The number two man in the Senate Minority now is our old dear friend from
Mississippi, Trent Lott.
What in the name of Dwight David Eisenhower is going on here?
Contrary to a lot of the “liberal media’s” more recent coverage, this guy didn’t just make a little gaffe, like John Kerry, what he said at that dinosaur’s (Stromus-crackersaurus) birthday party was horrible.
Here is the quote:
"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either,"
Lott claimed that he was just trying to flatter an old man and friend.
Phooey!
Supporting Strom’s run in 1948 is nothing to be proud of. Strom ran because he was so incensed that Truman desegregated the armed forces. It was a run on an Aparthied platform.
The sad fact of the matter is that conservatives, and Southerners in particular, have a lot to be ashamed of in regard to the state of race relations. Those who are in both those categories have, thanks to people like Strom, the taint of being a racist until proven otherwise.
Not only is this a fact of life, in my humble opinion it’s not totally unfair.
The fact is that there is a whole lot of racism in America, and it is particularly bad in places like Mississippi. Trent Lott knows this as well as anybody. I would suspect that Mr. Lott benefits from this legacy of racism in elections.
Trent Lott is no David Duke, but I think the birthday incident is much closer to a little peak into the casual racism of the South than it was an innocent remark of flattery. Furthermore, the GOP’s forgiving him for saying this is the sort of thing that has pushed the Black vote 92% to the Democrats.
America has yet to heal from the wounds of slaver. Hurricane Katrina showed just how badly divided the races are today. I would also point out that Jesse Helms’ memoirs unapologetically voice an opinion that the South should have been allowed to deal with civil rights in their own way in their own time.
There are still a lot of people in the South that feel EXACTLY the way Trent Lott says he doesn’t really feel.
Trent Lott is not evil, but given the race situation of today in the GOP and America at large, he is a terrible face to give to the government. His election by his peers speaks volumes about where the hearts of his party colleagues lies.
7 Comments:
this is truly troubling! lott is known to be bitter...there is trouble ahead to be sure!
i agree that the election of trent lott to the position of republican minority leader is an abomination... i cannot even believe he remains in office let alone in a leadership position
on a brighter note, in virginia the people chose NOT to elect a racist candidate to office... the race was narrowly won, to be sure, but i'll take a ray of hope anyplace i can get one these days!
I agree that George Allen's loss is a ray of hope for race relations. But dig this from the Albaby paper on other "mistakes" Lott has made in terms of racist comments.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=536110&category=OPINION&BCCode=&newsdate=11/17/2006
it still makes me so sad when i think of katrina. even when bad things happen, one has the opportunity to unite (such as on 9/11). instead, this administration has chosen to be divisive on every scale imaginable (including 9/11).
I say the following with love, but it needs to be said.
This post is intellectually lazy and carries the heavy stench of a McCarthy-style inquisition.
You wrote, "The sad fact of the matter is that conservatives, and Southerners in particular, have a lot to be ashamed of in regard to the state of race relations. Those who are in both those categories have, thanks to people like Strom, the taint of being a racist until proven otherwise."
So let me understand this. Southern conservatives are tainted as racist unto they prove to you, oh Grand Inquisitor, that they are not racist?
So the following individuals, all Southern Conservatives, are to be branded as racists until they pass whatever purity test you intend to administer?
1. Sen. Elizabeth Dole
2. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison
3. Sen. Bill Frist
4. Rep. Harold Ford (a conservative Southern Dem)
5. Sen. David Vitter
6. Sen. Lamar Alexander
7. Sen. John Warner
8. Sen. Lindsey Graham
9. Sen. Thad Cochran
10. former Sen. Phil Gramm
11. former Sen. Howard Baker
12. former Sen. Fred Thompson
You write,"Not only is this a fact of life, in my humble opinion it’s not totally unfair."
Your comments about Southern Conservatives are neither factual nor fair. I don't know if you're feeling a particularly unpleasant bout of Liberal White Guilt, but attempting to dehumanize southern conservatives by branding all of them racists won't improve the state of race relations one bit.
This entry is the sort of thing Billy Kuffs puts on public access. Heavy on dehumanization of the political opposition and light on evidence.
There are plenty of reasons to dislike Senator Lott and the GOP. You can do better.
Blaine, point well taken about an overly broad brush.
So, I would say that a little fine-tuning is in order. It would be wholely unfair to brand every Southern conservative as a racist.
However Mr. Lott's little birthday faux pas was far from an isolated incident.
I got this from the Albany Times Union:
"Fatal gaffe, indeed -- especially coming after other, similar, instances. There was, for instance, a campaign rally for Ronald Reagan in 1980. After Mr. Thurmond himself attacked the federal government and the civil rights laws it enforces, Mr. Lott said, 'You know, if we had elected this man 30 years ago, we wouldn't be in the mess we are today.'
A year later, Mr. Lott was defending racial discrimination at Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Then, in 1999, a photograph surfaced showing Mr. Lott posing with the leaders of a white supremacist group known as the Council of Conservative Citizens two years earlier. It took him a month to come around and disavow the group and its racist views.
Just a year ago, Mr. Lott scored an F on the NAACP's report card on votes in Congress on civil rights issues."
Perhaps we Northern Liberal Elitists are a little too eager to pounce on Southern conservatives, but Mr. Lott has done his part to give us targets to pounce on.
Only Mr. Lott knows if he is actually a racist, or if he is simply somebody who is willing to use racism for his own benefit. And he is not alone here, another example from very recent times is the Jim Corker comercial run by the national GOP. Jim Corker didn't run it, the party did. Again showing that there is a willingness at the higher levels to exploit the perception of racism.
The impact of Mr. Lott's "proud to back Strom" comment is that it perpetuates the stereotype of the bigotted Southerner for the rest of us. It gives us all just a little piece of proof to support our suspicion.
It is not that all Southern conservatives have to prove that they are NOT racists, it is that Lott reminds us that the generation that fought tooth and nail against integration is not all dead yet. And it is the fact that his Republican colleagues in the Senate are willing to look past the appearance of racism that gives a lot of good people a taint.
He was not a long standing leader who could intimidate colleagues into supporting him (like Sheldon Silver in the NYS Assembly or Tom Delay a few years ago in the House). He was on the scrap heap of political history and was able to convince them to support him.
Everybody knew the bagage Lott brought, and by a very narrow margin the Senators gave him the nod. THAT is what is so troubling to me. That is what gives a lot of good people a taint.
I agree with your revised comments, that the Senate GOP's actions taint their reputation.
Everyone knows about Lott's baggage, and to elect him to a leadership position is to declare that the racist baggae isn't really that important.
Too bad it was a secret vote, I would love to know the 25 that voted for Lott.
Post a Comment
<< Home