Bush is too stupid to realize Blacks and minorities see through his BS

[bigtree]

Bush Economics Bad News for African Americans
AFL-CIO- American Federation of Labor

http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/ns06042003.cfm

Terry Melvin, executive assistant to the president of CSEA/
AFSCME Local 1000 in Albany, N.Y., sees firsthand what’s happening to the nation’s working families and says it’s clear the Bush administration is not concerned about the fate of communities in this country. “Where have all the jobs gone?” Melvin asks. “Since George W. Bush took office, more people are out of work and unions and workers have been under constant attack.”

AFT Executive Vice President Nat LaCour is keenly aware of the national economic crisis reverberating throughout the states—and that the most vulnerable people are the first to be targeted in budget cuts. Some 20 states have cut public school funding for all grades, including kindergarten, he says. Many states have been forced to cut quality preschool programs, classes and staff because of a lack of funds, and 41 states face a cumulative deficit of $85 billion in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

LaCour and Melvin were among participants in a town hall meeting on the Urban Policy Crisis in America sponsored by the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) during its May 21–26 convention in San Francisco. CBTU, one of six AFL-CIO constituency groups, seeks to build the union movement, improve economic development and employment opportunities for African American workers and improve living conditions in the black community.

Among those most negatively and disproportionately affected by Bush’s economic policies are African Americans. The 2001 Bush tax cuts, which provided relief for wealthy individuals and corporations, exacerbated the effects of the recession on middle-and lower-income African American families by forcing cuts in social programs such as job training, according to the National Urban League’s Institute for Opportunity and Equality. While the national unemployment rate reached a dismal 6 percent in April, the rate for African Americans jumped to 10.9 percent, up from 10.2 percent in March, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

In his keynote address, CBTU President William Lucy also ripped the Bush economic record. “We have witnessed a wholesale retreat from the economic policies that benefited the many, including millions of people of color, to the narrow policies that benefit the rich and wealthy,” Lucy said, citing the $330 billion tax cut recently passed by Congress.

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Donna Brazile is a Democratic strategist and former Campaign Manager for Vice President Al Gore. Her take on Bush and African Americans:

http://www.blackcommentator.com/75/75_guest_brazile.html

African-Americans are acutely aware of the conservative part of Bush’s agenda, but are left to wonder where the compassionate part went. Like the banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq several months ago, the Bush White House is good at crafting images, but not so good at providing the substance behind them. The tax cuts – Bush’s sole economic policy – have certainly not helped African-Americans.

During the last round of tax cuts, half of all American families received less than $100 in the mail, a disproportionate number of them African-American. Those Americans in the top one percent of households received more benefits than the bottom 84 percent combined.

Bush’s rhetoric of optimism in the American economy has not reduced the record deficits he has caused, and even if GDP growth continues, Bush has still saddled future generations with massive debt. African-Americans already face a tough time getting financing to purchase homes, and more deficit spending inevitably means higher interest rates, hurting African American families even more.

The Democrats running for President are all proposing ways to establish tax fairness and restore fiscal sanity by at least repealing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. In an era in which all segments of American society should unite behind common causes, many American corporations have betrayed the nation, through fraud, deceit, and greed. To many Americans, especially working Americans, Bush himself is symbolic of the corporate greed and cronyism that has undermined trust in the fairness of America. African-Americans, acutely aware of the inequalities in the U.S. economy, must help change the direction in which this country is headed.

One in five African-Americans has no health insurance. The costs for those who do have health insurance continue to rise. African-Americans, more than ever, must ensure that America’s political leaders take action on this ever-growing problem. African-Americans have good reason to challenge other domestic policy failures of the Bush administration. In 2000, Bush promised America that he’d reform education as we knew it. His “No Child Left Behind” initiative did saddle states and local school district with unfunded mandates and strict testing standards, but Bush never provided the resources.

Bush imposed new burdens upon states and local school districts and then failed to provide the promised resources to make sure that they could give every child the quality education she deserves. What the Bush Administration has offered is more than 8 billion dollars less than what Congress authorized for NCLB. African-American children, a majority of whom often attends overcrowded classes in dilapidated buildings, deserve better. Their parents take a back seat to no one – Republicans or Democrats – in supporting high standards and accountability. They want highly qualified teachers in their children’s classroom and a bright light focused on how their children are doing. But African-Americans know that real, effective reform can’t be done – as the Bush Administration is attempting to do – on the cheap. Democrats, who have always championed education, must remind African-American voters that they will push real efforts to support and improve our public schools.

