Bush discusses election reforms, civil rights with black lawmakers
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President Bush met for more than an hour Wednesday night with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and was peppered with complaints about the past election and his choice of former Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft for attorney general. Caucus members said the president promised to work with them on election reforms and promised the Justice Department would enforce civil rights laws. “We know that one meeting is not going to be enough,” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, the caucus chairwoman. “The jury is still out.” Democrat Al Gore received 90 percent of the black vote in the November election to Bush’s 9 percent. Outreach to African Americans has been an early priority of the Bush administration. Three black caucus members from Florida skipped the meeting because they said their constituents were still too angry about the election results. At the session, caucus members said they urged Bush to take steps to end racial profiling by law enforcement officials. And they said they asked him to renominate Missouri Supreme Court Justice Ronnie White for a federal judgeship. Ashcroft led the successful Senate effort to defeat White’s nomination during the Clinton administration. Bush was also asked to support former President Clinton’s late-term nomination of an African-American judge from Virginia for a federal appeals court seat. Caucus members said the president was noncommittal but promised to study both requests. The Black Caucus wants Congress to make election reform a top priority and approve federal funds for new election equipment in poor districts it says suffer from having antiquated voting machinery. Bush has said he welcomes a debate on the issue as long as it does not turn into a public re-airing of Democratic disagreements over the conduct of the Florida recount and the Supreme Court decision that ultimately ended the count and cleared the way for Bush to secure an Electoral College victory. At the meeting, the president promised that he was open to helping with election reforms. “This is America, everyone deserves the right to vote,” his spokesman quoted Bush as saying. The president also promised Africa would be a prominent focus of his international policy. “I hear your concerns,” is how White House press secretary Ari Fleischer described the president’s reaction to complaints raised about Ashcroft. “You got it, I hear you,” the spokesman quoted Bush as saying when caucus members pressed for a commitment that the Justice Department would enforce civil rights laws and be sensitive to racial issues. “You can go through a list of grievances and still have a good meeting,” Fleischer said when asked about the tone of the discussion. Source : edition.cnn.com |