--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "oneradiantbeing" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > The Ugly Side of the GOP > By Bob Herbert > The New York Times > > Tuesday 25 September 2007 > > I applaud the thousands of people, many of them poor, who > traveled from around the country to protest in Jena, La., last week. > But what I'd really like to see is a million angry protesters > marching on the headquarters of the National Republican Party in > Washington. > > Enough is enough. Last week the Republicans showed once again > just how anti-black their party really is. > > The G.O.P. has spent the last 40 years insulting, > disenfranchising and otherwise stomping on the interests of black > Americans. Last week, the residents of Washington, D.C., with its > majority black population, came remarkably close to realizing a goal > they have sought for decades - a voting member of Congress to > represent them. > > A majority in Congress favored the move, and the House had > already approved it. But the Republican minority in the Senate - with > the enthusiastic support of President Bush - rose up on Tuesday and > said: "No way, baby." > > At least 57 senators favored the bill, a solid majority. But the > Republicans prevented a key motion on the measure from receiving the > 60 votes necessary to move it forward in the Senate. The bill died. > > At the same time that the Republicans were killing Congressional > representation for D.C. residents, the major G.O.P. candidates for > president were offering a collective slap in the face to black voters > nationally by refusing to participate in a long-scheduled, nationally > televised debate focusing on issues important to minorities. > > The radio and television personality Tavis Smiley worked for a > year to have a pair of these debates televised on PBS, one for the > Democratic candidates and the other for the Republicans. The > Democratic debate was held in June, and all the major candidates > participated. > > The Republican debate is scheduled for Thursday. But Rudy > Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson have all told > Mr. Smiley: "No way, baby." > > They won't be there. They can't be bothered debating issues that > might be of interest to black Americans. After all, they're > Republicans. > > This is the party of the Southern strategy - the party that ran, > like panting dogs, after the votes of segregationist whites who were > repelled by the very idea of giving equal treatment to blacks. Ronald > Reagan, George H.W. (Willie Horton) Bush, George W. (Compassionate > Conservative) Bush - they all ran with that lousy pack. > > Dr. Carolyn Goodman, a woman I was privileged to call a friend, > died last month at the age of 91. She was the mother of Andrew > Goodman, one of the three young civil rights activists shot to death > by rabid racists near Philadelphia, Miss., in 1964. > > Dr. Goodman, one of the most decent people I have ever known, > carried the ache of that loss with her every day of her life. > > In one of the vilest moves in modern presidential politics, > Ronald Reagan, the ultimate hero of this latter-day Republican Party, > went out of his way to kick off his general election campaign in 1980 > in that very same Philadelphia, Miss. He was not there to send the > message that he stood solidly for the values of Andrew Goodman. He > was there to assure the bigots that he was with them. > > "I believe in states' rights," said Mr. Reagan. The crowd roared. > > In 1981, during the first year of Mr. Reagan's presidency, the > late Lee Atwater gave an interview to a political science professor > at Case Western Reserve University, explaining the evolution of the > Southern strategy: > > "You start out in 1954 by saying, 'Nigger, nigger, nigger,' " > said Atwater. "By 1968, you can't say 'nigger' - that hurts you. > Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights, and > all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking > about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are > totally economic things, and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get > hurt worse than whites." > > In 1991, the first President Bush poked a finger in the eye of > black America by selecting the egregious Clarence Thomas for the seat > on the Supreme Court that had been held by the revered Thurgood > Marshall. The fact that there is a rigid quota on the court, > permitting one black and one black only to serve at a time, is itself > racist. > > Mr. Bush seemed to be saying, "All right, you want your black on > the court? Boy, have I got one for you." > > Republicans improperly threw black voters off the rolls in > Florida in the contested presidential election of 2000, and sent > Florida state troopers into the homes of black voters to intimidate > them in 2004. > > Blacks have been remarkably quiet about this sustained > mistreatment by the Republican Party, which says a great deal about > the quality of black leadership in the U.S. It's time for that > passive, masochistic posture to end.
Agreed ! Where is the freedom for millions of americans the president so loudly and forcefully wants to export to other countries ?
