The weekend's commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the march to Selma and the Bloody Sunday attacks was a powerful reminder of American heroism, of how good President Barack Obama can be at his best ... and of the nation's history of racism and the ongoing need for change. But while Republican lawmakers who attended paid lip service to the importance of the fight 50 years past, they made clear that in the present they were
just looking for a good photo op and didn't see the need to talk about change.
On his way to the commemoration ceremony, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) said it’s been “powerful” to hear stories from Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who helped lead the Selma march 50 years ago and was severely beaten by police. But when ThinkProgress asked if he supports Lewis’ voting rights bill, he replied, “I haven’t looked at it. Is there a Senate version?”
Yes. Yes, there is, Sen. Portman. And John Lewis wasn't just telling those stories as gauzy old memories—did you miss that? Sheesus beezus, "I haven't looked at it. Is there a Senate version?" Dude, why not just say "I'm just here to get credit for being a forward-thinking non-racist Republican, don't ask me this hard stuff"?
Which is pretty much what one of Portman's Republican colleagues called for directly:
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., an honorary co-chairman of the Selma trip and the only African-American Republican in the Senate, said voting rights and the commemoration of Selma should be “de-coupled.”
“The issue of voting rights legislation and the issue of Selma, we ought to have an experience that brings people together and not make it into a political conversation,” Scott said.
Why ever would we "make it a political conversation" when talking about the anniversary of a major political event? The anniversary of a battle for rights that are still unsettled and incomplete, no less. How can you "de-couple" the commemoration of the fight for voting rights from the subject of voting rights today? Let's honor the fight for voting rights in the past while fighting progress on voting rights in the present! And not face any difficult questions from the media while we do!
And just think. These are the Republicans that went to the trouble of being in Selma to begin with.