Topics in the News: Affirmative Action
Virgil Goode on Civil Rights
: Oct 16, 2012
Equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex
Q: What about pay equity for women?OBAMA: The first bill I signed was the Lilly Ledbetter bill.
ROMNEY: [As governor faced with an all-male cabinet], I went to a number of women's groups and said, "Can you help us find folks?" And they brought us
whole binders full of women.
GOODE: I am opposed to discrimination in wages and in the employment place. There should be equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex, regardless of race, regardless of religion, regardless of national origin.
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Source: Democracy Now! Expanded Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Jill Stein on Civil Rights
: Dec 21, 2011
Economy that is not fully inclusive is inherently unstable
Q: What do you think about government involvement in affirmative action?A: When you have a football game you have referees--that is the role of the government--to ensure that we have an inclusive economy and that all members of society have
access to full participation. An economy that is not fully inclusive is an inherently unstable economy. That's why the CIA keeps track of inequality around the word--when inequality reaches a certain level, instability results.
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Source: 2011 OnTheIssues interview with Jill Stein
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Oct 18, 2011
I benefited from affirmative action in my academic career
The Ivy League preselects America's leaders. Michelle and Barack Obama are where they are because, in getting into Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard Law, and onto law review, they benefited from affirmative action.
Barack Obama himself conceded the point in 1990 when, as president of Harvard Law Review, he wrote in defense of its affirmative action policy:
"As someone who has undoubtedly benefited from affirmative action programs during my academic career, and as someone who may have benefited from the Law Review's affirmative action policy when
I was selected to join the Review last year, I have not personally felt stigmatized."
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Source: Suicide of a Superpower, by Pat Buchanan, p.258
Ron Paul on Civil Rights
: Apr 19, 2011
Voluntary associations are better than quotas
Governments have notoriously written laws that segregated people whether by race, gender or sexual orientation. This practice was common from the time of slavery until the policy was replaced with affirmative action and forced association in private
affairs, thus substituting one set of violations of individual rights with another. Voluntary associations are better. Quotas and affirmative action programs are based on certain groups qualifying for special privileges. Reversing the discrimination
hasn't brought people together. Resentment remains in many areas but not where character and talent are the tests of one's ability. Even more appalling is the presumption that wherever blacks and whites and others associate freely, it is due solely to
government laws that have forced the issue. The idea here is that if people are left to their own devices, they will always and everywhere choose homogeneity in their social associations. I can't imagine a stranger view of the human condition.
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Source: Liberty Defined, by Rep. Ron Paul, p. 74-75
Sarah Palin on Civil Rights
: Sep 30, 2008
Equal pay for equal work; but not Ledbetter Act
Q: Where do you stand on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?A: I’m absolutely for equal pay for equal work. The Ledbetter pay act--it was gonna turn into a boon for trial lawyers who, I believe, could have taken advantage of women who [would] allege
discrimination many, many years ago. Thankfully, there are laws on the books, there have been since 1963, that no woman could be discriminated against in the workplace in terms of anything, but especially in terms of pay. So, thankfully we have the laws
on the books and they better be enforced.
Q: Why should a fear of lawsuits trump a woman’s ability to do something about the fact that women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes?
A: There should be no fear of a lawsuit prohibiting a woman from
making sure that the laws that are on the books today are enforced. I know in a McCain-Palin administration we will not stand for any measure that would result in a woman being paid less than a man for equal work.
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Source: 2008 CBS News presidential interview with Katie Couric
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Aug 27, 2008
Keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work
Now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.
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Source: Speech at 2008 Democratic National Convention
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Aug 25, 2008
OpEd: Not the seed of civil rights, but the flower
Despite his own background, Obama paradoxically is a post-racial figure in a society weary of racial division. Both for younger, more tolerant Americans who are electrified by his promise, and for an older generation of more conservative whites skeptical
of racial preferences, Obama shines out as the opposite of affirmative action--a biracial African American who, against all odds, succeeded based on sheer merit. After a generation of blacks helped up the ladder by affirmative action,
Obama is not a black man who got his preset position thanks to the need for racial symbolism, such as, say, Clarence Thomas. He rather evoked Jackie Robinson--one whose talent was so exceptional that he could not be denied.
He is what Americans of goodwill dreamed could occur once we put racism behind us; as Leon Wieseltier memorably put it, not the seed of civil rights but the flower.
