WASHINGTON — As Republicans tried urgently to come up with a plan Wednesday to illustrate their commitment to civil rights, a furor over President George W. Bush’s renomination of controversial Judge Charles Pickering to a federal appeals court ensured the task would be even more difficult.
Senate Republicans huddled inside the ornate Library of Congress during a daylong retreat in which they pledged to increase spending on historically black colleges and universities, assist educational institutions that serve Hispanics, aid small businesses and hold “leadership summits” with African-Americans, Hispanics and women.
Democrats and civil rights activists quickly derided the Republican proposals as woefully insufficient. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., repeatedly dodged questions about whether he would support Pickering, who was rejected last year on a party-line vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Critics say Pickering, a federal judge in Mississippi, has a history of racial insensitivity.

— Jill Zuckman, Chicago

Tribune (KRT)