Topics in the News: Affirmative Action
Joe Biden on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Aug 20, 2020)
Newly empowered labor unions; equal pay for women
With child care and elder care that make it possible for parents to go to work and for the elderly to stay in their homes with dignity. With an immigration system that powers our economy and reflects our values. With newly empowered labor unions.
With equal pay for women. With rising wages you can raise a family on. Yes, we're going to do more than praise our essential workers. We're finally going to pay them.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Acceptance speech at 2020 Democratic National Convention
Mike Bloomberg on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Jan 20, 2020)
Set labor rules to end the gender pay gap
Mike's plan will ensure American women receive equal pay for equal work, ending the pay gaps that exist in the vast majority of industries and across all educational backgrounds.
Mike will set rules for employers to ban the use of an employee's salary history to set wages and prohibit the retaliation against workers who discuss wages with one another.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com
Kamala Harris on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Nov 19, 2019)
Require "equal pay certification" for government contracts
Harris is vowing to "flip the script and finally hold corporations accountable for pay inequality in America." To narrow gender pay disparities, she says she wants to leverage the power of the public purse by
requiring corporations to obtain an "equal pay certification" before they can gain lucrative government contracts.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Kamala Harris on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Jul 31, 2019)
Time for action: enforce equal pay for equal work
Since 1963, when we passed the Equal Pay Act, we have been talking about the fact women are not paid equally for equal work. I'm done with the conversation. I am proposing to require corporations to post on their website whether they
are paying women equally for equal work. They will be fined for every 1% differential between what they're paying men and women, they will be fined 1% of their previous year's profit. That will get everybody's attention. Time for action.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Julian Castro on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Jun 26, 2019)
Pass ERA to ensure equal rights & equal pay for women
Q: What would you do to ensure that women are paid fairly in this country?A: I would do several things, starting with something we should have done a long time ago, which is to pass the Equal Rights Amendment finally in this country.
And also pursue legislation so that women are paid equal pay for equal work in this country. It's past time that we did that. If we want to be the most prosperous nation in the 21st century, we need to make sure that women are paid what they deserve.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
Howie Hawkins on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights May 19, 2019)
Reparations for African-Americans slavery
Ending racial oppression requires both race-specific remedies and universal economic rights that are guaranteed by government in a race-conscious way. We must strengthen and enforce antidiscrimination laws in the political, employment,
education, housing, immigration, and criminal justice systems. We must take affirmative action to reverse the growing race and class resegregation of housing and schools.
We must enact HR 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act, to consider appropriate remedies for the impact of slavery and subsequent racial discrimination on living African Americans.
We must empower racially oppressed communities to practice self-determination through collective community ownership and control of public housing, schools, police, and businesses.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website HowieHawkins.us
Kamala Harris on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Apr 22, 2019)
Women's issues are really about everyone
We need to pass the ERA, the Equal Rights Amendment. Women are paid on average 77 percent to the dollar. And then if you look at African American women and Latinas, even less, for doing the same work. We should reject the conversation
that women's issues are just for women to be concerned about, when the reality is that when you lift up the economic status of women, you lift up the economic status of families and communities and all of society.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back
Amy Klobuchar on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Apr 22, 2019)
Enact laws to assure equal pay & equal opportunity
Pass the Equal Pay Act. That would be a very good thing. We already passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act. That was something that we were really proud of that made it easier for women to contest these kinds of cases when they're in the work place.
I think also making it easier for women to get the kind of jobs they should. I would love to pass the ERA right. Get that cemented into law across the country and then make sure we have role models across the country.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back
Bernie Sanders on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Apr 5, 2019)
Equal pay for equal work: anything else unacceptable
The Vermont Senator spoke about the "horrific" level of income and wealth disparity, focusing on how it relates to the African American community. "That is unacceptable," he said of the pay gap between black women and men
to an applauding audience. "Equal pay for equal work, whether you're black or white, male or female, equal pay for equal work."
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: ABC News excerpts from National Action Network Convention
Andrew Yang on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Apr 2, 2019)
Fight for equal pay for women, and women of color
The tech entrepreneur is running a very long-shot campaign full of policy ideas, and one of them is that he wants to fight for equal pay, according to his campaign website.
