NEWS
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
If Ari Paul was fishing for a response with his column "Waiting for Connerly (A Play in Three Acts)," where he suggest the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative will have to pander to racist whites to get enough signatures to get their anti-affirmative action proposal on the ballot, ("Without assistance from the state GOP and financial support from corporate donors, the MCRI will have to pander to the worst aspects of white conservatism and elitism if it wants to get its proposal on the ballot.") he certainly got it: the "Campaign Manager" for the MCRI writes a letter to the editor in today's Daily denying Connerly is involved, and saying about Paul "I don't think the author has much of a future in journalism." However, it's difficult for me to understand why Paul wouldn't have a future in journalism: in his column he was just saying things mainstream journalists say all the time:> Detroit New Columnist Luther Keith: "The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, led by California businessman Ward Connerly, is trying to collect 317,000 valid signatures by July 6 to place the issue before Michigan voters on the November ballot. ... "
> The Christian Science Monitor: "MCRI's campaign is bankrolled and advised by Ward Connerly, a familiar figure in affirmative action cases nationwide. ... The language of the Michigan petition is nearly identical to these efforts. [In California] ... "
> The Detroit Free Press: "Granholm later joined Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and other city and county leaders at Greater Grace Temple on Detroit's west side to rally opposition to the Ward Connerly-led anti-affirmative action ballot initiative. ... "
> More
Posted by Rob at 10:30 AM
