Moving Right On! Fairness, Family, and Faith
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TheA PUBLICATION OF POLITICAL RESEARCH PublicEye ASSOCIATES SUMMER 2002 • Volume XVI, No. 2 Moving Right On! Fairness, Family, and Faith Colorblind: White- counsel, interns, high-flying pro bono he was meticulous about finding a lawyer to lawyers, a number of publications, and a size- argue the case, recruiting [now Solicitor- washing America able and growing budget. General] Theodore Olson, a pricey Wash- CIR is one of a number of conservative ington lawyer known for winning before the By Nikhil Aziz right-wing legal advocacy organizations Supreme Court.”9 For CIR, winning the war “CIR’s civil rights litigation is based on the prin- founded to bring legal cases in support of was more important than winning a battle. ciple of strict state neutrality: the state must not rightist campaigns. It has been very successful The strategic nature of CIR’s modus advantage some or disadvantage others because in replicating liberal public interest law operandi has also been noted by lawyer of their race. firms such as the American Civil Liberties Idris Diaz, who writes that, “In all of CIR’s Race, like religion, must be placed beyond Union (ACLU).5 CIR has concentrated on university admissions cases, the lead plain- the reach of the state. Our objections to racial specific areas of concern, and within them tiffs have been White women, a strategic preferences are legal, moral, and pragmatic. zeroed in on cases that it felt would “change decision that in the court of public opinion Preferences are almost always unconstitu- the law,” as opposed to simply winning a vic- undercuts arguments that affirmative action tional when used to achieve an arbitrary tory. Changing the law has clearly been its has primarily benefited this group. Yet CIR racial diversity; they are only legal when nar- goal in the area of affirmative action, par- has hardly been an ally of the women’s rowly tailored to remedy past discrimination ticularly in higher education. (See sidebar movement.”10 In 2000, it successfully con- against identifiable individuals. As a moral page 4 on the main higher education affir- tested the constitutionality of parts of matter, preferences are dehumanizing and mative action cases that CIR has brought). the Violence Against Women Act in the reduce individuals to the color of their skin. And According to Terry Carter, CIR “does go U.S. Supreme Court.11 In two other cases, pragmatically, racial preferences almost always where its plan works best”6 which allows it Boulahanis v. Board of Regents, Illinois State add to division and discord in society.”1 to “attack affirmative action at its weakest University, and Miami University Wrestling links . [and] rely in large measure on con- Club v. Miami University, CIR defended servative judges who go beyond the facts of men’s sports teams that had been elimi- Introduction2 individual cases to proclaim things that nated to achieve participation proportional he Center for Individual Rights (CIR) have broader implications.”7 CIR’s lawyers to the population of women and men at Tdescribes itself as a “nonprofit public contend that it has won before judges who those universities.12 interest law firm dedicated to the defense of are not conservative, but according to jour- The pick and choose strategy CIR has individual liberties.”3 Founded in 1988 by nalist W. John Moore, “they concede that the employed with regard to cases is not new. Michael McDonald and Michael Greve, appointment of conservative judges by Pres- Colorblind continues on page 3 both previously at the rightist Washington idents Reagan and Bush have made the Legal Foundation,4 CIR is now an established courts more receptive to their arguments.”8 presence in the nation’s capital, and its influ- As David Segal of the Washington Post IN THIS ISSUE ence is felt across the country through vari- reported, “[Michael] Greve searched hard for ous high-profile cases that it has taken up, a test case that would land in the 5th U.S. Cir- Commentary . 2 including more than a few that it has fought cuit Court of Appeals, widely considered to Books Received . 32 and won in the U.S. Supreme Court. Over be a conservative bench. He then sought the last 14 years, CIR has grown from the 2 plaintiffs at the University of Texas Law Eyes Right . 33 founders in a small nondescript space to a School, which he had studied for months Eye Lashes . 