On
the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's death, nothing says "I
commemorate you" like a "my bad for voting against making you a
holiday" statement (video after the jump) . John McCain-- on more than
one occasion-- voted against making Martin Luther King's birthday a
federal holiday. But that didn't stop him from commemorating King's
death day in a speech at the Lorraine motel in Memphis TN, where King
was killed. But before you judge McCain, you
should know that when he voted against MLK day, he was young and wet
behind the ears, a 47-year-old spring
chicken who didn't know any better. And only radical Black Power
members of congress like Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich supported making
MLK Day a federal holiday. Plus during the speech, McCain even let a black guy hold his umbrella, which shows you how down he is. More about McCain's
other MLK opposition activities after the jump.
Whatever you think of McCain, or Martin Luther King, at least the presidential nominee doesn't half assedly oppose MLK-related commemorations. When it comes to NOT supporting Dr. King, Mr. McCain is in it to win it! Huffington Post points out that in addition
to voting to oppose a state holiday in 1987
and a federal holiday in 1989, McCain voted in 1994 to cut funding for
the commission that promoted King's holiday. And
In 1983 McCain did something not even Dick Cheney
did: he voted in Congress against a federal holiday in honor of Dr.
King, which President Reagan later signed into law. In 1987, McCain
supported Arizona Governor Evan Mecham's action to rescind an executive
order establishing a state holiday in Martin Luther King's
honor. Even in 1989, when McCain finally came around and supported a
state holiday, he said he was "still opposed to another federal
holiday." As recently as 2000, McCain reportedly said he "resented it
when people outside of Arizona got involved" in the issue.
