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Showing Original Post only (View all)Ronald Reagan was angry. It was October 1986, & his veto against the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid... [View all]
Ronald Reagan was angry. It was October 1986, and his veto against the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act had just been overridden and by a Republican-controlled Senate, at that
Conservatives believed the U.S. had no business hectoring the South African government over apartheid. Senator Jesse Helms (RN.C.), the Senates leading race-baiter, took the Senate floor to filibuster on behalf of the apartheid government of South Africa. Helms was an old pro at using the filibuster: he had launched a similar one three years earlier against establishing a national holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. He was joined by like-minded conservatives including noted segregationist Strom Thurmond (RS.C.) and future presidential hopeful Phil Gramm (RTexas) in voting against the bills final passage. Over in the House, Representative Dick Cheney (RWyo.) joined the minority in opposing the Anti-Apartheid Act. In earlier battles over South Africa, Cheney had denounced Nelson Mandela as a terrorist and argued against his release
Reagan took his case directly to the people on a live TV broadcast. He echoed Crocker in urging Americans to be patient with South Africas apartheid government. Reagan argued that sanctions would disproportionately hurt black South Africans without significantly undermining apartheid, and blamed black extremists for contributing to the violence. Change, if it were to come at all, would happen incrementally. He believed he had sold his case effectively, and considered the matter closed
Under considerable pressure, Republican moderates rallied. Thirty-seven (37) out of 53 Republican senators joined their Democratic colleagues to pass the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act over Reagans veto. Conservatives fumed, but they were powerless to stop the law from passing. It was the first time in the 20th century that a presidential veto on a foreign policy issue had been overturned
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http://www.policymic.com/articles/52029/the-surprising-republican-civil-war-that-erupted-over-nelson-mandela-and-apartheid