What does Bush gain from not speaking at NAACP conference?

[Hamlette]

In an election year. Surely no one would fault him for speaking there. So, does he get some milage, some votes, for NOT speaking?

Who votes for a prez who snubs a group like that? They are not controversial now...are they?

Stumped.

[LittleApple81]

1. Pleasing the bigoted base. n/t

[Sparkly]

4. Yes, some gains among bigots, and cuts losses from the humiliation

of addressing people who didn't vote for him, who represent voters he and his backers disenfranchised, and who've been hurt by his policies.

I think he knew he couldn't gain much by going.

[KittyWampus]

8. Good Point, Junior Can Only Handle Hand Picked Crowds

probably couldn't deal with your average, normal American (black or otherwise)

[murielm99]

32. Exactly, Sparkly. He will only speak at venues where he can

gain something.

He can't gain much by speaking there, so why do it?

The only thing that scares me about this is his overconfidence.

He seems to think he has so many supporters that he can thumb his nose at the African American vote.

Let's hope this is hubris.

[Sparkly]

35. Yup, and let's hope it gets the vote out

among African Americans, other minorities, and everybody who cares about them!!

[murielm99]

33. Exactly, Sparkly. He will only speak at venues where he can

gain something.

He can't gain much by speaking there, so why do it?

The only thing that scares me about this is his overconfidence.

He seems to think he has so many supporters that he can thumb his nose at the African American vote.

Let's hope this is hubris.

[murielm99]

34. Exactly, Sparkly. He will only speak at venues where he can

gain something.

He can't gain much by speaking there, so why do it?

The only thing that scares me about this is his overconfidence.

He seems to think he has so many supporters that he can thumb his nose at the African American vote.

Let's hope this is hubris.

[theoceansnerves]

6. same exact thought i had

bigots will be happy.

[Piperay]

51. That's IT!

and EXACTLY what I was going to post. chimp is in trouble with his base and has to do whatever he can to hang on to the "dirty 30%". :puke:

[DenverDem]

2. Nazi cred.

When he proclaims Martial Law in October, he needs the full support of the radical crazies.

[KittyWampus]

3. Perhaps The Rascists Of Junior's Base Aren't As Solidly Behind Him

as he'd like?

[Thrill]

5. Nothing really

nor does it hurt him. Black Americans already hate him. What else could he do?

[seabeyond]

10. men like my husband, who arent bigots..........

repug, texan, gun toten white males.

pissed of my husband bad. didnt like it at all said he would pay for that

there are a lot of moderate whites that are pffended by this arrogance. that arent bigots

[buff2]

24. He could have went and spoke to them......

Something that a REAL President would have done. That racist bastard only speaks to flag waving white crowds who worship him and thinks he is Jesus Christ in the flesh.He'll be doing a lot of photo-ops with blacks leading up to the election to show he is inclusive....a "uniter,not a divider" and people will be stupid enough to fall for it. I've never seen anything like this in my lifetime. Bu$h is the only person I know of who can do ANYTHING to ANYBODY and get by with it. :grr:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

27. I swear to all that is good and holy

I get SICK when I see poor factory workers and blacks posing with him for photo-ops. I want to shake them and say WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING???? THE MAN HATES YOU!!!! AT THE VERY LEAST HE NEVER HAS A SINGLE THOUGHT ABOUT YOU!!!

[devinsgram]

56. Hit right on the head

not only a REAL President, but a REAL MAN would have done it. * is nothing but a spoiled CHILD.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

26. Yeah I heard something like

92% of African-Americans who voted in 2000 (who were ALLOWED to vote) voted for Gore.

A group of my students were discussing the 2000 election this past school year and they were asking each other who their parents supported and a couple of African-American kids gave everyone else a big DUH look and said, "GORE, of course! Who ELSE would they support?" It made me giggle a bit.

[coloradodem2005]

44. It is a bad PR move.

There are those still naive enough to think that he is a good president who cares about all people. Some of the moderates. This should piss a couple of people off and put them in Kerry's camp.

[jimshoes]

7. About 35 million instances

of negative karma.

[punpirate]

9. There's a barely disguised racism in the Republican party...

... which became even more obvious when the Repugs wooed over the Dixiecrats, and that may be part of the snub (remember, too, that no president since Hoover has failed to meet with the NAACP at least once in his term), so I think there's something more to this--Bush met with the NAACP before the election, and not meeting with them afterwards has made a lot of the NAACP leadership annoyed with being used for a photo-op.