African American voters, many of whom did not support war against Iraq, must also question the President’s record on foreign policy. They are right to question the President’s failure to have a plan to rebuild in Iraq and the inexcusable lack of an exit strategy there, and to wonder why America has alienated itself from the rest of the world.

Those who believe the Republican Party can make a genuine appeal to African Americans and other minorities cannot overlook this President’s record on race – from the appointment of conservative judges who are not strong defenders of important civil and voting rights remedies of past discrimination, to its failure to invest in America’s urban centers.

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DNC Special Reports: The State Of The African American Community Under Bush

http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/aarecord

African Americans Dropped Out of the Job Market. The African American unemployment rate went from 10.5 percent in January to 9.8 percent in February, but a record 230,000 African Americans dropped out of the labor market that month. The national unemployment rate currently is 5.6 percent.

African American Unemployment Has Increased Steadily Under Bush.

The African American unemployment rate soared by 28 percent since Bush took office in January 2001, reversing the trend of the Clinton era, when African American unemployment declined by 48 percent.

Bush Economy Hits Manufacturing Particularly Hard.

The manufacturing industry has lost 2.5 million jobs nationwide since Bush took office in January 2001. Employment for this key sector of the American economy is at its lowest level since October 1958. Of the nearly 3 million private sector jobs lost under Bush, manufacturing losses account for 86 percent. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/metro.pdf>

Jobs Lost in Manufacturing Significantly Contribute to African American Unemployment.

The New York Times reported that most African American job losses came in the manufacturing industry. In 2000, there were 2 million African Americans working in factory jobs. Between 2001 and mid-2003, "300,000 factory jobs held by blacks, or 15 percent, have disappeared."

Under Bush, Up to 700,000 More African Americans Now Live in Poverty.

US Census Bureau data indicate that during the Bush presidency, the national poverty rate increased to 12.1 percent and the percentage of African Americans in poverty rose to 24.1 percent in 2002 from 22.7 percent in 2001. According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Increases in poverty were largest among blacks...The number of blacks who were poor increased by 500,000 or 700,000, depending on which definitional category of blacks is used." http://www.census.gov/prod/ 2003pubs/p60-222.pdf; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, http://www.cbpp.org/9-26-03pov.htm, emphasis added>

Under Bush, the Clinton-Era Trend of Declining African American Poverty Rates Has Reversed.

The 2002 African American poverty rate marked the first increase in African American poverty since 1992. During the Clinton era, African American poverty dropped to 22.5 percent in 2000 from 33.4 percent in 1992, the lowest African American poverty rate in American history. http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/histpov/hstpov2.html>

Education
Left Behind at the Start:

Bush Budget Weakens Early Education. Head Start currently serves nearly 1 million children nationwide, about 300,000 of them African American. In addition to early academic instruction, the program also provides food, medical and dental care, and mental health screenings to low-income families. In 2001, 34 percent of children serviced by Head Start were African American.

Bush Barely Increased Funding To Head Start, Limiting Number of Children Served.

Bush's 2005 budget provides just enough to maintain -- but not increase -- the program's enrollment levels. Given its budget constraints, Head Start currently serves only 60 percent of the total number of children eligible for the program.
Bush Budgets Fail To Deliver Mandated Funding For His No Child Left Behind Act. The four budgets Bush has submitted to Congress broke his promise to fully fund No Child Left Behind, falling short by $33.2 billion, including $22.4 billion less for Title I schools.

States Rebuke Bush For Unfunded Educational Mandates.

The bipartisan National Governors Association voted unanimously to label Bush's No Child Left Behind Act an unfunded mandate. A November 2003 survey of nearly 2,000 superintendents and principals found that 9 in 10 viewed No Child Left Behind as an unfunded mandate. Between 2002 and 2004, education spending in 35 states was unable to keep pace with increases in inflation and enrollment.

Bush Led Opposition to Affirmative Action Before The U.S. Supreme Court

Bush deliberately and wrongly accused the University of Michigan of using a "quota system" for admissions. 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."

Bush Himself Benefited From Affirmative Action In Admission to College.

Bush opposed affirmative action for minority students even though he received a legacy preference in his admission to Yale. As a student at Phillips Andover Academy, Bush earned a "C" average and scored a 1206 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Despite the fact that his academic record and test scores were well below the Yale average, Bush was admitted to Yale under a legacy program that admitted more than two-thirds of alumni sons, "even though a disproportionate number flunked out or were placed on probation." Bush's numeric advantage was greater than those given to minorities at Michigan.

