If he didn't go, they'd say he didn't go cuz he was a racist.
Bush in N.O. to push for faith-based program
12:52 PM CST on Thursday, January 15, 2004
JENNIFER LOVEN / Associated Press
President Bush said Thursday the "miracle of salvation" is the key to solving some of societies most intractable problems as he sought increased support among black voters for his plan to let religious charities in on more federal spending.
Bush used himself as an example of the good that religion can do, referencing his own decision to stop drinking at age 40 "because I changed my heart."
"My attitude is, the government should not fear faith-based programs -- we ought to welcome faith-based programs and we ought to fund faith-based programs," he said from the pulpit of the packed Union Bethel A.M.E Church in a run-down, crime-plagued neighborhood near this city's downtown. "Faith-based programs are only effective because they do practice faith. It's important for our government to understand that."
WWL-TV
Bush meets with Kathleen Blanco and other local dignitaries
On a sweep through the South that had him spending Thursday in Louisiana and Georgia, two states he won handily in 2000, Bush also was marking the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday with a wreath-laying at the late civil rights leader's crypt in Atlanta -- a visit that has drawn protests from local King supporters.
In addition, the president was appearing at a luncheon at the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans and an evening reception at an Atlanta hotel that would together add $2.3 million to his already bulging campaign account. In Atlanta, Bush was to be introduced by Democratic Sen. Zell Miller, a conservative who was courted by the campaign after he announced his support last year for the president's re-election.
At Union Bethel, in a speech laced with religious references - and at a meeting with community leaders -- Bush renewed his push to open more federal spending on social programs to religious groups.
He said he church's many efforts -- such as feeding the homeless, teaching neighborhood children karate and running a day-care center -- are a perfect example of the kind of programs the federal government should fund.
"Problems that face our society are oftentimes problems that, you know, require something greater than just a government program or a government counselor to solve," he said. "Intractable problems, problems that seem impossible to solve, can be solved.
There is the miracle of salvation that is real, that is tangible, that is available for all to see."
Bush has sought legislation to give religious groups access to federal funds as long as their services are available to anyone, but without requiring them to make fundamental changes. The proposal got a cold reception in Congress, and lawmakers put forward instead a package of tax incentives for charitable giving.
While that measure awaits approval, Bush has used executive orders and new regulations to remove many of the barriers -- such as being required to ban all religious activities and adjust hiring practices -- that have kept religious groups from competing for federal grants. Bush announced Thursday that the Justice Department has finalized just such regulations affecting $3.7 billion in funding, primarily for programs that help crime victims, prevent child victimization and promote safe schools.
Some opponents of the policy fear the government will wind up paying to support religion.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said Bush is trying to overturn two centuries of church-state separation required by the Constitution and institute "taxpayer-subsidized job discrimination" by allowing taxpayer-funded groups to hire and fire based on religious belief.
For Bush, the issue is aimed at appealing to two important constituencies: religious conservatives, who make up his base of support, and black voters, only 9 percent of whom supported him in 2000.
Indeed, Bush almost always chooses black churches in poor neighborhoods as the setting to talk about his initiative.
In Atlanta, the president's visit to mark King's 75th birthday, four days before the federal holiday, has upset some civil rights leaders. They say the president's politics and poor scheduling conflict with their plans to honor King.
State Rep. Tyrone Brooks, president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, said Bush's policies on the Iraq war, affirmative action and social service funding have been "in direct contradiction to the King legacy."
"It's wonderful to come lay a wreath, but there must be a commitment beyond laying the wreath," Brooks said.
Officials at The King Center said they extended no formal invitation to Bush but agreed to the plans when the White House said he was coming.
"It's important for our country to honor his life and what he stood for," Bush said at the New Orleans church.
my Cowboys 
