CommentaryApril 24, 2001

Bush: A Compassionate Conservative for Minorities?

S
Standard Staff
Standard Newspapers
3 min read · 472 words

AP Reports that Bush's record toward

Minorities gets Mixed Reviews in Texas

Washington, DC --

After all the glitz and glamour and illusions of

diversity at last week's Republican National Convention,

a news report today reveals George W. Bush's true record

toward minorities is less than inclusive. According to

the report, 77 percent of Bush's state appointees have

been white, 13 percent Hispanic, 9 percent black and 1

percent from other ethnic or racial groups. (A, 8/7/00)

"After a week of

photo-ops, the truth still remains -- George W. Bush is

no compassionate conservative for minorities." DNC

Deputy Press Secretary Kimberlin Love said. "George

Bush's Texas looks a lot like his convention--false

promises of inclusion delivered through a masquerade ball

of diverse faces."

Bush's true record of

inclusion toward minorities:

Bush Appoints Far

Fewer Minorities Than Richards. Bush has

appointed far fewer minorities to state boards and

commissions than his predecessor, governor Ann Richards.

As governor, Richards made a total of 2,409 appointments.

Of her appointments, 66 percent went to whites, 18

percent to Hispanics and 16 percent to African-Americans.

(Austin American-Statesman, 8/25/99).

Bush Appointee

Defends Racial Slurs. The Associated Press

reported that one year after a Marshall Texas police

chief "defended the use of racially charged

terms," George W. Bush appointed him as chief of the

state's law enforcement training. In 1997, Bush appointed

then-Marshall Police Chief Charles W. Williams to the

Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and

Education (TCLEOSE), the agency that sets standards and

training for Texas law enforcement officers. In November

1999, Bush appointed Williams to be the chief of the

TCLEOSE. In 1998, Williams said in a sworn deposition

that terms like "porch monkey" and "black

bastard" were not racial slurs. "If it's a

general statement, no, I don't consider it a racial

slur," Williams said. Williams' deposition was being

given in a case where an African-American police officer

was suing Williams and the Marshall police department for

discrimination. On April 6, 2000, Williams continued to

defend his remarks. When asked by the Associated Press

about his comments, Williams said, "You just have to

show me where it's a racial slur. It just depends on how

it's used and who it's used toward." (Associated

Press, 4/6/00).

Bush Appointee

Reyn Archer Made Racist Remarks about African Americans

in 1998.

Asked in a March 12, 1998

speech to educators why social conditions had worsened

for African Americans, Archer cited statistics that more

black babies were born out of wedlock in 1998

than in 1965 and said,

"We need to figure out why it is when blacks were

more segregated and had less opportunity that they did

better on cultural measures than they do in that sense

today."

(Associated Press,

4/22/00; Houston Chronicle, 4/23/00).

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