I think its truly sad that the Blacks in this country think they have been shafted again (see below). I don't know whether Jesse J. is doing this for show or what. He probably would make a decent Head of HUD but Jack Kemp would be even better unless Andrew Cuomo is retained (doubtful).

I doubt that was behind any of the crap of the last five weeks. If anything, the absentee ballots from the Service People off shore, were white-Americans, black-Americans, brown-Americans and Asian-Americans. And the GOP fought to get those counted and included while the Dems fought that. so Jesse J. is using the good ole double standard again. GWB can fix this fast by putting a major Black and a major Hispanic leader in the Cabinet. Along the way, it might not hurt to add either Ralph N. or one of his Crusaders. A few of the major Democrats sprinkled into the Cabinet or Agencies will represent a "Coalition Government". I would add........AINSLEY HAYES...BUT not in State. Commerce would be perfect.

Black Groups Outraged Over Election Outcome
December 13, 2000 5:27 pm EST

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Civil rights groups voiced outrage on Wednesday over the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in favor of George W. Bush in the presidential race and pledged mass protests and lawsuits over alleged black voter exclusion.

Civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Kweisi Mfume blasted Tuesday's high court decision not to allow a recount of votes in Florida, which dealt a final blow to Democrat Al Gore in his White House race against Republican Texas Gov. Bush.

Gore, who made a big attempt to woo black voters during the most tightly fought presidential campaign in decades, planned to abandon his fight for the White House and quit in an address to the nation later on Wednesday.

Mfume, president of the powerful National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), told reporters he was extremely disappointed by the court's decision which had "handed over" the election to Bush without due process.

"The NAACP believes unequivocally that this issue of voter suppression and voter intimidation has severely affected this election, its outcome and the electoral process," Mfume said in a conference call with reporters.

Mfume said blacks were angered their votes had not be counted and the NAACP, the nation's largest and oldest civil rights group, would seek urgent remedies, both in court and in Congress, to make sure this "nightmare" never happened again.

"People of color are more energized and angrier than ever to make sure they are not counted out again," Mfume said.

Mfume said Bush's legitimacy would always be in doubt because of how he had won the election.

"I don't know if legitimacy is something Mr. Bush will ever gain," the NAACP leader said. "He will be watched very closely, probably more closely than any president in recent history." "Anything short of a collective condemnation of what took place ... will only foster a deeper belief in the minds of the people that this nation does not care about them and their right to vote," Mfume said. "That is a dangerous course to go down as it leads to anarchy and leads to division and distrust."

JACKSON SAYS VOTES "TAKEN AWAY"

Jackson, who made his own bid twice for the presidency, charged that blacks, who traditionally vote Democrat, had votes "taken away" from them in the Nov. 7 election due to a range of voter irregularities in Florida and elsewhere.

Jackson said Gore's legal options may have been reduced by the court ruling but civil rights leaders would continue their quest to get votes counted in Florida, which held the key 25 electoral votes needed to win the election.

"The civil rights rail -- the third rail -- will continue. We will continue our quest to get the votes counted. We'll continue our quest to ask the Department of Justice to act," Jackson said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show.

He said there would be mass protests across America to coincide with either Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 15 to commemorate the slain civil rights leader or Jan. 20, Inauguration Day when the new president will take office.

"During the period of Dr. King's celebration, there will be massive, nonviolent demonstrations around America, saying to America: We want the vote of every American to count," Jackson said.

The NAACP, which spent an unprecedented $12 million getting out the black vote, would launch a massive 18-month effort on Jan. 15 to increase voter turnout and education for mid-term elections, Mfume said.

NAACP PLANS SEVERAL LAWSUITS

He said the NAACP and other civil rights and legal groups would launch several lawsuits before the end of the month to seek remedies for alleged voting irregularities.

The suits are intended to show voter intimidation, that polling sites were moved without timely notice or closed early and that there was a "disproportionate" purging of votes in predominantly black precincts in several Florida counties.

In addition, Mfume said he planned to speak to every governor to immediately begin efforts in their respective states to make sure the same problems did not occur again.

Mfume had caustic words for Attorney General Janet Reno who he said had not acted quickly to investigate claims of voter irregularities.

Federal officials have said they are reviewing allegations of voting irregularities and have yet to decide whether to investigate.

The nation's highest court voted 5-4 on Tuesday to overturn a Florida Supreme Court ruling that allowed recounts of disputed votes in the state. Those recounts were crucial to Gore's hopes of overtaking Bush and winning the election.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2000

Answers

Your "remedy" is like putting a band-aid on a severed limb (to coin a phrase).

No, Charlie, that is NOT the answer. Sadly, you can't (or won't) see that the problem runs much deeper than that. Actually, you've shown an example of that rift in your "opinion", whether you realize it or not.

Maybe it's about time you broke ranks with those you seem to have a somewhat difficult time defending.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2000

There's a place for Ralph in the Cabinet, but GWB should make Jesse and albore co-ambassadors to Chad.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 2000

John's response is exactly why this rift will never be healed.

Democrats will vote for a Republican candidate if they feel he or she will do a better job in the office. Republicans, on the other hand, flatly refuse to acknowledge any Democrat, no matter how qualified. They also are forgetting that Al Gore had more of a mandate than *their* candidate did, to the tune of 300,000 votes.

Have fun over the next four years, boys, because you severely underestimate the abilities of a group who feel disenfranchised. If you *don't* believe that there were voting violations in Florida against people of color, and dismiss the NAACP's 4,000 pages of sworn statements and documentation, you probably are still waiting for the Y2K meltdown.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 2000

And if you *do* believe that there were voting violations in Florida against people of color yet not against white people, you probably think OJ is innocent....
Intentional ploy to stop blacks from voting? Nonsense, brother Jacksons latest scam to get money by fearmongering (just like the y2k fearmongers) - "they be stoppin' us from votin'". Yada yada yada, Jesse, lets start the investigation, lets see the evidence. And Jesse, get the hell out of Florida you scumbag....

-- Anonymous, December 16, 2000

David, every time you open your "cyber-mouth", I wonder how it is that you claim to be a "christian".

-- Anonymous, December 17, 2000