Empty Apology and Hollow Rhetoric

by DNC


Washington, DC -- Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman today apologized for the "Southern Strategy," his party's despicable decision to ignore and demonize minorities for electoral gain in the 1960s and 1970s. Mehlman's empty apology for 30 year old political tactics lacks credibility in the face of President Bush's failed policies.

"The truth is the 'Southern strategy' lives today," said DNC Chair Howard Dean. "If Ken Mehlman feels like apologizing, he should start by apologizing for his party's use of divisive tactics in 2000, for using code words like 'quota' to divide African Americans, for demonizing gay people in 2004, and for the divisive use of immigration issues in 2006.

"If the Republican Party is really ready to change its stripes, they would denounce Mehlman's pledge to employ voter suppression tactics in this year's elections and join Democrats in rallying the nation around our common values and ideals.

"Mehlman's words ring hollow and lack credibility if he and President Bush aren't wil

ling to enact policies that truly expand opportunities and equality for all Americans, rather than policies that leave African Americans behind by driving up unemployment among African Americans and driving down home ownership rates. Under President Bush we've seen cuts to small business loans that are critical to expanding opportunity and cuts in funds for HIV/AIDS, an epidemic that is viciously claiming the lives of too many African Americans. Until President Bush and his Administration get serious about truly addressing these issues, not merely paying lip service to them, any apology rings hollow."

See below for a new document from DNC Research:

President Bush's Failed Leadership Leaves African Americans Behind

President Bush's record in the African American community is distinguished by a lot of rhetoric backed up with little action. While he talks of being a compassionate conservative, his consistent opposition to causes important to African Americans has severely damaged his credibility. Under the Bush Administration, African American unemployment has increased and funding for job training has decreased. His own No Child Left Behind Act has been severely underfunded and many African American seniors will be exposed to higher drug costs under his Medicare plan. Bush has consistently eliminated programs that help African Americans. It is morally irresponsible to slash funding for key education, health care, and job creation programs. Democrats believe that it is our responsibility to work with African Americans to ensure that the policies we pursue are consistent with the values we cherish and the promises made.
President Bush Does Little to Reach Out to African American Leaders

Bush African American Support Lacking Despite Claims of Outreach. The Republicans consistently claim they are reaching out to African Americans, yet Bush only received 11 percent of the African American vote in 2004 and 9 percent in 2000. [Sun-Sentinel, 10/24/04; CNN.com]

Bush Turns Down NAACP Convention Invitation for 5th Year. As the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convenes its annual meeting, President Bush, for the fifth year in a row, has declined an invitation to speak at the convention. [Baltimore Sun, 7/9/05]

Bush Did Not Attend the 2004 NAACP Convention, Nor Any Other Convention During His Presidency. The White House initially attributed Bush's decision not to accept the invitation to speak at the NAACP annual convention to a scheduling conflict. It's the fourth straight year that Bush has declined an invitation to attend the NAACP convention, which opens today in Philadelphia and runs through Thursday. He is the first sitting president since Herbert Hoover not to address the group. [Reuters, 7/9/04; Knight-Ridder, 7/10/04]

* Bush Later Admitted that He Would Not Attend Because NAACP Leaders Called Him Names. "'I would describe my relationship with the current leadership as basically non-existent,' Bush told reporters. 'You've heard the rhetoric and the names they've called me.' Bush added that he 'admired some' NAACP leaders and said he would seek members' support 'in other ways.'" [Knight-Ridder, 7/10/04]

Bush Has Purposely Ignored the Congressional Black Caucus. "Bush did meet with the Congressional Black Caucus during his first two weeks in office -- on Jan. 31, 2001 -- but... Bush has repeatedly turned down requests to meet with the group since then. Caucus members have complained that not only has Bush refused to meet with them on specific issues, including his plans to attack Iraq, but also the White House often has not even responded to their letters." [Washington Post, 10/14/04]

