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8A NEWS/Xlie Cliarlatte $os!t Thursday, January 29, 2004 RepuHIcans earn faiing grade on Hack issues By Hazel Trice Edney NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION WASHINGTON - If Republican lawmakers want to convince African- Americans that they care about black issues, they will have to point to something other than their record. According to the NAACFs mid-term “Federal Legislative Report Card” for the 108th Congress, made public this week, 228 Republicans in the 435- member U.S. House of Representatives and aU 52 in the Senate earned Fs. Only one Republican, Rep. Mary S. Leach of Iowa, got as high as a D, voting in sup port of black causes 65 per cent of the time. By contrast, no Democrat received a grade as low as an F on the Civil Rights Report Card. The lowest grade for a Democrat were the Ds earned by Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, with 63 per cent, Robert E. Cramer of Alabama and Bill Lipinski of Illinois, both with 65 per cent. Among Democrats in both houses, there were. 179 As, 42 Bs, 16 Cs and 3 Ds. “There were no surprises,” says Hilary Shelton, director of the Washington Bureau of the NAACP. “But it was more of a confirmation that this proved to be among the most legislatively divisive terms in legislative history between the hard Right wing and the progressives on Capitol Hill.” Using issues chosen during its national convention in July, such as federal judicial nominations, federal aid to states and funding for job training programs in the Senate; extended unemploy ment benefits, and increase fimding for homeless pro grams in the House, the NAACP graded members based on the percentage of times they voted in agree ment with the 94-year-old civil rights organization. An A was awarded for a 90 to 100 percent approval; B for 80 to 89 percent; C for 70 to 79 percent; D for 60 to 69 percent and an F for 59 per cent and below. This grading period was particularly sensitive, given that five Democratic presi dential candidates were run ning for the presidency. The non-partisan group decided not to issue letter grades for presidential candidates because of their heavy elec tion-year travel schedule. However, of grades award ed the previous session of Congress, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) earned the highest grade of an A with 100 per cent; both Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) earned As by supporting NAACP positions 95 percent of the time. Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), earned an A with a 91 per cent voting record. Former presidential candi date Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), got a B with 86 percent. Another dropout, retiring Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), received an A with 95 per cent on the last report card. The Republican Party, after receiving only 8 percent of the black vote in the 2000 presidential election, has set a goal of winning 25 percent of the Black vote in November. That will be a daunting task if the grades of the Repubhcan leadership in Congress is any indica tion. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) set the tone for the GOP with the lowest grade received by any senator, an F, voting with the NAACP only 4 percent or just once. That issue was to give more money to states, which passed 97-3. Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky got an F with 7 percent. Senate Republican Conference Chair Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, also got 4 per- NAACP LDF chief calls it quits THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - The head of the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund is stepping down from the post she’s held for the past 11 years. Elaine R. Jones told her staff last week she would leave her job as president and director-council effective May 1. She’s been with the organization, considered the legal arm of the civil rights movement, for 32 years. “I am stepping down - not retiring — confident that change is a good thing. Change is something we should all embrace. I also am convinced that more than one person can lead, and it is time for new leadership,” Jones said in a statement. She said she would contin ue to promote the organiza tion’s litigation and other programs “in any way the board and my successor deem helpful.” Jones was only the fourth person — and first woman — to head the NAACFs legal fund since it was founded by Thurgood Marshall in 1940. Jones has spent her career defining civil rights, defend ing equal rights in educa tion, criminal justice, labor law and politics. She began her career representing death row defendants in the South. Forecast for Charlotte, NC All maps, forecasts and data provided by Weather Source, Inc. ©2004 AccuWeather.com Local 7-Day Forecast Thursday Sunshine anc some clouds. 50 Thu. night Mostly cloudy. 30 Friday 52/34 Saturday Partly sunny and cold. 40/28 Sunday Mostly cloudy and cold. 40/30 Monday Partly sunny. 52/28 Tuesday \J Sunny and cold. . 47/25 Wednesday Partly sunny and cold. 43/21 The Week Ahead The Week Ahead Temperatures Precipitation U.S. Traveler’s Cities The National Summary Today Friday Saturday Sunday Monday City HI Lo W Hi Lo W Hi Lo W Hi Lo W Hi Lo W Atlanta 52 34 pc 52 38 pc 46 27 $ 46 36 c 51 30 pc Boston • 34 24 pc 34 20 pc 28 18 sn 26 16 pc 37 20 c Chicago 28 12 sf 20 6 pc 18 10 c 24 14 c 22 10 pc Cleveland 29 26 c 28 10 c 18 12 c 35 24 c 30 15 pc Denver 54 26 pc 54 20 pc 38 15 pc 38 17 pc 46 12 c Des Moines 30 15 c 24 14 c 22 11 c 20 6 pc 23 7 c Detroit 26 16 sf 22 10 sf 16 8 sf 29 20 c 25 13 c Houston 64 46 c 66 46 s 68 48 pc 62 38 c 56 36 c Indianapolis 37 23 sf 28 22 pc 31 21 pc 36 19 pc 32 16 pc Kansas City 37 29 c 44 28 c 39 20 c 29 15 s 30 14 c Los Angeles 70 50 s 68 50 pc 68 48 s 70 50 s 71 47 pc Miami 73 61 s 77 64 c 78 63 c 79 62 pc 77 59 pc Minn.