33 swanky office with administrators, in-house and thought was vulnerable to attack. And THE PUBLIC EYE 1 SUMMER 2002 The Public Eye From the President ThePublicEye By Jean Hardisty Editor Nikhil Aziz, Ph.D. Design/layout or more than two decades, the contemporary political Right has built and consoli- Hird Graphic Design Fdated its political apparatus. Now in control of the Executive Branch, it is stronger Printing and enjoys wider public acceptance than at any time since the 1950s. In order to best Red Sun Press oppose the Right’s ideological and programmatic agenda, we need to know exactly how Mailing Walnut Street Center the Right is implementing that agenda. But for years the Right has specialized in obfus- cation and stealth tactics, complicating the job of unmasking its methods. PRA In this issue of The Public Eye, Editor Nikhil Aziz has assembled several articles that POLITICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES illustrate how difficult it can be to see the Right’s hand behind frighteningly reactionary Board of Directors political maneuvers that enjoy the support of the Bush Administration. In his own arti- Joseph Agne cle, “Colorblind: White-washing America,” he analyzes the work of the cleverly-named Miguel Bustos Michael Chapman Center for Individual Rights. He describes how the rightist Center constructs cases against Jean Entine affirmative action after meticulously researching the best chances for victory, often in Jean V. Hardisty, Ph.D. conservative judicial circuits. The public knows only that a named individual is bring- Michael Kozu Vivien Labaton ing a case against a university for practicing affirmative action (often a woman is cho- Mohan Sikka sen, because women benefit from affirmative action and a woman’s presence in the suit Faith Smith appears to contradict that fact). Paul Watanabe Loretta Williams, Ph.D. Two of the articles in this issue address the Bush Administration’s drive to satisfy its Lucy A. Williams Christian Right base. George W. Bush understands that his political survival depends on the enthusiastic support of the Christian Right. Here, Jennifer Butler writes chill- Staff Nikhil Aziz, Ph.D., Research Analyst ingly of the Christian Right’s takeover of the U.S. delegation to the UN, especially in Wendy Beauchamp, Information Specialist her own area of work, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). And Bill Berkowitz Chip Berlet, Senior Research Analyst writes about the Bush Administration’s “faith-based initiative,” which would divert mil- Stephanie Clark, Office Manager Kate Cloud, Director lions of federal dollars to religious organizations in an attempt to “unleash armies of Jean V. Hardisty, Ph.D., President compassion” to deal with social problems. Though there is no research to support the Richard Allen Jackson, Jr., efficacy of this approach and it violates separation of Church and State provisions, as Director of Development & Communications well as antidiscrimination laws, it is directly responsive to the Christian Right’s agenda. Advisory Board And, in keeping with Political Research Associates’ mission to monitor and expose Rita Arditti Skipp Porteous antidemocratic and authoritarian trends, we asked Esther Kaplan to analyze the Ann Baker John Roberts Donna Bivens Mab Segrest increase in conspiracy theories that blame Jews for September 11, as well as anti- Sara Diamond, Ph.D. Alice Senturia Jewish violence, especially in European countries. She explores the relationship between Fred Goff Holly Sklar Jews and Israel in the public mind and in the rhetoric of public discourse, in order to Beni Ivey Barbara Simon Maya Miller Lucius Walker tease out the complex relationship between increased criticism of Israel and increased Suzanne Pharr Leah Wise expressions of antisemitism, while not neglecting the increase in anti-Arab, anti- The Public Eye is published by Political Research South Asian, and anti-Muslim violence in this country. Associates. Subscriptions are $29.00 for individuals The challenge for all activists who work and non-profit organizations, $39.00 for other Editorial Note: In the Fall 2001 issue of The Public organizations, $19.00 for students and low-income to counter the Right’s agenda is to hone our Eye we ran an article by Nikhil Aziz and Chip Berlet individuals. Outside U.S., Canada, and Mexico, add tools of opposition. One tool is knowledge on “Nationalism.” In that article Aziz and Berlet $9.00 for surface delivery or $14.00 for air mail. used Benedict Anderson’s concept of the nation as of the “architecture” of the Right, its ideo- an “imagined” community. We did not mean to imply Please make checks payable to Political Research that the nation, or nationalism, was “imaginary,” but Associates, 1310 Broadway, Suite 201, logical profile, and its stealth tactics. With that the idea of a nation is socially constructed, i.e. Somerville, Massachusetts 02144-1731. 617.666.5300 fax: 617.666.6622 this knowledge, we are better equipped to it is not a fixed historical reality. Aziz and Berlet are currently working on a longer version of that article PRA is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. All stop the Right and roll back its revolution- that makes this distinction clear, while addressing donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted ary agenda. We hope that this issue of The other concerns about the role nationalism played in by law. © Political Research Associates, 2002.