Dole Makes Pitch to Blacks for African American Vote

In perhaps the gutsiest performance in his quest for the presidency, Republican Bob Dole on Friday asked the largest black audience of his campaign--many of them skeptical, some aloof--to consider voting for him. He said he would promote a “new civil rights agenda” that would “guarantee equality of opportunity” for all.

In a speech to the National Assn. of Black Journalists, Dole also vowed to “renew a two-party contest for the hearts and votes of the African American community” and promised a compassionate, inclusive government that would leave no one behind.

“I deeply believe that the Republican Party will never be whole until it earns the broad support of African Americans by speaking to their hopes,” Dole said.

“The things I’m talking about--more jobs, safe streets, strong families, a decent public culture--are not racial ‘wedges.’ They are the mainstream of American hopes.”

But Dole did not pull his punches. He reiterated his firm opposition to affirmative action--an issue he raised very early in his speech.

Instead of quotas, set-asides and other preferences that “preset” outcomes, Dole said, “I believe in outreach to give people the opportunity to compete.”

He said he favors “real” affirmative action--meaning “aggressive, determined and persistent recruitment of minorities and women.”

Dole was politely received by the journalists--members of an occupation known for a reluctance to applaud. When he finished, most in the audience clapped, and some even stood up while doing so.

Dole, who until Friday had no blacks in top campaign jobs, was asked who his black advisors are. Among the African Americans he said he has consulted are Coretta Scott King, widow of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; Thaddeus Garrett Jr., chairman of Howard University; the Rev. Jesse Jackson; Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.); Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) and retired Army Gen. Colin L. Powell.

On Friday, Garrett said he had joined Dole’s campaign as a senior advisor.

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When one questioner wondered if the needy would be denied government protection under the welfare reform legislation enacted by the GOP-dominated Congress and signed this week by President Clinton, Dole said emphatically: “There will always be a safety net in my administration.”

Dole’s appearance before the black journalists was fraught with potential pitfalls.

The African American vote has traditionally gone to Democratic presidential candidates. And Dole long has looked askance at the “liberal” media.

Tensions between the Dole campaign and black organizations heightened this summer after Dole, citing scheduling conflicts, rejected a speaking invitation from the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People--and then accused its president, Kweisi Mfume, a former Democratic congressman from Maryland, of “trying to set me up.”

At that time, Dole also said he fully intended to speak to black audiences that he could “relate to.” Nelson Warfield, Dole’s press secretary, told reporters Friday that Dole had not meant to imply that he regarded the NAACP as a group that he could not relate to.

From the dais on Friday, Dole rued the NAACP incident as a “missed” opportunity, and then he quickly plunged into his prepared remarks.

The joint appearance here of Dole and Jack Kemp, his running mate, also was something of a test of Kemp’s ability to shield Dole from criticism by blacks.

A former New York congressman and housing secretary, Kemp is widely respected by African Americans because he has long championed inner cities and minority businesses and fought against insurance redlining.

Tellingly, even a skeptical questioner acknowledged that Kemp has cultivated the image of “a semi-soul brother.” To which Kemp, half playfully, retorted: “Whaddya mean ‘semi’?”

An ensuing question pertained to Kemp’s abrupt reversal on affirmative action after he joined Dole’s ticket. Kemp had been a firm backer of affirmative action, but at the Republican convention in San Diego he embraced Dole’s opposition to affirmative action.

In response, Kemp in effect acknowledged that he is not the signal caller, but added: “I believe with all my heart that affirmative action is very much needed.” He went on to endorse Dole’s approach to affirmative action through recruitment and outreach.

For his part, Dole took something of a new stand, telling one questioner unequivocally that he does not support a plank in the Republican Party platform calling for a constitutional amendment to deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants. “I would not support that part of the platform,” he said.

Dole struck an extraordinarily personal note when he talked about how his World War II injuries shaped his racial attitudes.

He recalled being in a Michigan hospital bed next to a Japanese American who had lost an arm--Daniel K. Inouye, now a Democratic senator from Hawaii. As Dole told it, Inouye was receiving a blood transfusion marked “black blood” and said: “I don’t care who that blood came from.”

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Then Dole, whose right arm remains crippled despite 39 months of hospitalization and numerous operations, added:

“Likewise, I have no idea who gave the blood that may have saved my life. And it certainly did not matter to me.”

As Dole segued from affirmative action to his tax-cutting, “pro-growth” economic agenda, he also made a plea for national unity.

While some are convinced that division is America’s destiny, Dole said, “we cannot surrender on this point--because our fragile unity is the source of everything good and noble in our nation. Americans have fought for it, and died for it and marched for it. And we must never casually abandon it.”

He added: “There are some problems in America we can only confront together, as one nation and one people.

Dole ended on a conciliatory note, saying, “If you disagree with us, we will part as friends.”