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Joseph Lowery Got it Right in Exposing Bush Hypocrisy Email Print

By Bill Hare
02/08/2006 06:01:00 PM EST

Many emitted understandable groans over the prospect of none other than George W. Bush showing up at the funeral of one of America's civil rights legends, Coretta Scott King, and shamelessly attempting to pretend that he shares her vision.

The Bush vision is totally different than that of the departed African American leader.  As Texas governor Bush made a sweetheart deal with corporate polluters, which resulted in the befouling of the air in Houston.  

Those in Houston's poorest neighborhoods, African Americans and Hispanics who had their lungs invaded by the noxious poisons, incurred the major health detriment.  The very young and  elderly were most at risk.

We also know that Bush ignored the poorest Texas citizens and continued the same policy on the broader stage in Washington, D.C. after his selection by a one vote U.S. Supreme Court majority.  

The reason why the Scalia-Thomas axis had the chance to install Bush was that he was kept in the game by a ferocious policy pursued within the state of Florida by the Bush-Rove team and brother Jeb Bush with Florida's Secretary of State Katherine Harris to disenfranchise African Americans as step one while contesting votes in their districts due to ballot imperfections based on outdated voting machines.  

The full court press to suppress African American votes continued with a passion in Ohio in the 2004 presidential election as the state's Uncle Tom Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, hoping to become governor, took his marching orders and unfairly underrepresented blacks in allocating voting locations, resulting in huge lines.  

African Americans ran the risk of pneumonia on a cold, rainy day as they were compelled to wait in line for hours while things were amazingly comfortable in safe and notably uncrowded economically upscale Republican precincts.

Then there is the continuing Grover Norquist strategy of drowning government in the bathtub for the middle class and poor while increasing defense budgets to hold the tools for invading countries at the whims of neocons while providing regular tax cuts for America's economic elite, who comprise Bush's natural base.

The latest sham represented as a budget that Bush has sent to Capitol Hill cuts funding for projects that have previously assisted poor African Americans regarding education, medical care and food stamps while his tax cuts for the wealthy are graciously extended.

During the Vietnam War it was African Americans and Hispanics who took a disproportionate hit regarding casualties as whites such as Bush and his Chicken Hawk neocon team, including Dick Cheney, dodged service in a conflict they argued was necessary and that they verbally supported.  In Iraq the same pattern is recurring.

Reverend Joseph Lowery, a protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King and former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, took umbrage with Bush's latest photo op at the service of a great civil rights leader by noting Coretta Scott King's opposition to the Iraq War while also criticizing Bush, who sat right behind him, in his lack of commitment toward America's poor.

"She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart bombs on missions way afar," Lowery said.  "We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there.  But Coretta knew, and we knew, that there are weapons of misdirection right down here.  Millions without health insurance.  Poverty abounds.  For war, billions more, but no more for the poor."  

Former President Jimmy Carter cited the Kings' struggle as a reminder of Bush's trampling of civil liberties with his recent orders of warrantless surveillance of domestic telephone calls and e-mails.

Jeff Greenfield of CNN found these comments offensive, stating last night that they were inappropriate for a funeral service.  What is inappropriate, Mr. Greenfield, is for a symbol of oppression who stands opposed to everything that Coretta Scott King and her husband fought for would show up as a mourner at her funeral and pretend to be striving toward those same goals.  


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Joseph Lowery Got it Right in Exposing Bush Hypocrisy | 7 comments (7 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Uncle Tom? (none / 0)
Calling Ken Blackwell an Uncle Tom is quite repulsive.  Accusing him of suppressing the black vote is a lie.  The Secretary of State does not determine polling locations, numbers of machines, or anything like that in Ohio.  All that is determined by each individual county's Board of Elections, which is composed of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.  It seems that many on the left are upset that the Republican Party has more minorities in top-level positions than the Democrats ever did.  Democrats seem to have minorities as tokens, while Republicans have them in the highest levels of government.  Equal opportunity.  

Attacking lies and untruths where I find them, and have the time to respond to them.

by Collin on 02/08/2006 09:24:14 PM EST

Collin, you are the liar (none / 0)
regarding your claims on Blackwell and the rest of the nonsense pertaining to "equal opportunity" Republicanism.  Democrats sued Kenneth Blackwell for his actions and were aware of who was really in charge, including decisions on polling locations and other matters in your pro-Bush spin piece.  On election night it was Blackwell on television addressing these very points, which he would never have done had this been outside his purview.  He is currently backed by some of the most extreme religious elements in Ohio in his run for governor, which has been duly noted in the media.  When someone marches to the tune of Karl Rove to the detriment of his own people, who were compelled to stand in long lines in the rain to vote, this is the occasion when I will use the Uncle Tom label, which I would refrain from using under other circumstances.  