So, the NAACP doesn't really like him, and it probably shows, and Bush is pissed at them because they aren't falling over each other to praise him. It's not going to win him any votes, fer sure.

[eyesroll]

11. He doesn't have to expose himself to people who might boo him

That about sums it up. He doesn't have to talk in front of a non-hand-picked audience.

[susu369]

57. Exactly -

it's a given "God-appointed-me" bu$h* would have to hear boos....can't have that.

BTW, remember that the first reason (not to attend) bu$h8's handlers gave was "a scheduling conflict" - damn flip-floppers with pants on fire.

[sampsonblk]

12. Tough Brownshirt Guy Pts

NAACP should never have gone all-out for Gore in 2000. Now they are a political group. And now they have to be dealt with as one. Bush won't speak to Log Cabin Repubs. He gains something from that and loses something. Same for NAACP. His constituency never did like the NAACP. He is going to benefit from insulting them so publicly.

[Cha]

16. I think they should have and I'm glad they

did...they knew what was in store if the bushreich won.

[sampsonblk]

37. Then I hope you're happy with the result-nt

nt

[Cha]

40. The "results" aren't over...

[sampsonblk]

50. The prelims look pretty bad

POTUS spits in the face of the NAACP and virtually no one complains. I'd say that's a pretty bad preliminary result. What should happen, IMHO, is a national outcry. And "pres" who ditches the NAACP should be finished. The only votes he should end up with are the hardcore racists.

But so far, his refusal to speak at the NAACP has resulted in . . . nothing. This is not how it should be.

[tilsammans]

13. He'd be booed loudly

And it would be hard for his handlers to put a positive spin on that.

[AlinPA]

14. It fires up his base. Bigots love his giving the NAACP the finger.

[charlyvi]

15. He's Arrogant and Vindictive

and I don't think he honestly realizes the it makes him look small and petty when he does these things. Like a small kid--"if you don't like me I won't play with you". I think he's actually surprised that people fault his character for this. Remember what he said about the Dixie Chicks? He's supposed to be above this kind of petty bullshit. He's supposed to be GROWN UP! He's the President, for heavens sake.

[Cha]

19. No, what did ol' brainless say about the "Dixie Chicks"?

I remember what they(Natalie Maines) said about him!..
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas," she told fans in London."

[Cha]

23. Sorry, about the dupes but it won't let correct them.

[Cha]

21. No, what did ol' braindead say about the Dixie Chicks?

This is what they(Natalie Maines) said about him!..
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas," she told fans in London."

[charlyvi]

28. In a Tom Brokaw interview,

when Brokaw asked * about how Clear Channel and many of the country and western DJ's were treating the Dixie Chicks, he said:

I mean, the Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind. They can say what they want to say. And just because—they shouldn't have their feelings hurt just because some people don't want to buy their records when they speak out. You know, freedom is a two-way street. But I have—don't really care what the Dixie Chicks said. I want to do what I think is right for the American people, and if some singers or Hollywood stars feel like speaking out, that's fine. That's the great thing about America. It stands in stark contrast to Iraq, by the way."

Now this sounds innocuous, until you realize that people were threatening their lives, detroying their CDS, giving their addresses out over the airwaves, etc. But instead of being gracious and ADULT, calling for people to stop doing these things, * just says they shouldn't get their feelings hurt. Hell, their feeling weren't hurt, they were afraid for their lives!! I found his attitude very smug and dismissive of the Chicks. A President is supposed to be better than that.

[Cha]

42. that was compassionate for bush who is

the World's most famous sociopath.

Thanks, btw!

[Yupster]

17. Long-term

he can try to push other A-A groups to the front by visiting them and spending lots of time with them, while attempting to marginalize the NAACP as a purely partisan organization.

He really has little to lose. When you're getting 6 % of a group's vote, try to mix things up and change the game.

Going there isn't going to get him to 8 % nor will it get them to not run hateful ads against him again this year. Might as well mix up the game.

[tech3149]

18. He gains nothing

Avoiding speaking is a a weak non-confrontational move. If he truly believed in his ideology, He would face them and discuss their differences. This guy doesn't have the nards to stand in front of someone who disagrees with him. Free Speech Zones should buy you a clue as to how he thinks.