84,000 Low-Income Students to Lose Pell Grant Eligibility Under Bush's New Formula.

The U.S. Department of Education estimated that 84,000 low-income students will lose their eligibility for Pell Grants under a Bush administration proposal. Bush's plan changed the formula by which eligibility is determined, "making many families appear to have more money available to pay college costs than they really do," thereby reducing the amount of aid they are entitled to. http://www.pirg.org/highered/highered. asp?id2=7964; Chronicle of Higher Education, 8/1/03>

African American College Students Rely Heavily on Financial Aid to Finance College, Especially As Tuition Costs Skyrocket.

According to College Board, tuition and fees at public colleges have increased 35 percent since Bush took office. Black students are "almost three times as likely as whites to come from families living below the poverty level" and "more than 38 percent of all African American undergraduate students receive federal grants, compared to 16.6 percent of white college students." In 1999-2000, 84 percent of African American students graduated with student loan debt, borrowing on average $2,000 more than the typical borrower. Fifty-five percent of African American student borrowers graduated with unmanageable debt, meaning that their monthly repayments are more than 8 percent of their month incomes. http://www.pirg.org/highered/ BurdenofBorrowing.pdf, 3/02>

Pell Grants Are Essential To African American College Students.

About 45 percent of African American and Hispanic students at four-year colleges depend on Pell grants, compared to 23 percent of all students. Approximately 4.5 million students currently depend on Pell Grants and "over 70 percent of Pell Grant funds go to students from families with incomes of $20,000 a year or less". http://www.pirg.org/highered/highered.asp?id2=7964> Health Care

Under Bush, The Number of African Americans Without Health Insurance is Rising.

In 2002, the number of Americans without health insurance increased for the second consecutive year, to 43.6 million in 2002 from 39.8 million in 2000. The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation reported: "Especially disturbing is that racial and ethnic minorities comprised a disproportionate burden of the uninsured population. Though African Americans are only 12 percent of the population, 20.2 percent of African Americans were uninsured in 2002, up 1.2 percent from the previous year -- the highest one-year percentage increase of all racial and ethnic groups. Twenty-six percent of blacks in poverty were without health insurance year-round." http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ hlthins.html; 9/30/03>

Prescription Drug Coverage will be Reduced for More Than 1 Million Low-Income African

American Seniors Under Bush's Medicare Plan. Under Bush's Medicare legislation, the poorest 6 million American seniors lost their dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid, exposing them to substantially higher drug costs. African American seniors comprise 20 percent of this group, meaning 1.2 million will be hurt by the plan.

African American Seniors "More Than Twice as Likely" To Find Prescriptions Unaffordable.

In his congressional testimony regarding the Bush Medicare Act, J. Lee Hargraves, an analyst from the Center for Studying Health System Change, reported, "African American Medicare beneficiaries are more than twice as likely to have problems affording prescription drugs." Hargraves further testified that African American seniors, who on the whole are more likely than white seniors to be have lower income, lack supplemental insurance coverage for prescription drugs, and are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions requiring medication.

African Americans Who Rely on Medicare Experience Disproportionately High Levels of Poverty.

"While 40 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, 65 percent of African American beneficiaries fall below 200 percent of the poverty level and 33 percent have incomes that fall below the poverty level itself." In 2003, the poverty level was $8,980 per year per individual. <"Structured Inefficiency," Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, 1/04>

African American Beneficiaries Above 150 percent of the Poverty Level at Particular Risk For Poorer Health Care.

25 percent of African Americans have no supplemental coverage to Medicaid, as compared to 10 percent of whites. Under Bush's Medicare bill, means-testing determines the level of coverage received; therefore, Bush's plan isolates a disproportionate number of African American Medicare recipients who likely have no supplemental insurance but are above 150 percent of poverty and will receive the least coverage under Medicare. "Without assistance to cover this gap, African American beneficiaries lacking other supplemental insurance may be forced into a risky period of non-coverage. Furthermore, African Americans are more likely to reach the coverage gap faster than whites due to their poorer health status."

Insurance Companies May Not Cover Medication Important to African Americans.

