devious jeb helped write the playbook, set the stage, shuffle the players, send out the hitmen (and women), and assist in the death of democracy - then 'recused' himself while his minions completed the dirty work.
and, yes. It may get blown out of proportion - by those who don't think beyond to what prompted the statement.
Here's a couple of examples:
>snip<
The stage for the November 7 election and the effort by black leaders to defeat George W. Bush was set during Jeb Bush's initial and unsuccessful run for governor in 1994. During a debate in Tampa on July 27 of that year, Bush was asked by a journalist what he would do for Florida's black community if he was elected. His answer was both concise and prophetic. "Probably nothing," he said, explaining that he favored what he called "equality of opportunity" for all Floridians. Four years later, when he ran again, he avoided such candor. But although he won, he was backed by only 10 percent of the state's blacks, according to exit polls. In his first year in office, Bush then eliminated most affirmative action programs benefiting minorities and women, substituting a plan he called the One Florida Initiative. That program ended guaranteed minority and female set-asides in state hiring, in the awarding of state contracts (only 1 percent of state spending for merchandise and services went to minority-owned firms as it was, according to the Miami Herald) and in university admissions. Polls had shown that such a move would be popular with the white majority in the state. Black and feminist leaders called it a betrayal.
After the Governor refused to meet with them to discuss his policy, two black state legislators staged a twenty-hour sit-in at Bush's suite of offices. At one point Bush was overheard saying, "Kick their asses out of here," although an aide later claimed he was referring to journalists. Bush apologized to the public for his language but not his policy. The sit-in attracted statewide support from blacks, women's groups and other Floridians, forcing Bush to accept a series of public hearings. Thousands of citizens crowded those sessions and other demonstrations, verbally bludgeoning both the One Florida Initiative and Bush. Black student movements, dormant for years, were resurrected. Even members of his own party called Bush's tactics highhanded. But with an overwhelming GOP majority in the legislature and conservative Democrats eager to help, Bush pushed through his One Florida plan.
http://pearly-abraham.tripod.com/htmls3/fl-gopfraud0414.html -----
>snip<
That lawmaker had good reason to worry. Blacks would bear the brunt of this voter purge. While the population of Florida is about 15 percent black, the population of Florida prisons is 54 percent black. Once released and having completed parole, former prisoners have often found clemency difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. According to literature provided to former prisoners by the state, individuals can be denied the restoration of their civil rights for many reasons, including the possibility that they owe child support (which a father coming out of jail probably does), a history of drug or alcohol problems and even traffic offenses.
Although the state claims the process of applying for clemency was simplified somewhat in 2000, only 927 former prisoners regained their civil rights last year, less than one-half of 1 percent of the former prisoners who had finished their sentences and parole. Florida state Senator Kendrick Meek, who has a large number of blacks in his district, says that of 175 former prisoners whom he has helped apply for clemency in the past decade, only nine have been approved.
http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2001-05-09/cover.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