Bill Hare    

by Bill Hare on 02/08/2006 11:10:28 PM EST

[ Parent ]
You'll have to do better than that. (none / 0)
The straight up truth is that precincts are drawn by the County Boards of Elections, voting locations are chosen by the Boards of Elections, the number of machines is chosen by the County Boards of Elections.  The numbers of machines at each precinct is based upon the number of folks who actually voted in previous elections.  The County Boards of Elections are composed of two Democrats and two Republicans in each county.  It is set up to be non-partisan.  Continuing to claim that the office of the Secretary of State controls the placement of machines is foolish.  Your line "...to the detriment of his own people..." shows the biggest problem with the Democratic Party.  Democrats look at people and see everything along racial lines, and expect the color of somebody's skin to control his behavior, instead of his mind.  

Attacking lies and untruths where I find them, and have the time to respond to them.

by Collin on 02/09/2006 07:46:14 AM EST

[ Parent ]
The Bushie Mantra is in full swing (none / 0)
and it is obvious that you have been spending your time listening to Limbaugh and O'Reilly.  Anybody with a smidgen of political savvy knows that the easiest way to skirt reality is to do as you did, to cite some polling rules and state that the individual in question is blameless.  I lived in Florida during the 2000 election cycle and Katherine Harris used the same line of blarney when Jeb Bush had her under such strict control that the state's leading Republican "take no prisoners" operative Mack Stipanovich baby sat her, observing her every move until the denial of votes and voting opportunities was a done deal.  She then had it both ways by going to Washington and receiving bigger ovations than Bush himself.

In the case of Blackwell there were scores of requests made to his office to correct developing injustices.  This information is freely available on the Internet and Kathy Dopp's group is in the forefront in making it public.  To in any way intimate that this whole process was anything close to fair is to fly in the face of massive documentation,including sworn affidavits from credible witnesses.

Your comments about Democratic "tokenism" is absurd on its face, along with the comment that blacks are making such great strides in Ohio Republican circles.  For your information two of the most prominent politicians in Ohio history were Democrats, the Stokes brothers, and they had very close ties with unions, civil rights and grassroots groups.  Who is the most prominent black Republican politician in the state?  Pathetically it is Ken Blackwell and hopefully that situation will change in due course as more blacks struggle to get out of the poverty cycle while Elaine Chao at Labor cuts down on workplace regulations and Bush-Cheney make their tax cuts for the rich permanent while scores of Ohio blacks are shut out of health care and job opportunities while the merry parade of outsourcing continues.  Ohio was a strong union state and hopefully this tradition will resume since the standards of blacks along with white workers achieved much greater economic and social progress during that period, despite your claims of recent "equal opportunity" Republican gains.

You say that the problem with people like myself is that I see everything in terms of race.  The problem with people like yourself is that you refuse to see anything at all in the political sphere beyond what is deemed acceptable by Limbaugh, O'Reilly and Hannity.  Listen to the voices of blacks from their leadership or in their communities and the message is clear -- they know when they are being neglected, as Cheney-Bush have left behind not only blacks but the rest of America that does not fall into their elitist ranks that Bush proudly refers to as "my base."  

It is incredible.  He shreds the Constitution by taking us to war in violation of international law, spies on us without court orders while he cuts taxes for his corporate cronies who have paid for the privilege amid an $8 trillion debt, the largest in the history of the planet, and you guys wave the flag and recite your mantra of, "I support my president!"

Also, I'll just bet that you were all in favor of slamming Clinton and supported throwing him out of office for lying about an extra-marital sex act on an affidavit.  Of course, that's much worse than 100,000 plus lives lost in an illegal war and spying without court warrants.

Bill Hare              

by Bill Hare on 02/09/2006 12:06:53 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Oh boy...here we go. (none / 0)
Well then, Bill.  Ohio has 88 counties.  Those 88 Counties have a total of 352 Boards of Elections members.  176 Republicans and 176 Democrats.  If it was unfair, why don't you tell us which of the 176 Democrat members of the Boards of Elections has publicly declared that any problems were the fault of the Office of the Secretary of State.  Any problems were the fault of the local County Board, which is, of course, run by two Democrats and two Republicans.

Additionally, please try to keep on topic.  We've been discussing the original misstatements about the  Office of the Secretary of State, and the office holder.  I did drift, so have you.  So let's stay on topic.  One more thing (off topic):  Elaine Chao?  Isn't she another minority in a top level position in a Republican administration?  

Attacking lies and untruths where I find them, and have the time to respond to them.

by Collin on 02/09/2006 05:33:03 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Bush Zombies are impervious to reason (none / 0)
and perhaps that is your problem.  On Election Night on CNN Blackwell addressed the concerns that provisional ballots be counted and never referred anyone to election boards.  The reason is that the Secretary of State is the supervisorial voice of elections,as evidenced by a reform ballot measure that failed in a controversy that appears to be related to Diebold's long and treacherous hand, that was on the ballot in 2005.  The measure, which was ahead in the polls and failed on Election Day, called for a change wherein the power to supervise elections is taken out of the hands of the Secretary of State and placed in the hands of a nine person commission.

My response was totally on point since it paralleled Ohio 2004 with Florida 2000 with Katherine Harris and Blackwell in 2004, with both ultimately seeking higher office and taking bows for Republican "victories" flawed as they were in their respective states.  