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Source: Obama`s Challenge, by Robert Kuttner, p. 17
Barack Obama on Jobs
: Jul 1, 2008
Supports Fair Pay Act: equal pay for equal work
Obama's proposals on combating employment discrimination include: working to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. Obama will also pass the
Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. Obama will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies, and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.
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Source: Obamanomics, by John R. Talbott, p. 66
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Apr 16, 2008
Apply affirmative action to poor white college applicants
Q: You said about affirmative action that affluent African Americans like your daughters should probably be treated as advantaged when they apply to college, and that poor white children should get special consideration.A: The basic principle that
should guide discussions not just on affirmative action but how we are admitting young people to college generally is, how do we make sure that we’re providing ladders of opportunity for people? Race is still a factor in our society. And I think that
for universities to say, “we’re going to take into account the hardships that somebody has experienced because they’re black or Latino or women...”
Q: Even if they’re wealthy?
A: I think that’s something that they can take into account, but it can
only be in the context of looking at the whole situation of the young person. So I still believe in affirmative action as a means of overcoming both historic and potentially current discrimination, but I think that it can’t be a quota system.
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Source: 2008 Philadelphia primary debate, on eve of PA primary
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Feb 2, 2008
Fight job discrimination to give women equal footing at jobs
AT A GLANCE- Pay Equity: Obama will better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give women equal footing in the workplace.
THE PROBLEM-
Discrimination on the Job: For every $1.00 earned by a man, the average woman receives only 77 cents. A recent study estimates it will take another 47 years for women to close the wage gap with men.
OBAMA’S PLAN-
Fight for Pay Equity: Obama believes the government needs to take steps to better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give women equal footing in the workplace.
- Expand
Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50% credit for their child care expenses.
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Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 35-36
Hillary Clinton on Civil Rights
: Jan 21, 2008
Equal pay is not yet equal
Equal pay is not yet equal. A woman makes $0.77 on a dollar & women of color make $0.67. We feel so passionately about this because we not only are running for office, but we each, in our own way, have lived it. We have seen it. We have understood the
pain and the injustice that has come because of race, because of gender. It’s imperative that we make it very clear that each of us will address these issues. You don’t hear the Republicans talking about any of this. You don’t hear them talking about the
disgrace of a criminal justice system that incarcerates so many more African-Americans proportionately than whites, and any kind of effort to help Historically Black Colleges and Universities, something that I’m committed to doing to make it clear that
these are important institutions that have led the way for so many great leaders to be where they are today. So we have a specific set of policies and priorities that are really part of who we are, as well as part of what the Democratic Party stands for.
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Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Dec 4, 2007
Benefited from affirmative action but overcame via merit
As a black, Obama must display enough natural talent to be immune to the stigma of affirmative action--the perception that he is a mediocrity lifted up by lowered standards.Still, he has clearly benefited from affirmative action. American universities
impose this policy on black students with such totalitarian resolve that even blacks who don’t need the lowered standards come away stigmatized by them.
What began to separate Obama from this stigma was his editorship of the Harvard Law Review.
Here was something that required genuine merit. Here was a position he had to gain through competition rather than through the suspension of competition. Obama’s fame began precisely with this achievement because it distinguished him from the general run
of black students who carried the stigma of having been pulled forward by lowered standards. He was special because he was clearly more than an “affirmative action baby,” someone who could succeed without the ministrations of white guilt.
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Source: A Bound Man, by Shelby Steele, p. 13-14
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Oct 30, 2007
Include class-based affirmative action with race-based
Obama declared his daughters “should probably be treated by any admissions officer as folks who are pretty advantaged. I think that we should take into account white kids who have been disadvantaged and have grown up in poverty and shown themselves to
have what it takes to succeed.”But Obama is not race blind, and neither is his ideal of affirmative action, which would combine both race-based and class-based preferences. He said, “I don’t think those concepts are mutually exclusive.
I think what one can say is that in our society race and class still intersect, and there are a lot of African American kids who are struggling, that even those who are in the middle class may be first generation as opposed to
fifth or sixth generation college attendees, and that we all have an interest in bringing as many people together to help build this country.“
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Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p. 65-66
Ron Paul on Civil Rights
: Sep 17, 2007
No affirmative action for any group
All rights are individuals. We do not get our rights because we belong to a group. Whether it’s homosexuals, women, minorities, it leads us astray. You don’t get your rights belonging to your group. A group can’t force themselves on anybody else.