Yang notes that women make less than men, and that women of color make lower still--something that he would solve by working with states to implement salary disclosure laws,
requiring federal contractors to pay employees equally and launching new studies around pay equity in the federal workforce.
One of Yang's signature policy ideas is that he wants to create a universal basic income of $1,000 per month for all Americans, which he says would give women more economic independence.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: Abigail Abrams in Time magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Jay Inslee on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Mar 1, 2019)
Increase minimum wage; ensure gender pay equity
Inslee supports increasing the minimum wage, which is currently $12 in Washington state and will rise to $13.50 in 2020. Inslee signed into law a guaranteed paid family leave plan in 2017,
granting eligible parents 12 weeks paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or for a serious medical condition. He also signed an Equal Pay Opportunity Act that requires employees receive equal pay and work opportunities regardless of gender.
Inslee opposes the Trump administration's trade policies. He has said that "any punitive tariffs to the Asian markets are felt deeply" in the state of Washington.
Inslee believes in a positive working relationship with trade partners and open access to foreign trade markets.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Affirmative Action:
(Education Aug 30, 2018)
Skeptical of use of affirmative action in college admissions
[In a case against Harvard University's affirmative action policy, a Justice Department] brief urged that courts should [reduce] consideration of race in admissions. Harvard has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said the lawsuit is part of an ideological
campaign to overturn Supreme Court rulings that allow affirmative action.The action demonstrated anew the administration's deep skepticism of affirmative action in education. Under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department had made legal
arguments in support of how colleges use race in admissions.
The Justice Department concluded: that Harvard has failed to explain exactly how it weighs race against other factors in an application; that Harvard uses a "personal rating" that may be
biased against Asian Americans; and that "substantial evidence" indicates admissions officers monitor and manipulate the racial makeup of incoming classes, despite court rulings that have found "racial balancing" unconstitutional.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Chicago Tribune on 2018 Trump Administration
Arvin Vohra on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Mar 30, 2018)
Eliminate all affirmative action laws & racial quotas
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Legally require hiring more women/minorities"?A: Strongly oppose. If elected, I will sponsor legislation to eliminate all Affirmative Action laws, racial quotas, gender preference requirements, etc.
I will also sponsor legislation to repeal any restrictions on business decisions to refuse service or fire employees.
Any business has the natural right to refuse service to anyone for any reason, or fire anyone for any reason. Business owners are free individuals, not government servants.
If elected, I will sponsor legislation to repeal any law that forces a business to provide service to or not fire anyone.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Maryland Senate candidate
Gavin Newsom on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Nov 17, 2017)
Supports affirmative action
Newsom's spokesman stressed that the lieutenant governor believes in affirmative action policies to expand opportunity and ensure public institutions reflect the state's diversity.
As San Francisco mayor, Newsom joined with then-Supervisor Tom Ammiano on legislation to protect affirmative action for city contracts after a judge in 2004 ruled the city's policy was illegal.
Click for Gavin Newsom on other issues.
Source: The Sacramento Bee on 2018 California gubernatorial race
Steve Bullock on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Oct 11, 2017)
Guarantee equal pay for women
Bullock is understandably queasy about being labeled a capital-P Progressive. He walked the line during his 2016 reelection campaign: Although one of his campaign ads, narrated by his daughter, was about the need to guarantee equal pay for
women, a liberal priority that many conservatives oppose and which is rarely a top-line campaign topic for Democrats in tight races, he also ran ads calling himself a fiscal conservative while slamming his wealthy opponent's proposed sales tax.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: Politico.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jay Inslee on Affirmative Action:
(Immigration Jan 11, 2017)
Stand up proudly for DREAMers
We will not turn our back on the progress we have made. - Our commitment to equal rights and human dignity will not be diminished.
- Washington will remain a place where no one can be discriminated against because of the color of their skin,
their country of origin, how they worship or who they love.
- Washington will remain a place where women have access to the full range of health care and family planning services they need, a place where we continue to fight for equal pay and equal
opportunity.
