Nelson Mandela Praised by Congressmen Who Opposed Anti-Apartheid Act

[TomCADem]

Source: US News and World Report

Four current members of Congress voted in 1986 against the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, which demanded freedom for Nelson Mandela and imposed stiff economic sanctions to end minority white rule in South Africa.

The apartheid bill opponents, however, are now praising Mandela, who died Thursday at age 95.

Still-serving members of Congress who voted against a Senate-approved version of the bill on Sept. 12, 1986, include Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, Howard Coble, R-N.C., Ralph Hall, R-Texas (who was a Democrat at the time), and Hal Rogers, R-Ky.

President Ronald Reagan vetoed the legislation, but his veto was overridden by Congress. Barton, Coble and Rogers also voted against overriding Reagan's veto, but Hall did not cast a vote.


Read more: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-praised-by-congressmen-who-opposed-anti-apartheid-act

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The reason why they voted against the Act. The right wing viewed Mandela as a terrorist. As noted by none other than Dick Cheney: “The ANC was then viewed as a terrorist organization,” Cheney told ABC in 2000. “I don’t have any problems at all with the vote I cast 20 years ago.”

[MADem]

2. Back then, students at universities led the charge--remember the demands that Harvard, et.al.

"divest" from their Krugerrand investments?

Now, the universities are factories for little GOP cupcakes--well fed, complacent little sweeties who are there on their family's dime. The high end unis are infested.

The scholarship kids are too busy working to protest--gotta reduce that debt someway, somehow...

[Kurovski]

8. "little GOP cupcakes"

Twerpy turds. Twit-sweets. Stinky twinkies.

[MADem]

11. Coming outta the oven on a regular basis--I really do think the past decade or so

will be a dark one in the annals of higher education, when scrolling back through history. College needs to be made more affordable; maybe kids don't really need 24 hour salad bars and pricey dorms that are like high end hotels. The colleges offer this kind of peripheral bullshit, force freshman--even local ones-- to live on campus, and price the college adventure out of the pocketbooks of most middle class families. They aren't so much institutions of higher learning as factory finishing schools.

I think a lot of kids can get just as much learning (if not more) at community colleges, or online. These options are certainly more affordable...!

[canuckledragger]

3. Because they were fucking racist/facist hypocrites then

and still are now.

The only thing thing that's changed is that they've gottne bolder.

[Cha]

4. Wow.. those a$$es have been in there a long

time!

[NBachers]

5. If they hate the guvvamint so much, why are they staying there so long?

Aren't they capable of doing a respectable, "maker" job?

[Cha]

6. They just love sucking off the government and biting

the hand that feeds their damn mouths. Parasitic leaches.

[Ash_F]

7. Racism against Blacks isn't as fashionable now as it was in the 80's

That's all there is to it. The rest of the country has moved on and they want to say "me too!" while thinking we have not been paying attention.

They are somewhat right.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. "Racism against Blacks isn't as fashionable now as it was in the 80's"

Yup. Not "fashionable" at all.





Elected officials "love their blacks".

[Ash_F]

12. Trust me. It was way worse in the 80's /nt

[me b zola]

9. I find it disturbing that the ANC was considered a terrorist organization

How often here at DU have we heard that its okey-dokey to assassinate an American citizen (or other human beings!) on foreign soil if they are deemed to be a terrorist. Just let this sink in. Nelson Mandela could have been assassinated at the time if under our current policy on terrorism.

Just think.