What Did MLK Really DO for Us, Anyway?
Martin Luther King Jr. is still widely known as one of the most important figures in the struggles for civil rights. The fact that there is a nationally recognized holiday in his honor speaks to the huge mark he left on the nation. However, the road to creating that holiday proved long and difficult.
Old Position
To be fair, Senator McCain did not have the same exposure to Dr. King that most Americans did. He was a prisoner of war when King was assassinated, receiving only brief tidbits of news during the time.
When the vote for a federal holiday first came up in 1983, McCain voted no. Though the federal holiday was approved and went into effect in 1986, a large number of states, including Arizona, failed to recognize it. McCain even supported executive action by Evan Mecham, the state's new governor, which rescinded the state order to recognize the holiday.
New Position
However, his position ultimately changed. In 1990, citizens of Arizona were yet again given the chance to vote in favor of recognizing the holiday. McCain successfully enlisted Ronald Reagan to gather support for the legislation.
To his credit, McCain admits making a mistake with his initial opposition to the holiday.
"[On] the Martin Luther King issue, we all learn, OK? We all learn. I will admit to learning, and I hope that the people that I represent appreciate that, too. I voted in 1983 against the recognition of Martin Luther King….I regret that vote."
McCain acknowledges that he did change his view, and he believes now that his original view was wrong. We respect his candor in this instance, and classify this only as a change of heart, not a flip-flop.
