July 13, 2004
Junk Bond
Bush downgrades Bond, NAACP to junk status...
The chariman of the NAACP made the Bush administration's case for it when he again attacked the President and demonstrated that he didn't put the 'civil' in civil rights.
Many opinions have come forth regarding the President's decision not to address the NAACP - though not all review the real reasons for it. The administration is still stung by the James Byrd ad ran by the NAACP in Texas during the 2000 election. The implications in the ad were enough to turn Bush off to the NAACP permamently.
And then there's Bond. Dragging down the relevance of his organization along with the level of the discussion, he frequently conflates the Confederacy, the Taleban (Taliban for those so inclined), and the Republican party as birds of a feather. While this may rile up the diehard soldiers in their fight against The Man, it reveals a lack of depth both in understanding and communication. By design? Possibly - use Mfume as the diplomatic hand to seem reasonable, and Bond as the sword hand to attack, to exact the highest political cost from the administration, regardless of what it does. Bond's remarks don't further dialogue, don't enhance discussion, and frankly don't reflect anything but what passes for discourse on the left - vitirol, venom, and vituperation. It's all junk, all the time from Mr. Bond.
Bush is right regardless of his choice - choosing to confront them, can be seen as bold and resolute. Choosing to ignore them can be seen as dignified and above-the-fray. That said, the sooner the Republican party looks outside traditional Democrat-friendly organizations to interface with black America, the better. They have a message that will appeal to black families - strong faith, keep what you earn, school choice - but this will never filter through traditional organzations that have become ensconced as power players and permanent facilitators of grief and envy.
Maybe we were wrong about Don King - at least he's a start...
Posted by MEC2 at July 13, 2004 02:13 PM