Bob Dole and other moderate Republicans supported gradual expansion of many affirmative action programs. Legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act brought such policies into new domains with bipartisan support. What a difference elections and new judges make. Political opposition to affirmative action has taken on new potency. In California, a popular ballot initiative proposes to essentially outlaw affirmative action in education, employment and contracting.
Affirmative action is also under fire in the courts.
Several recent decisions question the basic foundations of race and gender-conscious policies. Most recently, a federal appeals court sent a shock wave through higher education with Hopwood v. Texas. In remarkably blunt language, the court ruled that race-conscious admissions policies at the University of Texas Law School were unconstitutional. So the political and legal foundations of affirmative action are open to debate. Most readers of this magazine claim no special expertise about the moral and political questions affirmative action engages.