68 Days: Elizabeth Dole's Abysmal Record on Civil Rights Issues

DAY 68

45 years ago today, Martin Luther King Jr. altered the course of history forever when he delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. And though his words changed a generation, Elizabeth Dole has kept an abysmal record on civil rights issues in the years since. Dole defended Bush’s veto of the 1990 Civil Rights Act and has consistently earned failing grades from the NAACP and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Dole Earned An “F” From The NAACP. Elizabeth Dole’s average grade on behalf of civil rights issues from the NAACP is 19%. Dole has never earned above an “F” during her time in Congress. [NAACP Congressional Civil Rights Federal Legislative Report Card, Accessed 8/28/08]

Dole Given 6% Average Rating By The Leadership Conference On Civil Rights. Dole has earned an average score of 6% during her career in Congress from the Leadership Conference On Civil Rights (LCCR), whose mission is “to promote the enactment and enforcement of effective civil rights legislation and policy.” [Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Voting Records, accessed 8/25/08]

Dole Supported Controversial Judge William Pryor. Since 2003, Dole has consistently voted to confirm President Bush’s nomination of William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama to be a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. [Vote 133, 6/9/05; Vote 132, 6/8/05; Vote 441, 11/6/03; Vote 316, 7/31/03]

Pryor Called The Voting Rights Act “An Affront To Federalism.” William Pryor told Congress that he opposed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that protected minority voting rights. Pryor called this essential provision “an affront to federalism and an expensive burden that has far outlived its usefulness.” [Transcript of Pryor Testimony, 7/15/97]

Dole Voted For Controversial Nominee Charles Pickering. In 2003, Dole voted to confirm Charles Pickering, who was nominated to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and had been criticized for his racist positions. According to the New York Times, “The debate over the nomination had centered on Judge Pickering’s civil rights record as a Mississippi lawyer, state lawmaker and federal judge over the course of decades. Senate Democrats argued that he did not deserve elevation because he had written an article as a young man recommending ways to strengthen Mississippi’s anti-miscegenation laws, left the Democratic Party in 1964 when the national party tried to integrate the state delegation to the national convention and, more recently, presided over a 1994 trial in which he took extraordinary steps to reduce the sentence of a man convicted in a cross-burning incident.” [Vote 419, 10/30/03; New York Times, 01/17/04]

NAACP Opposed Pickering. The NAACP opposed the Pickering nomination referring to him as a “right-wing extremist.” [NAACP Legislative Report Card, 2003-04, Accessed 8/28/08]

Winston-Salem Journal: Dole Supported Trent Lott Despite Segregation Remarks. The Winston-Salem Journal reported that, “[Dole] may have to take a stand on the controversial issue of whether Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., will continue as the Senate majority leader." In response, Dole said, “I'm pleased he has apologized and believe he is sincere in his regret. If I thought for one second that Trent Lott was endorsing segregation -- he should resign -- but I don't believe he was.” [Winston-Salem Journal, 12/18/02]

Lott Said “We Wouldn’t Have Had All These Problems Over All These Years” if Strom Thurmond Had Won 1948 Presidential Campaign Based On Opposition To Integration. At a birthday party for Senator Strom Thurmond, Trent Lott proudly noted that Mississippi was one of four states that Thurmond carried during his 1948 presidential campaign, whose centerpiece was opposition to integration. "We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years either," Lott said. [CNN.com; 12/14/02]

Dole Supported Bush’s Veto Of 1990 Civil Rights Act. In 1990, Dole was directly asked how she felt about President Bush’s veto of the Civil Rights Bill and Dole responded that she supported the veto. Dole stated, “I support the President, and I think it's clear what the President's reasons were. We don't need to go through that. What we are concerned about is a -- is that becomes a quota bill. I've just mentioned that I've been supportive of an initiative to ensure that women and minorities are able to move through the ranks to top positions in government through our glass ceiling initiative, and indeed, that's not a quota bill either. It's just to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity.” [Federal News Service, 10/24/90]

Legislation Was First Major Civil Rights Bill To Be Defeated In Last Quarter Century. The legislation was the first major civil rights bill to be defeated in the last quarter century. It would have reversed or modified six Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the reach and remedies of job discrimination law and would have authorized monetary damages under title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. [Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 1990 (Senate Vote #304, 10/24/90)]

Los Angeles Times Editorial: Bill Would Reaffirm Nation’s “Absolute Commitment To Liberty And Justice For All.” Prior to Bush’s veto, which Dole supported, an editorial in the Los Angeles Times advocated passage of the bill. The editorial stated, “After decades of prodding and pushing this nation in the direction of equality, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a series of controversial decisions that make it more difficult for minorities and women to prove discrimination at work. But by approving the Civil Rights Act of 1990, Congress and President Bush can reaffirm this nation's absolute commitment to liberty and justice for all.” [Los Angeles Times, Editorial, 7/4/90]

---Disclosure: I am Kay Hagan's Online Communications Director---