- Washington, D.C. (CNSNews.com) - Civil rights leaders,
union laborers and peace activists joined Rev. Jesse Jackson in Washington,
D.C. Friday as he railed against the Bush administration for wanting to
"rule the world," and former Attorney General Janet Reno for
turning a deaf ear to their concerns.
-
- Jackson said, "Mr. Bush is contemplating a $100
billion adventure into Iraq" and claimed the administration is "stacking"
the Sunday talk shows with "(Vice President Dick) Cheney, (National
Security Advisor Condoleezza) Rice, (Secretary of State Colin) Powell and
(Secretary of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld" to influence public opinion.
-
- Jackson warned that launching a war against Iraq would
"destabilize the Persian Gulf; leave the whole world in danger and
invite more violence here into our own country," and he said any military
effort waged against Iraq would be an attempt by the Bush administration
to "rule the world."
-
- "We must be a leader of the world," Jackson
warned, "not a ruler of the world."
-
- Jackson also accused the Bush administration of silencing
the voices of civil rights leaders from both the Justice Department and
the White House. "Hard-earned civil rights, workers rights, women's'
rights, [and] labor rights have been pushed to the back burner," Jackson
claimed.
-
- President Bush's across-the-board tax cut also came under
attack by Jackson, who argued it resulted in the squandering of a "trillion
and a half dollar" Clinton-era surplus, and the creation of a "$200
billion deficit."
-
- He proceeded to blame Bush for the "boundless corporate
greed and tax evasion" that has occurred at Enron, Global Crossing
and Arthur Anderson corporations, as well as the collapse of the stock
market.
-
- Jackson said he found it "ironic," that in
the aftermath of yet another fouled Florida election, Reno had finally
come to the realization that voters' rights needed to be protected.
-
- "When she had the power, she would not protect our
votes," Jackson said. "Now, she needs the power with our votes."
Reno lost a narrow race for Florida's Democratic gubernatorial nomination
Tuesday, but has yet to concede.
-
- Jackson told those attending the 'March for Justice'
that he invited the former attorney general to Florida after it became
evident that voting rights violations occurred during the 2000 presidential
election.
-
- But Jackson said Reno and the Department of Justice (DOJ)
were "absent and quiet and silent" upon being alerted to those
violations which clearly fell under federal jurisdiction. He said the DOJ's
response to him was: "We'll handle it after the fact."
-
- "When she was attorney general, she could have protected
those rights," Jackson said.
-
- Today, Jackson said, the Bush administration and Attorney
General John Ashcroft choose to ignore the issues raised by unions and
civil rights leaders, including himself. He specifically faulted Bush's
affluence for placing him out of touch with the working class.
-
- "George Bush II, born into privilege, doesn't know
what it really means to work a job like you do, to raise a family like
you do," Jackson said. "We say that America is for Americans,
it's for the working families."
|
