Bush, Bond, the NAACP, and a Heckler

For the first time since he's been in the White House, President Bush addressed the NAACP's convention.

Prior to today's appearance, Bush had been the first president since the 1930s not to speak at the group's annual gathering.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Thursday urged the Senate to renew a landmark civil rights law passed in the 1960s to stop racist voting practices in the South.

"President Johnson called the right to vote the lifeblood of our democracy. That was true then and it remains true today," Bush said in the first address of his presidency to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's annual convention.

Acknowledging his administration's bumpy relations with black voters, Bush said he wants to change the Republican Party's relationship with African-Americans.

"I understand that racism still lingers in America," Bush said. "It's a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African-Americans distrust my political party.

"I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historical ties with the African-American community. For too long, my party wrote off the African-American vote, and many African-Americans wrote off the Republican Party."

I think the recent extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was significant in prompting Bush to attend this year's NAACP convention.

For five years in a row, Bush has declined invitations to address the NAACP convention.

Bush was right to decline.

In recent years, the NAACP morphed from a legitimate group into an extremist political attack machine.

Some NAACP leaders have been merciless in their assaults against Bush, Chairman of the NAACP Julian Bond being the worst offender.

WorldNetDaily provides some insight:

Civil rights activist and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond delivered a blistering partisan speech at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina last night, equating the Republican Party with the Nazi Party and characterizing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her predecessor, Colin Powell, as tokens.

The Republican Party would have the American flag and the swastika flying side by side."

..."We now find ourselves refighting old battles we thought we had already won," he said. "We have to fight discrimination whenever it raises its ugly head."

He referred to former Attorney General John Ashcroft as J. Edgar Ashcroft. He compared Bush's judicial nominees to the Taliban.

...The harsh partisan rhetoric from Bond should not have surprised anyone who has followed him in recent years.

In July 2001, Bond said, "[Bush] has selected nominees from the Taliban wing of American politics, appeased the wretched appetites of the extreme right wing, and chosen Cabinet officials whose devotion to the Confederacy is nearly canine in its uncritical affection."

Is it any wonder that Bush has not dignifed that sort of hostile rhetoric by attending the NAACP conventions?

Such disgusting and inappropriate remarks by the NAACP leadership have only served to marginalize the NAACP and diminish its stature.

In short, the NAACP is responsible for its unfortunate loss of status and influence.

Back to the AP article on Bush's appearance--

This year, he said yes. He was introduced by NAACP head Bruce Gordon.

"Bruce was a polite guy," Bush said. "I thought what he was going to say, `It's about time you showed up.' And I'm glad I did."

Bush said he saw his attendance at the convention as a moment of opportunity to celebrate the civil rights movement and the accomplishments of the NAACP.

"I come from a family committed to civil rights," Bush said. "My faith tells me that we are all children of God _ equally loved, equally cherished, equally entitled to the rights He grants us all.

Will the Left chastise Bush for mentioning his faith?

How many times did Bill Clinton and Al Gore go to African American churches and use faith as a political tool to appeal for votes?

How many times has President Bush been criticized for referring to his faith?

The double standard is glaringly obvious.

...The White House denied claims that Bush's appearance was a way of atoning for the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and some black elected officials alleged that indifference to black suffering and racial injustice was to blame for the sluggish reaction to the disaster.

Naturally, the lib media would call Bush's appearance a stunt meant to offset Katrina criticism.

Recall that most of the Katrina accusations, such as Kayne West's infamous televised comment "George Bush doesn't care about black people," came from radicals, shameless political opportunists, and the anti-Bush lib media.

Bush [noted] that he has met several times with [Bruce S. Gordon, the NAACP's president and CEO], and that they have discussed Katrina. "We've got a plan and we've got a commitment," Bush said. "It's commitment to the people of the Gulf Coast of the United States to see to it that their lives are brighter and better than before the storm."

Bush also recalled his visit in June to Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn., with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. While in Memphis, the two made an unscheduled stop at the National Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine Motel, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Bush and Koizumi emerged from a tour to stand on the spot on the motel balcony where King was slain.

They were joined by former NAACP head Benjamin Hooks.

"It's a powerful reminder of hardships this nation has been through in a struggle for decency," Bush said. "I was honored that Dr. Hooks took time to visit with me. He talked about the hardships of the movement. With the gentle wisdom that comes from experience, he made it clear we must work as one. And that's why I have come today."

Text of President Bush's address to the NAACP Annual Convention

I give Bush credit for ending what The LA Times nastily referred to as his "boycott" of the NAACP convention.

Given the degree of the hostility that the NAACP has directed at him and members of his administration, especially Condoleezza Rice, Bush's appearance should be viewed positively, revealing his willingness to open dialogue, even with a group that has been so extreme and unfair in its criticism and rhetoric.

Of course, I expected Dem media mouthpieces to spin Bush's appearance and enjoy focusing on negatives.
The Washington Post writes:

Bush's remarks were met with largely lukewarm applause from the crowd and at one point near the end of his speech, a heckler threatened to disrupt the address. The president pressed ahead undaunted, though, and told a concerned NAACP Chairman and Chief Executive Bruce Gordon, "Don't worry about it."

Dan Froomkin, writing for The Post, gives a play by play of the address.

He writes:

Bush's speech was light on substance but full of easy applause lines, and it earned him a polite if less than enthusiastic welcome from the group, with the exception of one persistent heckler.

...One of Bush's biggest applause lines, this one unintentional, came when he said: "I understand that many African Americans distrust my political party."

Froomkin fails to provide details about the "persistent heckler."

Why do damage control for that sort of boorish behavior?

Why not report on what the heckler had to say?

Would it reflect poorly on the NAACP?

I suspect it would.
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Here's a little bit more about the heckler and some specifics about the convention attendees' response to Bush's remarks.

From The Chicago Tribune:

Many of the president's clearly intended applause lines were greeted with silence, and many booed Bush when he spoke of his support for charter schools, which are privately operated schools licensed by local school boards. They cheered him when he spoke of increasing financial support for public education.

And near the end of his speech, Bush pressed ahead as a heckler was suppressed and led from the room.

The booing of the charter schools is very telling.

African American children have benefited greatly from school choice programs; yet the booers seem more concerned about their alliance with the teachers' union than the education of children.

Sadly, they prefer to push an anti-Bush political agenda than progress.

The more I read about Bush's appearance at the convention, the more discouraging I find it to be.
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From The LA Times, more on the heckler.

When Bush expressed the hope that "by working together we can end the scourge of AIDS," a heckler started shouting at him. Witnesses heard him say, "Get rid of Dick Cheney. Can you spell Adolph Hitler?" The heckler was escorted from the hall by NAACP officials, but not before Bond rose to help out Bush, who assured him that was not necessary.

"Don't worry about it," Bush said in a stage whisper to Bond, who answered in similar soft voice, "I know you can handle it."

According to Reuters, there were two hecklers.