How fitting that John McCain would lose his bid for the Presidency to the first African-American to win the office. It's Karma. In 1983, when the bill was introduced to create a federal holiday observing Martin Luther King, Republican Senators Jesse Helms (NC) and John McCain (AZ) led the opposition against it's creation. Along with support from Republican President Ronald Reagan, the senators cited that it would be too expensive to pay federal employees for an additional holiday. Reagan threatened to veto the bill but eventually signed it into law later in 1983. The holiday was first celebrated in 1986 but......There's more...McCains state of Arizona did not recognize the holiday after Democratic governor Bruce Babbit left office and Republican Governor Evan Mecham rescinded the state's observation of the holiday. To add more insult to King's legacy, Utah observed the holiday under the name "Human Rights Day" until the year 2000 when Gov. Mike Leavitt officially changed the name of the Holiday to "Marting Luther King, Jr. Day". In Virginia the holiday was known as "Lee-Jackson-King Day." The ridiculous holiday would celebrate the lives of King along with Confederate Army Generals Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Robert E. Lee. WTF??? Virginia also did not celebrate it's first King Day until 2000.
Staggering fact: It was not until the year 2000 that all 50 states recognized the Martin Luther King Holiday.
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