- Washington will stand up proudly for DREAMers and for those who come here in search of safety and refuge. We will stand strong against anyone who would rob hardworking young Washingtonians of the promise of a college degree or a chance
at a decent job.
- Washington's businesses and government will remain leaders and innovators in combating the devastating threats from carbon pollution, the scourge of climate change and ocean acidification.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Washington Legislature
Kirsten Gillibrand on Affirmative Action:
(Families & Children Jul 25, 2016)
Family leave & equal pay strengthens America
Families today look almost nothing like they did a generation ago. Yet our policies are stuck in the Mad Men era. We are the only industrialized nation that doesn't guarantee workers paid family leave. Most parents work outside the home, yet
childcare can cost as much as college tuition. Families rely on women's income, but we still don't have equal pay for equal work. This makes no sense, because we know that when families are strong, America is strong.
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: Speech at 2016 Democratic National Convention
Steve Bullock on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Mar 11, 2016)
Address persistent wage gap between men and women
Gov. Steve Bullock will convene another summit focused on a persistent wage gap between men and women that, he says, ranks Montana 39th in the nation in pay equity. Bullock visited with his Equal Pay for Equal Work Task Force that he formed shortly
after taking office three years ago. He urged the task force to continue the task of reducing the wage gap.With the economy a focal point of the governor's race, Bullock is attempting to position himself as an advocate of the working class.
Bullock wants to see wages rise--particularly among women who aren't being paid fairly. He said Montana women make about 67 cents for every dollar made by men. And he noted the slow pace in which women are catching up to men in salaries. "At
this rate, the gap won't close until the year 2080. That's unacceptable," he told the group. "I'd match our Montana work ethic up against any other state in the nation, and 39th in the country in pay equity is flat out not OK."
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: The Missoulian on 2016 Montana Gubernatorial race
Hillary Clinton on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Mar 9, 2016)
Help Latinos with more jobs and higher incomes
The fastest-growing segment of small businesses are minority and women-owned small business, and we need to help businesses get started. We need to raise the minimum wage and we have to guarantee equal pay for women.
Everything I just said will improve the living conditions, and I've spent a lot of time and effort talking to and mostly listening to Latinos. Jobs are the number one issue, with rising incomes.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2016 PBS Democratic primary debate in Miami
Hillary Clinton on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Feb 11, 2016)
Will fight for minorities, immigrants, & women's rights
I want to tackle those barriers that stand in the way of too many. African-Americans who face discrimination in the job market, education, housing, and the criminal justice system.
Hardworking immigrant families living in fear, who should be brought out of the shadows so they and their children can have a better future. Guaranteeing that women's work finally gets the pay, the equal pay that we deserve.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2016 PBS Democratic debate in Wisconsin
Donald Trump on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Oct 18, 2015)
I'm "fine" with affirmative action, for now
Q: You said that you're "fine" with affirmative action. What about those who say the time for that kind of preferential treatment has come and gone?TRUMP: I'm fine with it, but we have it, it's there. But it's coming to a time when maybe we don't need
it. That would be a wonderful thing. I don't think we need it so much anymore. It has served its place, and it served its time. Some people have loved it and some people don't like it at all. But I think there will be a time when you don't need it.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Hillary Clinton on Affirmative Action:
(Families & Children Oct 13, 2015)
US needs paid family leave, to join rest of the world
CLINTON: I want to do more to help us balance family and work. I believe in equal pay for equal work for women, but I also believe it's about time we had paid family leave for American families and join the rest of the world.SANDERS:
[If I'm elected], we are going to have medical and family paid leave, like every other country on Earth.
O'MALLEY: In our state, we actually expanded family leave. We would be a stronger nation economically if we had paid family leave.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Ted Cruz on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Jun 30, 2015)
Adopt economic affirmative action instead of race-based
The debate team at Princeton [which Ted joined as a student there] is part of the America Whig-Cliosophic Society, dating back to 1765. I ended up chairing the Clios. In one of my last debates leading the Clios,
I argued the position that "Princeton should end affirmative action."We argued that, rather than discriminating based on race, Princeton should instead adopt economic affirmative action, targeting low-income prospective students.
