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<p>Even Dick Cheney voted for it…</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/]ColorOfChange.org[/url”>http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/]ColorOfChange.org[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I think McCain’s record on civil rights is spotty and flip-floppy.</p>
<p>Why is this important?</p>
<p>I thought we ALL wanted to move forward not not backward.</p>
<p>You’re right. No way have McCain’s views changed in the last 24 years. And could you post the actual bill? If the votes were that close in 1984, I think there’s something else going on.</p>
<p>By the way, thanks for letting us know that McCain was making decisions before Obama was even involved in politics. :P</p>
<p>momof2inca, it wasn’t a racial thing, but rather he didn’t want to have another day where the Federal and state Government gets paid to do nothing. A little insensitive perhaps, but he had the taxpayers interests in mind. And isn’t that something you want in a person who will make our budget over the next 4 years (the ability to make a choice based on your overall pocketbook)?</p>
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<p>Well, McCain’s campaign manager Rick Davis is insisting on television that McCain has always supported equal rights issues, but McCain didn’t even support the 1990 Civil Rights Act, voting with Bush and, notably, against the Republican-led U.S. Civil Rights Commission.</p>
<p>I want a president who is committed to Civil Rights. Frankly, I’m a little worried about my own civil rights due to the damage done to our Constitution under Bush/Cheney.</p>
<p>But it is a racial thing so we have to be hyper-sensitive to it. I recall about 15 years ago working a job (route job) where if I took a holiday I just had to cram 5 days work in to 4 days. The only days I took off were the biggies (unless the company I needed to service happened to be open then I went ahead and did the work) like x-mas, new year’s day, etc… I went to one of the stops on my run since it was a Monday and I normally went there on a Monday. It happened to be MLK day and this was a black owned establishment. They stood there and berated me for not respecting their “black holiday” and that I should be ashamed, yada, yada, yada… They suggested that I would never work on a “white folks holiday”, yes that’s what they said, like president’s day. Needless to say that was my last trip there. If I had still bothered to want to do business with them they would have seen that I would have stopped by on presidents day as well. To me MLK day holds the same value as presidents day, columbus day and national ice cream month…</p>
<p>“I want a president who is committed to Civil Rights.”</p>
<p>That’s probably not going to matter. It’s clear that Iraq/the economy will be the guiding issues for this election, and probably the next president’s term.</p>
<p>by Jill Zuckman</p>
<p>*Saying “we are still left with a feeling of loss,” Sen. John McCain paid tribute today to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on the 40th anniversary of King’s death.</p>
<p>Most notably, McCain acknowledged that he was wrong to oppose creating a federal holiday in honor of the slain civil rights leader.</p>
<p>“We can be slow as well to give greatness its due, a mistake I made myself long ago when I voted against a federal holiday in memory of Dr. King,” McCain said. “I was wrong and eventually realized that, in time to give full support for a state holiday in Arizona. We can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing, and Dr. King understood this about his fellow Americans. But he knew as well that in the long term, confidence in the reasonability and good heart of America is always well placed.”</p>
<p>McCain has said that he knew little of King and the civil rights struggle because he was a prisoner of war in Hanoi and received only sporadic news during his five and a half years’ confinement. But his captors told him and his fellow POW’s when King was assassinated.