So there should be no affirmative action for any group.This violates the principle on the importance of the individual, and confuses us about the importance of individual rights, which is the purpose of the Constitution. Defend our individual rights.
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Source: 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Aug 26, 2007
Better enforce women’s pay equity via Equal Pay Act
Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar men make. Obama believes the government needs to better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give
women equal footing in the workplace. Women are majority owners of more than 28% of US businesses, but head less than 4% of venture-capital-backed firms. Obama encourages investing in women-owned businesses, and reducing discrimination in lending.
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Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, BarackObama.com “Flyers”
Joe Biden on Abortion
: Apr 29, 2007
No public funding for abortion; it imposes a view
Q: Are you still opposed to public funding for abortion?A: I still am opposed to public funding for abortion.
It goes to the question of whether or not you’re going to impose a view to support something that is not a guaranteed right but an affirmative action to promote.
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Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series
Hillary Clinton on Civil Rights
: Oct 11, 2005
Argued with Bill Clinton about diluting affirmative action
Only a few months after the 1994 election, Bill and Hillary spoke to me about how they should handle this new hot-button issue. Should they side with those who wanted to end affirmative action, or remain loyal to the core constituencies of the Democratic
Party?At first, the president wanted to explore alternatives to affirmative action. He and I discussed modifying affirmative action to grant preferences to those in poverty, regardless of gender and color.
But Hillary soon ended this flirtation with
moderation. She saw great danger in disappointing the black and feminist groups that supported the Democratic Party.
Hillary pointed out that many middle-class blacks and professional women felt they needed affirmative action to get ahead in their
workplace or win government contracts. Diluting the program to give preference to poor people, regardless of race or gender, might strip of their privileges, and they are the core of the Democratic Party.
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Source: Condi vs. Hillary, by Dick Morris, p.120-121
Joe Biden on Government Reform
: Feb 11, 2003
Disallowed bringing pornography issues into Thomas hearing
The 1991 campaign against Clarence Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court was far more personal and extreme than the campaign against Robert Bork had been. Members of the civil rights establishment set the tone by calling Thomas a variety of despicable
names because he disagreed with the prevailing wisdom about affirmative action. Then the feminists had their moment with the belated appearance of Anita Hill, who accused Thomas of offensive ribaldry when he was boss at the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission; she was questioned intensely and skeptically by Alan Simpson and several other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. A delegation of feminists visited Joseph Biden, just as Ralph Nader had done four years earlier. "They wanted the
committee to expose the fact that Thomas watched pornographic films," Biden recalled. "But I told them that if he did, it wasn't material. It was private." (The media were happy to provide all the relevant details to a soap opera-loving public.)
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Source: The Natural, by Joe Klein, p.104
Hillary Clinton on Welfare & Poverty
: Jan 1, 2000
Working should mean no poverty
No one who takes the responsibility to work hard every day should have to raise their family in poverty, Hillary says. That’s why she supports raising the minimum wage, and equal pay for equal work. She
worked with former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin to increase microcredit programs, which make investment capital available to small businesses.
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Source: www.hillary2000.org “About Hillary”
Barack Obama on Civil Rights
: Jul 2, 1998
Supports affirmative action in colleges and government
Indicate the principles you support concerning affirmative action. Should state government agencies take race and sex into account in the following sectors? -
Q: College and university admissions? A: Yes
- Q: Public employment A: Yes
- Q: State contracting? A: Yes.
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Source: 1998 IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test
Ron Paul on Civil Rights
: Dec 31, 1987
Gender-equal pay violates idea of voluntary contract
Today the lack of understanding and respect for voluntary contracts has totally confused the issue that in a free society an individual can run his or her business as he or she chooses. The idea that a social do-gooder can legislate a system which forces
industry to pay men and women by comparable worth standards boggles the mind and further destroys our competitiveness in a world economy.The concept of equal pay for equal work is not only an impossible task, it can only be accomplished with the total
rejection of the idea of the voluntary contract. The idea that a businessman must hire anyone and is prevented from firing anyone for any reason he chooses, and in the name of rights, is a clear indication that the basic concept of a free society has
been lost.
In the name of equal rights, Montana has forced insurance companies to charge women additional premiums to make the fees equal to those charged men, regardless of the economic realities that allow for a lower premium.
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Source: Freedom Under Siege, by Ron Paul, p. 17-18
Page last updated: Apr 30, 2013