That policy would accomplish similar ends, but would be far more fair.
It was striking to have that position advocated by a Hispanic man, and apparently we were persuasive: when the roughly 100 students who attended the debate voted at the end, our side prevailed by a substantial margin.
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: A Time for Truth, by Ted Cruz, p. 60-1
Ted Cruz on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Jun 30, 2015)
Insidious affirmative action: we can't make it on merit?
[While I was at Harvard], a group of conservatives on the Law Review challenged the affirmative action policy. One student editor debated, "If we abolish affirmative action, the Harvard Law Review will be nothing but rich white men."This was said
with total sincerity, and it is sadly a view shared by many well-meaning liberals. But it also proved in a single sentence what was wrong with affirmative action.
"You know what," I began, "that last comment perfectly embodies how insidious
affirmative action is." The comment implied that not a single person who was not an Anglo white male deserved to be there. That we couldn't make it on merit that we couldn't rise to the top without the help of our betters.
I observed that the law
review did not have affirmative action for women; the affirmative action policy was purely on race. And yet this supercilious liberal had suggested that no women would make the law review if selections were based purely on merit. What nonsense.
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: A Time for Truth, by Ted Cruz, p. 77-8
Ted Cruz on Affirmative Action:
(Education Apr 29, 2015)
Supports ending racial preferences for college admissions
- June 2013.Affirmative action: "Today, by a 7-1 vote, the Supreme Court vacated the lower court ruling [in Fisher v. University of Texas] upholding the University of Texas's use of racial preferences in admissions.
Discriminating because of race is wrong, and this was a victory for our color-blind Constitution. In recent years, universities have made major strides to expand admissions for minorities and low-income students, working hard for the American dream.
Universities should continue to do so, expanding opportunity for everyone--but that can be accomplished without discriminating on the basis of race."
- Sept. 2012.Financial aid: "Student aid is critically important. In my life,
education opened doors for my parents and for me that never would've been opened. We should take the funding, give it to the states, and put the states in the position to make the decisions how to have the greatest impact in their communities."
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: Fordham Institute EduWatch 2016 by Brandon White
Bernie Sanders on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Mar 21, 2015)
Equal pay for equal work by women
Women workers today earn 78 percent of what their male counterparts make.
We need pay equity in our country--equal pay for equal work.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, BernieSanders.com
Hillary Clinton on Affirmative Action:
(Crime Jan 1, 2015)
Where do Bill and Hillary disagree on social issues?
| Where Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton agree on Social / domestic issues |
|---|
- Both pro-death penalty
- Both strongly pro-choice
- Both strongly pro-affirmative action
- Both strongly
pro-ObamaCare
- Both strongly pro-environment
- Both strongly pro-gun control
- Both strongly pro-voting rights
|
| Where they disagree: | Bill Clinton | Hillary Clinton |
|---|
| Three Strikes: |
Tough on crime | Limit mandatory sentencing |
|---|
| Gay marriage: | Supports some gay rights | Strongly supports |
|---|
| School prayer: | No official school prayer | No religious instruction |
|---|
| School choice : | Supports charters for all | No private nor parochial choice |
|---|
| Legalize marijuana : | Keep war on drugs | Open to legalization |
|---|
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Analysis: Bill Clinton vs. Hillary Clinton on the Issues
Hillary Clinton on Affirmative Action:
(Abortion Dec 10, 2014)
Issues where Jeb Bush disagrees with Hillary
Where do Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton disagree on the issues? They do agree on some things, but they disagree on the core Democrat-versus-Republican list: | Issue | Jeb | Hillary |
|---|
| Abortion |
Pro-life | Pro-choice |
|---|
| Affirmative action | Opposes quotas | Supports equal pay |
|---|
| Gay marriage | Opposes | Previously opposed; now supports |
|---|
| School vouchers |
Supports along with Common Core | Opposes but charters ok |
|---|
| ObamaCare | Repeal | Expand |
|---|
| Death penalty | Supports |
Opposes |
|---|
| Second Amendment rights | Supports concealed carry | Ban assault weapons |
|---|
| Campaign finance reform | No limits but full disclosure | Ban soft money |
|---|
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Jeb vs. Hillary On The Issues, by Jesse Gordon, pp. 227-8
Seth Moulton on Affirmative Action:
(Abortion Sep 1, 2014)
Staunch defender of women's right to decisions on health
I believe fundamentally in a woman's right to make her own health care decisions, and I do not believe the government should come between a woman and her doctor.
