On the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's death, nothing says "I commemorate you" like a "my bad for voting against making you a holiday" statement (video after the jump) . John McCain-- on more than one occasion-- voted against making Martin Luther King's birthday a federal holiday. But that didn't stop him from commemorating King's death day in a speech at the Lorraine motel in Memphis TN, where King was killed. But before you judge McCain, you should know that when he voted against MLK day, he was young and wet behind the ears, a 47-year-old spring chicken who didn't know any better. And only radical Black Power members of congress like Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich supported making MLK Day a federal holiday. Plus during the speech, McCain even let a black guy hold his umbrella, which shows you how down he is. More about McCain's other MLK opposition activities after the jump.
Whatever you think of McCain, or Martin Luther King, at least the presidential nominee doesn't half assedly oppose MLK-related commemorations. When it comes to NOT supporting Dr. King, Mr. McCain is in it to win it! Huffington Post points out that in addition to voting to oppose a state holiday in 1987 and a federal holiday in 1989, McCain voted in 1994 to cut funding for the commission that promoted King's holiday. And
In 1983 McCain did something not even Dick Cheney did: he voted in Congress against a federal holiday in honor of Dr. King, which President Reagan later signed into law. In 1987, McCain supported Arizona Governor Evan Mecham's action to rescind an executive order establishing a state holiday in Martin Luther King's honor. Even in 1989, when McCain finally came around and supported a state holiday, he said he was "still opposed to another federal holiday." As recently as 2000, McCain reportedly said he "resented it when people outside of Arizona got involved" in the issue.