Bush's Medicare plan prevents consumers from learning about the types of drugs offered by an insurer prior to selecting a coverage plan. Additionally, insurers may change the list of drugs that they will cover at will, even though enrollees are only allowed to change their plan once a year. The uncertain nature of drug lists is of particular concern to

African Americans, who sometimes have different responses than whites to certain types of drugs; for example, African American's with high blood pressure have markedly different responses to antihypertensive drugs like Beta-blockers than white Americans. "Thus, health outcomes and the quality of care for African Americans could be severely compromised by formulary restrictions." Formulary restrictions that would force African Americans to obtain drugs not covered by their Medicare plan "could have an adverse effect on African Americans struggling to afford their share of payments for unique and/or costly medication needs." <"Structured Inefficiency," Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, 1/04>

Bush's Preferential Treatment of HMOs Has "Distinct Racial Implications.

" Bush's Medicare plan is loaded with perks for private insurers, including HMOs. "The operating norms of HMOs have distinct racial implications that must be considered if private insurers are positioned to play a greater role in providing care to America's seniors ...As private for-profit corporations, HMOs have traditionally sought to achieve greater profit margins by targeting healthier, low cost- clientele and imposing strict controls over access to specialists and utilization of high-cost medical procedures....African American seniors tend to be in poorer health -- disproportionately suffering from chronic conditions that can be costly to treat. Additionally, African American seniors tend to reside in geographical clusters corresponding to racially-stratified residential patterns. As a result there is a possibility that racial discrimination can occur through a process of "medical redlining." <"Structured Inefficiency," Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, 1/04>

Civil Rights
Bush Bypasses Senate to Appoint Charles Pickering To Appeals Court.

In the 1960s, attorney Charles Pickering practiced law with active segregationists and as a public official signed on to an open letter affirming his belief in "continuing our Southern way of life." In January, Bush used his power to make recess appointments to name Pickering to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans. Civil rights leaders challenged Pickering's willingness to defend civil rights after Pickering, in 1994, intervened from the bench to reduce the sentence of a Mississippi cross burner found guilty by a jury in his courtroom.

Bush Bypasses Senate To Appoint Bill Pryor To Appeals Court.

In 1997, Alabama Attorney General Pryor criticized parts of the Voting Rights Act before Congress, leading civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King III and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, to label Pryor as "an avowed proponent of the modern states rights

movement." In February, President Bush used another recess appointment to place Pryor on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

_________________________________________________________________________

BUSH AND MINORITY ISSUES

Washington State Democrats * Paul Berendt, Chair *PO Box 4027 * Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: [phone] * Fax: [phone] * Email: [e-mail]

http://www.wa-democrats.org/Blueprint/bush_minority_issues.htm

The Quick Facts

-Bush Opposes Affirmative Action.

-Bush Received 100 Percent Approval Rating on Anti-Affirmative Action Survey.

-Bush Said He Would Not Guarantee Contracts for Minority-Owned Businesses.

-Bush Opposed Federal Role in Ending Racial Profiling.

-Bush Said Federal Government Should Not Have Role in Local Departments.

-Bush Rejected Idea of Executive Order to End Racial Profiling.

-Bush Failed to Support Real Hate Crimes Legislation.

-Bush Supports Weak Version of Federal Hate Crime Law.

-Bush Refused to Support Hate Crimes Legislation.

-Bush's Plan to Privatize Social Security Will Hurt Minorities

-Bush Said in 1999 He Would Consider Raising Social Security Retirement Age, Would Hurt

African-Americans.

-Privatization Could Decrease Benefits of African Americans, Hispanics Relative to Whites.

-Bush Opposes Sampling in the Census.

-Bush's Immigration Plan Criticized At Nothing New.

-Bush Plan to Split Immigration Agency Mirrors Existing Congressional Plans.

-Bush Immigration Plan "Not Exactly a Profile in Courage."

-Bush's Nominees Are Insensitive to, On the Wrong Side of Minority Issues.

-Bush's Texas Health Commissioner Made Racist Remarks about African Americans in 1998.
Ashcroft's Record on Racial Issues "Horrendous."

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Record Number of African Americans Holding Key Positions at Democratic National Convention

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=132-07222004

WASHINGTON, July 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A record number of African Americans will be holding key positions at next week's Democratic National Convention, according to Blacks and the 2004 Democratic National Convention, a new report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. In addition to Ohio congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones who is the Democratic Party co-chair and chair of the Platform Committee, Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin is chairing the Credentials Committee, and New York representative Gregory Meeks is chairing the Rules Committee. There are also six African American vice-chairs of the same committees. Former Minneapolis mayor Sharon Sayles Belton was the lone African American committee chair in 2000.