I will be a staunch defender of equality not just on this issue, but also on the issues of equal pay and maternity leave.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: 2014 House campaign website, SethMoulton.com
Seth Moulton on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Sep 1, 2014)
Time for women to earn same wages as men for same work
I will be a staunch defender of equality on the issues of equal pay and maternity leave. It's 2014: it's time for women to earn the same wages as men for the same work, and it's time to join the rest of the developed world in guaranteeing paid maternity
leave. I'm proud that my great aunt, Sheila Krikorian, fought to make the "Krikorian rule" part of American corporate law when she bravely stood up over twenty years ago for not getting paid the same as men for the same work.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: 2014 House campaign website, SethMoulton.com
Elizabeth Warren on Affirmative Action:
(Welfare & Poverty May 11, 2014)
Nobody should work full-time and still live in poverty
Q: Are the Republicans going to take back the senate?SEN. WARREN: Take a look at the House if you want to see what happens when Republicans take over. What are they on now, is this their fiftieth vote to repeal Obamacare? That's not how you run a
country. We have real issues we need to deal with. Minimum wage, student loan debt, equal pay for equal work, a little accountability for the big financial institutions.
Q: Your fans say you're a populist, but your critics say you're just basically a
socialist.
WARREN: I just don't know where they get that. You know, look at the issues. Minimum wage? I just believe nobody should work full time and live in poverty. And you know what? Most of America agrees. Student loans, I don't think the U.S.
government should be making tens of billions of dollars in profits off the backs of our students, which is what the current student loan system is doing. And I think most Americans agree with me on that.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Face the Nation 2014 interview: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Eric Swalwell on Affirmative Action:
(Abortion Nov 6, 2012)
Full access to contraception & reproductive health services
I am 100% pro-choice and support the right of women to have full access to contraception and reproductive health services.
I also support passage of the Violence Against Women Act and I support equal pay for equal work.
Click for Eric Swalwell on other issues.
Source: 2012 House campaign website, swalwellforcongress.com
Elizabeth Warren on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Oct 11, 2012)
We need a reliable vote for equal pay for equal work
As in their previous two debates, Warren cast Brown as an unreliable vote on women's issues, though she did so more crisply than before. In a direct appeal to women, she said that when Brown had the chance to vote for equal pay for equal work, he voted
no; when he had the chance to vote for employers and insurers to pay for coverage for contraception, he voted no; when he had the chance to vote for a Supreme Court justice who supported abortion rights, he voted no. "The women of
Massachusetts need a senator they can count on--not some of the time but all of the time," she said. Whether abortion remains legal, she said, "may hang in the balance." Brown shot back that "I didn't vote for your boss," a reference to
Justice Elena Kagan, who was dean of the Harvard Law School. He said Kagan didn't have the requisite judicial experience.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2012 Mass. Senate debates
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Oct 18, 2011)
I benefited from affirmative action in my academic career
The Ivy League preselects America's leaders. Michelle and Barack Obama are where they are because, in getting into Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard Law, and onto law review, they benefited from affirmative action.
Barack Obama himself conceded the point in 1990 when, as president of Harvard Law Review, he wrote in defense of its affirmative action policy:
"As someone who has undoubtedly benefited from affirmative action programs during my academic career, and as someone who may have benefited from the Law Review's affirmative action policy when
I was selected to join the Review last year, I have not personally felt stigmatized."
