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Rush Limbaugh has his . . . well, here is mine. This is my record of news stories and issues that interest me. You can also find more headlines at the site where I serve as editor: The Common Voice.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Today's BJU Links

Here is some more of the same. It is almost like there is a style book out there that makes the following statement the rule:

"We saw his appeal to racists during the campaign, when he found it politically expedient to visit Bob Jones University, an openly racist institution."

The argument here is not whether BJU is/was racist or not. Regardless of whether that argument is true or not, this statement is still wrong. Why? This columnist states, "We saw his appeal to racists during the campaign." It is here that they bring out the example: His visit to Bob Jones University. In order for this charge to be correct you would have to show that Bush's intention for visiting the school was to "appeal to racists." Now, stop and think about that. Would any conservative politician on the national scene knowingly and intentionally go to an organization that was racist? Liberals, of course, would say, "Yes, and his name is George W. Bush!" However, reasonable people have to question such a conclusion.

Look, I was there. I remember it well. The Bush campaign was coming to BJU because it had been a traditional stop for candidates for 20 years. It is patently false that Bush came to BJU to "appeal to racists." He came to BJU to appeal to conservative Christian voters in South Carolina - and no, my liberal friends, "conservative Christian" does not equal "racist."

Now, as for BJU, I realize it just drives people nuts, but the truth is that outside of the liberal media BJU was and is known for much more than the now defunct interracial dating policy. Based on media coverage, you would think that the school existed exclusively for that rule. The truth is that most people in the national political scene knew BJU more for the high-quality graduates that it has matriculated and who have made a positive impact in politics and government.

Of course, trying to make headway against the oft-repeated lie that Bush was courting the "racist vote" is like trying to sail against hurricane Ivan.

Now for some good news for BJU watchers. This editorial in The Greenville News actually comes out in support of the University's plans along Pleasantburg Drive. I am not up on all the plans - mainly because the serious discussions can't start until the zoning is approved. However, one thing I know for certain is that BJU plans to do all it can to be a good neighbor.

One issue that keeps coming up is runoff and water problems. Unfortunately, there is an existing problem in the neighborhood. Some of the residents have for some time been approaching the County in hopes of finding a solution to their problem. While BJU can design its development to control runoff from the property (and fully plans to do so), that will not fix the existing issues.

Later today, I hope to give a report on the Alhurra visit to BJU last Friday.

1 Comments:

At 9:32 AM, Blogger TK said...

I continue to hold the opinion that much of the Republican's appeal in the South is a lingering tradition of racism, but Jonathan is right that A Thousand Reasons' reasoning is suspect in this particular instance.

Cross-posted at http://timkelly.squarespace.com/cracked/2004/9/14/the-politics-of-racism.html

 

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