| Talking Points
Language of the Initiative
• The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative will make it unconstitutional for the state to discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, national origin or skin color in the areas of public contracting, public employment or public education.
• The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative’s language is modeled after the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
• The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative is nearly identical to the California Civil Rights Initiative (proposition 209) which passed in 1996 and to the Washington Civil Rights Initiative (Initiative 200) which passed in 1998.
• Affirmative action was created to guarantee that people are treated without regard to their race. The policies that the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative would make unconstitutional treat people with regard to race.
Scope of the Initiative
• The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, when passed, will only affect public employment, public contracting, and public education. It will not affect any programs outside of these 3 areas and will not affect any private organizations or programs.
• The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative will not (and cannot) have any affect on Federal programs, like Title IX.
• The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative will only eliminate programs that give preference based on race or sex. Affirmative action programs that do not give preferences -- such as programs that are designed to make sure that testing for state police hiring or for admission into college is fair or affirmative action programs that are designed to guarantee that job postings go out to the widest network possible, rather than a small group of people -- will remain after MCRI passes.
General Points
• Diversity and other equally good intentions should not trump equal treatment under the law.
• For every action taken to help one individual, because of race or gender, there is an action that is being taken that harms another, for the exact same reason.
• Race preferences hurt all individuals, even those they purport to help.
• The elites in Big Business, Big Labor and Big Government pay lip service to equality by using the functional equivalent of a quota.
• Our government should base decisions on merit, character, and experience rather than skin color.
• Affirmative action was never meant to include race preferences. Affirmative action was originally created to guarantee that people are treated without regard to their race. The policies that the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative would make unconstitutional treat people with regard to race.
• MCRI and its supporters believe that all people should be treated without regard to race or gender, and that when such criteria are used to help some at the expense of others, civil rights are violated.
Women
• Our opponents know this proposal will not affect federal Title IX programs for girls sports or women’s health services but they also know if you say a lie loud enough, people may believe it eventually.
• A simple reading of the ballot language clearly shows MCRI’s ballot proposal would only end race and gender preferences used in public education and college admissions, government employment and state contracting. Equal opportunity programs required by federal law – like Title IX programs for women’s sports – would not be affected by the measure. Our opponents know this, but apparently think that if they say it enough, voters will believe them.
• We only have to look at who filed the lawsuits against the University of Michigan, the University of Texas, and the University of Washington. As well as against a New Jersey school district to know that race always trumps gender.
• Women don’t want jobs, promotions or admittance into any educational program on anything other than her merit, character and accomplishments.
• What mother wants her son to be discriminated against while her daughter receives a preference? Our government should not be picking winners or losers based on sex.
• Since there are more women in colleges and universities, many educational institutions are starting to give preferences in admissions to men.
• Common arguments by those opposed to the initiative include that if MCRI passes domestic violence shelters and clinics which offer free breast cancer screenings may be eliminated. This is absurd. How do domestic violence shelters and breast cancer screening fit into the categories of public employment, public education, and public contracting? Beyond that, we can look to California, which has been preference free for 10 years -- thanks to Prop 209 -- and see that domestic violence shelters and breast cancer screening centers still exist.
• Those who oppose equal treatment under the law spend most of their time spinning arguments to convince women that being treated equally may actually be harmful. However, when one stops to think about the hypocrisy, double-speak, and utter absurdities one can’t help but come to the conclusion that all of this concern about women is nothing more than a cynical ploy by those opposed to the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.
Economy and the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative
• If there were a connection between race preferences and economic prosperity, then Michigan would not have the worst economy in the nation. Michigan is the leader in using race preferences yet that has not translated in to the highly trained and highly skilled workforce the state needs to be competitive in attracting business investment and growing jobs.
• On any number of economic indicators, California and Washington have much stronger economies than Michigan. The fact is: race preferences do nothing to improve a state's economy and Michigan is a prime example of that.
• The elites in Big Business, Big Labor and Big Government pay lip service to equality by using functional equivalents of quotas because it is easier than dealing with the real problems of poverty, failing schools and injustice that divide our communities.
The Opposition
• Knowing that a strong majority of Michigan voters support equal treatment and oppose the use of race preferences, our opponents are trying to confuse and scare voters by talking about anything but what will actually be on the ballot in November.
• Big Business, Big Government and Big Labor have joined a radical group named By Any Means Necessary – an organization that has recently been reported to be on the FBI terrorist watch list -- in opposing the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.
• MCRI’s opponents would like nothing better than to make this proposal about someone from California because they know their best chance to defeat the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative is to make it about anything but whether to end race and gender special preferences.
• Intimidation and wild claims dilute the quality of debate. Those opposed to the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative should be honest and talk about how preferences really affect individuals.
• A strong majority of Michigan voters oppose the use of race and gender special preferences in public education, government employment and state contracting. Our opponents know this and that is why they are talking about anything but what will be on the ballot in November.
• Those opposed to the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative often say that “race is one of many factors” and then in their very next breath they say “if MCRI passes there will be drastic effects” – well which is it? If there will be drastic effects, then surely race is currently more than one of many factors.
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