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Suicide of a Superpower, by Pat Buchanan, p.258
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Aug 27, 2008)
Keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work
Now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Speech at 2008 Democratic National Convention
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Aug 25, 2008)
OpEd: Not the seed of civil rights, but the flower
Despite his own background, Obama paradoxically is a post-racial figure in a society weary of racial division. Both for younger, more tolerant Americans who are electrified by his promise, and for an older generation of more conservative whites skeptical
of racial preferences, Obama shines out as the opposite of affirmative action--a biracial African American who, against all odds, succeeded based on sheer merit. After a generation of blacks helped up the ladder by affirmative action,
Obama is not a black man who got his preset position thanks to the need for racial symbolism, such as, say, Clarence Thomas. He rather evoked Jackie Robinson--one whose talent was so exceptional that he could not be denied.
He is what Americans of goodwill dreamed could occur once we put racism behind us; as Leon Wieseltier memorably put it, not the seed of civil rights but the flower.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama`s Challenge, by Robert Kuttner, p. 17
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Jobs Jul 1, 2008)
Supports Fair Pay Act: equal pay for equal work
Obama's proposals on combating employment discrimination include: working to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. Obama will also pass the
Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. Obama will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies, and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obamanomics, by John R. Talbott, p. 66
Mike Gravel on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Apr 22, 2008)
Discontinue public college & government affirmative action
Q: Should the federal government consider race and gender in government contracting decisions? A: No.
Q: Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
A: No.
Q: Should the federal government continue affirmative action programs?
A: No.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: Presidential Election 2008 Political Courage Test
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Apr 16, 2008)
Apply affirmative action to poor white college applicants
Q: You said about affirmative action that affluent African Americans like your daughters should probably be treated as advantaged when they apply to college, and that poor white children should get special consideration.A: The basic principle that
should guide discussions not just on affirmative action but how we are admitting young people to college generally is, how do we make sure that we’re providing ladders of opportunity for people? Race is still a factor in our society. And I think that
for universities to say, “we’re going to take into account the hardships that somebody has experienced because they’re black or Latino or women...”
Q: Even if they’re wealthy?
A: I think that’s something that they can take into account, but it can
only be in the context of looking at the whole situation of the young person. So I still believe in affirmative action as a means of overcoming both historic and potentially current discrimination, but I think that it can’t be a quota system.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Philadelphia primary debate, on eve of PA primary
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Feb 2, 2008)
Fight job discrimination to give women equal footing at jobs
AT A GLANCE- Pay Equity: Obama will better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give women equal footing in the workplace.
THE PROBLEM-
Discrimination on the Job: For every $1.00 earned by a man, the average woman receives only 77 cents. A recent study estimates it will take another 47 years for women to close the wage gap with men.
OBAMA’S PLAN-
Fight for Pay Equity: Obama believes the government needs to take steps to better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give women equal footing in the workplace.
- Expand
Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50% credit for their child care expenses.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 35-36
Hillary Clinton on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Jan 21, 2008)
Equal pay is not yet equal
Equal pay is not yet equal. A woman makes $0.77 on a dollar & women of color make $0.67. We feel so passionately about this because we not only are running for office, but we each, in our own way, have lived it. We have seen it. We have understood the
pain and the injustice that has come because of race, because of gender. It’s imperative that we make it very clear that each of us will address these issues. You don’t hear the Republicans talking about any of this. You don’t hear them talking about the
disgrace of a criminal justice system that incarcerates so many more African-Americans proportionately than whites, and any kind of effort to help Historically Black Colleges and Universities, something that I’m committed to doing to make it clear that
these are important institutions that have led the way for so many great leaders to be where they are today. So we have a specific set of policies and priorities that are really part of who we are, as well as part of what the Democratic Party stands for.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Dec 4, 2007)
Benefited from affirmative action but overcame via merit
As a black, Obama must display enough natural talent to be immune to the stigma of affirmative action--the perception that he is a mediocrity lifted up by lowered standards.Still, he has clearly benefited from affirmative action. American universities
impose this policy on black students with such totalitarian resolve that even blacks who don’t need the lowered standards come away stigmatized by them.
What began to separate Obama from this stigma was his editorship of the Harvard Law Review.
