John McCain Voted Against Civil Rights Act Of 1990, Now Falsely Calls It A Quota

10:19 am EST April 11th, 2008 | News | 5 Comments

Oh, Johnny Mac. Why you lyin’? This is the kind of stuff Republicans pull then indignantly tell the black community they should vote for them anyways.

Time and time again, McCain was on the wrong side of key debates when it mattered most. In addition to his opposition to a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., McCain was the deciding vote against overriding President Bush’s veto of the 1990 Civil Rights Act–the first defeat of a major civil rights bill in a quarter of a century. To make matters worse, just last weekend McCain defended the vote by equating it to “quotas,” even though the bill had nothing to do with quotas.

With a record like that, no wonder McCain is working so hard to reinvent himself for the general election.

McCain Voted Against Civil Rights Act of 1990 — Which Failed By One Vote. McCain voted to uphold President Bush’s veto of the 1990 Civil Rights Act. The veto override fell one vote short of the necessary 67 votes, and thus the legislation died — the first major civil rights bill to be defeated in the last quarter century. It would have expanded the reach of several discrimination laws that had been narrowed or overturned by the Supreme Court, as well as authorizing monetary damages under title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prevents employment discrimination. McCain had also twice previously voted against the conference report version of the bill. [1990 Senate Vote #276, 10/16/1990; 1990 Senate Vote #304, 10/24/1990; 1990 CQ Almanac, p. 60-S]

McCain Uses Loaded Term “Quotas” to Defend Vote. “WALLACE: You’re here today at the Civil Rights Museum, but it has come to our attention that in 1983 you voted against the federal holiday for Martin Luther King. You voted in 1990 against civil rights legislation. Isn’t it going to be hard to reach out to all those groups given your history and the history of the party? MCCAIN: Well, let me say in 1983 I was wrong, and I believe that my advocacy for the recognition of Dr. King’s birthday in Arizona was something that I’m proud of. The issue in the early ’90s was a little more complicated. I’ve never believed in quotas, and I don’t. There’s no doubt about my view on that issue. And that was the implication, at least, of that other vote.” [Fox News Sunday, 4/6/08]

Bill Would Not Have Created Quotas. “Proponents of the bill contend that it essentially would have restored the law of employment discrimination that had been in force for nearly two decades, prior to six recent Supreme Court rulings that made it more difficult for minorities and women to win discrimination suits. They strongly dispute the contention that the new law would result in quotas.” [Washington Post, 10/23/90]

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5 Responses to “John McCain Voted Against Civil Rights Act Of 1990, Now Falsely Calls It A Quota”

  1. Sean D. Martin says:
    April 11, 2008 at 11:05 am

    I believe that my advocacy for the recognition of Dr. King’s birthday in Arizona was something that I’m proud of.

    “I’m not sure, but I believe I am. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”

  2. Sean D. Martin says:
    April 11, 2008 at 11:06 am

    I’ve never believed in quotas, and I don’t. There’s no doubt about my view on that issue. And that was the implication, at least, of that other vote.

    So let’s not worry ourselves about what the vote actually was about, just what we can suggest it implies.

  3. Jay says:
    April 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    The bill was a joke and of course because it simply says “civil rights” in the title, then voting against it was obviously wrong.

    The portion that did in fact create de facto quota practices was the provision that would have imposed on many businesses that are sued the burden of showing that their racially or sexually imbalanced work forces result from “business necessity” rather than bias. IE, an employer could be sued and then he would have the burden of proof to show why he didn’t have racial balance in the workplace. Who can prove that?

    Leave it to the Democrats to whip out the race card.

  4. jr says:
    April 12, 2008 at 8:56 am

    Eugenicists being eugenicists

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