Ward Connerly, like Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas, is the race-baiters' worst nightmare: A black man who doesn't toe the line.
Connerly was the chairman of the California Civil Rights Initiative campaign back in 1995. He gained national respect as an outspoken advocate of equal opportunity for everyone, regardless of race or sex. His views on preferences, set-asides and quotas (see pingouin's theory on this as being a code word for racism, but take it with a grain of salt) have been well documented by the international, national and California press.
Here is a quote of his in a letter to Bill Clinton (who signed the welfare reform bill earlier in his term of office, so you'd have thought it would have made a dent in his attitude):
"I would be remiss if I did not share with you my belief that most Americans have a strong abhorrence to the counting-by-race phenomenon which currently exists. Most of us resent checking the silly little boxes which classify us and then having our government decide how much federal money our communities receive on the basis of how many of certain boxes are checked, having the boxes determine which schools our children can attend, who gets awarded a contract, and who gets hired. We urge you to confront this issue in the context of its effect on race relations."
It's the MLK idea of being judged, actually, by the content of your character and not the color of your skin. Liberals hate it when a black man rubs this in their faces. So Connerly is routinely shouted down when he attempts to speak at many colleges in America, the land of the free (unless....).
However, my favorite story about Connerly is when he attended a meeting with Clinton and Gore at the White House a few years ago. (And here's a good lesson about the difference between Clinton and Gore for you young voters out there.) They discussed all this quota and affirmative action stuff. When the meeting was over, Clinton not only shook Connerly's hand, but he put his other hand on his shoulder; you know how guys do when they are being real nice. Gore, on the other hand, according to Connerly, squeezed his hand so tightly that it almost broke a bone - all the time, looking straight into his eyes with a look of hatred that was very intense. Perhaps you hate Ward Connerly that much, too? In that case, I guess you'll be voting for Gore. If you don't know who Ward Connerly is, look around on the web and read about him. He's not a bad guy.