Posted by Dave on 06/14/05 at 11:22:51 am
Categories: Political Ravings, Social Justice Ravings

The Senate passed a bill last night that issued an apology for their refusal to pass an anti-lynching bill:

The Senate on Monday formally apologized for having rejected decades of pleas to make lynching a federal crime as scores victims' descendants watched from the chamber's gallery.
On a voice vote and without opposition, the Senate passed a resolution expressing its regrets to the relatives as well as to the nearly 5,000 Americans -- mostly black males -- who were documented as having been lynched from 1880 to 1960 [...]

Dan Duster, a descendant of Ida B. Wells, a former slave who became an anti-lynching crusader, praised senators who publicly backed the resolution of apology and scorned those who did not.

No lawmaker opposed the measure, but 20 of the 100 senators had not signed a statement of support of it shortly before a vote was taken on a nearly empty Senate floor.

"I think it's politics. They're afraid of losing votes from people of prejudice," Duster said of those who did not sign the statement of support.

The really sad thing is that 20 senators refused to sign on to the bill. Here is the latest list of Senators who refused to sign the bill:

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Michael Crapo (R-ID)
Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Gordon Smith (R-OR)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
George Voinovich (R-OH

Yea...one Democrat...and 16 Republicans.

Why is there a great uproar when Howard Dean calls the Republican Party the party of white Christians, yet nothing when 27% of the Republican Senators refuse to sign this bill?

Maybe Howard Dean was right...

*****UPDATE***** Better late than never. Kent Conrad (D-ND) has added his name as a sponsor, making it all Republicans that refuse to sign on. I ahve removed both Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Gordon Smith (R-OR), who have since signed on.

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