**McCain, in fact, voted for final passage of legislation that would authorize $2 million for the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, though he had also supported trying to use private funds. The amendment calling for private funding of the commission failed, and McCain supported providing federal funds.**
In Memphis, where McCain acknowledged he was wrong to initially oppose the King holiday, people in the audience called out "We forgive you, we forgive you."*</p>
<p>Source: [url=<a href=“Chicago News - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Tribune”>Chicago News - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Tribune]The</a> Swamp: McCain’s Memphis tribute to King<a href=“scroll%20down%20to%20the%20bottom%20of%20the%20page”>/url</a></p>
<p>You could say that Senator McCain was busy with his North Vietnamese captors during much of this period. ;)</p>
<p>Also, McCain says he changed his mind on the holiday after a very short time. “I voted against it on grounds that were not sound, that we didn’t need to spend the money or whatever, but a very short time after that I changed my view because I was informed.”</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - John McCain’s Real Record On A MLK Holiday](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfp5K6jwJ4U]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfp5K6jwJ4U)</p>
<p>But it looks like a long time to me. 11 years to change his mind on supporting the Martin Luther King Holiday, which he calls a “very short time.”</p>
<p>1983 - McCain votes AGAINST establishing an MLK Holiday</p>
<p>1987 - McCain backs Gov. Mecham’s action to RESCIND the MLK Holiday in Arizona</p>
<p>1989 - McCain OPPOSES re-establishing MLK as a Holiday in Arizona</p>
<p>1994 - McCain votes AGAINST funding a MLK Holiday Commission</p>
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<p>It matters to me. I value our Constitution.</p>
<p>“It matters to me. I value our Constitution.”</p>
<p>So do I. You can value whatever you want. The chance that the President will devote a large amount of time to civil rights considering more pressing issues (immigration, the war, the economy, health care, just to name a few) in the eyes of the American public is rather small. If you want a President with a great civil rights record, that’s obviously your prerogative. I want one too. But there probably won’t be huge advances in civil rights at the hands of the President in the near future. Congress will likely be responsible for any changes.</p>
<p>How many more Federal holidays are needed, Mom?</p>
<p>Good point momof2inca. What exactly has McCain done in his 25 or so years to help promote equality? Isn’t he against equal pay too? I remember hearing that he tried to argue that women get paid less because they aren’t as qualified haha!</p>
<p>I don’t need any more personal holidays, p2n, just a President who is committed to civil rights… thanks! </p>
<p>It seems like John McCain is lying about his record on this issue and that he sides with Bush on other civil rights/equal opportunity issues.</p>
<p>Voting against the Bill is not a civil right issue, if he had voted against a bill that prevented AA from taking vacations, that would have been a civil right issue.</p>
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Do you know Obama voted for FISA? check Glen Greenwald on salon dot com, he has an extensive review on FISA.</p>
<p>It seems like he compromises his principles to get votes and then apologizes later. MLK holiday was one time and when he was running for president in 2000, he actually approved of South Carolina flying the Confederate flag over its statehouse.</p>
<p>From CNN:</p>
<p>"When asked by a reporter how he felt about the Confederate flag during a January 12 campaign event, McCain replied: “Personally, I see the flag as symbol of heritage.”</p>
<p>The Arizona senator expressed regret for that stance on Wednesday, telling the audience of Republicans: “I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary. So I chose to compromise my principles.”</p>
<p>[Apologetic</a> McCain calls for removal of Confederate battle flag from S.C. Statehouse - April 19, 2000](<a href=“http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/04/19/mccain.sc/]Apologetic”>http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/04/19/mccain.sc/)</p>
<p>I really want a President who will stand up for the principles of our Constitution, especially civil rights.</p>
<p>Why are you bringing up all these issues? All politicians are liars, and they will say anything if they are going to get some votes.</p>
<p>I care about how his policies are going to help move the country forward.</p>
<p>Remember, we want to move forward not backward.</p>
<p>For an idea of what McCain was doing that could explain why he was slow to embrace this particular holiday check this out: [John</a> McCain: Courageous Service - Experienced Leadership - Bold Solutions](<a href=“http://www.johnmccain.com/Courageous/]John”>http://www.johnmccain.com/Courageous/)</p>
<p>P2N, all he had to do was ask his Republican friends on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission whether or not Dr. Martin Luther King was important. They certainly thought he was worthy of honor. </p>
<p>tega, I care about progressive policies, too, but I care even more about having a President who really understands and protects our Constitution and who won’t compromise his principles for an easy political victory. I think he could have used the same courage that he showed during his captivity in Vietnam to stand up against the Confederate flag supporters in S.C.</p>
<p>So you think Obama voting for FISA is progressive? How is his voting on FISA not compromising on his principles (I don’t even know where he stands on a lot of issues, he has given so many conflicting positions) to get votes?</p>
<p>The confederate flag means a lot to other people in the south, and I think it is their 1st amendment right to put it on their private properties. However, I don’t think it should be hanged in government buildings using tax payers money.</p>