When will Sen. John McCain answer for what has been a very poor civil rights record during his long career as a United States senator? Most people concede that Sen. McCain is basically a good man, but his civil rights record leaves much to be desired. One of the ugliest stains on his record is his strong opposition to the establishment of a holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. Beginning in 1983, Sen. McCain opposed the holiday on a national level and he worked hard, (including in 1987), to oppose the MLK holiday in his home state of Arizona. He continued his opposition pretty much through 1989 (the year he continued his federal opposition to the MLK holiday). Even though he has since atoned for his poor judgement and inability to see the greatness that Dr. King brought to our nation and to our planet, he only seemed to do it as social and political pressure forced him to change. Where were he and the other Republicans doing the right thing from the beginning? Why did it take political and social pressure to force a chance that should have been embraced right from the start.
The following is from the Democratic Party Web site:
1983: McCain Votes Against Federal MLK Day. In 1983 McCain voted against establishing a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martina Luther King. “Most Republicans in the House voted for the holiday (89 voted for the holiday, 77 opposed), though all three Arizona House Republicans were opposed. Reps. Dick Cheney, R-Wyoming, and Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia, voted for the holiday. (Cheney had voted against it in 1978.)” [ABC News, 4/3/08]
1987: McCain Opposes Arizona MLK Holiday.In Arizona, Democratic governor Bruce Babbitt issued an executive order to establish an MLK holiday. Yet “[i]n January 1987, the first act of Arizona’s new governor, Republican Evan Mecham, was to rescind the executive order by his predecessor to create an MLK holiday. Arizona’s stance became a national controversy. McCain backed the decision at the time.” [ABC News, 4/3/08]
1989: McCain Still Opposes Federal Holiday.Even though he now supported establishing a state holiday for Martin Luther King, he said he “said he was ’still opposed to another federal holiday.’” [Huffington Post, 4/1/08]
2000: McCain Said He Had Opposed Instituting MLK Day On National Level. In 2000, it was reported that “McCain has said he supported implementing the holiday on a state level but resented it when people outside of Arizona got involved.” [Associated Press, 2/29/2000]
Democratic Party Web site:
http://www.democrats.org/a/2008/04/mccain_myth_bus_34.php
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