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Fri 30 May, 2003 12:13 am
Quote:Black Democratic leaders protest minority layoffs at party headquarters
NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
05-28) 18:38 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
Leading black Democrats in Congress and the national party are protesting the layoffs of 10 minority staffers at the party's headquarters.
The Democratic National Committee notified some committee members and lawmakers Wednesday that they were cutting the positions to save money and streamline operations in preparation for next year's presidential election.
"I'm just outraged," said Donna Brazile, who served as Al Gore's campaign manager in the last presidential election and is also the chairwoman of the DNC's Voting Rights Institute. "They started reading me the names and I said 'Oh, oh -- they're all black. I went through the roof."'
Brazile said the DNC is making the cuts as part of its goal to raise $10 million to $15 million to support the party's presidential nominee.
She proposed that the party cut payroll instead of laying off competent staffers.
DNC communications strategist Jim Mulhall said the committee has hired at least nine new minority staffers in the past month. The committee has more than 100 employees but did not have a count of the number of minority staffers Wednesday night.
"We are hiring professionals who have the experience to carry the battle against George Bush," Mulhall said. "It's about making the DNC the most effective political organization we can."
Several black Democratic leaders were trying to arrange a meeting with DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe to discuss the layoffs.
"I helped get Terry McAuliffe elected so I have a vested interest in making sure this party is whole and reflective of America," said DNC executive committee member Minyon Moore. "I must tell you that I'm a little bit stunned."
The news quickly spread to members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
"It's a time we need sensitivity because it's time to get ready for the next election," said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas.
Staff changes have been creating tension at the DNC as the party prepares to take on a popular incumbent president and nine candidates are battling for the Democratic nomination.
Ability has never been the most important qualification for getting and retaining a job.
There are a number of contributing factors that go into the decision process for screening job applicants. Ability is just one of them, no more or less important than some of the others.
A job applicant can have abilities perfectly matching the specified qualifications but that doesn't guarantee they will get the job. Personality and hygene are just some of the qualities that have equal strength in the selection process.
Well, the person I replied to has deleted their post so mine is now out of context. Sorry about that.
My post is responding to the deleted comment that the race factor is a powerful card to play, that ability is no longer the important factor in determining whether you get and keep a position.
The healine for this post appears intended to provoke defensiveness from Democrats. But the story only illustrates how complex race can be in a nation that has "played the race card" from its inception. Democrats may disagree on how to handle some situations, but in the long run they settle such differences and get back to work, still allied in the greater causes.
edgarblythe wrote:The healine for this post appears intended to provoke defensiveness from Democrats. But the story only illustrates how complex race can be in a nation that has "played the race card" from its inception. Democrats may disagree on how to handle some situations, but in the long run they settle such differences and get back to work, still allied in the greater causes.
Actually, I tried to write the headline as if I were a Democrat and the story was about the RNC. I think I nailed it.
Ask yourself how people would be responding to this story if you changed that "D" to an "R". Then consider how incensed those people would be who are snoring over this now.
I'd snore over it either way, but I'm trying to look at more political interactions to see what goes on.
My read was that he was pointing to hires made after the firings, not before.
here's the dnc's reaction...
Quote:DNC Denies Plan to Lay Off Black Staffers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:03 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Democratic National Committee backed off plans to lay off 10 black workers Thursday, a day after outraged black party leaders complained about reduction of minority staffers.
Black party leaders placed angry calls to DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe after they were given a list of 10 staffers who would be cut to save money and boost the campaign fund for the party's presidential nominee.
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Donna Brazile, chairwoman of the DNC's Voting Rights Institute and the leading critic of the layoffs, said McAuliffe assured her on Thursday that he would not approve a cut list that only included black staffers.
``I'm glad that they are backing away from this,'' said Brazile, who was Al Gore's presidential campaign manager. ``I'm glad that they are reversing course because this would have been the wrong decision. The Democratic Party would have ended up with egg on its face.''
DNC communications strategist Jim Mulhall said Thursday that although the leaders were told 10 staffers were going to be laid off, the information was incorrect. He said the number of layoffs still has not been determined, but it would be less than 10.
``The DNC has a strong commitment to diversity, to making sure that the DNC reflects America and the Democratic Party,'' he said. ``As we adjust staffing levels to deal with the new political realities of facing George Bush and his immense resources, we will make sure the DNC is in the strongest position to wage an effective campaign next year.''
Mulhall also had said Wednesday that the committee had hired at least nine new minority staffers in the past month. On Thursday he said the number was incorrect -- eight staffers had been hired and five were black. Mulhall said more hires would be made in the coming months.
The DNC is trying to save money and streamline operations in preparation for next year's presidential election. Mulhall said the staff has been reduced by a third since last year.
The DNC faces a tough battle in the next year and a half. Nine candidates are in a fierce competition to take on President Bush, who has high approval ratings and is raising much more money than any of his potential challengers.
No layoffs have been made yet.
I don't buy that "imagine it's a Republican instead of a Democrat" business, because if you change the one factor the whole scenario shifts. For one thing, there wouldn't have been black hires in sufficient number for that factor to be calculated.
patio - Seems you are right about no firings yet. What a surprise that--once the race card was played they started backpedalling. Oh well, what is bad for Dems is good for everyone else!
edgar - Your denial proves my point nicely. You assume racial bias among conservatives and think it a non-issue among liberals.
Liberals and blacks, as I mentioned, may have a few spats, but, it's more a question of how to work out details. Conservatives have disefranchised blacks forever. Sure, you could point to the occasional black Republican by way of rebuttal, and you could say, "I am not predjudiced; therefore conservatives are not racists." But you would be using tinker toys in an attempt to erect a skyscraper.
Betcha if you look hard enough, the GOP is also guilty of similar racist boo-boos, but I like edgar's explanation best. c.i.
CI - Of course the more rational view is that this was not a "racial boo-boo" at all; it was simply a decision to cut some staff. Their race ought never to have entered into the argument, and they certainly shouldn't have retained their jobs purely because they were black.
Í have a few minutes before I have to meet someone but I'm gonna draw a cartoon for you Scrat.
BRB
Real quick and really badly done:
LOL... very badly done, but LOL nonetheless.
Yeah, I had to do it, install MSN photo control and upload it. I didn't ahve time to wrestle with drawing lines on a laytop heatpad.
But the toon has a point.
Gotta run.
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