David Horowitz is screaming about totalitarians, racists, and radicals again. I know you're thinking "What's new? That guy is obsessed with the Middle East." True enough, but this time it's not the Middle East, it's the Midwest--Missouri, to be exact. Seems he is all in a tizzy because the Missouri Secretary of State's office clarified a ballot initiative concerning affirmative action being put forward by Ward Connerly's questionably named American Civil Right's Institute. Horowitz is claiming political meddling and accusing Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon of deceiving Missouri voters with the clarification. Let's take a look.
The part that is driving DH (and I am sure the good folks over at the similarly funded ACRI) into a lather is the Secretary of State's official language that tells Missouri citizens that if they sign a petition in favor of putting this measure on the ballot (and ultimately if they were to vote for this measure on the ballot) they are voting to ban affirmative action. Specifically, they will be supporting amending the Missouri constitution to "ban affirmative action programs designed to eliminate discrimination against, and improve opportunities for, women and minorities in public contracting, employment and education."
What really gets Horowitz's goat is that the clarification draws the curtain back on Ward Connerly's deceptive charade of selling his initiative as supporting civil rights rather than curbing them. The clarification ensures that Missouri voters are clear on what they are supporting or rejecting. Apparently Horowitz and Connerly would prefer Missouri voters be confused which appears to be a tactic of the campaign. In Connerly's last campaign, there were some serious allegations that his canvassers were deceptively promoting the initiative as one that supported affirmative action rather than banning it. And, of course, if you want to get some sense of what these initiatives are really about, just look at who supports the campaign. Little wonder the Secretary of State's office wanted to make sure the language accurately portrayed what the initiative would really do.
I wonder if we can get the Secretary of State's office to clarify other misleading efforts, such as the so-called "intellectual diversity" bill Rep. Jane Cunningham and others tried to push through the Missouri legislature last year.
Cross posted at
Free Exchange on Campus.