A New Tack on Affirmative Action : Gingrich rightly warns against using the issue to divide Americans

Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is breaking ranks with many in his party who seek to dismantle affirmative action. The Speakers of the House, mindful of the divisive potential of the issue, instead is pursuing a more thoughtful course that focuses on how to change affirmative action while continuing to protect civil rights. He deserves credit for his reasoned approach and his new understanding.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), once a staunch supporter of affirmative action, continues to press legislation that would end all consideration of race or gender in awarding federal contracts. The current law, contrary to popular perception, already outlaws quotas except in rare cases in which the courts have mandated one specifically to remedy proven discrimination.

Gingrich was expected to take a route in the House similar to Dole’s in the Senate, but he now says he will not. He explained why on the Monday telecast of NBC’s “Today” show. He spoke of what he had learned about this controversial subject in the last six months. Gingrich now acknowledges “ . . . the legitimate fear of African Americans who look back only 30 years ago to segregation, to state police who were beating people like John Lewis [then a young civil rights leader, now a Democratic House member from Georgia], and you can sense the legitimate, genuine fear we could slide back into that kind of environment.”

Gingrich framed his argument only in terms of blacks; he should remember, however, that white women have been the biggest beneficiaries of federal affirmative action policies.

Gingrich remains opposed to racial quotas and set-asides. But he just as strongly insists that “Republicans have an obligation to reach out much more emphatically and more strongly to the black community and find ways to communicate that we will in fact be protecting civil rights, that we’re not going to block-grant civil rights and the federal government is going to stand firmly committed against discrimination.”

It seems that fewer and fewer politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, acknowledge those legitimate concerns, or the need for continued federal vigilance against gender and racial discrimination; current statistics show that women and minorities continue to lag in hiring and especially in promotions.

The Speaker certainly is no fan of affirmative action. What’s important is his recognition that the federal government has an obligation to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans. That cannot be done by stripping away affirmative action and replacing it with nothing but good intentions.