Via WaPo:
Not a single Republican elected official stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday with activists, actors, lawmakers and former presidents invited to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington — a notable absence for a party seeking to attract the support of minority voters.
Event organizers said Wednesday that they invited top Republicans, all of whom declined to attend because of scheduling conflicts or ill health.
In fact, the organizers invited every single member of Congress. And the ghastly fact is that no Republicans showed up to take a place of honor in the ceremonies.
This observation prompted Gabriel Romero to quip in the comment thread:
Man! Was Lincoln the ONLY Republican that showed up? Pretty sad!
Now…it is understandable that some folks will be out of town during the congressional recess, and unable to attend. But zero? Zilch? Not a single congressional Republican?
Do you suppose there was a red flu going around?
As I mentioned yesterday, both Presidents Bush were unable to attend for health reasons. George W. Bush was one Republican capable of showing a big dose of dignity. In his statement for the occasion he gave a thoughtful tribute to Dr. King that included a respectful nod to President Obama:
Our country has come a long way since that bright afternoon 50 years ago; yet our journey to justice is not complete. Just to the East of the Lincoln Memorial, where President Obama will speak on Wednesday, stands the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. There on the National Mall our President, whose story reflects the promise of America, will help us honor the man who inspired millions to redeem that promise.
And this, I believe, is the crux of the issue for G.O.P. politicians. Dr. King stood for many things that go against the Republican mindset: ending school desegregation, providing economic opportunity for the underclass, supporting union workers, giving equal voting access to minorities and the poor, and so on. That notwithstanding, King is a genuine American hero who catalyzed great, and positive, social change for our nation—the March on Washington was a momentous occasion for our democracy. Republicans, as part of their post-autopsy re-branding, had everything to gain by standing before a nation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and honoring this man who is a hero to the very people the G.O.P. wants to lure into their fold.
Yet they couldn’t do it.
Why? It’s because, for a Republican politician to participate in this historic moment would have been to acknowledge what George W. Bush was at liberty to say: that the keynote speaker, President Barack Obama, is a powerful living embodiment of the accomplishments of Dr. King’s and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. I think many Republicans could have stomached standing before America as a tribute to Dr. King—if only for the political gain. But, it inherently required an act of respect and honor for President Obama.
And that crossed the line.
You didn’t really expect the Racist Party to show up for this event, did you? If they did, they would have to applaud speeches against voting suppression.
That’s pathetic. But I read an interesting comment or two. Why should any republican come to an event that celebrates things that their base would primary them out of a job if they supported. If they spoke and actuall talked about republican ideas that their base wants, they would get booed and that would bad on the news. So republicans gain nothing from the base if they go, and would turn off new voters if they spoke. So it’s better to avoid the whole thing.
I noticed the total Republican absence and posted on an open thread that day. I subsequently looked into it and discovered what is posted here.
Here’s the thing.
Everyone now knows beyond all doubt that today’s Republicans are as openly opposed to the 1963 Civil Rights movement and its achievements as Birmingham sheriff Bull Connor and George Wallace were 50 years ago.
Think about it. Then act.
Since you’re going to lie about Republicans and desegregation, I have no reason to believe anything else you spout.
However, if it were true that no Republicans showed, it’s probably because they couldn’t fight their way through all the filth thrown around by liberals.
What’s pathetic is democrats pushing racism and slavery for the last couple of hundred years and then turning around and blaming Republicans.
@4 Dip S….,
“if it were true that no Republicans showed…”
No “if”s there bub. None showed. All were invited. Two had legitimate health reasons for not attending. The Bushes.
What’s pathetic is your attempt to dodge with “if“s and “However“s and “probably“s the fact that not a single Republican showed up to observe the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. But, hey, that’s who and what you are.
DumbGuy @4,
What lie?
Superposition without proof. Typical superficial RETHUG thinking.
However I do remember when some Black members of Congress were cursed and spit on by a TEAHADIST rabel while RETHUG politicians looked on. Maybe you were thinking of that incident.
You are referring to the Southern Dems who fled the party for the RETHUG party when LBJ pushed the desegregation laws through congress. There were indeed good Republicans who also joined in that effort. What is sad is that is that those Republicans were driven out of their party by shallow thinking RETHUGs like you.
Actually the only Republican who was there was Lincoln.
Even Bill O’Reilly was mistaken. He went on a rant about how no Republicans were invited, then had to eat crow when he found out that every Republican declined the invitation. His excuse? Bill sez, “I just assumed…”.
Thanks Bill, that’s what passes for news over at Fox “We assume, you decide”.
This sums it up well.