On the 40th anniversary of MLK's assassination, McCain apologized for not voting for the MLK holiday in 1983. Well, that's nice from the lips of McCain. It took seven years later, year 2000, for the holiday to be recognized in Arizona. Did McCain ever talk to the late Coretta Scott King or her grown children to discuss equality for minorities or was he too busy for that? More importantly, did he call King's children today to apologize to them for not voting for MLK holiday?
Let's review McCain's records on civil rights. Hat tip to Color of Change organization and website:
Mmany people don't know the service he [McCain] touts includes voting against the federal holiday honoring Dr. King. In August 1983 he fought the holiday, voting to block a piece of bipartisan legislation honoring him that was supported by even conservative Republicans--including Dick Cheney--and signed into law by President Reagan.
McCain went on to resist recognizing a King holiday in his home state of Arizona. When Arizona's state legislature failed to pass a bill recognizing a holiday honoring Dr. King, the governor at the time, Bruce Babbit, created the holiday by executive order. Babbit's successor, Gov. Evan Mecham rescinded the order as his first act in office, doing away with the holiday. John McCain's response? He defended the governor, not Dr. King. (After undoing the holiday, the same governor went on to publicly support referring to Black people as "pickaninnies").
In 1990, seven years after his initial vote, McCain went along with establishing a King holiday. On the campaign trail in 2000, facing questions about his history on this issue, McCain declared he had "evolved."
Looking at the rest of McCain's public record, even recently, it's hard to see much evidence of an "evolution". In fact, McCain has consistently opposed a civil rights agenda:
• He voted an amazing FOUR times against the Civil Rights Act of 1990--a bill designed to make it easier for employees to prove job discrimination and imposing harsher penalties on bosses who discriminated.
• In 2004 he opposed affirmative action in college admissions--a key component of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that is among King's key legislative victories.
• He has voted at least 8 times against raising the minimum wage.
• And as recently as last month, he argued against federal intervention to help Americans, disproportionately Black Americans, who have faced foreclosure during the housing crisis.
For more info on McCain's record, read this factsheet:
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts
2 comments:
It was interesting to see a true racist lie in hopes of getting black votes. McCain could care less about black people or poor people. He was brought and paid for in the Rich World by a younger Rich girl who got what she wanted even if she had to pay for it. Now in 2000 McCain used his brown skin daughter as the race card. Now at the age of 71 years old and running for President he sees the light. When he's not elected he'll go back to open racism and his KKK membership.
Once their was a lady who told my friend she just didn't like black people. I noticed her husband was wearing a Michael Jordan Jersey. I asked her where did he get the shirt and who was Jordan. She and her husband told my white friend he was the best basketball player ever and they had box seats to a game. I jumped in as asked have you ever met him, both said no but they would love to. I then told them before Michael Jordan became a Super Star Basketball Player he was just a normal black kid. If Michael had knocked on your door you would have called the cops but now your all over him. Wow!
Those were excellent comments, Jackie.
I saw we drop McSell Out to the middle of South Central LA and have him give a speech.
Or Detroit, where only 25% of kids graduate from high school. Someone like McSell Out would not fix that problem, and would just throw those kids away, like his predecessors.
No Child Left Behind is an excuse to destroy the schools then privatize them, not fix them.
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