US Commission on Civil Rights Report Details Bush Administration's Poor Civil Rights Record

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has released its quadrennial report on the Bush administration's civil rights record, and found it severely lacking; one of the worst in recent history.

The report, Redefining Rights in America The Civil Rights Record of the George W. Bush Administration, 2001�2004, can be downloaded in draft form here. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.)

Amongst the findings:

-President Bush has not made civil rights a priority of his administration.

-The Bush cabinet, while diverse, is not as diverse as its predecessors and many of Bush's federal appointees are not supporters of civil rights.

-Bush has implemented policies retreating from "long-established promises" in voting rights, equal education opportunities, affirmative aciton, fair housing, racial profiling, environmental justice, and hate crimes.

-Bush has closed the White House Office for Women's Initiatives, attempted to close the Women's Bureau at the Dept. of Labor, and withdrew Dept. of Education guidance on sexual harrasment in schools.

-Attorney General Ashcroft banned a gay-rights celebration month at the DOJ, despite it being a long-established agency practice.

-Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiatives program, while touted as a civil-rights initiative, in practice allows recipients of Federal Funds to discriminate on the basis of religious belief.


The Commission has decided to refrain from discussing its report until after the elections, so as not to be accused of being partisan. But don't we have a right to hear about these things *before* the election? How else are we supposed to implement change through voting if we can't hear the facts? What else is the Commission's report for if not to judge a Presidency's Civil Rights record?

-koji K.

[edit on 9-10-2004 by koji_K]

Affirmative action is outdated and reverse racism...fair housing (aka projects) is BS....enviornmental justice is Civil rights related?...i dont understand what more needs to be done for "voters rights" (everyone can vote already....thats all thats needed)...

this is just more BS....Clinton never really had to deal with the Gay Marriage issue...so i dunno why its pinned soley on Bush...

Originally posted by BasementAddix
Clinton never really had to deal with the Gay Marriage issue...so i dunno why its pinned soley on Bush...

Oh, I dunno, maybe it's because he proposed an amendment to the Constitution banning gay marriage? Maybe that's the reason, I'm not sure?

Bush proposed the amendment more then 3 monthes AFTER the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that gays and lesbians have a legal right to marry under the Massachusetts Constitution.....He didnt bring the issue up....it fell in his lap...you might want to check a timeline before you type next time...

Originally posted by BasementAddix
Bush proposed the amendment more then 3 monthes AFTER the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that gays and lesbians have a legal right to marry under the Massachusetts Constitution.....He didnt bring the issue up....it fell in his lap...you might want to check a timeline before you type next time...

Does it matter when he started pushing his hate agenda on us? The fact is he is doing it. Our civil rights are eroding under the bush empire. If he is "re-elected" it will get even worse. especially since he'll be appointing a new supreme court justice.

There is no valid reason, not one. NOT ONE, to push through such a hateful discrimanatory amendment. I defy anyone to give me a valid reason to restrict two people in love from joining in marriage. Religion is not a valid reason.

Bush and his cronies are doing their damndest to erase civil rights and liberties and americans are just belly up and taking it.

Originally posted by BasementAddix
Bush proposed the amendment more then 3 monthes AFTER the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that gays and lesbians have a legal right to marry under the Massachusetts Constitution.....

Umm, that's the court doing it's job. It interpreted the constitution, and decided that the state could not legally deny gay's the right to marriage, as stated in the constitution. Bush then didn't like their ruling, so he advocated backing a constitutional amendment for political purposes (he knows it will never pass).

Just backing my statement that Clinton didnt have to deal with such issues...