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New York Times - October 13, 2004 Study assails Bush administration record on civil rights By MICHAEL JANOFSKY WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 - The report is right there on the Internet as a "highlight" on the agency home page: "U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Assails Bush Administration Record on Civil Rights." It refers to a lengthy draft report that churns out in footnoted detail how President Bush "has neither exhibited leadership on pressing civil rights issues nor taken actions that matched his words." The draft, prepared by the commission staff, accuses Mr. Bush of civil rights failures in education, voting, gay and lesbian issues, affirmative action, housing, environmental justice, racial profiling and hate crimes and concludes by saying, "Failing to build on common ground, the Bush administration missed opportunities to build consensus on key civil rights issues and has instead adopted policies that divide Americans." There is one problem with the report: It does not necessarily represent the commission's view. Like all other commission studies, it was posted on the Internet immediately after the commission's career staff finished researching and writing it. A draft only becomes official after commissioners raise challenges and vote on them and send off a final report to Congress and the White House. It can take months. But now, with a presidential election just weeks away, Republican members of the commission say they are angry - at both the substance of the draft and at a process that allows preliminary findings to be made public immediately - even though a majority of commissioners voted to approve the process two years ago. "The timing of the report gives it a political cast," said Commissioner Peter N. Kirsanow, a Republican. "No matter whose side of the debate you're on, you wonder about the timing." "The process is a nightmare," said another Republican commissioner, Abigail Thernstrom, who called the report "an election-driven document." The commission always comprises four White House appointees and four Congressional appointees; neither political party can have more than four members. The current commission has three Republicans, three Democrats and two independents, including the chairwoman, Mary Frances Berry, the principal target of the Republicans' anger. Meeting last Friday, the commissioners considered two motions by the third Republican commissioner, Jennifer C. Braceras, to minimize the impact of the draft. The first tried to remove it from the Web site and failed, by a 4-to-4 vote. The second, to delay consideration of the report until after the election - as the commission had done in 2000 with a report on the civil rights record of the Clinton administration - passed 6 to 1 with one abstention….. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/13/politics/campaign/13rights.html?oref=login |