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Affirmative Action Debate

In the 1996 presidential election, the focus of racial politics will be the elimination of affirmative action. Both conservative Republicans and Democrats are calling for an end to government quotas and preferential treatment based on race, gender, and national origin. The death of affirmative action could spell disaster for minorities and women, who could not count on the merit system in the past and will not be able to do so in the future.

Race has been a key issue in the majority of presidential campaigns since 1968 (Berman, 1994, p. 153). A quarter of a century ago, racial politics focused on busing. In 1988, the primary issue was crime. Civil rights, anti-discrimination, and welfare reform have all, at one time or another, been the focus of racial debate. Affirmative action, initiated during the administration of President John Kennedy, has been embroiled in controversy since its inception. During the 1980 presidential campaign, Republicans successfully employed affirmative action to mobilize whites: "The intense hostility that many white voters felt for affirmative action programs, coupled with their desire to reduce spending on welfare and public housing, [gave] conservative Republicans an opportunity to employ wedge tactics for the purpose of splitting the largely class-based Democratic coalition along racial lines" (Berman, 1994, p. 79).

In 1995, Republicans are again using wedge tactics to split Democrats on the issue of affirmative action. California Governor, and presidential hopeful, Pete Wilson's campaign platform includes support of the California Civil Rights

Initiative, which abolishes all forms of affirmative action preferential policies in state hiring, contracting, or education. Phil Gramm and Pat Buchanan, also presidential contenders, have likewise come out forcibly against affirmative action. Even Senate majority leader Bob Dole, who boasts an impressive civil rights record, supports banning...

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Affirmative Action Debate. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 03:38, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1681214.html