Now…These were the guys a few years ago who were trying to name every rest stop and bat room on the nation’s interstate after Ronnie Raygun.
Yet another example of the racism, and racial pettiness of the Republican right…
Maya Angelou at Howard
9 Republicans Vote Against Naming Post Office After Maya Angelou
On Tuesday, several Republican members of the House of Representatives voted against renaming a post office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after Maya Angelou, an acclaimed writer and civil-rights activist. The measure ended up passing with 371 votes,with nine Republicans voting against the bill, and one voting present.
One lawmaker cited communism for his vote.
“Congressman Harris voted against the Maya Angelou post office naming because she was a communist sympathizer,” a spokeswoman for Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), told NBC News. “His parents escaped communism and he feels that he cannot vote to name a post office in the United States in honor of someone who supported the communist Castro revolution in Cuba.”
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) said in a statement that “naming post offices is one of the most benign and bipartisan duties we perform in the House of Representatives, and there is rarely any opposition,” and that he was “shocked today as nine Republicans voted against naming a post office after Maya Angelou, indisputably one of our country’s greatest poets, authors and civil rights activists.”
Angelou, who passed away in 2014, left behind a legacy of fighting against segregation and apartheid. She also supported Democratic candidates such as Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama.
The other eight Republicans include congressmen Ken Buck (CO), Mo Brooks (AL), Michael Burgess (TX), Jeff Duncan (SC), Glenn Grothman (WI), Thomas Massie (KY), Alex Mooney (WV), and Steven Palazzo (MS).
An ongoing campaign in the area posting “not welcome” signs at local businesses for Andy Harris