Bush Refused To Commit To CBC Agenda. Shortly after Bush's second inauguration, Bush again met with the group, but would not commit to anything on their agenda. Bush simply agreed "to consider proposals to end racial disparities." Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said that Bush seemed surprised by the drastic disparities that existed, replying to their statements with "visible grunts." Rep. Watt said, "It was like every time a new piece of information was hitting the president, he was being hit in the stomach." [CNN, 1/27/05; Dallas Morning News, 1/27/05]
Bush Opposes Affirmative Action Programs Used by African Americans

Bush Opposed Affirmative Action on the Same Day As MLK's Birthday. On January 15, 2003, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, the Bush Administration announced it would be submitting two friend-of-the-court briefs opposing affirmative action at the University of Michigan, wrongly asserting that the University's policies "amount to a quota system." Bush "called affirmative action 'fundamentally flawed,' as the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 examined whether considering race as a factor in admissions to the University of Michigan was constitutional." [Detroit Free Press, 8/30/04; New York Times, 1/16/03]

Bush Deliberately and Wrongly Identified University of Michigan Admission System as a "Quota." During his announcement that his Administration would oppose the University of Michigan in its affirmative action cases before the Supreme Court, Bush stated that Michigan's admissions policies "amount to a quota system that unfairly rewards or penalizes prospective students based solely on their race." According to the New York Times, Bush's use of the racially- charged word "quota" was strategic because of the strong negative reaction the word elicits in polls. The Supreme Court rejected Bush's position, ruling that the Constitution "does not prohibit the law school's narrowly tailored use of race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body." [New York Times, 1/16/03; 6/23/03; United States Supreme Court]

Under Bush Administration, Unemployment in the African American Community is at its Highest Levels in Years

Bush's Policies Result in High Unemployment Rate in African Americans. The unemployment rate among African Americans remained over 10.5 percent in 2005 - remaining at levels not seen since 1997. The Bush budget squanders an additional $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years on more tax cuts for the wealthy, but does little to create good-paying jobs here at home. And these tax cuts will squeeze out a range of programs to help create new opportunities, support strong national security, and restore prosperity. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05]

Bush Budget Cuts Funding for Small Businesses. There are more than 820,000 African American owned small businesses. The budget cuts funding for the Small Business Administration, which helps minority-owned small businesses grow, by $85 million from last year's proposal. The budget also provides no resources for the Microloan program, even though this program is critical to aiding minority communities by supplying small loans to start up newly established and growing small businesses. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05]

Bush Denies Job Training Opportunities. Some African American workers lack the academic preparation and skills training needed for economic success. Yet the Bush Administration shortchanges the job training needed to create new opportunities. The budget cuts job training services by about $280 million and block-grants the adult, youth, and dislocated worker programs and the Employment Service program, jeopardizing critical training resources and particularly harming dislocated workers and at-risk teenagers. The budget cuts other job training and related programs, including trade adjustment assistance, veterans' training, vocational rehabilitation, and adult education by about $300 million. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05]

Bush Continues to Underfund Critical Education Programs that Help African Americans

Bush Underfunds his Own No Child Left Behind Program by $13.1 Billion. Bush's budget provides $13.1 billion less in funding for No Child Left Behind than the 2002 law authorized, leaving 3 million children without the help with reading and math that they were promised under Title I, and cuts Education Department funding below this year's level. More than 15 percent of African Americans over the age of 25 do not have a high school education. This is the fourth year in a row that Bush has underfunded his own program. [National Priorities Project, 2/14/05]

* Bush Budget Offers Title I Schools $7.2 Billion Less Than Promised, Leaves 2.4 Million Low-Income Children Behind. Bush's FY 2005 budget proposes $20.5 billion for Title I, $7.2 billion less than was authorized under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Bush's last four budgets have cumulatively provided $22.4 billion less than what was pledged under NLCB. The President's budget would allow Title I to serve 2.4 million fewer low-income students than the amount authorized under NCLB. [President's FY 2005 Budget, www.ed.gov; historical data at www.ed.gov; House Budget Committee Democratic Caucus, 2/6/04]

Bush Budget Guts Head Start. There are 324,700 African American children being served through Head Start, but the President's budget eliminates the comprehensive educational, health, and nutrition services that children in this program currently receive. In addition, the budget freezes Head Start funding at this year's level, meaning that 25,000 children will have to be cut from the program next year. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05]

