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From UPROXX: Mitch McConnell And Other Republicans Are Being Dragged For Publicly Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day While Blocking Voting Rights Bills

Berry Craig
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We always enjoy commentary from Rep. John Yarmuth, one of our best friends in Washington. We particularly enjoyed suggestion, which he posted on Facebook today: "A lot of folks will claim to celebrate the great Martin Luther King Jr. today while actively trying to reverse his life's work. If you can't honor Dr. King by supporting voting rights and the John Lewis Act, then at least do him the courtesy of shutting the hell up today." 

By MATT PRIGGE

Every Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the same thing happens: Republicans publicly honor the civil rights leader’s legacy while doing the things he fought against. This year, the GOP are doing their best to block two voting rights bills, both of which are languishing in part because the GOP has filibustered them. So when prominent Republicans took to social media to praise King Jr., a proponent of voting rights and a hater of the filibuster, they were torched for their hypocrisy.

The two bills are the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Both seek to combat voting restriction bills enacted at the state level by Republican lawmakers. Joe Biden vowed to enact similar legislation early in his presidency. Instead, it met predictable pushback from Republicans, who have used the filibuster to keep them in limbo. Democrats can’t get rid of the filibuster partly thanks to two members of their party: Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin.

On MLK Jr. Day, members of the leader’s family joined several hundred activists for a march in D.C. They demanded the Senate finally put an end to the filibuster and pass legislation that would have done something King Jr. thought was paramount: easier access to voting for all.

Read more here.