Morales: A Republican and Hispanic in denial

Dan Morales as Attorney General issued an opinion that expanded the Hopwood case and denied thousands of children of color entrance into college. He has said that he will not allow gambling on the Indian reservations. These casinos would help the plight of the Indians and would provide funds for Texas education. They would keep Texas money in Texas as opposed to sending it to Louisiana. And now he is quoted as saying that he will not use his appointment power as governor to break down the glass ceilings in Texas that exists for Women, Hispanics and Blacks as WorldPeace has committed to do.

Dan Morales is the enemy of the people in general and the Hispanics in specific.

John WorldPeace
The next governor of Texas
A real Texan for ALL Texan
No more corruption. No more Monicas. 
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Sanchez supporters criticize Morales on affirmative action
By Gary Susswein and Laylan Copelin

American-Statesman Staff

Friday, January 25, 2002

On a day when he hoped to focus attention on his first TV ads, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Dan Morales was forced again to defend his opposition to race-based affirmative action. 

Lawmakers and minority leaders who support Tony Sanchez for governor held a news conference to criticize Morales' role as attorney general in implementing and interpreting a 1996 federal court decision that banned race-based admissions at the University of Texas' law school. The event was organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 

Critics said Morales cut off educational access for many minorities when he interpreted the court's decision to apply to all Texas colleges and universities and to all decisions about financial aid, recruitment and other policies. 

"Dan Morales crossed a line," said Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso. "He embraced a vision of Texas past instead of Texas future." 

Morales defended his position. He said that he supports giving special consideration to disadvantaged students but that such decisions should be based on educational or economic hardships, not race. 

Morales promised to appoint a diverse cabinet if elected, though he said no one would be appointed based exclusively on race. 

Morales' critics, including state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, pointed to dropoffs in minority enrollment at Texas colleges after the court decision, including a 39 percent falloff in enrollment of black students and 23 percent drop at UT-Austin within two years. 

Immediately after the decision -- known as Hopwood, the name of a plaintiff in the case -- enrollment of black students at UT's law school dropped more than 90 percent, and enrollment of Hispanic students dropped nearly 60 percent. 

The Legislature has since taken steps to promote minority enrollment, including a law that guarantees admission to public universities for the top 10 percent of all graduating public high school students. Undergraduate enrollment of minority students has returned to pre-Hopwood levels, but the law school and other graduate schools have had lower minority enrollment. 

The talk about the Hopwood case drew attention away from Morales' first two commercials, which will be shown on local television along the Texas-Mexico border and on cable in San Antonio, Austin and a statewide cable news network. 

One spot warns "greedy power brokers, big polluters and big tobacco" and "those who would prey on our children (and) on our elderly" that "Dan Morales is back." The spot is meant to reinforce his stump speech by noting that as the state's lawyer he sued the tobacco industry and won $17 billion. 

The other shows an actor portraying Morales standing at a podium waiting for Sanchez. The text tells viewers that Morales was a three-term legislator and two-term attorney general and "won $17 billion for Texas children." 

It goes on to say: "If we were Tony Sanchez. . . we probably wouldn't show up either." Morales has criticized Sanchez for agreeing to only two debates before the primary election. 

Sanchez also released new TV commercials Thursday, including one that features him with his daughter talking about the values he instilled in his children. 


You may contact Gary Susswein at gsusswein@statesman.com or 445-3654.