Is Crist Okay with McCain's Anti-MLK History?

40th Anniv. of King Assassination Brings Up A Part of McCain's Past He'd Rather You Forget

For Immediate Release: April 4, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Empty Chair Charlie Crist has campaigned heavily to African Americans in Florida, and the GOP points to his single-digit increase in 2006 as evidence that Republicans are making gains with the overwhelming Democratic constituency.

Sorry Charlie. All of that hard work may be for naught. The candidate that the part-time Governor is trying to convince to pick him as his choice for Vice President keeps bringing him down.

John McCain has a long history of impairing efforts to give Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. his rightful place in history, and Crist should be expected to answer these serious questions: Why did the Senator from Arizona oppose a state holiday in honor of Dr. King in 1987? And why did he oppose a federal holiday in 1989? And why did he vote to cut off funding for the Commission promoting the MLK holiday in 1994?

"African Americans in Florida deserve to know just how Charlie Crist feels about John McCain's long record of disdain for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." Florida Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski said.

McCain says he changed his mind about whether it was appropriate to have a holiday honoring Dr. King because he learned after 1983 that King was "a transcendent figure in American history" who "deserved to be honored. Yet the record shows that McCain didn't act appropriately to back up his claim.

McCain - who stood to the right of Dick Cheney during today's proceedings - already admitted in 2006 that he lied about his position on the Confederate flag during his 2000 primary race against President Bush.