Cheney voting against MLK Day

[Wolfman 11]

I thought this was one of the most interesting facts brought out by the debate, and disturbing. Edwards scored big in my book by bringing this out (along with HeadStart, Meals on Wheels for Seniors, etc.), but the more I think about it, the more I wonder why Cheney did it. He didn't even try to defend it or rationalize it. He was one of only 4 members of Congress (or less than 1%) to vote against it. Clearly he has strong feelings about it, and I wonder if they are racially motivated. He must have known that the passage of the MLK holiday was never in doubt, and cast his vote to make a point, but I wonder what the point was.
Why would one vote against that? Even if they are so obstinate and ignorant that they refuse to recognize Dr. King's achievements, wouldn't they still hypothetically vote on behalf of their constituents getting another holiday from work? Who doesn't want more holidays? A friend of mine brought this up after the debate and it has been preying on my mind ever since. I hope that this is not something that just sort of gets glossed over. I want someone to make Cheney explain himself. I can't believe that this is something I never knew about until tonight because I follow politics fairly closely.
The man who is one heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world was one of the less than 1% of members of Congress to vote against a holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King.
WHY?

[kwolf68]

1. I know his point

He doesn't have to be racist to have it either.

To people like FUDick, MLK Day should have been a "state issue".

[SharonAnn]

3. Unless he was gay, then we need a constitutional amendment

that "bans" the holiday.

[murielm99]

2. Reagan was also reluctant to make MLK Day a federal

holiday. I heard him express this reluctance during a press conference.

He still harbored ideas that King had been a commie. He believed all the old smears from the Hoover days.

Cheney may have felt the same way. You have to remember what an idealogue Cheney is. We sometimes overlook that, and concentrate on his greed and his lies. But he and his wife are two of the biggest wing idealogues in Washington today.

[cheshire]

4. He is a fellow brother like Zell Miller and Murdock. KKK

[Barney Rocks]

5. I have no idea what

Cheney's rationale was at the time--but I do know at the time, some people did not want to combine the George Washington and Abraham Lincoln's brithdays into one day--President's day. I guess there could have been multiple reasons for opposing it?

I have always liked the MLK holiday, however when I was a student I wondered why it seemed as if a lot of holidays seemed to be on Mondays in the Winter Quarter of school--I would have liked them to have been spread out more and to not always be on Monday (although I understand the 3 day weekend thing). Why not a Friday holiday?

[grace0418]

6. "You know it doesn't make much sense...

There oughta be a law against
Anyone who takes offense
At a day in your celebration..."

Little did I know that Stevie Wonder was talking about Dickhead Cheney when he wrote this song.