Losing the Soul of the GOP

WE learned recently that the Bush administration will defend a government contracting program that is an explicit system of preferences and quotas, based on race. I’m not the least surprised. Why? Because as governor of Texas and as a presidential candidate, George W. Bush avoided taking a position on affirmative action or “triangulated” on the issue in ways that would make Bill Clinton green with envy.

He was essentially silent about the Hopwood case, centering on the University of Texas. He took no position on Measure A in Houston, a ballot initiative patterned after California’s Proposition 209 (banning preferences in public institutions). As a presidential candidate, he ducked questions concerning 209: What, after all, did he think about it? In his final debate with A1 Gore, he seemed to pray silently that the moderator would step in and call “time” when a question about affirmative action was on the floor. He sought to please everyone and offend no one by expressing support for something named “affirmative access.”

WC

About the Author

Ward Connerly

Ward Connerly is President of Californians for Equal Rights, the NO on Prop 16 campaign.

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WE learned recently that the Bush administration will defend a government contracting program that is an explicit system of preferences and quotas, based on race. I’m not the least surprised. Why? Because as governor of Texas and as a presidential candidate, George W. Bush avoided taking a position on affirmative action or “triangulated” on the issue in ways that would make Bill Clinton green with envy.

He was essentially silent about the Hopwood case, centering on the University of Texas. He took no position on Measure A in Houston, a ballot initiative patterned after California’s Proposition 209 (banning preferences in public institutions). As a presidential candidate, he ducked questions concerning 209: What, after all, did he think about it? In his final debate with A1 Gore, he seemed to pray silently that the moderator would step in and call “time” when a question about affirmative action was on the floor. He sought to please everyone and offend no one by expressing support for something named “affirmative access.”