- St. Paul 7 -10 c -1 -11 c 4 -3 c 7 -5 c 14 •1 c New Orieans 63 51 c 66 45 s 68 49 pc 63 42 c 58 38 s New York City 35 30 pc 36 28 c 30 23 pc 27 27 pc 38 22 c Omaha 25 16 pc 31 15 c 27 10 c 20 9 pc 26 8 c Phoenix 66 45 s 70 47 pc 72 45 s 70 43 s 70 45 s San Francisco 58 46 pc 56 44 c 56 46 pc 56 47 c 58 43 pc Seattle 48 42 r 46 38 sh 44 38 c 48 37 pc 48 37 c Washington 41 26 pc 46 26 c 34 24 pc 32 24 pc 46 23 pc Cold air vi/ill remain entrenched across the Midwest, Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Milder air will be found across the Front Range of the Rockies. Meanwhile, the jet stream will steer storms into the Pacific Northwest. A cold dome of high pressure will keep the northern Plains dry. Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cioudy, sh-showers. Mhunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, l-ice. World Traveler’s Cities Sun & Moon Today Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Sunris^ SunseK. City Hi Lo W Hi Lo W Hi Lo W Hi Lo W Hi Lo W Thu., Jan. 29 7:25 a.m. 5:48 p.m. Amsterdam 34 29 sn 35 29 pc 38 35 pc 46 38 r 45 41 c Fri., Jan.30 7:25 a.m. 5:49 p.m. Berlin 27 16 ?n 24 20 pc 29 22 pc 37 29 sn 38 30 c Sat., Jan. 31 7:24 a.m. 5:50 p.m. Buenos Aires 92 65 pc 88 63 pc 83 59 t 80 60 r 80 56 c Sun., Feb. 1 7:23 a.m. 5:51 p.m. Cairo 70 49 pc 69 41 pc 62 42 pc 65 43 s 64 43 s Mon., Feb. 2 7:22 a.m. 5:52 p.m. Jerusalem ,58 43 s 59 33 pc ' 52 35 s 53 35 s 57 39 s Tue., Feb. 3 7:22 a.m. 5:53 p.m. Johannesburg 84 58 s 84 56 pc 84 61 pc 86 57 pc 81 59 pc Wed., Feb. 4 7:21 a.m. 5:54 p.m. London 35 31 pc 36 31 pc 44 40 c 48 39 pc 48 47 c Madrid 49 35 pc 52 41 c 53 44 pc 53 41 pc 56 41 pc Moonrise Moonset Mexico City 65 35 c 66 41 pc 66 38 s 65 46 s 71 44 s Thu., Jan. 29 .... 11:51 a.m. 12:57 a.m. Moscow 25 14 sn 24 10 sn 20 8 sn 15 3 c 14 9 c Fri., Jan.30 12:21 p.m. 1:56 a.m. Pans 32 24 pc 34 28 pc 40 3b pc 45 35 pc 43 38 r Sat., Jan. 31 .... 12:56 p.m. 2:54 a.m. Rio de Janeiro 80 70 pc 80 70 pc 81 70 c 83 70 c 82 70 pc Rome 46 31 pc 47 40 c 47 45 r 53 45 pc 59 45 pc Moon Phases San Juan 83 71 s 84 71 s 64 71 s 84 73 s 84 72 s First Full Last New Seoul 40 21 pc 40 26 s 45 29 s 46 28 c 36 12 c Sydney Tokyo 86 49 67 33 s pc 87 44 66 31 pc s 82 45 65 36 s $ 82 49 67 40 s pc 86 57 65 48 pc r € O • Toronto 22 12 c 20 4 c 16 4 c 28 19 sn 25 9 pc Jan. Feb. Feb. Feb. Winnipeg -15 -26 sn -7 •19 c 1 •13 c -1 -14 c 4 -15 pc 29 6 13 20 Zurich 21 18 sn 33 30 pc 38 35 pc 47 35 c 41 34 sn cent. Only 10 others out of the 100 senators received 4 per cent. They included former Majority Leader Trent Lott and Thad Cochran of Mississippi, John Kyi of Arizona, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Larry Craig of Idaho, Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, Don Nickles of Oklahoma, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Craig Thomas of Wyoming. House Majority Leader Tbm DeLay (R-Ifexas), got an F with 15 percent. Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) got an I for incomplete (he votes only in case of a tie), House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) got an F with 25 percent. Among Democratic leader ship, both Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California got As with per fect scores. House Democratic , Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland got an A with 95 percent and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Robert Mendendez got an A with 90 percent. The state representing both extremes was Illinois, with Democrat Richard; Durban getting the highest grade of 100 percent and Republican Peter Fitzgerald , receiving the lowest grade of 4 percent. - ' Shelton says each member is given an opportunity to dean up his or her record. ‘We send each member of Congress a copy of the leg islative report card with an invitation for a meeting on how they can improve on our bread and butter civil rights issues,” Shelton says. “Sometimes we do [get call backs]. There are people who want to improve on the civil rights agenda.” On the other hand, there are sdme in pubUc office who show no interest in the NAACP issues. Instead of giving presidential candi dates a grade, the NAACP issued a “Civil Rights Questionnaire” on issues such as affirmative action, reparations, predatory lend ing, job creation, minimum wages, drug offenses and after school programs. No letter grades were issued based on those responses. Each of the presi dential candidates who responded said they oppose all efforts to weaken affirma tive action and all said they support the formation of a federal commission to study the effects of the slavery on Afncan-Americans. (H.R.40 on Reparations). Said Shelton: “The only two candidates who didn’t respond to the questionnaire were Lyndon Larouche and George Bush.” “For I will restore health unto thee,' and I will heat thy wounds, saith the Lord.” - Jeremiah 30:17 AmeriCare^^Healin On “The Plaza” • 704-535-0400 1805 Milton Road • Charlotte, NC 28215 • Pediatrics At “The Park” • 704-399-2677 6025 Beatties Ford Road * Charlotte. 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Jan. 29, 2004, edition 1
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