Scores of Congressional Republicans took to Twitter on Monday to highlight their appreciation for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his fight for civil rights for all. But since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling gutted much of the Voting Rights Act that King helped pass, their caucus has refused to move even bipartisan legislation to restore the law’s key provisions.
Just 14 Republicans in the U.S. House have signed onto H.R.885, officially the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2015, even though its lead sponsor is Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
The House GOP’s official Twitter feed celebrated King at 6:45 AM on Monday.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." – Honoring the life & legacy of #MLK. pic.twitter.com/kuwSQWil8H
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) January 18, 2016
These 50, all who whom Tweeted their tributes to King, are not among those co-sponsors:
https://twitter.com/SpeakerRyan/status/689108005992804353https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/689069470426464256https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/689096310251720704https://twitter.com/RepGusBilirakis/status/689127709218222080https://twitter.com/RepMikeBishop/status/689119308245536768https://twitter.com/RepDianeBlack/status/689088898832674821https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/689115373585731585https://twitter.com/RepBost/status/689140216951631872https://twitter.com/RepKenBuck/status/689154578542149632https://twitter.com/RepCurtClawson/status/689080059328618496https://twitter.com/RepMikeCoffman/status/689105639671525376https://twitter.com/RepComstock/status/689143280358060032https://twitter.com/RepRyanCostello/status/689085987377561600https://twitter.com/RepRickCrawford/status/689117975601909760https://twitter.com/AnderCrenshaw/status/689097036323512320https://twitter.com/MarioDB/status/689107948983943169https://twitter.com/RepReneeEllmers/status/689099709219229700https://twitter.com/RepTomEmmer/status/689123247280009216https://twitter.com/farenthold/status/689093814858944512https://twitter.com/RepBillFlores/status/689132668676521984https://twitter.com/RepTrentFranks/status/689145839227383809https://twitter.com/replouiegohmert/status/689071692275056641https://twitter.com/garretgraves/status/689123234222981121https://twitter.com/RepTomGraves/status/689117017723371520https://twitter.com/RepHardy/status/689136476089663488https://twitter.com/ElectFrench/status/689088527267708928https://twitter.com/WillHurd/status/689120956086915072https://twitter.com/RepBillJohnson/status/689120013740060672https://twitter.com/USRepDavidJolly/status/689123314044944384https://twitter.com/SteveKingIA/status/689102687024078848https://twitter.com/RepKinzinger/status/689117069539815424https://twitter.com/RepLoudermilk/status/689047285796319233https://twitter.com/RepMiaLove/status/689145254881193985https://twitter.com/RepMcSally/status/689134605845200896https://twitter.com/RepMarkMeadows/status/689121271926394881 https://twitter.com/RepMeehan/status/689092133181980672https://twitter.com/RepAlexMooney/status/689128378167758852https://twitter.com/RepTimMurphy/status/689131984124252160https://twitter.com/PeteOlson/status/689108762074853377https://twitter.com/davereichert/status/689145930784747520https://twitter.com/RepJimRenacci/status/689077552875474944https://twitter.com/ToddRokita/status/689102687099555840https://twitter.com/AustinScottGA08/status/689130722389528576https://twitter.com/RepStefanik/status/689081855895801858https://twitter.com/RepWalberg/status/689092894724993024https://twitter.com/RepMimiWalters/status/689119053793882112https://twitter.com/RepWesterman/status/689093272959062020https://twitter.com/rep_stevewomack/status/689129937320693760https://twitter.com/RepDavidYoung/status/689112674706321408https://twitter.com/RepLeeZeldin/status/689081799478226944
In his 1965 speech at the conclusion of the march from Selma to Montgomery, King said “Our whole campaign in Alabama has been centered around the right to vote. In focusing the attention of the nation and the world today on the flagrant denial of the right to vote, we are exposing the very origin, the root cause, of racial segregation in the Southland.” But these 50 legislators are a key reason that much of the 1965 Voting Rights Act remains on hold more than 50 years later.