Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his all for all. I have long agreed with his speeches and writings. Today I think of this MLK quote, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” May we renew ourselves in his teachings so that he can RIP.
— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) January 21, 2019
Good roundup from the Washington Post on the head-smacking appropriation of Martin Luther King’s name yesterday by the likes of the racist Steve King and even the NRA. Arkansas Republicans competed, too, with invocations on Twitter of sentiments they rarely demonstrate in political action.
Sometimes, the less said the better. Because the politicians who wrapped themselves in King yesterday, in addition to overlooking the revolutionary tendencies of the man felled by an assassin, are politicians who:
* Have gutted the Voting Rights Act.
* Promote racial gerrymandering.
* Devise and pass schemes to suppress black and poor people’s votes. (The Arkansas Republican Party stood out on the hypocrisy meter when it Tweeted a King quote about men and women who save us from injustice.)
* Have passed Arkansas laws to encourage school resegregation.
* Discriminate on the basis of religion — whether against Muslims, non-believers or mainstream Protestants with a different theological outlook on Biblical literalism.
* Fight immigration and aim to punish those who give immigrants comfort on cities and campuses.
* Support family separation at the border.
* Deny asylum to those seeking safe harbor from violence.
* Deny equal medical rights to women.
* Discriminate against sexual minorities.
* Proclaim a post-racial America.
* Work to deny aid for poor people, including food and medical coverage.
* Support tax policies that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy.
* (Looking at King-quoting Rep. Steve Womack) speak of the need for more European immigrants and fewer from “depraved” countries.
In his short life, King avoided partisan identification. Question: Who would he caucus with today in the Arkansas legislature or U.S. House?
UPDATE: This Colorado numskull legislator might have topped Steve King.
