Frothy Paradise

-smart-tart-:

As long as the Republican National Committee wants to pretend that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message is “rooted in ideals and principles that the Republican Party” — a claim that’s as wrong as it is audacious — perhaps now would be a good time to note the roll call on the vote to honor King as an annual holiday.

The battle of MLK Day went on for years, with state-by-state flare-ups dragging on for years after Senate and House overwhelmingly passed the holiday in Oct. 1983. President Reagan, who initially opposed it, relented and signed the bill — and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), then a congressman, voted against it. He recanted in 1990 and backed an unsuccessful state referendum to honor the civil rights leader and has since regretted his decision. A dozen Senators who voted on the measure are still in the upper chamber — ten who voted yes, and two Republicans who voted against the holiday, including Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

via The Washington Monthly and Politico

Perhaps the title should read “Don’t Claim A Mantle You WON’T Carry.”