Affirmative Action Divides Candidates; White House
2000: Diversity Counts Affirmative Action Divides Candidates; White House
2000: Diversity Counts
By STEPHANIE ERNST
DiversityInc.com July 28, 2000
Both Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore have readily admitted their surprisingly similar positions on affirmative action. Both are in favor of creating equal opportunities for women and minorities, while rejecting the notion of quotas. More in White House 2000 Racism Gore has been adamant in his support of affirmative action, declaring that the issue, along with civil rights enforcement, should be at the top of the national agenda.
He criticized Bush for not taking a stronger stand in his speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) annual convention in Baltimore earlier this month. "One brief sentence that said the word 'yes' would have mattered a whole lot more to the cause of justice than a whole speech that didn't even mention hate crimes, the future of the Supreme Court, taking down the Confederate flag, ending racial profiling, or defending affirmative action, or Bob Jones University," said Gore, when it was his turn to address the NAACP crowd.
Despite Gore's attack, the Democratic candidate's position seems to coincide with that of his Republican opponent. "We must say to each and every person, we want you to succeed. We must actively affirm access to the American dream," Bush said during a 1998 speech at Texas A&M University. "We must reject the politics of those who want to lump people into groups, those who insist on quotas or double standards. Quotas balkanize America." "Group thought provides a convenient excuse for bigotry, a convenient excuse for failure," Bush said.
During a February debate in Harlem, Gore made a comparable statement. "In order to make certain that we keep affirmative action, we have to reject the idea of strict numerical quotas," Gore said. "Affirmative action that opens up new opportunities and makes available the resources, the spots in universities, the loans, the investment capital Ð that is the direction that we should go in."
Gore's official position on the issue is that he opposes measures to eliminate affirmative action programs, such as California's Proposition 209. "The way to lift this nation up is not by pulling its weakest down," Gore said regarding Proposition 209. "We need to continue to expand opportunities for everyone who wants to achieve. Bush has officially declared his opposition to quotas and racial preferences, favoring what he calls "affirmative access."
He has announced his support of programs like the Texas 10 percent plan, in which high school students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their classes receive automatic admission to any state college or university. In addition, Bush supports needs-based contracting and the breaking down of government contracts in an effort to encourage entrepreneurship in all communities.
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