Here was something that required genuine merit. Here was a position he had to gain through competition rather than through the suspension of competition. Obama’s fame began precisely with this achievement because it distinguished him from the general run
of black students who carried the stigma of having been pulled forward by lowered standards. He was special because he was clearly more than an “affirmative action baby,” someone who could succeed without the ministrations of white guilt.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: A Bound Man, by Shelby Steele, p. 13-14
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Oct 30, 2007)
Include class-based affirmative action with race-based
Obama declared his daughters “should probably be treated by any admissions officer as folks who are pretty advantaged. I think that we should take into account white kids who have been disadvantaged and have grown up in poverty and shown themselves to
have what it takes to succeed.”But Obama is not race blind, and neither is his ideal of affirmative action, which would combine both race-based and class-based preferences. He said, “I don’t think those concepts are mutually exclusive.
I think what one can say is that in our society race and class still intersect, and there are a lot of African American kids who are struggling, that even those who are in the middle class may be first generation as opposed to
fifth or sixth generation college attendees, and that we all have an interest in bringing as many people together to help build this country.“
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p. 65-66
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Aug 26, 2007)
Better enforce women’s pay equity via Equal Pay Act
Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar men make. Obama believes the government needs to better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give
women equal footing in the workplace. Women are majority owners of more than 28% of US businesses, but head less than 4% of venture-capital-backed firms. Obama encourages investing in women-owned businesses, and reducing discrimination in lending.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, BarackObama.com “Flyers”
Joe Biden on Affirmative Action:
(Abortion Apr 29, 2007)
No public funding for abortion; it imposes a view
Q: Are you still opposed to public funding for abortion?A: I still am opposed to public funding for abortion.
It goes to the question of whether or not you’re going to impose a view to support something that is not a guaranteed right but an affirmative action to promote.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series
Howie Hawkins on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Oct 29, 2006)
Continue affirmative action programs
Indicate which principles you support regarding affirmative action. - The federal government should consider race and gender in government contracting decisions.
- The federal government should continue affirmative action programs.
-
Hawkins adds, “Expand the funding for the EEOC so there is the staff to deal with discrimination cases in a timely fashion”
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: 2006 Congressional National Political Awareness Test
Bill Weld on Affirmative Action:
(Environment Aug 25, 2005)
OpEd: Supports expansive environmental regulations
Bill Weld truly mixes fiscal conservatism with social liberalism. Does the strange combination of thorough economic conservatism and social liberalism make Weld a libertarian?
Not unless libertarians also support expansive environmental regulations, gun control, and affirmative action.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: W. James Antle III in Spectator Magazine
Bill Weld on Affirmative Action:
(Gun Control Aug 25, 2005)
Supports gun control
Does the strange combination of thorough economic conservatism and social liberalism make Weld a libertarian?
Not unless libertarians also support expansive environmental regulations, gun control, and affirmative action.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: W. James Antle III in Spectator Magazine
Ken Salazar on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Feb 23, 2003)
Wrote brief defending U.Michigan affirmative action case
Salazar announced that Colorado had joined 20 other states in filing an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court in support of the University of Michigan affirmative action policy. Salazar, a graduate of Michigan law school himself, personally announced
the decision.“Diversity in our student population doesn’t happen because we wish it so. Achieving diversity requires good faith, affirmative, constitutionally sound steps,” Salazar said. “Our analysis, and that of many, many others, is that the Univer
of Michigan’s admissions processes meet that test.“
Colorado, like many states, practices race-conscious admissions without using fixed racial quotas. Salazar said he spoke with former President Gerald Ford, a Colorado resident and Michigan graduate
who shares his view.
In supporting the Michigan progam, he is backing Colorado’s long-standing affirmative action programs and taking a stand directly opposed by Republican Governor Bill Owens
Click for Ken Salazar on other issues.
Source: Political State Report
Joe Biden on Affirmative Action:
(Government Reform Feb 11, 2003)
Disallowed bringing pornography issues into Thomas hearing
The 1991 campaign against Clarence Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court was far more personal and extreme than the campaign against Robert Bork had been. Members of the civil rights establishment set the tone by calling Thomas a variety of despicable
names because he disagreed with the prevailing wisdom about affirmative action. Then the feminists had their moment with the belated appearance of Anita Hill, who accused Thomas of offensive ribaldry when he was boss at the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission; she was questioned intensely and skeptically by Alan Simpson and several other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. A delegation of feminists visited Joseph Biden, just as Ralph Nader had done four years earlier. "They wanted the
committee to expose the fact that Thomas watched pornographic films," Biden recalled. "But I told them that if he did, it wasn't material. It was private." (The media were happy to provide all the relevant details to a soap opera-loving public.)
