Facing South

[Michael Hoover <hooverm@xxxxxxxxxx>]

F A C I N G   S O U T H
A progressive Southern news report
March 4, 2004 * Issue 74
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INSTITUTE INDEX * Follow the money (again)

Amount of money President Bush has raised for re-election campaign, in millions: $145
Amount that top four Democratic candidates have raised combined, in millions: $126
Number of Elite Texas Bush Donors that have received federal government appointments: 34
Rank of Enron Corp. among Bush's top career patrons: 1
Year that Bush proposed privatizing social security in "voluntary accounts": 2001
Number of top 10 corporate donors to Bush that are financial institutions, which would house such accounts: 7

Sources on file at the Institute for Southern Studies.
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DATELINE: THE SOUTH * Top Stories Around the Region

BLACK LEGISLATORS STALL ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE MEASURE IN GEORGIA
Georgia's headlong rush to block gay marriages through a constitutional amendment has been stalled, for the moment, by an unlikely group of legislators: black members of the House of Representatives, many of them church deacons and ministers who already support the state's laws banning same-sex marriage. (New York Times, 3/3 -- reg. required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/03/national/03GEOR.html

GOP PUSHING "WEDGE ISSUES" IN THE SOUTH
In a region where God, guns, and gay rights fire up a socially conservative electorate, Republicans hope the stark contrast between President Bush and his eventual Democratic opponent helps them win congressional races this fall and seal their dominance in the South. (Boston Globe, 2/29)
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/02/29/gop_seeks_to_press_wedge_issues_in_south/

DEMOCRATS AGGRESIVELY COURTING MIAMI CUBAN VOTE
Democrats in Florida and Washington are devising an aggressive strategy to court typically Republican Cuban-American voters, hoping to exploit a festering rift between President Bush and some exile leaders who say the administration has failed to deliver on campaign promises. (Miami Herald, 2/28)
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/8060732.htm

VA REVERSES MOVE TO RESTORE VOTING RIGHTS TO NONVIOLENT EX-FELONS
A Virginia House committee has reversed last year's proposal to restore voting rights to nonviolent felons, delaying a referendum until 2006 at the earliest. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/28)
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031773944086&path=!news&s=1045855934842

MUSLIM CHARITIES COMPLAIN OF "WITCH HUNT"
Muslim charities and organizations in the United States say they are the target of a government "witch hunt" since Sept. 11 which is intimidating donors and hampering their work. (Reuters, 2/29)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=5&u=/nm/20040229/ts_nm/security_usa_charities_dc_2

DEMOCRAT NOT SPOKEN HERE
White Southerners have seen their jobs go, their health care slashed, and their debt skyrocket. So why do they vote against their own economic self-interests? (Creative Loafing, 3/2) 
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17998

THE BUSH BOUNTY HUNT
In 2000, Bush broke all campaign fundraising records by reeling in over $100 million from "Bush Pioneers" and other wealthy supporters. Now "Bush Rangers" are upping the ante. (Texas Observer, 2/13)
http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=1564