The quadrennial convention guide by David A. Bositis, senior research associate at the Joint Center, also highlights African American participation within the Democratic state parties and the importance of African American voters in key battleground states. The roster of delegates, alternates, and other key black Democratic personalities will be available on the Joint Center's Web site, http://www.jointcenter.org on Monday, July 26.

African Americans comprise 20.1 percent of the delegates at this year's convention, the same as in 2000, but less than the 21 percent in 1996. "Although the number of African American delegates is unchanged from 2000, this report clearly indicates that they are increasingly holding important decision-making positions at the convention," said Eddie N. Williams, president of the Joint Center.

This year's presidential election is expected to be just as competitive as in 2000, with the outcome being determined in the states most hotly contested by President George Bush and former Vice President Al Gore. African Americans make up significant voting blocs in several of these states, including Michigan, Florida, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Louisiana.

Despite Joint Center polling data that shows diminishing identification with the Democratic Party among African Americans, author David Bositis states, "The key to a Democratic victory in 2004 will be a strong black turnout. Judging by black participation in several of the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries, the Democrats' prospects look good."

Other key findings in Blacks and the 2004 Democratic National Convention are:

-- The number of high-ranking African American officers in the state parties has increased by 54 percent to 51, including six state party chairs.

-- Alabama (62.9 percent), Mississippi (61 percent), and South Carolina (45.5) have the largest percentages of African Americans in their state delegations.

-- Virginia (58.1 percent), Louisiana (18.9 percent) and Ohio (14.6 percent) experienced the largest declines in the number of blacks in their delegations, while Pennsylvania (27.6 percent), Georgia (18.4 percent), and New York (10.1 percent) had the largest increases.

To receive a copy of this report, please contact the Joint Center's Office of Communications and Marketing at 202-789-3500. A companion report for the Republican National Convention will be available in August.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, conducts research and analyses on public policy issues of concern to African Americans and other minorities, promotes their involvement in the governance process, and operates programs that create coalitions within minority, business, and other diverse communities. For more information, visit http://www.jointcenter.org.

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Text of Remarks of Sen. John Kerry (As Prepared for Delivery) at 2004 National Urban League Conference in Detroit on Thursday

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=119-07222004

DETROIT, July 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a text of remarks as by Sen. John Kerry as prepared for delivery at the 2004 National Urban League Conference in Detroit on Thursday:

Thank you, Vernon, for that wonderful introduction. He has been enormously helpful in my campaign. I am grateful for Vernon's common sense and experience -- and for his leadership as head of my presidential debate team. The issues we're grappling with today are especially important, and I'm happy to discuss them anywhere, any time, with any American.

As all of you know so well -- Vernon is one of America's most effective movers and shakers. I don't have to tell you how he moved and shook up the conscience of America during his tenure as head of this organization during the 1970s. But, then anyone who knows Vernon knows he is not the retiring type! During my twenty years in the Senate, he has constantly reached out to offer quiet counsel, gentle persuasion and sometimes tough criticism. I think he is an American treasure. And I am proud and happy to call him my friend.

Following in the footsteps of the great leaders from George Edmund Haynes, Eugene Kinckle Jones, Lester Blackwell Granger, and Whitney Young, Vernon set a unique standard as head of the Urban League, those who have succeeded him have continued to raise the bar. John Jacobs, Hugh Price and now Marc Morial have continued to challenge this organization and this nation to reach higher, dream bigger and fight harder for the things we all believe in -- empowerment, opportunity, responsibility, economic justice, and helping more people move into the mainstream of the American Dream.

Now, more than ever, when it comes to civil rights, social justice, and empowerment, we need to listen to every voice that stands up and speaks truth to power.

I also want to say that for me, this is not just a check-the- box campaign stop. Teresa and I are no strangers to the Urban League or the causes you champion. I am proud of the relationships we have established and the partnerships we have formed, particularly with Esther Bush in Pittsburgh, Henry Thomas in Springfield and Darnell Williams in Boston. As president, I will show up, not just at national meetings during election season. I want you at the table with me in a full partnership to build a stronger America at home and a more respected America in the world. There is no other way to really advance our cause -- that is what my campaign is all about.

In an address at Cadillac Square here in Detroit in 1960, John Kennedy said, I am confident that in November you will make a choice for progress, not for standing still. We want America to move again...If we stand still, freedom stands still."

Those words ring even more true today.

When I look around this city -- when I look around neighborhoods and towns and cities across this nation, I see what so many of you see everyday.

We see jobs to be created.

We see families to house.

We see violence to stop.