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Natural, by Joe Klein, p.104
Mark Sanford on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Nov 1, 2002)
Affirmative action in state contracts, but not colleges
Q: Affirmative Action: Should race, ethnicity, or gender be taken into account in state agencies’ decisions on: Q: College and university admissions
A: No.
Q: Public employment
A: Yes.
Q: State contracting
A: Yes.
Click for Mark Sanford on other issues.
Source: 2002 S.C. Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test
Hillary Clinton on Affirmative Action:
(Welfare & Poverty Jan 1, 2000)
Working should mean no poverty
No one who takes the responsibility to work hard every day should have to raise their family in poverty, Hillary says. That’s why she supports raising the minimum wage, and equal pay for equal work. She
worked with former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin to increase microcredit programs, which make investment capital available to small businesses.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: www.hillary2000.org “About Hillary”
John Kasich on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights May 17, 1999)
Affirmative action OK via recruitment; not via quotas
Affirmative action is a positive concept when it means we recruit from all segments of our society, and give all Americans the equal opportunity to compete. It is positive when it means recruiting from Howard University as well as Harvard University.
Affirmative action has a negative effect on our society when it means counting us like so many beans and dividing us into separate piles. The effect of which is to raise questions in people’s minds about the merits of individuals in quality jobs.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Columbus (OH) Urban League Speech, May 17, 1999
Barack Obama on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Jul 2, 1998)
Supports affirmative action in colleges and government
Indicate the principles you support concerning affirmative action. Should state government agencies take race and sex into account in the following sectors? -
Q: College and university admissions? A: Yes
- Q: Public employment A: Yes
- Q: State contracting? A: Yes.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 1998 IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test
Deval Patrick on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Jan 10, 1997)
Crafted “mend it, don’t end it” for affirmative action
Q: You’re credited with crafting the administration’s “mend it, don’t end it” approach to affirmative action. What needed to be mended? A: As in any program with good intentions, particular means of using affirmative action principles are subverted,
and are not functioning very well. And so we ended [such] programs. But we do believe that affirmative action can be done a right way; that on the whole it has been done the right way.
Q: You said that you think it’s still necessary.
I assume that’s because we don’t have a colorblind society.
A: I think it is a complete ruse to suggest that declaring ourselves colorblind in law is going to cause us to be colorblind in fact. I think that there will come a day as long as we
remind ourselves of fundamental American values, of equality, opportunity and fair play, when we will set aside the kind of negative attention that the differences in this country sometimes--sometimes bring. But we are not there yet.
Click for Deval Patrick on other issues.
Source: Elizabeth Farnsworth interview on PBS Newshour
Bill Weld on Affirmative Action:
(Abortion Sep 13, 1996)
Pro-choice despite the Republican pro-life party platform
Neither Kerry nor Weld toes the partisan line. "In 1995, when every governor in the country was running away from affirmative action, Weld reaffirmed his commitment," said Kennedy School Lecturer in Public Policy Martin S. Linsky.
Weld also parts with many Republicans over abortion, drawing national media attention during the Republican National Convention for his pro-choice statements, in opposition to the party's platform.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: Harvard Crimson on Kerry/Weld debates
Bill Weld on Affirmative Action:
(Civil Rights Sep 13, 1996)
1995: reaffirmed commitment to affirmative action
Neither Kerry nor Weld toes the partisan line. "In 1995, when every governor in the country was running away from affirmative action, Weld reaffirmed his commitment," said Kennedy School Lecturer in Public Policy Martin S. Linsky.
Weld also parts with many Republicans over abortion, drawing national media attention during the Republican National Convention for his pro-choice statements, in opposition to the party's platform.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: Harvard Crimson on Kerry/Weld debates
Page last updated: Feb 28, 2022
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