Despite Bush's State of the Union Promise, His Budget Underfunds Pell Grants by $6.6 Billion. In his 2005 State of the Union Address Bush promised to increase the maximum value of Pell Grants, but he continues to fall well short of his 2000 promise to increase the value to $5,100. And Bush continues to provide $6.6 billion less than is authorized under the Higher Education Act. Only 17 percent of African American adults have their bachelor's degree, and yet the budget completely eliminates the $306 million GEAR-UP, $313 million Upward Bound, and $150 million Talent Search programs, which ensure that high-risk students succeed in high school and move on to college. As a result, about 1.3 million students - 70 percent of whom are minorities - will lose support they need to make it to college. [Bush, State of the Union Address, 2/2/05; Bush Speech in Hampton, New Hampshire, 8/30/00; Federal Pell Grant End of Year Report 2003-2004; National Education Association, 2/05; Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2006, 2/7/05]

Bush Administration's Social Security Plan Negatively Affects

African Americans

African Americans Rely Disproportionately On Social Security For Their Retirement. "Without Social Security, 60 percent of African American seniors would live in poverty." African Americans are less likely to have additional retirement income beyond Social Security and 40 percent of African Americans rely solely on Social Security as their only source of retirement income. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05; Dollars and Sense, November/December 2004]

African Americans Would Be Hurt By Raise In Retirement Age. Bush's argument that "African American males die sooner than other males do, which means the system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people. And that needs to be fixed" is inaccurate. "By age 65, when Social Security's full retirement benefits start to be paid, the difference between life expectancy for the average African American and white male is less than two years." The statistic Bush is citing is skewed by high death rates of African Americans children and youth adults. Thus, African Americans would be harmed by Bush putting a raise in the retirement age on the table. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05; Bush Conversation on Social Security, 2/3/05]

Bush's Plan Would Cut Benefits For Seniors. The Washington Post reported, "a former senior administration official who recently discussed Social Security strategy with Bush aides said the change in the indexing formula 'is assumed to be a part of any final solution.'" According to the Social Security Administration's own chief actuary, steep benefit cuts would occur under a plan to change the formula by which Social Security benefits are calculated. By setting first year benefits according to rises in inflation, as opposed to wage growth, benefits would be reduced dramatically, as wages generally rise more rapidly than prices. If you retire in 2022, the Bush recalculation will cut your benefits by almost 10 percent. If you retire in 2042, the Bush benefit cut will total more than 25 percent. By 2075, our children and grandchildren will be facing staggering cuts of 46 percent to their benefits. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 12/21/04; Washington Post, 1/4/05]

Bush's Plan Makes It Harder For Survivors To Receive Benefits. Bush has claimed his plan will allow seniors to pass on Social Security, saying "...when you pass on, you can pass that money on to whomever you want." However, his plan actually makes it more difficult to do this. "The Bush privatization plan would require retirees whose traditional Social Security benefits are below the poverty line to purchase annuities 'to ensure a stream of monthly income over the worker's life expectancy.' Unless individuals' account balances are in excess of the 'poverty- protection threshold,' retirees may not withdraw their money. Only unused money from the seniors' funds, if there is any, can be passed on to heirs." [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05; Bush Speech, 3/4/05]

Bush Administration Fails to Make Healthcare Affordable for

African Americans

Bush Administration Budget Fails to Make Health Care Affordable. There are 7.4 million African Americans without health insurance and millions more who can barely afford to pay their premiums. However, the budget does not improve access to health care. Instead, it cuts $60 billion from Medicaid, decimating health care funding for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities and making it even harder for families to afford nursing home care. These cuts will shift costs to states and beneficiaries, cut payments for providers, which will undermine their ability to provide care, and increase the number of the uninsured. While the Bush budget claims to reinvest $15 billion of the $60 billion in cuts back into Medicaid, the bulk of that spending is from an "outreach initiative" which is unlikely to ever produce any new coverage, as many states have moved to make it more difficult for families to enroll. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05; Kaiser Family Foundation Issue Brief, http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/7293.cfm , 7/8/05]]

