More than a month after scandal involving U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., bruised the Republican Party's image, President Bush's announcement that he does not support the University of Michigan's affirmative action policy has caused more people to view the GOP as unfriendly to minorities.
Bush's announcement met with disapproval from many black leaders, including some in his own administration.
His stance did not cause as much controversy as Lott did in December after he praised former segregationist presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., and said if he had been elected the country \wouldn't have had all these problems over the years.""
However, according to UW-Madison political science Professor David Canon, Bush's position will make it harder for Republican leaders to reach out to minorities.
""Bush has been trying over the last two years or so to build up a more diverse Republican party and to appeal to minority voters,"" Canon said. ""This is a real blow to that.""
While Bush's speech could have repercussions for Republicans all the way down the ladder, UW-Madison senior and College Republican Ryan Nichols said that, locally, other factors also contribute to the perception that Republicans are against minorities. For example, Nichols said the College Republicans did not support having a Shadow Day orientation at UW-Madison that would target minority, gay and lesbian students. The College Republicans wanted the program to be open to everyone, not just minorities, he said, but this view was then skewed by those on the left.
""If we try to say it shouldn't just be minorities and gay and lesbians then they think we're against those individuals, when in actuality we're actually desiring of equality for all,"" he said.
Nichols also said the majority of the College Republicans would support Bush's stance.
""The conservative stance is that people should earn their way into jobs and into colleges based on merits,"" he said. ""Things like point systems like Michigan used we would feel are inappropriate.""
According to UW-Madison journalism Professor Hemant Shah, who teaches a class about minorities and the media, Bush incorrectly labeled Michigan's system a quota system.
An actual quota system, Shah said, is when an institution sets aside a certain number of spots for minorities and then leaves them blank if they are not filled rather than offering them to non-minority students.
Kirbie G. Mack, president of the Madison branch of the NAACP, also said she thought Bush did not understand the policy.
""I would appreciate a president who was intelligent and articulate about issues and who understands the terms he's throwing around in the media,"" Mack said.
The NAACP condemned Bush's stance, but Mack said she did not expect any better from him.
