‘Shame on you for quoting Dr King’: Lauren Boebert sparks outrage with MLK day post

Lauren Boebert has been lambasted for a tweet in which she quoted Dr Martin Luther King on the federal holiday honouring his legacy.

The far-right Colorado Republican tweeted a quote from Dr King on Monday.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” Ms Boebert tweeted, quoting Dr King from his 1963 book Strength to Love.

“On this day, we remember his incredible legacy and contributions to this great nation,” she said.

It didn’t take long for Twitter users to slam Ms Boebert for invoking the memory of Dr King.

“Your party is literally seeking to ban the teaching of his speeches in public schools, Lauren,” Charlotte Clymer wrote.

“They won’t be able to remember his legacy when people like you want to ban schools from teaching children about it because you think it teaches them to hate America, Lauren,” Twitter user Jax Persists wrote.

Several Twitter users used quotes by Dr King to criticise the GOP lawmaker.

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death,” Christian Christensen tweeted.

“Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God’s children,” he added in another quotation of the civil rights leader, also noting that Dr King said that “the evils of capitalism are as real as the evils of militarism and evils of racism”.

“The solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed matter: the guaranteed income…The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization…” he added in a separate quote.

Malynda Hale responded to Ms Boebert, tweeting that “using his words to push your narrative that he would be vehemently against is really something”.

“#MLK would be revolted by you,” Alex Skolnick said. “Either do a 180 and start behaving in a manner that reflects someone at least remotely aware of what he stood for (unlikely) or just stop. Full stop.”

“I can’t begin to imagine what King would have to say about your crimes against the people of this country,” political science professor Cynthia Boaz tweeted.

“There is no way she doesn’t see the sick irony, right? You shouldn’t speak his name, much less use his words,” North Carolina Democrat Erik Davis wrote.

California Democratic US Representative Robert Garcia tweeted that it was “insane to me that extremists like Lauren Boebert, who are trying to destroy the social safety net, are quoting Dr King”.

“Truly one of the most ‘get his name out of your mouth’ tweets on this day of MLK Jr remembrance,” Jeff Yang wrote.

“Which member of your staff put this out for you? I find it very hard to believe you could ever possibly know anything that Dr Martin Luther King had to say. You stand for everything he fought against. Shame on you,” Twitter user Sandra Dee Bonadonna said.