[Mr_Spock]

20. I agree that the Repubs are mostly all Bigots at heart - they've

never shown much of any interest in the lives of other people - the only time being when they need some votes - but even then it's so fake. Maybe he doesn't want to be disingenuous and pretend to like blacks. Funny, their bigotry is usually what loses them the elections though - that's why they tried that "compassionate conservative" crap (which in a funny way fully takes credit for their lack of caring for "lower" people and reinforcing their bigotry). Funny how the "tokens" Bush has in his administration give him no credits whatsoever.

[MrBenchley]

22. In fact, it's most telling...

He can't reach out to moderates...because he has his work cut out for him hanging on to the far right wing...the Dixiecrat loonies.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

25. Well I know

some people who grinned real big at that and really got a hard on when they heard he refused to speak to them.

They're called racist bigots.

[qazplm]

29. my thoughts?

I think he wants to marginalize them, make them less the respected organization they are and try and turn them into a "fringe group".

[Yupster]

30. I think you're right

qazplm.

[charlyvi]

31. With his Base

the NAACP always was a fringe group.

[Hamlette]

43. Marginalize the NAACP vs piss off moderates...calculated I guess

I hate him with a passion so nothing he does can make me more angry but I'm a child of the 60s who lived through the civil rights era, NAACP was heroic.

I suspect many others feel as I do.

I think it hurts him in the end.

[DemonFighterLives]

58. yup, just like the UN

They're irrelevant! Cheney Bush! :mad:

[RebelYell]

36. I heard on CNN yesterday

that he chose not to speak because "they criticize him".

I think he has serious daddy issues - for instance, daddy constantly critized him. Armchair psychology #101.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

39. They call him NAMES!!!!

You have to imagine him throwing some pens on the floor and putting his lower lip out and scrunching his face up, then holding his breath and throwing himself down on the floor screaming as he says:

"NOOOO YOU CAN'T MAKE ME TALK TO THEM, THEY'RE MEAAAAN, THEY CALL ME NAMES, YOU CAN'T MAKE MEEEEE!!!! NOOOOO!!"

Then Unka Dick spanks him and sends him to his room.

[RebelYell]

41. Do you remember

when Laura was on with Jay Letterman and she said she criticized one of his speeches? He drove into the garage wall!

He needs time out. Forever.

[burythehatchet]

38. the approving nods of pat robertson and his drones

[Disturbed]

46. He did speak there once...

when he was campaigning but has skipped out the last three years. His arrogance won't allow him to speak there because he only speaks to audiences that are programmed to fawn over him.

[BiggJawn]

45. The Crackah Vote.

Those Stars-and-Bars waving pick-up truck jockeys Howard Dean wanted.

Shrub's got 'em locked now.

[burythehatchet]

47. that's one way to put it

a very accurate way.

[PATRICK]

48. Nixon went to Labor and the NAACP

and could win more bigot points from the least suggestion he was being disrespected and picked on to make him look like a hero compared to Bush.

But Bush simply can't take it, fake it or make it. He is becoming a basket case not up to real campaign character. Making a subterranean, cowardly bigotry point is the best, the absolute best he can do.

Why risk embarrassing himself?

[Lestatdelc]

49. Not having his staff read the next day...

...how he was booed and heckled.

[Piperay]

52. He didn't get the black vote in 2000 but

once in long ago times we had Presidents who would work to get the support of those they hadn't carried in the previous election. Repukes are so arrogant now that if you didn't support them they don't mind letting you know you can just either go to hell or go cheney yourself! :argh: :mad: :grr: :(

[erpowers]

59. He Cannot Take critics

Bush did not refuse to go the NAACP convention because he would lose or gain votes for going or not going. Nor did he pass up the convention because he is just arrogant. He did it because he cannot take talking to people who do not agree with him, are willing to ask hard questions, and are willing to fight back. The NAACP has been very criticial of Bush's policies. You have to know that the people at the convention would not have given him the warm welcome he likes and they would have really made him explain why he did the thing he did. He cannot do that; therefore, he did not go to the convention.

[StopThief]

53. He gets to not get booed and hissed at on stage. . . .

and he avoids the media coverage of the audience being interviewed saying that he said nothing new and has nothing to offer the African-American voter.

[StopThief]

54. In other words. . . .

the only positive is avoiding the negative.

[Baltimoreboy]

55. That's a pretty big positive

No video of heckling and booing.