Why did John McCain vote against the MLK holiday?

Question

And why did MLK hate the Republican Party?

Additional Details

"The Republican Party geared its appeal and program to racism, reaction, and extremism. All people of goodwill viewed with alarm and concern the frenzied wedding at the Cow Palace of the KKK with the radical right. The "best man" at this ceremony was a senator whose voting record, philosophy, and program were anathema to all the hard-won achievements of the past decade.

"It was both unfortunate and disastrous that the Republican Party nominated Barry Goldwater as its candidate for President of the United States. In foreign policy Mr. Goldwater advocated a narrow nationalism, a crippling isolationism, and a trigger-happy attitude that could plunge the whole world into the dark abyss of annihilation. On social and economic issues, Mr. Goldwater represented an unrealistic conservatism that was totally out of touch with the realities of the twentieth century. The issue of poverty compelled the attention of all citizens of our country. Senator Goldwater had neither the concern nor the comprehension necessary to grapple with this problem of poverty in the fashion that the historical moment dictated. On the urgent issue of civil rights, Senator Goldwater represented a philosophy that was morally indefensible and socially suicidal."
- MLK Jr, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/autobiography/chp_23.htm

"The war has strengthened domestic reaction. It has given the extreme right, the anti-labor, anti-*****, and anti-humanistic forces a weapon of spurious patriotism to galvanize its supporters into reaching for power, right up to the White House. It hopes to use national frustration to take control and restore the America of social insecurity and power for the privileged. When a Hollywood performer, lacking distinction even as an actor can become a leading war hawk candidate for the Presidency, only the irrationalities induced by a war psychosis can explain such a melancholy turn of events."
- Martin Luther King Jr, Domestic Impact of War, Nov 1967
http://www.aavw.org/special_features/speeches_speech_king03.html

Agent 99,

MLK was a member of the Mississippi Freedom DEMOCRATIC Party. He attended Democratic Conventions, not Republican.

Agent,

Most blacks are Democrats. Just because you have a minority of black Republicans claiming he was Republican, does not make that proof.

MLK was a Democrat. I can put that on a website. Would that be proof?

MLK was buddies with the Kennedys and LBJ, not Nixon and Goldwater. He did in fact attend a Democratic National Convention.
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/martinlutherking/ig/Martin-Luther-King-Photos/Martin-Luther-King-Jr--MFDP.htm

Agent,

The party of Lincoln was radical and from the northeast (hence the name Radical Republicans). Today's Republican Party, however, is dominated by southern "state-rights" conservatives.

There's a reason why blacks vote overhwhelmingly Democrat today. Read about the election of 1964 and get educated.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Because, quite simply, King didn't deserve one.

We have 3 federal holidays for specific people: Columbus, who changed the world by opening the Americas to European colonization; Washington, founding father, first president, general in the revolution; and MLK. No Jefferson, no Franklin, no Lincoln. The last 3 all deserve holidays more than King.

Answer 2

he had to show his feelings

Answer 3

Giving federal workers another day off was not his idea of a good use of taxpayer money. As you know, he has reconsidered, apologized, and pressed his home state of Arizona to establish a state holiday.

Answer 4

MLK did not hate the Republican party, he may had disagreed with Goldwater, but MLK knew better, he was a registered Republican.

McCain already apologized for that.

Edit here is the link about MLK and the Republican Party:


http://www.nationalblackrepublicans.com/…

Do you have a link to support what you are stating?

Did you forget history? The DNC was the party of slaves of over 200 years, MLK surely didn't forget that.

He didn't care about Parties so much as he cared about principle

Answer 5

Because they Rep's thought they could stop the holiday. Why give a Black man a holiday as far as they are concern MLK is just another Black man.

Answer 6

He was pandering to his friends who belonged to all white male clubs and were in favor of flying the confederate flag.

Answer 7

Who cares if MLK hated the Republican party. I don't think MLK deserves his own day if George Washington and Abe Lincoln don't and those overpaid government workers would just get another day off from that holiday.

Answer 8

I have no idea what all the anti-GOP hatred was from King. He was a former Republican as was his family and he certainly should have been aware of the debt that was owed to Republican Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen and the other Republicans who broke the Democratic filibuster and were responsible for the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
All of this was later when King started getting into different issues other than civil rights. Who knows?

The MLK holiday issue is very misunderstood today.
It had little to do with whether or not MLK was a hero or not.
He had only been dead a few years and many people thought that it was more appropriate to wait for awhile - sort of like they do for postage stamps - rather than rushing.
Others were offended that the holidays for Washington and Lincoln wouldn't be celebrated separately but MLK would get his own. They considered that a great insult.
There was also an economic argument because a Federal holiday is a huge expense. Employers must pay wages and benefits and there is a great cost to the country in lost productivity, especially for companies that deal internationally since this is only a US holiday.
McCain was one of the brave legislators who opposed the holiday.
There was nothing racist about it despite the efforts of some to paint it as such today. Everybody sees racial motives today when there were none.