There is much of this and more that can be obtained through a Google search under "Ken Blackwell, Ohio election controversy" or any other comparable message.  

I don't know if your problem stems from a combination of deceit or some form of information retardation, but my message should have been understood clearly tying Bush and his ignoring of the plight of disadvantaged minorities in America and appointing people to make a pretext of diversity, as applies to the likes of Rice and Elaine Chao.  Chao was clearly earmarked by me as tokenism in its rankest manner.  Her husband, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, was one of the Republican power brokers who descended on Florida in 2000 to prevent the counting of votes in minority precincts.  You cite her appointment as a great triumph of diversity when I pointed out, and recent numerous articles and comments bear this out, that she used OSHA and other agencies to terminate and weaken protective standards for workers, including in the mining field, where the last grave tragedy occurred in West Virginia.  To cite Chao, someone without even the scantest qualifications for her job, as a triumph of diversity exemplifies appalling deceit or pathetic obtuseness.  Hopefully your comments are humor and not meant to be taken seriously since otherwise we are dealing with a tragic situation not unlike what certain Germans suffered in the thirties and forties in professing blind and zombie-like allegiance to Hitler, who, like Bush currently, zealously invaded the liberties of German citizens.

Lastly, if Blackwell was really a poor victim of circumstances and essentially powerless, as you claim, then it is strange that he would write a letter to Republicans in Ohio following the 2004 election and take credit for bringing the state into the Republican fold.  He also, and this is documented, certified Diebold as a company considered for 2004 vote counting immediately after its CEO wrote a letter to Republicans in Ohio stating that he would do everything in his power or comparable words to that effect to deliver the state to Bush.  This is all available through a Google search, which will yield this and much more.

At your conclusion you ridiculously claim to seeking to use what time you have available to uncover and expose "lies and untruths" and if you are using that reference for me then you are not only a pathological liar but severely obtuse.  You have not uncovered anything close to deception with me, nor has anyone else in the articles I have written, since I am careful with my research and do not write anything unless it can be backed up by more than one source, the standard I learned when I began reporting.  My only reason for using a pejorative label for Blackwell, which I would not repeat if I were writing the article again since it pushes discussion to emotional rather than reasonable levels, was that I just heard Lowery detail how African Americans had suffered under Bush and I saw before my eyes the image of blacks standing in a cold, biting rain in long lines to vote due to chicanery on behalf of the Ohio Republican organization directed by Blackwell.  They had more real and pervasive authority than these people on the boards that you claim had all the real power.

This is my last communication with you.  You have had three tries and so have I.  I must move on since this is totally non-productive since you refuse to follow up on anything concrete that has been cited and reported by me, only repeating the same dry statistics about voting boards that fly in the face of the power of the Secretary of State and Republican organization, which is looking shabbier all the time with what has been uncovered about Taft, Ney and Noe to name a few.  You can look that up too but I am confident that you never will.  Listening to Rush is far more comforting.

Bill Hare

by Bill Hare on 02/10/2006 01:57:14 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Stay on target. (none / 0)
So, have you found any of the 176 Democrat members of the Boards of Elections to back up your claims?  Bill, this is pretty darn simple.  You must not be an Ohioan, so I'll try to get a basic primer here for you.  Ohio has 88 counties.  The county is typically the smallest non-municipal administrative division of the state.  The officers of a county are pretty much the same as anywhere else, Commissioners, Sheriff, Treasurer, Auditor, Coroner, etc.  Also in each county is the Board of Elections.  Its membership consiste of four people.  Two are appointed by the Democratic Party, and two are appointed by the Republican Party.  This Board is charged with administering the elections on a local level.  It is in charge of voter registration, local campaign finance reporting, precinct boundaries, voting locations, staffing the locations, and deciding the number of voting machines a precinct gets.  To believe that the Office of the Secretary of State is responsible for lines at some precincts, one would have to set aside the reality of the situation, and believe that the 176 Democrats charged with making elections fair would sit silently.  We'll take Hamilton County as an example.  Hamilton County is where the City of Cincinnati sits.  The Board of Elections consists of the following:
Tim Burke:  Chairman of the Board of Elections
Brad Greenberg: Member
Daniel Radford: Member
Todd Ward: Member

Visiting the Hamilton County Democratid Party website, I note that Tim Burke is also the Chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party!    I also note that Brad Greenberg is the Executive Director of the Hamilton County Republican Party!  

So, now that we have established that the elections are run by the local Boards, don't you think that if the Office of the Secretary of State was responsible for the election day lines, that the 176 Democratic members of the Boards would have said something?  

The Secretary of State is the Chief Elections Officer of Ohio. His real power is fairly limited, though. His power is most analagous to the Attorney General's which has no power to prosecute criminals, but is the chief attorney of the state.  Maybe this will aid your understanding.  

Bill, you seem to have let your visceral hatred of  minority Republicans, like Secretary Blackwell color your view.  Do the research and learn the truth.  

Attacking lies and untruths where I find them, and have the time to respond to them.

by Collin on 02/10/2006 05:33:05 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Joseph Lowery Got it Right in Exposing Bush Hypocrisy | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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