http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/local.cfm?ArticleID=381

Bush tells CBC he's 'unfamiliar' with Voting Rights Act
by Roland S. Martin, Chicago Defender
January 27, 2005

President George W. Bush met with the Congressional Black Caucus Wednesday for the first time as a group in nearly four years, but what CBC members said stood out the most was the president's declaration that he was "unfamiliar" with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant pieces of legislation passed in the history of the United States.

At the conclusion of yesterday's 40-minute meeting, Bush - who attended along with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - was asked by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) whether he would support the re-authorization of a portion of the Voting Rights Act that must be approved every 25 years (It will come up for consideration next year).

"I don't know anything about the 1965 Voting Rights Act," Jackson recalled the president saying in an interview with the Chicago Defender.

He said that a hurried Bush went on to say that "when the legislation comes before me, I'll take a look at it, but I don't know about it to comment any more than that, but we will look at it when it comes to us."

"It was so unbelievable to me that as soon as I walked out, I got Frank (Watkins, Jackson's top legislative aide) on the telephone, put (Congresswomen) Maxine (Waters, D-Calif.) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), so that I could confirm what he just said is what I heard," Jackson said.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st) said he recalled the president saying he was "unfamiliar" with the Voting Rights Act.

"I was surprised and astounded," Rush told the Defender.

Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) could not be reached for comment.

White House spokesman Allen Abney did not specifically address Bush's statement of being unfamiliar with the Voting Rights Act, but said that "there is a section of the Act that is up for re-authorization in 2006, and the president is firmly committed to protecting voting rights. He indicated today that he would be looking closely at the Act as it comes up for re-authorization and certainly take their concerns into consideration."

According to the description on the Department of Justice's website, the Voting Rights Act is "generally considered the most successful piece of civil rights legislation ever adopted by the United States Congress."

The bill guaranteed that African Americans and any other group would not be denied the right to vote, and put in place provisions to ensure that voting rights would not be trampled on by local and state officials.

Bush's meeting with the CBC was the second of two days of meetings with Black leaders. On Tuesday, he met with more than two dozen pastoral and business leaders, all supporters of the president's policies. A couple of weeks ago Bush sat down with Kweisi Mfume, who had recently announced his resignation as president and CEO of the NAACP.

Rush said Wednesday's meeting was different from the others because he has had a fractious relationship with the CBC, and was dealing with "more knowledgeable people around the different issues that affect the African American community."

"In that room you had 43 individuals whose whole life of activity and endeavor have been around trying to upgrade and uplift the life of Black America," Rush said. "We are elected into the Congress and we know the ins and outs of it and we know the machinations that the administration and the Republicans engage in and so, yea, we weren't wild-eyed and in a state of ecstasy just to meet the president. We came to be about business."

As for Bush's mood, Rush said the president was "cordial" but also "as non-responsive today as he was four years ago to the overall agenda."

"He did become animated around the issue of Darfur (Sudan),"Rush said.

As for Rice, Rush said the new secretary of state said "absolutely nothing. She was just there. For what reason, I'm not sure."

Jackson praised CBC Chairman Mel Watt, D-N.C., for focusing on the disparities facing African Americans in six categories, such as economics, social justice and international issues.

He said Bush mostly nodded his head and took notes, but he was adamant about his opposition to statehood for the District of Columbia, a point raised by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the Washington, D.C. area in Congress.

Jackson said Bush thought he was going to bring up the issue again and cut him off, saying, "I'm against statehood. I'm consistent on that and have been consistent on that since I was governor (of Texas)."

Gosh, how unprepared can this guy be????? He wants to get the African-American vote, and can't be bothered to bone up on something that is quite important to Civil Rights and the African-American community.

He hasn't gotten along with the Congressional Black Caucus because he's meeting with a group of people familiar with politics and knowledgable about this administration, and they know his administration is not mindful of their needs.

I think it would have been better if he's said - "I'm not familiar with it - tell me what I need to know about it....and perhaps they'd tell him. He could then have given an initial impression about their concerns.

What a jerk.

And he was very willing to talk about Darfur, but not about anything affecting this nation....

hmmm unfamiliar with the act, eh? Maybe that explains why the reps flipped when the faced with complaints about fraud in Ohio. ..they didn't know it's illegal to place barriers to access for voters

friggen idiot <_<

He thinks he lives in Germany when you had no rights.

Where are your papers?

no papers, but I do have this neato keen yellow star that says Jude

Arrrrgh! This pretender to the throne is going to put us back in the dark ages!

He is a joke period. I am ashamed that any of my fellow peeps supported him.

Just when the last befuddling outrage has sunk in, he trots out another. You don't know whether to laugh, cry, scream or jump off a building.

Bush 'unfamiliar' with Voting Rights Act.

Code for he won't renew it!!!!

C'mon! Cut the guy some slack! He was too busy drinking in those days to worry about some silly legislation! <_<

You're right he probably was drunk but the legislation was not silly.

The Voting Rights Act was created after "Congress determined that the existing federal anti-discrimination laws were not sufficient to overcome the resistance by state officials to enforce the 15th Amendment" http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro.htm.

"The The Voting Rights Act guaranteed that African Americans and any other group would not be denied the right to vote, and put in place provisions to ensure that voting rights would not be trampled on by local and state officials."

President GWB being 'unfamiliar' with Voting Rights Act is a good sign he won't renew it.

In any case, 2004 may be the last year that folks had to conceal their efforts to manipulate an national election.

Contact your elected officials and tell them they need to renew the The Voting Rights Act.

Hence, the eyeroll: . It was humor.