Dole Appeals For African-American Support

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AllPolitics, Aug. 23) -- GOP nominee Bob Dole told black journalists that as a disabled veteran, he understands the needs of minorities and his agenda speaks to all Americans. He also called his refusal to address the NAACP last month a "missed opportunity" and said he was sorry.

"I deeply believe the Republican Party will never be whole until it earns the broad support of African Americans by speaking to their hopes," Dole told 2,100 journalists of the National Association of Black Journalists. (192K WAV sound)

The Kansan said his life view was broadened by his experiences as a World War II soldier. As a result of his war injury, he became a member of a minority group called "the disabled," Dole told the polite, if reserved, audience.

Citing his support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act and the Martin Luther King holiday legislation, Dole said he does understand the needs of minorities, despite what some critics say.

He recalled the GOP's roots in Lincoln and quoted African American abolitionist Frederick Douglas that "the Republican Party is the ship; all else is the sea." (256K WAV sound)

Pledging to look forward, Dole promised a program of economic growth that would provide "a flood of opportunity" to unleash "the hidden economic potential" of those living in the inner city. He spoke at length about school choice, blaming the school unions for opposing his plan to provide scholarships to low-income students.

During a question-and-answer session, Dole was pressed on affirmative action, inner-city schools and immigration. Dole told one questioner he did not support the GOP platform's call for a constitutional amendment barring citizenship for children of illegal aliens. (192K WAV sound)

Dole acknowledged that not all share in "America's bounties," while defending his agenda of tax cuts, school choice and crime prevention as "not racial wedges" but the "mainstream of American hopes."

"Take a look" at the Republican Party and give his proposals a fair shake, Dole urged the journalists.

He also urged them to ask of the Democratic Party, "What have you done for me lately?" Not much, Dole asserted.(192K WAV sound)

He contended his party "will only find support in the black community if Republicans do something simple and rare. We must have the courtesy to ask."

Dole described his "abiding conviction" that all Americans deserve equality of opportunity, but not equality of results. He defended "real" affirmative action as "the aggressive, determined and persistent recruitment of men and women by business, government and universities."

Describing it as "another basic civil right," Dole pledged to fight crime so that inner-city residents can "walk the street without fear of violence." (192K WAV sound)

Running mate Jack Kemp spoke briefly before Dole, calling for "a new generation of opportunity in America that can be shared by every American man, woman and child, leaving no one behind." (448K WAV sound)

Dole Appeals For African-American Support

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