Instead of favoring affirmative action, Bush will continue to back what he calls race-neutral approaches to diversity.
He told a group of journalists on August 6, "...in terms of admissions policy, race-neutral admissions policies ought to be tried. If they don't work, to achieve an objective which is diversification, race ought to be a factor." Bush has made it clear throughout his presidency that he believes race-neutral approaches have been effective.
More of the same
expected
Unless he makes a radical change, Bush will continue to circumvent legitimate
African-American leaders, relying on Blacks with conservative credentials
but no recognized standing in the larger Black community.
"Expect four more years of benign neglect," says Donna Brazile, manager of Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign. "Expect four more years of a hostile relationship, four more years of not having anybody inside the White House to talk to. The White House has made it abundantly clear that if you're not with the president, you're against him, whether it's terrorists or Democrats in Washington. That's a sad position.
"We're not looking for any changes with George Bush because George Bush has made it clear that he doesn't want the Black vote, he doesn't seek the Black vote and he doesn't seek any support from Black leaders. It's sad to think, but that's where we are."
Notes
Sourced from Staff Reports, George E Curry and Hazel Trice Edney, NNPA
Washington Bureau, Nov 4, 2004
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), also known as the Black Press of America, is a 62-year-old federation of more than 200 Black community newspapers from across the United States. Since World War II, it has also served as the industry's news service.
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is the nationās premier policy research institution on African American issues. It focuses on the impact of socio-economic, political, and health care policies on the well-being of African Americans and other underserved populations.
The Joint Center's 2004 National Opinion Poll was the first to show African Americans doubling their support for President George W. Bush, while giving him dismal job approval ratings. However, despite the increased support for the president, the poll also shows that Democratic nominee Senator John Kerry was favoured over Bush 4-to-1 among African Americans.
Donna Brazile, a senior fellow at the Academy of Leadership, University of Maryland, was recently appointed as national chair of the Voting Rights Institute, the Democratic Party's major initiative to promote and protect the right to vote.
