Yes, there are still some people who currently hold office that voted NO on making Dr. Martin Luther King Day a national holiday. We need to expose these people. Have they been asked, publicly, what made them oppose this holiday? And if they have opposed others like Presidents Day?
First, let’s go through some of these politicians so that we can know them by name; Accountability is a must.
1. Representative Steve Scalise
-This Republican from Louisiana has recently been through massive amounts of condemnation(although not enough in my opinion) for speaking at a white supremacist event in the early 2000s. As if this wasn’t bad enough, he also voted against the MLK holiday at a local level. It took some years for states to implement this holiday, and Scalise voted against it in Louisiana in 1999 AND 2004. Hm….do we see a pattern?
2. John McCain
This former Presidential nominee voted against the MLK Holiday when he was in Congress. Many might find this hard to believe since he is still sometimes seen as a more moderate Republican.
3. Richard Shelby
A Senator from Alabama, Shelby also voted against MLK Day.
4. Current House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers
This Kentucky Congressman voted NO.
5. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley
This Iowa Senator has been famous for making idiotic comments. Remember how he helped spark the whole “death panels” controversy in regards to Obamacare?
6. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch
This Senator from Utah voted NO on the federal holiday. Hatch is just another Republican who voted no for the King day, but vehemently supported Clarence Thomas. Again, showing how WRONG they have been on racial matters and blackness.
What made these now?prominent men vote no? Does this speak to a larger problem they have surrounding race?? I cannot personally think of a good reason to not support the MLK day, but I am sure they believe they had good reasons. I just have not cared to listen to these reasons. Regardless, what a horrible stain to have on your record. But we have seen that this doesn’t really matter because look how far someone like John McCain has gone. He almost to the White House!
We need to always remember King’s legacy on this day and every day and strive to actually make this country more fair and just. While it is accepted practice to tweet support of MLK, attend rallies, etc… on this day, we need to hold politicians’ feet to the fire. We need to ask them, are your policies and stances helping or hindering the dream MLK had?
