Judd Legum1. Did you know that Republicans have purposely used MLK Day to distort the reality of MLK's legacy since the inception of the national holiday in 1983?
It started with Reagan.
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2. Reagan was not a fan of the civil rights movement.
Reagan opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, calling it a "bad piece of legislation"
Reagan opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, describing it as "humiliating to the South"
3. When Reagan ran for president in 1980, King's widow, Coretta Scott King, said she was "scared that if Ronald Reagan gets into office, we are going to see more of the Ku Klux Klan."
4. So it's not a surprise that Reagan had long opposed the creation of a holiday to honor King. During Reagan's first two years in office, he claimed it would cost too much money.
5. But, with reelection approaching and facing increased pressure from the NAACP, Reagan abruptly reversed course and signed a bill creating the MLK holiday in 1983.
6. Just prior to signing the bill, however, Reagan wrote to New Hampshire Governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. (R). Thomson loathed King, calling him "a man of immoral character," and was urging Reagan to veto the holiday.
7. Reagan assured Thomson that the holiday would celebrate the "image" of King and not the "reality."
In the years that followed, Reagan crafted a false image of King, claiming that King would have supported policies that he stridently opposed.
8. In the years that followed, Reagan crafted a false image of King, claiming that King would have supported policies that he opposed.
In a 1986 radio address, Reagan invoked King to defend his attacks on affirmative action, anti-poverty programs, and civil rights enforcement
9. Decades later, this cynical strategy is still being employed by right-wing politicians.
Hera [Yaseenist] Harper@juddlegum Oh hey a whole new reason to hate Reagan. Yay.
cottonmanifesto@juddlegum @alfredohno there are so many!
Chris Adams@juddlegum all the while giving corporate America the lions share of wealt and doing his best to but unions like PATCO.
CellyBlue@juddlegum history is so important. It’s amazing how some just want to hide it or lie about it v
MariaSF@juddlegum she did have vision,,,,
Camp Lejeune Fan Acct@juddlegum the south should be humiliated by its history
@CrackerBarrelGrandma @juddlegum I’m in Alabama. They aren’t.
Werner Herzog's Bear@juddlegum Not to mention he supported a ballot initiative in California in the 1960s that overturned fair housing laws and made racial discrimination in housing perfectly legal.
En Buen Ora 🆗@juddlegum When Reagan ran for Governor of California, he vowed to repeal the state's recently-passed Rumford Fair Housing Act which outlawed discrimination in housing, because he felt it violated "property rights"--just like the segregationists who opposed anti-segregation rulings in business. (He and his allies failed to repeal it directly.)
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19661121.2.56&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------
JudeSaying@juddlegum. Reagan’s policies have continued and are the root of our poverty and homelessness today. Time for a 180 switch to money trickling up, and the rich and corporations to pay into our system of government, instead of raping it.
Max Power@juddlegum Contrary to the beliefs of everyone in the Republican party, Reagan was not a great president. If Reagan hadn't eliminated the fairness doctrine, the US wouldn't have a dysfunctional government today. Reagan only showed that if a president is popular enough, he can do whatever he wants.
Tonio Loewald@juddlegum he was in favor of gun control, when it was Black Panthers using guns to defend themselves against the police.
Koolkankat@juddlegum Reagan also opposed Medicare. He considered it the "slippery slope" towards socialism.
MidLifeBroad@juddlegum I did know that. I went to college in Az, where the governor of the time refused to recognize the day… we had a school walk out because of it.
Bob Ballentine@MidLifeBroad @juddlegum I remember the series of Doonesberry cartoons satirizing Mecham.
@raballentine @juddlegum he was the WORST. I volunteered on the campaign to get him impeached. Collected signatures around campus.
Andy Lowry@juddlegum
For some amazement about the Republican's footdragging re MLK day, check out its history in my state of Arizona. Then-Governor Ev Mecham cancelled it as a holiday in 1987, and it stayed that way until 1992 when the NFL threatened to pull the Superbowl. 🙄
For some amazement about the Republican's footdragging re MLK day, check out its history in my state of Arizona. Then-Governor Ev Mecham cancelled it as a holiday in 1987, and it stayed that way until 1992 when the NFL threatened to pull the Superbowl. 🙄
Catherine is not complacent@juddlegum Reagan was the first idiot elected to the Oval Office that was easily manipulated.
Racist and homophobic? Absolutely. Dumb as a bag of hair? That too.
Racist and homophobic? Absolutely. Dumb as a bag of hair? That too.
Steven the Printer@juddlegum Reagan was a two-bit actor, that’s all.
Langwidere the Radical@juddlegum Good thread. Loathsome man. This country is worse off thanks to him.
Mavis@juddlegum MLK was vilified —vilified! — by the powers-that-be ; Reagan, the FBI. I remember.
Avi (אבי) 
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Vehement Sack
Drooling Fan Girl@juddlegum do you have this up anywhere as an essay yet?
Evey@juddlegum Well I learned some new history today from you Judd. This is all very disgusting and bad legislation on Reagan’s part. It goes to show us, never vote for a president that had a show on TV.