[Wordsmith]

Posted on Andrew Sullivan's blog minutes before the press conference:

TRENT'S GOOD FRIEND: Check out Jake Tapper's piece on Lott's close friendship with a proud segregationist, Richard Barrett, who's alarmed by Lott's apparent apologies:

And Barrett remembers that November 1994 night, right after Lott was reelected to his second Senate term when, "at his victory celebration, at the Coliseum Ramada Inn, Trent entered the hall and the first person he went up to shake hands with and greet was me. He called me by my name and was very affable." But has Lott ever specifically talked to Barrett about supporting segregation? Barrett finds the question naive. "Does Jesse Jackson talk to Al Sharpton abut integration?" he asks. "Do they have to? Is there some split in the black caucus on that issue? There is certainly no split in Mississippi on segregation. Mississippi is still the solid South." Barrett spent a lot of time on the phone Wednesday night with close advisors to Lott, he says. "We're all like one big happy family in Mississippi. We're the heart of Dixie. I've certainly never heard him say anything in favor of integration, let me put it to you that way."... Barrett has harsh words for President Bush's Thursday rebuke of Lott. "Sen. Lott was right" in his original comments, Barrett says. "Integration is immoral and should also be illegal." Barrett thinks that whatever he's saying now, Lott still believes that in his "heart of hearts." What about Bush? "His heart of hearts has been addled by his drug-abused brain," Barrett says.

More and more of this stuff is now bound to emerge. Yet Lott wants to hang on. How much more damage does he want to do to the country and to his party?

LOTT MUST GO!!!!

[inkling]

If Lott stays as Majority Leader we will lose the Senate and the House in 2004.

[sinkspur]

More and more of this stuff is now bound to emerge. Yet Lott wants to hang on. How much more damage does he want to do to the country and to his party?

Damage to the country? Damage to the country?

How has he "damaged the country"? How has his voting record "damaged the country?"

Tell Andrew Sullivan to start digging up crap on every Senator. I'm sure he'll find that some of them hang around some pretty raunchy people.

You guys are amazing.

If Lott weathers this storm, are you gonna keep screaming?

[cake_crumb]

"But has Lott ever specifically talked to Barrett about supporting segregation? Barrett finds the question naive. "Does Jesse Jackson talk to Al Sharpton abut integration?" he asks. "Do they have to?"

Cut me a break...you can condemn a man as a bigot on the words of a known bigot who says he never SPOKE about it!

[kcvl]

I'm in the "heart of Dixie" also and I've NEVER been a racist. So shut the hell up about what you "know" about the south! You don't know anything about me or my family. We do fine without some "leader" coming in and trying to start a race war (Jesse Jackson, Maxine Waters, Al Sharpton, et al, came into our state and used the James Byrd dragging death to elect RATS). We ALL get along just fine without being told how to treat our neighbors, friends and customers!

[baseballmom]

We're all like one big happy family in Mississippi. We're the heart of Dixie.

That is a lie right there!!. I have driven to New Orleans and back to Philadelphia 4 times in the last 2 years - and ALABAMA is the Heart of Dixie. It said so on their license plates.