Conservatives Worship John Lewis

Civil rights activist and Democratic congressman John Lewis died on Friday, and Left and Right united to lionize him. Some conservatives even implied Lewis was one of their own, though Lewis was fiercely anti-Trump and a staunch progressive.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Lewis promoted “equal rights” and brought “our nation into greater alignment with its founding principles.” The Senate’s most powerful Republican fondly recalled joining hands with Lewis and singing “We Shall Overcome” at a 2008 event honoring Martin Luther King. “Our great nation’s history has only bent towards justice because great men like John Lewis took it upon themselves to help bend it,” Sen. McConnell added.

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a purported national populist, tweeted: “John Lewis, follower of Jesus, fighter for justice, lover of America. Rest In Peace.” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called Lewis a “civil rights icon, freedom fighter, and beloved Georgian.” “Our nation will never be the same without him,” he claimed. “There are no words to adequately express the sadness that countless Americans are feeling upon learning this news. John Lewis changed our world in profound and immeasurable ways.”

U.S. Rep. John Lewis gives remarks in support of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. (Credit Image: © Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press)

Two Republican senators — Marco Rubio of Florida and Dan Sullivan of Alaska — mistook Lewis for the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, posting the wrong man’s picture next to effusive praise.

Astonishingly, the libertarian Cato Institute dubbed Lewis a “libertarian hero” and promoted an article claiming, “He has been a libertarian force in his campaigns for individual rights. . . .” In the past, Cato has criticized the core legislation of the civil rights movement because it curbs liberty. In 2013, Cato filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to dismantle parts of the Voting Rights Act. In 2015 it called for limits on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Murray Rothbard, one of Cato’s three founders, wanted to dismantle the entire “civil rights” structure imposed by such legislation.

Conservative Washington Examiner writer Tiana Lowe said Lewis was a hero for all America: “. . . marching toward the gates of heaven, he never faltered.” She even praised him for opposing welfare reform and standing up for gay marriage. Neither of these positions is conservative, but Miss Lowe admired them as principled.

Lewis wasn’t conservative at all. He supported gun control, mass immigration, amnesty, abortion, gay marriage, affirmative action, reparations, and transgender causes. He hated President Trump and called him a racist. Liberals want to “honor” Lewis by shaming Senate Republicans into passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would give the federal government the power to control elections in conservative states and localities. It would restore parts of the Voting Rights Act the Supreme Court struck down in 2013. It would stop so-called “voter suppression,” such as requiring voters to present photo IDs.

Prominent Democrats are holding Republicans hostage to their absurd praise for Lewis. “[I]f they [Republicans] so celebrate the heroism of this man, then let’s go to work and pass that bill,” South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn said. “The best thing that Senate Republicans can do to honor the legacy, service, sacrifice and sincerity of Congressman Lewis is to pass that Voting Rights Act bill,” said New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

Popular liberal commentator and former Barack Obama adviser Jon Favreau wants more. He called on Joe Biden to propose the “John Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2021,” which would register all Americans — including felons — to vote. It would mail them ballots, provide a path for statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, end the Senate filibuster, and abolish the Electoral College.

Mr. Favreau added: “Trumpism won’t be defeated by beating Trump, but it can be suffocated by reforming our anti-majoritarian institutions and ensuring that our electorate actually looks like America in the 21st century.”

This is the real legacy of John Lewis. He wanted the federal government to crush freedom of association and states’ rights. It’s logical that Democrats want to continue his fight and impose a “multiracial democracy” that would “suffocate” Trumpism. The John Lewis Act would ensure a permanent Democratic majority. Lewis’s Beltway Right admirers either don’t know this or don’t care.