richard
|
|
Bush to join fight against UM's affirmative action program
| 
Jan 15 19:34 UTC 2003 |
From wire reports, the White House (Bush) is going to file a brief against
the U of M and the case before the Supreme Court over UM's affirmative
action plan. What do you think of this and which side are you on?
"WH intervention expected on affirmative action case
University admissions program under scrutiny
From John King and Dana Bash
CNN Washington Bureau
Wednesday, January 15, 2003 Posted: 1:38 PM EST (1838 GMT)
The Bush administration is preparing to oppose affirmative action plan in
Supreme Court case.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House is expected to file a brief by
Thursday with the U.S. Supreme Court opposing a University of Michigan
affirmative action program, according to administration officials.
Such a move would immerse the administration in a politically and socially
charged subject at a time when Republicans are trying to recover from a
racially tinged firestorm in the Senate and reach out to minority voters.
Details of the brief are still being finalized, the officials said, but
the White House is expected to argue that there are better ways to promote
diversity than the program that gives preference to African-Americans and
Hispanics applying to the university.
The expected move was being closely watched on Capitol Hill by Democrats
who say Republicans have failed to encourage racial diversity.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, while declining to discuss Bush's
plans, said the president met with his advisers last night on the matter.
"Diversity is an important goal," said Fleischer.
"The challenge is to focus on encouraging diversity without using quotas,"
Fleischer said, adding that the president has "longstanding" opposition to
quotas.
White students opposed to the program filed suit against the University of
Michigan, and the Supreme Court's decision on the case will be key in
defining the role of affirmative action in America.
Bush is still deciding what kind of statement to make in the brief, but
could argue that while diversity in higher education is important, the
University of Michigan's program is not constitutional. It is unclear,
however, whether the administration would argue that race could not be
considered at all as a factor.
Conservatives have been arguing that it is important for the
administration to take a stand against racial preferences.
A senior administration official says Solicitor General Ted Olson sent an
e-mail to the White House arguing for a strong brief opposing the Michigan
program and racial preferences in general.
But it is a politically sensitive issue for the president and Republicans
who have been trying to reach out to minorities, especially in the wake of
the controversy surrounding Sen. Trent Lott's comments praising Sen. Strom
Thurmond's segregationist 1948 presidential bid.
Many civil rights activists have also been angered by the president's
judicial nominees, most recently that of Charles Pickering, a Mississippi
judge renominated to a federal appeals court. They've described Pickering
as racially insensitive and questioned his commitment to civil rights.
When he was governor of Texas, Bush opposed racial preferences at state
universities, opting instead for a program he calls "affirmative access,"
making the top 10 percent of all high school students eligible for
admissions.
Fleischer described the case as "particularly important" for "all
Americans."
"It could potentially lead to a definition across the nation about what
standards are allowable in terms of society dealing with questions about
admissions and race," Fleischer said.
The White House does not have to file a friend of the court brief, but in
cases as high profile as this, it is common practice.
The brief is due at the Supreme Court by Thursday.
Senate Minority Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, told reporters Wednesday that
how the administration weighs in will be "a watershed moment" for
Republicans on the question of diversity.
"I think the burden of proof will be on the administration, I think the
burden of proof will be on Republicans to show us how they can be for
diversity and yet be against the laws that promulgate diversity," Daschle
said. "That, I think, is a hard case to make, but I look forward to their
response."
|