We see children to teach -- and children to care for.

We see too many people without health care and too many people of color suffering and dying from preventable diseases like cancer and AIDS and diabetes.

In too many places, we see freedom standing still.

When we look at what is happening in America today we must ask ourselves, where are the deeds? The Bible teaches us: "It is not enough, my brother, to say you have faith, when there are no deeds...Faith without deeds is dead."

Fifty years ago, Thurgood Marshall, Whitney Young, the National Urban League and America turned faith into deeds when you fought and won Brown v Board of Education. Forty years ago, Lyndon Johnson, Dr. King, the National Urban League and America turned faith into deeds when the nation passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And next year the nation will again be reminded that you helped turned faith into deeds 40 years ago to push for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Today we have an administration in Washington that looks at the challenges we face here and around the world and says this is the best we can do. They say what we have now is the best economy of our lifetimes. They have even called us pessimists for speaking truth to power. Well, I say the most pessimistic thing you can say is that America can't do better.

Don't tell us 1.8 million lost jobs is the best we can do, when we can create millions of new jobs. We can change that...and we will.

Don't tell us unemployment is not a problem, when we see that African American unemployment is now above 10 percent -- double the rate for whites. It is unacceptable in the wealthiest nation on earth that we tolerate vast and growing pockets of poverty -- from the hills of Appalachia to the streets of Detroit. Raising the minimum wage and making life better for the working poor is part of my vision for a stronger America. We can change that...and we will.

Don't tell us crumbling and overcrowded schools and underpaid teachers are the best we can do. We have the means to give all our children a first-rate education. We can change that...and we will.

Don't tell us we have to accept racial profiling, hate crimes or the assault by right-wing judges on our precious civil rights progress. We can change that...and we will.

Don't tell us that in the strongest democracy on earth, a million disenfranchised African Americans and the most tainted election in history is the best we can do. We can change that...and we will.

Don't tell us in the richest country in the world, that we can't do better than 44 million people uninsured. Nearly 60 percent of Hispanics and 43 percent of African Americans lacked health insurance for all or part of the last two years. We can change that...and we will.

W.E.B. Dubois talked about the two Americas years ago. He called it "a nation within a nation."

Our job, between now and November is to end the division between the fortunate America and the forgotten America.

John Edwards and I have talked about closing that gap for many years now. We must come to together to build one America.

During the course of this campaign I've met young people who want nothing more than to be able to find a job in the place they were raised. I've met steelworkers and mineworkers and autoworkers who have seen their jobs and equipment unbolted before their eyes and shipped overseas. Some have even had to train their foreign replacements. I've spent time with seniors who have worked for a lifetime but can't pay for their medicines or hardly make ends meet. And I have talked with parents full of hope and ambition for their children but they don't know what to do about classrooms that are overcrowded and teachers who are underpaid. And they are worried that they won't be able to afford to send their kids to college.

My faith teaches me, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Let me tell you where my heart is: it's with the middle class who are the heart of this country; it's with the working families who built this country; it's with the veterans who saved this country; with the cops and firefighters and soldiers who protect this country; and it is with the children who are the future of this country. They deserve a president who believes in them, who shares their values, and who with every fiber of his being to uphold them.

For four years, we have heard a lot of talk about values. John Edwards and I have the vision and values to bring out country together again and build stronger communities. For us and for you, values are more than just words on a page. They are about the causes we champion and the choices we make.

And I am running for president because I believe that what matters most is not the narrow values that divide, but the shared values that unite all of us in this country.

Let me tell you what values mean to me and John Edwards.

Values mean having an opportunity agenda for metropolitan America. That means bringing capital, small business opportunities and job creation to all of our communities -- especially our central cities and the surrounding metropolitan areas.

As president, I will create a small business opportunity fund to ensure that small businesses have all the support they need to grow and thrive -- expanding loans to micro-enterprises, increasing the federal government's venture capital investments and expanding loan programs for small businesses. I will also increase federal contracting opportunities for minority-owned small business growth in urban areas. I will maintain support for empowerment zones, New Markets Tax Incentives and the Community Re-investment Act. And I will make sure the New Market Venture Capital Program has the funding it needs to fulfill its promise of meeting the unmet equity needs of low income communities.

I will also give states and metropolitan areas the flexibility to use transportation dollars the way you see fit. And I will provide providing adequate funding for homeland security and port security so that the people in our metropolitan areas are able move about freely, get to good jobs and live without fear.

