McCain as a young congressman in 1983 voted against a federal holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Most
Republicans in the House voted for the holiday (89 voted for the
holiday, 77 opposed), though all three Arizona House Republicans were
opposed. Reps. Dick Cheney, R-Wyoming, and Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia,
voted for the holiday. (Cheney had voted against it in 1978.)
The
holiday went into effect in 1986. Only 27 states and D.C. honored the
holiday that first year. Activists in state after state tried to
prevent it from being recognized.
In Arizona, a bill to
recognize a holiday honoring MLK failed in the legislature, so
then-Gov. Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, declared one through executive
order.
In January 1987, the first act of Arizona's new governor,
Republican Evan Mecham, was to rescind the executive order by his
predecessor to create an MLK holiday. Arizona's stance became a
national controversy.
McCain backed the decision at the time. But eventually he changed his mind.
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3 commentsReplies
Xopchipili said, (52 days ago)
the only reason AZ ended up flipflopping on it is because the NFL threatened not to hold the Super Bowl there if they didn't make it a holiday.
I remember thas well but I cannot understand why they would oppose it.
This was also one of the first occasions where Bono used his celebrity to threaten politicians to do the right thing here in America.