No Republican leaders are going to Selma this weekend. That’s a dumb move. The eyes of the political world will be on Selma, Alabama tomorrow as President Obama will be in town to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the civil rights marches that began there -- and drew the attention of the country to its racial divide. Know who won't be in attendance? Anyone from the House Republican leadership. Write Anna Palmer and Lauren French in Politico: "None of the top leaders — House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy or Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was once thought likely to attend to atone for reports that he once spoke before a white supremacist group — will be in Selma for the three-day event that commemorates the 1965 march and the violence that protesters faced at the hands of white police officers."
Damned if they don't, damned if they do. Would be just another demorat rally, let them have their fun.
Yep, as Rudan says (speaking for conservatives everywhere?), why should GOP leaders attend, as it will only be a bunch of rats attending...
You can't expect everyone to attend every commemoration of every substation of every social movement. There were legitimately non-liberal Republicans who helped draft and pass the Civil, Housing and Voting Rights Acts whether they participated in or even supported the initial protest marches.
Honestly I understand why they wouldn't attend. Attending in Selma still wouldn't win the Republicans any additional votes. They may feel it's more important to go somewhere that will actually help them get votes. Attending for political reasons doesn't make sense for them. Attending for actually honoring the occasion and civil rights movement would make sense. But this is not that kind of world for most politicians.
I don't know, civil liberties sort of by definition include liberty, that elusive idea that so many Republicans seem to want to maintain their own right to. One might be excused for thinking a liberty loving Republican might want to celebrate an important anniversary of civil liberty. On a more practical note, one might be excused for believing that a non-crazy Republican would realize that there are, for some odd reason, voters who are on the fence and that attending something like this that really should, in 2015, be non-controversial, might very well attract some of these on the fencers. But I suppose that the Republicans whose seats lie outside the realm of gerrymandered safety count the sane among them few in number.
Elected officials can't ceremonially accommodate every "some" and many others "would think" they could commemorate other events instead.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Great to be in Alabama for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Selma50?src=hash">#Selma50</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FPI15?src=hash">#FPI15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader">@GOPLeader</a> <a href="http://t.co/Kdg1Ig5RT1">pic.twitter.com/Kdg1Ig5RT1</a></p>— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorTimScott/status/574198219573432320">March 7, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Which would you prefer? Attend for political reasons? Don't attend b/c they honestly don't care about it? Of course, attend if they honestly care about it. But I would take, honestly don't care over for political show. Rudan is right. Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Now, perhaps, you have some idea of why almost anything Obama do is always damned by so many on the Right.