Values mean helping all Americans lay the cornerstone of the American Dream with the purchase of their own home. The Urban League has a long track record in counseling consumers and fighting to make the dream of homeownership real for millions of people. Yes, it's true, since the 1990s, homeownership has gone up in America. And that's a good thing. But it's not that simple. While homeownership has risen, programs that help hard- pressed families put a roof over their head have been cut. Those are the people we need to help the most. The Administration's budget would cut Section 8 vouchers by more than $1 billion, denying 250,000 families housing assistance. At the same time, he has proposed to entirely eliminate the HOPE VI program, that's been critical to revitalizing distressed public housing.

John Edwards and I understand what you understand: programs like Section 8 and HOPE VI are just the right kind of community- based solutions some people need to get on the road to homeownership. And, when I am president, we will strengthen, not weaken these bridges of opportunity.

Values also means building an America where the middle class is doing better, not being squeezed. That means cutting middle- class taxes so middle-class incomes go up. The wealthiest among us don't need another tax cut, but middle-class families do. Our middle class tax cuts will help families pay for health care and college tuition; they'll help hard-working Americans get ahead.

Creating opportunity also means creating good-paying jobs. More than a million Americans who were working three years ago have lost their jobs. African-American unemployment is now at 10 percent -- double the rate for whites. And the new jobs finally being created pay an average of $9,000 less a year.

We value an America that exports products, not jobs. And we believe American workers should never have to subsidize the loss of their own jobs.

We'll close tax loopholes that pay companies to move our jobs overseas -- and we'll reward companies that create jobs right here in the good old USA.

Values also mean giving all our children a first-rate education, with smaller classrooms and better paid teachers. Today, we see two school systems in America: one for the well off and one for the left out. For us and for you, values mean opening the doors of opportunity to all our children.

We believe that educating our children is more important than giving another tax break to the wealthiest Americans. This Administration's budget falls $27 billion short of its promise to fully fund No Child Left Behind. John Edwards and I have a plan to invest in our future, provide the needed funding and put a good teacher in every classroom -- so that finally and truly, no child will be left behind.

Values mean making health care affordable and accessible for all Americans. In the last four years, four million people have lost their health insurance. Millions more are struggling to afford it. When I am in the White House, we are going to change that. We are going to stop being the only industrial nation on the face of the earth that doesn't understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected or the elected. Health care is a right for all Americans.

We've got a plan to get the waste and greed out of our health care system and help families save up to $1,000 on their premiums.

I know that great things are happening across America to strengthen families, lift up communities and bring opportunity and hope to our young people. Some of these efforts are faith- based, some are community based. They are all making a difference. But for every good thing we're doing there are millions more in need who are not being reached. We need to do more to help our faith-based institutions that are on the front lines helping our families, and working with community-based organizations to meet this challenge. And we need to do it in a way that values our Constitution and also values the role that churches play in our communities across America.

I believe we must do more to give the young people in our cities and metropolitan areas alternatives to lives of hopelessness and alienation. I am glad that the Urban League and this conference have also put that at the top of your agenda. In New York City, 50 percent of black men are unemployed. And New York Times columnist Bob Herbert cited a new study this week showing that "By 2002, one of every four black men in the United States was idle all year long. This idleness rate was twice as high as that of white and Hispanic males." As Herbert put it, "Things fall apart when 25 percent of the male population is jobless."

Or as my mother used to say, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop."

One of the things brewing in that workshop is gangs and gang violence.

During the 1990s, we saw historic drops in crime, including gang violence. But in the last few years, that has turned around. Just between 2000 and 2002, the number of gang-related murders rose by 40 percent. That means that literally hundreds of lives once full of hope and promise have been lost. The response of this administration has been to cut support for cops on the beat and cut support for efforts to prevent gang violence.

We can do so much better -- better for the communities that are living in fear because of gang violence, and better also for these young people who have a real future if we just reach out to them.

When I am President, we are going to make it a priority to restore safety to communities wracked by violence. Communities and community-based organizations across America have shown us how. First, we're going to send a strong message to young people: the violence must stop, and if it doesn't, police and prosecutors will hold you accountable, period. We're not doing anybody any favors if we let the current rise in gang violence continue. But second, we also need to send young people a strong, clear message that there is another path, and if they are willing to take that path, we will be there with them-with job training, job opportunities, and drug treatment.

As a former prosecutor, I talked with dozens of young men and women who had taken wrong turns and wound up in real trouble. One of the things that all these young people had in common was they came from backgrounds of abuse, neglect and violence. Many of them had no one to call father. And all of them felt their lives were hopeless.