Bush Cuts Office of Minority Health. African American men suffer from heart disease at nearly twice the rate of whites and those under 65 suffer from prostate cancer at nearly twice the rate of whites. And yet, the President's budget makes a six percent cut in the Office of Minority Health, which supports disease prevention, health promotion, and educational efforts that focus on health concerns that cause the high rate of disease in racial and ethnic minority communities. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05; HHS, FY 2002-2006 Budget in Brief]

Bush Budget Underfunded Programs that Help Combat AIDS In the African American Community. In his State of the Union address, Bush outlined an agenda aimed at U.S. inner cities, including a pledge to fight the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African-American community. Bush also asked Congress to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act "to encourage prevention and provide care and treatment" to people living with the disease. "And as we update this important law, we must focus our efforts on fellow citizens with the highest rates of new cases: African-American men and women," Bush said. However, Bush's FY 2006 budget proposal includes cuts for some domestic HIV/AIDS programs, including a $14 million decrease for the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS Program and a $4 million reduction for CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. [Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/3/05; San Francisco Chronicle, 2/8/005]

* The HIV/AIDS Epidemic is a Health Crisis for African Americans. In 2001, HIV/AIDS was among the top 3 causes of death for African American men aged 25-54 and among the top 4 causes of death for African American women aged 20-54. It was the number one cause of death for African American women aged 25-34. [CDC Report on AIDS and African Americans, http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/afam.pdf , 7/8/05]

Lies, and more Lies

Hardball

7/17/05 Bruce H, Scroggins

You ask Mr. Cooper, a series of questions and he answered you as best he could, he let you know that what was in his notes, and e-mails, he spoke to the investigators about those facts. That’s as it may, and it’s now fact, that Cheney, Rove, Libby, and Ari fliecher, and there Lawyers all know what has been revealed, and these men know more, that will be discovered by Fitzgerald in the coming weeks.

The Administration say also, that they won’t trust TIME, to protect them, that sounds like they got caught doing, and saying something very wrong, and they want to punish TIME and there reporters. The Administration Lawyers also told Mr. Cooper, he had a wavier to speak all along, but as Cooper said he kept his mouth shut for two years, and that sound correct, so if Copper had this wavier as they said, why? I ask, did they have to work anything out, between Lawyers a paper, saying Cooper NOW has a wavier, and this all-occurring TWO YEARS later.

Ken Melman (KM) is an Obfuscating, he's just parsing words, and he flat out did not answer your direct question, (at least the end of your question), "is that not a leak." Cooper said, he heard it from Rove, KM ignored that direct quote, and at the end of his SPIN, he threw in Joe Wilson name again.

John Podesta, got it right, it’s what Rove said, not what Joe Wilson said. Ken Melman says, the E-Mails exonerates Rove, they do not, and he’s lying to you, and to the American people, right in your face. And we do not ALL agree, Ken should never say that as fact, when it clear that the evidence to date, all implicate, Rove deeply in this leak.

There is and has been an ongoing cover-up, and Scott McClellan was central in this cover-up. Question, if this happened in the Clinton White house, (i mean, did not answer your questions,) Podesta said what is true facts, this is a blatant lie by Rove, and Bush stated, any one leaking, “He would deal with this person.”

I believe America is on the wrong track Domestically, and in Foreign Policy, and Rove will not survive, and he will be brought up on charges.

Ken Melman, is hurting his party, and everyone who keeps standing in the breach, for treasonous act, and America’s eyes are wide open, and if they don’t stop twisting the facts, and continuing to spin lying mis-directions, it will be a hard landing, one that will lead to Impeachment.

Woodward & Bernstein, got it right, it’s the CONTEXTS, of WMD’s, ROVE, Lying to take America into IRAQ, and more, much more. Finally Bushes house of cards is unraveling, and the Downing Street Memo’s and more will, crush Bush, and Bush if foolish enough to push John Bolton down the troths of America, and the world. America needs a shoe to drop, and Bush will use the one he has in his mouth.