Posted on 10/18/2007 9:13:32 AM PDT by freespirited
Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Wednesday the Senate should apologize for slavery and segregation, calling them “dark chapters in our history.”
McCain said he would support a planned resolution by fellow Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, who is also seeking the presidency, to apologize for racist laws, some of which ended more than a century ago.
“They were federal policies,” Brownback told the Boston Globe on Monday. “They were wrong. The only way for us to move forward . . . is at the end of the day acknowledging those, taking ownership for it, and asking for forgiveness.”
McCain agreed with Brownback’s approach.
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Spokesmen for other presidential candidates, including Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, the only top-tier black candidate, declined to comment on the planned Brownback apology. Also silent were Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican candidates Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson.
Nothing that “various states have adopted similar resolutions,” McCain emphasized that words alone cannot make amends for America's past policies of racism. He said the U.S. should “continue our efforts to make sure that all Americans have equal opportunity to take part in this great, great free-enterprise system of ours.”
The Arizona Republican pledged to “address the issues of poverty and lack of education in parts of America, including parts of South Carolina, parts of my state, that some of our Hispanic students are not getting the same quality of education we want them to.”
McCain made the remarks during a two-day swing through South Carolina, a state that effectively ended his presidential campaign in 2000 when Republicans voted instead for George W. Bush. McCain used the visit to attack Clinton for advocating taxpayer funding of a museum on the Woodstock rock concert. McCain also slammed Giuliani for fighting against the presidential line-item veto, which McCain called an essential tool for controlling federal spending.
Oh, and I will be pleased to accept an apology from McCain for Campaign Finance Reform.
How many senators owned slaves?
Not so absurd, Robert Sheets Byrd should apologize for recruiting members to his KKK organization.
Add the murder of millions of unborn to the list of “federal policies” that require an apology.
I’m sorry for the “Black Death” during the Dark Ages.
This is pathetic.
Especially the democrats who were the Slavery Party
Arizona should apology for McCain.
‘Oh, and I will be pleased to accept an apology from McCain for Campaign Finance Reform.’
I’ll second that...but caution you not to hold your breath. McCain’s arrogance won’t allow an apology.
Clinton has already apologized on behalf of the US for slavery. But I think it’s high time that the Dem Party apologized.
Uh...OK...well fine. It’s not like the Senate has anything else to do.
Arizona should apologize for McCain.
McCain is an idoit, and needs mental care. These fools in the Senate have lost TOTAL touch with reality and the REAL American people. They cannot see beyond the edge of the Beltway, and care about nothing other than their own empowerment.
We have a major problem with this Senate.
What the hell is wrong with this man?
The NAACP and the rest of those race baiters should thank the white people who died to free them.
How about Alan Keyes’ idea: no taxes for two generations?
How about all women apologize for Eve’s actions? Well?!!!
OK, first it’s the Armenian genocide, now it’s slavery. Look, we KNOW slavery was evil and I don’t think we need to breeze through history and label every event that every happened.
All hail, we are the 110th Congress! Fear us, for we hath judgeth history.
One has to wonder if this is just their most recent attempt to get their approval ratings back into double digits.
Did the DNC ever apologize for the Democrat position then?
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