I believe we have to stop being a nation content to spend as much as $50,000 a year to keep a young person in prison for life -- when can spend $10,000 a year to give them Head Start, Early Start, Smart Start, the best possible start in life.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this is the most important election of our lifetime. Our health care is on the line. Our jobs are on the line. Our children's future is on the line. America's role in the world is on the line. Our empowerment is on the line.

That is why we cannot accept a repeat of 2000. This November, thanks to the efforts of the NAACP, the National Urban League and heightened vigilance across the nation, we are not only going to make sure that every vote counts; we're going to make sure that every single vote is counted.

We learned our lesson in 2000, and I add my voice to those who have vowed: never again.

But this election is more in your hands more than in mine. Over the next four months, we need you to help register voters and get them to the polls.

We can provide a new direction for America if we remember that in all the great movements for civil rights and equal rights, the environment and economic justice for all, we have come together as one America to give life to our highest ideals.

My friends, the America we believe in is calling us to service once again, and we must answer.

The great poet Langston Hughes put it this way:

Let America be America again...Let it be the dream it used to be...for those whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain must bring back our mighty dream again.

With your help, in 2004, we can...we must...we will...bring back our mighty dream again.

Thank you and God bless you all.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Bush spoke to the NAACP as a candidate in 2000, but won only 9% of the African-American vote. He is now the first sitting president since Herbert Hoover not to attend the group's annual convention at least once during his term.

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond said Thursday that Bush did not come because he doesn't want to go anywhere where he would face criticism. If that is Bush's standard, Bond said, "he'd never leave home."

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said this week that the organization is "perplexed that the president can travel across the ocean to meet with black leaders in Africa whom he has never seen, but refuses to meet with black leaders in America who he sees everyday. "

[bigtree]

1. This post dropped like a rock

I think Democrats take the minority votes for granted. In the clutch our party runs to the center, assuring ourselves that Blacks and minorities have nowhere else to go. I think Blacks and minorities could greatly increase our margin of victory is we addressed their concerns more directly and broadly, encouraging more to come to the polls with our advocacy of their concerns.

But hey, don't let me interrupt the party.

[Kanary]

4. Of course you're right. Several progressives have said and written

exactly what you're saying. The DEMs have abandoned much of their base in their run to the middle.

But, it's considered heresy here.

:shrug:

Kanary

[scarletwoman]

6. It's a great post!

All of it is excellent information, and kudos to you for doing all the hard work of putting it together.

I agree that the Democratic party is utterly neglectful of minority concerns. To me it's just another symptom of the larger malaise at work in the party. They are far too concerned with their cash flow from the corporate sector to take any strong anti-poverty stands -- they might come off as "anti-business", dontcha know.

sw

[sangh0]

10. Don't worry. You interrupted nothing

Post some facts, and that might interrupt something

[ibegurpard]

2. He's not targetting blacks.

He's targetting the "swing-voters" who might think that the Republican Party is deficient in its attitude and policies towards minorities. A little window dressing to people not affected by these attitudes and policies might be enough to ease their minds.

[bigtree]

3. Minorities are beginning to outnumber whites in the workplace

In Texas, for example. I don't believe it is enough for our party to assume that these voters have nowhere else to go. Many important voters could sit out the election, despite the fact that their participation could comprise a new 'swing' voting bloc.

[ibegurpard]

5. I agree that the Democratic Party is taking minority voters for granted.

It's taking a LOT of its traditional base constituencies for granted. And it will continue to do this to its detriment in the long run. However, Bush is not targeting minorities with his window dressing...that's all I'm saying.

[bigtree]

7. Possibly true

It just seems like too much reasoning coming from such an ignorant pus head.

I think that with all of the power that the republican party has accrued, they may well be arrogant enough to assume that their rhetoric and philosophy is rightous enough 're-edumacate all of the unfortunate victims of the Great Society. I think they actually believe their BS.

[Kanary]

8. an article that speaks to some of what you're saying

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0722-08.htm

There are divisions that are being swept under the rug, rather than being addressed. They're not going to go away, the same as the race issues you've outlined are not going to go away.

Yes, in a way, you've "interrupted the party"....... and I'm glad that you did.

I'm sad, too, but know there's not much of anything I can do about it.

I hope that the party comes to it's collective senses before too many more people suffer because of it.

Kanary

[Moderator]

9. bigtree

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.



Thank you.

DU Moderator